I get where you’re coming from, but I’m not totally convinced it always gets better for everyone. My cousin had jaw surgery a couple years ago, and honestly, her speech is still pretty different—especially when she’s tired or stressed. It’s not like she can’t be understood, but there’s a definite change in how she sounds, and she’s had to adapt to it. The cold drinks thing is so real too... she says it makes her mouth feel like it’s full of concrete.
I guess what I’m saying is, sometimes “normal” just shifts a bit after surgery, and that’s not always a bad thing, even if it’s not what you expect. Speech therapy helped her a ton, but she still has days where things are off. Maybe it’s about finding a new baseline rather than getting back to the old one? Not to be a downer, just wanted to throw out another perspective.
Maybe it’s about finding a new baseline rather than getting back to the old one?
That really hits home. I used to think “getting back to normal” was the only goal, but after my jaw surgery, I realized my new “normal” just looked a little different. My speech changed too—nothing super dramatic, but enough that I noticed, especially when I was tired or after a long day at work. It was frustrating at first, but honestly, after a while, I stopped comparing myself to how I sounded before.
Speech therapy made a difference for me, but it didn’t erase every quirk. I totally get the cold drinks thing—my mouth would just feel weird for months. But here’s the thing: adapting doesn’t mean losing out. I actually found myself more confident after I stopped stressing about sounding exactly the same as before.
Also, not to ignore the budget side of things—speech therapy can get pricey, but even a few sessions helped me figure out what worked for me. It’s not always about perfection, but progress. And yeah, sometimes “normal” just shifts, and that’s okay.
