Holy Smokes, an update!

Hello! It's been awhile since I've had anything of note to post on this blog.

I saw Dr. Klein on Thursday, September 15th for my 3 month/1 year surgical check up. I can't believe it's been almost a year since my jaw surgery! It's amazing how fast this past year has gone by. This time last year I was prepping for my surgery and probably driving my husband crazy with all my ridiculous-ness.

I am happy to report that, according to Dr. Klein, I passed the "wearing the retainers" test! I really have been good and have worn them 24/7 (except for eating). I really wasn't a huge fan of the standard hawley retainers. Those are the ones with the metal wire that people typically think of when talking about retainers. I've been using the essix/invisalign-like retainers. I really like those a lot so I've been wearing those exclusively. The only downer is that they get dirty and wear out faster. I figure, once I am allowed to just wear my retainers at night, I'll switch back and forth between the two sets I have so that they don't wear out as quickly.

I did forget to ask Dr. Klein if I could stop wearing my retainers all the time once 6 months rolls around but I totally forgot. My next appointment isn't for another year so I'll need to ask her if I need to be seen again in order to decide if I can stop wearing my retainers during the day.

Other than that, the appointment was super fast. I got some photos taken (finally!) so hopefully i'll ask Dr. Klein in a few weeks if she can forward them to me.

For now, my next jaw appointment isn't until March of 2017 and my next orthodontist appointment is next October 2017!

The time has come...

Time has flown by! I can't believe it's been almost 3 months since my braces came off back in May. Things have been great, wonderful in fact. My retainers have been working beautifully and they fit really well. I have been very diligent in wearing them all the time which I'm sure Dr. Klein will be happy to hear. I haven't had any jaw issues or discomfort since the braces came off so I think I'm in the clear for now. My next appointment will be in mid-September with Dr. Klein so I'm hoping that she will clear me from wearing my retainers 24/7 to just nightly. I also still haven't gotten any final photos taken so I'm hoping to get those done at that next appointment as well.

I know that I had promised to continue to update this blog after my braces came off but it has been difficult to write entries when I don't really have much to say. As much fun as it has been to write this blog, I feel that it's time for me to begin the process of winding everything down. Writing and publishing blog entries was extremely therapeutic while I was going through my jaw journey. It helped me to cope with everything I was going through. But since my jaw journey is pretty much complete, it feels silly to continue to write updates that don't have any substance. Because of that, I won't be updating nearly as much anymore. I had promised to publish a post about my retainer experience which I will do very soon (I promise!).  Other than that, I'll probably post again in September when I see Dr. Klein and again on my 1 year surgical anniversary. After that, we'll see.

Thanks to all my friends and family who've asked after me! I honestly appreciate all the texts and emails I've gotten over the past few months.

I made it to the finish line!

Today has been a super emotional day for me. Almost exactly 3 years ago, I discovered that I had huge issues with my teeth and jaws. I found out that not only would I need to go into braces, but that I would have to have life-altering surgery. At the time, I was so overwhelmed. I cried thinking about everything I'd have to go through. What's even worse is that 1 surgery turned into 4. Fast forward 3 years and today was the big day where my braces finally got removed.

I've been in braces for almost 2.5 years so today felt a little surreal. Getting the braces removed didn't hurt, it just felt really, really strange. Once all the glue was polished off, my orthodontist finally showed me the smile I had worked so hard for.

I told myself that I wouldn't cry. I swore up and down that tears would not flow. However, the minute I saw my smile in the mirror, I broke down. I started crying (happy tears of course!) and the tears just came. I hugged Dr. Klein, thanking her, and then she started bawling too. We cried together and then we started laughing. It was a really cool moment. I can't even imagine how she felt as a provider. I'm sure this moment is exactly the reason why she went into medicine/dentistry in the first place. For me, her care and knowledge has really changed my life. My confidence and just overall quality of life have risen dramatically. Thinking back on it now, I really don't know how I was living life with my old smile. I never smiled in photos, I only ate a select few items, and I constantly had issues with cavities due to the way my teeth were. Obviously, I wasn't living. I was surviving day by day. So Dr. Klein, if you are reading this, thanks from the bottom of my heart.

