POSTED UNDER Chin Implant REVIEWS
I Need a Chin (And a New Nose Too) - Folsom, CA
ORIGINAL POST
I inherited an unfortunate mouth/chin situation....
WORTH IT$12,000
I inherited an unfortunate mouth/chin situation. I've been through multiple sets of braces, retainers, headgear, etc. My orthodontist as a child wanted my mom to commit me to jaw surgery, but she knew that would have been like moving a mountain so we opted to attempt to fix my overbite with headgear. Here I am years later with a solid bite but still majorly lacking a chin (my face seems to recede straight into my neck). My orthodontist at the time advised me that a good option for me would be a simple implant and thus the seed of knowledge was planted.
In high school I had a consultation with an oral surgeon for a sliding genioplasty. HARD PASS. That is not a surgery that's in the cards for me. In college I met with a PS for an implant and while that was far more my speed, anxiety over the surgery caused me to drop it like it's hot. Since then, every year or two I become infatuated with getting an implant but have never seen it through.
After college I had another consultation with a PS in my area and it went a bit like this:
"Yes, you would benefit from an implant. Yes I can do it. That'll be 4500 please."
Ok, maybe it wasn't quite that simple, but my anxiety once again deterred me from the surgery and the office didn't give me the coddling vibe I would have required at the time to see the surgery though. Mostly I'm just dramatically recalling the experience and would like to attribute my lack of commitment at the time to fate.
Flash forward to now. Recently I had a dream I received a chin implant. I woke up in my dream, looked in the mirror and was absolutely elated! I then woke up from my dream in reality, chinless, and was overwhelmed with disappointment. It was time to talk to someone. Again. For good this time. I so desperately want to be happy with my profile.
I recently had two consultations with two different doctors in the area. One PS performs the surgery under 1% lidocaine, and one who performs the surgery under general anesthesia. In considering a local anesthetic only, it would definitely save me a bundle in money because the sleepy juice ain't cheap. Well it's a cold day in hell when this Nervous Nelly signs up for that. I'm so riddled with anxiety, I'd opt for general anesthesia for a tooth filling if I could. General it is!
It's worth mentioning that along my journey I decided to include my nose in my surgery. I've read enough reviews on here to encourage me to take my nose into consideration when facial balance is addressed. I've been so self-conscious about my profile for so long. I just want to look the way I feel. I wish I would have done this years ago partly because if that were the case I surely wouldn't be experiencing the crippling anxiety that I am right now! Well I finally committed. I scheduled my appointment for surgery today. I have to tell you all, I am so nervous when I think about having surgery that I want to puke! I will try to continue to think of how happy I will be when I finally see myself with a chin to motivate me! I will keep you posted on my journey. If you're on the same journey as I am, let's synch up some positive vibes!
In high school I had a consultation with an oral surgeon for a sliding genioplasty. HARD PASS. That is not a surgery that's in the cards for me. In college I met with a PS for an implant and while that was far more my speed, anxiety over the surgery caused me to drop it like it's hot. Since then, every year or two I become infatuated with getting an implant but have never seen it through.
After college I had another consultation with a PS in my area and it went a bit like this:
"Yes, you would benefit from an implant. Yes I can do it. That'll be 4500 please."
Ok, maybe it wasn't quite that simple, but my anxiety once again deterred me from the surgery and the office didn't give me the coddling vibe I would have required at the time to see the surgery though. Mostly I'm just dramatically recalling the experience and would like to attribute my lack of commitment at the time to fate.
Flash forward to now. Recently I had a dream I received a chin implant. I woke up in my dream, looked in the mirror and was absolutely elated! I then woke up from my dream in reality, chinless, and was overwhelmed with disappointment. It was time to talk to someone. Again. For good this time. I so desperately want to be happy with my profile.
I recently had two consultations with two different doctors in the area. One PS performs the surgery under 1% lidocaine, and one who performs the surgery under general anesthesia. In considering a local anesthetic only, it would definitely save me a bundle in money because the sleepy juice ain't cheap. Well it's a cold day in hell when this Nervous Nelly signs up for that. I'm so riddled with anxiety, I'd opt for general anesthesia for a tooth filling if I could. General it is!
