Feeling better

Well, I am feeling much better, the antibiotics are definitely doing their job. Thanksgiving was good, busy and loud. I'm getting some much needed down time this week. I'm really glad I'm not hosting Christmas dinner. Phew!

As far as the teeth go, nothing, nadda, zilch! I've got nothing to share. It seems as though I have hit a plateau. December 18th, can't come fast enough. I desperately want the stainless steel wires back in so I can finally see some movement again. I feel like we're wasting time here. I was hoping for a lot more movement than this before my January appt. with the OS.
My daughter has an appt. on Dec. 6th, I thought about asking them if they would change my ligs too so I could go red and green with her.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to wish all of my friends a Happy Thanksgiving. Thanks for helping me get through some really tough times. You are the BEST!!!

Mmmm, I am so looking forward to dinner tomorrow!

Sinus Infection

I had a doctor's appt. yesterday afternoon for a regular physical. It actually worked out pretty well though. I was feeling much worse by the time I got there. She said I definitely have a sinus infection. My first one post op. I started the antibiotics last night and I took more this morning and I'm actually feeling a little better right now. Not great, but better.
If I hadn't had that regular appt. scheduled, I'm sure I would have just tried to get through the holiday. I'm so glad it worked out for the better.
The teeth are still the same. Oh how I wish things could move along faster.

Owwwwww!

Wow, my mouth was incredibly sore for a few days. The bottom braces have definitely been tougher to get used to. I bought this stuff called Orabase Soothe -N- Seal, it was pretty expensive. Well, don't waste your money. It puts a seal over any mouth sores that you have and then the seal get caught on the brackets and just pulls at the sores. Oh, it hurt so bad. Things are much better with my mouth today though. On another note, I have a horrible cold. I'm congested, my throat is sore and I just generally feel lousy. I have been trying to take extra Vitamin C and Airborne in hopes of getting rid of it before Thanksgiving. I am hosting this year, 15 people. I have a hundred things to do and no energy to get it done.

As far as the teeth go, nothing much is changing. I didn't suspect anything would. I am hoping at my next appt., I can go back into the stainless steel wires. That's when I get some movement! I can't wait for my lips to close without having to think about it. With the bottom braces now on, it just makes it that much worse.

RPE FREE

Today was the BIG day. Everything went really well. The expander came out so easy, with very minor pain. I wouldn’t even really call it pain. Some of my teeth are still a little sensitive so, when he was using his little “plier” like appliance, I felt a little pressure/sensitivity. Nothing more. The real shock came when my tongue found the roof of my mouth. WOW!! It is so big in there. The sides of the roof of my mouth were a little sensitive the first few hours but now, it’s feeling good. Next, they placed the brackets on my bottom teeth which was the easy part. Then, they put in my TPA. I was dreading it. It’s funny because Heather put bands on my bottom teeth and two more on my top teeth after Dr. Post took out the expander and I guess she forgot that I was having a TPA put in because she had to take the top bands back off to weld the piece on that the TPA goes in. I tried telling her that maybe we should just forget about the TPA altogether but, she said we could until the “big cheese” found out. So, the TPA is in and it isn’t nearly as bad as the expander. I mean, I would much rather have nothing but, I guess I can do it. I was hoping I would be talking and swallowing normal again right away but, I definitely think it’s going to take me a few days. My tongue is a little confused right now. We just got done having dinner, swallowing food was so strange. It felt like it was going down way to easy. It didn’t have to go up and over or around an expander anymore. I already have a big sore in my mouth. I actually think my mouth is going to have a tougher time getting used to the bottom braces more than the top. Oh, I hope they toughen up quick.
The disappointing part of the day was, I had to go back to a nickel titanium wire instead of the stainless steel. That means, the triangle gap isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. I tried to tell him I was in a race with someone to see who’s closed first! He laughed , but didn’t budge. So I got an 014 NiTi on the bottom and an 018 Niti on the top. UGH!! Should I concede now?!?!
So… here are the newest pics. Heather says I look good in blue so, that’s what I went with. Next appt. is on December 18th. My daughter and I will be getting red and green together.
I’ll post again in the next day or two to let you all know how things are going.

Last Pics before RPE removal

Finally, these are the last pics before my RPE removal tomorrow.
I also think that my pallet looks a little square.

The countdown....

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about my appointment on Tuesday. The spacers aren’t really bothering me anymore, just the tip of my tongue hurts from playing with the elastics so much.
It will be so weird to talk and eat again without this contraption being in my mouth. It feels so good to be hitting a milestone, so to speak. It's nice to know I have finished this little part of my long journey.
I'll try and post a couple of new pics so we can see the difference right before the RPE removal and then after. I'll bet the roof of my mouth will feel sooo big!

What a nice appointment

What a nice appointment I had. It was just for the bottom spacers, but it ended up being a nice long visit. Heather, who I think is so pleasant, put my spacers in. In between, we got chit chatting about kids, husbands and life in general. Then we talked about my progress and she brought up my "before" pictures on the computer. It's nice to share the excitement with the people who really know what you have been through to get there. As much as they can anyways. It's not like all of us, who have actually lived it.
Then another one of the girls came over, the new one, I think her name is Candy. Anyways, she joined our conversation too. We ended by discussing my next appt. Heather says taking the RPE out is a lot of pressure, but no pain and that it usually comes out faster than it went in. She tells me it will feel really weird. She said that one little boy asked her if they could put it back in. He just got used to it I guess. Funny how our bodies just adjust. Even hearing that, I still can't wait to get it removed.
I also hope the bottom teeth move as quickly as the top ones have. I'm not sure if the top ones moved so quickly because of the surgery or if that's just how things happen. When I was younger and not as wise, I had a molar pulled and all of my bottom teeth have shifted filling in that gap. So, now they will have to be pulled quite a ways back to get my midlines to line up correctly.
My bottom teeth are a little sore today. I hate that feeling you get, like you have a big ol' piece of steak or something that you NEED to get out.
6 more days!!!!

Spacer Day, again!

Today is spacer day! I dread the thought of getting them in, I find them irritating. On the other hand though, it's progress!
1 more week until my BIG appointment. I can't even imagine how it will feel to have this dreadful RPE removed. I can't wait.
Things have pretty much been the same for me lately. Sometimes I still feel that tingly feeling in my front teeth. The triangle gap is still there. I really have to take a picture to see if it's closing at all. I don't see any difference but my husband seems to think it has closed a tiny bit. The wires in the back are really poking me lately, I'm going to see if they can clip them today while I am there.
Also, my OS told me to make an appointment in January to see him, so I have scheduled this for January 17th. I hope by that time I will have made enough progress to tentatively set a date for my second surgery. I am hoping for May or early June.
I'll post again later after my appointment to let you know if anything significant happened.

What a great Halloween

What a beautiful day it was for us. With temp's in the 60's, the kids really enjoyed their evening. My daughter and her friends set out to make their own costumes this year. After many ideas, they decided on being M&M's. My daughter is the red one.
I also had to share a picture of my nephew. His Mom beat leukemia a few years ago and was given a 5% chance of conceiving. He is our miracle baby.