I know that Dr. Klein couldn't have done this alone, so thank you to everyone who helped me through this journey. This list includes:
Drs. Ali and Ali - Without you and your staff, I never would have even started my jaw journey. You both were so welcoming and encouraging. I never once felt like you judged me because of my teeth and for that I say thank-you.
Dr. David Keith - You were always so kind and sympathetic to me and my case. Without you and your vast experience, my journey would have been much different. If I had to go through this all over again, I wouldn't change a thing, so thank you!
Staff at MGH Dental Group Danvers and Boston - I've gotten to know most of you over the past 3 years. I know how hard you all work and I really appreciate everything you do! Thank you for taking such good care of me these past few years.


For those wondering, I do have a before and after photos! It was hard to find a good one since I didn't often smile showing my teeth. These are not professional by any means. I have to go back on Wednesday for retainers and again in about 2 weeks for some professional office photos. I will ask for a copy of them so look for those in a couple weeks! For now, here's the before and after photo!

Before braces: October 2013     After Braces: May 2016

It's finally here!

Well guys, this is it! Today was my last day in braces. I'm down to just under 15 hours until my braces get removed. It feels weird even just thinking about it! I've had these guys on my teeth for so long that I've sorta gotten used to them. BUT, I'm sure I'll get over it pretty fast.

Thinking about everything I've gone through for the past 3 years is making me a bit emotional. I'm getting kinda teary-eyed just thinking about it now so I'm sure I'll be a hot mess tomorrow.

I'm seriously looking forward to flossing LIKE A NORMAL PERSON. Holy hell, those flossers legit suck. I'm very excited to be able to just floss my teeth without having to look in a mirror every time. I'm also looking forward to eating corn on the cob and biting into a piece of fruit!

I also plan to get my hair done after my appointment. I definitely need it! Then, we are going to a celebratory dinner tomorrow evening once my husband gets home from work. I can't wait to post some photos!

Look for some photos tomorrow!

5 Days to go

Well, the countdown has begun! I've only got 5 days left until my braces are removed! It actually  feels very surreal. I mean, I've thought about this day for over 2 years. The minute I knew I had to go into braces, I thought about how long this process would be. To now be only 5 days away from being finished with everything is very strange. Exciting but strange.

I have some plans on Friday. My appointment isn't until 11am so I'll probably treat myself to breakfast before the appointment. I also plan to get my hair done at some point that day. I'm looking forward to getting everything done and looking like me again.

Other than the excitement to come, nothing much has been happening with me. I'm still sorta on the mend from my septoplasty. I'm feeling a lot better though. My nose hasn't been leaking as much anymore which is a huge plus for me. My breathing is definitely better than what it was. I still feel like I have a little bit of a cold. Not sure if this is what allergies feel like since I've never suffered from them before.

Tonight should be fun since we're going out for dinner with my family tonight to celebrate my Dad's birthday! This will hopefully be the last time I eat out with braces on my teeth!

ENT Recovery - Day 11

It's been a few days since my last update but I've been a little busy. On Friday, I went to get cleared to return to work through the Occupational Health department. At the time, my nose was still dripping quite frequently. After looking at me and talking to me, the nurse decided to not sign off on my paperwork until Monday. I had a feeling this would happen. It's not really sanitary if I'm holding onto a tissue constantly and rubbing at my leaking nose every 5 seconds. Over the weekend, my draining slowly decreased so that I'm only using a tissue every 20 minutes or so instead of every 5 seconds so that's a great improvement. I'm supposed to call Occupational Health today and if she's satisfied with my answers, then I'll return to work tomorrow.

Nose is feeling a lot better. Since I've been able to blow my nose gently I've felt a lot better. It still feels like I have a cold but it's much more manageable. My nose isn't as sensitive anymore either. It's still sore but I can touch it and sorta move it without intense pain which is great!

After thinking about all the surgeries I've had to date, I can safely say that this one was the hardest. With my jaw surgeries, my jaws and face were numb or partially numb for the most part. I think that made the entire recovery experience easier. This time around, I was in a lot more pain which I was not expecting. Also, this surgery was gross. Blood and snot dripping from my nose and eyes that refused to stop watering made the last 10 days miserable. At least with my jaw surgeries, I could watch tv and relax but this time I couldn't. Most days I could barely wear my glasses. And I was afraid to wear contacts because I wasn't sure if my eyes were watering from pressure from my glasses resting on the bridge of my nose OR if it was the splints inside my nose. If it was the splints (which I'm almost positive it was), then my eyes were going to water whether or not I wore my glasses. The watery eyes made it impossible to watch anything on tv so it was quite a boring and uneventful recovery.

