Little over 6 weeks Post Op

BANDS IN THE TRAP: Went to my surgeon, for one more visit. I have been allowed to only wear the rubber bands at night. I get to go all day without them. Which sounds wonderful, but now I have to train myself to relax but make sure that my teeth are lined up without tension on them from the bands. The bands made things a lot easy on positioning. But I am sure it will take a few weeks to adjust to the new alignment.

EATING: I am eating more. I have put several pounds back on. Not so thrilled about that, and not so thrilled that I will be out of those size 4 jeans in the wink of an eye. Oh well, I will put them in the back of the closet soon. I ate 3 slices of pizza today. THANKS BILL!!! Cutting every piece into super tiny pieces, and realizing it takes soooo long to masticate, and the then the next slice is freezing cold. I need to pick up my pace.

LIP: I am starting to feel my bottom lip. I can bite it, and I feel that. But I still have a lot of tingling to the lip and especially the chin.

SMILING: I find myself walking by the mirror and trying to teach myself to smile. It's sounds funny, and to me it looks funny.

WHISTLING: I cannot do this anymore :(

Mostly everyone has seen my less swollen face, but I am tired I will post pics later.

My Glamour Shots by JU

So it didn't work out to get these pics before the surgery, I wanted people to see how I looked. Because even I had forgotten.

This is me pre braces initial consultation at JU (2/19/2009) I think I really started the full treatment in May-June because of the file-bit in my root canal issue.

These were taken 3-4 weeks before surgery.

And this is yesterday, 4 weeks post-op.



I will still tell you I am very, very happy with all of it. For a lot people who don't understand and have always had straight teeth that touch in the back, you are lucky. But I know have it and cannot wait to bite into a pizza and chew it up.

There are issues still: I have no feeling on my chin, however I think my lip is awaking. I feel like there are fireworks on my chin (or strange sensation of shingles, yes - I have had them and know how they feel). However, I seem to biting my lip with the side teeth and not knowing until I feel something tug strangely. My left side has been hurting the last 2 days, but I think and I hope it is because of use. I am starting to eat a little more solid...such as beans, mac and cheese. But the down side is the 10 plus minutes I have to sit in the bathroom trying to get all those darn little pieces out. Rice pieces are a pain!!!

Love you all, and I cannot wait to go out and enjoy a normal meal with my friends.

P.S. put on a pound or 2 this weekend. But broke down and bought a size 4 jeans (last time I was in that size I was mal-nourished and just divorced.)



T minus 4 weeks Post Op

Got a good report at the surgeons office today. Swelling has gone down a lot. I have to follow up in 2 weeks and have to wear the rubber bands another 2 weeks. I have an appt with the orthodontist tomorrow but I cannot imagine what they can do to me. Hopefully just check the "hardware" in there. I will protest if they want to do a plaster mold on me!

Food Update: I have graduated to eating things like beans & rice, scalloped potatoes, grits, mashed potatoes, mozzarella salads (minus the lettuce), fried rice...basically anything that doesn't require a good chew. But cleaning rice out of the grille is a bitch. I still cannot open the mouth too wide, I am thinking about 2-2.5 cm wide open.

But I still want PIZZA. I thought it was sushi I really wanted, but it's PIZZA.

D26: Slowly feeling better

So with the set back of an infection last week, it is turning around. It's Sunday morning, and as of right now no pain. I am sure that as the day goes on, I will start to have the throbbing. Since this all started at the beginning of last week with the setback of an infection; I have been experiencing a lot of throbbing. It's like the old days of swimming and having an inner ear infection. I called the surgeon on Friday to let him know and I have to go see him on Monday, instead of my appointment on Wednesday. This is what I get for not telling him about the "blow up" incident last Saturday.

I obviously do not care what i look like when I take these pics. lol. I have not even brushed my hair or teeth. But I am just so happy that the cheeks are small and the bruises are gone.

Jim has to work today, so I have to get crackin' on my Peanut Butter Balls and Christmas cards. The surgery and recovery has set us behind this year. But it will all get done.