It's worth mentioning that along my journey I decided to include my nose in my surgery. I've read enough reviews on here to encourage me to take my nose into consideration when facial balance is addressed. I've been so self-conscious about my profile for so long. I just want to look the way I feel. I wish I would have done this years ago partly because if that were the case I surely wouldn't be experiencing the crippling anxiety that I am right now! Well I finally committed. I scheduled my appointment for surgery today. I have to tell you all, I am so nervous when I think about having surgery that I want to puke! I will try to continue to think of how happy I will be when I finally see myself with a chin to motivate me! I will keep you posted on my journey. If you're on the same journey as I am, let's synch up some positive vibes!
ItsBritt's provider
UPDATED FROM ItsBritt
8 days pre
It's getting close!
Tomorrow my surgery will only be a week away. I'm VERY nervous (that's the understatement of the year). I'm posting a bunch more before pictures for your viewing pleasure.
If anyone has any prepping advice for rhinoplasty or chin implants (or dealing with preop anxiety), please send them my way! So far I have purchased a facial ice pack and a head wrap around ice pack (I bought it for headaches as I suffer frequently but figure it will work well under the chin). I was planning on slim fast primarily for diet because I couldn't think of anything better but any suggestions please send my way. I will be staying with my mom for a few days (hopefully not more than 2-3) so that I can sleep in her recliner and she can stay on top of my pain medication for me :) I'm not sure what all I will be prescribed yet as my preop appt is thursday. I also bought probiotics, I'm pulling out the big guns here, VSL #3. I actually have ulcerative colitis so it would be a benefit to me to take these regularly, but since I assume I'll be given antibiotics (did I mention, my incision will be intraoral) I'll be sure to take the probiotics as well. Lastly I already own a head travel pillow, I will put it through the sanitize cycle in my dryer since I don't want airplane germs anywhere near my freshly incized face!
Thank you guys for the continued support! You who have come before me and posted reviews have really inspired and helped me on my own journey. I hope that I may be a help to my chinless brothers and sisters in the future! ????
If anyone has any prepping advice for rhinoplasty or chin implants (or dealing with preop anxiety), please send them my way! So far I have purchased a facial ice pack and a head wrap around ice pack (I bought it for headaches as I suffer frequently but figure it will work well under the chin). I was planning on slim fast primarily for diet because I couldn't think of anything better but any suggestions please send my way. I will be staying with my mom for a few days (hopefully not more than 2-3) so that I can sleep in her recliner and she can stay on top of my pain medication for me :) I'm not sure what all I will be prescribed yet as my preop appt is thursday. I also bought probiotics, I'm pulling out the big guns here, VSL #3. I actually have ulcerative colitis so it would be a benefit to me to take these regularly, but since I assume I'll be given antibiotics (did I mention, my incision will be intraoral) I'll be sure to take the probiotics as well. Lastly I already own a head travel pillow, I will put it through the sanitize cycle in my dryer since I don't want airplane germs anywhere near my freshly incized face!
Thank you guys for the continued support! You who have come before me and posted reviews have really inspired and helped me on my own journey. I hope that I may be a help to my chinless brothers and sisters in the future! ????
Replies (21)
January 24, 2017
Can't wait to see your results! I don't have any advice for you since I haven't done mine yet... I'm planning on trying to stay super busy as to not think about it too much!
January 24, 2017
I've been doing all sorts of goofball stuff to try and calm my qualms. I've done deep breathing exercises, I've huffed endless essential oils, I've tried YouTube hypnosis for phobias, and I even bought a spiderweb jasper stone because of its "anti anxiety properties." Haha. I'm just trying to take it a day at a time. My surgeon told me he would prescribe Valium for before the procedure. My preop is in a few days so I'll see what he ends up prescribing for me. Whatever helps! I'm interested it! Can this be over yet?! For the both of us! :)
January 24, 2017
TOTALLY! does it help to look at "before" pictures to remind u why you're doing this?
January 24, 2017
Honestly, the reality that I will look different in a week isn't sinking in. I hate my profile because I don't feel like that's how I should look and quite honestly it's never really felt like I'm looking at myself. Does that make sense?
January 24, 2017
Yes, I get it! Like your insides don't match your outsides?
Whenever I feel nervous I catch a glimpse of my profile and am like um, yeah now I remember lol.