Since the splints came out, I've been much better. My husband and I went and saw Captain America Civil War which was awesome. We also spent some time with my family for mother's day weekend which was nice. We also played some video games with my niece and nephew. All in all, a great couple of days. I'm looking forward to getting back to work and getting back into the swing of things.

ENT Recovery - Day 6 (Post op Appointment)

Today was the big day! Post Op appointment where I say goodbye to my nasal splints. My appointment was at 9:30am. My husband drove me to and from my appointment which I'm glad we did. I was a little nervous so I took a half dose of my pain medication about an hour before the appointment. My splints came out very easily but it definitely wasn't pain free. It wasn't unbearable but it wasn't a "piece of cake" either. I probably could have done without the pain meds but it might have made the experience worse if I hadn't.

What surprised me the most were the nasal splints. HOLY SHIT. They were huge! I couldn't believe that those things had been inside my nose for the past 6 days. No wonder I was uncomfortable. They were about 3 inches long and made of a clear plastic-y substance. They were slightly rounded. Getting them removed felt awful and wonderful at the same time. My nose has been dripping but not really bleeding which is good.

My surgeon cleaned my nose with some weird vacuum thing and that probably felt worse than the splints coming out. Once everything was done and my nostrils were cleaned up, breathing was great! I still feel kind of woozy and my nose is still very tender. I'll be out of work until Monday, May 9th.

Post op instructions from today include:

• May return to work without restrictions on Monday, May 9th. (Not too sure about this but we will see. My job is pretty flexible. If someone helps me with certain tasks, I think I'll be ok.)
• No working out for another 1-2 weeks. Once I do start to work out again, start small.
• No ibuprofen for 1 more week. Start with a low dose at first, if bleeding starts, stop using immediately.
• Slightly elevated sleep for another 1-2 weeks. One extra pillow should do it.
• May gently blow nose but nothing too forceful.
• If I need to sneeze, sneeze with mouth open. Don't hold anything back.
• There are still stitches inside my nostrils. Do not pull at them, they should dissolve on their own (haha, yea right. If they are anything like oral dissolving stitches, I'll believe it when I see it.). If they become too long, you may trim them down. 
• Saline spray 2 squirts in each nostril followed by vaseline around nostrils 3 times a day for 2-3 weeks.
• Finish any remaining antibiotics

It's been a few hours since my post-op appointment and I can already tell that my eyes are much better. My eyes watered like crazy during my appointment, but since then have calmed down significantly. I'm excited to see how I feel in a few days, I'm hoping that swelling will go down and that breathing will get easier. 

I got another doctor's appointment tomorrow, this time with my PcP. Not sure how happy she'll be that my blood pressure was so high. I may need to switch to a different medication so I guess we'll see about that tomorrow! 

Nose recover day 5

Today was a little bit of a rough day for me. I think I might have pushed it a little too much.

I woke up and felt crummy. My nose hurt and I just generally felt blah. After taking some pain medicine, I got really nauseous. I have some anti-nausea medicating so I took that too.

Next thing I know, I'm waking up and it's almost 6pm. I fell asleep around 10am, btw. Not sure if I just really needed the sleep or the medication just worked too well. When I woke up, I felt just so out of it. Definitely don't think I'll be using those pills again.

Ready to get my splints out tomorrow! It'll probably suck so I'll probably spend most of the day sleeping again. Don is driving me to my appointment so that makes me feel a little better.

Nose recovery day 3

Today is a whole new day. Yesterday was kind of rough. Yesterday, my nose was still bleeding quite steadily. The hardest part for me was sleeping, I think. I never got more than 3-4 hours of continuous sleep so I've felt really tired. My eyes have been watering like crazy and it has left large crusts around my eyes. And because they've been watering so much, my eyes are very dry.

