Smile!

It just occurred to me that I posted a decent photo on Facebook last night and that it might go well here too! :) I don't think I ever noticed before that I tend to smile more on one side of my mouth than the other - I'm trying to pay attention and make it more event... Oh well. This was at a belly dance thing yesterday afternoon...



I have been pretty good about wearing the upper retainer. It's not uncomfortable and sometimes I even forget that it's there. The real issue for me is eating in the car... I do that a lot because I'm on the go quite a bit. So, rather than dig out the retainer case, I've been just setting the retainer on my lap...and then completely forgetting it, getting out the car and walking away. So far, I've been able to find it each time - on the floor of the drivers side, next to the curb (in the dark!) at my parents' house, etc. Eek. I do the same thing with my cell phone sometimes - I'm lucky that nothing ever breaks!

First real winter day of snow today and a blizzard forecast for tomorrow. Fun!

retained

The bottom braces are OFF!  Naturally, I forgot to pretreat with ibuprofen, so it HURT when the gal snapped off those last few brackets, but I’m not complaining (too much).  She cleaned the teeth off really well, then glued on a wire to the back of my bottom teeth.  I’m aware that this is in leui of a removable bottom retainer, but I’m not sure if it’s permanent.  Probably.  She also fitted my upper retainer.  Wow, this thing is so much more comfy than the one I had in college, the first time my mom tried to convince me to brace up.  It’s not bothering me at all, other than the taste/smell.  Ever drank nail polish remover?  That’s what this reminds me of… well, what I imagine drinking it would be like… I’ve never tried it either. J  I brushed it really well when I stopped at home, but it still smells.  Hopefully that’s just the “new retainer smell” and will fade. 

 

My orthodontist’s office recently bought a Flip camcorder and has been shooting little “thank-you” video clips for the newly-debraced to send home.  Children send them to their parents, but they sent mine to my hubbie.  I look ridiculous, but I’m sure he thought it was cute.  Basically you just grin into the camera and say “thank for putting up with all my whining!”  He’s buying me sushi tonight, and I’m so looking forward to not having it stuck all over my teeth!

 

I go back in 10 weeks to see if my retainer is doing its job and to get final photos taken.  I’m post some before that, but I didn’t have time this morning…today I’m going to pop out this retainer and indulge in some long-missed junk food.  Crunch ‘N Munch, Cheez-its (could have eaten those, but hated cleaning all the gunk off), Jolly Ranchers, and Sour Patch Kids!   A couple days of this and then back to the diet…  I did bring a nice juicy red pear for a snack as well – something healthy to bite into!

 

As I was typing this, my dentist’s office called.  They have an opening tomorrow and can move my cleaning up from next week.  5 minutes later, they called back to confirm.  Apparently, the second receptionist didn’t realize that the first one had just called.  At least they’re thorough… J

 

 

 

weird, but wonderful

Top braces are off!  And most of the bottom, too, actually.  All of my brackets are gone except for the bottom front 6.  Dr. Weber and crew then sand-blasted all the glue off (well, that’s what it felt like!) and even lightly sanded the bottom of my two front teeth to smooth out the ridges that have always been there.  I go back next Wednesday to get my retainers and have them yank off these last 6 brackets. 

 

For those of you close to the end – it didn’t hurt like I was worried that it would.  There was a little big of a twinge on the front teeth when they pull them off, but it’s not that bad.  If you are worried like me, pre-treat with ibuprofen.  I didn’t do that today and didn’t have any ill effects.  I might next week though, because I was told the bottom front ones are more sensitive.  They left those brackets on for an extra week because those teeth have the shortest roots and are most prone to shifting.  Best to wait until I have the retainers ready.

 

Before I left, Dr. Weber’s team presented me with a gift bag of all the foods I was supposed to avoid while in braces. J  Popcorn, sunflower seeds, peanuts, tootsie rolls, bubble gum, suckers, and taffy.  Nice!  What I really want is an apple and a Snickers. J

 

I have these remaining brackets completely encased in wax – the now-exposed remaining wire is really digging into my lip.  I see no reason to tough it out – it’ll be “wax on” for the rest of the week.

 

I tell ya, though – this is the most awesome and weird feeling ever – and I love it!

The sun will come out...

Tomorrow! Upper braces come off tomorrow! Did I mention that I'm getting the upper ones off tomorrow??? Yea!
5 bucks say that I am too excited to sleep tonight, wake up in a fog, and drive halfway to work before I remember the appointment.



Anyways, last night of elastic-ing the mouth shut before bed! (btw, I tilted my head in this show - I don't think my mouth is this lopsided anymore!)

