Since that's taking a little time, I thought I'd write a little bit about how I'm doing right now - It'll also give you an idea of some of what it's been like so far.
Pain
My sinus pain - which has been, by far, the most unpleasant and painful part of this surgery - has pretty much gone. In the mornings I feel some pressure, but a shower or some sinus irrigation (Oh yes, I will be talking about this) seems to do the trick.
The muscles under my chin are still sore if I stretch them and tender to the touch, but don't cause me any persistent pain, and the achiness in my cheeks and around my jaw is pretty manageable with ibuprofen. I'm not even taking pain killers on a regular regimen anymore, which seems like pretty good progress to me!
Numbness
One of the weirdest parts of this surgery is the massive amounts of numbness that can follow it. One of the first things Dr. Li mentioned to me when I woke from surgery was that he'd had to dissect and move the nerves innervating my chin and lips, so that I could expect to feel very numb there for some time. He assured me that all the nerves were still intact, however, so I should begin to regain sensation over time.
My upper lip pretty much has full sensation, which is great, since all of my food intake is done via drinking! So far, the right side of my chin and lower lip have begun to regain quite a bit of sensation. Feeling started as these tiny, pinpoint bursts of tingling that the neuroscience in me couldn't help but imagine as a sad little action potential trying desperately to get a signal back to somatosensory cortex. Now I can feel pressure and temperature pretty well - just a little numbness remains.
Annoyingly, my left side has persisted at being insensible. Every once in awhile some synapse rallies its forces and I feel something there, but I'm pretty sure you could poke me with the sharp end of a pencil in my sleep and I wouldn't notice a thing.
Sleep
This, obviously, is the part I'm most interested in and trying the hardest to not be anxious about. Sleep deprivation has had an increasingly large impact on my life, particularly in the last 2-3 years and I've taken, I think you'll agree, a pretty drastic step to get a real night's sleep.
So far, It's really difficult for me to tell whether my sleep apnea is gone. I never snored and I never actually realized that I wasn't getting a good night's sleep until I took a sleep test at Stanford a year and a half ago. Because of pain and nasal congestion, I haven't been a very sound sleeper in the last few weeks, though that seems to be getting better every night. And, unsurprisingly after major surgery, I've been a little sleepy of late.
What I CAN say is that, when my nose is not congested, I can breathe much, much more easily than I could before. So, I'm feeling incredibly optimistic on that front. Also, the statistics are with me. About 95% of people who undergo this surgery are successful at reducing their apnea to satisfactory levels.
Spirits
My spirits throughout have been incredibly high. Everyone, from my doctors and nurses to my friends and family, has been incredibly supportive. I'm not nearly as comatose or bedridden as I'd feared, so I'm enjoying a little time to relax and recuperate and catch up with friends via instant messaging and whiteboard.
Later today or tomorrow I'll get up my first post about my surgery experience. Thanks for reading!
Thanks for sharing your experience - incredibly helpful!
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