So long 2015... see you next year!

Since my last post, things have turned around. The swelling in my lip has vanished and I'm pretty much back to normal. I finished my last round of antibiotics on Saturday. I still feel kinda 'blah' which I think accounts to the antibiotics coming out of my system. Since I wasn't feeling my best on my birthday we decided to post-pone part of my birthday celebration until this weekend. I really wanted to go ice skating so we are hopefully going to go sometime this weekend.

This infection, thankfully, didn't set me back at all. I was practically almost finished healing anyway. And since I caught it so quickly, I don't have to delay or reschedule any of my future appointments which is a relief.

I've been wearing the elastics constantly. They are a pain in the butt so I'm ready to stop wearing them. It's such a nuisance since I take them out and put them back in at least 6 times a day. Also, since I've been wearing them in my current configuration, I've felt like my upper jaw has moved very far forward. Almost to the point where I may have a slight overbite. I'm going to mention it to Dr. Klein when I see her in a few weeks but I'm not nervous. I've discovered that sometimes things get worse before they get better.

Other than the infection, things are going well! I finally ate a piece of pizza! And today, I ate my first sandwich. It was a chicken salad sandwich so it was pretty soft but I did have to do a lot of chewing.

Christmas was wonderful. We spent Christmas Eve with Don's family and did our family tradition of going to the movies. We typically always go on Christmas day but Don's parents wanted to go back home to western mass early and we had already promised to spend Christmas morning with my family up on the north shore. I made a great brunch Christmas day. We had a ham, onion, and pepper quiche and a cinnamon bun french toast bake. Everything was to die for. I wish I had made 2 quiches because it went fast!

My next major braces appointment is with Dr. Klein on January 15th so I probably won't post again until after that. See you all in 2016!

Recovery Day 39

Well, today was a big day for me! After talking to Dr. Klein on Wednesday, she said that it didn't matter if I waited or pushed my appointment up a week. She said it was totally up to me and how I felt. Since I've been feeling OK, I decided to just get it over with.

Dr. Klein was super excited to see my progress. We chatted and had a nice long conversation about my recovery. She told me that I looked great which was nice to hear. I still don't feel 100% but it's still nice nonetheless.

Happily, after taking a peak, Dr. Klein said that I was good to get the surgical wire and hooks removed today!! Very exciting! After they were removed, it was discovered that I had 2 broken brackets. Apparently, it's very common for 1-2 brackets to come off during the surgery which is what Dr. Klein thinks happened.

I was fitted with a regular wire again and standard o-rings which felt nice. The hooks had started to bother me so I'm glad that they were removed.

My surgical wires with attached hooks

I've been wearing elastics very religiously since my surgery and today I got a new configuration of elastics. I was wearing them diagonally upper front to lower back. Now, Dr, Klein wants me to wear them in a triangle pattern upper incisor to lower incisor to lower back molar. I can already feel it and I have a feeling I'm going to be sore tomorrow. After I get used to the elastics, I'm to add a 2nd elastic from my upper back molar to my lower back molar. This is to ensure that my bite is completely level. Dr. Klein explained that]when people with open bites get them fixed, sometimes they can develop an open bite but in the back. Wearing the 2nd elastic will keep my bite touching from front to back. 

As I was leaving, I finally remembered to ask about my x-rays. Dr. Klein did have access to them and even printed them out for me. I have copies of them but I just have to edit them since they have some personal information on them. When I get them copied onto my computer, I will definitely post them here. 

My next appointment is in about 6 or 7 weeks, so after the holidays. Dr. Klein mentioned that if I am good about wearing my elastics, I may be looking at getting my braces off in time for the spring! Wow, I can't wait! This has been such a crazy journey that it feels like I'll be wearing these things forever. It's awesome to know that the end is in sight and is almost here. 

Happy Blog anniversary! Oh and an update!

Today marks the 2 year anniversary since I started writing about my jaw journey. I've reworked the blog a bit but today marks the day that I officially started writing about my jaw issues which is super cool (thanks facebook for reminding me!).