You're gonna do great!! Sending lots of positive vibes your way!!! <3
Whenever I feel nervous I catch a glimpse of my profile and am like um, yeah now I remember lol.
You're gonna do great!! Sending lots of positive vibes your way!!! <3
January 24, 2017
Thank you so much. And the same goes to you!! I hope it's over before you know it! And we're both making new amazing memories and taking vacation photos we can look back on and feel comfortable in our own skin for the first time evahhhhh!
January 24, 2017
I know exactly how you feel too. I'm 47 and have spent many years feeling acutely embarrassed of my looks particularly in profile. I am scheduled for a chin implant and rhinoplasty on October 10th and I'm counting down the days! My youngest child will have gone off to university then so I can do it without feeling guilty. Good luck with your surgery - I look forward to seeing your results.
January 28, 2017
Awwwww you shouldn't feel guilty not waiting for your child to go off to school! I just want this ordeal to be over with so that I may be on the mend and move on with my life! Good luck with your journey!
January 25, 2017
Hi, I'm 8 days post-op from a chin implant, so I thought I'd answer your call for prepping advice based on my own experience thus far, but keep in mind that everyone's experience will be different. I found that it was difficult to open my mouth wide enough to eat properly the first few days, so I survived on meal replacement shakes (like slim fast) and mashed potatoes for the most part. I've also found kefir drinks (with extra probiotics), bio-k (can never have too many probiotics, right?), meatloaf, fish, mashed carrots, and mashed sweet potatoes to be easy to eat. I bought tons of soups but it was a disaster, I didn't have the mouth motor skills to properly get the spoon fully in my mouth, pudding was also a challenge, so I don't recommend anything too runny, it was to be either drinkable or cohesive enough to eat in tiny chucks off a fork. My freezer is stocked full frozen mashed-potato-and-meatloaf dinners because I didn't want to get fresh groceries with my face half covered in bandages. I used ice packs wrapped in face clothes. First couple of nights I slept on an inclined wedge pillow, but then on my regular pillow, usually face down. The surgeon assured me that he had secured the implant properly and it would not move. In terms of presciption, I took the antibiotic pills the night before, day of, and first day after the surgery only. Studies have shown oral antibiotics taken after a surgery do not actually reduce infection rates, but this is something you should research yourself and talk about with your doctor. And keep in mind mine was under the chin, not intraoral. My surgeon told me he prescribes antibiotics because he believes in doing 'all you can' to avoid infection, but agreed with me that it was fine not to take them for more than a couple of days. I was also prescribed prednisone to reduce swelling (but I took smaller doses than recommended of that too) and codeine for the pain. I took a total of 6 codeine pills (out of 30) over 4 days, but I would have survived without, the pain was very tolerable, but annoying and unpleasant. I was also prescribe ativan, which is a benzodiazepamine for anxiety (I have a serious anxiety disorder and have been taken this class of drugs as part of my therapy before). I starting taking one pill per evening in the few days leading up to my surgery, then as prescribed, I took two the night before and two on my way to the clinic the day of (I wasn't driving of course!) and it was damn strong. I opted for local anesthetics with sedation (general anesthesia scares me to death) so I was mostly dreaming, waking up occasionally when the nurses came by and when I was brought to the operating room, then fell asleep and didn't wake up until after the procedure. My memory of the whole day is very blurry, like a drunken haze lol. My last recommendation is surgical tape, my bandages kept coming off. And dry shampoo, I didn't want to risk getting my bandages wet by washing my hair.
January 28, 2017
That's interesting that your doctor prescribed prednisone! I guess it makes sense but I hadn't heard of that before. Mine did not prescribe that. I WISH he was more liberal with the benzos. I was prescribed valium which I have taken before procedures before. I've also had Ativan before although I'm not sure which alleviate anxiety for me more. Your ativan regimen before surgery sounds really ideal, I wish my doctor would have taken that route for me. They told me to take valium the night before but not day of, which I did not particularly care for. I expressed this to the MA, very strongly, but she insisted and said once I arrive at the surgery center they will give me and IV and a cocktail of medications that will calm me down. I'm hoping for that! and the best! I will be having general anesthesia. General does make me nervous but I prefer it to twilight. I have had twilight before, which I know works very well, I want to be OUTTTTTTT for this procedure, especially since I am having rhinoplasty with it. Thank you so much for sharing your story with me, it's really really helpful to have advice from people that have been through the experience already!