In the chair

Blogging from the orthodontist chair - my new phone rocks.  Upper debanding next Tuesday!

and on and on and on

Meh.  5 more weeks.  Well, 3 weeks to check on my progress – Dr. Weber wants to see two teeth on the right side move a little closer together.  Then another week until they take off the top brackets.  Then yet another week until they have my retainers ready, at which time they will take off my bottom brackets, and I’m done. 

I had sort of hoped to have these things off before our big Halloween show, but oh well.  Better to get them as good as possible than to rush for vanity’s sake (yeah, still trying to convince myself of that!).

The receptionist asked me if there was any particular food that I was craving.  I thought that was odd – I suppose she meant hard or chewy candy or something, especially since it’s October and so close to Halloween and all the sticky food that goes along with this creepy holiday…  I told her hot wings – I haven’t been able to eat them well, without pulling the meat off the bones.  But then again, at the point, I hadn’t have breakfast yet, so anything sounded great!

 

The light! Can you see it?

The one at the end of this long orthodontic tunnel?  It's on!  I went in for my orthodontist appointment this afternoon.  There was no discussion of delays due to my infection.  The infection which has miraculously (finally) felt better the past two days...  Instead, the assistant snipped off my back wires, wrapped my front brackets in thinner wire, and showed me how to use my finishing elastics!  Yea!  She told me I'd wear them for 3 weeks at night, but Dr. Weber came over and told me two weeks.  So, I go back on the 5th of October, and then I'll probably have 2-3 more weeks after that and then I'm D-O-N-E. 

My ow-ies are not gone, but they don't hurt nearly as bad.  I haven't worn wax since Tuesday night (mostly because I ran out).  They did, however, get rubbed open and bled all over the poor lady's hands and instruments while she was trying to put the elastics on... oops.  Not that I could have controlled it, but I'm sure she was just as grossed out as I was.  Ew.  Dr. Weber had her take photos of the infected spots, so that they could compare them next time to see if it's not getting better.  He thinks I'm somehow getting them caught in my teeth/brackets, because they are not flat against my cheeks, but raised - and may have to be taken off...which sounds painful.  Hopefully not.

But nonetheless, almost done!  Almost done!  Almost done!  Yea!

the scoop on the goo

Stephanie asked for more info on Gishy Goo.  While no expert, I can at least link you to their website.   www.gishygoo.com J  I meant to take a picture of my stash but toss the empty syringe before thinking about it.  It’s basically a “flavored, thixotropic, polyvinyl siloxane silicone elastomer” that you squeeze out, roll between your fingers and gob onto your brackets.  It tastes really great and feels pretty darn good.  I don’t like the fact that it’s opaque and therefore highly visible when I smile or talk.  At least with wax, the person you’re talking to doesn’t necessarily know what they’re seeing! J  But comfort becomes far more important than style when your face is being shredded by brackets, am I right?

 

I have no clue where you get this stuff other than from the orthodontist.  It was the first time they’d offered it to me, so maybe it’s new?

 

I officially ran out of the goo last night, and am wax-free at the moment.  That’ll last until I need to eat or have to speak in a meeting at work.  I bought more wax, but am trying to see how long I can go without.  Back to the ortho tomorrow afternoon to get a verdict on the state of my teeth.

possible delay

OK, I’m getting nervous about this.  My mouth is still not healing from whatever infection this is – the icky cankers are still there, despite a new medication.  I’m told this one takes a while to work, but it has been an entire week.  I ended up going in to see the orthodontist last Monday because I was still in a lot of pain, so they switched me to a different treatment.  Ooh, and gave me Gishy Goo, which I’ve never tried before, but is quite nice as an alternative to wax.  Gotta love anything bubble-gum flavored.  But still… this is going on 3 weeks now and I haven’t been able to floss much or wear my rubber bands…which undoubtedly means that I’m delaying my “release date”.  I am scheduled at the ortho this Thursday to get the last route of torturous rubber bands and stuff put on, but I’m guessing that Weber will push it off until I’m less swollen and pained.  Which means that everything gets pushed back.  Ugh.

 

I just can’t figure out what I did to cause this.  Surely it’s something I did or didn’t do…too many tomatoes?  Too little of one vitamin or another?  Who knows…

 

freak show

So, apparently I am just a freak of nature.  I saw the surgeon this morning (my xrays look great!) and he confirmed that it was highly unusual for anyone to get an infection like this.  That means I’m incredibly lucky right?  Maybe I should also play the lottery.  Ugh.  That would explain why Google wasn’t finding me very much information on “infected canker sores”.  Great.

