Brandy's Braces, SARPE, Jaw Surgery Journal

4 years, 3 months, and 20 days since......

2011-09-12T09:21:00.003-08:00

Well its been over 4 years now since my surgery was complete. I have a very tiny area on my lower lip (so small it is almost not worth mentioning) that is still mildy numb. It gets tingly still sometimes and definitely has surface sensation, just lower down, deeper, into the thicker part of my lip, remains a little void of feeling. Otherwise I have made a full recovery. I sleep so well now! These last few days when I have been having glorious, full color dreams, I have been reminded of how wonderful this surgery has been for my overall health and life. I look back on my pre surgery pics, when I was so tired, and eating all the time just to stay awake. Now I'm rested, healthy, and rarely unless I'm truly hungry. I have renewed energy, and I feel like my thoughts are clear. I can focus, and remember things now. I do not regret one thing about having this surgery. It was totally worth every moment of grief to get to the end result.

I have had some issues with root re-absorption in my upper and lower front teeth in the last year. This is something that sometimes happens to older adults like myself with rapid orthodontic movement. It's just something we have to keep an eye on, and see what happens. At this point if I eat something hard, my front teeth sometimes get sore since they only have about 50% of their roots. I try and stay away from things I have to bite into like really hard sandwiches, etc. I will often cut it, or use the side of my mouth to bite so that I don't upset those front teeth anymore, but mostly things are just back to normal and I'm doing very well.

I feel like I'm still healing and really believe at some point I will get all the feeling in my lower lip back. Nerves just heal really really slowly, and at this point I don't really even notice my numbnes, its just so miniscule. I also had some minor sinus surgery done shortly after my jaw was done. They reduced my turbinates and expanded the airway on one side of my sinuses. What a difference that has made as well! I used to have reoccurring infections for years almost every month or two. As of late I have not had a sinus infection in over a year! What a blessing that has been! I feel like a totally new person these days!

I will keep posting as long as I feel there are changes to report, the time frame in between may be longer though since at this point improvements are slow. Good luck to all who are undergoing, or in the process of having this surgery done. Hopefully your results will be as positive as mine. I would so do it all again in a heartbeat!

3 years, 5 months, and 25 days since Surgery

2010-11-16T22:10:00.002-09:00

Haven't posted in awhile as progress is slow at this point. Don't get me wrong, it is still getting better but it just takes a lot longer to improve. I have a small area in my lower lip that is still tingly but has gotten much better since my last post. Things are almost back to normal with full feeling everywhere, and feeling has come back a lot in my upper and lower teeth as well. Hard to believe I'm still making progress at almost 3.5 years post op, but its true! I'm sure at some point in the very near future I will have full feeling totally back. Maybe by my 4 year mark I will be completely healed! Woo hoo!

I was thinking today though how great it is to sleep now. I'm grateful everyday that I sleep so soundly and deeply, and dream so vividly. That is a blessing! Until next time. Sweet Dreams to you all!

3 years 1 month Post Op

2010-06-24T21:09:00.003-08:00

I posted last time that feeling was continuing to return. I have had A LOT return in the last few weeks in my mouth and lower lip area. For about a full two weeks me teeth were pretty sore and achey, especially my front teeth. That has since subsided though and I now have pretty close to full feeling back in both my upper or lower teeth.

My lower lip is still tingling a bit, and feeling is still coming back, but has improved tremendously. I used to not be able to really feel my partners lower lip. I was so excited this past month when we were kissing and I could (with my eyes closed) feel, and even find his lower lip with mine. That rocks!

So...healing continues! Woo HOO!

3 Years Post Op

2010-06-03T23:11:00.004-08:00

Well I missed my 3 year anniversary date by about a week, but kindof did it on purpose because the last few days I've been having more improvements and wanted to see how they were gonna pan out before I posted again.

I actually was a little worried as my front tooth started hurting a lot. I thought maybe I bit into something too hard and just stressed it, but I couldn't remember doing that, and I kept waking up everyday and it would really hurt in the morning. It did not feel lose, but my dentist had told me that I had had some root reabsorbtion on my two front teeth, and they only have about 1/2 their roots. He said we would need to keep an eye on them to make sure they stayed ok, but that he thought they would do alright. So when my tooth started hurting my first thought was that the root was getting worse and that it was now hurting like my rear molar because the root was no longer stable. I decided to wait a few days to see what would happen. Well in the last few days I think I know what is going on. My front teeth for so long have been numb, and now feeling is returning to my gums in that area and my teeth. It is achey because it is healing and now has feeling. Its so weird to bite down on my teeth and actually be able to feel sensation, instead of just contact. I've also been having a lot more feeling return in my lower left molars.

My lower lip continues to improve and has been very tingly the last few weeks, becoming closer and closer to normal. Feeling used to be deep into my lip, now it is much much closer to the surface. For about two weeks now my lower lip has been tingling bad, like when coming off novecaine. It's been really annoying, but cool because I've been noticing more sensation, especially when I kiss. Before I couldn't really feel much with my lower lip, now I can actually find lips, the edge of a glass, etc because there is feeling in it now.

So...as I have mentioned in most of my other posts....things continue to improve. It is a slow process, but it getting better and better with each passing month. I'm no longer thinking about it, but I am noticing it happening. Makes me wonder already, where things will be a year from now, but also know that it will for sure be better then it has been. After all of this, that is all one can really ask for I think. Right???

So...I will continue to post updates as thing progress. I said I would continue to keep this blog until improvements stop, and since they haven't yet I will stay with it. :)

Almost Anniversary Day - Almost 3 years!

2010-05-04T09:27:00.003-08:00

Wow..can't believe in another couple weeks it will be 3 years since my surgery. It has gone by sooo fast, seems like just yesterday I was getting wheeled out of surgery. Thankfully I don't remember a whole bunch about my recovery in terms of pain and discomfort so overall it has truly been worth it.

So...here is some updated progress info and things I have discovered since my last post. My first and most important advice to anyone having this surgery, or who has already had it and is in the process of healing is to find some really good vitamins (I take the Alive ones with iron) and take them regularly at least 3 a day. I have kindof been experimenting with my recovery a bit, and testing some theories I have. The first took place when I had my SARPE and was not on any vitamins or supplements. If you've looked at my blog you know that my overall big surgery (upper, lower, and genio) was much less traumatic and I had hardly any bruising, compared with my SARPE. So...things had been going along well, and I have been gradually getting feeling back in my chin, teeth, and lips. I just have had a small area only on the lower left side of my bottom lip that has been taking its sweet time. It has been tingling over the last year so I was pretty certain feeling would return. Things seemed like they were progressing well then things seemed like they really slowed down. I didn't really notice until recently but I had gotten very lazy and pretty much just stopped taking any vitamins etc.

About 6 weeks ago I decided to get on the bandwagon again and be good about them. I had a week very soon afterwards where it almost seemed like my bottom lip was getting MORE numb. I was like "what the heck" but just sorta dealt with it. Well...shortly after that things changed, my bottom lip has become very tingly and just this week I had a huge surge of feeling return. Now mind you it might just be coincidental, but given my previous experience with vitamins and supplements I don't think so. I'm about 99% sure its them that is making the difference. Even the feeling that I didnt' know I was missing in my teeth has started to return, and quite rapidly I might add.

So..just incase anyone is interested I'm currently taking Alive Vitamins with iron (at least 3 a day sometimes 4) Emergen C - 2 - 3 packets a day, and Vitamin D 3,000mg (because I live in Ak where we hardly get any sun LOL) I have noticed a huge difference since starting back on this regimen so might be something to think about if your still healing, or getting ready to go under the knife so to speak.

I will continue to post updates on my progress until I'm sure I'm no longer having any improvement. Right now...3 years later I'm still healing...just more proof that this whole process is, as my fellow surgery friend Roger states "not a race but a marathon" So...stay with it...and hold your course!

Till next time.... Wishing you all well :)

2 Years 10 Months

2010-03-16T10:03:00.003-08:00

Hello Everyone,
Well its been a little while since I posted last but that's because things are just healing slower at this point and it takes longer to see significant results. Believe it or not I'm still improving! Over the last few months I have gotten considerable feeling back in my l upper and lower gums and teeth. Feeling has also continued to return in my lower lip area. It is still very tingly and is improving but not quite 100% yet. I can tell it is going to completely heal though, but it is just a slow process. I can now feel my whole chin area, and the area on the outside of my lower lip. The left side, on the top surface of my lower lip is the area that is still patchy and all tingly. It has gotten sooo much better though, and I can actually feel it now when I lick my lips, it is deep inside that is still kind of numb.

Overall things just continue to improve. I have weeks where things get really tingly and almost more numb, then it will pass and I will have increased feeling back in those areas. It's really very strange how nerves heal, but I'm just happy that I'm still seeing improvements in these areas. I will post again on my 3 year anniversary date (May 24th) to let you know where I'm at.

To all of you going through this, or getting ready too....keep the faith! it's sooo worth it in the end!

2.5 years post op (well almost)

2009-12-13T16:54:00.002-09:00

Wow, I haven't posted in awhile. Amazing how time flies when your not obsessing over your blog! LOL.. So I thought I would give you an update on where were at in terms of healing. Believe it or not things are still getting better, its just a whole lost slower in terms of how fast it is coming along.

I still have a tiny area on my bottom lip that is very tingly and numb feeling but it has gotten much smaller and more localized, and continues to get better and better, smaller and smaller. Over the last couple months I started getting a lot of feeling back in my upper teeth. I suppose I had not noticed how numb they were, just got used to it I guess, but now they are tingly and I can really feel things when I bite into them with my front teeth. I know eventually I will have full feeling back it is just a slow journey. Over all life is great now though. I sleep like a baby and have no issues to really speak of. Surgery sucked! but the end result was worth all the pain for sure!

I will keep posted until I see no more results, or I stop making progress. Just to give a sortof time line for how long it's taken, and to show that healing really can continue for a very very long time!

Until next time! :)

2 Years two months Post OP AND MORE Surgery in my future!

2009-07-22T22:30:00.004-08:00

So today is almost 2 years and 2 months post op. I know it sounds crazy, and it is slow but feeling is still returning. The area in my lower lip has become significantly less numb, it is very tingly now and when I bite down into my lip I can now feel it totally on all areas of my lip, whereas before it was numb in spots. Those areas that were numb are now still tingly but I suspect in the next month or so it will all be back to normal and I will have no numbness.

Now for the really big news. Since my surgery I have been having trouble with my upper second molar on the left. I cannot chew on that side because it hurts to bite down on. I had a consult with Dr. Edwards again today as I went for a dental consult a few weeks ago and found out that my tooth is hurting because it basically has hardly any root left. We are not sure why, probably some sort of reabortion from the surgery. Anyway...the goal today was to see if there was enough bone left to pull the tooth and place an implant and if I would require another bone graft before we could place an implant. Or if it just wasn't an option. As is the norm it can never just be simple an easy. I'm starting to seriously think that this oral drama in my mouth is just never gone to end. I mean really how many times can a persons gums be cut into?

So I arrive today hoping for the best! Dr Edwards comes in, says hello to me and "that we really need to stop meeting like this." He asks me if I got full feeing back, and afer taking a quick look see in my mouth says..."you really did heal beautifully" He looks at my xrays and says that what he will need to do to fix things is this. First he will extract my tooth, then go in and removed my rigid fixation in that area, or at least cut some of it in half or out so he can get to the are, then he will do a sinus lift. Which is basically where they lift up the sinus, and pack more bone under the area lifted in the upper jaw area to allow more bone to be grafted for placement of the implant. He said he would still place the implant in the current bone, but this extra bone would make sure the jaw was stablized and strong enough to support a molar implant. The abutement would then be placed about 6-8 months after that. He wants to do all this in his dental office, under I.V sedation and says it will take about 90 minutes.

Now I'm sure the look of horror on my face pretty much said it all. I was worried about damage to my sinuses...the ones that I just got to finally work the way I want them too. I'm also worried about more numbness to my upper jaw or gums (which he swears will not happen), In addition I must say that I'm quite nervous about my rigid fixation being taken out. I know that is kindof silly but I guess everything has just been working so well, I'm worried about messing with something that is just working. He says I don't need them anymore that my bone has now filled in and done its part, but Im stil scared.

Now with all that being said I'm also so not excited about ANYMORE surgery in my mouth! God I don't want anymore cutting in there! This however is really my best option. They can't do a bridge due to the supporting teeth being weak, and with the root absortion it would also be problematic. So really this is my ONLY option! As crappy as it is I really don't have much of a choice. The cost of everything....$5900.00 before insurance. So I'm waiting for pre-auth to see what will be covered and what won't before we decide to proceed.

CAN I SCREAM NOW!!!! UHHHH...MORE SURGERY IN MY MOUTH!

2 Years Post op

2009-05-27T01:25:00.002-08:00

Wow....2 years! That sounds like such a long time just typing it! Hard to believe it has been that long already, but it has! Well where to begin...I mean as of today the time really has gone by quite quickly, and I have almost complete feeling back everywhere now. There are a couple small spots that are still a tad bit tingly but I know that within the next couple of months, I will be back to 100% which really is pretty cool, given my age and all.

I was thinking back on the beginning of all this and how apprehensive I was. I'm so glad I did it though, and the benefits from it all have been truly amazing. I'm also excited because I get to see my oral surgeon tomorrow. My son has a wisdom tooth consult with him, so it will be the first time I have seen him in over a year and a half. Overall I have been just thrilled with the work he has done, and "knock on wood" I have not any issues at all since completing the surgery. In fact I haven't had a sinus infection in over a year now, and haven't been sick not even with a cold in over a year as well. Overall I'm sleeping like a baby, and honestly have never felt better.

I will continue to post until full feeling is truly 100% back, which probably won't be much longer. I think it must be very encouraging to others out there to know though, that the healing really does take a long time, but that the prognosis is good, its just a waiting game.

I will post a current pic tomorrow.

23 Months and counting

2009-04-30T13:06:00.003-08:00

So I'm a few days late, but still pretty close. It has now been 23 months...almost two years since my jaw surgery. Hard to believe it has been that long, seems like just yesterday when I was having it done, thankfully the mind has a way of dulling those memories.

Thinks are still improving. Still getting feeling back in my lower lip and teeth area. It is slow but definitely getting better each and every month. I'm definitely not done healing yet that is for sure! Never when I started this, would I have thought that I would still be posting about my healing almost 2 years post op, but I'm here to say that I am, and will continue to do so until all feeling returns or I stop having any changes.

I like that when I bite my lower lip now I can feel it everywhere...mind you some areas just feel tingly but at least I can feel it whereas before it was just numb. My chin has feeling back everywhere for the most part, but feeling is still a bit diverted or confused. When I scratch the left part of my chin I can feel it, but also feel it in the lower gums of my bottom teeth. It's kindof weird, but also getting less and less so that is good.

Overall things continue to go well. Eating, talking, pretty much everything I do with my mouth is getting easier with the increased feeling returning, so I'm very happy about that.

Other than this not much else to report. I haven't been taking my vitamins very well the last few months. I'm going to get back on my regular vitamin routine and see if it doesn't boost the healing/nerve regeneration process. I will keep you posted ! Until next month the official 2 year mark, I wish you well!

22 Months and Counting

2009-03-25T20:59:00.003-08:00

Ok..so its now a year and 10 months since my big jaw surgery. Feeling is still returning, and I have actually gotten quite a bit back this month in my lower lip. It is starting to feel almost sorta normal again. I got a lot of feeling back in my lower teeth this month too, but it is not totally back just yet. I went through a couple of weeks where my lip and teeth were like really tingly and it was kindof annoying, but it seems to have subsided now so that is a plus. It seems to follow that course everytime. I get tingly and sometimes feel more numb, then after a week or so it subsides and I have more feeling back in that area. At any rate I"m happy to still be getting feeling back and I"m pretty positive that eventually it will all return.

Other then that things with my mouth are pretty uneventful. I have now officially not had a sinus infection in over a year so that is a huge celebration! For the most part I don't really notice the stuff with my jaw now though, I'm used to it and it all feels pretty normal to me now. I will continue to post though until things stop changing or return to 100%.

Check in next month!

21 Months Post Op

2009-03-06T20:12:00.002-09:00

So...actually I have been a little lax with my updates and its actually 21 and a half months. Things are going well still and feeling continues to return bit by bit. My lower lip is still mildy numb but is getting better and better with each passing month, as is my lower left quadrant. I can now chew gum on my left side and actually feel what I'm chewing which is a plus. I'm convinced its all going to come back within the 2 year mark.

Since having the surgery things are great. I'm sleeping, and honestly feel terrific. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat, and I don't regret any part of this whole decision.

Well, I will keep posting until its really over! So until next month peace out! :)

20 Months and Still Healing

2009-02-09T19:56:00.005-09:00

Well this is a little late, but not much has really changed so you haven't missed much. Overall things are still going well. I'm getting more and more feeling back everyday and my lower lip has been pretty tingly, which is good cause that is what it does right before I get a nice amount of my feeling returned. Recovery is very slow these days though, and I fully expect that its going to take no less then 24 months for things to return to normal. I have gotten a lot of feeling back in my lower left quadrant, and teeth too which is nice.
So...things continue to progress....just slowly, but hey its a marathon and I knew that going in. One big celebration though is that as of March 5th I have not had a sinus infection in a year. Wooo Hooo! That rocks!

2009-01-08T20:27:00.001-09:00

Ok...here is an udated photo at Mary's request. Taken today January 7th, 2009

19 months Post op

2009-01-02T10:27:00.002-09:00

Ok...so I actually missed 19 months by 10 days but figured I would update anyway. I'm still having things improve. Bottom lip is getting better in terms of feeling. It is still slow but improving more every month. My lower teeth in the left quadrant have just about all the feeling back now, and overall things are doing well.

Mostly I don't really notice my numbness too much now, but do find in the evenings when I get tired that sometimes my lip becomes more numb and harder to control. I will continue to update until I'm not longer having any changes.

18 Months Post op! Woo hoo!

2008-11-26T14:06:00.002-09:00

So I"m three days late...but officially a year and a half post op. Can't believe it has been that long already! Thankfully it has gone by pretty quickly!

So..things still continue to improve. I still have some slight numbness in the lower left area of my bottom lip, but it has improved since last month and I can feel it when I lick it and also with lip to lip contact now, so that is a plus.
It is still tingly and gradually improving. I'm sure it will return to normal in the next few months I can tell its not done repairing just yet.

Overall I'm still thrilled with everything. I haven't had a sinus infection in almost 9 months now, and I'm sleeping great, have a ton of energy, and I'm in better shape then I have been in years now, so its really all good. Nothing to complain about for sure.

If you have an specific questions please feel free to email me. Otherwise I will post next month with the most current changes. Thanks for checking out my blog!

