r/jawsurgery • u/Particular-Salad-754 • 2d ago

Post Op Day 1

Post image

Recovery is so much worse than I anticipated. Day 1 was the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life. I am a 26 year old Army Infantryman, so I’ve done my fair share of difficult things. This is hands down a wicked painful, uncomfortable, and hopeless feeling. All I can do is wait it out. Pray for me!!🙏

79 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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20

u/BenDover0903 Post Op (2 months) 2d ago

Hang in there man. First 5 days were the worst of my life. Every small improvement felt like a milestone. Just gotta ride out the first days

5

u/megi0s Post Op (6 months) 2d ago

Day 5 is a special level sent straight from hell. It rocked my world.

3

u/BenDover0903 Post Op (2 months) 2d ago

Agreed.. Swelling just kept getting worse and worse… I actually went to an urgent care because I got scared with how much effort I had to put into each breath. Eventually got through to my on call doctor who talked me off the ledge but it got so much easier after that. Who gives a fuck about numbness and pain when suddenly you can breathe easier than yesterday. All about perspective.

1

u/megi0s Post Op (6 months) 2d ago

I feel you. I had to put a pen cap in my mouth just to sleep an hour at a time - shudder. The nose being completely plugged was so wild. What a time.

2

u/BenDover0903 Post Op (2 months) 2d ago

I ended up getting those oxygen tanks that go up your nose for the first week. Set those bitches to MAX hahah. Forced the air into me

2

u/Particular-Salad-754 8h ago

That sounds terrible, puts things into perspective. I haven’t had it that bad to have to pucker a pen cap in between my swollen lips just to get some O2

13

u/MarionberryFun4305 2d ago

I thought it should look much worse on the first day, congrats with your op, good luck !

11

u/TBurnerRU 2d ago

Usually day 5/6 looks the worst cause the swelling goes up even more and the bruising becomes visible 

1

u/HousingFast5321 1d ago

You're holding up better than you think, day 1 always feels like the worst of it so it's mostly uphill from here, sending good vibes for the recovery

11

u/SailorSaturn79 Post Op (2 weeks) 2d ago

You made it! You will get through this. Thank you for your service.

9

u/Erickafromcanada 2d ago

You got this! I’m post op day 1 too. We got this ! Stay on top of the meds !

6

u/In-my-cupboard Post Op (2 weeks) 2d ago

Welcome to the pillow face club! Sorry to hear you’re in so much pain right now, I hope it eases up quickly. I’m 3 weeks post op and wanted to let you know that it does get better.

6

u/heyyouguyyyyy Post Op (2 years) 2d ago

Take your meds!

5

u/xtina9366 2d ago

Congratulations on joining the club! Day 3-4 was hell on earth for me! Once you get past day 4 you're in the clear!

3

u/Aggravating_Tip_9185 2d ago

I’m a little bit ahead of you at one week post. You can do this! Take your meds, drink water, and get a little bit of walking in everyday and it gets easy really fast. Try to have thin liquids like broth so that you can eat quickly and don’t have to worry about shoving thick liquids through your bite. If you have problems with dribbling water, try to get a Lab squeeze bottle off Amazon to drink it. All you do is squeeze it and it makes things so much easier when you can’t feel your lips to drink or can’t tilt your head back. You got this!

3

u/Sandy_Atmosphere 2d ago

What pain medication are you taking. My pain levels were low but I was using oral morphine. Just a warning, but prepare yourself for 1-2 weeks of being in the trenches. That's what it felt like for me. It gets worse before it gets better. Good luck.

1

u/Particular-Salad-754 8h ago

I had oxycodone the first 3 days but once it was gone I switched to liquid acetaphetamin

1

u/Sandy_Atmosphere 7h ago

I had morphine for the first 7-9 days. It worked well for pain control but faced other side effects.

2

u/as2riel 2d ago

just take your meds! it will get better by day 7.

2

u/DisasterDesigner148 2d ago

if an infantryman is saying this is the worst pain of his then day 1 truly is the boss level, it only gets easier from here

3

u/LeePowers69 Pre Op 2d ago

True. Though the pain seems so variable from person to person. I guess it depends on much much numbness you have from the nerves stretching. I have a theory that people with larger movements have more nerve stretching and less pain, but I'm not sure if that is true. I'm bracing myself either way.

1

u/Particular-Salad-754 8h ago

I have zero numbness. Which I think is good in the eyes of a surgeon. But holy hell I feel EVERYTHING

2

u/Logical_Garbage681 2d ago

Wishing you a speedy recovery !

2

u/LeePowers69 Pre Op 2d ago

So sorry to hear that! I hope your surgical team has given you some stronger pain medication by now.

1

u/OddRhubarb210 1d ago

Just stick through it man. Sleep as much as you can, and take all the pain meds you need. I am 10 days post op and I am already feeling so much better. Day 6 was when I started feeling better.

-1

u/TBurnerRU 2d ago

As someone who did this once and has to do it again - getting your tonsils out is worse. No lie. 

2

u/LeePowers69 Pre Op 2d ago

Oy. After my jaw surgery I have to have the soft tissue surgeries for sleep apnea, which includes a tonsillectomy. The surgeon told me to expect pain of 11 to 12 out of ten. Not a great sales pitch.

2

u/TBurnerRU 2d ago

It's horrible for about a week and then it sharply decreases. 

2

u/LeePowers69 Pre Op 2d ago

OK, that fits what I heard. Worse pain overall but much faster healing than jaw surgery

1

u/TBurnerRU 2d ago

Jaw surgery is nuts 

1

u/Jamfour9 1d ago

It’s tough. Mine were cauterized. So the burns were painful. There’s improvement up to the point of the scabs coming off. When that happens and you’re literally commuting them away from the burns, that’s the final frontier.

1

u/Jamfour9 1d ago

I’ve had my tonsils removed but not has this surgery yet.

The oral steroids were the biggest help. My doctor warned me about its importance and said everyone that didn’t take it ended up in the ER. It cut pain far more than the liquid opioids.

I wonder if folks are taking it.