 

However, 5 days into my course of antibiotics, my mouth does feel better, so that’s a plus.  I pulled off all my wax last night, brushed and rinsed really well  and carefully applied my night-time rubber bands (the first time in a week).  I did not, of course, remember to put on lip balm or anything, so my lips managed to stick themselves together during the night and when I unpeeled them this morning, I bled all over the sink.  Sorry, TMI.  The lip balm is now ON, permanently!  Hopefully this will all be even better by tomorrow night, when we go out to celebrate my birthday.  Because I would like more sushi, not soup, for dinner. J

 

go figure

Well, at least I'm not just paranoid, or overly wimpy. My fun little canker sores (both sides of my mouth, top and bottom) seem to be infected; I just came from the Urgent Care place up the street, where the doctor said "Wow!", tested me for yeast (ew) and prescribed a course of antibiotics for the next 10 days. I went from "normal wear-and-tear" spots that you get when your braces hit a new spot on your cheeks to horribly inflamed and white (ie pus-filled) sores that hurt so bad every time I move my mouth that I can hardly talk. Eating has not been fun, but fortunately for some reason, brushing doesn't hurt. My throat was feeling swollen yesterday, so we decided that it was bad enough to get checked out.

I don't get it - this has never happened before, so I don't know what I did differently this time to let them get all icky like this. :( Oh well, at least antibiotics will also clear up my skin, however temporarily!

The best thing (braces-wise) about having a pharmacist for a husband: homemade magic mouthwash...

I'm such a baby, I would suck on my thumb...if it didn't hurt.

I hurt, I hurt, I hurt, I HURT!  Gah, it feels like my braces have razor blades attached to them.  I hope that something isn’t really really wrong.  I don’t think I’ve ever had this much damage done to the inside of my mouth in a 3 day period.  I even gave in and put wax on yesterday; I’ve really tried not to use the wax any more than necessary and am actually still on the first little container of wax that Dr. Weber gave me in Jan 08.  I didn’t put any on today but I’m leaning in that direction.  This is horrible.  Did I mention that I hurt?  Please feel sorry for me; my pity party is getting lonely. :P

still moving

I woke up this morning to the taste of blood; one of the brackets in the front not only rubbed my cheek raw during my sleep, it apparently ripped it open.  Ow.  Not the best start to the day.  I’m drinking my coffee through a straw in hopes of not soaking my wound in French vanilla creamer; sucking on the straw hurts too, but I figure it feels better than eating will… L  I suppose this is all a sign that the braces are still doing their magic – my cheeks should be fully callused against the old position of my teeth, so any new injury tells me that something has moved.

 

 

ouch!

I have a tooth that hurts so bad – like “I have a cavity that will need a root-canal” bad.  This is the part (well, OK, one of the many parts) or this ordeal that I hate the most.  The horrifying feeling that something bad has happened to my teeth that will require more (expensive) treatment.  Usually it turns out to just be some movement of the tooth that is causing the pain and/or sensitivity, but until the pain subsides, it’s impossible to tell.  I’m sure it’s just the nighttime rubber bands pulling on this particular tooth that is the problem, but still… ouch.  L  I want it to stop!

 

I have an appointment with my surgeon next week to get X-rays and see if I’m “all good” (ie if he’s finished with me), and an orthodontist appointment two weeks later to get the final “stuff” done – I’m not sure what all they do, but it’s the last step in this process before removal, or so I was promised… J

 

nothing much

Thanks are quiet in my braces-covered world.  Or, mainly, I’ve just gotten whiny and haven’t wanted to fill a blog with complaints.  I’m ready for this to be over!  I know its just a few months more, but man, it’s dragging.  What’d’ya do, though, right?  Just wait…

 

Chin and lower lip are still pretty numb.  Occasional tingles and I do notice when I managed to bite my lip instead of my sandwich, but otherwise, nothing. 

 

Sigh…OK, I’m logging off before I get too Debbie Downer about this again!  Hope everyone is having a great week!

Closer!

The unofficial word from Dr. Weber was 3 to 3 1/2 more months.  I go back in 8 weeks for my "finishing bands" (which the girl warned me are horrible!  Anyone have any tips?).  Ooh, and I got most of my hooks off.  And got to floss sans wires while she took them off.  Yea!

So, not before my birthday, but at least before Christmas! :)

update from my surgeon

Totally forgot to mention that I saw Dr. Desa last week - he was extremely enthusiastic about how I am healing and thought that I should be very close to done with the braces (oh, how I wish it was his decision!). 

I told him that a lot of my friends here were having similar experiences, so I wasn't so nervous that my progress was anything but normal.  He was highly intrigued about the whole world of braces/surgery blogging....

Anyways, appointment with the ortho on Tuesday, at which I'm supposed to get some of these surgical posts off - hurray! 

