Work Up! Physical! Pre-op Admissions! 26 days to go!

I had my first HUGE pre-op appointment on Monday. The appointment went from 8am-around 1:30ish. It was a super long day and I'm glad it's over and done with.

I took the train in, which wasn't too bad. I grabbed the T at the green-line Woodland stop and took it all the way to Charles/MGH. It took about an hour and wasn't a bad ride at all. I got off the train at MGH and thought to myself, "I could maybe do this everyday... This wouldn't be so bad if I had to work in the city..." As I exited the station, the stench of fresh piss hit my nostrils and all I could think of was "NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE." Haha, thinking back on it now it was too funny how quickly my mind changed in that instance. Also, I have a terrible poker face and I'm sure my disgust was plain to see. LOL!

The worst part of the day was the first appointment which was the work-up portion of the appointment. I had to do 12 impressions (6 uppers, 6 lowers), 4 bite impressions, x-rays, and photos. My jaw was a little sore after but not too bad. We discovered that my face isn't symmetrical. I mean, I know that no one's face is perfect but looking at pictures with me straight ahead it was so obvious. One of my eyes is way funky. And not like, lazy funky. Like, one of my eyes is physically lower than the other one. It took awhile for the tech and surgical resident to map out my face correctly. Jeez! Way to give a girl a complex.

After that, I had a pre-op physical which was pretty routine. They did it right in the same office as the work up so I didn't have to go anywhere which was nice. The appointment was super easy, just had to answer a bunch of questions. The nurse practitioner who did the appointment with me was kind of ditzy but we got through it together, haha. She did give me a packet with information about a blender-based diet (yaaaaaaay. can you hear the excitement?!). There are a few no-brainer recipes on there but a few I hadn't thought about. I bought peanut protein powder from amazon to go into shakes and stuff. Hopefully that'll help. They also recommended to give baby food a go (bleh) but maybe I can find some interesting recipes on pinterest.

After the physical, I had a meeting with a member of the anesthesia staff. She was a CRNA and super nice. Once she realized that I worked in a hospital OR, the appointment went by in a breeze. She was so fun and easy to talk to. It's obvious why she's a nurse cause she was very personable. If you have to go to pre-op admissions and get to talk to "Christina", she's the best. Super nice and very helpful! She answered a bunch of questions I had and even gave me some answers to things I hadn't thought of. I'll definitely be updating the Questions part of the blog soon (if not tonight).

Other than that, I'm good until my final pre-op with doctor keith in 3 weeks. WOW. Time sure does fly.

The Countdown is on...

Hello everyone! It feels like its been so long since I last updated! However, not a whole lot has gone on dental-wise. Don and I have really been just living life and trying to hold on for the ride. BBQs, yard sales, weekends away, work, it's all just been a little crazy. Not enough time to live this crazy busy life and update the blog constantly. I did have a post that I had prepared but I completely forgot to post it and after re-reading it, it was just whiny and annoying. That was part of why I scrapped it. While I often use this blog to vent, I was just over it so that's why it was deleted.

I did get all my paperwork squared away which was definitely a relief. There was a minor hiccup with my FMLA paperwork but it was worked out. (Hint: this is what the deleted post was about) The paperwork hiccup could have turned into a huge deal if a former insurance coordinator had to deal with it (cough : Mary : cough). I'm happy to report that Viviana stepped up to the plate and took care of me. She turned the process from something I expected to be a nightmare into a piece of cake. Dr Keith has completely gotten an upgrade in my mind. He is a great surgeon and he deserves to have a great staff to compliment him.

I also set up my short term disability which was WAY easier than I initially expected. Compared to the little issues I had with my FMLA paperwork, this seemed almost too easy. The only thing left to do is that I have to call on my last day of work and the wheels will be set in motion.

Today was an exciting day. Today was my last orthodontist appointment before my surgery. Guys, my surgery is 32 days away. The surgery hasn't really seemed real to me until today. Today, I had every bracket ligature tied and I had 6 hooks added (3 on top, 3 on bottom). Dr Klein had told me that it wasn't really that bad and she was right. These surgical hooks are pretty easy compared to the dreaded palate expander. It's just something else for me to get used to. But now that I'm all set with the orthodontist, next comes the pre-op work up, physical and anesthesia meeting. And that's only a few days away!

On a fun note, Dr. Klein asked me about what I'd been up to recently and I told her that my husband and I are doing fantasy football. I told her what my team name and avatar were and she loved them.

For those that can't see, the avatar is a picture of Joan Cusack from 16 Candles. She's the one in the head gear during the movie doing random stuff like trying to drink from a water fountain or this photo, her trying to drink a beer. I thought it was fitting. I need her sweater in my life.

Since I got stuff done for the first time since early June, I finally took some photos! Well, I didn't take them, Don helped me out. But you get the idea. Enjoy!

The 3 hooks inbetween the top teeth are the most obvious however, there are 3 additional hooks on the bottom as well.

You can see how far they stick out. 

Monday is my pre-op where I will get to drop $1500.00 on my surgical work-up. Thank god for flex spend accounts. I'll still cry when I swipe my credit card. Anyway, look for another update soon!

Spacers finally gone and ... YUP still no molar brackets

First things first! After reading through the Common Questions for Oral Surgery section of my blog, I thought that the original formatting I used was a tad bit confusing. I have now changed it to a table format, left side with the questions, right side with the answers. Please click the links above or click HERE to check out the new updates. I had to use HTML coding for the first time in years so I am quite proud of myself. 

Now, onto the update! 

