They said the operation took 6.5 hours and I was out for 8. When I woke up it took my brain a good moment to crank up and even realize that I had the surgery at all, I really couldn’t tell. I was completely out of it due to the anesthesia and intensity of the operation. Because of a potential risk for malignant hyperthermia, they had used a fully intravenous anesthetic combo which I’ll copy/paste: Rocuronium, Propofol, FentaNYL, Ketamine, HYDROmorphone. I’m not sure how common/uncommon it is for all those to be used in conjunction but I’ve had like 6 or so surgeries by now and, in terms of the drugs, this one absolutely floored me. When I was looking at the reports online weeks later, I saw they had made a diagnosis of “toxic encephalopathy from sedating medications.” I was trapped in some dream-like dissociated state for the duration of the hospital stay and I don’t know how to explain it but it felt like psychological torture because I couldn’t come to my senses or break free from of it.
I spent 3 days in the hospital and was served ice cream and soup but was mostly unable to have any of it because I kept choking every time I tried to sip anything. I wasn’t even able to drink water without immediately choking. Looking it back it felt both crushing and humbling because I was fully incapable of nourishing myself and relied mostly on IV fluids. My mouth felt like when you’re getting molds of your teeth made but 10x worse, but I just pretended to not acknowledge it and all was fine. I was also put on oxygen during the stay as apparently I wasn’t breathing effectively enough on my own and had developed pneumonia and “acute respiratory failure with hypoxia” and atelectasis, whatever all that’s about.
I couldn’t stand or walk on my own for the first 1.5-2 days and was still weak and unsteady for the few weeks following. But I would partly attribute a good chunk of the early post-op struggles to the anesthetics and me being 110 pounds at the time of operation; I wasn’t exactly the strongest patient to begin with.
There was this clear liquid (most likely tears) constantly dripping from my nose and onto my chest, soaking through my hospital gown and any towels they would put there. The thing is that it was freezing cold and would not stop, which made it impossible for me to sleep or feel a bit of comfort. During the experience it kinda felt like some twisted torture method or something, I was completely powerless to make any of it stop.
My eyes were swollen shut for 14 days and my nose was fully blocked with solid, dark blood for even longer than that. I was able to force my eyes open for a few seconds at a time but of course my vision was too blurry to make anything out. For at least about 4 weeks my vision was blurred like very teary eyes or a car windshield in pouring rain. My throat also hurt a ton for about 3 weeks from the intubation which was just a bit annoying. My eyebrows and forehead were paralyzed for many months in that I couldn’t raise my eyebrows or move them at all. My face, the upper lips and cheek in particular, were numb and felt very swollen and thick for many months. But, as with everything else, this all fully resolved within the first year.
I was on a full liquid diet for 2 months before moving to very soft foods and gradually returning to more normal foods over the next several months. I had to take a break from school so I had nothing but free time which honestly made for some of the best, coziest days I’ve had in a long time. I forced myself to keep my eyes open on the 15th day so I could just sit and watch YouTube during the dark, early mornings every day and it was so nice.
A couple months post-op I began having what are called “zingers” in my forehead and scalp that would occur spontaneously. It felt like a very deep, jarring sting like you’re being stabbed by a needle from the inside out. But they lasted like half a second each and are a sign of nerve regeneration/healing and had completely stopped within the first year post-op.
I used to have a sensitive/tender sensation in my temples if I bit down too hard on tough/crunchy food and I believe that is because the “deep temporal fascia” had to be incised during the operation. That too has completely healed within the first year, I have been able to use my jaws with full mobility and force for a while now with no complaints. Even if I try to overexert and stretch/bite too hard, I experience no issues or hindrances of any kind. Aside from drastic functional and visual improvement, there’s no sensory differences or indication that any surgery had even been done and I’m not sure whether that’s normal or insane relative to what most people experience.
I spent 3 days in the hospital and was served ice cream and soup but was mostly unable to have any of it because I kept choking every time I tried to sip anything. I wasn’t even able to drink water without immediately choking. Looking it back it felt both crushing and humbling because I was fully incapable of nourishing myself and relied mostly on IV fluids. My mouth felt like when you’re getting molds of your teeth made but 10x worse, but I just pretended to not acknowledge it and all was fine. I was also put on oxygen during the stay as apparently I wasn’t breathing effectively enough on my own and had developed pneumonia and “acute respiratory failure with hypoxia” and atelectasis, whatever all that’s about.
I couldn’t stand or walk on my own for the first 1.5-2 days and was still weak and unsteady for the few weeks following. But I would partly attribute a good chunk of the early post-op struggles to the anesthetics and me being 110 pounds at the time of operation; I wasn’t exactly the strongest patient to begin with.
There was this clear liquid (most likely tears) constantly dripping from my nose and onto my chest, soaking through my hospital gown and any towels they would put there. The thing is that it was freezing cold and would not stop, which made it impossible for me to sleep or feel a bit of comfort. During the experience it kinda felt like some twisted torture method or something, I was completely powerless to make any of it stop.
My eyes were swollen shut for 14 days and my nose was fully blocked with solid, dark blood for even longer than that. I was able to force my eyes open for a few seconds at a time but of course my vision was too blurry to make anything out. For at least about 4 weeks my vision was blurred like very teary eyes or a car windshield in pouring rain. My throat also hurt a ton for about 3 weeks from the intubation which was just a bit annoying. My eyebrows and forehead were paralyzed for many months in that I couldn’t raise my eyebrows or move them at all. My face, the upper lips and cheek in particular, were numb and felt very swollen and thick for many months. But, as with everything else, this all fully resolved within the first year.
I was on a full liquid diet for 2 months before moving to very soft foods and gradually returning to more normal foods over the next several months. I had to take a break from school so I had nothing but free time which honestly made for some of the best, coziest days I’ve had in a long time. I forced myself to keep my eyes open on the 15th day so I could just sit and watch YouTube during the dark, early mornings every day and it was so nice.
A couple months post-op I began having what are called “zingers” in my forehead and scalp that would occur spontaneously. It felt like a very deep, jarring sting like you’re being stabbed by a needle from the inside out. But they lasted like half a second each and are a sign of nerve regeneration/healing and had completely stopped within the first year post-op.
I used to have a sensitive/tender sensation in my temples if I bit down too hard on tough/crunchy food and I believe that is because the “deep temporal fascia” had to be incised during the operation. That too has completely healed within the first year, I have been able to use my jaws with full mobility and force for a while now with no complaints. Even if I try to overexert and stretch/bite too hard, I experience no issues or hindrances of any kind. Aside from drastic functional and visual improvement, there’s no sensory differences or indication that any surgery had even been done and I’m not sure whether that’s normal or insane relative to what most people experience.