17 Months Post Surgery

2008-10-22T22:15:00.003-08:00

So I came to my blog today to see if it was time for me to post an update again, and low and behold today was exactly 17 months! Well I have to say that things just get better with each passing month. Feeling is slowly improving and I think I could honestly have it totally back by next month. Things have gotten considerably better this past 30 days. My bottom lip is still mildly numb but is sooo much better and only very tiny patchy areas remain impaired. I also got a lot of feeling back in the lower left quadrant of my teeth. They were tingly when I would chew, now they feel much more normal, and less uncomfortable.

I was initially told 18 months to 2 years for full healing. I seem to be coming right up on that date, and may actually be done by then, I suppose only time will tell.

Overall I'm still thrilled I did all of this and very happy with my progress. I'm also now 9 month without a sinus infection, or really any kind of illness. I have been working out very hard, and honestly feel better then I have in years! This surgery was truly a miracle for me.

I will post again next month with my progress. Sorry for the boring update, but it just is what it is.....things are slow, but steady. It's a marathon but one I'm rather enjoying.

16 months Post Op

2008-09-22T21:21:00.002-08:00

So here we are again, only today it is 1 month later and I'm 16 months post op. Things continue to heal and improve, and with each passing month become closer and closer to how they were before surgery. Just this past week I went through another healing spurt. As has been the norm with the others my lower lip got very hot, tingly, and hyper sensitive for a few days. It felt more numb then it normally does, and then without warning the tingling subsided and my lower lip now has more feeling in it then it did before. There are still patchy areas (very small ones in my lower lip and slightly below it) that continue to heal and improve as time continues to pass.

I can now easily put lipstick on, meaning I can really feel it without looking now, and I have much more control over drinking and eating, as well as kissing. Things no longer feel totally void of feeling. The bonded retainer has done wonders over the past month and my teeth now feel pretty stable on top with no more pain. I'm thinking that some of the pain and instability I was experiencing was due to the nerves regenerating in my upper incisors. I can bite into sandwiches now and just about anything else with little or no issue.

Sleeping continues to be amazing, and I'm so much happier and healthier then I have been in a long long time. I'm also at 6 months now without having any sinus infections either. This is the longest stretch without one in over 4 years. It is so nice to feel strong and in control of my immune system again! Mostly my life has returned to normal, and I honestly just go about my days without really thinking about the changes anymore. My healing continues though, and has followed a very definite progression moving from the chin up. I'm guessing it could be a few more months until everything is 100%, but currently it is at about 95%, and I can live with that as it gradually returns on its own.

Until next month, I wish you all well, uneventful surgeries, and happy healing.

15 Months Post Op

2008-08-19T11:05:00.006-08:00

Ok, technically its 4 days away from 15 months but its close enough I think! Things continue to go well and I continue to heal! I sortof look forward to the day I post and everything is back to normal and I have nothing to post about though.

Feeling continues to return more and more as each month passes. It is just a slow process now, and takes 3-4 weeks to really notice a difference rather then just a couple of weeks. My bottom lip is still slightly numb but has actually improved a lot this past month. It is becoming less tingly and more normal feeling. The area below it, and down into my chin is also getting much better. It is still tingly when I scratch it, but it has a lot of feeling now and almost feels back to normal. Not totally but definitely improved. I think if I spilled something on it, I would be able to feel it now as opposed to before where I would just walk around with it stuck to my face. I have gotten a lot of feeling back this past month in the lower left quadrant of my teeth and can feel all of my gums now. The bonded retainer has helped a lot with the upper tooth pain I was experiencing, and I'm thinking that some of the pain might have just been the nerves regenerating in that area. Either way, I can now bite into things pretty well without any real issues to speak of. I figure since I have a bit of root reabsorbtion that it is probably better to not overstress my upper incisors so if its really hard, chewy, or tough, I just use my fingers to break it up into smaller pieces and eat it rather then biting into it. I have found it still to be uncomfortable with very hard things, but I can bite into a soft sandwich, and if necessary turn my bite a bit to allow my canines to do some of the tearing work now.

Overall things seem to be coming along very well. My range of motion has returned, and while the jaw joints are stiff sometimes, it is pretty much back to normal without much effort. I can't say enough about how thrilled I am with the results of this whole surgery experience I mean my quality of life has been dramatically improved, and while it has been a long recovery, it has been sooo worth it.

So....here is some other good news. I have not had a sinus infection in 6 months now! A record for me, so that is pretty thrilling. Overall I feel incredible! I'm back at the gym working out, and doing very well.

I will post again in another month and let you know how the healing is coming along then. Thanks for reading my blog and I hope it is/has been helpful to you.

Last "official" Ortho appointment

2008-07-29T21:05:00.007-08:00

Well today was officially my last ortho appointment. He checked my bonded retainers, said they look good, and that I don't need to come back anymore. I mean he wasn't rude. He just said that he wouldn't make me schedule an appointment and that he no longer needed to see me unless I needed to see him. I gave him the double thumbs up sign with a big smile, and said awesome! He laughed and handed me my chart.

For some reason I feel a little sad about not having to go there anymore. I mean, I'm glad everything is all done, but I guess this has all been such a big part of my life for so long, that it seems strange to not have to go to anymore appointments.

All is going well though and feeling continues to improve. It is hard to believe that it has been 14 months now and I'm still healing, but at the same time I'm ever so glad that I am!

Here are a couple of new pics of my ever changing face! LOL..
(They look blurry til you click on them)

14 Months Post op

2008-07-21T21:40:00.002-08:00

Wow....I have been lax with my blog posts lately. I have an excuse though, as I have been on vacation for the past month and my internet access has been pretty limited. Things are still going well. Feeling is still coming back, it is taking longer these days but it is definitely still not finished up yet.

The bonded retainer is doing well, and has helped stabilized my teeth a lot. I'm still not able to bite into things with my front teeth though without it being uncomfortable. Not unbearably so, but not like the good old days when I could bite into anything with not issues.

Eating still has its challenges at times due to the slight numbness in my lower lip. I have the most difficulty with liquid stuff like soup, or drinking things sometimes. Overall though its not too bad and I don't notice it all that much now. My range of motion is still a bit limited too.....I sometimes have to stretch my jaw out a bit before I can take big bites, but it does open once it is worked out a bit.

Overall there is not much else going on with my jaw. I will keep posting until it all improves.

New Crown and Essix a Thing of the Past

2008-06-19T02:12:00.004-08:00

So I saw my dentist on Monday and he put my new crown on! I'm very happy with it, it matches my teeth now and I don't feel so self conscious. I did get a bit of disconcerting news though. It seems that I have had some root re-absortion on my upper front teeth. One tooth is at less then 50%. Now why this happens is not really known. So people have more of a genetic predisposition for it, other times it could be caused by trauma such as my surgery, or from orthodontic treatment, however, the xrays of my teeth at my removal date showed all of my roots looking fine, so its something that has happened in the last 6 months.

New crown and finished smile
I have been having a lot of discomfort in my front right incisor. It has been wiggly and really uncomfortable when I brush, or try to bite into anything. It just so happened that I had an appointment with the ortho for my retainer check the day after I got my new crown. I talked to him about my loose tooth, and the dentist sent over some xrays showing my roots. He said that yes my roots had shrunk a bit, but that as long as we have at least 50% on them, and there is no bone degeneration it should not pose a really issue for me in terms of losing teeth. In order to help stablize them, get rid of my wiggly tooth, and just give them a bit more strength he decided to put a bonded retainer on the top teeth from bicupid to bicuspid. I'm so loving it! My essix is a thing of the past and it is really nice to not have to bother with it anymore.

New bonded retainer on top

Since having my surgery and expansion, things in the cheek area have been pretty fitted. With the essix I would wake up with grooves in my cheeks from biting down on them. Today was the first day I awoke with no cheek grooves. I slept like a baby, AND best of all, I can now bite into sandwiches, and brush my teeth with no pain. I love this new retainer so much better. Now yes it has a downfall. I can no longer floss freely, I have to use a threader floss and do the uppers an lowers with a mirror. It is a small price to pay for the benefits though, and my bite feels spot on now.

Other then that there is not much more to report. I'm still healing, numbness is still abating, and I'm still glad everyday that I went through all of this.

Before and After Brandy

2008-06-09T22:21:00.001-08:00

Busy Week at the Dentist

2008-06-04T23:12:00.003-08:00

So I decided to get my front crown fixed right away, so I had my implant seated Monday and was back at the dentist today to have my old crown removed, and replaced with a temp. I learned a lot today about how old crowns are replaced. What they do is saw down the center of them, then pry under the edges and pop them off. My dentist then removed the glue leaving me with basically a little tooth stump that the old crown was previously attached to. He had to call the guy from the place that makes the crowns, the one that will be baking the porcelin on it, because it seems that my teeth are pretty white! He could not find a perfect color match, the brightest sample was just a hair to white, and the one below it was too yellow. He had the guy come over and personally check it out. He said something about using the brightest one but adding a bit of blue to it to tone it down. I'm assuming since he is the expert that he knows what he is doing, and he was taking very detailed notes about it so I'm sure it will all turn out well when its done. I'm excited that I'm finally going to have matching front teeth!

The crown is supposed to be ready to go by the 14th so I can get it on before heading out on vacation. So far my essix retainer still fits with the temporary crown, but it is possible I might need a new one once the crown is done so I need to have time to get in and get it, if that is the case.

Here is my sore looking gums with the temp crown on it. It actually looks much better then I thought it would for a temp.

I also got some more good news....I have some dark spots(what I thought were stains) between my front tooth and my second incisor. I was asking the dentist today about it and what we could do to get rid of it. He said that it is not staining but composite that a previous dentist used to fill in some very small irregularities. He said he had no idea why the dentist used such a dark color as it doesn't match my teeth at all. He also said that he left a big glob of it on the back of my front tooth. So...he shaved that down and told me that at a later appointment he can remove the old composite and put some new stuff that will match my teeth and eliminate the dark spots. I was so excited! Soon my teeth will all look good.

I know your probably wondering what I'm talking about, but trust me this stuff is not in my head, it really is visible, and since I can get it fixed, AND it's all covered by insurance why not do it?

Molar Implant Finally Complete!

2008-06-02T17:22:00.004-08:00

So today was the big day! and while I was very excited to get my implant finally done, I must admit it was a little bit anti-climatic!

So here is how it went. Once I arrived and was seated, the doctor proceeded to take the abutement off of my implant. He then took the newly made crown and put it into the implant screw. He was checking for fit, to make sure the contacts on each side weren't too tight for me to floss. They were (too tight) so he proceeded to put the implant in and take it out about three more times, each time grinding it down just a bit more. When we finally got a perfect fit, he pressed the implant into place by holding my jaw bone and using his thumb to press it in tight. Full View of my Lowers now

He then had me bite down on some green contact paper, and rub my teeth back and forth to make sure they all fit. At this point things looked good so he used a special screwdriver thing, that goes through the screw in the center of the fake tooth, to screw it down and into the implant fitting very tightly. Once that was done he had the nurse take an X-ray to make sure it was seated properly. It was but just for good measure he tightened it one more time. Then he filled the hole on top with some composite, lazor lighted it til dry, ground off any additional cement with the drill, and used the pick to get a couple last bits. Then I was done!

Top, distance view of implant

I must say it is weird to not have that space in my mouth anymore, but so nice to be able to chew on the other side now. It really is amazing how real they feel. It totally feels like one of my regular teeth. Much better then my bridge on the other side does. Too bad they are so expensive otherwise I would replace all my crowns with them.

Close up view of implant

Basically that was it, but we are going to replace the crown in front that I hate so much in the next couple of weeks (I want it on before the 20th when I leave) and then we are going to begin replacing the top two upper crowns on the left. They are old and misshapen (the previous dentist who did these was very bad.) My dentists says the new crowns will make my bite better and will eliminate the big spaces between my teeth that are there now due to these old crowns not fitting properly. So....again we take one giant step forward and three tiny steps back. Oh well, such is life I guess....I really will have a $100,000 smile when I'm all done with this.

Side view of implant

Sent a Thank You Note to my Surgeon

2008-05-31T00:19:00.000-08:00

Today I spent an hour driving around just to find my oral surgeon. Seems he has relocated and joined forces with a different group of doctors now so I went to three different places just to deliver a manilla envelope.

I wrote a two page letter to him, thanking him, telling him how my progess has been, and just letting him know how grateful I am to him for the fabulous job he did on my jaw. I also included a copy of all my pics in sheet protectors for him to put in his office brag book. I know when I was looking at his office book, I was a little disappointed that all he had in it was young kids. I really wanted to see someone my age. I figured since things turned out so well and I took a copius amount of pics that even if he decided not to use them it would be cool for him to be able to see the progress that has taken place over this last year.

I know doctors are in the profession of taking care of people, and that often times surgery is probably just another day at the office. However, I don't think they realize sometimes just how much they can change someones life, so I wanted to let him know how much his expertise has made a difference and just let him know that his kindness, dedication, and overall skill at his craft did not go unnoticed. He really is/was the nicest doctor I have been to in a very long time. He has a very warm bedside manner, and genuinely seems to care about his patients. I remember him telling me that he treats all of his patients as if they were his own, and that is exactly how I felt when he was working on me. I trusted him implicitly and that is pretty rare to find in a doctor these days.

So...Dr. Edwards! Thanks! YOU Rock!

1 YEAR POST OP

2008-05-23T18:28:00.008-08:00

I posted a slide show above. The first is my senior pic taken when I was 18, the second one I was 34 before anything was done. The last one was after all my surgeries and braces at age 44. Big change huh?, and then a compare/contrast of then and now.

Wow! Hard to believe that as of today it has been one year since I had my skull cut in half! That sounds so much more dramatic then just saying I had jaw surgery doesn't it

Well lets see where to begin here. So much has happened, and changed, and transformed, its hard know how to put it all into words. I mean seriously, this time last year was not exactly what I would call enjoyable. My face was swollen up like a giant Ooooompa Looooompa, and I just had to believe that it was all going to be worth it, when in fact I really wasn't entirely sure of that.

Suffice it to say, looking back in retrospect that it has far and away exceeded my expectations, and was most definitely, the best course of action. Oh don't get me wrong, the whole process was a very long journey. One that played out gradually over about a 18 month span. However, for everything that was accomplished, gained, and improved, I have to say that it was worth every little thing. Even the bleeding tongue, and overall misery that I had while wearing my palate expander torture device

As I sit here typing I'm flooded with memories, of the good and the not so great. I could wax poetic here and probably drone on for hours about it all. But I will spare you all that, I mean really if you want to know how it was you can simply read the rest of my blog, for at the time I did my best to try and cover all the highs and lows I was going through.

It's so amazing sometimes how you really don't realize how much your life has changed or improved, until you've had the time to step back from it and really look at the big picture. The one that doesn't surface sometimes for many many months. I can totally say though (having been through it and all) that "Attitude is Everything" How one does with this whole journey is largely dependent on how you view it, how you talk to yourself through out it, and your overall attitude on life as your going through it. What you focus on you get more of. So I'm hear to tell you, as a surgery survivor, that you have the ability to make this surgery good or bad based on your focus throughout.

So, at one year how am I doing. Well in a word GREAT! but (there is always a but isn't there?) I'm still not 100% yet. Healing is coming along quite well I have most of the feeling back in my chin, and the whole upper palate, as well as my upper teeth. My bottom lip is mostly healed, but still has a few spots that are very very tingly and feel like they are coming off of novocaine. I know from this whole journey that that means the nerves are regenerating and that feeling will be returning eventually. The inside of my left cheek is still a bit tingly on the inside near the bottom of my lower gums. As is a tiny part of my tongue. My upper teeth in the front are still pretty sensitive, and biting things off like sandwiches etc. is still quite challenging to do without discomfort. Sometimes chewing a big mouthful of food can get a bit difficult. With my lower lip still a bit compromised sometimes I have a hard time keeping them together and closed. Talking can also become a bit of a struggle if I do it for long periods of time, and if you mix talking with alcohol it becomes much worse and I talk like I have some sort of speech impediment. Suffice it to say its a good thing that I don't really drink! LOL

Ok, lets see what else. I'm sleeping like a baby now. I have great, colorful, vivid dreams at night, and wake rested and refreshed after about 8 hours of sleep. Gone are the days when I could sleep in for hours and hours. Now, no matter what time I go to bed I wake up within 8 hours. While I miss those days of just lounging in bed, I don't miss the morning headaches, the waking up gasping for air at night, feeling constantly exhausted, looking like hell, the memory loss, being sick constantly, or feeling like I'm losing my mind. So overall...it has truly been a Godsend!

Another wonderful benefit has been getting my health back. Knock on wood, I have not had a sinus infection or had to take antibiotics for 3 full months now. I know that doesn't sound like much, but for someone who has had chronic sinusitus for over 5 years now, being able to get a cold, and just get over it, is a total miracle.

I have my brain connections back. By that I mean I can think clearly and have good judgement again. I have energy like I never had before and honestly feel better then I've felt in years. Since I was about 30 years old I would say. It is crazy, but in a great sortof way. Last but not least my skin looks healthier, and with the slight advancement I have gotten some slight "reverse face lift" benefits. So I look a bit younger, which as you know is always good, especially as you get older.

Ok...so have I noticed any cons to this surgery? Well a couple mostly related to feeling returning in certain areas still, but since those are most likely going to disappear eventually I will not get into them. I have noticed though that I don't think my range of motion is totally back to where it was before. I have noticed that if I engage in prolonged sucking or licking activites. Things that utilize my tongue muscles a lot or for extended periods of time like trying to lick an ice cream cone. It causes me to have extreme pain in my right TMJ joint. It is probably something that I think will get better over time or with practice, however, since I don't do these sorts of exercises on a regular basis it has only made gradual improvement. I don't think it is so much my jaw muscles though as it is the muscles connected to my tongue. Since the sliding genioplasty changes the pull on the tongue muscles I suspect it is the culprit, and think the muscles are just very tight and don't get enough exercise to really loosen up.

Well I could go on and on. Suffice it to say that my whole life, or rather life as I knew it has been totally changed. There are not words for how grateful I am to my oral surgeon. Because of his great skill, expertise, and precision, I'm now a new and improved me. I have nothing bad to say about my experience or surgery, only good has come out of it. I will keep posting until I feel I have returned to 100% or until I feel my healing has ceased and I am not making anymore improvements.

I get my implant placed next Tuesday so I'm looking forward to that, and to getting my front crown replaced. I will continue to post any oral changes that take place within the next few months. Until them...good luck to all of you out there soon to be going under the knife. May your surgery be as much of a success as mine has been.

How things Heal is sooo Weird!

