After my upper jaw advancement surgery exactly 2.5 weeks ago, I wanted my facial swelling, crusty lips, and general mask-like appearance to go away as quickly as possible so I could see what I was really going to look like for the rest of my life. I had very little swelling for the first 60 hours after jaw surgery. I commended myself on all the bromelain I took in the weeks leading up to jaw surgery and thought I was in the clear.
But, on the fourth day, my swelling reached its ugly peak. On the fifth day, Dr. Li called me Richard Nixon. On the sixth day, still nothing had changed and so I resigned myself to the slow recovery process I’d heard about and feared.
But, magically, on the seventh day, my mask loosened, then crumbled. I could smile without pain, I could laugh without restraint. People stopped looking at me with pitying glances. And, for the first time, I looked in the mirror and saw the old me instead of the expressionless, taught dollface I’d been seeing for the past 7 days.
Now at 2.5 weeks, no one can believe I had surgery. While this irks me slightly because I’m still on my crappy restricted diet of mush and gruel, I’m just happy not to invite stares anymore, and even happier with how healthy and right my smile looks.
Here are 5 things I did to reduce my swelling after getting my skull sawed:
1. Follow a high-dose regimen of vitamins and supplements
Bromelain is a powerful enzyme that’s been approved by the German government as an effective anti-inflammatory treatment for surgery, especially around the nose and sinus, sports injury, digestion, and cancer.
Turmeric is recognized in traditional Indian Ayurveda and Western naturopathic medicine as a potent anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agent. The International Journal of Cancer reported that its active ingredient, curcumin, killed cancerous growth in lab tests. I’ve also had Indian master yogis tell me it works wonders for flexibility and joint health. This results page has tons more info.
Quercetin is one of my favorite bioflavanoids because it’s an antihistamine. Since transitioni
ng to a healthy diet and lifestyle as an adult, my allergies have been much less severe than when I was a junk-food eating, but still always a magical 102 pounds, teenager. But, I still take quercetin to calm my occasional allergy symptons, which I did NOT want to experience after upper jaw and septum surgery. Luckily, it’s also known to be an anti-inflammatory and, like many anti-inflammatory treatments, an anti-cancer agent. (BTW - Chinese medicine and Western naturopathic medicine both link chronic, systemic inflammation to cancer, so the dual role of these treatments makes sense).
Vitamin C is, quite simply, one of the world’s cheapest cure-alls. In fact, Michael Murray, the author
of the Encylopedia of Natural Medicine, says it is THE cheapest anti-oxidant you can find on the market. What American doesn’t love bang for their buck? My Chinese parents taught me to be shrewd AND cheap, so you’ll always find an extra-large bottle of high quality food-based Vitamin C in my cupboard. I get it for 20% less from Amazon.com, and it’s probably cheaper overall than any other cancer treatment down the line, so the answer is clear.
2. Take lots of walks
Even if I was feeling tired, freakish-looking, and lazy, I forced myself to take a shower, put on normal clothes and take a 30 minute walk every single day. Dr. Li said that walking helps with lymph drainage after surgery, and that patients should start going for short walks the day after surgery - I take his word for it. I noticed that my swelling was usually at its daily peak in the morning, after a night of being immobile and horizontal. My swelling was at its most minimal after my walk. It’s also important to leave the couch and accompanying furry friends (if you have them), and get out to breathe and exercise.
3. Ice like you just ran a marathon
I ran a marathon in 2003, one of the hardest and most rewarding accomplishments of my life. After the race, I took an ice bath, as recommended by some huge runner’s bible I’d bought. Though it was excruciating, I had no absolutely no muscle soreness after the marathon and was ready to run again in only a few days. After jaw surgery, I iced for 30 minute increments, off and on all day long, for the first 3 to 4 days. I often noticed an immediate swelling reduction after icing, so I know it paid off.
4. Stay very well hydrated
Water can help to flush out excess bloating and swelling. It can be tough to drink anything when you’re dealing with jaw surgery, but it’s critically important and well worth the extra work.
5. Try Traumeel and arnica
Traumeel is an arnica cream that’s a fantastic recovery aid for any type of injury or trauma, as the name suggests. I applied Traumeel to my face several times a day, for the first 7 days after jaw surgery. Traumeel cream, and arnica in pill form, addresses the swelling and also bruising. Bruising is common with jaw surgery, but I had absolutely NONE.
Is it worth it to take extra measures to reduce swelling and pain faster? I think so. I read somewhere on the Web (probably somebody’s jawblog from 2001 that’s been indexed and re-indexed so that it’s always at the top of results for “jaw surgery”) that the swelling can sometimes take 4 months to go away. 4 months!! I remember thinking, hell no, that’s not gonna be me. And it wasn’t! 
