I'm currently on day 21 after double-jaw surgery, and I want to write about what has happened so far, what my current condition is like, and what I'm worried about going forward.
First of all, I had surgery with IVRO near Nonhyeon Station. (I think you can tell where it is just from that much.)
When I think back to the first day of double-jaw surgery, after changing clothes, getting a needle placed in my arm, and going into the operating room, I was seriously so scared. My heart was beating so fast that I could hear the ECG machine going beep beep beep beep. So the nurse put an oxygen mask on me and told me to calm down. Thinking about it now, it's a little embarrassing lol
People often say that when the anesthetic goes in, you taste something bitter, count numbers, and stuff like that, but I didn't even know when the anesthetic went in. I was just breathing with the oxygen mask on and then passed out.
When I woke up, my whole face felt numb and tingly, I was groggy, and because they kept waking me up I was annoyed too. But it was a feeling and mood I had never experienced in my life, so I didn't want to be awake for even one second. So I think I couldn't really, or didn't really, come to my senses. My jaw felt like it was rattling, it was numb and tingly, and I was sleepy... I really never want to experience that again.
My nose was completely blocked, so I couldn't breathe through my nose at all. Until the second day it was okay because my mouth wasn't tied shut, but once it was tied on the third day, it became extremely suffocating. I have really severe allergic rhinitis and sinusitis, plus a deviated septum, and my nasal cavity is narrower than the average adult's, so it was honestly so hard... The nurse even said intubating me with the tube was difficult, so that says it all...
And one thing people shouldn't misunderstand is that when people say there is zero pain after surgery, it's not that it literally doesn't hurt at all. It's just that the other discomforts are much bigger, so the pain feels relatively less noticeable. Even with painkiller injections, your face still feels numb, tingly, and throbbing.
Personally, more than my face, I found it so painful when they set the IV line in my arm and administered antibiotics...
As for swelling, it got more swollen day by day compared to the first day, and around one week? It really peaked like a steamed bun. After that, it gradually went down, and now on day 21, it has gone down a lot. They say residual swelling can continue to go down for 6 months to even a year, so I hope people don't look at their face right after surgery and feel disappointed or depressed...
For food, until the first week I really drank a ton of New Care. I forced myself to drink about 8 to 10 a day because I didn't want to lose weight, and after two weeks, I blended porridge almost like rice gruel and swallowed it. When I watched review videos on YouTube, people cut Jjapaghetti into tiny pieces and swallowed it, so I tried copying them, but it really wasn't easy... I quickly gave up and survived on porridge and New Care. After my week-3 outpatient visit, they said I could remove the wafer and chew, so as soon as I got home I tried ramen. But the structure of my mouth had completely changed, so I had to learn how to chew again... I couldn't chew properly. The inside of my mouth is still very swollen too, so the noodles kept getting stuck, and I ate the ramen with so much difficulty. And that day, for the first time in my life, I experienced my front teeth touching. I was deeply moved.
Since I'm talking about eating, I can't not talk about sensation. Since my lower jaw was IVRO, there is no sensory damage at all, but the problem is that my palate, upper gums, philtrum, and left lip have become dull in sensation. It's not that there is no sensation at all, but it feels very dulled, with a strong tingling feeling. Because the sensation in my palate disappeared, I can also taste food less. Apparently there are cells in the palate that sense taste too... They say sensation slowly returns, but I think I'll have to keep watching it...
That's how I've felt up to now. I want to recover quickly, go around eating delicious food, and work out too.