2008-05-20T20:42:00.005-08:00

I know it's not quite one year, but I have been having a super healing spurt the last two weeks and felt like I should probably take a few minutes to report on it. Now mind you I have been a bit surprised by all of this as it has sortof come out of nowhere. My lower lip, lower teeth, upper teeth, underneath my chin right at the jaw bone, and some slight areas on my chin have been tingling like crazy. They have felt hot, swollen, numb, then hyper sensitive, freezing cold, tender, and sore. Even running my tongue across my lower lip was really uncomfortable. As of today, things are feeling much better, and I have a ton more feeling back. Don't get me wrong, it is not fully back yet, but still in the works. It is not like it has stopped or anything but it has just sortof settled for today.

It is crazy to me how it can be almost 12 months since my surgery, yet things are still very much healing. I mean looking at the outside you would never know, everything appears normal. There is no visible swelling, or noticible puffiness. Clearly things are much different on the inside though, my body is still working away to recover from this whole jaw surgery ordeal. It is shocking to me how long it has been and how things really are still on going.

I will post more in a few days on my big 1 year anniversary, but thought this stuff was important so that others thinking about having this surgery really understand how long of a journey it is, but also to remain optimistic as this whole healing thing really is on a schedule all its own.

11 months 2 weeks

2008-05-12T22:15:00.003-08:00

Ok, so I realize I have been a bit lax in updating this blog lately, but truly it is not so much that I haven't wanted to, it's just that progress is slow so there is not much to report. Well that and I have been absolutely, insanely, busy!

Here is my most recent pic and the short and condensed update version. I went to the dentist to see my lumineer pics. They were not very impressive. Actually it was just more support for me not getting them. I think the dentist was a bit surprised when I said I rather liked my smile the way it is now and that I don't want fake teeth over my real ones.

I go in on June 2nd to have my implant placed and can't wait. It is here right now but I have been so busy, and with school getting out next week, I just don't have time to go until I"m officially signed out for the summer. Things are continuing to improve. My lower lip and teeth have been super tingly lately, and are getting more feeling back. It is annoying, but good as I know it will pass and when it does my lip will just feel that much more normal.

When I have my next appointment for the implant we are going to start on the front crown replacement, I want to have that done before my son and I head out on vacation the end of June.

So....here is some good news. My doctor has had me on a antifungal nasal spray and massive amounts of pro-biotics. I caught a cold about three weeks ago. It has kindof been hanging in there, but some of it may be allergy related too. Anyway....knock on wood, it has not turned into a sinus infection and seems to be almost gone. This is the first time in over 3 years that I have gotten a cold an it has gone away on its own. Wooo hooo! I'm so excited. It's so nice to feel like I'm getting my health back, and healing on my own now without having to take drugs constantly! Just another plus from this surgery I guess!

I will post again at the 1 year mark (which is coming up soon), or after my implant placement. Whichever comes first!

Implant Soon!

2008-04-15T20:10:00.005-08:00

Here is a pic of what was screwed into my teeth today (minus the tooth part on top)

Today was my appointment with the dentist to get my implant fitted. So here is what happened. I got there and the dentist took what was basically a very teenie tiny screwdriver. He fit it into the implant cover and screwed it off. I then felt the area with my tongue and could feel the hole that the actual implant goes into. He then proceeded to screw in the implant screw that had the piece on it that the actual tooth is going to be built around. Once that was done he took an an xray, to make sure that the screw was completely screwed in and where it needed to be. Next came impressions...I started to have flashbacks of the orthodontists office but manage to get them under control. He filled in the area around the implant post with some special goo that was in a syringe, then filled the implant tray and pressed it on to my lower teeth. It was a bit uncomfortable when he pulled it out. Not on my implant but on my other lowers. The goo just didn't want to let go of my bonded retainer so it took some prying to get it off! He then cleaned up the mess and proceeded to take impressions of the top teeth. Once he was finished with that, he unscrewed the implant post, screwed the cover screw back on again, and freed me to go. He said my final implant should be in in about 2 weeks. At which point I will come back, they will remove the cover, screw the implant in, polish it up a bit, and it will be completely finished! I'm excited! I can't wait to be able to chew on the left hand side instead of just the right all the time. I was also very happy that I had no pain, or sensitivity in the implant, even when he screwed the cover back on pretty tightly. A couple of months ago I could feel that it was really sensitive around my implant site, I hated even touching it with my tongue or brushing it, now things feel great though so that is a plus!

I also got some great news about my front crown. The Dr. agreed with me about it being a bit mis-shaped, and a different color then the rest of my teeth. He said that all my crowns could be replaced with porcelin ones now and that he would change the color to a whole shade and a half lighter. Also he said that since it has been over 5 years since my crowns were done, they can all be replaced and will be covered by insurance. So I was very psyched about that! The plan now is, to schedule an appointment as soon as my implant is placed to have my front crown re-done first. We are then just going to plug away at them until they are all fixed! Woot Woot! I'm not excited because I hate dental work, however, I do know they will look great when they are done, and it will eliminate some of the spaces between my teeth that have come about from my braces alignment so I'm looking forward to it.

Oh, and I got a call today from the Lumineer dentist. Seems my model pics have come in and they would like me to come in to see them. I have an appointment next Wednesday to do so, but will not be getting Lumineers. Especially now that I know I can get new crowns, and have them covered by insurance.

So....thats where I'm at with the oral drama these days. Things are still progressing and healing well. I can't believe that I'm almost at 11 months post op. With a year coming up soon! UNBELIEVABLE! It has gone by so fast!

10 Months Post OP! Woot Woot!

2008-03-24T21:11:00.003-08:00

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!

2008-03-19T18:46:00.004-08:00

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!

2008-03-04T19:07:00.003-09:00

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!

First Post Sinus Surgery Cold

2008-02-26T22:04:00.005-09:00

So, I work with kids everyday....lots of them. Holding little hands, hugs, and of course tons of smiles are some of the fringe benefits of my job. With those fringe benefits come a few thousand negatives. I'm referring to germs! Lots of them! actually an ever abundant, never ending supply of them. I eat right, exercise, take vitamins, get enough sleep, and tend to be overall pretty healthy, however, this year I can't seem to go more then a month without catching something. Now mind you my immune system is probably a bit compromised due to the steady progression of the allergens I'm being injected with weekly (allergy shots) but whatever the reason....this is all just a very long way of saying that I'm sick AGAIN!

Now I'm hoping that it is just a cold. I have been working pretty closely with a little boy who was sick the other day. So I'm pretty sure it was him who shared his cooties with me. The question really is....will it run its course like a normal cold, or will it turn into a sinus infection. The worst part of it all is that I leave for Maui Hawaii on Friday for 2 weeks. I so wanted to feel good while I was there, to enjoy my vacation. Instead it looks as if I might be enduring a summer cold.

Please let my sniffles be swift, like maybe gone by Friday!.....PLEASE!!!!

Almost 9 Months Post op

2008-02-17T22:09:00.008-09:00

Wow, I think this is the longest I have gone without an update! Mostly because I don't have much to report at this point. Things are still progressing daily, just slower at this point. Feeling is still coming back and I can feel my whole chin pretty much now. My lower lip still has some patchy numb areas but is coming back gradually each day. Chewing has improved and feeling is now starting to return in my upper teeth. I still can't really bite into anything with my front teeth though without it being uncomfortable

Sinuses are doing well, no issues to speak of since the surgery. That means we are at 2 months post op with no sinus infections or anything else, so that is awesome! I missed my final follow up appointment though, but since everything seems to be doing well I see no reason to go in for it.

I won't be getting my implant placed until March sometime as my dentist has ordered the parts but has not called me yet to place them. I will be on vacation for a couple of weeks so its not going to happen until I get back. Same thing with the appointment with the cosmetic dentist to replace my front crown...when I get back in March.

Allergy shots are coming along great. I'm on once a week shots now...for 8 weeks, then I think I go to every 2 weeks, and eventually once a month.

Life is returning to normal and overall, health wise I'm feeling great! I'm wearing my retainer at night only now and my teeth appear to have settled into a more normal position. I'm careful not to miss putting my retainer on every night though as it is always tight when I put it on and I think if I missed a day it could get ugly! I have a retainer check on March 25th I think, so I will post then regarding what my ortho has to say.

Other then that....live goes on! I will post again in another couple weeks.

Just Cruising Along....

2008-01-31T10:11:00.000-09:00

I feel like I have been being a bit neglectful of my blog. Like I'm not udating it as often as I should be, however, like the rest of you, sometimes life just happens and you just can't find a spare minute to catch up!
I haven't got much to really report anyway, but felt I should stay on top of things and report. So....I called yesterday about my implant crown. It is on order and should be here soon, at which point they will call me to set up an appointment. Sinuses are doing well, clear without any stuffiness! I will see the ENT on the 12th again for the final post surgical follow up. Allergies shots are going well and seem to be helping tremendously not only with my allergies to Alder, grass, dog, cat, dust, and dust mites, but with the cross reactivity to certain foods too! I can now eat bananas with no issues, and melon, and mango too! I love those fruits too so that is a nice bonus. My son who has been allergic to apples and all pitted fruits since he was about 2 can now eat them too without any allergy reactions, so that is pretty exciting for him too!
My mouth continues to heal and is still improving. My lower left quadrant is pretty tingly and sensitive. I still can't use my teeth together to bite stuff off like pizza. The lowers are still just to numbish and sensitive. When I bite I get like a tingly sensation all into my lower gums. Now mind you, this is good it means the feeling is returning, it is just slow going. My bottom lip is still improving weekly. Overall I'm very pleased with my progress.

Was wondering if anyone else who has had surgery has noticed that people treat them differently? I have noticed a change, and honestly haven't really been looking for it. I find that I have a lot more people looking at me lately, in a good way, but I feel like I just get noticed more. Perhaps that is because the surgery has made me look a bit younger, but I have definitely noticed that people are making eye contact with me much more now, and even saying hi, or hello to me (when I don't know them) Now that the swelling has gone away I find I really like the new shape of my face. It is longer, but just looks so much more proportional to me. Anyway....has anyone else noticed a difference in how people react to them?

Health back to Normal - Knock on Wood

2008-01-22T22:04:00.000-09:00

Well I decided to post this pic as finally I don't look like a ghost anymore! No more pale white skin, no more dark circles or allergy shiners under my eyes, and even a bit of color in my cheeks! I'm almost afraid to say this (don't want to jinx it) but I seem to be back to normal! I'm talking about my health of course, no more issue with my sinuses so that is a huge deal!

I think the surgery has been a great help, but also I think the allergy shots have been helping me immensly too. It was tough at first, I think because my immune system was a bit compromised already with the surgery and then the shots were wearing me out too, BUT NOW things are truly better. I noticed it the most the other day when I was cleaning house. Normally dust and dust mites really bother me. I get really stuffed up and feel crappy. Well yesterday I was cleaning and nothing happened. I mean I dusted, organized, cleaned out my drawers and closet too, and nothing. No sneezing, no stuffy nose, no sinus headache.....I mean I felt totally normal. It was AWESOME!

I still have a couple more months of shots to go, but so far things have been going really well and the best part is that my sinus infection is finally gone! Hopefully for a really long time or even forever! Oh....and sleep is amazing too! Now I sleep, and can breathe really well too. Life is truly great! At least for today!

Sinus Surgery Follow Up #2

2008-01-17T16:46:00.001-09:00

Uggghh....today was the second follow up since my sinus surgery. You will recall (provided you read my last post) that it was less than pleasant, and in fact down right gross! Well today wasn't much better. I arrived at the Drs. office, he called me in and I took a seat. This time he didn't ask, tell, or even infer that he was going to do anything. He just turned the compressor machine on, handed me a gauze pad, and proceeded to spray that freaking discusting, afrin and lidocaine up my nose again. I have decided that that stuff is just vile, as I type this message out,the nasty poison taste continues to run down my already numb throat. Sooo gross!

Anyway...pretty much the same drill as last time, minus the giant snot globs. He started out with the small sucker, it got plugged up so he switched to the larger sucker thing. I flinched as he continued, as this time it was a tad bit uncomfortable. Did he say..oh sorry, or yea, its a bit uncomfortable..NO! He just pretended like it never happened and continued to suck the life out of my sinuses. Then told me that my head should feel a lot lighter now (his feeble attempt at humor I think.) He said everything looks good and that I shouldn't have any issues with adhesions or anthing like that. I told him I was using Veramyst for my allergies again and that it seems to help a lot with keeping my sinuses clear. He really wasn't that impress and other then leaving me with a horrible taste in my mouth, he said that he would see me again in 3 weeks. It apparently takes about 6 weeks for the sinuses to completely heal and thus for me to be able to truly judge the results.

I made a new appointment for Feb 7th, but will have to reschedule it. I forgot I will be in Orlando that week for a conference. Otherwise things are good and are coming along well. I have been having a big spurt in my healing this past week. My numbness is really making great strides, which is totally great! My husband said that I'm actually kissing like the old me and that he is very happy to not be kissing a manniquin anymore! LOL.....

2008-01-15T22:10:00.000-09:00

Hard to believe that I will be 8 months post op in about 1 week. Things have been changing a lot the last month. I'm still regaining feeling in my chin and lower lip area. I can now feel my bottom lip with my tongue pretty well, and the swelling has come down quite a bit too. It is starting to feel like my old lip again. Below the surface it is still kindof tingly and numb feeling, but certainly no where near like it used to be. It actually feels like it will eventually be normal again. My chin is feeling much better too. The inside of my left cheek is now less swollen and I'm no longer chomping down on it. I do have some serious sensitivity in my lower gums and teeth on the left side, but other than that things are going well in terms of post jaw surgery recovery.

My sinuses are doing very well also now. I can breath clearly, and they are not all stuffed up anymore. I no longer have a sinus infection which is a big plus, and honestly I'm feeling pretty much back to normal.

I'm still working through my allergy shots and have not had any adverse reactions, thank goodness! I'm also going to the gym regularly. Aside from developing Plantar Faciitus in my left foot due to too many step aerobics classes I'm finally feeling like my old self again. Wooo Hooo!

I'm sleeping, I'm breathing, and I only have to wear my retainer at nights now. What more could a girl ask for?

Look! NO MORE SWELLING!

2008-01-07T20:37:00.000-09:00

So today I was looking in the mirror and noticed that my swelling is gone! I mean all of it! I decided to take some new profile pics so I could see both sides of my face with no swelling. Now mind you I still have a bit of numbness in the left side of my mouth and in my lower lip, but it is slowly resolving itself and going away.

I don't even have anymore puffiness after the sinus surgery, which amazes me, but hey I will take it!

Overall things are going well. My sinuses are feeling much better now. No more stuffiness which is great! They are still draining a bit but things are fine as long as I blow my nose every now and again. I'm pretty sure that the doctor will not have to do much when I see him on the 17th.

Right side

The Dentist contacted me and said the are ordering the parts for my implant. When they arrive I will be scheduling my appointment in February for placement. I have also decided to have a bit more dental work done. The crown on my front left incisor is an old porcelian crown bonded to metal. Now that my teeth are whiter it is darker then the rest of my teeth. It is also small, and does not meet at the gum line. So I'm going to have some cosmetic dentistry done on it and have either a new porcelin crown placed, or have it shaved down and a lumineer put on top. Then I will be done! I SWEAR!!!

Left side

I like this pic because you can really see the outline of my jaw from the cheekbone down.

Holy Snot Batman!

2008-01-03T14:47:00.000-09:00

Man...what a busy day I have had. Just when I think the fun can't end, I get to experience more of it! Happy Happy Joy Joy!

So my day started with getting up early and driving to the orthodontists office. Today was the day for my lower bonded retainer to be put on (since I had that little cavity filled yesterday.) It was really not a big deal, except for the fact that I got a serious tickle in my throat while the ortho was working on bonding it in. Do you know how hard it is to fight off a cough when your throat decides it is going to cough? Anyway...the process involved some nasty tasting prep base. It was very sour/bitter like the stuff the used with my brackets. They then rinsed that off and my ortho tied my lowers all together with dental floss. I'm assuming that was to help keep everything in place and help hold the retainer wire while he cements it. Next he used a little syringe to squeeze some yellow looking goo onto the back of one tooth. He moved it around a bit with one of his little tools and then used the ultra-violet light to harden the glue. He did this tooth by tooth for all 6 of my lower incisors and canines. When he finished he rinsed everything out and cut the dental floss off of my teeth. The assistant then came and showed me how to floss with my new permanent retainer (gone are the days of 2 second flossing, that I had this last month.) Basically you floss with it by going underneath the wire with threader floss and floss that small area below it. Here is the result of all of his efforts, and may I just add that I love this thing! For the first time my lower teeth do not feel wiggly. They feel secure and comfortable instead of sore and achey!

I no sooner finished this appointment and I had to head to see the ENT for my post sinus surgery follow up! Oooh my goodness! What a weird experience this was. Now mind you I have been rather lax and bad with this surgery. I was so stuffed up I was gently blowing as soon as they took the packing out. On Tuesday I sneezed (accidently) through my nose which is a big no no! That afternoon a nasty clot came out but then things seemed ok. Yesterday a piece of the gel stent came out, and things were not feeling very good. Today..I woke up really congested and have had blood running down my throat all day so I thought for sure I must have messed something up.

I arrive at the ENT's office. The nurse takes me in, hands me three Kleenex and asks me "so are you ready for a little torture?" as she is messing around with some tools she turns on a machine that sounds like an air compressor! Mind you I want my sinuses fixed, but I was not prepared for lots of pain today...little lone torture! She then asks me if I'm allergic to "lidocaine or afrin?" I say no and she says oh good! She stands there with this thing hooked up to the air compressor that looks like a giant exploration tool, with a rubber tip on the end. She starts on the left side and tells me to take a big sniff! Instantly I get a sinus full of lidocaine and afrin. Anyone who has had surgery can tell you that Afrin tastes terrible in large doses, when you mix it with lidocaine it is even worse...so of course I'm gagging like crazy as it runs down the back of my throat. Guess what??? the fun isn't over, she still has to do the right side now! So...I lived through that part, and soon, actually like almost instantly I feel my throat start to get numb as well as the insides of my sinuses.

