Day 35: 5 weeks update!

Wow, I am 5 weeks post op. I have been rotting at home for the past 5 weeks trying to recuperate.
So here goes my update..

Bruising
I am only left with the little small bruise beside my lip. It is going down verrrrrry slowly. Other than that, I do not have anymore visible bruise.

Swelling
My right jaw muscles are still quite swollen, I can still feel the bump. The funny thing about this swelling is it goes up and down. I feel that my face is smaller last week then it got big again. I have no idea how this exactly works. I'm pretty sure that 80% of my swelling is gone by now. 20% still resides around my cheeks and chin I guess.

Numbness
My numbness has worsen in my lower left lip and chin areas ever since last week but he has gotten slightly better. I do not actually think I have gotten better. I am prepared for permanent numbness in these two areas already, I do not mind that.

Other than that, I am still totally numb in my left jaw/gums. I cannot feel the food that I am chewing if I were to chew with my left teeth. It feels weird like as if there is a gap between my upper and lower jaw. On the other hand, I have regained feelings in my lower right jaw/gums. Just not 100%.

My upper gums are still completely numbed.

Pain
Not much pain with regards to the jaw. Since I am regaining some feelings back, I can finally feel the my braces' wires/hooks/brackets cutting into my cheeks again. Not cool. Boo. This is the only pain that is bothering me whenever I open my mouth to speak/eat. The back wires is constantly scratching my inner cheeks as if it is digging for gold. I have been putting on wax on my braces to help relieve some pain.

No more painless ulcers. T_T

Diet - Eating and Drinking
I have started chewing on normal food a few days back. I definitely do not have the strength to chew chicken/pork not to mention steaks. My main protein now has got to be fish. I tried eating rice but after he has been soaked in soup so it puffs up and softens a little.

Some other soft food I tried were pastas, fries, noodles.

Sleeping
I am unable to sleep at night, I'll go to bed around 12mn and finally fall asleep around 4-5am. This has nothing to do with my jaw but just a really bad habit of mine.

However, I do wake up in the middle of the night because of bruxism which I have talked about in my previous post.

Breathing 
Have been having a little breathing difficulty lately because of mucous buildup. I think my sinus is partially back but I am still not very sure. The mucous that I have been experiencing is extremely thick which makes it difficult for me to blow it out. Sometimes when I exert too much strength to force it out, I see remnants of blood(?) since it's dark brown in colour. Not sure whether it's related to my diet.

Talking
Speech is still a problem for me. Firstly, the pain from the braces' cuts makes me not wna speak because it hurts every time i move my jaws. Next, the 1-2mm overbite allows air to escape while I speak so I am still unable to pronounce certain words properly. It is the almost the same as if pre-op since I had a more severe underbite. Hopefully, I am able to speak properly after I go back to my dentist.

Energy
Energy level is fine IF I am not doing any strenuous activities. I tried to cycle yesterday and I felt dizzy after about 3km. I have not tried going back to work yet which I will, tomorrow but only for 4 hours. I wonder how it'll be.

Weight loss
Because I fell sick last week, I lost extra weight there which I have gained back already. Weight lost has peaked at 5.8kg last week. I have now lost a total of 5.5kg. It has been lingering around these digits so I will  not be updating about this component after today's post.

Skin
Skin condition is back to how it was pre-op. I am thankful for a less oily face..

Jaws
I can open my mouth about 1.3 fingers max now. I think I am really slow when it comes to opening my mouth. I have also been slacking on jaw exercises.

I'll be back to my resume my ortho journey, I hope dr loh will be gentle on me since I am unable to open my mouth wide enough for him yet.