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!