Next the doctor comes on. He shakes my hand, asks me how I'm doing etc. I tell him that I think the gel stent came out, and that I have been having big clotty drainage down my throat all day. So....guess what he does? He tells me that he is probably going to fix most of that for me today. He comes at me with a miniture version of a dental sucker thingy (sorry I don't have the exact name for those things but I'm sure you get my drift) a set of like long tweezers, and a flashlight. He enters my right sinus and I feel the syringe enter my maxiallary sinus area. He stops a couple of times because the bloodclots are clogging the sucker thing up and it won't suck anymore. So he takes it out and he gets a BIGGER ONE! Are you feeling the fun yet??? Then it's back into my sinuses, this time he pulls some discusting glob out of my nose....so totally discusting I'm thinking "why in the heck would anyone want to be an ENT???? while at the same time wondering how in the heck something that big could be up my nose! He continues to suck away, and then again reaches into my sinuses and comes out with another even bigger, giant glob of something. Is it packing? just a snot glob? At this point I'm thinking holy snot Batman...my sinuses must be like the freaking grand canyon! Then he continues more suction until I swear I feel like he is sucking my teeth up through that sucker thing. Then he switches sides and does some more sucking on the left. None of this was particularly painful, other then when he pulled that giant whatever out. That part kindof hurt and my sinuses were pretty burny and raw feeling afterwards. It was just the most bizarre feeling ever to have someone sucking around inside my face though...and while I was awake! It just can't be described!

When he was done he said that things looked great and I just need to give things a bit of time to heal, but that he thinks this will help me a lot." (phew no damage from blowing) Also, he said " I sucked a ton of junk out of there....your whole right maxillary sinus was filled with gunk, I suspects now that most of it is out that you will probably be feeling much better by later this afternoon. Wow! Thanks! I think! Hopefully it won't just be temporary until the Afrin wears off, or just fill up again over the next two weeks.

Overall the whole experience was rather draining (no pun intended, well ok maybe a little one) and I'm just so thrilled to have lived through it! (one more thing I can add to my list) I go back on the 17th for another follow up and possibly some more suction action! I got the go ahead to workout again today, so I'm going to go back to the gym starting tonight. I think I will take a little nap first though....all this nasal irrigation seems to have sucked the life out of me (boy I'm just full of puns today) he he! I will keep you posted on the progress!

Cavity Filled

2008-01-02T17:42:00.000-09:00

Here is my updated post sinus surgery face. I have an appointment to see the ENT tomorrow. He is supposed to take out the gel stent, however, I have been blowing my nose gently as I seriously can't breathe and I think in the last day I have blown most of it out. I know...its bad, but I figure he is going to take it out tomorrow anyway so how bad can it really be? Hopefully not too bad!!

So today I saw my favorite guy.....my dentist. NOT! Now mind you I don't dislike my dentist, no more then say the average person does. He does a good job, I'm just a bit sick of doctors being in my mouth.

Things went pretty quickly so that was a plus, and I tried to get a pic of my new filling, but it pretty much looks just like my other teeth so you really can't see anything. If you look really closely you can see where my gums are a bit aggravated but other then that, not much is visible. I posted the pic anyway though.

Tomorrow I see the ortho and he is going to put my bonded retainer in on the bottom. I can't wait as I'm so sick of this lower retainer! Plus I think I get to go to night time wear only, since tomorrow will be 5 weeks since debracing. I will keep you all posted!

5 Days Post Sinus Surgery

2007-12-31T01:02:00.000-09:00

So today is Monday and things are going well. My nose is kindof stuffy, I think my allergy shots are causing me to get really congested. I'm not supposed to blow my nose, but I can't stand it so I have been blowing very gently. Just enough to get the stuff out.....I tried snarfing it down my throat like the doctor told me to do, but it just doesn't work. It just stays there and I feel all plugged up and congested.

I go in Thursday to have this gel insert thing taken out, so I will let you know how things are after that! Otherwise everything is good, OH and my laptop is up and running again so that is a plus also!

Packing Removed, Breathing like a Champ now!

2007-12-28T16:15:00.000-09:00

Got my nasal packing removed at 10:30 this morning after another rough, sleepless, night. Thankfully it is all good now! The packing came right out (I was going to take a picture, but figured that I would spare you all, as it was pretty discusting) I had no recidual bleeding when the Dr. took them out, even though he was all prepared to take care of that should I have happen to have any. He told me to use ocean spray 3-5 times a day, and to put an antibiotic ointment in the inside of my nostrils for the next few days to keep things healing well. Oh...and no heavy lifting or exercise for the next week or he said the little blood vessels could rupture and I could get a really, seriously, bad, nose bleed (which would not be good.)

Overall I'm breathing really well, and I can actually taste food again. No wonder I haven't been interested in eating...nothing has had any taste! When I ate today it was actually enjoyable, I could smell my food, and really savor the flavor of it. My sinuses feel clear and unplugged. I'm sure it will take another couple of days to recover from the lack of sleep etc, but overall it seems like this sinus surgery was a good idea. I'm glad I was able to get it done as planned.

About the only thing bugging me is I keep coughing. I'm assuming it is due to the after effects of the anethesia, but if I could get rid of that I could almost forget I even had surgery. Short of a little burning when I woke up in recovery, I have not had any pain at all! What a relief that was!

I will keep you all posted on how things progress, but for now it looks as if I have made it through yet another surgery relatively unscathed, I'm so relieved! I do have to say I was so much calmer having this surgery done though. When they took my blood pressure at the pre-op it was 99/73 I was not even stressing! It is amazing how much easier it is once you know what to expect and aren't so afraid of the "unknowns"

Well you all have a Very Happy, Joyous, Wonderful, truly Amazing New year! and I will post again soon!

What a Difference a Day Makes!

2007-12-27T18:43:00.000-09:00

So my surgery yesterday went off without a hitch and was pretty much the same as my jaw surgery, in terms of prep. I got to the lab and had blood drawn (it was late due to the holiday) so the put a stat order on it to get it to the doctor. I arrived at the surgery center, changed into the fancy hospital gown, slippers, and hair bonnet. The nurse then got my I.V going (which only took two tries this time)apparently I have very rolly veins but I expected that. She had me take to big swigs of Afrin in both nostril and then they had me walk to the surgery room, which was freezing! and climb onto the bed. The nurse got a nice warm blanket for me and after getting my I'V situated, and a blood pressure cuff on the other arm, she wrapped me up tight like a little burrito. I felt like a baby being swaddled in a blanket. Next the anethesiologist put something in the I.V and I could feel my eyes getting heavy. The nurse then said "ok Brandy I'm going to put a mask on your face for few second breathe deeply" I took a couple breaths and I was out, until they woke me up in the recovery room.

I remember feeling pretty groggy upon waking and my sinuses were really burny. The nurse gave me some morphine (I think) and after a minute things were fine. It took about 1 hour to fully awake, at which point I got dressed, and they wheeled me out to the car. That was about it. I came home, got something to drink, and just sorta vegetated around the house for the rest of the day.

Ok so here I am in all my post surgery glory AGAIN! (please ignore the popcorn stuck in my teeth..oops)Day two is so much better, and this surgery is certainly no comparison to the jaw surgery at all. As you can see I have no bruising or real swelling to speak of. I feel like a surgery veteran now, as the only really bad thing about this so far is the not being able to breath out of my nose. I can tell you though, even with my nose all packed up and stuffy I can actually taste food again! It's pretty crazy!

As you can see from this pic I have two pieces of packing stuffed up my nose that are connected together with a string (I tried to make this pic small so you could see the string, but not have to look right up my nostrils...gross) Anyway...most of the bleeding has stopped today, and what is leaking out I think is coming from the packing. The nasal tampons get taken out tomorrow but already feel like if I gently tugged the string they would come right out. Sleeping last night was rough, I was awake about every 1/2 hour or 15 minutes having to drink water due to my throat getting so dry. Breathing through only your mouth sucks and gave me new found appreciation for my jaw surgery friends that must deal with that! I did manage to get about 8-10 hours of broken sleep though and short of being stuffed up today feel pretty normal. No pain at all! I even went and did some shopping today!

Sinus Surgery Finished

2007-12-26T17:32:00.000-09:00

Here are a couple of pics post surgery. things went well I guess (the doctor never talked to me or my husband afterwards) but the nurse said things went well. I'm pretty pooped...after effects of the anethesia. Mostly I'm stressing though because my laptop is having issues. I'm going to have to take it in as it has all of my pictures on it and I can't seem to repair it. Seems one of the Windows files is missing or corrupt and I can't even get Windows to boot up or go into Safe mode! I have all my pics on Picasa and have not backed them up recently so I'm really stressed, and pissed that it is not working. I came with Windows XP professional installed so no windows start up disc came with it. Only 2 recovery discs that will totally wipe all my files if I use it. I tell you what....computers just suck sometimes!

Did I mention how sick of recovering from stuff I am? WEll....I am!

Anyway...here is me now (on top) and here I am fresh out of surgery. I can't seem to get my nose to stop bleeding, and sleeping is hard as I have a bunch of nasty tasting stuff going down my throat, and it gets so dry I feel like I haven't had water in a year! Hopefully this will start to improve by tomorrow. I'm off to go ice again! I will post more tomorrow!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year - 7 months Post Op

2007-12-24T19:17:00.000-09:00

As this year comes to a close I cant' help but marvel at all that has taken place. It has been a very full year for me, and many of you too! It is Christmas Eve and officially 7 months post op for me. Healing continues.....its a long road, but worth the journey.

I can't believe that if all goes well I will be closing out the year with sinus surgery. Looking back it has certainly been bittersweet, but my memories are mostly sweet. Sure it had it moments but honestly it has been pretty positive and not has horrible as I had thought it would be. I'm now sleeping like a baby, and have a million dollar smile to go with it. Short of my recent bought with sinus infections I really don't have much to complain about, and a lot to be truly grateful for.

I wanted to take this time to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope that the upcoming year will be full of joy and fruitful outcomes to all you soon to be surgery folks. Hopefully you will have as much to celebrate next year as I do this year!

Trying to get better by Wednesday!

2007-12-24T16:32:00.001-09:00

So the doctor wanted me to start taking the antibiotics he gave me early in hopes we can head off whatever I have. I have to be at the lab at 7:30am on Wednesday to do blood work. They are going to put a stat order on it so the doctor will have my results by 9:30 am went I get to the surgery center. Then he is going to do a check up on me and make sure I'm ok for surgery. He says if my sinus infection IS back then it is probably best that we just proceed with the surgery and hopefully things will get better. The big thing is keeping it from moving into my chest. If there is issues with breathing then there could be issues with the anethesia which they do not like to deal with. So for now, I'm taking Sudafed, Mucinex, Emergen C, lots of fluids, vitamins, Zi-cam, and Augmentin 875mg.

Hopefully by tomorrow I will start to feel better!

I'm also doing allergy shots these days. I kindof wonder since all of this started on Saturday, if it could be a reaction to my Thursday shot. I've never had one before, but my son had several hay fever reactions at the beginning of his shots, so maybe that is what I'm having. It is either that, or the return of my sinus infection. Either way....keep your fingers crossed that it goes away and I can proceed as planned on Wednesday. I so want to get this surgery over with!

Two Days before Surgery and I'm Sick AGAIN! Will it NEVER END???

2007-12-23T21:01:00.000-09:00

Not sure what's going to happen now. Not sure what I have. I'm thinking that my sinus infection has returned. That is what if feels like. My sinuses are stuffy, my throat is really sore, and yesterday my sinuses were draining like crazy! Today I just feel run down, have a headache, and feel yucky. Mostly I'm praying for a miracle that it goes away before Wednesday.

I'm going to call my ENT tomorrow and see what he thinks. I have a perscription for 10 more days of the Augmentin 875mg. I was supposed to take it after the surgery so that I don't get any infections. Maybe he will want me to start it early and see what happens between now and Wednesday. I'm so frustrated, this is the only time that works for me to have this surgery until I get out of school for the summer. In the summer we have a lot of travel plans so it will really suck to have to have this done then, plus, it means I will have to pay 1,000 instead of having it done for free! At the moment I'm taking Zicam, vitamin C, muti-vitamins, and drinking lots of fluids and chicken broth. Keep your fingers crossed that it passes!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME! This sucks!

Second Surgery Pre-op / 7 months Post Op (first surgery)

2007-12-21T21:17:00.000-09:00

Tomorrow will be 7 months post op from my jaw surgeries. Hard to believe its already been that long! My sinus surgery will be two days short of 7 months exactly, and all I know is that it is entirely too close to my other one!

Today I had my pre-op appointment for my sinus surgery. Can I say having gone through all of this a few months back, I was a little disappointed with the way things were run at my ENT's office. First I thought my pre-op was going to be with my actual ENT, instead it was with his LNP and a nurse. Things just felt sorta rushed, and not very organized. Basically it was the same drill as before. They needed a copy of my EKG, I have to have blood work done on Monday to be sure I'm not pregnant. My surgery is at 9:30am and the whole thing, from the time I get there til I go home is supposed to take about 3-4 hours. He said the whole surgical procedure for the doctor will probably take about 30 minutes, but the rest of the time will involve being knocked out, and then the waking up in recovery part. Can you say YUCK!

So here is the plan....the doctor will be super cleaning my right maxillary sinus, then increasing the width of the drainage hole. In order to prevent the hole from healing over they will insert something called a gel sheet or something like that that will hold things open long enough for the skin to heal around it and not close up the hole. Then they will move onto my turbinates. They will be doing the procedure I mentioned before where they will be going in from behind the turbinate and sucking stuff out, then pressing it down to flatten it out. He said I will basically be wearing small tampons in my nose for 2 days and that people pretty much hate it. Also that I will not be able to breath out of my nose for those two days....swell! I go back in on Friday the 28th to have the packing taken out, and then go back 7 days later to have the gel sheet removed. Hopefully after this my sinuses will be amazingly transformed and much much better.

Now...I'm not exactly sure what I was thinking. Perhaps I was just in denial about all of this, as going into surgery again so soon after the last one is so not what I really want to be doing, especially the day after Xmas. Anyway....I know the doctor told me I would be under anesthesia but it didn't really sink in until today. As he explained that I would be knocked out, with a breathing tube down my throat, and an I.V in my arm again I just felt sick. I think I thought this whole thing was going to be done with like I.V sedation, just a quick 2 hour thing, like my SARPE. In and out! So suffice it to say that I'm not looking forward to this, and I'm feeling a little down about it all. I mean I want it done, but DONE is the key word here. I know it is a much less invasive and minor surgery but it just feels like major surgery if I have to have anesthesia! My throat hurt so bad from that stupid breathing tube after my jaw surgery that I'm feeling really bummed about that aspect of it. I know the whole surgery will be short and over soon, but right now I'm just experiencing the normal pre-surgical nervousness and apprehension.

I will keep you all posted on how things progress! Have a Merry Xmas All!

Here is a pic with my favorite guy (my darling husband)

Xmas Party's with Retainers

2007-12-16T22:00:00.000-09:00

So I had two Xmas parties this weekend. One Friday and one Saturday. I have been wearing my retainers religiously so I decided to leave them out for the parties so I could eat freely and not have to worry about getting them in and out. Things went fine at both parties. My teeth did not move at all and the retainers snapped right back on easily when I got home. It was so nice to not have to worry about them, and to be able to eat without any hassles. Also to not have to worry that my teeth are going to shift if hte retainers are out for a few hours. I can say that I actually prefer to have my retainers in though, as my teeth just feel more secure. When they are out they just feel sortof unstable.

I have noticed an interesting turn of events lately also. Not sure if this is due to my sinus issues, or what, but I have been noticing that food just doesn't taste as good. Even things that are pretty spicy seem rather bland to me. Also, we have a fresh cut xmas tree this year and I cannot smell it. I know that smell is directly tied into taste so perhaps that is why but it is really weird. I wonder if antibiotics can mess up your sense of smell and taste?

Other then that......things are just plugging along closer to my upcoming sinus surgery. It's hard to get excited about Xmas when you have to go in for surgery the following morning! Not looking too forward to that.

I will post more Friday after I see the ENT for the pre-surgical visit.

T minus 14 days until Sinus Surgery!

2007-12-12T20:06:00.000-09:00

I have made up my mind and decided to go through with the sinus surgery. I have my pre-op consultation on the 21st at 2:00, and the actual surgery is on the 26th. They will let me know 24 hours ahead of time (on Xmas day apparently) what time my surgery will be.

I'm trying to do a bunch of research. A guy on one of the sleep apnea boards I'm on, told me about a rather new procedure for turbinate reduction. Its called Inferior Turbinoplasty. When I watched the video of it, it reminds me of like liposuction of the turbinate. They go in from the back of the turbinate and use a special tool to remove some of it. It like sorta sucks it out. It is supposed to be better because it reduces the size of the turbinates but does not remove the surface of the turbinate which has little hairs on it and special cells that aid in sinus function. So I want to ask about that and see if that is something my surgeon does. I also want to know if any of this is going to affect the appearance or shape of my nose. Call me vain, but dang, I've had enough appearance changes with the SARPE and surgery, and I rather like my nose just the way it is. I don't want anymore changes!

So.....with that being said, I sit here purusing websites, collecting information, and mentally trying to prepare for a third surgery. One I hope will truly be useful and end my chronic sinus infections.

As for my newly debraced smile. The retainers have become much easier to get in and out. I still wish I didn't have to wear them, and my lower teeth are still very sensitive to movement, but other then that its all good.

Feeling continues to improve in my lower lip and chin area. At this point I can now feel my whole chin. It is still a bit numb under the surface on the left side but getting better daily. My lower lip continues to be tingly and get better. While it is still sortof numb below the surface on the left side, I can now lick my lower lip and feel the whole thing. So things are getting much better as a whole. I've been so busy with work and the holidays that I have sortof lost track of time. I'm at 6 months 3 weeks and 4 days now. I suppose that is a good thing, as it means that things are just sortof plugging along.

So....I will keep you all posted as things continue. I finished my last Augmentin tablet today....25 days later. I will be curious to see if my sinus infection is really gone or not. I'm thinking not since I'm still experiencing pain and pressure in my teeth, and when I bend down. But I'm being optimistic and hoping for a miracle, cross your fingers it works!

Endoscopic Middle Meatal Endteroscopy - Is that a mouthful or what!

2007-12-10T13:12:00.000-09:00

Endoscopic Middle Meatal Endteroscopy, along with turbinate reduction on both sides and possible Septoplasty is what the ENT wants to do. OH MY! So.....I have til tomorrow to decide if I'm going to let him do that or not and get this, if I do do it, my surgery will be on December 26th. Does that suck or what Merry Xmas to me!

I'm at 100% so my insurance would cover the cost of it completely (no $1,000 out of pocket) so I supposed I should be happy that they could get me in before the end of the year. However, my doctor is more then willing to continue treating my sinus issues with antibiotics and nasal spray. The final decision is up to me, and I have a very short time to ponder the choice!

