My Elective Torture

2007-10-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

Coming Off in Countdown 4 Days!!

2007-09-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a LONG time since I have updated. And please do forgive me... life has been super busy. Since my last post I have went on vacation to Florida, then Colorado (where I got engaged) then three days later found out my future husband got orders to Japan. So from that point I planned a wedding in about three days. So I am now officially a military wife! So hopefully everyone will forgive me!

Anyhow about the teeth. I am getting my braces off on Wednesday. I am so extremely excited! I am now about seven months post-op, and have been in braces for a year and four months. Due to my departure to Japan with my husband my orthodontist and I have had to really push up the visits. I have been going in about once every two weeks for the past two months. But my OD says I'm only coming out of braces about a month earlier than I would have. So I think that isn't overdoing at all.
A little update on my surgery recovery. I still have not completely gotten all my feeling back in my lower jaw. I have had full sensation in my upper since about a month post-op. Not so fortunate in the chin and lower lip area. I have regained feeling to about the corners of my lower lip, but it is slowly regaining sensation. Some days are better than others; strangely it seems after I get done with a strenuous workout that my feeling is somewhat more numb in my lower lips.
The one area where I am experiencing major problems is in my TMJ joint on the left side. In this same location immediately after surgery I had extreme pain, that never was eased by any amount of pain killers. This is a problem that not many people experienced with this surgery. I know a lot of individuals started their ortho journey in order to help with TMJ, it appears b/c of my journey this will be the new problem. I am still unable to open my jaw fully w/out pain. It feels as if I have a rubber band around that joint not allowing me to open my jaw. It is extremely painful sometimes, and I always have limited motion in the area. I have spoken with my doctor about this, He said more than likely when my surgeon adjusted my jaw he did not ensure that the disc that lies in the joint socket was in place. And of course if this is the problem it is only fixable by means of a third jaw surgery.
He did inform me that by wearing a splint at night I may be able to reduce the tension and pain.
And finally... with the end of my braces journey comes the dental work that must be completed. As you will soon see from my pictures, I have a large gap between my two front laterals. I will be getting a veneer placed on my peg tooth. My left second lateral does not exist. I currently have a bridge there that has been cut during my braces to allow movement. Due to time constraints I will have bonding done to cosmetically correct the tooth. And during the next year I will be having a implant placed. This will mean I will have a third surgery, but I'm sure an implant is nothing compared to jaw surgery. :)
That is the bulk of my progress. I will add photos to a second post to show some of my progress over the past few months!

Four Months Post-Op

2007-05-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

Well I know that most people out here in Adult Ortho world think I have forgotten about you... I definitely haven't. I am separating from the military and just arrived back home to move in with my folks about two weeks ago. I have been w/out personnel Internet access since the end of March, and of course the day after I arrive home where I do have Internet access, my digital camera breaks on me. Luckily, I have already met with my new OD in Oklahoma and they took new pics which they were kind enough to email me. So my long awaited results are finally here!! I have made tremendous progress and could not be happier with my bite! I am actually getting to the point where my teeth look as good as BrandyLeigh's!
The new OD is awesome and he has moved a lot around. I went in today and they took off all my brackets around my molars (to include the nasty ones that my RPE was attached to) And they did some bonding on my left lateral that is part of a bridge. Once I get my camera back I can take pics of that...my teeth look dramatically different already. I have to say it has been awhile since an adjustment made me sore; but today is definitely one of those adjustments. But well worth the pain! I hope the pics end up being big enough to see the detail/improvements. But my camera is being shipped back to me today...so hopefully more pics will be forthcoming.

Wow...Way To Long

2007-03-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

I am extremely sorry that I have not posted an update in the past like month!! I am taking the hardest college course yet, and am in the process of separating from the military. So I really have been busy. I had my surgical hooks removed yesterday...and am absolutely ecstatic about it. However, they decided to put in wires that aren't connected all the way around..which really means they poke and really hurt!! I will try my best to get some new pics up this week. I have to say my teeth look better than I ever could have imagined! If you ever have or are in the process of having this procedure...DO IT! It is amazing what these docs are able to do. Like I mentioned...photos are to come. Thanks for being patient with me during the past month.

I Love Plates & Screws!!

2007-02-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

Well due to the wonderful work of my OS I had my splint removed on Tuesday!! I really didn't think he was going to take it out this week, so I got a wonderful surprise. He said I was fitting into my new bite perfectly, so there was no need for the splint!! First thing once he removed it...I brushed my teeth. It was the most wonderful experience!! I won't even go into what the splint had stuck to it after two weeks. :)
I will still be in rubber bands for now..but only for 16 hours a day. So recovery for me at this point is much better. After my OS got the chance to look at everything, I finally got to take a look at my new bite. My right side(first set of photos) fits together perfectly! I about cried when I saw how wonderful my bite looked...I am actually on the road to having a normal smile! My left side has quite a bit more work that needs to be done. My OS and OD wanted there to be room for my upper molars to be able to come down. So the big black abyss in the back of my teeth(second group of photos) is there so the teeth have room to move down into. Apparently my "Old Bite" didn't allow those teeth to come down as far as what was needed. Obviously my open bite was closed. There is a small amount of space, again on the left side, but that tooth will come down also. So I am imagining once all this moving down business occurs...both sides will look equally as good! I can't wait for that day!! I still have some swelling in my face, so my profile pic is not quite what it will really look like. But I think it looks great.
I have to say I am extremely pleased with how everything looks at this point. I know that every bit of swelling and pain is worth a functional and beautiful smile.

