Serious problems 17 months post-surgery: need advice

Hello all, I really need some advice, ideally from experts but also from anyone who has had jaw surgery and experienced similar problems.

I underwent maxillomandibular advancement surgery and a sliding genioplasty (translation: double jaw and chin surgery) on April 5, 2023. Primary reason was for sleep apnea, which I believe has been at least somewhat mitigated, though I need to confirm via a sleep study at some point.

However, it has now been 17 months since my surgery and I am still experiencing extreme facial discomfort, characterized by numbness, stiffness, pressure, and some pain (the pain is not excruciating, but it is enough to bother me every day). It is difficult to smile. I am uncomfortable in public because laughing and smiling is difficult. Even without smiling and laughing, my "resting face" feels highly unnatural. It bothers me every minute of every day unless I'm fully engaged / distracted by something else.

The discomfort is mostly centralized between my lower lip and my chin, though I also feel pressure and some pain around my upper teeth, and a little pressure in my lower teeth. There is additional pressure and discomfort in the area above my upper teeth / around my upper jaw on either side of my nose.

Though most of the intense swelling and pain from the immediate aftermath of the surgery dissipated in a couple of months, I haven't experienced much improvement in the discomfort described above since then. Any improvement I may have experienced has definitely stopped, with things remaining static for at least the past several months.

It has now been 17 months since my surgery. I have been patient, because my doctor and my dentist both told me (both pre and post op) that this could happen, but that such symptoms go away for the vast majority of patients within 6-12 months. That hasn't happened for me.

I saw my surgeon last December, 8 months after surgery, and he basically just told me everything looks fine and is aligned properly, and to expect to feel improvement. He didn't seem to take my concerns particularly seriously, and what he told me to expect hasn't happened. I saw my dentist a few weeks ago, who was concerned, and referred me to a different and maxillofacial specialist who my dentist highly recommends and trusts.

I'm going to be setting up an appointment today with the recommended specialist, and I also have an appointment to see a neurologist in late October to determine any potential nerve damage (wait times for neurologists are absurd, in Chicago at least).

Though I am cautiously hopeful that these doctors may have some solutions, I am honestly pretty scared and frustrated. I can't live the rest of my life with this discomfort. It's not something I can just "get used to." This bothers me physically and psychologically on a constant basis.

So, I'm reaching out to this community for advice. I would really appreciate any thoughts you might be able to give me, whether it is suggestions on who to see, what I can personally do, and/or what you have experienced and seen.

Thank you.