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So Far So Good - Langhorne, PA

Name: So Far So Good - Langhorne, PA
Item: Dr. Michael Sock
Rating: 5
Author: chariirose

ORIGINAL POST

I am a 62 year old female. I had double jaw...

chariiroseJuly 23, 2014

WORTH IT$25,000

I am a 62 year old female. I had double jaw surgery (overbite) and genioplasty. The reason for the surgery was sleep apnea. Because my lower jaw was too far back, my airway was small and my snoring was awful. I had been using a C-PAP for the past year. Also I have been a teeth grinder for most of my life but was wearing a night guard, not soon enough to grind a lot of my teeth away! To look at my profile before, you would see a receding chin, not awful in appearance, but the TMJ, sleep apnea, teeth grinding were pretty bad, and I would have ended up losing teeth because of the misalignment of my teeth combined with the grinding.

Over the past several months, I watched as many YouTube videos as I could. There are lots of young people who have documented their entire jaw surgery journey, and it seems like 99.9% of them were happy with the final result.

Right now I'm only on Day 7 post op. There are little improvements every day. For example, today my mouth still feels a little less swollen inside and it's easier to talk. My lower lip and chin are totally numb as I was told they would be. There are pins and needles. My surgeon told me it will take about 6 months for the feeling to come back fully, and possibly longer, or possibly never come back completely. For what it's worth, I have been taking homeopathic remedies to help with swelling and with nerves: The night before surgery Arnica Montana 200c, 6 pellets under tongue AND Hypericum Perforatum 200c 6 pellets under tongue. After surgery I am taking Arnica 30c 6 pellets 3x/day AND Hypericum 30c 6 pellets 3x/day. Not sure how long I will keep taking these. Also for what it's worth I plan to start seeing an acupuncturist in about another 2 weeks. ALSO I am taking high quality food supplements and protein powders and lots of vitamins. I wouldn't go near Ensure or Boost with a 10 foot pole.

I see my surgeon in 2 days. He will take out the stitches in my cheeks (one one each side). Not sure what he will tell me.

chariirose's provider

Dr. Michael Sock

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So far he has been terrific. He fully answers every question. His medical background is impeccable. So far it's all good.

Replies (4)

Eva Hopeful

July 24, 2014

Hi and congrats on your surgery. I'm intrigued to know why you are against Ensure? I found it great for keeping my calorie intake up when i couldn't eat properly. Hope you continue to do well. What was the nerve repair supplement, was that the Hypericum? I still have a bit of numbness in lower lip but nothing that bothers me too much but i was dissapointed it didn't all come back but like you i knew the risks. Good luck with your healing.

chariirose

July 24, 2014

Hi Eva, the nerve repair supplement is Hypericum. The Arnica is for swelling and bruising. I wouldn't want to use Ensure or Boost because if you look at the ingredients, they are about half water and sugar. Everything is artificial. To me it's not just about getting calories, it's about eating healthy. When was your surgery and what was it for?

happysmilesforlife

December 12, 2014

I hope you had a good surgeon and I hope your jaw joints are not compromised at all. As for your nerves, if they are cut or injured, they must be repaired within less than two years or it is permanent. You chin really should not be completely numb. Mine is numb because my mandible never is cut and laying outside the canal. I had the double jaw surgery for retrognathia and they recommended it for mild sleep apnea. I can't feel my chin, lips, hard palate, back of the throat and my uvula is numb. I have no gag reflex. I was not splinted after the surgery and my joints were pulled out of the socket. I have lost the discs as a result. I had a punctured sinus, and teeth on one side that were damaged (roots). Please do not wait if you start feeling like things are not healing properly or if you think the nerves need to be evaluated. Please do not wait. If you wait too long and their is a chance for them to be repaired, it will be too late. My life has been ruined because of unprofessional and careless doctors. I had mild retrognathia and they did a ten ml advancement and took five ml of good cortical bone from my front teeth. Now all the roots of my front teeth are exposed and my top and bottom teeth do not touch together. I cannot bite into an apple or into anything with top and bottom teeth because the overbite is now a class 1 openbite. I had a class 2 with retrognathia before surgery. Now I am suffering with terrible nerve damage, joint, teeth and sinus. The nerve damage over time and after everything else is healed, might drive you insane. It hurts. It burns and I have a stiff face all the time. They told me not to worry for two years. This is not true. It has to be addressed within weeks and not more than two years after the operation or it will be permanent. Someone should make sure the nerve is not cut and if they can go back in and decompress the mandible nerve, it can also help. sometimes the nerve gets compressed. Doctors seem to want to pass on telling patients that it means the nerve has either been cut, stretched or compressed and sometimes there is a way to relieve those nerves but not if they wait two years. I'm sorry.