While I'm so not wanting surgery again, the doc says this will be much much less then what I just went through (day surgery 2 hours or less) and if I do it, short of following up with my allergy shots there is little more theY can do for my poor sinuses. He says approximately 80% of people experience long term improvement (these are people who just have sinus issues though, not ones that have them exacerbated by MMA surgery, so he says I'm a unique case and he really doesn't know what the efficacy would be in my situation.) If I don't do it, I face continuing issues with my sinuses as well as more sinus infections. Plus it will cost me money next time! What to do???? Pretty much seems like a given doesn't it? Man.......why can't it ever be easy! I"M SO NOT JAZZED ABOUT MORE SURGERY!!!!! UGHHHH!

Sinus concerns! - UGHHH!

2007-12-07T21:57:00.000-09:00

Today I had my CT scan done at my ENT's office. He has a new machine so it was pretty sweet and easy. I got there at 11:30 and was done by 11:40. The whole CT scan took exactly 40 seconds. Your supposed to try to not blink and not swallow during that time. I tried really hard not to, but towards the end I just couldn't control myself and HAD to swallow. I told the nurse who was taking my Xray, incase I messed anything up. So before I left she had us go through the images (they are digital and automatically loaded to the computer) it was pretty cool and they are going to give me a copy of the Xray on CD. My swallowing didn't seem to affect the results so that was a plus! That, however.......was the good news.

The doctor got caught up in surgery so he was unable to go over my results with me. I knew this might happen so I wasn't surprised. The nurse, however, did talk to me a bit and showed me some stuff. She said that my right maxillary sinus looks kindof messed up. She didn't get specific but traced the area that was in question. This is probably why I have to pull my face to the right to blow my nose, or why it took 35 days of antibiotics to clear my sinus infection. She also said that my septum is very crooked. She proceeded to show me a pic where one side of my sinus looked like a roller coaster. Needless to say, I'm pretty bummed about it! I'm trying not to freak out until I talk to my doctor next week, however, I've had 3 CT scans over the last three years, so I pretty much know what my sinuses used to look like when they were in excellent condition. Now I can definitely see a huge difference in how they look and it is not a good difference!

Looks like I could be blogging more surgery in my future! and let me say for the record how much I'm not looking forward to that!

I'll post more Monday when I hear back from the doctor.

Matching Smiles! LIke Mother Like Son

2007-12-06T20:43:00.000-09:00

I'm sure you are all getting sick of my picture, but I had to post a few more of my new smile, with my son. Since we started this together it seemed only appropriate to include a final pic of the end results.

This pic was taken March 13th 2006 the day my son was braced (I was braced the week earlier)

This was taken yesterday (December 5, 2007) Can you believe how much he has grown in just a year and a half!

Here are our matching smiles! I can't believe he smiled sortof normally!

This is what I get most of the time, he is such a nut!

Retainers Improving!

2007-12-06T08:46:00.000-09:00

Well, last night was my first real challenge with the retainers. We had a semi formal xmas party to attend. Actually it was more of a cocktail party with "heavy Hors d'oeuvres" so it was next to impossible to wear my retainers, and be able to eat. Plus I was really dressed up, with very red lipstick on so it wasn't like I could run to the bathroom and take them out either. For the first time since getting them I went a full 2 hours without them. I wax pretty nervous about it, but things seem like they are really settling down in my mouth now and not moving around so much, so I figured it would be ok.

It was....I could feel things starting to migrate ever so slightly by about the end of the party, but before I left I ran to the restroom and quickly popped my retainers back in with no difficulty. I can see how people don't wear their retainers, I mean after going an hour or more, it gets easier and easier to go longer and just leave them out. It really is nice to just have your teeth be themselves without restriction, however, I'm also super paranoid about losing this amazing smile I have endured so much for, so I'm pretty careful about making sure they are on. One thing I have noticed, and I'm not sure if it is just with the Essix retainers, but my teeth feel like they get dirtier, especially behind my teeth. I brush after every meal or snack I eat as I worry about trapping food between my teeth and the retainer. Even still though I just notice that I can feel more plague or junk on them.

Anyway...I wanted to let those of you know who will be heading into retainers that the first few days are the worst, by one week things are feeling pretty good. My bite feels perfectly on when they are out, and my lower incisors are no longer sore or wiggly. Everything feels like it is settling into place. Getting the retainers in and out has become much easier and is no longer painful. They are snug, but not super tight (which is good.) Overall at this point, I'm very happy with my results and comfortable with my retainers! I rather like the Essix retainer now.

Surgery Cancelled Til January!

2007-12-05T09:39:00.000-09:00

Just when I think things can't get any worse they do! It is so crazy! So my mom wakes up this morning sick, with the flu I think. Now frankly I'm amazed that she didn't get it sooner, as we have all been dying for the past two months with it, passing it around, but can her luck get any worse? The day before surgery for goodness sakes! So...now they can't get her in to even see the doctor til January 4th, and surgery probably won't be scheduled until around the 20th of January! Can you believe that? That means that she is stuck eating pureed foods for another 6-8 weeks! After the 10-12 she has already done! I feel so bad for her, I know she is getting depressed, frustrated, and exasperated. Plus we have a trip planned to Maui on February 29th and she wanted to be well enough to go and enjoy it. The last trip we planned she got pneumonia and had to cancel. She is only 65 but her health is so fragile....she is always getting something! Anyway...that is where we are at with that.

Also this morning I took my son and I to the allergist to get our allergy shots (dh and I have a xmas party this evening so I didn't want to have to run him in afterschool and then be rushing around trying to get ready for the party.) Wouldn't you know that as soon as I drop him off at school he breaks out in hives! So the nurse is currently giving him benedryl and I'm going to check in on him in an hour to see how he is doing! Talk about stress! Combined with all the holiday hoopla I'm wiped out!

I guess when it rains it pours huh?

On a happier note! I think (knock on wood) that my sinus infection is finally gone! 25 days of Augmentin later! But hey that is something to celebrate amongst all this other gloom and doom don'tcha think?

Visit with the ENT / Mom's upcoming Surgery

2007-12-04T22:06:00.000-09:00

Today I finally got to see my ENT. Long and short of it...he wants me to continue taking the antibiotics I have (Augmentin 875mg) for the next 5 days until it is gone. He said from his view of my sinuses the right one is a bit bent (probably around 50%) He asked me if surgery was a consideration for me, and I said, if there is a problem then YES, I want it fixed. So, we are doing a CT scan on Friday at 11:30 and then we will go over the results. In the meantime he wants me to continue using my Veramyst for the next few months, and to continue with my allergy shots which can take up to 6 months to start seeing results. So...that is where we are at with the sinus infection stuff. I will post more when I find out more.

My mom goes in for surgery on her large intestines Thursday morning at 7:30am. This is to hopefully fix the problems and pain she has been having with diverticulitus. If you remember could you send some well wishes, prayers, or happy thoughts her way on Thursday morning? I'm sure she could use all the prayers she can get. I will post from the hospital since I will be doing a lot of hanging out there.

Day 4 In Retainerville!

2007-12-03T16:52:00.000-09:00

And you thought it was all over! LOL... Figured that since I have now entered a new phase of my oral drama that I should keep all you soon to be debraced people informed.

So here it goes....I have decided that retainers are a love hate relationship. On the one hand, you love them because they are keeping your teeth in their post braces, perfect position, or moving them back to that spot should they drift, however the actual wearing of them is not really pleasant, and rather annoying.

My teeth were super sore, and have been until today. For some reason my lower incisors were screaming, and I couldn't even touch them with the toothbrush! Getting Essix retainers off is no small feat the first few days. They are tight, and require rather strong fingernails to break the suction and get them to release. Putting them on is easier, albeit rather painful the first couple of days as, like with an adjustment your teeth aren't used to being in those exact spots so they are tender and sore from movement.

Overall things are going well though, the retainers have begun to loosen up. I took them off and put them on 3 times today to eat, and didn't have any issues. It is annoying to have to think about eating everytime though and to be sure and take them off first. It's a good diet plan though, really cuts down on snacking I tell you! Other then this there is not much else to report today. I will let you know how things are going as we get closer to the end of the week.

Drum Roll Please!!!! My New "Naked" Smile

2007-11-29T20:45:00.000-09:00

First pic of my new smile!

Ok so the debracing is finish! My teeth are officially free! It wasn't too bad. I mean it was a bit uncomfortable, but nothing terrible, and it was quick so I hardly noticed. Well that is except for the band on my upper left molar. The one that has been uncomfortable the whole time I had my braces. Well of course it would not play nice and just come of easily...Nope! it required cutting, and then some yanking, and then some more cutting, and bending, and more yanking, the whole time I'm sitting there wincing in pain. It was over relatively quickly though so I guess it was ok. Once we were finished with that the doctor had to grind all the glue off my teeth. I was worried about this part but it really wasn't bad at all. I mean short of listening to the sound of the drill, it went quick, and honestly I did not feel much of anything at all. Then we took impressions on the top and bottom and my lower bonded retainer was bent and fit for positioning. Right when the ortho was going to do this he discovered a cavity on my lower canine. So...I got ended up getting an upper and lower Essix for 1 month until I can get the cavity fixed, then on my next visit they will put my bonded retainer on and get rid of the lower essix. As for my top tooth flaring I was right, but the doctor made some modifications and it is being moved in with the retainer. My teeth are screaming all over again as the retainer is rather tight, and is pulling in the back to close up my molar band spaces, and move my front tooth into proper alignment..I took several pics of the whole thing and they are in this web album

Up Close Views
I then headed to the dentist for a cleaning (I do not recommend doing this on debracing day, unless you are like me and into getting all your pain at once) My teeth were very sore and sensitive and cleaning was not very fun. When I arrived at the dentist I had to remove my retainers. I did not practice this at the ortho's office because it was sortof tough, and a bit uncomfortable getting them to snap onto my teeth. I figured getting them off would not be pleasant so I didn't do it. At the dentists office I had a really hard time getting them off. I thought I was going to have to ask for help, when they finally popped off. The hygenist didn't have to do much scraping thank goodness, and said that my teeth were amazingly clean for someone just being debraced. Said she could tell that I have been doing a really good job at keeping them clean (that made me feel good.) My dentist came in and took a look around the new mouth and said that I had a Hollywood smile now. We chatted for awhile about my surgeries and scheduled an appointment to fill my small cavity in a couple of weeks. When I was finished I went out to the car and put my retainers back on. It had not been more then 45 minutes without them. Suffice it to say that putting them back on was not enjoyable at all. My teeth were really achey and had already done a bit of migrating. I have also come to the conclusion that for the next few days, eating is going to be a challenge.
I have to take my retainers off everytime I eat, or to brush my teeth, other then that I"m supposed to wear them 24/7for the next month. I'm also not supposed to drink anything but water with them in, otherwise I risk discoloring of them, or could cause decay by trapping fluid against my teeth that could have sugar in it etc. Since it hurts to pop them back on, I don't even want to take them off to eat. I cheated and went to Fruitland and got a large Chai Tea with protein in it, then rinsed my mouth really good with water. I need to take some Advil when I get home. That may help, but at the moment, I'm just starving, but would rather be hungry then take these suckers out and and eat! HOW BAD IS THAT!

Another view of my new smile

Me holding the bag of candy the ortho gave me

Old and New Profile pic

2007-11-29T18:00:00.000-09:00

Old Profile Pic

New profile
(big change huh?)

My Last Day in Braces!

2007-11-28T12:50:00.000-09:00

So I'm really trying to savor this day, thinking that perhaps, one day I may actually miss having my braces (although I certainly can't imagine that happening.) It has been a long journey and it seems so unreal that my teeth are going to be "naked" by this time tomorrow (almost exactly 6 months post op) As I was using my dental pik to get the rest of my lunch out of my braces today I kept thinking....tomorrow my teeth will be free! No more picking, no more pokey archwires, no more chewed up cheeks, or a sore tongue. No more brackets hooking into my food, No more sore teeth, or having to use a floss threader, or brushing a zillon times a day, or having to water pik like a crazy women! OMG it is so going to be heavenly! I truly can't wait to be able to really see the results of all my surgeries, and orthodontic work. Tomorrow could quite possibly be the most exciting day of my life! (what can I say....the thrills are pretty limited when you are raising kids, its always about them, and never about MOM!)

I plan to bring the camera and take a bunch of pics. I mean come on, I'm sure they are going to think I'm totally out my mind, but tomorrow is the last day I will be having anything really major done to my teeth for awhile! I need to show all my blog buddies who has been taking care of my teeth all these months, and of course the results of all his labor. Plus I need proof that I actually got through this whole journey. It all seems so surreal right now. I feel like I should be conducting some kind of mourning ritual, to lay my braces to rest. Trouble is, that I don't feel much like mourning! Just celebrating! Hmm.....what should I eat tomorrow? A big gooey carmel apple sounds wonderful! and popcorn, and milk duds! The possibilities are endless! I HOPE IT DOESN'T HURT TOO MUCH GETTING THEM OFF!

HURRY UP TOMORROW!

6 Months Post Op

2007-11-25T21:46:00.000-09:00

Today is officially 6 months post op for me. Not much has changed but I felt I should post something if for no other reason then nostalgia. I mean I can actually say that I have lived through the worst part of this surgery, survived, and that I'm very happy with my results. I'm sleeping well and I'm getting my braces of in 4 days! The feeling in my lower lip, my teeth, and my chin area continues to improve daily. Short of this blasted sinus infection that just doesn't seem to want to go away, I have a lot to be thankful for! I have faith that we will get it all figured out soon. So, I'm going to focus on the positive, be grateful for what I have, and keep on smiling.

ONLY 4 MORE DAYS TILL MY BRACES COME OFF! I'M SO

EXCITED!!!! :)

I think its working!

2007-11-20T20:45:00.000-09:00

Ok, I'm sorta scared to say this as I'm worried I might jinx things, but I think that my sinus infection is finally starting to improve. I can breathe out of both sides of my sinuses now and I'm starting to feel less run down. I think that in 10 days it might totally be gone! We shall see!

Brandy

Sinus Issues??

2007-11-19T13:27:00.000-09:00

So Anne asked how things were going with my sinus infection. Suffice it to say that we are still fighting it. As of today I just completed 10 days of Augmentin 875mg, and was perscribed 10 more days of it, since things are only very marginally improved. My cough is better, and seems to be almost gone but I still have yellow junk coming out of my sinuses (thats when I can get it to come out) I was told to take Sudafed every 12 hours, which I did for 5 days, until the side effects started making it impossible. I couldn't sleep at all at night, I was waking every hour on the hour, and having terrible night sweating (waking up just drenched, it was so gross) on the fifth day I broke out in hives. Since I have never had an issue with antibiotics I knew it had to be the Sudafed. So I stopped taking it. Did you know that it can take up to 16 hours for Sudafed to leave your system once you stop taking it? Anyway...after a day of waiting I finally got some sleep, with no sweating, and no hives.

The plan now is to see my ENT in two weeks once my braces come off. Something is not right with my sinuses, most especially my right side. I'm feeling a little bummed out today as it seems like I'm going to have to pursue more medical issues with my sinuses now, when I was so hoping I was done with all of this stuff awhile. I will keep you all posted though should anything change. :(

Maybe the 10 more days of Augmentin will kick things...keep you fingers crossed!

Couple Before and After pics

2007-11-17T23:25:00.000-09:00

I found a couple of comparison pics that I think show the pre and post changes pretty well. You can really see how my nose has widen a bit, and the area below my nose has been expanded. You will you notice my face is not so round now. It is longer and you can really see the difference in the chin area. It was pretty trippy, looking at my smile lines. They are still identical!

It will be fun to see the comparison of these once the braces come off in the next couple of weeks.

As for my healing progress, I'm starting to get a lot more feeling back in my bottom lip these days. I can now find it with a cup rather then having to use my top lip for guidance. The most exciting news has been the return of feeling in my tongue now. It is only very slightly numb near the front tip. It is no longer burny or painful though, and the taste buds seem to be regenerating too. I can now manuever stuff around in my mouth much more effectively and actually feel what I'm doing instead of things being so akward and uncomfortable. I'm so happy about this as I was afraid it would never get better!

Up close and Personal With No "Goofy Smile"

2007-11-14T21:12:00.000-09:00

Ok, someone (why are nasty comments always by someone annonymous?) complained in my comments that they wanted some real pictures instead of the same ones each week with my "goofy smile" That I'm apparently not showing pics that allow people to see the changes that have taken place adequately enough. Normally I would just delete a comment like this, however, today I decided to appease whoever wrote this comment. I took a bunch of pics of just my face with my hair pulled back, and no makeup on. I put then in a separate web album since there were just too many to post. There is just about every possible angle I could think of so hopefully this will satisfy "Annonymous" or anyone else interested in looking at the old and new changes up close and personal.

Almost 6 months/ New Profile pics

2007-11-11T19:11:00.000-09:00

I'm a little worried about my debracing on the 29th. It appears that the powerchain has made my right front incisor flare out a bit. You can see it in the pic below if you look closely. I hope it doesn't mess things up and make me have to wait longer! I'm hoping its something that can be fixed with the retainer. Fingers crossed!

So I was looking at the pics of Steph's new facial profile the last few days, and thinking how amazing she looks. Ok...so I'm a little envious at how perfect her profile looks. I decided that I should post some new pics of my profile since it has been awhile. I still don't think my profile is as pretty as hers, but it is good enough, I'm happy with it.

Here is the left profile

Here is the right profile

Back Tracking a bit, and new meds

2007-11-09T23:56:00.000-09:00

So, in my book today would be the 6 month mark for me. However, technically I'm only 5 months 2 weeks, and 2 days post op. So I guess I will go by the official monthly calendar rather then my crude estimate of counting 4 weeks at a time.

I went to a First Care Clinic tonight and got a new antibiotic prescription. I always find it funny how many doctors have a way of sort of tuning you out. Now I consider myself to be a very assertive women, I'm not afraid to speak up, nor am I afraid to plead my case if I feel it is necessary. Mind you, I'm not rude, but I also will not let anyone walk all over me, even if they have a freaking medical degree. Now I like to think that doctors care about their patients and respect the fact that it is my body we are talking about, so perhaps I might know a little bit about what is going on with it. I mean that would seem to be a sort of given, don't you think? Most especially since I have been plagued with sinus infections for years! I mean, I know what they feel like when I have one. I know the second I start having one come on. Now Is it my fault that I don't present with the typical symptoms, and that even though I have had numerous CT scans they can't figure out why I keep getting these stupid infections?

What I don't understand is why some/many doctors always have to have the last word? I sometimes feel like things turn into a pissing match, like God forbid that I might actually know what is wrong with me? I don't go to the doctor to challenge their expertise, or discount their experience or knowledge, but sometimes I just know what is wrong with me, because I have had these issues for what feels like an eternity. I would be the first to admit that I didn't have a clue if I really didn't.