January 28, 2017
I also found prednisone to be a bit questionable, considering it would reduce the body's ability to fight infections AND the surgeon knew I wasn't taking the full course of antibiotics. One of the side effects is anxiety, so I think it did more harm than good in the end. I had told my surgeon on the first consultation that I would require benzos leading up to the surgery, and repeated this at the pre-op. Maybe that's why he gave me so much Atvian, it might not be standard practice. I've had general anesthesia for a surgery years ago and I remember I was allowed to take benzos the night before but not the day of the surgery, too. So maybe there is a reason you can't mix benzos and general? Feel better knowing that you are prepared, have made all the right decisions, have a network of people following your story who can give you advice, and that right now is the 'worst part' and what you are feeling is normal. Once you're at the hospital it all becomes surreal, and afterwards when you get back home, you'll be like "omg, what was I so nervous about, that was easy!"
January 28, 2017
I can't WAIT to be uncomfortable and groggy and saying "I was so silly to be so nervous." I know that sounds silly but to me it means that the hard part will be done and I just need to focus on taking pain medicine and resting. I can't wait to be post op!!! I'm so lucky to have found RealSelf and have such a wonderful network of people who have been through this before me. I feel very privileged.
November 18, 2017
I took a valium tablet before going to hospital and then one more when I got there (per Doctor's permission) for primary Rhinoplasty.
January 25, 2017
All of what she said is great. I did the same with food and such. But my doctor told me to sleep on my back, face up, which I did for a couple weeks. He also assured me it would not move but don't sleep on it for a while. Soft foods, yes! Lots of ice at the beginning and any there thing that helped with swelling TREMENDOUSLY was pineapple juice!! If you like it, drink it! Lots of it! It's helped so much and made an obvious difference in the swelling! Relax and sleep a lot. Helps heal faster. My bandage came off in the shower within the first week, maybe the second, I don't remember but it was okay. I called and they said if it's coming off just let it come off. They just said don't shower for the first day or two. Hope that helps!
January 28, 2017
I'm so scared of my implant shifting :-/ I assume its rare but from reading reviews on here it clearly happens :-/ The MA at my doctor's office never mentioned ice! Which i found strange but I do plan on using ice packs. My coworker had eyelid surgery and swears that ice makes all the difference in the world. I bought bromelain. Hopefully that will help as much as pineapple juice? I'm not a massive fan unless it's in the form of a Mai Tai ;)
UPDATED FROM ItsBritt
3 days pre
HELLO CHIN FRIENDS!
My preop appointment was 2 days ago. I wanted to update then but I was sooooooo nervous afterwards I elected to stay off of the internet for the time being.
I'm doing a bit better now so I wanted to update my journey to include my preop experience:
I brought my mom with me since she will be taking me to my surgery and I will be staying with her a few days so she can look after me.
The appointment was mostly the MA telling what to expect afterwards and going over some medications. She said my swelling will predominantly be in my chin and that will be the most painful part of recovery for me. You might recall, I am having rhinoplasty as well. She said that the nose isn't generally painful during recovery but does swell for a long time and can lead to nasty bruising under my eyes. I will pull out the packing myself on day 3 of recovery and I will have a splint on my nose for a week.
For pain I was prescribed Acetaminophen / Oxycodone (Percocet)
Docusate sodium was prescribed as a laxative/stool softener. It is available OTC but I got it as an RX (cheaper I suppose)
Ciprofloxacin HCL is my antibiotic
Ondansetron (Zofran) was prescribed for nausea
Aprepitant (Emend) for postop nausea. Does anyone have any experience with this? I was only prescribed one of these, as it is just for directly after surgery. It is VERY expensive ($90 for one dose) and insurance does not cover it. OO DA LA LEE!
For anxiety I was prescribed Diazepam (Valium). This is for the night before to help me sleep and also for the days following surgery. With the packing material from the rhinoplasty, I was told that people get very anxious about their breathing (from not being able to breathe out of their nose) so the Valium is to help with that. After the appointment I had realized that I forgot to ask what I should be taking before surgery to alleviate my nerves, so I asked to speak with someone. A different MA came to speak with me and said that they do not want me to take anything for 8 hours before surgery. (I think that being NPO from a Valium before surgery is very silly, but I am hoping when the anesthesiologist calls me the night before surgery I can get green lighted to take something the morning of. I UNDERSTAND being NPO before surgery but I don't see how a valium beforehand would negatively impact me since I have already signed consent).