Woke up today and my eyes are still watering like crazy. However, my nose bleeding has slowed down quite a bit. I can feel the splints in my nose and I think that is what is causing my eyes to water so much. They are really irritating. I'm looking forward to getting them removed on Wednesday, that's for sure.

I did go on a walk yesterday around the block. It felt good, I hope I can go on another one today. I took a shower this morning already. I didn't drip blood every where which is a good sign!

My eyes have been bothering me a lot yesterday and today. The shower helped a bit but they are still leaking like crazy. I can sorta breathe out of my nostrils but it feels like I have a really bad head cold. I'm trying not to breathe out of them so that they don't dry out completely. The more moist they are, the faster they'll heal.

ENT surgery recovery day 1

Today was kinda crappy. I knew the 1st 24 hours of recovery would be so I'm not super surprised. This recovery has been different than my previous surgeries which is weird.

My nose has been steadily dripping blood all day. This is normal and extremely gross. One nostril is all but done, the other one is still going strong. I've had to breathe out of my mouth which is so foreign to me. Since all my previous surgeries have had to do with my jaw and mouth, I've been forced to mostly breathe through my nose.

I've spent most of day 1 of recovery either sleeping or watching snippets of TV. My eyes have been a little sensitive. They've been watering constantly. I can't wear my glasses for long amounts of time either because the bridge of my nose is swollen.

Took a shower this afternoon and it felt really good. I have marks on my arm from the blood pressure cuff at the hospital.  And the arm where my IV was is good, no bruising yet.

I plan on trying to go for a walk tomorrow with Don and the puppy.

I had scrambled eggs this morning and they were fantastic! Thanks don for making them and taking care of me!

Last surgery is done!

My last surgery is done! Everything went well and I got sent home around 3pm. I probably would have gotten sent home earlier but my blood pressure was super high. After getting some extra meds and waiting for it to come down, I was finally able to be sent home. The blood pressure thing happened the last two times so I'm not sure if it's a result from the anesthesia.
I have an appointment next week to have my blood pressure rechecked at my primary care office anyway and they seemed happy with that information.

My nose is swollen and sore but it looks good. My throat is constantly dry and sore due to having to breathe out of my mouth.  My nose is still dripping but that's normal.

Was able to drink from a straw and eat a peanut butter sandwich. Looking forward to scrambled eggs tomorrow.

Deviated septum surgery is tomorrow!

Well, tomorrow's my big day... again. Deviated septum surgery is tomorrow and I actually feel okay about it. My last surgery, well, I was definitely freaked out and way more stressed. This time around, I'm completely cool. Tomorrow's surgery is way less complicated than the last one so I'm not worried at all.

For those wondering, my surgery is tomorrow April 28th at 9:30am at Mass Eye & Ear. I've only ever remembered going to MGH so this will be different for me. The procedure is a day procedure so I'll get to go home the same day. The surgery itself should take about an hour, maybe less. I'm usually a hard person to wake up after general anesthesia so it may take a few hours before I come to. If I'm lucky and the surgery starts on time and I have no issues waking up, I may get home around 2pm or 3pm. If I'm unlucky, maybe closer to 4pm or 5pm.

I'll be out of work for about 10 days so expect me to be watching tv, doing stuff on the interwebs and sleeping. This will be the 2nd time that I won't be able to sleep lying down for a little while. It took me about 2 weeks after my last surgery before I could sleep lying flat again. Not sure how long it'll take me this time around but I can't imagine it being longer than a week.

I'm really looking forward to being able to eat food normally this time around. These past 3 surgeries required a modified diet of some kind so I'm thankful that I don't need to eat pudding or use a syringe this time. I'm also looking forward to popsicles for some strange reason.

My upper teeth may be numb again (le sigh) so not sure how successful I'll be at eating but we'll see. I've also been told I might have some bruising and/or swelling around my nose. I didn't bruise much at all after my last jaw surgery so hopefully it'll be the same this time too.

I'm terrible at trying to explain what's happening to me tomorrow. If you are curious and don't know what a deviated septum is or what the process is to fix on, check out this link here: http://www.healthline.com/health/septoplasty#Overview1

I've read a couple of articles and blogs about septoplasty. One article said to avoid driving for 6 months. I drove 3 weeks after my jaw advancement surgery, I'm pretty sure not driving for 6 months after this surgery is a bit of overkill. Sometimes you just have to laugh cause it's obviously ridiculous.