Interesting Little Bit of Info

2007-02-22T08:28:00.000-08:00

I went to see my OS yesterday, nothing exciting he thought everything looked great. Everyone in the office thinks I'm healing wonderfully! Apparently I am healing at a very fast rate....so I guess that is great news! I'm sure my age and good health has a lot to do with it.
Some other interesting stuff. I spoke to him about the numbness in my face...and thought I would share what I learned. The reason it takes so long to get feeling back in your face is this. When a nerve is severed, if not reattached immediately (within an hour or so) the nerve will die. At that point the nerve slowly dies off, imagine how roses slowly wither away. In about the third to fourth week, the stub were the nerve was severed begins to try to make signal to the old nerve. This is what causes the itchy pin and needles tingly sensation. The remaining nerves then acts like an octopus; it send signals to other nerves in the area, once a signal is made the nerve bud begins growing towards the nerve pathway. My OS explained it like this...The old nerves that died are like a hot dog. The inside dies away, but the outer bun stays in tact. The nerve then reaches through the path of the hot dog bun. The average growth of nerve is 1/2 mm a day. So depending were the nerve is cut...you can expect that there is about 25-50 mm of growth around the jaw that has to be regenerated before feeling comes back to the face. So for myself, I have a very long face...so I can assume based on this fact that including the 3-4 weeks it takes for the nerve to die, and the nerve regeneration to grow...I'm looking at a minimum of four months based on 50 mm of growth.
Another note on this subject. We have all mentioned that after surgery our faces don't register sensations quite the same way as before surgery. This is due to the way the nerve regrows. Sometimes as the nerve regenerates it isn't able to stay on the same path (inside of the hot dog bun), it will sometimes wrap around the bun or make various twists and turns. This changes the way the nerves sense various sensations on the skin. He gave me an interesting example of this. (try it...I think it is cool) The skin reacts differently to sensations. Such as if a mosquito bites you, you instinctively slap your skin. In most cases you miss completely unless the mosquito is within your eyesight. However, if a bee lands on your skin and begins walking along your body, you know exactly where it is. Thus you smack it, usually causing yourself to get stung. Easy way to try this out. Have someone use a toothpick to poke lightly on your neck ( have your eyes closed) your nerves will not create a sensation at that exact place...rather a general location. Then have someone lightly move the toothpick across the skin (without picking it up). Your nerves will sense this allowing you to feel the exact location. I know not everyone is numb in the face from surgery right now...but when you are this is very cool. I poke myself constantly to see if I am regaining feeling. (of course I'm not) I can never feel the pokes...however my OS in the office did the whole poking thing, which I didn't feel. BUT..when he lightly rubbed his finger across my chin (which is very numb) I was able to have slight feeling there. I thought it was very cool. He then went to explain that some patients after jaw surgery have problems with nerve reception confusing sensation. Some patients register that when something pokes them, it feels like wind across their face. Or vice-versa. This is due to the nerve regenerating irregularly; such as twists or growing "around the bun".
I find knowing why and how everything heals very interesting...and I know that everyone in our group feels the same. So I thought I would share that tid bit of info.

I also got the measurements for the movements made on my jaw.
Maxilla:
-2 1/2 mm forward
-back of maxilla up 2 mm, front up 1 mm ( this was done at slight
angle to close my open bite)
- 1/2 mm to the left
Mandible:
4-5 mm forward
1 mm over Left

Oh Happy Day Now!

2007-02-20T18:08:00.000-08:00

Well life is going great for my recovery. I saw my OD today and he seemed ecstatic about my surgery!! That was great news. I got my appointment time a bit confused, so I ended up being an hour late. So...due to my discrepancy I get to keep the surgical hooks on another two weeks. :( I will survive I'm sure.
My swelling is going down considerably, however the numb feeling isn't going anywhere. So I still have that weird "my upper lip doesn't move when I talk" look.
My only complaint is sleep. I can't sleep for anything. I toss and turn all night. I am taking the meds my doc gave me for sleeping, but it doesn't help at all. I'm thinking b/c my activity level has decreased so much, that maybe I just don't require as much sleep?? But then again, my body has to be working overtime to try to get my mouth back in working order. Any advice on getting some shut-eye would be great!!
Well here are some photos to show my progress and healing. Now let's just hope for a little feeling to start coming back!

Post Op Day 8

2007-02-17T12:24:00.000-08:00

Well it is a beautiful sunny Saturday in Florida! I just got back from dropping my Mommy at the airport, and decided I had to include a few funny pics from last night. For my Mom's last night I decided to order pizza from the greatest pizza joint around. Of course I knew I wouldn't really be able to enjoy it...but she definitely deserved a treat. Well to my surprise the Magic Bullet saved the day...I was actually able to enjoy pizza!!! It wasn't quite the same as sinking your teeth into it, but wonderful compared to bland soup!