I was told how to dress for surgery, nothing loose that doesn't go over my head. I am not sure what time my surgery time will be but they will call me the day before to let me know what time to get there. I am hoping for an early surgery time due to my nerves as I think that would help.
The doctor came in and we chatted for a little bit, he would like to give me an extra large implant. I'm all for it, I know I have an extra large room for improvement. He will decide what size I get during surgery. He said I might not have room to accommodate an extra large, but if he can fit it, that is what size he would like to give to me. We decided he will do a submental incision instead of intraoral! Yes, there will be a scar, but from everything I have seen on here it is SO minimal! The idea of going through my mouth was giving me the heebie jeebies! That being said, if it was the route my surgeon was more comfortable with, I was comfortable with that, but after examining me again he said he believes submental would be more appropriate for me. I think that calmed me down ever so slightly :)
As far as my nose goes, he will be removing my dorsal bump, bringing back the tip to compliment the projection of my new chin, and giving me a slightly pointier tip. It's really all about the chin, I've made that pretty clear about that from the get go. The nose is secondary to compliment my long awaited chin.
You guys have been SO helpful and uplifting to me throughout my journey. Thank you all for sharing your story, experience, and suggestions. Thank you, chin friends!
The day is fast approaching and I am currently focusing on keeping my nerves down. I am trying to allow myself all my feelings and attempting to understand that it is perfectly OK to feel how I do but know that I am in safe and capable hands. Positivity, positivity, positivity!
-Brittany
I'm doing a bit better now so I wanted to update my journey to include my preop experience:
I brought my mom with me since she will be taking me to my surgery and I will be staying with her a few days so she can look after me.
The appointment was mostly the MA telling what to expect afterwards and going over some medications. She said my swelling will predominantly be in my chin and that will be the most painful part of recovery for me. You might recall, I am having rhinoplasty as well. She said that the nose isn't generally painful during recovery but does swell for a long time and can lead to nasty bruising under my eyes. I will pull out the packing myself on day 3 of recovery and I will have a splint on my nose for a week.
For pain I was prescribed Acetaminophen / Oxycodone (Percocet)
Docusate sodium was prescribed as a laxative/stool softener. It is available OTC but I got it as an RX (cheaper I suppose)
Ciprofloxacin HCL is my antibiotic
Ondansetron (Zofran) was prescribed for nausea
Aprepitant (Emend) for postop nausea. Does anyone have any experience with this? I was only prescribed one of these, as it is just for directly after surgery. It is VERY expensive ($90 for one dose) and insurance does not cover it. OO DA LA LEE!
For anxiety I was prescribed Diazepam (Valium). This is for the night before to help me sleep and also for the days following surgery. With the packing material from the rhinoplasty, I was told that people get very anxious about their breathing (from not being able to breathe out of their nose) so the Valium is to help with that. After the appointment I had realized that I forgot to ask what I should be taking before surgery to alleviate my nerves, so I asked to speak with someone. A different MA came to speak with me and said that they do not want me to take anything for 8 hours before surgery. (I think that being NPO from a Valium before surgery is very silly, but I am hoping when the anesthesiologist calls me the night before surgery I can get green lighted to take something the morning of. I UNDERSTAND being NPO before surgery but I don't see how a valium beforehand would negatively impact me since I have already signed consent).
I was told how to dress for surgery, nothing loose that doesn't go over my head. I am not sure what time my surgery time will be but they will call me the day before to let me know what time to get there. I am hoping for an early surgery time due to my nerves as I think that would help.
The doctor came in and we chatted for a little bit, he would like to give me an extra large implant. I'm all for it, I know I have an extra large room for improvement. He will decide what size I get during surgery. He said I might not have room to accommodate an extra large, but if he can fit it, that is what size he would like to give to me. We decided he will do a submental incision instead of intraoral! Yes, there will be a scar, but from everything I have seen on here it is SO minimal! The idea of going through my mouth was giving me the heebie jeebies! That being said, if it was the route my surgeon was more comfortable with, I was comfortable with that, but after examining me again he said he believes submental would be more appropriate for me. I think that calmed me down ever so slightly :)
As far as my nose goes, he will be removing my dorsal bump, bringing back the tip to compliment the projection of my new chin, and giving me a slightly pointier tip. It's really all about the chin, I've made that pretty clear about that from the get go. The nose is secondary to compliment my long awaited chin.