I'll try to post something when I come home tomorrow but it may have to wait until Friday. For now, wish me good luck!

I'm ready to floss like a normal person! 30 days until debanding!

It's only been a few days since my last update instead of a month, haha! Trying to get better at this.

Today is one of my favorite days, marathon monday! I usually work on this day because it's such a fun day to work. The hospital has a pretty low census due to the road restrictions (my work is along the marathon route) so it's usually a pretty chill day. They always have a bbq and there are lots of areas to sit and watch the runners. Unfortunately, I have the day off so I'm here sitting on my couch watching the marathon coverage on tv. Today is going to be a beautiful day so good luck to all the runners out there!

My appointment on Friday went well. I had scrubs on because I had to go to work after my appointment and Dr. Klein was so surprised. She said she knew I worked at the hospital but had never seen me wear scrubs before! The appointment was super quick, they didn't even switch out my wire, just changed out my A-chains. My next and last braces appointment is probably going to be long. Debanding, photos, models and retainers all can take some time. We talked a bit about what happens after my braces come off. I'll be seen after 6 months and then after that I'll be seen yearly on my surgical anniversary. If I have issues with my retainers, I can go any time to have them looked at but for the most part, I'll be on my own. She also mentioned seeing a prosthodontist and potentially about getting veneers. I nodded and listened but honestly, I'm just ready to get on with my life. I know my teeth are important but I just need a few months where I'm not hemorrhaging money on my teeth. I don't think it'll destroy my teeth if I wait on veneers for awhile.

I just want to bask in the glory of being able to floss my teeth like a normal person!

Something that slightly annoyed me is how many people commented on how I need to get my teeth cleaned. Dr Klein asked if I had already made an appointment for a teeth cleaning. I told her I was waiting until after my braces came off and she said that was perfect. But every single technician made a comment about how I should "think about" getting my teeth cleaned within the next couple weeks. Why would I get my teeth cleaned if my braces are coming off in less than 4 weeks? I'm sure if I spoke to my dental hygienist she would recommend that I wait so that way she can do the most thorough cleaning she could. If I got a cleaning now, all it would do would cost me more money since I'd have to go back after my braces were off and get another cleaning anyway. Ugh, it just irritated me because I felt like I was repeating myself constantly.

I'm about 10 days out from my next surgery and I'm actually ok. I haven't been sleeping well recently and I think it's due to my deviated septum and the uptick in environmental allergies going on. I've been waking up in the middle of the night because I can't really breathe. I'm a stomach sleeper so I usually find myself waking up on the side with the deviated septum. I'm looking forward to getting that fixed and being able to get a better night's sleep.

Not sure if I'll have time to post again before my surgery but I'll have some free time once I get out of surgery... again, hahaha.

Home stretch! Almost there!

So guys, I'm sorry. I'm such a slacker and a bit of a liar. After my last post, I promised to update everyone with my orthodontist visit (which was a month ago, btw). I'm the worst. But seriously, I've just been super busy. My hubby and I went on a road trip together (From Massachusetts to Florida and back) and we had a blast. Then, when I came back, I immediately went into crazy work mode since my hospital transitioned to a new patient care/electric record system. I had a lot of overtime last week and this week is just as much, if not more. At this point I'm so overtired that I can't sleep (the thought of this conundrum makes me laugh hysterically) so I thought I'd finally get to updating everyone with all the things that have happened recently.

My last orthodontist appointment was good. I can't remember much about it cause it was so long ago. I do remember one thing though, Dr. Klein told me that it's time for my braces to come off!!!!!!!! I know this day has been coming for a long time and I'm super excited but it definitely feels surreal. She originally told me that I could take them off at my next appointment but I told her that I didn't feel comfortable taking them off before my final surgery. My next (and hopefully this time, final) surgery is officially Thursday April 28th at Mass Eye & Ear in Boston.

Since this surgery is dealing with my nasal cavity and my nose, I'll be forced to have a tube down my throat when I go in for this surgery. This is not a big deal until you factor in that you can't have anything loose in your mouth when they do this. When I get my braces off, I'll still need to wear a retainer 24/7. Since retainers are not permanent, they can potentially get dislodged during surgery and cause a patient to asphyxiate. That's not good which is why they don't allow it.