So that made my evening to say the least!
I had a very hard time sleeping the last two nights. For some reason once I lie down I get a terrible pain in my upper left jaw joint (tmj area) I am still sleeping at an angle. But with this new pain I have found the only way I can eventually fall asleep is if I am completely up-right. My OS prescribed very low doses of Elavil for me, a anti-depressant, used to help relax my muscles and aide me to sleep. They haven't been helping at all. I take them, and am falling asleep on the couch, make my way to the bed...and surprise surprise I can't go to sleep for a hour. If anyone has any advice for that I would love it! I just can't get comfortable, and my TMJ joint area just throbs.
Other than that things are going 100% better!! I am only taking Motrin every four hours, just to help with swelling and inflammation. I am feeling almost back to normal. I still am on a full fluid diet, and have a bit of swelling. But the past two days have been a tremendous step forward! My lower face (from my eye lashes down) is still very numb. I am hoping I will begin having some sensation later in the week. I have an appointment w/ my OS and OD this week. I am hoping to have my surgical hooks removed. They just collect mush like no other. So it will be a bit of a relief to have a little less metal in my mouth. I still think the surgeon will keep the splint in for a week or two. But as long as I'm out of the terrible pain, I can bear the annoying POS. Well since I am feeling better I thought I would share one of my more humorous...yes "I am feeling better" photos. I will keep the photos and recovery success news coming!

Jaw Surgery Necessities

2007-02-16T13:03:00.000-08:00

I know that there are a few fellow ortho folks that are out there that are getting ready to go threw this whole ordeal. I have though of some things that will make recovery more bearable. So here goes:

Food
Ice Cream
Yogurt
Soup (homemade chicken noodle is great)
fruit & veggies (or a pre-made fruit and vegetable replacement--GNC has a product called Maximum Greens Complete)
Ensure or similar product
Protein Supplements (used for making shakes)

Helpful Items
Bullet Blender- the blender can be ordered online, it is a super efficient blender that makes single servings. The blender comes with six separate cups so you can make several items at the same time. With this produce there is really no food you can't eat. I had pizza and enchiladas!
Syringe- works great for getting food in between the small opening in your teeth that you can manage the first week post-op. This is a HUGE HELP!
Catheter- My first three days I wasn't able to feed myself. My mom used a catheter to put in the back of my mouth so I could get food in my system. This works extremely well! ( a feeding tube will also work, this can be prescribed by a physician)
A Support System- It is very important to have people around you that care and love you. It is very discouraging to deal with the emotions of not being able to take care of yourself at first. With double jaw surgery you need to be prepared that you will not be self sufficient. I honestly should have a bib on when I eat. I am so numb that I am unable to detect the food that is running down my face and shirt.

Thanks to everyone that sent flowers, goodies, and warm wishes! This has been a real help when recovery gets me down. Hopefully I will be able to start posting daily w/ updates. I still have at least a week off of work...so I am hoping each day brings more recovery! Thanks again to everyone that has been cheering me on. It really helps a lot!

I Am Alive

2007-02-16T12:18:00.000-08:00

Well after much debate I have come to the conclusion that I will survive this! I went in to this surgery w/ a very positive outlook, but mostly a nieve one. I knew it would be tough. But I really under estimated the pain and swelling. It is day seven post-op, and my first day off of narqotics. My swelling is getting better and better as I go, but it has been a lot of hard work for my Mother. I have ran the full gammet of pain killers...Loritab, Percocet, Vicadin, and on top of that I have used 9 injections of Dermerol to control the pain.
When I checked out of the hospital on Saturday...I knew that my worst day would be Saturday or Sunday. I surrvived both those days, due to my mother's expert care. But my Mom (she has been a RN for over 20 years) felt that considering the surgery my pain and swelling was not under control. I went to see my OS for an emergency appointment on Monday. I was doing okay at first, but about 5-10 minutes into seeing the doctor my pain become unbearable. Due to the significant swelling in my throat my OS put me in a jaw bra. That topped me off and sent me into a blunder of pain. I spent the next hour in the hospitals starring into space w/ tears running down my face. I was unable to walk, move, or even notice that everyone in the waiting area of the pharmacy was starring at me w/ sypmathy. Tuesday was quite a bit better, then Wednesday and Thursday I slowly began to draw back on my dosages of pain killers. Now I am only taking the motrin.
Yesturday I saw my OS for my first follow-up appoitnment. I begged him to take the splint out. He said it depended on how things look. He took one glance and said "nope, your keeping the splint in for another week to two weeks". And on top of that he put rubberbands on me. I thought I was going to die of pain when he placed the bands. But within an hour and a dose of vicadin it was tolerable. I am now much more comfortable w/ the bands. It feels much more stable having my mouth banded in place rather than just dangling.
Today is the first day that I really feel like I am begining to stabalize. So I guess the timing is good, b/c my Mom will be leaving tomorrow. For future jaw surgery paitents...I highly recommend having someone for the first full week there for 24/hr support. I would have ended up in the hospital again if I didn't have my Mom to help out.
Now for the exciting part....my expereince by photos!

Days 2-4

2007-02-13T18:41:00.000-08:00

I am still very tired and in quite a bit of pain. My pain reached a plateau yesterday around 1 o'clock. I just so happened to be at an appointment w/ my OS b/c my Mother and I were concerned about my breathing. My swelling was enlarging around my neck making it difficult to breath. He ended up getting a wrap that would hold my jaw in place and help compress the swelling. I have to say it was one of the most excruciating things I have ever experienced. I ended up spending the rest of my time in a chair w/ tears rolling down my face.
Today has been much better pain wise. Today is the first day that I have gotten off Demerol shots in between Percocet and Loritab. So that is very comforting. I am hoping the hard part is over! For know I am just going to post pictures. Once I'm feeling better I will share more about my recovery.

