What can I say? Life or eating after a bone graft is not easy, especially for me. With two bone grafts in my mouth and a sore chin all I can do is drink plenty of fluids and eat small and "mushy", soft meals.
At first, I was a bit upset when I heard that my mom sold her cozy apartment in the city so she can move outside the city in a cozy (and bigger than her apartment) home. But then I understood that, after all, she is a retired (sweet, most amazing mama) lady, she deserves her peace and...her own choices). Needless to say that now I am happy because of her choice because at this time in my life I could benefit from it. How?
First of all, I found here, in her home, an "island" of peace (being away from the people I did not want to see while being swollen and bruised up, helped) silence and...also because I "juiced" up everything I found in my mom's little BIO-100% ORGANIC garden...(and the fruits and vegetables truly do miracles to my diet and...to my strength these days)...
Don't believe me? Well, here are a few examples of what my stomach is receiveing (after these surgeries) from my mom's garden of...pure organic goodness...
My own advices so far (after bone graft surgery):
EAT HEALTHY!!! You won't be able to eat much, so, at least, whatever make it to your stomach, make sure is healthy and nourishing...You will feel better, have more strength, less discomfort and heal faster if you continue to eat...HEALTHY!
Drink from a glass or cup and don’t use a straw because the sucking motion will suck out the healing blood clots and start the bleeding again, never mind the pain that a sucking motion could create and the discomfort that will create to the stitches (which I still have and feel all over my jaw). Drinking clear, healthy mama's-soup from a glass, was weird, but, ohhhh, soooo good!
Avoid hot liquids or food.
Soft food and liquids can be eaten and you should avoid chewing sharp or hard meals at the surgical site for several days so to avoid the pain and any further damages.
Try to eat multiple small meals a day.
Try to maintain a good oral hygiene on the surgery site.
Try to rinse very gently. The few days after surgery I was rinsing at least 6-7 times a day especially after eating with plain water or water mixed with a mouthwash.
And, yes, of course the mouthwash has an alcohol base to it so it was not easy to take the "sting" when it came in contact with my fresh oral wounds, but if you gradually start mixing the water with it (at first the ratio should be 1:4(5) (so one small part of mouthwas mixed with 4 or 5 parts of water), things will be great. This will make it taste and smell better. You can gradually build up to the mouthwash as you feel more comfortable and less afraid of the "stingyness".
I have never ever smoked in my life so for me was easy to obey this rule, so...remember: NO SMOKING AT ALL!!! Smoking will just slow the healing process significantly and make the pain even worse.
TAKE IT EASY with any physical activity including exercising, take a few days to relax because, otherwise, throbbing or bleeding may occur. Find a good position to sleep on so you don't put much pressure on the surgery site. Having had two (three-including the chin) surgery sites, my sleep is still not very comfortable but I have gotten used to it and I know is just temporary.
To date, I haven't experienced any "side effects" from my bone grafts!!! I am trying to stay as positive as I can and I believe that these surgeries are 100% successful and after 4 months of healing, everything will be great...
So, the healing is going well, I am also wandering outside a bit more too and...I am feeling well being surrounded by my family (and their love and care and also by all this nature that I almost forgot about after living-for the past 15 years-in the...big cities of the world)...