So...anyway, I get to the doctor. He tells me that I have sort of labored breathing in my chest and I sound pretty hoarse (No....you think? I mean I only have bronchitis thanks to all the sinus drainage and coughing I have been dealing with for the last 5 weeks) I told him I took Biaxin for 10 days and that it did not help, and I could tell that my sinus infection was not gone. He agrees that this could probably be true and gives me the run down about how certain antibiotics are not as effective as others...blah blah blah, I've heard this info a million times, I used to work as a pharmacy tech, I know all about antibiotics. After discussing my symptoms and history with him and seeing that convincing him I know what I'm talking about is not going to work. I acquiesced and allowed him to fluff his feathers, have the last word, and be right. He proceeded to tell me that I don't have a sinus infection that I have the flu and that I need to take Sudafed everyday for 20 days, and that he is going to give me a prescription for Augmentin to also be taken once a day. That if I take both of these it should knock out these flu symptoms in about 10 days.
I played his stupid little game so that I could walk out of there with new meds, but my question is....why must I play these stupid games? Why do so many doctors think they are so much smarter and know so much more about my body then I do? It annoys me that they possess the power to make people feel better or worse, and that as an educated women I must suck up to them, or kiss their ass so that I can get my medical concerns addressed. It is just so stupid, they so need to just get over themselves!

Now I should add that not all doctors are like this. I love my OS he rocks and always listens genuinely to what I have to say. My ortho is a good guy too, although I do think he could become testy as well if I really pushed things (which I have a tendency to do) lol... Anyway, I will get off my soapbox. Hopefully the meds will work and I can make an appointment with my regular ENT next time. What I can tell you though, is I DO NOT HAVE THE FLU! I have a Sinus infection! and some doctor saying it isn't so, is not going to change the facts.

I have been getting a lot of feeling back in my lower lip lately. Things are really starting to feel much more normal. My lower teeth are still very sensitive, especially in the lower left quadrant. I have a lot of referred response. When I touch my lower lip, I feel it in my lower gums and teeth. It's weird, but definitely getting better. Today I finally figured out what the deal is with chewing. In addition to having more space in my mouth, my teeth are no longer in the location they used to be. They have all moved forward. So the area that I used to send the food to (in the back of my mouth) does not really exist anymore because my jaws are now in a more forward position. I now realize that I must chew my food more towards the front rather then way in the back. I have been doing this a lot lately and it has been working sooo much better. It takes conscious effort though, it is not natural by any means yet. I'm hoping it will be one day though.

Ok...this post has become huge, so I will take a break for now. Here's a shout out to my recent surgery buddies Annie, and Graham! who are both doing amazingly well! Keep your spirits up and know that you will get through this! Soon you will be 5 months post op and this will all be a distant memory!

Wishing you all well!

Fun Never Ending!

2007-11-08T20:20:00.000-09:00

So yesterday was 4 weeks I have been battling this cold/sinus infection crap! My ENT called in some Biaxin 10 days ago. Things were starting to improve, but I could tell the infection was not yet gone when I took my last pill on Monday. Tuesday I saw my allergist. Of course he did not see any signs of infection because I had just finished the last antibiotic the day before. So he tells me that he thinks it is allergies and gives me some Singular, and Veramyst for my nose. Now mind you I hate taking meds of any kind and I knew before I saw him that I still had a sinus infection. I was hoping maybe I was wrong though. WELL...I WAS NOT! I have now used those stupid allergy meds for two day, and guess what? MY SINUS INFECTION IS BACK! I now have a headache to go with it, and my upper teeth on the right side hurt everytime I move my head, plus my nose is nice and stuffy again.
So I called the ENT who just happens to be on vacation this week and since he is such a busy guy cannot get me in to see him until November 27 (which is not going to work) So I then called my allergist again. Well he doesn't work on Friday's and is on vacation all of next week. So....it looks like I will be going to "First Care" one of the minor emergency centers tomorrow. Perhaps then I can get some new antibiotics that will hopefully work and I can get over this sinus infection and get on with my life.

I thought about calling my Oral Surgeon, but he is in Kenai on Fridays so that wouldn't work either. I do want to get it taken care of though. I'm worried that a bad sinus infection could cause problems with my jaw healing, or create issues that aren't there. So....I need to get rid of it!

Super Chompers!

2007-11-04T20:33:00.000-09:00

Just wanted to post that my eating issues are starting to resolve themselves. I can now chew most things including nuts, carrots, and apples. I do have to manuever stuff around a bit still as I find that I haven't quite figured out how to handle all this space in my mouth yet. I mean, after 41 years of having the same mouth and eating with it, the changes that have taken place in the last 18 months have not been completely embraced by my brain. I bite things the way that I used to, and have to remind myself that I need to start over and take smaller bites. I still do a lot of pulling things apart with my fingers and eating them, as it is easier to gauge the size of my bites if I'm visually seeing them before putting them in my mouth. I haven't quite mastered biting stuff off with my teeth and keeping the size down. I think it will take some time to get used to things again. To retrain my mouth and my brain.

I love that I can eat raw almonds now and not have it hurt my teeth though! That is a big milestone in my opinion! So...its time for these super choppers to do some super chomping!

5 Months 3 weeks post Op/ 26 Days til debracing!

2007-11-03T10:29:00.000-08:00

I was looking at the calendar today. I have been counting every 4 weeks as a month instead of going by the actual monthly calendar. So...technically I'm exactly 5 months 1 week and 2 days post op today! LOL..... This really doesn't make much difference but I suppose it could be encouraging to others in that I've been coming along so well in even less time then I thought it had been.

I'm still on Biaxin, have 3 more days to go. Now with that being said, my sinuses seemed to have cleared up but I can't shake this cough that I have. I think my sinuses are draining still and it is causing me to have all this crud in the back of my throat. I can't stand it so I'm clearing my throat like every few minutes. It sucks! I have tried everything to get rid of it I swear. Today I broke out my husbands canadian mist whiskey sample that he got from his uncle. I need to preface this with the fact that we don't drink. I mean very very rarely...like every few years we will have a margarita or something but nothing on a regular basis. So...one tiny little swig of canadian mist is enough to make me light headed. I was really coughing this morning so right out of the shower I took a couple sips. Short of being able to feel it all the way down to my toes I don't think it did much of anything to get rid of my cough. It did burn though, and give me heartburn, plus made me so tired for the rest of the day. :( Am I a lightweight or what??? I'm thinking I might have to get on an inhaler to clear things up. This happened to me once before a long long time ago and an inhaler was the only way we could make it go away. I really hate those things though as they make me all weak in the knees, shakey, dizzy, and light headed. I hate taking medicine!

On a happier note. I have 26 days left til my braces come off! wooo hooo..... I can't believe its getting so close!

As for healing, things are going well, lower lip and chin are still improving daily believe it or not! The left side that was super numb has been getting much better. Still have a ways to go but I can feel my lower lip now much more so then before, it feels now like it will get to 100% eventually.

Sleep continues to be amazing....so so wonderful to be able to sleep. Even now when I have trouble falling asleep I still wake up feeling rested because I sleep solidly for the few hours I may get. I feel like this operation has given me my life back.

Well its getting late and I'm tired....so, I will post more tomorrow! Peace out People!

Feeling Much Better

2007-10-31T20:20:00.001-08:00

So today is my 6th day on Biaxin. Can you say YUCK! I hate this stuff as it gives me the most awful taste in the back of my throat, BUT with that being said, it does work! I'm feeling much better. Still coughing a tad but I'm pretty sure that will be fully gone in the next couple of days too! I have noticed some very interesting stuff going on with my sinuses since all of this cold/cough stuff showed up.

The left side of my sinuses seem to be sorta plugged up or blocked. When I blow my nose nothing comes out the left side, only the right side. The right side is incredibly clear, when I had the sinus infection and would blow my nose, I would get big discusting globs of yellow crap coming out of my right side nostril only. Not to be gross or anything, but just to clarify what I'm talking about. I think once I get my braces off I'm going to schedule an appointment with my ENT and have him do a new CT scan on my sinuses, just to check for any abnormalities or post surgical issues. Especially since I don't want to keep getting sinus infections everytime I come in contact with a cold germ.

But hey! I'm feeling like my old self again so I'm not going to focus on the negative. That which you focus on you get more of, so I will focus my energies on postive, healthy thoughts and not worry about the rest for now.

5 1/2 Months Post Op

2007-10-27T23:33:00.000-08:00

So I'm getting pretty near the 6 month mark, hard to believe....it has gone by pretty quickly.

I finally got ahold of my ENT on Friday and he called in a prescription for Biaxin. I have taken 3 doses and at the moment not much has changed. I'm kind of bummed as I really didn't want to take antibiotics again. I have been doing everything to try and stay off of them. So, I guess its back to square one after this to try and figure out something that will make my sinus infections quit reoccurring. Hopefully I will start to feel better in the next couple of days.

Because of the sinus infection it is kindof hard to report on progress this week as it seems that everything has been stunted or slowed due to all the other symptoms that have been taking place. My lower lip numbness has been exacerbated this week. It is very annoying and frustrating. Eating is still a pain in the rear. I'm starting to feel like it is never going to get back to normal. Maybe when I get full feeling back in my teeth, and the inside of my cheeks are no longer numb it will be better, but for now it is nothing short of exasperating.

Range of motion is still the same, it has not changed in probably 3 months. I can open it enough to get food into my mouth, but it would be nice to be able to get it back to where it was before surgery. Hopefully that will happen within the next 6 months.

I have only 1 month left til my braces come off! Woo hoo! Can you tell I'm counting! I do think this powerchain is messing things up a bit. My front left incisor seems to be protruding out farther then it was before. My two front teeth are not lined up next to each other. I would be totally livid if we had to postpone my debracing due to this change. I'm hoping it is something that can be fixed with my retainer, or that will improve once the powerchains are removed. Guess we shall see!

Doctors can be maddening!

2007-10-25T20:49:00.000-08:00

So, I have come to the conclusion that I have a sinus infection. Nothing has changed since Tuesday when things took a turn from getting better to me feeling like I'm dieing again. My husband and son both had this and are both better already. So I called my allergist because he told me last time I was there, when we were discussing my chronic sinus infections, to just give him a call next time I have one and he will get me taken care of. So I called, and left a message asking if he could call in some meds. I get a call back saying that they can't call in meds and that I should probably see my primary care provider!

WTF! I have an oral surgeon, an ear nose and throat doctor, an allergist, a dentist, a dental sleep medicine doctor, and a naturopath that I see for most everything else. Why would I even bother with a primary care provider these days when every one of them just refer you to a freakin specialist? My oral surgeon tells me to call the ENT, the ENT says he wants me to see the allergist, and the allergist tells me to call my Primary care provider. Is it just me or is it some kind of sick conspiracy to make people that are already feeling like crap feel worse? I'm so confused as to who I should call when I get one of these. The ENT says he can't find anything wrong with my sinuses so he sent me to the allergist. The allergist says I have "chronic sinusitus. He tells me to take Zyrtec so I have been, and I have been doing my nasal irrigation religiously, twice a day since this all started. Yet I call, because I'm having sinus issues and he blows me off, and tells me to call my primary care provider. Well...the nurse tells me that, not the actual doctor.

So, tomorrow I will call again, and not be quite so nice this time. It's just wrong I tell you! Sorry for the rant, but it really is crazy!

Killer Cold!

2007-10-23T10:25:00.000-08:00

Ok, I think it was Beneath the Stars who said that my first post surgery cold would be a killer! Boy she wasn't kidding! I'm still not sure if it is just a cold or a sinus infection. I had been doing my little neti pot nasal irrigation every night before getting it, and then twice a day since it started, so I don't see how it could be a sinus infection. With that being said though, my sinuses are so different now, I have no idea what a sinus infection would even be like now. I used to have them a lot prior to surgery, so I knew my symptoms etc. Now, however, it has all changed and I'm just not sure.

I feel very tired! Everyone at my work has been sick with this crud and I've heard it likes to hang on. Yesterday I felt like things were getting better, like I was turning the corner. My nose wasn't stuffy at all, and aside from a little tickle in my throat my voice sounded fine. THEN last night it all got worse! I hardly slept at all. My nose is all stuffed up again today, I'm coughing, and have a bunch of crap in my chest. I have barely any voice, when I do talk I sound like a frog, and have three lessons to try and teach today! UGhhh! Forgotten how much it stinks to be sick!

I figure I will give it til next Monday and if its not better by then (12 days from onset) I'm going to call my allergist and get checked out. Hope I can stand it that long, as sleeping is really unpleasant. I've been loading myself up on vitamin C, and cold eze, plus tons of fluids but it just doesn't seem to matter. It has gone from a sore throat, to a sinus cold, to my chest, then back up to my sinuses! CRAZY huh?

Thanks Michelle for checking in on me! I'm hanging in there for sure, but feeling rather puny at the moment!

First Post Surgery Cold and Sore Throat

2007-10-20T12:41:00.000-08:00

So I haven't been sick with a real cold in over a year and a half so, I suppose I really can't complain. Things have not been near as bad as they could've been. I woke up Thursday morning with a wicked sore throat, which proceeded to get worse as the day went on. I began sucking on the "Cold Eze" lozenges that morning and sucking down the "Emergen C" as well. I woke up at about 3;30 in the morning with serious pain in my face! I have never really had sinus pain before (even when I get sinus infections.) I just never got it. It was bad enough that I had to get up and take a couple of Advil though. I went back to bed and after about 20 minutes the pain subsided so I fell asleep. Friday morning my throat was beginning to feel a bit better, but I was sneezing and really stuffed up. I had my adjustment done Thursday morning and my teeth were really sore. I thought it was from my new powerchain, but realized, as the day progressed that it was from sinus pressure right above my teeth. It was really uncomfortable and I had to take some advil again to make it stop hurting. I started taking some Mucinex yesterday so that things will stay thin, and I have been doing my nasal irrigation 2 times a day as the last thing I want is for this to turn into a sinus infection.

I avoided sleeping on my right side last night so that my teeth and sinus area would not hurt anymore. I woke up today and while I definitely don't feel 100% I feel like things are on their way out now. My sinuses are not as plugged up and my sore throat is gone. I still feel some congestion in my sinuses but not like yesterday. I'm going to pump myself full of fluids, Vitamin C, and Zinc lozenges, today and see if I can't kick this before the weekend is out.

Considering that I'm working off a whole new sinus configuration though, this cold has been relatively easy compared to the ones I used to have. If I can get over it with no sinus infection developing then this truly will have been a miracle surgery!

Wooo Hooo! I Have A Debracing Date!

2007-10-18T11:54:00.000-08:00

Saw the ortho this morning! He said we are running out of stuff to do and that we could set a debracing date today. He asked me if there were any areas I had concerns about. I told him about my right first and second incisors looking a bit off to me. He explained that it was a filling in one of them, that he will shave down and level out when he debraces me, and explained a few other technical details regarding some other areas in my mouth. He then put my wires back in and told the assistant to put my "last powerchains" on the top and bottom so we can keep everything secure. I figured I would go out with a bang and picked pastel pink! I actually really like this color, I should've picked it sooner!

We scheduled November 29th for my debracing! Not as soon as I had hoped for, as I really wanted it to be like in 2 weeks! But hey, I have a date, they are for sure coming off, so I guess I can survive another 6 weeks! Woo Hoo! I'm so excited! The end is near!

Here are my new PINK powerchains!

5 Months Post op / Changes Come In Threes!

2007-10-13T22:08:00.000-08:00

So today is the 5 month post op mark!

Things are going well, so well in fact that I guess I no longer have to see my oral surgeon anymore. My implant is doing well, and I actually think that the removal of the screws in my mouth, especially the one that was on the outer side has made a big difference in my healing. My chin is still pretty tingly, but way more so this past week. It is very uncomfortable to touch as it is just super sensitive. Feeling is really coming back in my lower teeth and they are hyper sensitive. I mean super duper sensitive! Just brushing is excruitiating lately. I'm hoping this will pass soon, but see it as a good sign as it means feeling is on its way back! My lower lip is getting much better too. Since the screws were removed the left side of my lip (the part that was really numb) has gotten a lot of feeling back in it. The tingling has toned down a bit, and things don't seem quite so swollen now in my left cheek area and in my lower lip. I can drink a cup of coffee and actually feel the cup on my lower lip now, instead of having to use my top lip to guide things into my mouth. I'm feeling pretty confident that full feeling will be returning in the very near future, so that is something to look forward to.

Cross your fingers that the orthodontist will take my braces of very soon! I'll know Thursday.

I thought I would show some pics of how my features have changed over the last year and half and through all the surgeries.

Before Surgery

After SARPE (Surgically assisted rapid palate expansion surgery) You can see my little gap still trying to close up :)

Current pic (after Upper,Lower, and Genio surgeries)

Yay! No More Surgeries!

2007-10-11T21:34:00.000-08:00

I saw my oral surgeon today for my 1 week follow up check on my implant. He said that everything looked great, and that when they put my implant screw in, that it went in so tight they were able to put the abutement on too so....I'm officially done with surgery! HIP HIP HOORAY! He said that the implant still needs to fully infuse with the bone for a bit longer, but I can go see my regular dentist in about 3.5 months to get my crown made and put on.

I'm so excited to know that I don't have to have anymore incisions in my mouth! I said to the doctor "nothing personal, but I really am so glad that you will not have to do anymore surgery on me, I'm really sortof maxed out on the surgery stuff" He laughed and said "No offense taken, I imagine that YOU ARE sick out it! I mean obviously asthetics are important but the real issue was the apnea. You went through a lot of surgery to achieve results so its great that the apnea is now better, and personally I think you look great too" He finished up by telling me that if I start feeling some sensitivity in my lower gum area, that most likely it means that the abutement has come loose (he says that this happens sometimes) and that if that happens I can contact him or my dentist to have it tightened up. Other then that, I think I'm done seeing him. I mean I guess I don't have to see him again. I left the office a bit conflicted. I mean I love my oral surgeon he is so great, and he has made such a difference in my life with his fantastic expertise. It just all seemd so anti climatic, like I should've hugged him, or thanked him more, or something! They didn't tell me I needed to make another appointment though. Just said if he needs to see me again they will call me, since he didn't say anything.

Maybe I will see him again if something comes up, if not I plan to write him a thank you letter, and also send him some pre and post pics following my journey, so he can add them to his patient book. He really needs some pictures from an older adult rather the just a bunch of teenagers! :)

I will post more tomorrow at the 5 month mark.

4 Months and 3 Weeks Post op

2007-10-05T19:43:00.000-08:00

Not much new to report this week. Numbness appears to be about the same, maybe even a little exacerbated due to the implant stuff yesterday. I know I have what feels like a big knot right under the skin where the implant was done. I think it is just swelling as it wasn't there yesterday before I went. Pain has been minimal. I was pretty puffy on my cheek and very sore to the touch this morning upon waking, but no pain in the implant or stitches themselves, and so far no bruising. The doctor gave me enough percocet for 5 days and I haven't even had to take an advil. So that is a good thing! I was still pretty dizzy upon waking though so I stayed home from work today to give myself time to recover from the I.V sedation. I still feel run down and not quite myself yet though. Hopefully after a good nights sleep tonight things will be much better.