Surgery Day

2007-02-13T18:04:00.000-08:00

Surgery Day--Checking In

Bite--and chin angle before

Profile

Surgery day for me went fairly smooth. There was one patient before me, so I didn't have to wake up quite so early. Once I arrived they put me in my surgery gear, and started prepping. My biggest fear about surgery is always the I.V., Friday must have been my lucky day b/c they got it in on the first try. My official surgery time was from 1005 - 325. Once I woke up, I was send upstairs to my room farily quickly. Since I am allergic to morphine, I was started on a Demerol drip. I tried to use the pump as little as possible, thinking if I used it up it would all be gone. I found out two minutes prior to my IV being taken out that I could have had about 3 tubes of the stuff. Once I was able to wake up a bit more...I begged and pleaded to have my catheder taken out. Those things are really uncomfortable! Once that was removed, I had 4-6 hours to urinate....or it was back to the catheder for me. Thank God I was able to pee 15 minutes before I passed the deadline.
My over night stay was pretty uneventful. I threw up about four times...it was pure blood. Apparently a lot of blood hits the stomach during the procedure. Once I got that out of my system I was able to keep the pain under control.

While in the hospital I was on pain killers and a steroid to help with the swelling. Overall surgery day was fairly easy for me.

~~9 Feb 2007~~

2007-01-09T18:16:00.000-08:00

Well my surgery date has been set. I will be going in on 9 Feb for a Lefort I and BSSO. I spoke w/ my OS last week and he disagreed with my OD thinking that I needed more expansion. So I will be going through what my OS originally told me I would possibly need. It has been a lot of back and forth on whether I will need the second surgery, but my OD finally felt that there wasn't much more he could do w/out some surgical adjustments. I am pretty excited at this point. I am hoping that w/ the second surgery I may be out of braces by next fall. But I guess only time will tell.

On Monday I went in for an adjustment...and for the first time I decided to go w/ colored ligs. My boss probably won't be too thrilled, but I just got bored w/ gray. So I will be in purple for the time being!! I go back in about two weeks for my surgical hooks, so I guess I can always go back to boring then. I'm not really nervous about surgical hooks b/c I've seen what they look like...not to bad.

Well here are some pics from after my adjustment. I don't know if the wire "stepping" is noticeable in the pic; but my OD did some bending to the wire. Apparently it allows him to do some fine tuning. I thought it was cool. I just like the sound of them being to the point where they even use the word fine tuning. :)

After talking w/ my OS I have some what of an idea of what movements he his trying to achieve. He is going to bring my mandible forward about 3-4 mm to get rid of my over-jet. He will then do some left-right adjustments. My midline is quite noticably...well not in line. So between the upper and lower adjustments from side to side hopefully we will get it pretty close. The Lefort I is going to bring the front of my maxilla down, while on the other hand he will take the entire maxilla and bring it up about 1 mm. So the entire thing will be moved upward, but the front will have a slight forward tilt. This will hopefully close my open bite and help my lower portion of my face look more proportional. I believe the wording was creating the "text book" face.

So I have one month to prepare myself. I'm actually pretty excited; as much as surgery isn't fun...I do enjoy the 3-4 weeks off from work. :) Well I will post more pics as I see changes. I will definetely post pics of the surgical hooks.

Surgery Two

2006-12-23T09:10:00.000-08:00

Well I went to the OD this week and the doc wanted to put me in elastics. So that was really exciting. Then he decided to go ahead and take some molds and x-rays to check on my progress. I got a phone call on Thurday and he thinks that I am ready for a second surgery. Apparently I didn't get enough expansion between my canines and I-teeth. And I also need to have a upper jaw adjustment. He said I needed a two piece jaw...something or another. I'm not really sure what the entails. I'm assuming it will be like a Lefort I. I have an appointment w/ my OS on 4 Jan, so I will find out exactly what I'm looking at having done.

The pics I am posting are before/after shots between this week and in March. I also have some new pics from being in elastics for a week; it's amazing how much my bite has changed already.

Before Early This Week Now

Before Day Expander Came Out Now

Before & After

2006-11-09T16:44:00.000-08:00

My day has finally arrived. I am a SARPE survivor!! I had my appliance removed last week and have been enjoying life feeling more normal again. Above are my before and after pics so far. The before pics are from two days prior to getting braces, and the second photos are from today. As I'm sure that everyone can see my smile has changed drastically already! I am so excited to see what future progress lies ahead.

The actual removal of the RPE was more painful than I expected. When they removed the bands that connected the RPE in my mouth it was uncomfortable to say the least. The bond didn't quite want to break. Then the scrapping of the old cement was really uncomfortable. But I toughed it out, and am doing much better. I had to go in today b/c another one of my bands came loose. But that was a blessing b/c I was having a lot of pain with my back molars rubbing on the remnants of the RPE.

Well I will keep more pictures coming. I don't know how long it will be until they put me in power chains again. But I'm really ready to get all the spaces closed up in the front.

I hope everyone is doing well in adult braces fun, and have a wonderful holiday season.

One More Thing

2006-10-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

I realized after looking at Graham's page that I haven't posted a pic of my arch in a while...so thanks to Mr. Graham one more pic!! :)

Countdown to RPE Removal

2006-10-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

I had the greatest news today. Due to a work conflict I had to re-schedule my appointments for my RPE removal...luck for me they are doing it a week earlier! So my new date to take the RPE out is 2 November!! I can't wait I will be RPE free in two weeks. This is the day I have been waiting for since the end of May. So to say the least I am super excited.