Ooh, and I won a limbo contest last night...after I cleared the last bar, someone told me to try even lower...I did, and smack my tooth on the bar. Ow.  That's what I get for showing off!

for-e-ver

Ugh, these things are never coming off, are they?  I had my first trip back to the orthodontist since my surgery.  Dr. Weber said I looked pretty good, then slapped some thicker rubber bands on my teeth and sent me on my way.  I have one on the left that is to stay on all the time, and one on  the right to wear at night.  I didn’t even ask if he could estimate my “release date”.  I am so ready for this to be over.    It’ll be 18 months this week.  I don’t want to be 30 With Braces, but the chances of getting them off within the next two months before my birthday aren’t looking so promising.  Grrr…

 

My top lip is mostly back, but my bottom is still numb.  For the most part, I’m eating pretty good, but a lot of food is upsetting my stomach – I much eat TOO well on Fridays because the last two Saturdays I’ve felt like ripping my stomach out.  I missed the whole holiday on Saturday – my husband grilled 16 hamburgers and 12 brats for our family, and I didn’t get even one, I was so sick.  But on the plus side, I’m still losing weight…it’s just not much fun! J

 

I’m changing the name of this blog to “My Adventures in WHINING About Adult Braces.”  Sorry. 

 

 

chewing, kind of

At my appointment on Friday with Dr. Desa, he encouraged me to ramp up the chewing and work on my range of motion, so Friday night I had pizza and Saturday I had steak.  OK, it was teeny tiny pieces of steak but nonetheless.  Ah, progress.  Unfortunately my poor tummy wasn’t prepared for the pizza…  if you’re not there yet, please proceed with caution when you add things back into your diet!

 

weird

OK, so I've emailed a couple of posts here, and they didn't ever show up. Just in case anyone thinks I've totally gone MIA; I haven't, I just apparently wasn't getting through. That's annoying.
Mouth is still mostly numb. Also annoying. Eating better, but still not back to normal. Lots of pasta...
I need to catch up on everyone's progress, but I also need to sleep, so I'll be back...soon!

mmm...food

I had my 4 week checkup with Dr. Engel (Dr. Desa’s partner) on Wednesday and he told me to start leaving my rubber bands off during the day and to start incorporating soft foods in to my diet.  I wasn’t sure, so I thought I’d better wait…about 15 minutes or however long it took my to drive to the grocery store and order a slice of meatloaf and two big scoops of mashed potatoes and mac’ n’ cheese from the deli.  I ate it in my car in the parking lot, covering myself with towels and using the mirror on the visor for aim.  This was not because I was super starving, but because I didn’t have time to go home and eat before driving back across town for dance practice…  Got about half the meal down and thought it was best to stop so I didn’t hurt myself during rehearsal…but even though I wasn’t super-full, I also forgot what a number a drastic diet change can do on your digestive system…from 4 weeks of completely liquid diet to a big meal of meat and starches…the rumblings began!  Eek.  So, if you find yourself in this position, take my advice, and go slow! 

 

The nice thing was that eating only half the meal, I had leftover for work the next day.  Mmm… 

 

The bills have started rolling in.  My insurance has picked up 90% of the hospital bills, but have yet to approve the surgeon’s charges…hopefully we can get that resolved soon and without too much grief – I just don’t have that kind of change laying around.

creepy feeling

Last night as I lay awake due to the rapid fire of nerves in my cheeks and chin, I wondered what it will feel like with the inside of my mouth wakes back up.  I didn’t realize that my palate and gums were numb until I put food in my mouth and noticed that I couldn’t feel it and didn’t know if I was trying to chew the food (a small piece of cheese in this case) or my cheek. J  Well, of course, no sooner do I have this thought that I learn how it will feel.  Like a spider crawling across the roof of my mouth!  Eek!  I guess the nerves there are rousing themselves now too…  Progress, yes…pleasant, no.

 

I became so fed up with the liquid diet yesterday that when I swung through Sonic to get a shake, I also grabbed some tator tots…which I then proceeded to break apart, flatten, and stuff into my mouth, only to push them around with my tongue until I could swallow them.  Oh, the salt was so good… J

 

 

life on the liquid diet

I’ve had a lot of people at work ask me what I’ve been subsisting on the past few weeks…  While I started off with a lot of Slimfast and Ensure, I can only handle so much sweetness (and so much dairy).  I am also in love with Naked fruit smoothies, especially the Mango (which I can get in ½ gallon jugs) and the Strawberry-Banana…  Once again, that’s a lot of sweet.  Life got a whole lot better when I realized how well canned soups blend up – for Memorial Day “grilling out”, I pureed a can of Campbell’s Chunky Steak and Baked Potato soup – heavenly.  My favorite right now (it’s even today’s lunch) is the Chunky Chicken and Corn Chowder.  Oh, so good. J  I haven’t really been able to make myself do too much with protein powder or any other “healthy” (yet medicinal) products…I am super-duper picky and if I even get a bad thought about a food item, I can’t make myself eat it.   I still can’t eat applesauce 20 years after my mom crushed a pill into it for me to eat (I had a hard time swallowing pills) – it tasted so bad that I still get that horrified sensation just thinking about applesauce… 

