Depression/Anxiety?

[mkmoritz]

I've been reading a few various posts' lately, and people have been saying they've gone into severe depression/anxiety after their surgery.  I'd imagine having a "new face" is a bit scary, and it would definitely take some getting used to, but I'm not sure why it would cause depression.

Can anyone who's had similar experiences elaborate?

[Tiny]

People who are prone to such issues can be triggered by major changes and life events

There's also the aspect of the very long build up to the surgery, high cost, high expectations and these are not always met.  This can be very upsetting, I was hella pissed when my first rhino - which I'd wanted and saved for for years - did not turn out the way I expected.  The disappointment and dashed hopes can be hard to deal with. When things don't go the way you wanted them to you can end up hating your new face more than the original, even if technically it's an improvement

I think it can be avoided by keeping realistic expectations and being fully briefed on the surgical movements before surgery so there are no nasty surprises

[ticktickatick]

It is really hard to predict how you will end up looking after surgery. The morph images that some surgeons can be pretty inaccurate.

Inevitable you develop a sort of image in your head of how will you look and you will probably end up at least slightly disappointed because this is not an exact science in terms of aesthetic outcome.

Also if you have things like frontal asymmetry those can be very hard to fix, so you may go through thousands of dollars and months of recovery, only to find that even though you have a better bite and profile, some obvious visible things could not be fixed.

Waiting for feeling to come back is also depressing, especially when you get to that point where you realize some of it may never come back.

[PloskoPlus]

Just think to yourself that you're fixing a deformity.  Personally, of course I want to look as good as possible, but if I end up with a solid bite, strong smile, don't look any worse and have no major complications, that's a net win. 

[Modigliani]

The aftereffects of anesthesia shouldn't be underestimated either and can often be a contributory factor to post op blues.

[nrelax11]

Its just an up and down rollercoaster after surgery, at least for me. Im still recovering and have some swelling in areas that make me look a little off lol. Some days i feel content with the way im looking and know that from a year from now I'll like everything, but them some days im miserable and hate the way I look. The slow recovery just gets to me sometimes and knowing that it can take 6 months to a year for things to settle is frustrating.  Hopefully in a month when im at my three month mark I'll be feeling a little better, but its definitely been a trip so far. I should also not that I already suffered from anxiety before surgery, so I knew it wasnt going to be easy, but I hope it gets better in the future.

[Nataliepryor]

Defiantly agree with certain people cope differently.

Similar to someone having post natal depression, some previous anxiety issues / depression problems may have also been apparent in their past.

Drugs are pretty full on, I spent a whole day sweating out a batch of them, I'm not a sweater and my top was wet for a full day, weather was cold. Of course it had to be the day I went out in public.

The recovery is looooooong and its your face...pretty intense.

[toothfairy]

I had surgery over a year ago. My procedure was complicated (2 surgeries and 2.5 years of braces). I'd also had similar surgery when I was a child.
I am now extremely unhappy with the results.
After the first surgery (2 years ago) my upper jaw was widened. They straightened my teeth and I really loved my smile. I was ecstatic with the results. The second surgery was to bring my lower jaw forward to correct the overbite. The surgeon told me that he had to also bring my upper jaw forward as well (I don't know why).
After the final surgery, my upper jaw looks too far forward (I have a "horse" smile), my face is longer (I already had an elongated face), my smile is extremely narrow with my front teeth sticking out,  my upper jaw is too long so my front teeth completely show and it's hard to close my lips (eating is really hard), my chin still looks like it's too far back (he didn't do the genioplasty) and I look awful!

The psychological effect is even worse. I feel like it was all a total failure. I don't like to leave my house to meet people. I am avoiding visiting family and friends because I don't want them to see my face. Next weekend I was supposed to fly up and see my daughter and meet her partner for the first time, but I'm too ashamed to meet him and embarrass my daughter.
I cry a lot about it. The surgeon just tells me to "give it more time" and everything is perfect (although I have noticed the orthodontist staring at my face at times with a rather blank look on his face).
I am considering cosmetic surgery to try and minimize the negative aspects (chin implant, cheek implants, filler to widen face etc) however, it's horrendously expensive and I'm afraid that it may make no difference in the long run.
It is true that the surgery got my expectations up (probably too much), and I managed to get through the whole ideal believing that it would all be worth it. Nobody has said anything negative since the surgery and nobody has told me that I look good either (my husband tells me that I look" fine" - what else can he say).
I really don't know what to do now.

