I'm not sure if it was due to the swelling, sinus congestion, numbness, rearrangement of my mouth, or some combination thereof but for the first couple of days drinking from a cup was almost impossible. At my 24-hour checkup my surgeon told me that drinking thicker liquids would be easier. Definitely true but, thick or thin, any liquids were difficult to get down for the first few days. Jell-O was the only thing I could eat with relative ease. The other lifesaver was a stainless steel flip-top cup my orthodontist had given me. It delivered water just far enough into my mouth that it neither came shooting out the sides nor choked me.
At this point I'm eating soft foods like mashed potatoes, eggs, pasta, meatloaf, shakes, and smoothies. Eating is a messy and slow process. My mouth hasn't learned to chew yet so I'm just cutting stuff into pieces small enough to swallow.
Pain-wise I'm happy to report that I really never had severe pain. Swelling and bruising continues to be a cause of discomfort but, as the pictures show, the worst of that is definitely over. It's wonderful to be on the downhill side of this process.
Tomorrow I will have my 1-week checkup appointment with my surgeon. I'm curious to know the cause of my Shrek green color so I'm going to ask him why I'm bruised half way down my chest?? I'll report on that next time. For now I'll just post some pictures to show where I've been and where I'm at now.
Today--Shrek Green, 7 days post-op
Jan 16, 2010--Swelling, 3 days post-op
profile and a blurry attempt at a smile
before BSSO & LeFort 1 on January 13, 2010
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