 

I suppose the soup is also the reason that I haven’t lot THAT much weight. J  A good or bad thing, depending on your perspective.  I lost 10 pounds pretty rapidly, but I hit a plateau as I started dancing again and returned to work – the extra activity really spiked my appetite, so I’m eating a lot more. 

 

Did I mention the crazy dream I had a week or so ago?  I’ve been having a lot of weird dreams lately (even without the pain meds!)…  In this one, my bottom braces fell off.  I went to the ortho and they told me that I didn’t need them anymore and not to worry about it.  Then I go home and look in the mirror…and realize that only the wire fell out and I still have all the bottom brackets…and I now have 3 ROWS of bottom teeth, like some sort of alien.  And they’re still crooked.  Eek!

back to the grind

Not having a pleasant week.  On top of the "tingles" (which feel more like electric shocks sometimes), I had to go back to work...which is less of a distraction from my face and more of a complication.  :P  So tired and cranky this week!

On a good note, though, I did find these little disposable toothbrush thingies that are small enough to fit into my mouth and reach my back teeth.  Phew!  I feel so much better when I can brush!  They were kinda pricey, but worth it during this hellish period of not being able to get my regular brush in my mouth without pain...

More advice please!

OK, I have more questions for "those who have gone before me".  Yeah, I'm sure I could have asked my surgeon, but I forgot and he just left for India for 3 weeks...  So:

How long does it take these dissolvable sutures to actually dissolve? 

How do you handle the whole oral hygiene aspect of this?  I was told I was OK to brush my teeth, but it hurts to try to open my mouth wide enough to really do this, plus the toothpaste burns when it hits certain areas of my mouth!  I spent the first two weeks just rinsing the heck out of my mouth with the Rx solution I was given and/or water as needed and brushing my tongue with a flat tongue brush.  The Rx solution is known to really cause stains on the teeth, so I'm worried about that.  I did manage to brush really well the other day, but like I said, it hurt and burned.   Not fun!  Any tips?

Oh, and if any of you liquid dieters have a Camille's Sidewalk Cafe nearby, their Tuscan Tomato soup and Banana Split smoothies are excellent!  We treated ourselves to takeout last night...

2 Week Check-up

Just returned from my second visit with Dr. Desa, post-surgery. He said I look fabulous (well, those are my words) and that my bite is great. I can ditch the outer-most rubber bands that I was wearing, and just wear the two up front. I had told him that the two outer ones kept disappearing during the night - either snapping or slipping off. He said I didn't need them. Yea! As for food, I will continue to drink my breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next two weeks, then start in on the soft foods for two weeks and then I should be good to eat most anything (avoiding super hard stuff, but I do that anyway because of the braces). I have another checkup in two weeks and four weeks...

My main complaint today is that my eye is watering. I'm assuming it's because I'm still a little puffy under the eyes and so the near contact is causing me to tear up. It's not all the time, but when it does happen, it's freaking annoying! :P Oh, well...

It's been a lovely day really. I had my first cup of coffee in two weeks (and spilled most of it on my shirt), but had enough energy and time to really get some stuff done - laundry, gardening, other yardwork, sorting through papers and picking up my office...it's been nice to feel almost normal!



As you can see here (aside from my lovely gardening sunburn), I'm still a little swollen in the nose and cheeks, but not nearly as bad as before. The feeling is coming back as well. I am still numb in the lips, chip, nose, and parts of my cheeks (mainly the center of my face) but everything is tingling away and I don't think it will be that much longer. I want my lips back - the whole food and drink on chin thing is getting old!

check-up

Well, my first week post-surgery check-up with Dr. Desa was short and sweet.  He poked around my gums, squeezed my cheeks and sent me on my way, more or less.  He said I look "good", which I'm assuming is a relative term.  I don't think I look "good" by any means.  I look like a swollen muppet.  But maybe that's just me.  He said the swelling would continue to go down (phew) and that I should call him if it got worse (meaning I have an infection) and to keep wearing the rubber bands and eating.  So, yeah, nothing too exciting.  i go back in next week for a second (and I assume last) check-up, and then I'll be released back to my orthodontist's care.

need advice from those who have been there before me...