[Cmonster]

I had surgery over a year ago. My procedure was complicated (2 surgeries and 2.5 years of braces). I'd also had similar surgery when I was a child.
I am now extremely unhappy with the results.
After the first surgery (2 years ago) my upper jaw was widened. They straightened my teeth and I really loved my smile. I was ecstatic with the results. The second surgery was to bring my lower jaw forward to correct the overbite. The surgeon told me that he had to also bring my upper jaw forward as well (I don't know why).
After the final surgery, my upper jaw looks too far forward (I have a "horse" smile), my face is longer (I already had an elongated face), my smile is extremely narrow with my front teeth sticking out,  my upper jaw is too long so my front teeth completely show and it's hard to close my lips (eating is really hard), my chin still looks like it's too far back (he didn't do the genioplasty) and I look awful!

The psychological effect is even worse. I feel like it was all a total failure. I don't like to leave my house to meet people. I am avoiding visiting family and friends because I don't want them to see my face. Next weekend I was supposed to fly up and see my daughter and meet her partner for the first time, but I'm too ashamed to meet him and embarrass my daughter.
I cry a lot about it. The surgeon just tells me to "give it more time" and everything is perfect (although I have noticed the orthodontist staring at my face at times with a rather blank look on his face).
I am considering cosmetic surgery to try and minimize the negative aspects (chin implant, cheek implants, filler to widen face etc) however, it's horrendously expensive and I'm afraid that it may make no difference in the long run.
It is true that the surgery got my expectations up (probably too much), and I managed to get through the whole ideal believing that it would all be worth it. Nobody has said anything negative since the surgery and nobody has told me that I look good either (my husband tells me that I look" fine" - what else can he say).
I really don't know what to do now.

Wow have you considered getting a revision to correct these issues?....

[Modigliani]

Toothfairy, did you have any impaction? It sounds like you need a little to offset the increased tooth show caused by the upper jaw advancement.

Is there anyone you can consult with to get a second opinion?

[toothfairy]

Thanks for responding cmonster and modigliani.

Yes I have thought of a revision (as much as I would dread it after so much surgery), however the surgeon is of the opinion that there is nothing wrong. He tells me that the tooth show is a good thing because as I age, my upper lip will get longer anyway. He says that showing some tooth will make me look youthful. My upper lip gets really itchy because it has to stretch so much. i don't like the look of my upper jaw being so long. It makes my face look stern and elongated.

Getting a second opinion is difficult because the surgeons all know each other and I doubt that anyone is game enough to criticize another surgeon's work. I do think that the whole problem is that he didn't do an impaction. I don't know if it's possible to do an impaction afterwards as it might change the entire bite all over again and I no longer have the braces on. I asked him for a genioplasty and he's even reluctant to do that now (even though my lower jaw is still quite far back).

[Modigliani]

Which country are you in?

You definitely need a second and third opinion, you should not have to accept this. Take the bull by the horns and book a couple of consultations, don't tell them it's a revision  - let them offer their opinions first 

[toothfairy]

Thanks Modigliani. Good advice. I'm very close to just throwing in the towel and getting a heap of cosmetic surgery to try and cover it. Unfortunately no amount of cosmetic surgery will change the fact that my upper jaw is too long.
I just have to find another good surgeon.

 

[Rico]

The worst anxiety is just before selecting right surgeon and just before surgery I suppose , but do you think, that surgeons do not like patients who are too anxious about thier surgery ?

anxiety in that case also means many questions / being very careful / etc

on the other hand is it possible to be calm when it comes to have surgery ?

[molestrip]

I've experienced this anxiety before picking the surgeon too. I don't think it's too common but it should be.

Yes I don't think surgeons like to operate on patients who are anxious. They want happy patients, both because they're easier to deal with and because it's good for their reputation and getting new business. Having gotten plans from a few top surgeons has helped me some there. All the plans are about the same but there were varying opinions about the best aesthetic result (genioplasty, cheeks, etc). Absent consensus, I settled on less work is better and that's a relatively easy surgeon to find.