Hello all!
Well, it's been a little over a year and a half since the surgery and things are going very well. I am back in school and getting A's so far. I am working part/full time depending on my class schedule. The great thing is that I have the energy to do it. If I were still struggling with CPAP, I don't think I would be enjoying my new chosen career path as much as I do. I can stay up late working on homework or other tech related things that could be labeled homework in a sense. What's great is that I can get 5-6 hours of sleep and still function pretty well. Prior to the surgery, 12 hours wasn't enough. I am still tired with only 6 hours, but I am only tired. No headaches, chest pains, night sweats and just general fear of sleeping.
I still have some significant numbness in my chin and lower lip area, but it's something I have learned to ignore for the most part. I have at least a little feeling in close to 100% of the effected areas. Dr. Viozzi thought I'd get it all back, but he also said that stretching is the hardest thing for a nerve to heal from. I am ok with what I have knowing that it is probably permanent. He informed me plenty that this was a risk. It's not something that I dwell on because it really doesn't cause my any real issues. About the worst thing is being out in the cold. My mouth-chin-lip area got kinda stiff in the cold before the surgery, but now it's a little worse with the addition of the numbness. Still, not a big deal.
I still do have some sleep issues from time-to-time. But these issues pale in comparison to what life used to be like. Things tend to get a little worse in the winter due to a stuffy nose, but I still sleep pretty good. I did have a second septoplasty, but that didn't seem to really help. I don't have any plans for any additional work, either. I have kept up with some excercising, but not religiously. I have gained back some of the weight I lost after the surgery, but some of that weight is muscle. (But some of it isn't ;)
About the only other issue I have is a slight misalignment...and that's probably not the best way to describe it. More like a floating bite. Because of that unplanned break on my left side during the surgery, the jaw muscles and whatever else don't act the same on the left vs. right sides. Also, I do get a little TMJ pain from time to time. But some of it may be due to the uneveness of the break as well as favoring one side when chewing. I think it was WesternJoe who had a similar issue and fixed it by chewing more evenly. I tried it and it definitely seemed to help.
I do get an occasional email from someone checking this out from the link on the sleepnet forums, and I want to encourage anyone reading this to go ahead and send me an email if you want to ask anything. It may take me a bit to get back to you, but I try to respond as quickly as I can. Well, that's about it. I still think the surgery was well worth it...even with a couple of lingering 'issues'. Take care everyone and have a great 2010!
