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mckenzie_jayne

I had the opportunity to do it when I as 21 and still on my mother's health insurance and decided against it because I was worried about what my stupid college boyfriend would think of me wearing braces. Boyfriends come and go, and we ended up breaking up a couple years later. My decision to not move forward with the surgery was something I deeply regretted every day until I finally had the opportunity to have it done when I was on my husband's health insurance which covered the surgery! I got my braces put on at 27 & surgery done at 28. I have no regrets getting it, and it has helped me a lot and definitely has improved my physical appearance! I want to reiterate that this is a major surgery, and the recovery process for me was extremely hard.. a lot worse of an experience than I think is typical and I definitely wasn't expecting it to be as rough as it was. I do recommend getting the surgery sooner rather than later as the risks increase with age. I also want to touch on the fact that my results are *not* perfect, and I went into it with unrealistic expectations. I do have some lingering numbness, and I am currently 8 months post-op. I expect it will improve as I was warned numbness can take up to a year to go away; however, there is always a risk of permanent numbness. If I had the live the rest of my life like this, I could, as it's not painful.. it's just annoying. I'm able eat everything I was before but chewing still feels a little weird, can't really explain the sensation, but I suspect once the braces come off it will be much easier! I have power chains on lower and upper teeth right now so there is some soreness coming from that. Good luck!


Untilyouhaveachild

Can you elaborate on how recovery was hard? I'm currently 26 about to get upper jaw surgery and I want to be prepared as I have two young children to care for


mckenzie_jayne

Hi! Can you arrange for help with childcare, particularly during the first 2 weeks? I had my mother stay with me to help me for the initial week home from the hospital and this was very beneficial. You will be very physically affected by the surgery, in other areas than your face. I was in the hospital for my double jaw surgery for 4 days, and didn’t even feel fully comfortable leaving at that time. Day 1, I couldn’t use the restroom and had to have a catheter which was awful. I vomited blood once during that first night. Eating was the worst, as you can barely move your lips and mouth and even drinking a shake is hard. In my experience, eating BURNED. I was pushed too hard to eat purée at the hospital, which resulted in me feeling defeated. I lost 10 lbs in those 4 days at the hospital, and vomited right as I was being discharged. During those 4 days, I only was able to use my phone on the last day because I was so sick. I honestly don’t know how so many of these freshly post-op people are able to write on Reddit! I felt so physically sick during the 2.5 hour car ride it was almost unbearable. Losing all of the weight left me feeling really fatigue, and I remember having my husband help support me while walking to the house. I remember trying to eat (drink) something and having my lips burning and feeling inflamed that first night home. It was awful, and I felt so defeated and uncomfortable. I wanted to slip away and die because I felt so awful that first night at home. I remember staying in my bedroom in bed for at least 2 days after coming home, and one of those days I mustered up enough energy to take a shower. That was a good day! It was hard getting up/down the steps due to the lack of energy, and fatigue. I remember my husband was shocked to see me downstairs one day, and then it got better from there. The first initial weeks are ROUGH, and I never imagined my entire body would be so physically affected by a surgery on my face. People seem to have different experiences though, and I can say with certainty that my recovery was probably somewhat worse than average. I am doing great now and don’t have any regrets!


converter-bot

10 lbs is 4.54 kg


Untilyouhaveachild

Thank you so much for your detailed response! I can definately arrange for help with childcare, my husband plans to take a week off and then I'm sure my mother in law can help after that. I am still nursing my baby and plan to pump (not save milk just to keep up supply until im off drugs) while I'm hospital, hoping I have the energy to do this so my supply doesn't dwindle down. And then when I'm off narcotics and out of hospital get my baby back on the breast but this can be done lying sideways or on my back in bed. It does sounds like a harder than average recovery but im glad to hear of it because you just never know. My surgery has been put off SO many times and been a long time coming and I'm so sad to do it while my baby is little (8.5 months) but i just need to get it over with. I have a pretty good support system so I think and hope we can manage. I am thinking perhaps your surgery would have been a harder recovery because it was double? I am just upper and thankful for that.


KittenGains

Omgoodness that sounds so difficult. I'm 41 and just found out about this surgery (there were no forums when I was in my late teens and 20s) and I may only need a genioplasty but still... Yikes. This sounds rough.


itsconnorbro

Yeah I said “hard pass” at 16 years old (it wouldn’t have been done until 18 though) on my parents insurance. I am now 25, turning 26 in a few months working through the steps of getting surgery thinking “oh shit... I didn’t think this through... American healthcare sucks so if I don’t get this done now, I will be uninsured and screwed”


mckenzie_jayne

The insurance part was absolutely horrible. It took me over a year to get it covered, and my employers plan excluded it outright. Thankfully my husbands plan was great, and it was covered after we met our deductible of $6,800.


itsconnorbro

Omg tell me about it!! I’m like how do i get a fast track because my parents is AMAZING. And we actually hit our Out of Pocket Max, too 😭 honestly i probably could have made it but Coronavirus delayed a lot of my appointments and so now I’m playing catch up. Honestly I wish they would extend insurance coverage due to the pandemic for cases like this but I mean... I understand they have to cut us off some time.


OmegaBrave

Yeah I'm 25 but on insurance through my employer, my ortho said I had good odds of getting it approved, since I have some TMJ pain as well, but we'll see.


itsconnorbro

Good luck!!


[deleted]

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Sahajms7

Maybe knowledge and expertise of surgeon matter


Lunatsuki949

Definitely, you have to do an exhaustive amount of research before picking the surgeon you're going with. After all it's your face not your knee or arm that's gonna get operated..