Here is a pic of my new implant post today, minus all the blood. When I went to bed last night it had a really big blood clot on the viewable side, but when I woke up this morning it was all gone. I go back on Thursday for a follow up appointment.

I Survived Stage 1 Of My Implant!

2007-10-04T19:49:00.000-08:00

Well today was the day that I got my screws removed from my bone graft. I really had wanted to ask if I could keep the screws, but I was so totally out of it after things were finished that I forgot to ask. Oh well, I've got the pictures to last a lifetime so its all good.

Here are the gory pics I promised. Sorry about the little bits of blood, but hey...I just had surgery 5 hours ago and its still a bit weepy. I think the pics are very clear though and should help those of you that might be having one of these procedures soon. You should be able to see what you are in for. You can click on either one to get a full on view! Truthfully...it really was nothing. I've had mosquito bites that hurt more!

So here is how things went. Arrived at the OS office at 12:50. Got into the doctors office by 1:10. Nurse gave me two penicillin tablets and said "consider this lunch" LOL....then made me rinse with some nasty, minty, mouthwash for 4 minutes. I had to gargle a mouthful for 2 minutes, spit it out, and then do it again for 2 more minutes. She put a lovely little timer on the counter for me so I could be sure and get the full 4 minutes in. It wasn't peridex but something very similar, to disinfect and eliminate germs etc. Doctor came in smiling, touched my arm, asked how things have been going, and told me I looked great. Nurse took my blood pressure (119/68) which is actually rather high for me, and put a pulse monitor on my left index finger. On the other side the doctor got my I.V put in (he is so great with this, never has a problem finding my veins, and is very gentle too) He proceeded to tell me that after everything else that had been done to me that this would be like a "walk in the park" He said if he could get the post in nice and tight, that he would put the abutement on it at the same time so I would not have to make a separate appointment for that. Then all that would be left would be to get the actual implant tooth made and put in, in about 4 months. As he was telling me this he was gently adminstering the I.V sedation told me I was going to start to get very drowsy, and that once I was out he would be numbing up my left hand side to work on. I had to struggle to stay awake and comprehend what he was saying to me. His nurse could see that I was fighting it and sorta smiled at me as if to say....yeah, I know, he's talking and your signing out! LOL....

The surgery started at about 1:15 and I was done by about 1:50 so all total it took about 35 minutes. Now I wish I could tell you all something about the whole procedure, however, I don't remember a blasted thing once I went under. I mean absolutely nothing. I didn't feel anything, in fact if you would've told me they did nothing I would've believed it. I woke up pretty groggy and out of it. I vagely remember them saying something about keeping the guaze pad in my mouth for 30 minutes but that was about it. Getting out of the chair was weird, like I was in serious la la land. I was absolutely sleep walking. My mom and husband were both helping me walk since I was dizzy and my legs felt very wobbly and heavy. Now...they told me that we took the elevator down to the first floor, and walked to the car. At which point I called my son to tell him we were on our way to pick him up from school. If only I remembered any of this it would be good. I fell asleep in the car til we got to his school, then we drove out to the pharmacy on base to fill a couple of my perscriptions. The doctor gave me a perscription for percocet which I probably won't use but filled anyway. I slept all the way to the pharmacy, and for the whole time my husband was at the pharmacy turning in my perscriptions. My son fell asleep too so we were both out for the count for awhile. After darling husband got back in the car we drove to the mall for something to eat. I couldn't eat or drink anything before the surgery so I was starving! I slept most of the way to the mall too. At the mall we went to my favorite Vietnemese restaurant and I had a nice big bowl of seafood Pho noodles. It was so good, and I started feeling a lot better after I was done with it. We then walked the mall, shopped a bit, and I had a chai tea boba drink.

The novocaine was pretty trippy. The left side of my mouth is still quite numb. I have learned to accomodate for the numbness quite a bit thus far without even realizing it. So, when the novocaine made things even more numb my husband said I had a "Sylvester Stallone" lip thing going on. My son and him were both cracking up at my lip contortions! Now that the novocaine is just about completely worn off I think things are feeling much more normal and better. I do feel a slight bit of bruising on my lower cheek/jaw area where the outside screw was removed (so glad that thing is out now though) but other then that I'm in absolutely no pain at all.

I will keep you all posted on how things are faring tomorrow. I suspect I may end up with some slight bruising on my lower cheek, but hopefully will be none less for wear.

Under The Knife Again tomorrow!

2007-10-03T21:31:00.000-08:00

So I get to have stage one of my implant put in tomorrow. Basically they will be cutting me open again, taking out the screws in my bone graft, and installing the post that will eventually hold my implant tooth. It will then heal for 5 months and my oral drama will be complete in March when they finally put the tooth in.

Doctor called today, said no eating or drinking for 4 hours prior to procedure. That means I cannot have anything after 9:00am. I'm not really nervous, as I mean I know what to expect with the IV sedation etc now, but can't say that I'm looking forward to anything but getting it over with. One more thing I will be able to tick off my oral checklist. I will post more tomorrow when I'm done.

4 1/2 Months Post Op / Swelling Persists

2007-09-28T18:51:00.000-08:00

Today is the 4 1/2 month post op point. Things just continue to plug along. It sorta feels writing this that I'm just reported minutia since the progress is so slow but hey, I suppose it could be interesting if you are post surgery wondering what your recovery might be like etc.

Lets see, most of the changes continue to happen in my lower lip area and my lower teeth. My chin area and under my lip have been very tingly and sensitive. Touching the area is like pins and needles everywhere and the area below the left side of my lower lip when touched sends an annoying sensitivity to the gums below my lower teeth. I'm convinced that if this doesn't go away soon that I'm not going ot have fun when the ortho takes off my braces. In fact I think it will be down right unpleasant. If he touches my teeth with anything that vibrates (like a drill) I'm going to fly out of that chair I tell you!

Sleep continues to go well, and I have noticed an interesting result of my surgery. It now seems that I can sing better. Before I used to get a lot of congestion in my throat and would always have to clear my throat or would sound hoarse. Since the surgery this is no longer an issue. Everything is clear sounding and not cracky and messed up.

Well thats it, more to come soon. I go in next Thursday for Stage 1 of my implant (putting the post in) I will post after that appointment and let you all know how it went. Will probably include some nice new gory pics too! LOL

Just wanted to show all of you that looks are deceiving and that I still have swelling in my face at 4.5 months post op. You can click on the pic to enlarge it and see better, as most of the swelling is only visible if you really look at me when I'm not smiling. 1 and 5 show the continued swelling in my sinus area, and while this does go down a bit as the day progesses it is definitely still there. If you look lower at the creases on both sides of my face especially #2 you will see that there is still swelling through the left hand side (your left) as compared with the right side. 3. Shows the area on my left near the bottom of my jaw that is still a bit puffy compared to the other side. If you look closely at 4. you will see that there is swelling in the left side of my lip and that makes my lip look a bit lopsided. 6. Shows how the contour of my jaw is quite visible on the right, however, the area where the arrow points and my jawline indents is where the bone graft was taken on the right to fill in on the left. There are dips in the bone like that on both sides, but only the right side swelling has come down enough to make it visible (6. is visible), 7. is still swollen enough that it does not hug the bone yet.

So....I'm sure this seems like I'm nit picking, but I just wanted to point out that this is a long process and that it takes many months for things to return to normal. Even today my lip is doing some weird stuff, really really puffy feeling, and looking. I couldn't even wear lipstick as it was puffed so much it looked unnatural. Everyday it is something new, and even though it is not particularly noticible to others, the swelling is still very much present to a small degree.

It's The Little Things!

2007-09-26T21:39:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love it when people notice the little things. I mean its great when people notice my jaw and the changes, but most don't really make specific comments other then to say "wow" you look different. I was at the gym talking with a friend of mine about life stuff. Out of the blue she said "oh your teeth look great by the way" I of course said "thank you, and proceeded to tell her that hopefully my braces will be coming off soon" She said, well, I don't know who your ortho is, but he really has done a great job, they look really really good" That little comment made my whole day!

Now and when we first started

4 Months and 1 Week Post Op

2007-09-22T21:43:00.000-08:00

Well, I almost didn't post this week because I just didn't really have anything to report! LOL... However, it appears that many more of you (more then I had thought) are still quite interested in what is going on with my continued oral drama. So here is my latest update. Everything is still pretty much the same as last week. I can say that eating is getting better though, not quite as challenging thank goodness. I'm not biting my cheek as much anymore either so things are feeling much better in that department too.

I'm starting to sorta dread my appointment for my implant post on the 4th. I mean, I'm just burnt on stuff happening in my mouth...know what I mean? I'm sure it won't be near as bad as this last go round was, but the thought of having my gums all stitched up again (even if its only a small area) does not excite me at all. I'm also a little worried about having a sore jaw afterwards. My range of motion is still not 100% and I'm sure my jaw will have to be stretched a little bit in order to get in there and do what needs to be done. Oh well....at least it is just one step closer to being done with all of this. All that will be left is to get my braces off and put the actual implant tooth on the post in March. Then I will be finished!

Thought I would post a small update regarding my sleep apnea to, since that really is the reason I did all of this. I must say that I'm so glad that I had this surgery. Even with the lingering numbness etc it has been so worth it in terms of getting my life back. My sleep is AMAZING now! I mean it is so hard to really explain how great it is unless you have ever dealt with serious, long term, sleep apnea. Now mind you after the surgery it was better, but there was still swelling that needed to go down, and it takes several months post surgery to recover from the long term sleep deficit. At 4 months and 1 week post op I'm feeling amazing! Rested, so rested! I'm dreaming again. Wonderful, full color, long, detailed, gloriously vivid dreams, every night! For someone who has never been a great sleeper, and seriously not had a real dream in several years, this is truly a blessed gift! In addition to having several great dreams a night I can remember things soo much better now! At school I have almost 500 kids whose names I must try and remember. Last year and for the past several years my memory for names, and actually most everything else was nothing short of dismal. NOW, however, things are sooo much better! I feel like my brain is now sharp again, no more having to search in my head for names or try to remember things that seemed like they were shrouded in brain cotton. My head is clear, and my memory good. I now find that I'm not eating as much either. Mostly because I'm not eating due to exhaustion. I eat when I'm hungry now, and stop when I'm satisfied. I don't snack all the time or have weird cravings like I was before. In addition to all of these amazing changes, I now have a ton of energy. I'm back at the gym working out 5 days a week, and feel strong, healthy, and much like my old (pre-apnea) self again. All of these things because I'm getting into deep sleep now and no longer waking up gasping for air!
Seattle Bill said something like "apnea drains away at your life force like some kind of invisible vampire" This is so true, I had not even realized how much so until now. I can tell you though that I believe this surgery has saved my life. I will never again take the simple things for granted. I can't adequately express with words how incredibly grateful I am for my oral surgeon, and for my orthodontist, for giving me this second chance at real life. It really is incredible, and I'm so happy to be me again!

Not much going on besides these few things, but if something else amazing happens in the next few days I will let you all know! :)

4 Months Post Op - Not Like Your Really Interested Anymore! LOL

2007-09-15T21:49:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe it has been 4 months since my face was reconstructed! It honestly has gone by so quickly, already it seems like a distant memory!

My teeth are feeling great, and looking quite lined up if I do say so myself. I see a slight rotation on my right second incisor, but I think it is something that the ortho will be able to correct pretty quickly. Provided things look good we are supposed to be looking at a debracing date on the 18th of October. This week, however, I have decided that I'm not going to worry about it, and that I will wear them as long as it takes til things are perfect. Even if I'm in these suckers till next year (which I'm sure won't happen.) My bite is definetly feeling like it is spot on now though so that is a plus, and I'm encouraged that we are getting near the end now.

This week has been about the same as the rest in terms of healing, however, I have had continued improvement in my chin and lower lip this week. Last week if you touched my lower lip it would send like shock waves into the the gums of my lower right quadrant. WELL...that has basically gone away, however, it has now relocated on the left hand side and now makes my lower left quadrant gums really really sensitive! I now have a lot more surface feeling back in my chin and on the surface of my lower lip. The chin has been itching a lot this week. It has been driving me crazy as while the feeling is coming back it is mostly still on the surface so scratching the itches is really not possible. It itches below the surface. I usually rub the area a bit and sometimes try and scratch it, but mostly I just tough it out til the itching goes away. My lower left lip is not as burny anymore. Like before when I touched it, it would feel like it was sortof on fire, or tingly. Even when I licked it this would happen. Now it feels pretty normal on the right side when I lick it, or touch it. The lower left area is still pretty numb. I still feel that I will get full feeling back though as my lower lip is still feeling puffy and fat, and still mostly numb. I know that doesn't make much sense, but really the puffiness and numbness feeling is like in the lower section of my lip, not the area that is exposed to air. I still feel very much like I got collagen injections or something. Honestly I don't mind too much though, it is one thing that I have really come to love from this surgery. The contour of my lips is so much nicer now. I actually have a nice little pout going on.

Feeling in my teeth is getting better too. I can now bite into sandwiches and actually feel what I'm biting with my front and lower teeth now. I was also able to use my sonic care toothbrush this week without feeling any discomfort or like things were rattling around. That tells me that things are definitely becoming much more solid, and that the areas that I saw in my last xray on my chin are also continuing to rebuild and repair.

Eating is still aggravating, but gradually improving I think. I figured out this week that the problems I have been having are due to me having to relearn how to use my new (completely changed) mouth. Before starting all of this my mouth was small and my teeth closer together. I could take a big bite of something and it would fit under both sides of my teeth and not get lost. Now with so much space in there If I take big bites it gets lost or packed into my palate area, and since my tongue is still somewhat numb, I'm unable to adequately control it, or get it out. I have found that chewing is actually much better if I take smaller bites, and I then have no problems controlling it. The trouble is that I have been eating a certain way for 40 years, and retraining oneself to take much smaller bites is not an easy task. I can pretty much eat most anything now including hard chewy stuff (as long as I keep it small.)

I have an appointment on October 4th to have the screws in my bone graft removed and the implant post placed. Again my lower gums in that area will be getting cut and then stitched up again. The whole process will probably take about 30 minutes in the office and I will be under I.V sedation like I was with my SARPE previously. Once this is done, I have to wait 5 months to have the actual implant put on the post, so by March 2008 I should be completely done with my oral drama. That will be a total of 2 years from beginning to end, which honestly is not that long considering all that we will have accomplished!

Wishing you well my blogger friends! Gab with you more next week!

3 Months 3 Weeks Post op - New Haircut

2007-09-08T20:11:00.000-08:00

Well I decided to make a change and got my hair cut pretty short this week. I like it, its easier to fix in the morning and takes less time to dry. I had to laugh this week. I was doing a lesson in one of my classes and one of my kiddo's said "you look like you got younger over the summer" I chuckled with him and said, "well that is a good thing right? I mean its better then looking older don't you think?" I have seen two friends this week. One who hasn't seem me since about 1 month before my surgery. She thought I looked different/good, but couldn't really figure out exactly what was changed. I said that it was my chin, that now I have one. She said "yes that was it" that until I told her though she could not figure out what it was. Then I saw an old friend that I have known since I was 23 years old. I haven't seen him in over a year and a half, so last time he saw me I was just me. No SARPE, Braces, or Surgeries. He said I looked different, and agreed that my chin was part of it, but that my smile was now much bigger also, and that he felt the changes were very positive, but that I was always attractive, and that this has just made me more so. I thought that was a very nice compliment, and for me who does not really notice the changes that much anymore it was nice that someone else could really see them.

So in one more week I will be 4 months post op. It's strange how things will just be moving along smoothly and I become accustomed to them, and then out of the blue things change! I woke up today and my front teeth and the gums behind them were really burny and achy. I'm sure it is feeling coming back moreso in that area, but it is just weird how things just change overnight. My bottom lip is still about the same. Half is very sensitive like pins and needles, the other half is just numb with little feeling at all. I have noticed lately that while I do have control over my lip, when I smile it appears a bit lopsided. Like someone with Bells Palsy or something. Now mind you this is not noticible as I really try and make it look straight, but if I smile naturally without really trying, then it looks sorta messed up.
Things feel like they are getting better, the chin is not quite as numb now, but continues to improve ever so slowly. My teeth feel like they are getting straighter and my bite is feeling more in line.

Chewing continues to be about the same. I have to be very careful or I bite the insides of my cheeks on both sides. It is really annoying, and frustrating at times. I'm not sure if I still have swelling inside my mouth or what. I mean I would like things to be back to normal in the chewing department. It doesn't really limit me in regards to what I eat. I still eat pretty much whatever I want, but I still find that I'm very bad at not really chewing things. I pretty much wait for things in my mouth to get as saturated as they can with saliva, chew it enough to make it mushy, then swallow it. Many times (actually most of the time) it is not near as chewed up as it should be before I swallow it. I try to spend more time and really chew things like I used to, but it is uncomfortable, and doesn't feel natural so it is very hard to make myself really do it. I'm hoping as time goes on it will get better and easier, and that one day I will be able to really enjoy food like I used to. I also eat much less now, I mean who wants to force themselves to chew for long periods of time when it is rather unpleasant, or like work?

Hopes Dashed Again! :)

2007-09-04T12:59:00.001-08:00

My Soon To be Debraced Smile

Ok...so I wasn't really expecting the ortho to remove my braces this morning, but I sure was hoping for it! LOL. Actually it is all good, there were still a couple places I thought needed to be tweeked a bit. My ortho said that in case I hadn't noticed, things were looking really great! He said I had a couple roots on the bottom that he wanted to straighten out just a bit more. He removed two of my brackets and repositioned them to help get this accomplished. I must say that the removal of the brackets was not painful. He then proceeded to use some type of scraper to forcefully remove the glue from those two teeth. This part wasn't entirely pleasant, mostly just the sound of the scraping on my tooth though, it was not painful. It made me feel better about actually getting my braces removed. My upper incisor was rotated just a bit also so he put a couple new bend in my archwire to straighten that out (you can see it in the pic of my uppers below.) He said other then these two things he is running out of stuff to do to my teeth! He freed me from my rubberband prison! Woo hoo! I was so sick of those things! Must admit they really did their job though!

