Day 21: Hooray, 3rd week!

Hey hooooooo. 

I am now 3 weeks post op. Wow, three weeks. T H R E E. 

I can't believe that 3 weeks just past like that. My recovery has pretty much plateaued.

Bruising

Bruising is almost gone. You can see from the picture bellow that the bruises around my upper chest area has subsided a lot. There is only a small area of yellow bruise left at the bottom. 

The greenish-blue bruise right beside my left lip is still there. I don't see any improvement, I don't know why. Hope it'll be gone soon. 

Swelling

I am still swollen in the cheeks/chin area. I can barely notice the improvements now but I know they are going down, albeit slowly. 

Numbness

Numbness is still there on my lower lip/chin area. The pins and needles around my chin area are so much stronger now. A light brush of my hair tingles that area that causes me to shiver(?). It feels as though there is a mini 1kg weight hanging on my chin area. Feels extremely weird.

Pain

I do get occasional sharp pain on my chin area. It lasts about 1-2 seconds so it doesn't really bother me that much. The right jaw joint also hurt whenever I open my mouth a little too big. 

Diet - Eating and Drinking

I am on to semi-solid food now although I am avoiding anything that requires chewing. Sometimes when I am lazy to eat, I'll just finish one can of my ensure milk. And I can conclude, I HATE anything that is strawberry milk now. I realised that ensure tasted a little like blood and has this rusty smell? Anyone else noticed this?

Anyway, apart from drinks I've been eating well now. I don't like mash potatoes/porridge anymore, I get sick of them already. I am now into noodles, soft noodles that I can just swallow without chewing! I wonder if I will ever get indigestion for swallowing everything. 

Yesterday I ate fish and chips........ fish without the crust hahahahaha. And nacho cheese fries without the outer layer of skin. YUMSSSSSS...............

Sleeping

I am not sleeping well because my jaw moves whenever I am sleeping. I can feel it because when I bite, it is not align to my teeth. I get worried hence, I am unable to sleep in peace. What I will do is, I will sit up straight then "push" my jaws back to its original position. Yes, it worked. I CAN MOVE MY JAWS LIKE THAT. HOLY.

I am still sleeping with two pillows stacked on top on one another. I tried to nap just now with just one pillow and surprisingly my jaws didn't move for that hour. Maybe I should try it again tonight.

Breathing 

I have no problems with breathing now. Sinus hasn't came back. *flicks hair*

Talking

Well, I am still unable to pronounce properly. I am so sad. I can't wait to talk properly, my mom and sis have been laughing at the way I talk. I am learning how to stop mumbling. 

Energy/Exercise

My energy level is in proportion to the amount of food I take in. I tried doing some yoga/aerobics yesterday and I am exhausted after just 15 minutes. Well, baby steps..... 

Jaws Opening

I am also practicing my jaw muscles by opening and closing my jaws, talking and also singing. I can comfortable open one finger-width space but after some jaw exercise, I can open one finger-width sideways. 

Weight loss

My weight has been fluctuating so badly. I am gaining and losing like no one's business. One day I can be +2kg another day I can be -1.5kg then going up again to +0.8 then down to -2kg.

But yeah, you get the drill, up and down the scale. 

Skin

I am still breaking out from whatever toxins is in my body. I am also pretty oily. 

I am more hardworking when it comes to my skincare now. I use toner and moisturizer after I cleanse my face and I can see that I am LESS oily but still oily. 

Hygiene

I am now using:

• baby toothbrush
• dental water-flosser (an alternative to waterpik); this product is amazing for getting into corners that are hard to get with the tooth brush. I think this is a really good investment.
• tongue cleaner - this works really well for getting the whitish-yellow stuff off my tongue. yay.
• mouthwash (when I am not lazy)