sigh [part 2,862]

Sigh.

Braces? Still on.

Bands? New configuration, and now the side ones on 22 hours a day and the front ones at night.

Jaw? No end in sight to this blasted joint pain. On one hand I really don't want to bother Dr. Lee because she's said TWICE now that there's nothing she can do until the bands are off, but on the other hand I don't know how much longer I can go around in pain like this without going crazy. Off the deep end crazy.

Sigh.

hopes up

Sad as it might be, the night before every orthodontist appointment I think "Ooh, maybe my teeth are so perfect now he'll take the braces of tomorrow!"

...................

Now, in the real world I know my teeth aren't perfect yet (or even close enough to take the darned things off). My two upper front teeth are different heights and still look a bit crooked, and while my bite is finally meeting in all of the places it's supposed to (my back AND front teeth touch at the same time!) I always meet first on my right side and after a school day where I don't wear my rubber bands I have to shift my bite around to get all of the teeth to meet.

In my dream world, though, these puppies are coming OFF! Hopefully the rubber bands WILL be finally coming off, though(6.5 months later, aye!). I'm going to wheedle and deal and whine and beg - I want to see if the jaw crap really is from the bands, and if not, I want to fix it (and, uh, now).

Much love to all the braces buddies out there. Miss you guys! Someday soon I'll join you in falling off the face of the earth, though! Can't wait!

bone graft kiddos...

I forgot to post this last time, but I went in for my yearly physical last week and my doctor and I talked a lot about my surgery. When she noticed the scar on my hip I told her about the bone graft and she asked if I had been massaging the incision site. Apparently once the incision site is healed it should be deeply massaged twice a day for the year following the surgery - it will prevent too much scar tissue from forming and improve the muscular function, range of motion, and tissue health/ healing - even though my surgery was 6 months ago it's still healing.

So I started to massage it twice a day and sure enough, it's definitely still healing in there - very tender when I dig my fingers in and massage. I'm already feeling looser in that hip when I run - I've been struggling a little bit as I get my mileage back up I feel like my gait is a bit uneven coming from my right hip.

So, if you have a bone graft from anywhere but your mouth - good to know! :)

sensation

This week I've had a lot of sensation coming back into my chin. The slight downside currently is that sensation coming back equals a constant 'itching' feeling all over my chin - no matter what I do, it doesn't make it go away at all - I find myself scratching it all the time. But in the long run, wahoo! Feeling! More feeling! It's slow, but 6 months out I'm still seeing major improvements.

6 months out. Crazy. I've been damning the jaw pain and eating what I feel like - I ate an almond, steak, salad, and crispy chips and crackers galore. I also realized that I only chew on the right side of my mouth, and I'm wondering if that's contributing to my lack of range of motion side to side - I can force my jaw a millimeter or two to the right, but not at ALL to the left. So I'm trying to chew with my left side only when I remember.

Quick pity-poo-party: It seems like EVERYONE is either out of braces or about to be out of braces. 6 months (or more?) seems like SO. STINKING. LONG.

Okay, it's over. Wahoo, no migraines STILL! 6 months!

Happy New Year!