Ended up microwaving tortilla chips just to soften them a bit—still not the same, but better than straight mush.
Haha, I totally get it. I tried “toasting” white bread in the oven until it was just barely holding together. Not crunchy, but at least it didn’t feel like eating baby food. Also, I was way too cheap to buy those special meal shakes, so I just blended canned soup with a potato—budget gourmet, right? The numbness is wild though...mine faded after a couple months, but I kept poking my chin just to check.
The numbness is wild though...mine faded after a couple months, but I kept poking my chin just to check.
I can relate to that so much—still catch myself doing the chin poke thing, just to see if the feeling’s changed. The weirdest sensation is when you think something’s dripping down your face but it’s just that numb spot playing tricks on you. Honestly, I keep worrying it’ll never fully come back. My surgeon keeps saying it’s “normal,” but I dunno, it feels like forever.
About the food—blending canned soup with a potato is genius, actually. I tried doing smoothies for a while but got so tired of sweet stuff, and savory options are just...limited, unless you want to live on mashed potatoes forever. Tried scrambled eggs once, but even that felt like too much chewing. I’m always paranoid about moving my jaw too much and messing up the healing.
Did anyone else get freaked out by those “crunch” noises when you try to eat anything with even a little texture? It’s like, is this the food or my jaw falling apart? Probably just me being anxious, but I can’t help it. Also curious if anyone found a way to deal with the dry mouth from all the soft food—mine was so bad I started keeping a little spray bottle of water by my bed.
How long did it take for you to trust your jaw again with real food? I keep reading stories about people eating pizza after a few weeks, but honestly, that sounds terrifying. Maybe I’m just being extra cautious...
That “crunch” sound totally freaked me out too. I kept thinking, is that my jaw or just the food? I still get nervous with anything firmer than applesauce. For me, it took about two months before I even considered trying bread or something chewy. My surgeon also said it was normal to be cautious, but honestly, everyone heals different speeds. As for dry mouth, I sucked on ice chips a lot—kind of annoying at night but helped more than water alone. Still can’t imagine biting into pizza yet... maybe one day.