Post-Surgery Pals - question:  I've been spitting a little bit of blood.  Not a lot, but I'm not sure where it's coming from and wondering if other people had the same issue after surgery.  I have my next appointment with Dr. Desa tomorrow and will bring it up with him, but my DH suggested I ask you all for advice. 
I'm thinking it's from my nose.  I'm pretty congested and figure it's the constant sniffling brought about my by Claritin D that's causing my nose to be extra dry.  And since my nose is still pretty swollen and numb, naturally it would drain into my throat instead of, well, coming out my nose. 

Today was the first day of near-normalcy.  I slept in, but have actually been up and at the computer most of the day, working on the Jr. League yearbook (I'm the editor this upcoming year).  It would be really nice to get it all done while on sick leave, but I'm guessing that I won't be all my reports in time...  Now I'm going to drive (first time all week) to the library and to the Jr. League retail store to make some deliveries.  And I'm thinking about getting a milkshake.  Despite the lack of hunger, everything I've had this week has been pretty darn healthy.  Time for something fun.  Then back home to to laundry, my half of the household chores (aren't I lucky - he does the kitchen and bathrooms, I vacuum and dust), and maybe sew something.  We did take a nice long walk with the dog last night (hour-plus) so maybe I'll try that again this evening...  Who knows...the driving alone will probably make me nap-ready before 4 p.m. :)

Bruising

I'm turning yellow...


I'm attempting to smile in this one. Can you tell?

is it over yet?

Ok, I knew this was going to suck, but man... The only thing on tv all day are food ads. If I see one more Whopper Jr. ad, I'm going to attempt to scream (now exactly sure I'd make any noise at this point).

Tuesday night, the DH and went to a Science Cafe (basic concept is that they bring a scientist/doctor/etc to a bar and give a lecture while we drink - love it). This week was about the Science of Attractiveness. Generally speaking, the more symmetrical your face, the more attractive people will fine you. You know what? I am not attractive right now - the right side of my face seems far more swollen. There is definitely no symmetry.



I know, I'm just whining and feeling sorry for myself, and I'm going to be very happy with the results, post-swelling. Sorry to complain. Going back to bed... :) Happy Saturday everyone.

some pics

Wednesday, May 6 - contemplating last cheeseburger...

Mmm..gonna miss this for a while



Thursday, May 7, Pre-surgery:


Friday, May 8, post-surgery:

The DH got a little drowsy too...

home...

Surgery went well, I'm told. Pretty swollen and stiff today. I was
discharge from the hospital at about 1:30 and then had to stop by my
surgeon's office for a quick checkup.

I'm on the mini laptop in bed, but as soon as I feel up to digging my
camera out my bag, I'll post a few photos...a couple of Happy Aimee
with her last cheeseburger and a couple of me in the hospital, pre and
post op. I am so swollen, I look like Cameron Diaz...as Priness
Fiona from Shrek! One the bruising kicks in and the color is correct,
Ill be totally Fiona-fied!

--
Aimeé Owen

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room. ~Kurt Vonnegut

thanks!

Thanks for all the well wishes.  The cheeseburger for lunch was great.  The frozen mini pizza for dinner was awful, so my DH went and got me some Pizza Hut breadsticks at like 10:30 tonight.  (I have until midnight, right?)  I think I'm ready.  OK, that's a lie!  But I am tired, so I think my day is over... 

Last day of eating for a while...

I should have put makeup on before snapping this photo. Wow, my face is pink first thing in the morning! Well, there are my beautiful surgical posts. They sure make sushi fun last night, and my lips are torn up this morning. Oh, course, having used barely any wax in the past 16 months, I'm not about to start now.
Today is the last day of chewing, so my work buddies are taking me to Stella's, this awesome little hole-in-the-wall hamburger stand. They serve the burgers on napkins! :) Can't wait!
Then, I'll head to my last dance practice for a while, and try to get some major shimmy time in while I can...

I've been waiting so long for this - I can't believe it's tomorrow!

hooked

My surgical hooks were put on today.  The assistant that tried to put them on last week was giving tips to the one that actually did it today.  Nice. :)

Two more days!  Starting to get nervous...  My wonderful husband took several days off work, and had been setting up our bedroom with the DVR so I can have more cable TV than necessary. :)

I grilled myself a big steak last night, had sushi tonight, and am going for huge greasy cheeseburgers with the work crowd tomorrow... I swear, I've put on 10 pounds in the past two weeks, but it should come right off...

kinda mean, i'nit?

My dentist’s office gave me a “goodie bag” after my cleaning last week…the usual toothbrush, toothpaste, floss…and bubble gum.  WTF.  What kind of jerk puts gum in the bag of a patient with braces?  That’s just cruel.