Dr. Klein was not comfortable with me not being able to wear my retainer for upwards of 4+ hours weeks after getting my braces taken off. I've worked too hard and invested too much time and money into my smile to compromise it now. So after a quick discussion, we ultimately decided that waiting a few extra weeks with braces was worth it.

Friday, May 20th is my debanding day and I can't wait!

My next appointment is tomorrow. It is also my last appointment before the braces come off! WHAA?! This is so crazy, I can't wrap my head around the concept.

I'm so exhausted from work these past couple weeks that I make no promises regarding an update for tomorrow. I may get to one on saturday so look for something (maybe) then!

Blog Spring Cleaning! Administration Updates!

Hey everyone, just wanted to write a quick post updating some people on some of the changes to the blog. Since my big surgery is (finally) behind me, I've gone and done some "spring cleaning" so to speak on certain pages.  I've simplified some pages and added to others. Please check them out!

Changes to note:

1. I've created a pre-surgical grocery shopping check list. I like lists and find them helpful. Go to the shopping tab above and click the link to be directed to the printable check list. 
2. I've updated my about me page to include recent surgical milestones and upcoming appointments.
3. I've added my ENT specialist to the provider contact list I have above. 

Works in progress:
I realized that I never finished (or forgot to update) the Questions and Answers page. I will reorganize and finish that in the next couple days.

Look for a real jaw update after Friday afternoon. Next braces appointment is Friday, March 19th! I might get a date for when the braces are removed which would be extremely exciting!

An update! With photos!

It's been awhile since I've posted any progress photos. I've had a bunch of relatives and friends ask for some updated pics of my smile, so here they are!

Also, I'm not a blonde anymore! It's actually really weird, I've been blonde for so long that I almost didn't recognize myself. Being blonde was just too much work and hopefully going back to my natural color will save me some time and money.

My next appointment for braces is on March 18th!

Almost time to say goodbye to my bling...

Had another appointment, this time with Dr. Klein.

I just realized that all of my doctors have last names that begin with the letter 'K.' What's weird is that I just noticed it after 2 years..... 

My appointment was at 10:50am. It was my day off from work and since the weather was supposed to be semi-crappy (not snow-crappy, just general rain-crappy), I gambled and took my chances on the T. Thankfully, the D line on the green line is fairly reliable so I had no issues. Since I was taking the T, I made sure I left with plenty of time. If I take the train into the city, it normally takes me just under an hour. I grabbed something to eat and then got to my appointment a little early.

Normally, I just drive in because I usually book my appointments to be before my shift at work. I don't really have much time to take the train when I have to be at work right after. And rush hour traffic into Boston, isn't always fun so I normally arrive for my appointment right on time. In the past, when I've gone to the office in Boston, I usually have to wait 10-15 minutes after when my appointment is supposed to start.

This appointment was so different! I walked in about 10 minutes early and was taken into the office IMMEDIATELY. This has never happened to me before! Anyway, I walked in and had a great appointment. Dr, Klein looked at my teeth and told me that my teeth are almost ready to be free from the braces! Like, within 2-3 appointments ready. It's so strange trying to imagine what things will be like without them on. They are part of who I am at this point.

There are a few tweeks that she'd like me to do before she'll take them off and so I'm back into wearing elastics all the time again. These elastics aren't as tight as the ones before, thank god. They are a lot more manageable. She also placed power chains on the upper teeth and double power chains on my lower teeth. When I went home that night, my teeth were so sore, I could barely eat anything. I'm glad I took ibuprofen cause I was very uncomfortable. When I woke up the next day though, almost all of the spaces in between my teeth were gone. They were gone in under 24 hours which is totally amazing! The top teeth aren't as bad but the bottom teeth had large gaps. I went back to a normal diet on Friday, so I was only uncomfortable for a few days.

