10 Months Post OP! Woot Woot!

So today is my big 10 month post op anniversary! Woot woot! Still have to pinch myself everyday that I lived through all of this, and that the results have been so fantastic. When the doctor told me it would take a long time to heal I knew he meant it. Of course I really had no conceptualization of just how long 10 months is. I mean until you have gone through it all, and your living the recovery everyday you really have no idea just how long 10 months is. Know what I mean?

So anyway...things are going well. Healing continues believe it or not! Parts of my lower lip is still numb. If you look closely at the pic you can see exactly where the lip is a bit droopy and thatis the numb area. I should add that part of the right side of my tongue is still a bit numb. Feeling is gradually coming back though all over, and is very tingly so I'm pretty sure that it will eventually come back 100%.

Most of the time I hardly notice the numbness at all. I mean it's there but I can feel my lip when I lick it, and have no trouble applying lipstick now so that is a plus. It is deeper, below the surface that I can't really feel yet. My teeth are sortof sensitive in the front right now. I'm guessing because the gums have been getting feeling back. I'm still not able to bite it to things like sandwiches. Not directly anyway. it hurts my teeth. I have to bite stuff off with the side, like with my canines, or break pieces off with my fingers and eat it. Pretty much everything that is really hard or crunchy hurts. Even rice cakes! LOL... NOT super bad, but enough to make me not want to bite into things.

I'm still doing the retainer thing nightly, and have my 3 month retainer check this Thursday. i'm sure it will take all of 5 minutes for him to say "hmmm...things look good, come see me in 6 months"

So here is some new news. I think I have finally discovered what the cause of my chronic sinus infections is. It is not bacterial but fungal......actually yeast! I have a freakin yeast infection in my sinuses if you can believe that! It seems that the Mayo Clinic has recently posted some more info regarding this. Saying that now that they are able to take better cultures that they are finding that many like 90 or more % are caused by fungal infections. Here's how it works. You get a sinus infection. Your doctor gives you antibiotics, which destroy your good intestinal flora. This some how causes like pitting in the intestinal wall which allows for yeast deposits to grow. It can actually sortof infiltrate your system and you can get what is called "systemic yeast issues" meaning that it has spread throughout your body. It can cause brain fog, hormone issues, sleep issues, ear infections, and chronic sinus infections. Also, your body craves carbs, sugar, and chocolate, as the yeast wants to be fed! Milk can also add to this because it has lactose sugar in it.

So....I finished another round of antibiotics while in Hawaii. Two days after I was done things seemed like they were getting worse. I was really stuffed up, and my sinuses were draining like crazy. I was getting a ton of crap I was sniffing out of my sinuses.........but the kicker is, that it was really really sweet tasting, like sugar almost.

My naturalpath doctor prior to surgery had suggested possible fungal issues with my sinuses but it was too close to surgery so I just blew her off. They other day she gave me a perscription for some Nystatin nasal spray (it is compounded at a compounding pharmacy) I decided that I would try it out as, the only reason I could think that my sinuses would be sweet would be from yeast (since it feeds on sugar)

WELL, I'm feeling so much better. I don't have junk running down my throat anymore, I can breathe, I'm not stuffed up, AND my head feels clear. You are supposed to use this stuff for 3 months, as yeast is incredibly hard to totally eliminate from your system, but even after only 2 days it feels like a freakin miracle spray. The doctor also has me on some pretty strong probiotics now to help with things too. I"M soooo happy right now, as I was so bummed about the ENT continually perscribing me antibiotics, and doing surgery with things never getting better. Now I feel like I'm on the road to recovery!

I have been insanely busy so I haven't had time to make an appointment yet for my implant stuff. I want to, but there is just not enough hours in a day for me lately. As soon as things die down I will get in to see the dentist and post the gory details. So that is my latest LONG update. I hope all my other surgery buddies are doing as well as I am!

Lumineers, Not in My Near Future!

So I had my appointment with the local, well regarded, cosmetic dentist today. I had heard that they could put lumineers over old crowns and thought that this might be the solution to my discolored second incisor, which I absolutely hate looking at, and is the only thing I really see when I look in the mirror.

Well, I had my hopes shot down today so that was a bit dissapointing. Why is it no matter how good you think things look, it is just never good enough? I mean, I went into the dentist thinking that I was pretty ok with my smile now (I mean it is 100% better then what it used to be) I have never wanted to have the whole super, white, every tooth the same, fakey looking smile. I sorta think that peoples teeth shapes, their sizes, placement etc are what make us unique and different. So that everyone just doesn't look like some sortof clone of each other. Don't get me wrong, I like teeth that are straight, but just teeth that are natural, not totally perfect, or veneer like. Anyway.....the dentist proceeded to point out my additional flaws and told me that they do not do just one lumineer. It seems that lumineers are somewhat translucent, and that it is very hard to match the color to the other teeth if they just did one. It is recommended that they do the front 4 or 6 minimum. He proceeded to show me a book where you pick out the shape of the teeth you would like. Did you know that men tend to have squarer looking teeth and that women are drawn towards individuals with square teeth (because we are looking for men.) Women's teeth tend to be more rounded and uniform in shape. He had me pick out the shape that was most appealing to me. Then he had me choose from 3 different colors of how white I would like them to be. They then took my picture to send off to the company. The Lumineer makers apparently have some sort of promo going on where they send in your pics along with your tooth shape choices, and color choice, they then super impose them over your teeth to show you how you will look with lumineers. It normally costs $200.00 to have this done but is free until the end of this month. They then call me back in about 2 weeks to show me how they look and I guess help me decide what I want to do. Or to really make me see what I'm missing.

So....I was thinking about it all, and that I would be willing to do this. The Doctor was right, there were a few things that could be improved. Then came the price tag. When I looked online it showed lumineers costing about $750.00 each. Three thousand dollars...it is a lot, but I could do this. It would be expensive but hey I've come this far, it wouldn't be that much more for me to feel totally happy with my smile. Well, then the dentist tells me that they are $1500.00 a piece. So it would cost me not three thousand, but six thousand dollars, for four teeth! The benefit of living in Alaska I suppose.

Alas...while I would love to get them, I just can't justify another $6,000 dollars for my old teeth. That is a lot of money...too much! I really hate this ugly crown, and want my teeth to match, but it appears I will have to learn to live with it, at least for a few years longer. :(

On a happier note though, my dentist called and my implant pieces are in. I only need schedule an appointment to get my implant placed. Details coming soon!

Doing Better!

Now I'm not sure if my cold is better or not. I've been on antibiotics for about 6 days now. I'm still stuffy but I think it is allergies, as I remember the last time we came to Maui I had some issues with my sinuses.

Can't complain though, even if it is a sinus infection I'm having a great time, enjoying the sun! We are going to hike up a mountain and ride a zip line down on Thursday Can't wait, it should be a lot of fun. We went snorkeling at Molikini island today. It was the second time we have gone, but this time was better because we rented the neoprene tops and we were so much warmer. We swam around for over an hour looking at cool tropical fish, sea urchins, coral, and other funky underwater creatures. We also saw a bunch of whales breaching and diving, and got some great views of them on videotape, oh and some sea turtles too! The weather was gorgeous and when we got back we got our beach towels and layed out in the sun for another couple of hours.

We rented this awesome condo that is right on the beach this time. We seriously walk about 40 yards max from our condo door and we are in the sand. It rocks as you can just run back if you need anything, or easily watch the sunset, walk the beach, or just hang out. It really is heaven! I'm so not going to want to go home! LOL.. We still have 11 more days though so its all good. I'm definitely going to come back very tan though. It's only our 4th day and I already look like I was born here! Lol!