Since today is an anniversary of sorts, I figured that I had to give a quick update! No photos this time around but maybe next post I will. My teeth are straight anyway so it doesn't really matter much.

I had an orthodontist appointment on Wednesday. It had been awhile since I've seen Dr Klein so we had a nice catch up. I won't be getting the hooks and surgical wires on until after the summer is over (yay!) so that was nice news to hear. It will allow me to enjoy my summer without having to adjust to new things. My husband and I are going on a few long weekend trips so I'll be able to enjoy myself without being uncomfortable. I will most likely need to get the surgical wires and hooks placed on 2-4 weeks prior to my surgery so that's what I'm planning. Dr Klein really wanted to try again to get brackets on my upper two back molars (-_-) so she placed the uncomfortable spacers back there again. Maybe 3rd time's a charm? They are going to see about potentially ordering custom brackets for me so we shall see. My molars may have to be fitted with brackets that are primarily used in children so we shall see if they actually come in or not. If the brackets don't fit then she told me that she won't attempt to place brackets on them anymore. It won't affect my smile or my surgery in any way since the molars are in the correct position so if the brackets don't work out, oh well. Other than that, my appointment went very smoothly. Just had an A-chain replaced and the spacers inserted and that was it. I have another appointment in 2 weeks and that's when they will try again to place the brackets on. After that, who knows! I think I may have to get impressions done at my next appointment? Whatever, I'm a a pro at those so no problems there.

Another thing I found out is that I will not be getting a permanent retainer after surgery!!!!!! I will be treated like any other orthodontic patient after my surgery so once the braces come off, I'll be fitted for regular standard retainers. It was nice to hear that I'll be a normal patient once surgery is done! Very exciting. I was also told that I may not need to be in braces for a full year after surgery. So maybe by this time next summer, I'll be free of having braces! How terribly exciting! But I won't get my hopes up so I'm planning by September/October 2016 to be out of braces. Definitely something else to look forward to! Dr Klein gives all her patients 2 types of retainers after the braces come off, a standard hawley retainer (that metal retainer with the wire) and a standard aligner type retainer tray (similar to an invisalign tray). It gives the patient flexibility, especially if one is accidentally lost. If that happens, I won't have to freak out that I don't have a retainer. I can just use a back up.

I came home after my appointment and was a tad bit sore. And I didn't anticipate how uncomfortable I'd be the next day too. Ugh, definitely didn't miss that about these damn spacers! But the discomfort went away quickly.

I've been trying to plan accordingly for my surgery and that involves going on short term disability while recovering. My short term covers me for up to 70% of my pay which is pretty nice. However, I have to fill out some paperwork and there are some questions that I wasn't sure of so I gave Dr. Keith's office a call. I called asking about their fax number (because I'd need to fax Dr. Keith some paperwork for him to fill out regarding my leave from work) and making sure it was correct. I spoke to a very nice secretary. I also asked her about how long she thought I may be out of work for and if it was written in my chart. Apparently, she didn't have that information but she said that his insurance coordinator would know. To my surprise, she told me that Dr. Keith has a new insurance coordinator which means that Mary has either left his office or been fired! Wahoo! The woman who gave me constant admin headaches and never returned any of my phone calls has finally LEFT! What great news! I was referred to a new insurance coordinator named Viviene who I'm excited to get to talk to. Not sure if she is just filling in or if she is a permanent addition to their staff but I'm happy! Hopefully she will be more prompt than Mary and maybe she will actually return my phone calls when I leave a message, haha.

So now I'm just going along with my summer and enjoying life! I will definitely post in 2 weeks after my next appointment so watch out for it!

Too slow, too fast!

Well,  these last few days have been quite hectic! I was booked for a pre-op appointment and spoke with Mary (insurance coordinator) within 1 day of finding out I was ready for surgery. It all seemed to be happening so fast, definitely way faster than last time.