Besides the removal of my RPE my gap has been closing slowly, but definetely making progress. Everyone is starting to really notice that the gap is almost closed. So I am finally starting to feel more human again. I have been invited to a Halloween Party, so I am contemplating dressing up as a school girl..a nerdy one with glasses and braces. :)

Well here is a pic I took this evening. As everyone can tell my gap is really making a lot of progress! But please feel free to keep encouraging those little guys.

The Countdown is On

2006-10-01T12:22:00.000-07:00

Well I have exactly 30 days before I go see the doc for spacers. Then seven days later I will be RPE free. That is all I can really think about with my braces right now. I hate the RPE and can not wait to be able to talk to people w/out always being asked to repeat myself. Not to mention I will finally be able to enjoy a glass of wine again. I have three Pinot Noirs waiting for me that I have refused to open b/c I know the appliance will ruin the flavor. Besides the RPE the space is slowly closing I think. I expect that it will probably stay about the size it is now until I go see the OD again. I am hoping he will do powerchains all around. But I guess we'll see. Well here are the updated pics. I can't wait to have pics that look more like Brandy's. I pray that my teeth will be as quickly moving!

Wednesday Sunday

Powerchain Time

2006-09-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a while since I have posted. There are several reasons for that. First, my teeth didn't seem to be moving worth a darn (well at least the gap wasn't closing) and two, I am in school right now meaning I have no time to spend doing anything enjoyable. So I am taking the time today to update my Ortho friends and family with fun progress pics!! I had an ortho appointment on Thursday. I had nothing but wonderful news and prospects of progress. First off I had my power chain placed on my incisors. Finally some "closure" with that relationship. ( I know I'm hilarious) It was a little painful, my two incisors are very sensitive to pressure. The rest of the appointment went pretty smoothly. Then one of my OD told me that she wanted to see me in about a month to place spacers. I was like ugh...why? Then she said I would need to come back a week later to have my RPE REMOVED and bands placed on my back molars!!! So the date is set...November 7th I will be RPE free. Which just happens to be the day before I graduate from the College of the Air Force! So November will be a great month!

Immediately after leaving the office I could tell I would be limited on my eating for at least a day or two. But the pain wasn't near what I was expecting. Within about two hours the space in my front teeth was definitely beginning to close. I also noticed a space to the outer side of my incisors forming. The next morning the space was about 1/2 of what it was on Thursday..but I do have some pretty obvious spaces between my central and lateral incisors. Two steps forward...one step back. But as long as I'm moving I'm pretty happy.
And since I am having movement again I am going to definitely take lots of pics, and update at least weekly. :) So without further anticipation here are the pics!!

I Think We Have a Winner!

2006-09-03T10:50:00.000-07:00

Attention all "we have movement", again I say " we have movement!" My teeth are far from perfect and still so far from coming together...but were there is a will there is a way. And I do think that these two incisors have decided that they do have will. Ok...a little overly dramatic. But I have refused to take a pic until today. I have been too disappointed with the lack of movement. But I must say..the gap is truly closing. My OS assured me that it would be closed if not all the way very close by the end of the month. I will have powerchains placed on the 21st, my OS informed me it will be like closing a door. A bit frightful I have to admit, but anything is better than this gap. I'm so ready to be able to move on with my progress. Which I know means closing the gap.

It seems crazy to think that I am nearly seven weeks post-op. I am able to do so much more now. My eating is getting better and better, however with a big gap in the front everything must be cut. Although my incisors never formed to make a bite before...it is still quite difficult to begin to eat with such a space. My teeth are feeling much stronger, but very weak in between the gap. Not like my teeth are still loose, but more so that they don't have the strength of the other to truly try to hold on to anything. But I can only hope that in the next month that will all change.

And with the closing of the gap, and the recovery from my surgery I can look forward to having this RPE taken out. I have wanted braces for about two years now, and I could have never imgained that the whole process would change my lifestyle so much. I have lost nearly twenty pounds, mostly due to the RPE, and am frightful of getting it out sometimes. Today for breakfast I ate about a 1/6 of a 1/2 gallon of ice-cream. It is wild I used to never be able to eat like that w/out gaining weight. I am finishing off about 1/2 gallon of icecream a week. I know this will all catch up to me. I am thinking once the appliance comes out and I am able to eat Cheez-Its again I will gain more weight back. I used to be a health freak. I worked out on average 6 days a week, and had a very healthy diet. Now, I have lost so much weight I have to slow down the work outs and try to eat more calories. I am beginning to wonder if I will ever be able to go back to all the excersice and healthy eating. I guess time will only tell. :)

I have the next two days off from work and school, so I am trying to figure what to do with myself. As I type I am thinking of either doing a work out video...or better laying out in the back yard with a book. Maybe I have time for both. I would love to go out to the beach with some friends, but again with the gap and RPE it is a bit difficult. But about a month or two I will be done with the whole mess. Thank God for that!

Well I am off to the back yard to do some tanning! Hopefully then I will make it to the work out tape! So hopefully next week I can take some pics with a really small gap! Good luck to all in RPE land.

