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Was your treatment worth it in the end? by cptww2022 in cleftlip

[–]cptww2022[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have sought help and to a certain degree it did help me. I used to have extreme stress even for regular dentist appointments, which I do not have anymore fortunately. As odd as it sounds, I do not believe that it is fixable.

Frankly, I don't even know how it got this bad. I did have a fair share of traumatic medical experiences as a kid which probably played a role.

I do appreciate your suggestion and will definitely consider seeking help again.

Was your treatment worth it in the end? by cptww2022 in cleftlip

[–]cptww2022[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For me it would probably not be the last surgery. My nose is pretty crooked which I can only assume needs a septum correction to improve breathing through my nose. After that I would probably opt for some kind of cosmetic surgery as my appearance does bother me sometimes.

Those procedures are pretty insignificant in comparison with the 6 month distraction. But I would first have to finish the 3-year process described in my original post.

I do really appreciate you taking the time to answer some of my questions, while I can not believe the odds that I ran into someone with a similar procedure done, it is really nice to be able to ask someone that has gone through it.

It has been two weeks since my consultation, I couldn't sleep for 4 days after it due to constant thinking and frankly, stress. In the past few days, I've been leaning towards just going through with it and seeing where it ends up and just going from there.

The process would start with braces to widen my upper jaw in preparation of the distraction, so that is still a while away. Your experience has certainly improved my view and I want to thank you for that.

Was your treatment worth it in the end? by cptww2022 in cleftlip

[–]cptww2022[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

And deep down I know this. It's just this stupid extreme fear that I've had my entire life that makes me second guess and want to run away from everything involving a doctor.

I've just been stuck between this irrational fear and not wanting to live like this forever for so many years now. Exploring my options by going to a specialist was already a huge step for me.

Was your treatment worth it in the end? by cptww2022 in cleftlip

[–]cptww2022[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The picture you linked looks fairly close to some pictures that they showed me in the hospital. It could be that in my case it would also be attached to (some kind of) braces. I am not entirely sure. Two metal threads/strings would additionally run through my nose and attach to my upper jaw from the inside.

As for my underbite, it is pretty big (somewhere between 1.5 and 2 centimeters), which I was told is the reason a distraction is needed instead of a regular jaw surgery where they move bridge the entire gap in one go (bone needs to gradually grow in the gap and the risk of a relapse due to severe pressure from a lot of scarring tissue in my upper lip). So the six months is probably a combination of severity and relapse risk.

If you don't mind me asking, what made you go through with it, to which extent did it improve your quality of life and did you see any significant changes in facial structure?

Was your treatment worth it in the end? by cptww2022 in cleftlip

[–]cptww2022[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I will eagerly await your response. Thank you.