The day before my pre-op appointment I got a phone call from Mary. It turns out there was some sort of miscommunication and I am not ready for a pre-op appointment since I haven't done any pre-op work or anything yet. (Which I initially questioned when we first spoke but she assured me that there'd be no issues. Uh huh. Should have known!)

Anyway, when I was talking to Mary, I asked her about Dr Keith's surgery schedule and when they thought they'd be able to book me. She said if my insurance comes back soon then they could probably book me for surgery at the end of July.

Holy shit balls.  Not what I was expecting at all. Usually surgeons are booked well in advance, especially for complex surgeries like my own. I couldn't believe that they'd be able to fit me in so quickly. I had such a difficult time getting a date last time that it blew my mind that I could have one within 4-6 weeks. Yikes! It's hilarious because I was so gung-ho about having this done as soon as possible and now here I am postponing the surgery. If someone had told me I would post-pone my surgery, I'd have laughed in their faces. 

I told Mary on the phone that I honestly had expected to be going through surgery sometime in October. She seemed surprised and advised me to get in contact with Dr Klein because my waiting could derail/ruin her plan for me.

Great, just great.

Thusly freaked out,  I sent her a quick email asking about a surgery time line and if she'd be ok if I waited until October for the surgery. I figured that she would email me back with a yes or no answer but she surprised me with a phone call that evening.  I was working and couldn't answer but she left such a nice and reassuring voice mail. She assured me that waiting wouldn't harm my teeth nor my progress and said she would call back tomorrow to personally talk to me. 
You have no idea how much I appreciated that phone call.  I've never really had a doctor personally call me before just to check in so it was just so nice. We talked the next morning and she told me that I have nothing to worry about. Any time that I am ready for surgery is good with her. I'm really glad that we talked.  She really allieved a lot of my concerns. So it looks like I will be having surgery after Columbus Day.

I've already told my boss that he can expect me to be out anytime after Columbus Day for 6-10ish weeks. I will come back when I feel up to working again. I've been told that I may feel ok but my energy levels will be extremely low since I'll be on liquids for awhile.  My job can be quite strenuous so I don't think I'll be able to perform my job in the OR until I'm 100% again. I walk a lot, carry and lift heavy items, and I talk all day to other doctors and nurses. So we shall see.

No photos this time because nothing has changed since last time. But I do have another appointment with Dr Klein in July. If I hear from Mary before my next appointment, I will certainly post about it!

EDIT: I got a phone call from Mary on Friday in the late morning but of course I missed her phone call. Left her a voicemail not 10 minutes after she left one for me on my cell. Never got a call back (and it was like 11:30am). Too good to be true? Hahaha. At this point, I'm not worried so it's not a big deal. Hopefully I'll get in touch with her next week. Maybe my insurance already came back with a yes for surgery (doubtful but you never know!)

No news is good news!

It's been awhile since I posted an update so here I am.  :)
Teeth have been doing their thing which is good. I've made so much progress and things have moved so quickly it's getting difficult to notice the small changes that are happening.
I had a quick appointment at the orthodontist office just for some impressions. It went very well, nothing crazy happened, haha. One of my lower brackets had been bothering me so I grabbed some more wax and went on my way. Super easy! I didn't even need to see Dr Klein which was nice (not that I don't like seeing her, it was just nice because my appointment took all of 15 minutes). My next appointment is June 3rd where I will have a normal adjustment.
That day is looking like it's going to suck though. I have a regular dentist appointment in the morning for a routine cleaning and then the orthodontist appointment right after. Hopefully they are gentle with me! I'll have to remember to stock up on a few soft foods before then.
Other than that, nothing else to really report. In non-teeth news, I've been recently getting into biking and cycling. There is a trail near my house that follows the Charles River directly into Boston. Don and I have decided to make that our goal and do it together. It's roughly 30 miles there and back so it'll be great exercise! The only thing I have noticed so far with our bike rides is that my jaw is sore a little after. I think I strain my jaw or something while wearing my helmet. Gotta figure out a way to stop doing that.

Here are a few photos of progress! They are from about 2 weeks ago,  just never got around to posting them!