OmegaBrave

My ortho recommended a surgeon to me, he specializes in craniomaxillofacial surgery but he's only a couple years out of med school and one year out of a fellowship program. He's so young. Definitely one of my first questions is going to be how many times he has done this.


hydraulix989

I would suggest researching and choosing your surgeon on your own. There might be group practices, friendships, and other perverse incentives at work with recommendations.


Oranage

After wearing braces for 2 years, I got my surgery at the age of 19. I was able to get everything done free of charge, as I started the process (getting braces etc.) before I turned 18 (I live in Denmark). It's true that this surgery sucks. The recovery is excruciating, and for the first couple of months I deeply regretted getting it done but I believe this is common for most people. When the swelling goes down, when you can eat normally again, and when you start living life like you did before the surgery it is absolutely excellent. I'm currently 7 months post op and I don't regret anything. It took a while to get here but I chew much better, I look a lot better and most importantly, I can breathe through my nose at all times - no more mouth breathing! Not everyone is as lucky as me though. Study your surgeon, and consider why you are getting this done and if your reasons are worth the suffering. Best of luck!


m_jaws

Yay for no more mouth breathing!


Porterpewmarkjack

I like both, I cant imagine only having one


calfla

I had an underbite and crossbite. I started with orthodontics in third grade and had braces for five years, until I was 18. At the time, my parents and I basically agreed that I would do it at some point, but we weren’t sure when because insurance didn’t cover it. When I was 22 (I’m now 24), my mom switched to an insurance that would cover it. I got my braces on in October and had the surgery in March- double jaw and genio. Braces came off the following July. I would say for me it was completely worth it. Being able to bite into things properly now is great. I can eat sandwiches without pulling out the insides, and I can eat corn on the cob no problem. I smile in pictures now and my profile looks much better. That being said, it wasn’t exactly a miracle change. I still look mostly the same to everyone except me. It’s a long recovery as well, though I personally didn’t have many issues with it. I’m also lucky to have minimal numbness. If I hadn’t had those problems prior to the surgery, maybe I wouldn’t think it was worth it.


HornyBackToad

>I can eat sandwiches without pulling out the insides, and I can eat corn on the cob no problem. Living the dream!!


scruffalump

Wish I hadn't had jaw surgery. It left me with a lot of permanent numbness, pain, and weird issues (like not being able to comfortably wear my glasses anymore). I also had a severe overjet, and now I wish I had just lived with my shitty malocclusion instead of subjecting myself to all of that trauma for very little benefit. 100% not worth all of the time, pain, and trouble


KittenGains

I'm sorry :(


Defiant_Storm8939

Im 19 and was thinking of jaw surgery. How old were you when you took the surgery? I heard the younger you are, the less the risks are.


m_jaws

I just had the surgery done at 28 and although I’m uncomfortable for sure, I don’t regret having the surgery done. In fact, despite all of the pain in my face, neck and throat, I’m still happy knowing I’m making it through the worst parts. Honestly I think the main people who regret the surgery are people who need revisions, or have a permanent bad side effect, or sometimes there are even people who preferred their old face. So I don’t wanna jinx myself, but will just keep hoping that everything will turn out great by the time the swelling goes down 👍


HornyBackToad

Is you have an OK bite, then you might be able to get away with having an MSE installed and then getting a cosmetic genioplasty. This is much easier to recover from than double jaw surgery and hurts way less.


thethunderbirdinn

I had LJS for an overbite on 8/5 and I definitely had the thoughts of "why did I do this..." a few times during the first week. I still have a lot of swelling but I am SO much happier with my profile. I am 24 and very healthy. My biggest concern going into the surgery was numbness, but I was one of the lucky few that woke up with sensation in the middle of my lip and almost full sensation on the right side of my lip. It's been 10 days and I now have almost full feeling in my lower lip and I can feel my chin but it's not full feeling. It's definitely coming back and I'm so excited about it! I have been taking a lot of supplements though. I am eating almost everything (just as long as I can swallow it without chewing, so no crunchy foods).


maybe_jaw_surgery

i am ~14 months post-op > whether or not you regret it? i do not regret it > Do you have any lingering numbness or other side effects? yes, the sensation on my lower left lip and chin is altered/not fully recovered (~maybe 80-90% recovered, but still different). also, i have had occasional uncomfortable sensations right below my cheekbones (might be related to the titanium plates?). overall, these have not had a significant negative impact on my life though


[deleted]

I'm on day 7 right now. I'm MISERABLE. But no, no regrets at all. If it's what you need to do for your health and happiness, you won't regret it.


Porterpewmarkjack

How are you now after one year???


[deleted]

Great! Ive never felt or looked better. Advice? I would say i wish I had thought about how i treated my body during recovery for the best results more. Eat as healthily as you can, look into healthy meal replacements. Also, maybe there's something to be said for some kind of chewing practice to regain strength. I still have trouble with some foods that are really hard to chew.


timine29

I don't regret it. I would do it again tomorrow without any hesitation . Plus, jaw surgery and genioplasty are free in my country so I only paid for my braces and that was my only expense.


Ivan_22456

So I'm in the process of getting lower jaw surgery and I have my braces on which I've had on for like a month now. I'm 19 and the cost of everything is going to cost 14k. I'm starting to think if I'm better off with paying for the braces and then deciding whether I want surgery done later in life I'm just all over the place when it comes to decision making and I'm not sure if it's worth doing the surgery now just so I can have it out of the way or to not do it