happysmilesforlife

December 12, 2014

I have a completely numb hard palate, soft palate, throat, and my gums are numb too. It's horrible. I do not recommend anyone get apnea surgery for apnea alone. I recommend that people with jaw disorders get the bite disorder corrected. I hope you do not have long term problems. My doctors did not address my problems at all and I was under their care for thirteen months after the operation. If you want to talk privately, I would be happy to hear how you are doing now. I just noticed this post is a year old. I would be curious to know how things are going for you now. I am sorry to hear that they did not take care of your joints. I had to get a second and third surgery and the new docs took extra care of my joints by splinting me before and after the operation. Thank God these doctors saved me from anymore damage to my joints. Grrr. I hate it when I hear doctors are dismissing your joints when they do apnea surgery. I did not have any problems with my joints until after this surgery and the condyles were pulled out of the socket and left there for three years before I found a doctor to help me with a non union of the maxilla and joints out of the socket. It was horrible pain. I could not lay my head on a pillow, hurt so bad. The doctors never even did any x rays of my joints at all. Nothing. Apnea surgery is scary because it seems they do not have to do anything by the normal jaw surgery standards. All they seem to care about is curing the apnea. I have no apnea now, but I now am in danger of asperating in my sleep because I can't feel my airway. My own saliva. I cannot feel my own saliva. I am sorry and I hope you are doing well. I do not like hearing of people getting this OSA surgery now that I see what they did to me.

UPDATED FROM chariirose

8 days post

Some photos from right before surgery to Day 8

chariiroseJuly 24, 2014

You can see my pre-surgery profile, how blown up my face was right after surgery, and how it looks on Day 8.

Replies (3)

TwoPlusOne

July 25, 2014

Congratulations, and welcome to the community! I'm so happy you decided to share with us. How did you find us, by the way? And have you met any of the other community members yet? I'm so happy to hear that your doctor was extremely forthright about the risk of permanent nerve loss. It seems like so many people are blindsided by that. It sounds like you've had a great experience with your doctor!

Happy healing, and I look forward to watching your progress!

chariirose

July 25, 2014

Thank you :) I found you just by chance and googling. I've been reading and watching as much as possible that others have posted about their own experiences. I have my first post op appointment today which I'm looking forward to. I was blindsided by the constipation from the painkillers! People should be prepared for the likelihood of that possibility. Sometimes the pins and needles and weird feelings want to drive me crazy but I am a person who meditates, so I try to not pay attention to the feelings. Will post an update after I see my doctor.

TwoPlusOne

July 25, 2014

I'm so glad you found us! The community isn't as large as some so I didn't know if it showed up on Google, but I'm so glad it did!

That's a shame they didn't tell you about the constipation. It's something everyone knows about in some of the other surgery communities here on RealSelf (tummy tucks and mommy makeovers and the breast operations) because everybody talks about it, but people don't usually mention it in jaw surgery. You should mention it in your review when you update after your next doctor visit! A lot of people don't get as far as the comments.

UPDATED FROM chariirose

9 days post

Day 9 Saw the Surgeon for my first checkup

chariiroseJuly 25, 2014

Was able to gargle this morning for the first time! Bruising is lighter on neck, going away.

I am moving in slow motion getting dressed, getting tired easily, that's to be expected. Put a load in the wash!

I had my first post-op appointment with the surgeon. He said everything is good. Start to use warm compresses for the swelling. Stay on the non-chew diet. He will probably give me rubber bands at my appointment next week because my bite is slight to the left. He took out the stitches on my cheeks. The ones in my mouth may start to fall out this week.
The grinding on the right side is normal, due to swelling and repositioning of jaw.

Spoke to my homeopath Michelle Rose. She told me to add Nux Vomica for detoxification, and Staphysagria for wounds and incisions, 30 c each, one or two a day for three days. Also for the rest of today, Saturday and Sunday go back to the 200ck Arnica and Hypericum 2x/day. On Monday if it’s better go back to 30c. Also take a B complex vitamin that’s made with real food not chemicals.

Replies (3)

TwoPlusOne

July 27, 2014

Great to see things continuing to progress, healingwise! :D

chariirose

July 27, 2014

hello, thanks for the note. yes little improvements each day. can you tell me how to edit my updates once they are posted?

TwoPlusOne

July 29, 2014

We don't have access to our reviews to edit once they're posted. That's why people have so many typos in their reviews :D. What did you need to edit?

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