 

OK, I get that it’s a standard bag and it wasn’t done intentionally.  I just think it’s kind of funny. J

 

7 more days

I keep starting posts in my email and then running out of time to finish, so that last one was actually written days ago.  We got the paid leave situation settled, went grocery shopping for some things that will resemble food, and right now I'm concentrating on eating/chewing everything around me and doing as much activity as I can.  I am currently late for work, 'cause I stayed out too late at a concert and then had to get up 3 times in the night with our dog...  So tired!

9 more days...

I had my pre-surgical visit with Dr. Desa, my surgeon yesterday.  We took photos, xrays, molds and impressions, and he walked me through the surgical procedures.  Next Thursday I will go to the hospital for a LeFort osteotomy to correct my maximiliar hyperplasic and a sagglital split osteotomy to correct my mandibular hypoplasia.  Big words = they're cutting my bones and moving them around.

Dr. D. went over all the risks involved and answered all of my questions - what should I eat or not eat (soft foods and liquid, but no restrictions like I had with my tonsillectomy), do I need syrings to eat (yes and they gave me a couple, will my nose move or change?  Dr. D. seems surprised by that last one -apparently no one ever asks, but yes, it will move a little, but he'll be careful.  He's also going to clean out my si

Earlier in the day, however, I got a frantic call from my boss's boss.  My paid medical leave from work had been denied!  Turns out that Dr. Desa's office had yet to send in their half of the paperwork and it was due last week...  I think we have that straightened out now - I sure hope so, 'cause my dear sweet husband was not thrilled about the idea of me NOT getting paid. Eek.  Me neither. 

The countdown has begun...

My surgery is now 2 weeks away!  Eek!  I'm starting to get nervous...but still very excited.  Mostly for the "vacation" from work, which is also very hectic right now.

My last couple of weeks:

So, after rescheduling my dentist appointment to June, I visited with Dr. Weber, my ortho...who instructed me to schedule a cleaning.  Blah.  Yeah, just did that...for after the surgery, and now I need one beforehand.  Well, the dentist is booked, so I get on the cancellation list.  Here are my issues for this particular sitaution:  I live on one side of Omaha, and work on another (about a 20 mile commute).  My ortho is near my house, my dentist is near my work...in order to get my teeth cleaned, I'm going to have to: wait for a cancellation (holding breath), get an appointment, go to the ortho to have wires removed, go to dentist for cleaning, go back to ortho to have wires replaced.  Good times.  Considering the fact that cancellation means "short notice", I'm guessing the changes of me getting an appointment that doesn't involve driving from work side of town to ortho side of town and back and forth, are slim to none.

Am I right?  Yep.  The dentist called Wednesday with a cancelled appointment.  Well, first of all, I actually miss the call, notice is on the Caller ID, call back, and am told that I missed out and they've already booked the appt.  Great.  but they call back minutes later with another time.  Thursday (yesterday), 10:15.  Fine, except that I'll already be at work at the time, so I'm going to have to stop into the ortho before leaving for the morning.  OK.  Call the ortho - the earliest they can get me in is 8:25.  Not OK.  I should be at work by 8, so this is highly inconvenient and cutting into my vacation time!  Oh, well.  I make the best of the morning, get up early, get a much-needed early bird special oil change for my car, and hit the ortho. 

Orthodontist assistant:  "Hi Aimee! Do you know why you're here today?"
Me:  "Yes, I'm getting my teeth cleaned today, so I need my wires popped out."
OA:  "Uh-huh."  (distractedly).
5 minutes last, after she has pulled my bottom wire halfway out, then started attaching things and putting it back in, I realize that I might know why I'm there, but she obviously doesn't.  I'm trying to peek at my chart on the monitor and see something about pre-surgery prep.  She's putting my surgical hooks on. 

Me:  "um, aren't you going to take the wires out?  I'm just here to get the wires taken off for the day so I can get my teeth thoroughly cleaned."
OA:  (blank stare) "Oh.  I guess you said that.  Let me see here... Your chart doesn't mention that."  Then she rereads the chart and decided that she's reading the instruction for my next appointment....

So my 2 minutes ortho appt took 15.  Oh, well. 

At the dentist a few hours later...I'm sitting in the waiting room.  I know that my regular appointment isn't for another month.  I know that I just want my teeth cleaned because my insurance won't pay for this appointment and I can't afford a full checkup out of pocket.  Yes, I know!  I also know I can hear the receptionist and the dental hygienist talking about me like I'm not sitting 3 feet away from them. 

After a slightly painful cleaning, I have extremely clean teeth.  Stopping at the desk to pay, the receptionist pulls up my insurance again...and realizes that it would have paid for the whole checkup and will indeed pay for this cleaning.  Oh.  Well! 