Progress?? 3 Weeks Post Expnaion

2006-08-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

I am one day away from being five weeks post-op, and Monday was three weeks post expansion. I am not seeing that bad boy getting any smaller. Please let me know if I am wrong on this conclusion! But I have to say I don't mind it too much. I'm sure it could be worse.

I went to the OD, he put a stronger wire on top and bottom. He said something about a 16, and a less flexible wire? In four weeks I will go in for the evil power chains. So I am hoping I can be gap free by mid September. It was kinda funny...I was talking w/ my doc and asking about my timeline and such. He then made a comment on how adults are different from children b/c if they don't feel pain they feel like they aren't making progress. I told him he was so right!! I want pain every day for the arm and leg I just gave up for thiswhole journey.

Besides the normal chaos of life I am doing fairly well. My energy levels are back to normal for the most part. I am still holding back a lot in the gym...but that is mostly due to me trying not to loose any more weight. I have gained about a pound since the surgery. So I am happy with that I guess. I am very ready to be able to eat again though. I just ate dinner and rediscovered the difference in pain from surgery and from adjustments. So I will be back on spagettios and ice cream for the rest of the week.

The RPE is being it usual hellish self. I will never adjust to it..and I will never speak normally with it in my mouth. I really want to keep in when it finally gets taken out...I have a few more months to decide what I am going to do to the torturous device. Hopefully I will have more progress next week!

21 Aug 5 Aug

Side view Getting Up Close and Personal!

Can We Move Any Slower

2006-08-14T16:14:00.000-07:00

So here we are...two weeks post expansion ( almost four weeks post-op). I don't feel like the gap has closed at all! I guess it doesn't help when I get the whole "Oh my Gosh, what happend to you?" question everyday. I have to admit...I probably sound pretty vain. The pain isn't that bad, my brusing was a breeze, but this dang gap is killing me!! I swear my confidence level has went from about a 7 before braces to about a 1.5. But hey my arch has gone from small to 6+ mm. So at least my numbers are getting bigger somewhere! :)

My swelling in my upper lip is still noticeable (to me only probably) I don't know if it is swelling or numbness... probably both. My energy levels are getting better. I can't say that eating is getting any easier. I am still on a very soft food diet, and I don't see that getting better any time soon. I am still eating soups, a lot of pastas, ice cream, stuff like that. But...I did have one wonderful meal last weekend. PIZZA!! Yes I can eat the toppings and the top of the crust. Talk about yummy. I don't eat fast food...but pizza is my one treat. I can't wait to be able to eat a whole piece again.

Well to sum up last week I had 90% of my sutures taken out on Tuesday (two weeks and six days post op) I also had an x-ray of the lovely empty space in my upper palate. I will go see Dr. S tomorrow. He will take out the remaining sutures, and hopefully tell me I am done with him for a while.

Other than that life is starting to get back to normal. I did a full week of work last week, and am beginning to somewhat get back into my work out routine. I worked out about 4x last week, and am slowly regaining my strength and endurance. I did about 15 miles on the bike this morning and really could feel how much I have really lost. Hopefully the doc will release me to start running again. I'm sure that will be the biggest challenge. Nothing like feeling your jaw bounce around when you are walking/running. Hopefully that will go away soon also.

Now that I mentioned going away soon....Boy-Howdy I can't wait to have this RPE out!! I hate it! My tougue feels like mini-landmines exploded in it all day. I can't talk, and I drool all over the place. And to top it all off, I can't drink wine or beer. This thing is by far the worst thing a ortho can do to a person. I am a changed woman I tell you...I will never again be unappreciative of a raw veggies, a nice cold beer, or my fav....a nice glass of wine.

Okay...now for the part that people really care about. My pics!!

5August 7 Aug ( 3weeks pot-op)

14 Aug(2weeks post-espansion)

2 Weeks Post-Op

2006-08-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

Well it is hard to believe that it has already been two weeks since my surgery. But then again it is also hard to believe that there is over 6mm between my two front teeth!! Today I woke up and felt like my face had a little more swelling than usual. I walked around, (sat around) had some coffee, and before I knew it my swelling seemed to go back down. I think maybe sleeping increases swelling b/c of the angle of my face.

Today I really pushed myself to try to get back into my normal blow and go schedule. I had my coffee, ran to the chiropractor for an adjustment, and hit the road running. I cleaned my entire garage(rearranged, swept, cleaned the grill(GROSS!!) ect), then I trimmed up the bushes in the yard, planted a flower bush(that I recived as a get well for my surgery :) ) and to top it off I cleaned up the whole house. I'm such an overahiever!! I didn't end up sitting down until 830 tonight. I have to admit...due to my activity I broke down and took a dose of liquid motrin. Hey whatever it takes to get the job done. Today was my "It's been two weeks ..now get out there and GO!"

I'm definetely getting more confident that my surgery is healing up nicely. I do get a weird sensation in my upper jaw whenever I walk fast. It is almost like I can feel that my jaw is loose and moving slightly. What is scary is that it probably is.

I have one more day off before I have to go back to work. I am really nervous about it. I have developed a much needed relaxed life style the past two weeks...and I know work will get me back to my OCD/perfectionist/over-achiever self. But I guess it is inevitable. To top it off I just recieved an email from the big boss at the office. They are realeasing promotions next week. They are promoting at 37% which is so small. This is my first time up for a big promotion ( Staff Sergeant), so that has my nerves going too. I'm so glad I have my little diary to vent my nerves off to. And for any unfortunate person that actually reads this post...I apologize! I am getting it all out...I feel a little bit better. At least I feel like someone/something out there cares.

