Smile recovery question

[saralynn143]

Here is a picture taken on Halloween, a couple of days shy of 17 months post-op (which is today!).



My smile is crooked not so much due to the upper lip not pulling up but because the lower lip is not pulling down. Does that come later? Are there PT exercises for that?

Sara

[nancyann]

Sara:  beautiful smile, beautiful you.   (I'm absolutely no help with smile recovery ....)
Always good thoughts,  Nancy

[Jeanlea]

Sara, your smile looks great!  I don't know how to help the lower lip move better either.  I have the same problem.  It seems to pull up with the top lip. 

Jean

[saralynn143]

I plan to contact the facial physical therapist at Washington University, but likely not until after the holidays.

Sara

[moe]

Sara,
Sorry can't help you there.  You really do look good though! How about just putting your finger into the corner of your mouth and just pulling it down and repeating, holding it......
I actually read something about that somewhere about getting the mouth to lift. Who knows?
Practice frowning in the mirror over and over. That's easy for me to do!
Anyway, it'll happen one way or another, right?
We are determined women (and men).
Maureen

[saralynn143]

I can't raise my left eyebrow either, although I can finally squint. The forehead and chin are at the outside edges of the face, so I would guess they take the longest to reenervate.

Thanks for your comments, and especially the compliments. This photo was taken from the absolutely worst angle. Straight-on is best.

Good night,
Sara

[epodjn]

I have the same problem. No eyebrow movement or lower lip movement. My neuromuscular retrainer has me doing exercises where I try to make a snarl type face and kind of roll the bottom lip down and out. At this point I can't do it at all, but I keep trying. I'm 10 months out so it's probably a little early to expect much. If anyone would have told me a year ago how much I would miss my smile and my blink I never would have believed them. I'm sure plenty of you know just what I mean.

[moe]

If anyone would have told me a year ago how much I would miss my smile and my blink I never would have believed them. I'm sure plenty of you know just what I mean.

Uhh yea.....I still miss my smile. I know I should get over it, but I can't! When I see people with sour expressions, I just want to say SMILE WILL YA?!
Still working on mine, not giving up. I HATE the feeling of the droopy left mouth, still after 3.4 years. Sorry that's just me!

What bugs me is that people are used to seeing me with a half smile, and when I mention how I am working on "getting my smile back" they say, "But oh you are beautiful."
Like "why worry?" Theses comments are well meant, but I just wish for once someone would say something like "That's great- don't give up!!!!"

I am a very patient person and it may take  a couple of more years. I'm glad I didn't pursue the quick fix of a T3 transfer (don't even know if military would cover that anyway.)
The 7/12 transposition, slow in rejuvenation, along with the acupuncture which is slowly but surely improving things, coupled with  potential further surgery to tweak everything- well, I'm a patient woman and I want it to look as natural as possible! Whew that was a mouthful.

Thanks for letting me vent!
Maureen

[saralynn143]

That's GREAT, Maureen. Don't give up!

Sara

[epodjn]

Maureen,
You know you can always vent here! One of these days we are going to post SMILING pictures, cuz we don't give up. Glad to be in such good company. Thanks
Julie

[Debbi]

Hi Sara-

You and I are pretty much on a parallel track with the facial stuff, although my mouth "irregularities" are a little different in that the corner of my mouth pulls down, while that side of my lip tries to pull up (hypertonic cheek, I'm told).  I have a PDF version of the facial exercises I was given earlier this year - if you want me to email them to you, just PM me your email address).  Basically, the things that seem to be lip related are curling the upper lip, stretching it down over the teeth, things like that.  Some of it I can do, some not.  And, I haven't found anything that will make my eyebrow move - the upside, however, is that the right side of my 53-year old forehead is as smooth as a baby's bottom! 

Kidding aside, you look good, Sara - although I know how weird it is to look at a smile that is quite different than what you saw "before." 

Debbi

[mimoore]

Sara,
I will be 17 months on the 8th and I am very close to where you are. The corner of my mouth will not lift so when I smile it is down and my bottom lip is not strong. Hope is a wonderful thing, you look beautiful, think how far we have come.



Uhh yea.....I still miss my smile. I know I should get over it, but I can't! When I see people with sour expressions, I just want to say SMILE WILL YA?! Maureen

I had to respond to this Maureen because honestly that was one of the hardest things to deal with. I have always been a friendly, smiley person and when you smile people smile back. Well after my surgery  I could not smile because of the paralysis. I tried to hibernate but honestly it just wasn't me and I just became more and more depressed. So I pushed myself to do things like go to the grocery store, walk the neighbourhood. It was so depressing NO ONE smiled at me. I would go home and cry. I didn't give up and I soon found out the people will smile at you once they hear your tone of voice and know you really are smiling.
Michelle 

[Karen]

Sara, I have the same problem.  My lower lip won't let my teeth show either.  I see Jackie Diels hopefully she can help when I see her again.  Sara I met you  in Chicago.  I saw Renee Ivens in St.Louis at first.  Have you seen her yet?  Karen

[saralynn143]

No, I plan to make an appointment after the first of the year. It's just crazy right now with basketball starting up and the holidays right around the corner.

Sara

[jazzfunkanne]

hi sara and jean, i am coming up for nearly 3 years post op, i have seen a big improvement in my smile only recently, re the chin, my physio told me to tape it down, also i use the neuro4 machine (btw i am in the uk) i feel the chin loosen so i hope its on the road to recovery, i also was given a exercise where you pull the muscels down in the chin area if that makes sense.x