It was an irritating day, tooth-wise.  Just little things, but the little things are the ones that really sting!

But that's OK - less than 2 weeks to go.  Right now, I'm brushing, flossing, and eating everything in sight while I still can...

scheduling...

My dentist sends me a reminder postcard when I have a checkup coming up.  So I get my postcard in the mail this weekend…my appointment is May 21.  Somehow, I don’t think I’ll be ready to have my teeth cleaned 2 weeks post-surgery.  They can’t squeeze me in before surgery, so now I’m going on June 15.  Hopefully that will be enough time…

Continuing uneventfulness here.  My braces are boring.  Not that I should complain…

The braces return to Mexico

Yes, I’m a slacker blogger again. It’s been super insanely busy lately, with work and all the other fun stuff that I do. My belly dance troupe broke up and we’re working to establish a new one, plus my dear sweet husband insisted that we take a few days off and go to Cancun. Well, if we must. So last week we took off for a couple of days at a beach resort, where we ate, drank, and sat on the beach to just relax – a very nice change of pace. Naturally, upon returning home, the craziness just started up again and it’s been nonstop ever since.

My surgery date is still set for May 7 – 5 weeks from tomorrow!

I've got a date!

May 7.  Whoo-hoo, coming right up.  Today I met with Dr Desa, my surgeon, to see if he agrees with Dr. Weber that I'm surgery-ready, and he does, so we picked a date.  Yea!

I was so looking forward to this consultation, and was in an optimistic mood about the whole thing...before I stopped by the library.  I had some time to kill before the appointment, so I stopped by my branch to pick up some books that were being held for me...and ran into one of the employees that just happens to be in my Managing Collections class.  I mentioned the surgery consultation and she said she had the same surgery last summer...and spent 5 days in the hospital...after losing a ton of blood.  Eek.  Good mood?  Gone!  But Dr. Desa assured me that the chances of this happening to me were slim and he'd never had that problem with any of his patients.  Phew.  But I could give blood at the Red Cross if I wanted to, to be on the safe side.  Ack! 

The good news about my surgery date is that Dr. Desa thought I'd be well enough by the 16th to sit through a class, so I can sign up for summer school!  (Who'da thunk I'd ever be excited about THAT?) :)

rescheduled

Did I mention that I did not, in fact, meet with my surgeon last Monday?  His office called to reschedule because, as it turns out, my surgeon needed surgery...on his foot.  So he was going to be out that day, and did I mind waiting?  What do you say to that?  Um, no?  :)  So my appointment is now NEXT Monday, the 23rd.  Maybe. 

holy #$%$, ow!

Why, after a year, does the amount of pain I feel after a new wire still surprise me???  Ow!

 

Hold, please.

Had an appointment with Dr. Weber (orthodontist) this morning.  They swapped out my bottom wire so that I have the same thick wire on both top and bottom now.  It was really an ordeal for the poor OA to get the bottom wire in – seriously, like 10 minutes of pushing and tugging.

 

But Dr. Weber says I’m looking pretty good and recommended that I call Dr. Desa (surgeon) and set up an appointment.  Which I’m doing right now.  I’m on hold.  Apparently, Dr. Desa appointment calendar is booked through March!  Grrr…that doesn’t bode well for getting a May surgery date, huh?  This will not improve my Monday morning mood. L

 

OK, that’s better – the receptionist couldn’t find my file at first and didn’t get why I was calling.  File found, purpose of appointment established, appointment set for Feb 9!  One week! J  Yea!  Mood on the upswing…

not being lazy

I'm not being lazy with my posts, I just have nothing exciting to report.  As usual.  Man, who knew braces would be so boring?  (Ok, put all your hands down - we all knew this!)  I have an ortho appt on Monday, at which time I will hopefully be referred to my surgeon and we'll set a date.  I would cross my fingers, but that makes it rather difficult to type... :)  Till then...

huh, who knows...

Amazingly, my stress level over the weekend went through the roof, but the cold sore never quite materialized.  It felt like the start of one on Friday, but now there's really nothing happening there.  I'm not complaining, mind you!  Just a bit confused. 

I hope everyone is staying warm!  We're experiencing wonderful 45 mile-per-hour "breezes" with snow at the moment...  You can barely see across the street!  I'm staying in tonight... :)

1 Year!

I got my braces one year ago today!  Figures that I'd pick a leap year, huh?  366 days down...

And as an anniversary present to myself, I'm developing a cold sore on my lip.  Ugh!  I haven't had one for years and it hurts!  Totally stress produced, I'm sure.  But still.  Ugh!