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.