A Basic Breakdown of My Upcoming Surgery

Everything's a go for my orthognathic (jaw) surgery. And by that I mean that I've had my first of three pre-op appointments with my oral surgeon.

It was a little odd that he only had three month old X-rays of my jaws, when I had had some done earlier this month, I thought. But in any case, the bone around where my wisdom teeth had looked good as of three months ago, so it means that I've got jaws strong enough to hold together in their new positions. The literature I have on this procedure states that there needs to be a minimum of six to nine months after the extraction of the wisdom teeth for the bone to heal before the surgery is viable. And I'm good to go.

Dr J was looking at the models of my mouth made recently and, indeed, surgery is still needed. He blueprinted (very roughly) what kinds of cuts will be made. All five will be relatively minor, which is nice. Dr J also said that I won't look much different than I do now, as, currently, I thrust my lower jaw forward quite a bit in order to breathe.

At my next appointment, in about a week, they will take "many" molds. These molds will have mock surgery preformed on them, as a dry run, to see the final results. Then, the day before my surgery, (a week after the second appointment) I'll go back to the office for a "detailed" consult, and, I hope, see the molds that have been changed. Dr J said he would be drawing pictures for me at that time, and answering any final questions that I might have before the surgery.

I'll be NPO (nothing by mouth) for the morning of the surgery, but that will be no hardship as I'm due at the hospital to check in at about the time I usually am waking up. After the surgery, it will be interesting to see how well I rouse. I say this as, at my wisdom teeth extraction, it wasn't until I got coffee in me that I really woke up to their satisfaction. However, I doubt that this time, I'll be allowed something as caustic as strong coffee. So that (clinical) need for caffeine will be something that will need to be discussed.

There's a good chance of me being held overnight for observation, and then I will see Dr J when I'm released to have two small stitches removed.

Then comes the recovery... stay tuned!

January Blog Carnival link, and other business

The January Blog Carinval was posted last week. Sorry for the delay in putting up the link, I've been fighting my migraines again. But please, go and read all the different blogs.
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Today I have the first of three pre-Op appointments with my jaw surgeon. Today's a general check up on my jaw, as far as I can tell. They might do blood work, but but my understanding was that that would be done on the middle or final appointment before my surgery on Feb. 9.

There are several things that I would like to get straightened out with Dr. J, however. The chief concern of mine is not "Will it hurt?" (that's a secondary, yet still important concern) but rather, How can I take my pills, some of which I take 4 times in a day, if my jaw is either wired or banded shut?


If my jaw is just banded shut, then I would be able to remove the bands, take my meds, and then band my mouth shut again. But I, personally, can't see that my taking the bands off four times a day, especially at the beginning, would be good for the healing of my bones.

Thus I am going to take in a detailed med chart to the appointment, and, hopefully, will get an answer as to how this will work.

I will also be taking in my med chart, as I have on it not only my Daily meds, but also my PRN meds, and, also very importantly, all my counter-indicated medications. These include aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen. This is especially important as, when I got my wisdom teeth extracted last summer by Dr. J, he prescribed me a pain killer which contained acetaminophen.

Fortunately, I'm not allergic, it simply increases my migraine pain levels with rebound migraines, but still. Fortunately, my pharmacist knows about my rebounds, and wouldn't fill the script. Instead, she called Dr J's office and demanded a different painkiller be prescribed for me. One was, but I'd like to not have a repeat performance of something like that while I'm recovering from the jaw surgery.

I'm planning on taking some notes today during the appointment, and will post again later with some general, and slightly more specific information about the lead up, the procedure, and the recovery stages of this surgery.

Until then,

~Gretchen

2012's Resolution

"What do you resolve to do in 2012 to better manage your migraines?"

2012 started on a sour note for me, with a marathon migraine that’s ended me on a course of Prednisone. However, I have great hopes for the new year. That is because, come in less than a month, I’ll have come to the culmination of over 6 years’ worth of work on my TMJ when I go in for my orthognathic surgery.

Let me explain:

It’s common knowledge that I have had the same migraine for over ten years now. What is not as well known is that, even before 2001, I had as many as six to eight different kinds of separate, identifiably different migraines that I got on a regular basis.

One of the most prevalent types was muscle tension related. My neck and shoulders are like iron most of the time. I’ve been fortunate to find a wonderful massage therapist who has been able to help identify things that were going on in my body, years before we discovered that my TMJ was as severe as it is. The problem lies in my jaws themselves, where the upper is a U, and the lower is more a V shape. So after many years of night guards and bite deprogrammers helping to ease that kind of head pain slightly, it was decided that, to make the very temporary help permanent, I’d go through with the surgery. 

Well, that was over a year ago, as there was a lot of orthodontic work to get me to the stage where I could have the surgery, and now that very special date is less than a month away!

So for my resolutions, I resolve to take my Post Op instructions seriously. I need to take care of my mouth, my body, and my mind as best as possible during the healing process, which will last several months. I resolve to take time to breathe and not push my limits simply because I feel a guilty need that I “should” be doing more than I reasonably can.

I resolve to take care of myself. 

A recommendation for sufferers

There is an iPhone app that I've been beta testing. It's meant to help people with recurrent migraines or headaches track their attacks.

I've been using the WHI's app for close to two months now. It's been a great way to get back in the groove of getting everything that goes into my migraines recognized.

The WHI is looking for users, who will be compensated for their time/efforts.