My Lowers and New Silver Power chain

He put a powerchain on my bottom 5 - 4 so we don't get any new spaces opening up, he wants to give things a little while to settle, and told me to come back in 6 weeks. If things look good then we will schedule a debracing date. Things feel really good now. The rubberbands made things feel a little off from the pulling, now that I no longer am wearing them, things feel like they have settled into their normal position, and feel pretty comfortable. So I figure if things continue as planned that I could potentially be out of my braces by the end of October. Five months post op, (but only 2 real adjustments since mine are 8 weeks apart.) All total, with SARPE, all three surgeries, and braces, it will be 20 months of treatment time from beginning to end. Not too bad, and honestly it really has gone by quickly.

My Uppers

I got a new panoramic xray done today also. I forgot to take it with me but will post it next time. It was totally cool to see it, I haven't had one done since 1 week post op. Crazy how our bodies heals! Everything looked so good. The area where the bone graft was taken, as well as where it was placed have all filled in with new bone growth. Everything looks much more secure in the maxilla, as well as in my lower jaw, and you can see were the bone has filled in on my genio too. There are still a couple of spaces left in my chin that are not healed fully yet, but nonetheless it was fun to look at it, and see how far I have come over the last few months.

Other then that, I'm still me...things just keep moving along. I will post more on Friday when I update again.

3 1/2 weeks Post Op

2007-08-31T22:22:00.000-08:00

Alrighty then...today is three and half weeks since I had my surgery. Not much has changed since last week, numbness is still about the same. Improving but slowly. Chewing is still annoying...that hasn't changed and it doesn't seem to be getting much better. I'm sure it is just slow like the rest of this journey.

As you can see my tan is quickly fading..so sad :( That is about the only thing that has really changed this week!

I see the ortho on Tuesday for x-rays and hopefully a debracing date. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but must say that I really really want these babies off now! What is frustrating is that as much as I want them off, and things look good, they still do not look as perfect to me as I wish they were. Can that be fixed? I suppose only the ortho can answer this question. I'm going to ask him this on Tuesday. Also if we can speed things along and fast track me to getting them removed. No more of this 8 weeks between visits, I want them OFF, like yesterday, BUT! I want my teeth to be perfect too! Anyway...for the most part things look pretty good, nothing a power chain probably can't fix.

3 Months and 1 Week Post Op

2007-08-24T20:12:00.000-08:00

I didn't post a pic on the blog today as basically I look the same as this last one. I put one on the day by day pics though.

Overall this week has been pretty eventful in terms of healing. My lower lip has gone from being freezing cold to burning hot now. It feels like it has cinnamon oil on it or something. Anyway, it also feels pretty puffy and swollen (even though it's not.) So with that being said feeling has been really returning to my lower right chin quadrant and my lower lip. Even the area to the left of my lower lip that was virtually dead feeling is hot and gaining feeling back now. My husband said he could tell that something had changed when he kissed me the other day. He said it felt like I was really kissing him and that it was better. I told him that was because I could now FEEL his lips instead of pretending I was feeling them. I can now feel the right side of my chin completely, not just on the surface. At this point I have really no areas that are completely void of feeling. Everything seems to be coming back, and pretty rapidly. My tongue is still a bit tingly on the tip and the upper and lower gums are still numb, but I really don't notice them at all now. I do have feeling back in all of my teeth now though, and my sinuses are nice and clear with no issues.

So...thats my update for this week, I will keep you posted on any new changes.

3 Months Post Op

2007-08-17T19:42:00.000-08:00

Well today is officially 12 weeks since I was sliced and diced. Things continue to change weekly, however, it is definitely slow going these days. My tongue is still numb in the same place and my lower lip has been more numb than usual this week for some strange reason. It feels more tingly though, like novocaine wearing off, so I take that to be a good sign that feeling is coming back. I think previously it was numb, but I just couldn't really feel it cause it was well.....NUMB! LOL, but now it feels puffy, but like pokey, and itchy, and tingly all at the same time. My chin has been itching a lot too! So maybe in another few months I will be able to feel my lower lip again!

My voice no longer sounds so weird. For awhile it was very nasally sounding like I had a bad cold, or was deaf. But recently I have noticed that the swelling in my soft palate has come down a lot and now I sound pretty normal (or at least I think so.) My sinuses are also very clear now. Breathing is really clear and effortless.

Eating is getting much better, although still a bit trying at times. I can pretty much chew most things now. Lets see, I had a bagel today, some licorice, a pork chop the other night, some stir fried beef, a cheesesteak sandwich, Chinese orange chicken, and some celery (not all today.) About the only thing I have found that is really hard to eat is raw carrots, BUT, I can eat those too! Just requires a bit of shredding, instead of biting straight down on them. Biting into things with my front teeth is still a bit challenging, but I have been doing it. It doesn't hurt, just feels wierd since everything is still pretty numb. Eating though, is far less enjoyable now though since it requires so much work. So even though I CAN eat, I'm not doing as much of it since it takes so long, and is effort. I'm sure this will improve over time though. I can say I will be thrilled when I finally get my implant completed next year so I can chew on both sides instead of just one.

Last night I slept so well! So much so I almost slept through my alarm this morning! It was crazy! That has never happened to me. I was dreaming really hard when I heard the alarm. I thought it was my husband's clock and just continued to try and sleep, until I realized it was mine and woke up enough to shut it of. Even though I was still tired and didn't really want to get up, I was also slightly euphoric at the same time. relishing the fact that I was having such a deep, colorful, glorious dream! Even though I dream regularly now, I will soooo never take them for granted ever again!

With that being said, today was a much better day at work. I had quite a bit of energy and got a lot done. I was tired at the end of the day, but it was not a debiliating exhaustion as it was in the past. I was actually pleasantly weary, but still had energy to do other things once I got home. I never felt that way last year! By three o clock I was usually dead, and couldn't wait to get home so I could do nothing. So many changes from this surgery! All positive ones though!

Most of the swelling has come down in my face so I thought I would post some updated profile pics for those of you that care. That is about it for this week. Will post any new changes next week.

First Day Back At Work

2007-08-16T19:58:00.000-08:00

Man I'm tired! Today was my first day back at work since surgery. Tomorrow will be 3 months post op, so I have had lots of time to recover, but I must admit that I'm wiped! Now today was a busy day, probably the busiest I've had since going under the knife. I had to change classrooms this year, so my morning was spent removing what was left of my stuff from my previous room. Then I spent the rest of the day trying to set up the new one. Needless to say I'm nowhere near finished, but I did make a dent in it. Now mind you, I didn't get to sleep until almost 2:00am last night, and got up at 6:30am which I'm sure didn't help with my stamina today. Tomorrow will probably be a better gauge of my energy level as I will hopefully get a bit more sleep tonight.

Ughhh....I still have so much to do... and I'm really not looking forward to it!
:( I hate this part of the year!

Allergies Identified

2007-08-15T20:18:00.000-08:00

So today I went and had a full allergy screening done to see what exactly I'm allergic to. Found out after lots of tiny little pokes that I'm allergic to lots of grasses, birch, and two different types of Alder (which are all very common here), as well as cats, dogs, house dust, and dust mites. Now mind you most of the time I'm not really bothered by all these allergies, but I'm glad I now know officially what it is that I'm allergic to. I take Zyrtec in the spring, and anytime we go on vacation as it seems something always bothers me when I least expect it. Never realized that it was so expensive to have these screenings done. I mean others had told me it was but I just didn't realize how much. $979.00 just for my screening! Thank goodness that I've reached my yearly max and my insurance will be paying for it 100%. That is crazy!

I can't believe how allergic I am to dog. They gave me an increased dose that was injected under my skin like a tb test. It swelled up immediately and has only gotten bigger since leaving the clinic. It's now about the size of a quarter and is warm to the touch. Everything else has bacially gone down to just the red dot from the needle pic, but not the dog one. I always knew I was allergic to them as anytime I got to someone's house who has a dog I have to take my allergy medicine or I get really stuffed up and miserable. I'm allergic to horses that way too.

Both my son and husband have really bad allergies in the spring so they are going in for a full workup next week. In hopes of starting allergy shots to hopefully (after a 3-5 year committment) eliminate or significantly reduce their symptoms. Figure this is as good a time as any to just get it over with for all of us.

My lower lip feels really puffy today, I wonder if it can be from all this allergen exposure?

Check out my screw!

2007-08-13T22:30:00.000-08:00

I was looking at this yesterday and thought it was kindof cool so here are the pics. This is inside my mouth where the bone graft was done. It is the screw that was put in the graft to hold it, and my skin has now healed over the screw. When my oral surgeon puts the implant post in come October, he will be making a small incision and gently lifting the flap of skin to remove that screw. I just think it is amazing how my skin can heal right over a screw. I mean I know it is doing it all over in my jaw, but that is way underneath the skin, this is much closer to the surface. Anyway...just thought I would share the pics.

2007-08-10T22:13:00.000-08:00

It was an absolutely gorgeous day here today. My darling husband, my mom, and I went for an after dinner hike up Flattop mountain. It was a great workout and fun since I haven't hiked that trail in a couple of years. It was rough on my knee though and I had to wear my brace the whole way. I included this pic that my mom took cause you can see some of the mountains behind us and I thought it was a fairly decent pic of us.

Here is a new face pic less puffy since last week as my sinuses are starting to deflate from my sinus infection now. Thank goodness for antibiotics! Check out my teeth! I'm so happy with how they are coming along! Please, Please, Please, let those braces be ready to come off next time!

I've been getting a lot of nerve sensations in my chin this week. It gets really itchy, and at first I couldn't feel myself scratching...sorta like an itch you can't really get to. Anyway in the last few days that has changed. I now have more sensation in my chin and even though it still feels a bit thick underneath I can feel sensation on the surface now. So...I'm pretty sure that means I will eventually get full feeling back which I think is pretty exciting.
My lower lip continues to improve, not fast enough though! It is a funny deal with my lower lip. It gets soo cold at times during the day. It can be 70 degrees out and my lip will be freezing. What's even funnier is that it actually turns blue, like it does when you get really cold! I have found that chapstick works like a blanket for it. As long as I have chapstick on things are fine, but as soon as it wears off, my lip gets very dry and cold. I put it back on, and things are all good again. It is so strange....in a funny sort of way. I swear I have become like a chapstick junkie. I MUST have chapstick with me at ALL times. If I don't, its like....omg, we gotta go somewhere so I can buy some chapstick. It's in my purse, in every pocket, in my gym bag (cause I even have to put it on during my workout.) Hopefully this will get better with time as it really is a bit stressful trying to make sure I'm armed with an unending supply of the greasy stuff!

Something that also happens to my lip is that it goes like completely numb when I work out. After I'm finished, it takes like 10 minutes to sorta be able to talk normal again, as my lip is like numb, frozen, and hard to manuever. I'm sure it has to do with the blood flow being focused on my muscles instead of my lip area, but it really is weird to finish working out and have to suck on my lower lip to wake it up.

My tongues is still numb on the left front quadrant. I ate a McDonalds soft serve ice cream tonight, and it was the weirdest thing licking a cone when your tongue is partly numb. I was encouraged though, because even though I couldn't really taste the ice cream in the numb spot, I could feel (muted feeling) that it was cold. Perhaps that means that feeling and maybe taste will eventually come back in that area too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Now mind you this probably all sounds really bad, but its really not. I mean it really is amazing how our bodies adapt. Most of the time I don't really even notice to much that all of this is going on. I mean I'm just used to it. I do what I need to do and just carry on without really skipping a beat. I figure for the sake of reporting though, I need to be honest and tell y'all about it. Who knows, maybe someone else is experiencing some of these things too and it might help them.

So..I've typed a mini novel now, but that is my update for this week. Next week I will be 3 months post op! YEah! Supposedly my bones will be fully refused by then. I can't wait to see my new xrays!

Root Canal Reprieve/ More Adventurous Eating

2007-08-08T17:37:00.001-08:00

So I didn't get a root canal. The nice endodontist says he can't find anything wrong with the roots and the tooth looks good, so he doesn't want to drill into it until we are positive that there isn't something else going on.

So now, I have seen an ENT, 2 different dentists, my OS, and now the endodontist, all who don't know what is wrong with the tooth, and why it is hurting. I suspect that I will not get anymore answers until these blasted braces come off. The endo did say that it could be the band itself that is irritating my gums and causing sensitivity. I do know that all of this tooth stuff started after my palate expansion. Right about the time my palate expander came out and the new bands were placed. The band itself is pretty close up to the gums so maybe that is what the problem is. He did say that a sinus infection could put pressure on the roots and aggravate the tooth, but he didn't see any issues in there. So...I guess I should be happy. Saved myself $900.00 on the root canal, and the doctor didn't even charge me the $65.00 for the consult. It was all free! (See I told you he was nice)

I will just have to continue waiting to figure out what the issue is. Maybe after the braces come off it will resolve itself! That is my hope anyway! For now, I will just take my antibiotics and hope things clear up quickly, and cross my fingers that the ortho says we are ready to deband me at my next appointment. :)

I decided today that I can't keep pretending this chewing stuff is going to get easier if I don't do it. I can only chew on the right side of my mouth, with the right side of my tongue having full feeling. The left side of my tongue is still numb as is the lower left half of my bottom lip. With that being said maneuvering stuff around my mouth is very challenging. I feel like I don't have control over the food, partly because I can only feel it when it is on the right side of my tongue, and partly because I have so much space in my mouth that I'm not used to. Chewing is no longer painful even with meat, but I find I tend to just sorta gently bite it till I break it down rather then really try and chomp down and cut through it.

Tonight I decided to force myself to work. I made a sandwich our of deli turkey, and ham, baby swiss, lettuce, tomatoe, onion, and 2 pieces of very soft french bread. I wanted to see if I would be able to bite into it, plus I have just been really wanting a sandwich. Well actually I did quite well. I WAS able to bite into it and tear it off. I had to chew it which was rather challenging, messy, and I'm sure very unattractive to watch, but I did it, AND it tasted good! Nice to have something with a little substance and texture rather then the normal soft stuff. I'm going to try and do a bit more "real" eating this next week and see if I can develop some kind of skill, or technique that is a bit more socially acceptable. I'm going to have to force myself to do this (even though I don't enjoy it at all) otherwise I'm never going to learn how to eat again.

Root Canal Anticipation...:(

2007-08-07T23:39:00.000-08:00

So, I now have my second sinus infection since my surgery was done 10 weeks ago, AND the upper molar (the one on the left with the band on it) that has been bugging me for like a year now is hurting again. Enough so that I can feel it in my numb mouth! So, two dentists have looked at it, my oral surgeon has scoped the area and ruled out an "oral antral fistula" so now....tomorrow, I have an appointment with the endo guy again. Thankfully I can open my mouth to about 36mm now so he should be able to get in there. The plan is for him to check it out, AND, if it needs a root canal (which I'm sure it will) since everything else has been exhausted. He will perform the root canal.

Now I'm very excited about this, as I'm convinced this tooth is what has been causing me all of these sinus infections (even before I had surgery) so I'm happy that it is finally going to get fixed. Now with that being said, I HATE ROOT CANALS! Mind you I really like my endo, he is very nice and has a great chairside manner, and he is quick (thank god), and really nice (did I say that already) but man I hate those rubber dams, and I don't want to be numb again, and the sound of the drill just makes me a little crazy....ok, it makes me A LOT crazy. I have to do some serious self talk while all that noise is going on so that I dont' freak out and go whacko. I mean that would be really embarrasing, I'm supposed to be an adult, and given everything else that has been done to my mouth this is really nothing. BUT it is the part I'm dreading the most! If you can believe that! I didn't have much time to prepare for this, I called today thinking they would schedule a consult, then we would do the root canal at a later date. Instead I called and they said "how about we do the consult at 4:10 tomorrow, and then if you need treatment he will do it immediately following, if thats ok? I go back to work next Thursday so I need to get it done ASAP, but a little prep time would've been nice. I find the more this journey goes on, the longer I need to psych myself up for these procedures LOL... The next torture will hopefully be the removal of my braces!

Anyway..I will post tomorrow after the torture is over...wish me luck.

10 Weeks Post Op

2007-08-03T13:57:00.000-08:00

So here is a new 10 week post op pic. I got sick of looking at the same old same old so I had my son Michael shoot a pic outside from my front porch today. I feel like I say the same thing each week, but things are definitely improving, just at a bit slower rate. I'm getting more feeling in my chin area and lower lip, but the left side of my lower lip is still almost completely numb. There really is no tingling or anything in that area, which has me a bit worried as I'm hoping to get full feeling back. I know it is still pretty early though so I'm not going to get too worried about it just yet. My tongue is also still numb and if it is improving is doing so at a snails paste. It is a bit discouraging as it makes eating far less enjoyable since the taste buds in the numb area are also dead. As for swelling, mostly I think it comes down during the day, but when I wake in the morning and for about 3 - 4 hours my face looks puffy and fat. The it will go away and my face will look mostly normal. I think it will take a few months for that to fully go away. At least I don't FEEl so swollen when I awake now even if I still look puffy.

Chewing is improving slightly, but is still very annoying. Mostly because it is hard to feel the food between numb teeth and manuevering it around with a half numb tongue is not easy. I still prefer to drink a smoothie for breakfast and honestly it has become a sort of comfort food for me. I use vanilla soy milk, berries, a scoop of yogurt or slow churned dreyers, and a couple packs of splenda. It is pretty good and the protein from the soy milk stays with me quite awhile. Since I no longer drink coffee or caffienated beverages it has become a staple for me in the morning. I also love that I can zap it in my magic bullet and be heading out the door with my breakfast drink in less then two minutes.
This pic I included cause I thought it had a really good view of how my teeth are looking. The rubberbands are still not great, but I suppose I'm used to them now so they do not annoy me as much as they were before. Other then that....things are just coming along.

9 weeks Post Op

2007-07-27T17:51:00.000-08:00

Nine weeks post op...hard to believe I have come this far already! Things continue to improve daily. If you look at today's pic and the one from last week a couple post downs, you will notice that the swelling has come down even more in just the past week.

This week has truly been the one where others have really noticed the changes in my face. I have had three people tell me how different things are. That they can really notice a difference in my jawline and that things look really good. The girlfriend that I went to Vegas with saw me today for the first time in 4 weeks and said "wow, your face really has changed! I didn't realize you were that swollen til I see you now" She said that she really notices a difference in my jaw line and chin area and that it really looks good. It was nice to have others notice and respond positively. It's so strange to me how much I love my new chin! I never really gave it a thought before this surgery, but now that its over and done with, I find that out of everything its the change I'm most thrilled with. My teeth are also looking much better! I'm excited that my braces may be ready for removal in the very near future.

I don't have much new to report this week. Everything is pretty much the same as last week, only getting less in all areas. Does that make sense? Swelling is less, numbness is less, tenderness is less, etc etc. Things just continue to improve daily. My energy level is back and I'm feeling more and more like my old, pre apnea self! Thank goodness! Life is Good! What more can I say at this point?