I guess I will quit ranting and brush my teeth. I am totally thinking the minty fresh clean will help calm me for bed. That and reading for an hour. One more day to sleep in. I will enjoy it! I hope to have more pics (of a closing GAP!! come on everyone cheer for the gap to close!) Good Night. Happy Two Weeks To Me!

12 Days Post-Op~* Im Done *~

2006-07-31T15:11:00.000-07:00

It is official I am done expanding!! Even though I have had the worst day (non-braces related) since surgery...I am still ecstatic to say that I am done with expansion. I saw the OD today, he took out the awful wire that was split in two on my uppers (talking about poking me!), and he replaced my upper and lower wire. So hopefully I will be saying good-bye to the large gap soon!
I just walked in the door...and realized I was starving. I attempted to eat a nutri-grain bar. I have been able to eat such things(not necessarily eat but mush with my gums and parts of teeth that slightly touch) but it hurt to smash food this time. I think I am getting more feeling in my upper jaw. That was the first time that my teeth and well jaw bone were sore like that. So that is probably good in a way....but bad meaning more liquid ick!! Back to the Magic Bullet for dinner I guess.
Well I have only one photo for today...this is my thank God I am done expanding pic. Also notice that my swelling continues to decrease daily. Hope eveyone is doing well in Ortho land...you to Mom. Hopefuly I will be adding photos of a closing gap soon. :)

Incisions

2006-07-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

This is eleven days post-op.

11 Days Post-Op

2006-07-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

Sunday- Today as been a really good day. I am officially off pain killers, even the motrin, and experiencing no pain. I have expanded twice today (.5 mm) and again no pain. I did experience I slight change in the location of the pressure after expanding. Rather than a tight feeling at the front of my palate, it seemed to move to the back. As of my last visit with the doc I should only have two more turns. Not that I mind expansion...I actually look forward to it. It is the most amazing and exciting thing to see my bite make all these changes. It almost makes the sting of the cost of braces worth it. :)

My Mom requested a few more photos, so I will continue my photo journal. I decided to do more angles and some before and after photos! Although I am starting to notice less movement the last day or so when I expand. So you will have to let me know if you agree w/ me on that one.

Before Right Now Right Left (slightly more swelling on left)

Before Today

Ortho Consult Today (5.75 mm) Today View 2

I would love to hear anyones comments on my progress. In my opinion, it still seems like I am not expanding as much as I should. But I am possilby just obsessing about it (which is very possilbe.) I have more photos but I will post them on a new one.

Day Six Expansion (10 Days Post Op)

2006-07-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

I spoke with my OS yesturday and he and my Ortho agree that I need more expansion. So I will continue to expand until Monday morning @ 3x/day. Here are more pictures!!

Friday AM 5 mm Friday PM 5.75 mm Friday PM

Sat AM 6mm Sat AM Face (Swelling and Brusing almost unnoticable)

Expansion Progress II

2006-07-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

Day Three Day Three 3mm Day Four Morning 3 1/4 mm

Day Five 4 1/4mm Day Five Face Day Five Bite

Expansion Progress

2006-07-28T07:35:00.000-07:00

Pre-Expansion First Expansion Day One 1mm

Day Two (Twin and I) Bite Day Two 2mm

My Recovery

2006-07-26T08:01:00.000-07:00

Well I didn't post much on how my recovery went, so for the benefit of future SARPE patients....here is what it has been like for me!

I had my surger last Wednesday, which included the SARPE and removal of all four wisdom teeth. Immediatly after surgery my face was enormous. I wasn't really expecting that, I guess I thought it would take time to develop swelling and brusises. But it definetely didn't! The pain wasn't that bad...of course when you are on I.V. pain killers it never is. I stayed over night in the hospital ( this is only b/c I am military and I have the option..free of charge) I checked out around 9am the next morning. I felt pretty good leaving the hospital, and then way over did it thinking I was more recovered than I actually was. Word of advise--- The day after surgery you should SLEEP the whole day. By around 7pm I was in tears and sat in a distant stare unalbe to even express how I felt. Thank God my sister was there to pump me up with Loritab! Soon there after I went to bed.

Day three of surgery was very uneventful. I figured out the key to sucess while recovering from major surgery...sleep! So I did that for almost the entire day. My swelling went down remarkably by day three. I think that was a result of rest, ice, and constant elevation @ 45 degrees. One thing that started on day three was nose bleeds. I had someone come to my house and buy my car...the activity of walking outside and trying to talk caused a nose bleed. The funny part.... the sixteen year old girl buying my car saw my swollen and bruised face, and told her mom that her appointment next month to have her wisdom teeth was to be canceled. I assured her that my disfigurement was from SARPE rather than wisdom teeth. The look on her face while looking at me was unforgetable! At least I can laugh about that part. :)

Day four...again I slept most of the day. Swelling continued to go down.

Day five--- I bougth a new car!! And got a nose bleed while talking to the salesman. They say when a girl isn't feeling well she should shop right! :) Here is a pic of my new car...and my swollen face.

Day Six--- Sunday (day of rest) once agian I took it easy. I was very anxious on Sunday b/c I was going to start expanding on Monday. I completely winged myself off of the pain killers at this point. (24 hours w/out) I was beginning to feel more like myself, but not quite back to par. At this point I began lowering me elevation when I slept...much more comfortable.