I saw Dr Klein last week on Thursday. I was excited to see her mostly because I was so done with these spacers. They were difficult to clean and hurt like a bitch the first few days I had them. I had forgotten what orthodontist pain felt like (haven't had an adjustment since the end of may since my teeth are straight)  but the memories came back real quick. Spacers really suck. Anyway, I went back and we tried different brackets. Low and behold, the brackets didn't really fit. Dr. Klein and one of her technicians had been going back and forth with the rep who sells them their brackets. What's hilarious is that he told them that there isn't anyone who exists in this world with molar teeth that small. He assured her that these would fit and well, they really didn't. So apparently I'm the only adult in the world with baby teeth sized adult molars. She was able to fit one bracket on the left side but it was legitimately uncomfortable. I don't think giving it a few days would make it any better, I would be uncomfortable for the rest of my treatment. Thanks but no thanks. 

She decided to take them off and not adhere them. She took some models (i'm such a pro at impressions) and said that she'd review them and get back to me. I probably wouldn't need to have them put on but she has to make doubly sure. Thankfully I have lots of time before my surgery so she has time to make the decision. 

Long story short, I attempted to try to do the molar brackets again and they still didn't work. Basically wore spacers for 2 weeks for no reason. 

My next appointment will be my last orthodontist appointment before my surgery. ;( and at that appointment, I will become "jaws" haha. This appointment is right before my pre-op day at MGH on Thursday September 24th. Every bracket will need to be ligature tied and then tiny little hooks will be placed in between each tooth in the front. I've been told to expect to be sore after so I'm definitely going to take some ibuprofen before the appointment. I've taken the day off too since their appointments typically run long. They told me 1.5-2 hours so I'm planning closer to 2-2.5. I really don't want to go into work late and have to rush around. I'd rather take my ibuprofen, grab a milkshake for lunch and then relax for the rest of the day without having to worry about causing a major hiccup at work because I'm late. 

Dr. Klein is so awesome, she really has a terrific bedside manner. We talked a bit about feelings at this appointment which was nice and helpful. She warned me that 95% of patients become depressed during a long surgical recovery like mine. I loved that she was upfront and honest with me. I know this isn't going to be easy. In fact, this will probably be one of the hardest things I ever do. Talking with me about these things wasn't something she had to do but she took time out of her schedule to talk about them anyway. And we talked about them in depth, a good 10-15 minutes extra from what my original appointment was. Once I have kids, if they need orthodontic treatment, I'm going back to her because she's phenomenal. 

I also spoke with Dr. Keith's new insurance coordinator Viviene. She never did return my original phone message that I left her a few weeks ago. However, I'm going to mark that down as her getting settled into her new position. And the phone number I called may have been an old number, who knows. I did speak with her and she was very friendly on the phone. She easily gave me all the information I needed in order to submit paperwork for my work leave. I'm looking forward to meeting her in person come October. I think she'll have settled in by then and hopefully everything will be a breeze. 

I can't believe summer will be over in just about 2 weeks! Pumpkin everything is already here in Massachusetts. Can't believe how fast it went by! 

Speaking of fall, I've recently gotten into canning! It'll be a great way for me to store some food supplies, especially when I may not be able to run out and grab something at the store. In the next few weeks, I may post an update or two with some info about my canning progress! Look for it soon!

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!

Look what I found! Frankenstein night guards!

Life has just been rolling along. Summer is just beginning and we already have a really full schedule! This weekend was one of the only weekends where I will have any large amount of time to clean so I spent most of today cleaning and organizing. While putting away some sheets and towels in our linen closet, I found my very first night guard! I can't believe how tiny it is! It looks like a child's which is actually pretty sad.

I couldn't talk about my sad night guards without having proof so here it is!

Fortunately, these night guards don't fit anymore cause I have an adult sized jaw now! Goodbye monster-jaws, hello perfect smile!

Finally! A date!

It's finally happened. A few days ago, I got a letter from my insurance stating that I was approved for my surgery. Yesterday, I got a call from Mary and she called to book my surgery. I have a date along with all my pre-op and a few post-op appointments!

My surgery date has been scheduled for Monday, October 26th at 7:30am at MGH.

I can't believe that it's scheduled and it happened so quickly! I am definitely impressed by Mary and how prompt she was this time around. Last time it took forever for the insurance to come back and for Mary to contact me with a surgical date. Such a pain. This time around was way different. And, since I want to wait until after the summer and push it to October, my options were extremely open. It was nice to be given 3-4 different options and I got to pick the one that worked for me.

I'm going to spend this summer doing the things I want to do and have fun. This summer is going to be epic!

It's Official! Really official!

So there's good news and there's bad news.

The good news! Today I got confirmation that my surgery will be 100% covered by my insurance. I was told previously that it would be covered but having the proof is just a great relief. I definitely couldn't afford this surgery if my insurance wouldn't cover most of it.

For all you medically inclined folks out there reading this blog (aka nurses, doctors, medical staff), I have been approved for a Le Fort 1 and Saggital Split operation.

For those not medically inclined, it means that I am having both my upper and lower jaws moved into the optimal position (aka double jaw surgery).

Now, for the bad news. BCBS won't cover any type of genioplasty because it's considered "cosmetic." Gosh darn, I really wanted a new chin! Hahahaha! I've been told that after my surgery, my chin might not be as pronounced as it is now. I saw some digital mock ups of what I could look like with a chin implant and I decided that it just wasn't for me. LOL.

Time to make some appointments! But first, a photo!

Me and my approval letter!
Also, this is what I will look like in the future with no chin. HAHAHA. Nailed it.