Let's seeeeeee...it's hard to think about what's been going on in the past two weeks since my last post, because I'm always doing something.
I'm still LOVING the benefit of not being totally exhausted every day of my life. So awesome! This is what normal feels like!
I've looked at a few old pictures lately, and I still think I look like me...just a little more improved. This is what I was supposed to look like all along, but my jaw was too dumb to know that and sucked at growing. I always had a little bit of what looks like a double chin in 90% of my pictures cause everything was just not in the right place. Not anymore!
Chewing food is a little different sometimes, but I'm used to it for the most part. Now that all my teeth fit together, I think I chew things much less just because all my teeth are working together...not just four. I still don't bite into food because I'm not positive I'm supposed to (I never asked, but my surgeon never said anything about not doing it). Either way it isn't necessary, and honestly I'm not sure that I could open wide enough to do so. I can nly open enough to fit two fingers in still because I suck at remembering to do exercises and my surgeon is probably going to be pissed when I go back, so I really need to make an effort to work on it.
I have some news! Aid and I went to Fogo De Chao for our third anniversary, and I got to eat STEAK!!! Fogo de Chao is a Churrascaria restaurant. They have a HUGE salad, sides, cheeses, meats and vegetables bar. Then when you are ready for your meal, you flip a little green card over and all these men run over with huge skewers of 14 kinds of meat and cut it practically off the cow right there at your table. It was SO GOOD. We absolutely loved it! I was a little slow at eating the steak, but it was easily manageable. Oh I also just remembered...on Valentine's Day, I chose a lobster and pasta dish, since I knew I could eat that. But I had a bite of Aid's steak and could eat it then too!
I guess now the only thing I can't eat is really hard stuff like peanuts or walnuts. Not like I'm dying to eat that anyway haha. I can't really think of anything else that I know I can't eat.
My chin and lip numbness is much better! The feeling isn't totally back, but it's nothing like it was. I noticed a week or so ago that I could feel temperature there again, and now a little bit of feeling. I love when I feel electric shocks in there..I think it's so cool how nerves regenerate like that. When I feel that pinch it makes me happy it's working to try to get the feeling back! But my upper jaw is still totally numb...which I don't like at all. I really hope that comes back soon! But at least the roof of my mouth has feeling...I've heard some people don't even have that.
I think I have swallowed about 10 rubber bands now haha. My ortho told me to leave them in when I eat, and they don't bother me, so I do...but they ALWAYS break while I'm eating. If I'm in public, I don't think it'd be very lady like to dig out that rubber band and all the food that gets stuck everywhere, while at the table. So I just leave it until I can take care of it. Most of the time they stay stuck around the back of my braces, but sometimes when I go to put new ones in....the broken one has disappeared. There is only one place for it to go. Oh well.
My left side kind of pops or something every now and then, or sometimes I feel the muscle do something weird. I think it's just that muscle being stubborn and trying to resist a new position. l only feel it if I have been a really really bad girl and had no rubber bands in for a couple of hours. So it seems like the muscle works it's way back into it's old habits and then gets pissed when I put rubber bands on again.
I've gained back the 8 lbs I lost, but that's okay. I don't know why anyone would expect to leave most of that off after not eating hardly anything and then eating your normal diet again.
I always manage to write a short story with my posts, but I want to be really detailed about what's going on for those of you going through surgery and wondering how things progress and change.
I have really been slacking on taking pictures of my face/jaw specifically, so the pictures from Valentine's Day and our anniversary will have to do this time.
You look great! Lol I say the same thing. This kind of surgery just makes us look like how were supposed to. And congrats on your 3 yr anniversary! :)
ReplyDeleteI love your Vday pics! You look so pretty! And what a handsome BF :-) Congrats on the 3 yr mark! I love Fogo de Chao by the way! It's good hearing you say you could eat steak after 10 wks.
ReplyDeleteI am getting so anxious for surgery now. I asked my OD if there was anything I could do to help speed up the process, but he said I'm already doing it. The key will be how long it takes to close my gaps. Right now, I have little springs on the wires where the gaps are so they aren't even trying to start closing until my teeth get straight and perfectly aligned. Do you remember how long that took for you once you got braces (for your teeth to align and straighten)? I don't think you had extractions but if you did, how long did it take to close gaps for you? Did you use self-ligating brackets? I have the SLs on bottom but regular ones on top. My OD said the top won't hold me back for surgery though because they'll be ready long before the bottom. Just have to be patient! It's so hard sometimes :-)
Thank you guys so much!!
ReplyDeleteTara, haha I'll be sure to tell him :)
It was a pleasant surprise to be able to eat all that yummy food!
I actually did have extractions before my first set of braces (this is my third!!). So I was very young and don't exactly remember how long it took for the gaps to close. It's funny because when you're a kid, you don't worry about this stuff or notice at all...now I scrutinize every single little thing and worry constantly.
I 99% sure I have SL brackets on upper and lower.
I certainly know how you feel when it comes to trying to be patient for this surgery! But when you look back on it, you'll think "wow, that time really flew!"
It will all be here, and gone, before you know it!