We talked about my teeth a little bit. I'll need to get a deep cleaning done after the braces come off. One tooth is sorta funky and she's said that she wants to shape it so that it's a little more natural. I chipped my front tooth when I was a kid on my aunt's pool. When they fixed it, they built it up a little bit because my other tooth hadn't grown in all the way and they weren't sure how big it was going to be. Thankfully, since it's not real, they just have to file it down a bit to make it even. Dr. Klein said that I've invested so much time and money into my smile that I deserve to have a "smokin' smile." I laughed and gave her permission to go full perfectionist with my teeth.


I did tell Dr. Klein about the deviated septum thing and after really considering my options, I've just decided to get it over with sooner rather than later. My husband and I talked about the pros and cons and we both agreed that getting it done now would save us headaches down the road. Since this winter has been fairly mild, I haven't gotten sick which is such a blessing. However, I'm not sure I'm comfortable hoping that I won't get sick between now and when I decide to have the surgery. Knowing my luck, I'd get sick and then have to suffer with a cold until I scheduled the surgery.

I've tentatively scheduled my surgery for April 21st. Dr. Kieff only performs surgery on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month. However, he occassionally does surgery on his off weeks if Mass Eye and Ear has the operating room space for him. I'll see Dr. Kieff tomorrow for a hearing test and a follow-up and hopefully he'll tell me about my chances for getting that 3rd Thursday. If not, my surgery will be scheduled for April 28th. At my follow-up, he'll give me more details regarding dos and don'ts for surgery (although, at this point, I'm pretty sure I know what they are) and what I need to have done beforehand. I'm actually excited and interested for the hearing test appointment since I've always had issues with my ears.

My next appointment with Dr. Klein is in 3 weeks so I'll go back and see her at the Danvers office. I forgot to ask her about surgery since it's a possibility that I'll get my braces off before my surgery. Not sure how my retainer will work with surgery but I have a feeling I won't be able to wear it when I'm under general anesthesia. I'll have to ask her about that when I go back for my next appointment.

I'll post an update tomorrow after my appointments with Dr. Kieff. Hopefully, he'll be able to shed some light onto my ENT issues!

And it goes on....

I finally had another post-op appointment with Dr. Keith on Tuesday. The appointment was pretty standard, we talked for a bit, he measured my range of motion and took a peak inside my mouth to look at my teeth and jaws. He was very happy with my progress and said that my range of motion is back to normal levels! He laughed when I told him I ate steak for the first time at my mother's birthday dinner at the end of January.

I did point out that my nose was still bothering me. Since my surgery, I can really only breath out of one side and my sense of smell is pretty bad. If you look at me straight on, my nose looks normal. But if you look at me from an angle, it's very obvious that one nostril is larger than the other. Dr Keith said that he wanted me to see an ENT specialist since he's an oral surgeon, not a nose guy, haha. He gave me a reference for an ENT specialist affiliated at Newton-Wellesley hospital and I called him and made an appointment. I might have a slight complex because this doctor has almost the exact same name as my oral surgeon. Oral Surgeon - Dr. David A. Keith. ENT Doctor - Dr. David A. Kieff. Too funny and only a little bit confusing, hahahaha.

I had my appointment with Dr. Kieff yesterday because they had a cancellation and were able to fit me in. I was honestly expecting to have to wait for awhile so getting such a quick appointment was a nice surprise. Dr Kieff was really nice and easy to talk to. I went in and had to have a full ENT appointment so I'm not sure what that's going to cost me. They examined my ears and cleaned them out since I had a lot of wax build up. It felt very strange but after it was done, I felt like a new person. He put lidocaine up my nose and then put a camera down there. The news? I have a deviated septum on my right side. What's interesting is that it looks so natural. You would think that it would look messed up since it's technically due to the jaw surgery I had in October but he said it's because Dr. Keith did such a great job that it looks as good as it does. It's weird saying that a deviated septum looks good but I guess what he meant was that if Dr. Keith didn't do such a good job, it would be a lot worse.

Now, here's the thing that really bummed me out. The only fix for a deviated septum is another surgery. I'm totally sick and tired and having to put my life on hold because I need to have surgery. This would put me at 4 surgeries due to my jaw. Luckily for me, this is actually a seriously minor procedure. The surgery is only about an hour long and recovery is about a week. I would have to be put under anesthesia but I would go home the same day and (hopefully) be back at work a week later.