You guys have been SO helpful and uplifting to me throughout my journey. Thank you all for sharing your story, experience, and suggestions. Thank you, chin friends!
The day is fast approaching and I am currently focusing on keeping my nerves down. I am trying to allow myself all my feelings and attempting to understand that it is perfectly OK to feel how I do but know that I am in safe and capable hands. Positivity, positivity, positivity!
-Brittany
Replies (14)
January 28, 2017
Keep in mind that your results will continue to progress for up to a while YEAR! My swelling in my face didn't go away for like 3 months and now at almost 5 months I still see the bottom of my chin slimming down. So both the nose and chin will have gradual results. The worst part for me was patience. After about a month or two I was a little depressed cuz I wasn't sure of my results. But once month 3 came I was loving it a lot. Now, I am SO glad I did it! You're gonna look great. Keep in mind that you will probably want to vent and talk about how you feel in the months to come and I am here for you along with others who have gone through this experience. I don't think they will let you take anything the morning of. My doctor wouldn't even let me drink water!! There should be nothing in your stomach pretty much. I couldn't even take my melatonin the night before to help me sleep.. good luck tho! I can't wait for you!!!
January 29, 2017
I've been reading your reviews for a while and I definitely saw how you went from excited to skeptical to satisfied to happy! I'm really going to try hard to keep that in mind that I need to give it time. I'm hoping I'll be really happy to have a chin no matter how puffy and swollen it is!!
What?! You couldn't even take melatonin the night before?! The anesthesiologist just called me after I posted my update and she said she will give me something through my IV as soon as it's in. So that helped me feel a bit better. I wish wish wish I could just turn emotions and anxieties OFF until this is all over with!
January 28, 2017
Also, under the chin is a way better choice than through the mouth. The recovery is much easier! The scar in minimal yes, but I got "scar away" the liquid rather than the strip. I still use it to this day and it helps my scar tremendously! Mine ended up rising when it healed so it needed a little help. It's flattening out more and more with this scar away stuff. You can get it at Walgreens.
January 29, 2017
hey Chin Friend! :) thank you for the update. I cannot wait for Wednesday!!! only 3 more days woo hoo!! so excited for you, you're gonna do great. Sending lots of positive vibes your way!!
January 31, 2017
I really feel more motivated to stay strong with everyone's well wishes. Thank you so much!
January 31, 2017
So glad you are going with the submental approach, especially with a large or extra large implant. It will be a much easier recovery.
You really can't have anything in you stomach prior to surgery, but I'm sure they will be able to administer some sort of sedative as soon as they set up your IV. I was in a terrible panic with my first surgery, and once the IV was in they put some happy juice in that tube and it was smooth sailing from there.
We are all so excited to see your results through the upcoming months. You are gonna be just fine! Happy chin thoughts are coming your way.
You really can't have anything in you stomach prior to surgery, but I'm sure they will be able to administer some sort of sedative as soon as they set up your IV. I was in a terrible panic with my first surgery, and once the IV was in they put some happy juice in that tube and it was smooth sailing from there.
We are all so excited to see your results through the upcoming months. You are gonna be just fine! Happy chin thoughts are coming your way.
January 31, 2017
Intraoral recovery was definitely scaring me, just the idea of it icked me out.
I really cant wait for that happy juice. The thought of being comfortable with surgery sounds so impossible to me but I'm pretty sure modern medicine is borderline witchcraft soooooooo, I cant wait for that spell to be cast! : D
HAPPY SUPER FANTASTIC CHIN TIME! HUZZAH!
I really cant wait for that happy juice. The thought of being comfortable with surgery sounds so impossible to me but I'm pretty sure modern medicine is borderline witchcraft soooooooo, I cant wait for that spell to be cast! : D
HAPPY SUPER FANTASTIC CHIN TIME! HUZZAH!
Replies (22)