Marieka--I'm so glad we are helping you to face this surgery. It's a big deal, for sure, and the more info. you get, the better prepared you will be to cope. I can tell that you are spunky, and you will do fine. I wish you didn't have to go through it, but maybe this can be your biggest life-challenge, and in that case, take it!!

OK...Starting at the beginning...As I said, I had little preparation, and no prosthodontist consultation, so I went in "bare." We arrived into Shreveport for a 4:00 appointment. 5 min. later, he knew what he needed to do (I'm a pretty classic case, I suppose) and at 7:30 the next morning I was in surgery.

(There were some sagas connected to the hospital stay too, but that's another story....such as their not being able to tell my doctor sons where I was after the surgery. They had trained at this hospital and they ranted and raved until somebody found me in the burn ICU...)

You will not have a neck dissection, so I don't need to talk about that. You will be swollen, and bruised....not a pretty sight for sure. You will have the surgical obturator installed....probably wired or stitched in in some way. You will have gauze packing in your sinus cavity, and I suppose that your nose will not be open because of it.

I could talk. I was afraid to drink or eat. I didn't know what had been done in my mouth and what the current situation was. I was afraid of choking. I had an iv, of course, so it wasn't vital that I eat and drink, but nobody came and taught me that it was ok. The make-shift obturator was so painful, jammed into my jaw joint, that I had difficulty moving my jaw to talk and , later, to eat. You won't have that same problem.

My surgery was on a Wed. morning, and I was released on Friday morning......a little too soon, probably, but all of my family are doctors...my husband and three of my four sons...so I guess they felt that I would be ok. I was ok, but nobody made certain that I could swallow....and I couldn't because I was afraid.

Do not be afraid to swallow, though you have to do it carefully at this point because of your nose being packed. It's tricky. TAke little sips.

Here's a suggestion that I still use: Get a small mister bottle.like for plants or laundry and fill it with clear water....Keep it handy for spraying into your mouth and throat. It gives you a bit of a drink without your having to actually swallow, and it moistens all your tissues and feels good.

Another suggestion: Get some Biotene mouth wash. It is made for dry mouth. Breathing through your mouth will make it dry and bothersome. I put some Biotene in another small bottle....like one you might carry hair spray in your purse in, and use it often..I still do....and distribute it around my mouth. It helps with the dryness.

Another suggestion: put some vaseline (or, my favorite is Mary Kay extra-emollient night cream...like fragrant pink vaseline) on your lips before surgery. Your lips will take a bit of a beating. Keep it handy at your bedside for after surgery.

(I still keep these three things by my bedside, and I carry another small bottle of Biotene in my purse.)

Another suggestion: Tell the anaesthesiologist that you want some anti-nausea medicine in your anaesthesia. I tend to get nauseated after general anaesth., and sometimes they automatically add the anti-naus., and sometimes you have to ask for it. It is expensive, I'm told. Just say you need it. You don't want to get nauseated.

An observation: As long as I was on the narcotic pain meds, my lips felt oddly numb/chapped. I couldn't make them comfortable. I've noticed this before. As soon as I changed from the strong stuff to non-narcotic pain meds, my lips felt better.

So...I could talk..and I had to remind myself that my body was fine. I could walk fine, though I kept forgetting it! The first day you will be groggy and hooked up to the iv.

The pain is not the same as belly surgery pain, but there is pain, of course. This is not small stuff! So do NOT hesitate to ask for pain medication and to sleep. It is not your job to entertain visitors!

When I began to try to swallow, I had someone stand near me in case I choked. I took very small sips, and I found that using a straw was easier than trying to transport liquid from the front to the back of my mouth. It was several days before I had the courage to try, and then I was still a chicken.

The truth is, it is a little easier to swallow at this point than later. Your mouth will be totally covered, and no food or liquid can "get lost" anywhere. I worried about that.

One thing to be aware of: Your jaw will likely be in a state of stress and will not want to open very wide. Ask your surgeon when you should begin to work on getting it open more. You don't have to worry about it at the very beginning, but after several weeks, you need to exercise your jaw to be certain that the tendons don't scar down and prevent opening later. At first I had to use a flat baby spoon to place food in my mouth, but I worked hard, and it got better and now is just fine. I still stretch my jaw opening a number of times a day.

At home, I was still sleepy, but I could talk and enjoy being around others. I didn't want my grandchildren around, however. I didn't have the energy for them.

I could talk on the phone, though my bad obturator made my mouth hurt after talking a while. People were amazed. Me too!

I came home on a Friday, and my sister arrived on Monday morning. I dressed every day, and we went on short outings every day. I was talking just fine...went to show her my church, and visited an elderly friend...to the drug store.

The next Tuesday, nearly two weeks after my surgery (a little too long) I returned to the surgeon for the next stage of the saga....the removal of the surgical obturator and the packing. I'll start there next time.

The rest of you wonderful forum readers, if you have read to the end of this, you deserve a prize! I am writing things to Marieka that I should email, but on the chance that it might help someone else, now or later, I am just going to post my personal stuff here. Please feel free to ignore it if you wish!

XO--Colleen