Day Seven-- First Day of Expansion!! Monday I woke up and drank a protein shake, brusehd my teeth, and my sister and I sat down to try to figure out how to crank my jaw apart. It took a good 10 minutes to figure it out. I was so nervous that I become very light headed, I would advise lying down for the first one. It DOES NOT HURT, but regardless until you know for yourself it's easier to take laying down.

From this point on I will post pictures of my expansion. Like the saying a picture says a thousand words (and I know that is what everyone wants to see anyway).

To sum up the week so far... I am feeling much better. I don't have to take naps and am able to walk around and be more productive. My days are going by faster now...so I know that means I am healing well. My doctor has me expanding 4x a day (1/4 mm per turn) I will only turn for five days. Enjoy the pics!

SARPE--Day Four(Re-Cap)

2006-07-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

I am four day post op. I have to admit today is the first day that I have been able to do things more on my own. I think part of that is b/c I finally have weened myself off the pain killers. Since I wasn't able to log on and write about my experience I am going to back track. So please endure my long windness ( I haven't been talking much the past four days :) )

Surgery Day-
I woke up very excited! My twin sister and I took my little puppy Merick for a walk at around 5am. As usual I was running late, I was supposed to walk out the door at 0545..but like two girls my sister and I didn't make it out until 0610. Oh well...surgery will go on. I finally checked into the hospital. I took a few pics before. It's sad ...but I had to fix my hair and wear a cute outfit.

I was rolled into surgery about 0810. The surgery lasted about 2 1/2 hours, however I wasn't moved out of recovery until about four hours later. Apparently I had super high blood pressure. I was 150/110. The worst part of that is my sister was waiting the entire 4 hours, and had heard nothing. She just so happens to be a recovery nurse. So to say the least she was flipping out! Obviously I can't tell you how surgery went..but I can show pictures! I asked my doctor to take photos during surgery. So please be warned...what follows are actual surgery photos!

As anyone knows, after you wake up from surgery. The rest of the day is pretty much a gonner. All I really remember from that day is about crying when I was finally allowed to see my sister and that my face felt like it has two softballs in each cheek(which I was hoping to be packing) which turned out to be all my very own swelling and tissue!

So to re-cap. Day one...I don't remember much, put I have wonderful photos to aide me in never forgetting. From this day forward...progress!

SARPE--Day One

2006-07-21T17:21:00.000-07:00

Thursday Morning 24hrs Post-Op

Wedneday-- Out of Recovery (Major swelling on Left cheek)

Twin and I before surgery

Actual Surgery!!

Getting a Little Nervous

2006-07-15T10:42:00.001-07:00

It is Saturday morning (actually noon, but I am still in my PJ's so morning) I have spent about two hours looking on the internet at others stories and pictures from Ortho and SARPE. I am nervous, yet completely thrilled. In four days I will be rolled into the OR!! I am not really nervous about the surgery, thanks to everyone's blog's and journals. But I am so nervous about how my teeth will react to the expansion. Will I have a big gap, or small? Will my teeth move back quickly? How long before I have this God forsaken RPE taken out of my mouth??? I am kinda of wondering why I am spending this morning on the computer....I will have a good week of nothing to do but sit and well sit. It is nice out too....I should be out ridding my bike or running. But then again I will loose to much weight from surgery as it is. :)

This will probably be my only entry pre-op..if anyone even cares to follow my recovery I am going to do my darndest to post pics of all my movement! I know that has been a huge help for me. So hopefully next week this same time (I can't belive I am finally doing this!!) I will have a new, well a new something!

My new Life w/ Braces and RPE

2006-07-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

I know all to well the curiousity that comes with having ortho work done. So I wanted to have have photos to track my progress. I have been in braces for over a month and today is my one month with a RPE. So these are my
before photos.

Where it all begins

2006-07-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

I have officially been in braces now for a little over a month. I have been thinking about having braces now for about two years. I began noticing that my teeth were shifting and that my bite was becoming more and more non existant. When going in for a replacement of my Marlyn Bridge I asked my dentist if he could drill down one of my front teeth so they would be even. His responce was yes he could, but I actually needed braces to bring down one of my teeth. That was the beginning. I asked around for a good orthodontist, and decided to go with Dr. Bayer.

I made an initial appointment, and was very overwhelmed but excited with my findings. The first thing I was told was that if I was there for cosmetic reasons, I needed to go somewhere else. I was hooked then and there. One of the only things I rembemer my first orth telling my Mother and I was that he had corrected my teeth cosmetically, and that it was the best he could do. Well nine years later I am finally going to have done what should have been done in the first place.

My treatment is estimated to be 18-22 months, call me a optimist(or just crazy) but I'm shooting for 12! I had my braces put on, then a week later a RPE appliance placed. I am being treated for a slight cross bite, w/ upper and lower crowding. My treatment includes RPE, a surgical release, and a possilbe second surgery on my upper and lower jaw to align my jaw.

I am a little more than a month in to treatment and have found myself desperate to know more about what is going on in my mouth. I have spent hours researching my procedure with little luck. This morning, I tried something new in Google "Adults with Braces" that was the best search I have ever done! I spent hours reading blogs of others in my situations. Not only do I know what to expect, but I feel I found a place where I feel normal agian!