Check it out,

~Gretchen

Approaching Fall

My mom pointed out two things to me last night:

One was that last fall, starting in late September, was very hard for me, migraine wise. Of course, this was no real surprise as fall's always hard for me with the changing of the season. Well, then there was some medical drama in the family starting in October and lasting into November. I wasn't doing too hot for all of that because of the stress.

Then Winter came, and I was doing poorly. We just said, "[I] haven't gotten over Fall."
Then Spring came, and I was still not doing great. "She still hasn't gotten over Fall," was the general consensus.
Summer stunk. "Well, she's still in Fall."

Ok, but now it's approaching Fall again, and I'm still dealing with last year's Fall pain increase.


So the other thing Mom pointed out was that, while we are approaching another Fall, when I haven't gotten over the last one, that means that I can be all the more proud that I've survived a year of Fall. Anything I've accomplished basically counts for double gold stars, precisely because I've been in a perpetual state of fall.

So more power to me!


Quantum in me fuit,
~Gretchen

Building Resiliency

The September blog carnival is out! There are seven different blogs joining in the carnival this month.

Read, enjoy, and learn!


Quantum in me fuit
~Gretchen

10 things learned over 10 years

I have the very dubious honor of "celebrating" my 10th anniversary of my status migranous. (IE I've not had a day without this migraine for 10 years now.) I wanted to sum up each year's trials and tribulations with just a brief, one-liners. So, here goes:

1 Year: The world stops for no one.

2 Years: The System was not meant for people like me.

3 Years: I can make the System work for me.

4 Years: I’m not alone.

5 Years: This isn’t going to go away.

6 Years: Everybody has a private battle they deal with daily.

7 Years: Running away is not the answer.

8 Years: It’s OK to ask for help.

9 Years: You don’t have to fight the truth.

This Year: My “weakness” can be a strength.

Quantum in me fuit,

~Gretchen

Poem: I Taste Pain

Similar to
the coppery
aftertaste
of blood, it
has a kind
of sweetness
like that of
rye bread that's
just sitting
in my mouth.

The pain's taste
permeates
and leaves an
imprint in
my hazed mind
like a fresh
tattoo of
agony
on my tongue.

Deviltry
leaves this taste
in my mouth
no matter
what how I
rinse my mouth
to wash it
away or
cleanse the taint
from my life.

~G. Rautman
Aug 24, 2011


(originally posted over at www.gretchenrautman.com)

A Toothless Grin

Congratulations! Life's been going so spledidly, a migriane has come along to kick you you-know-where, just to remind you that life isn't all Skittles and beer. So now, instead of enjoying a nice summer afternoon with friends, you're locked in a dark, quiet room, whimpering.

   Now there are a couple of options as to what you can do while you're in the dark room. One of them is just to wallow in the misery of the migraine. I did this quite well for several years when my status migranous kicked into high gear. I just slept, up to 20 hours a day, and and avoided life in general. It seemed like my plan was working splendidly. I wasn't aware of the pain, I thought, when I was asleep. Only, I was still very aware of it when I was awake, and I was totally, completely incapable of handling anything. My doctors stepped in, and made me snap out of the sleeping pattern.  I fought them as hard as a limp rag could. It didn't work too great as a form of resistance, which kinda proved their point.

    All this means that wallowing in the pain and suffering of the migraine wasn't an answer at all. There had to be something better; something that I could really hold onto when life kicked me in the teeth. I floated around with resentment for a couple of months, but that didn't really get me through the pain any better than sleeping had. So it was time for something completely different:

 I learned to smile.

    And I do mean learned. I'm not talking about the fake, grit-your-teeth, false smile that I'd used for so long when people asked me how I was doing and I didn't want to tell the truth. No, I mean that I truely took life by the neck and explained to it that it was too going to be pleseant. I found a phrase and internalized it:

"In this moment, you are perfect."

    This was incredibly difficult to actually come to believe. But then it came to me, that this one sentence was true if I accepted something else; that life is not just about the big picture. No, the big picture is made up of millions and millions of moments. Each moment is unique, and should not be compared to the past or the future moments. That's not to say that you shouldn't learn from one moment to the next. (A girl who was in the lecture where I realized this had great difficulty in holding onto that concept.) Rather, every moment should be enjoyed for all that has led up to it, and for all that it will help build in the future moments.

    Another way of thinking about this idea of a "moment", is thinking of each day as Christine Miserandino does in the very well known Spoon Theory. (If you don't know the Spoon Theory, please, take a moment and go read it.) For each spoon we spend each day, is the culmination of a moment. This means that there aren't unlimited moments each day, as, as in the Spoon Theory, we are gifted with a different, limited number of spoons each day.
    What I came to discover and internalize was that, as soon as my mind had been made up as to how to use a spoon, I had made the perfect choice. What I had done before, and what I would do with the rest of my spoons actually relied on  this moment being perfectly spent.

Now when I start to beat myself up because of the Migraine Trip From Hell, I remember that, in this moment, I'm doing my best, and that's all that anybody can reasonably ask of me. And so, when life has kicked me in the teeth, I give it a toothless grin and remember that, in that moment, I am perfect.


Quantum in me fuit,
~Gretchen

August Blog Carnival:

The August Blog Carnival is up! I have two blog entries in this one, as I couldn't decide between them. I hope that you'll click over to the Carnival's page, and go explore the other really awesome blogs' entries that are featured this month.

Thanks, and I hope this day finds you in good health.


Quantum in me fuit,
~Gretchen