I guess I have a decision to make. The office books out for surgery about 6 weeks in advance. If I were to go in today and make the earliest appointment, that would put me at the first week of April. Unfortunately, my hospital is getting a new computer system on April 2nd. Because the system is so different than our previous system, my department has doubled up on coverage for those weeks. Basically, it means that no one can take any time off because there's no one to cover. I'm going to be working a ton of over time during those first couple weeks as well. So, April is definitely a no-go for me, surgery-wise. So, the earliest I'm looking at for surgery would be May.

We have things that we had planned to do (begin renovating our house, for one). We are also going on vacation at the end of March which will use up a fair amount of my vacation time. Since this isn't an emergency and it doesn't bother me too much, I could wait until I'm ready. There is a certain appeal with getting it over and done with quickly but at the same time, I really just want some down time not having to prep for surgery. Plus, it'll allow me to build up some more vacation time through work if I wait. I definitely have a lot of thinking to do, that's for sure. I have a follow-up appointment on March 1st so I have about 10 days to really decide what I want to do.

I also have another appointment with Dr. Klein on Wednesday so I'll have another post next week after that appointment.

OMG Food!

Hey guys!
Things have been going merrily along. Nothing much to report except that I ate a few things for the first time since my surgery!!!!! Yesterday, I finally decided to try cereal. YES CEREAL. Is it weird that I was excited for that? Yes? WHATEVER DON'T CARE.

I've been craving that and a few other things for months now and decided that it was time. Anyway, I finally had cereal for the first time in 3 months and it was glorious. I'm not a fan of eating soggy cereal so this moment was huge for me. I don't think my husband realized just how happy I was yesterday morning. For those who are wondering, I had honey nut chex for breakfast. Looking forward to eating cheerios too!

And right now, I'm eating fritos! Love me some crunchy foods.

Haven't tried steak yet, I'll probably give that a few more months before I attempt to tackle that beast.

Hello 2016!

I had my first orthodontist appointment of 2016 today! The appointment started out with those "wonderful" impressions. They were terrible. Mostly because my jaw could only open so far and the technician didn't really know what she was doing. She was super sweet but it took her twice as long as all the other technicians to do anything. My appointment was at 7:40am and my half hour appointment ended at almost 9am. Hopefully next time, I have a different technician.

After the impressions, Dr Klein came in and took a look at my teeth. As always, she was happy with the progress. So happy that she said I could take a break on the elastics (wahoooooo!). Those elastics are such a pain. I felt like I always had my fingers in my mouth cause I had to take them out and put them back in all the time.

Unfortunately, this elastic freedom is not forever. At my next appointment, I'll probably have to go back into wearing elastics all the time again. ;_; I guess the new wire I have can put too much pressure on the teeth if worn with elastics. TRANSLATION: I get freedom until my next wire change appointment which is in 5 weeks.

She also repositioned a bunch of brackets and fixed a broken (??) band around one of my molars. Not sure if it was broken or if the glue just failed after 2 years. I had that gross glue taste in my mouth practically all day today. Thankfully, that was basically it.

I did get the good news that I will definitely be out of braces before the summer! Yay! Depending on how diligent I am with wearing the elastics next time will determine when I can hopefully get my braces off. It's looking like it could potentially be April or May which is exciting! I'm in the home stretch and I can't wait to be free of these braces permanently.

My next appointment is with Dr. Keith for another follow-up on Feb. 16th. And then I see Dr. Klein 3 days later on the 19th.

On a more personal note, I do have a some what big announcement! Since my surgery is behind me and my recovery is going well, I've decided to finally start pursuing my masters degree. I'm going to Umass Lowell for my masters in Health Informatics and management which is super exciting! My work will help to pay for part of it so I'm starting small for now. It's been awhile since I've taken any formal classes so I'm only taking 1 class. If the course work isn't bad, I can always take more classes next semester.
I do have to apply to get into the program but a few people have offered to give me a recommendation which is amazing. My director at work said he would write me one which I was not anticipating at all. If I do well enough for my first 4 courses, I can bypass taking the GRE which will save me a lot of time and money. My class starts on Tuesday so I may not be posting very much except for after appointments and for status updates.

PS: I ate chips for the first time in 11 weeks today! They were very salty and took me forever to eat but they were so worth it!