So as pretty much everyone who reads this blog knows, on Tuesday I had orthognathic (jaw) surgery. They moved both my jaws in fun and interesting ways, and I am recovering well, but having serious trouble “eating” enough. My jaw is still “wired” shut (not actually wired–rubber-banded very tightly) so I am eating liquid foods with a syringe. Unfortunately, they have to be very liquidy in order to get through or behind my teeth, so in order to get enough calories, I have to resort to juice. And juice is too sweet for me–I feel nauseous from my breakfast of 300 calories worth of pear juice.
I also had a LOT of trouble breathing for the first few days–that’s pretty much better now though. Swelling is still pretty bad, but has gone down some. There was no bruising at first, but a little bit has started to show up as the swelling goes down–barely noticeable though. (Which is bizarre. I’m a person who bruises very, very easily usually.)
Tomorrow they are going to remove some of the rubber bands, so theoretically I will be able to eat “soft” foods! Yay! I hope this means at least I can eat mushy food like mashed potatoes and lentils, if not pasta (like they think I can).
Because I am extra-awesome, I did not take any pain meds at all. I kinda wanted to, but then I tasted them, and decided the pain wasn’t so bad after all. Also because I am extra-awesome, I have very little numbness (so hopefully that means I’ll recover full feeling in my face, which is not guaranteed).
And of course… I can’t talk. I have a whiteboard. Also David and I will probably be masters of charades after this experience. 
July 20, 2008 at 5:23 pm
right now I’m working on a chocolate-peanut butter smoothie. The peanut butter is awesome–lots of calories without much sweetness! (and even a little protein!)