Day 440 - Changes

So, I realized I needed to post before things got super busy. I am officially moved into college and am loving it here. Classes start Monday so I'm about to be very busy!

I ended up getting my MRI and CT scan done. They showed arthritic changes in the joints and that both of my discs in the joint are likely out of place and enlarged from the stress etc. I saw a more specialized joint doctor. He suggested me as a possible candidate for a joint surgery to put my discs back in place. I don't want any surgery at this moment, so I decided not to have it now. But the surgeon was very helpful in explaining more about my jaw to us which was great. He suggested me to apply heat to my jaw joints and slowly open and close my jaw as well as to continue eating soft foods.

The pain has been more manageable in the last few weeks though which is great. I will just hope that the stress of being at a university doesn't make things worse. I'm trying for positive thoughts though! 

Take care all!

- Katie :)

Day 365: 1 Year Updates:)

June 10th 2013 - June 10th 2014.
Exactly 1 year.

I waited until I got my braces off to take my senior pictures. 

I don't know how to start this post off. 1 year ago today I was in surgery. I remember waking up to nausea and pain. All I wished last summer was that the surgery would help my pain. I just want to cry right now though, because I am in pain almost every day. And I think the pain is now worse than it was before surgery.

I got really lucky with numbness and can feel everything besides my upper gums. My teeth are straight. But they don't fit together :( My orthodontist even mentioned more braces down the line. I just wish that my pain would go away.

I've been contemplating for days what I should say in this post. I hate hate hate to be a downer, but I just can't sugarcoat this topic.

I had an appointment with my jaw doctor this morning. (Not my surgeon, but the doctor that is working on my special retainer that I wear at night). He asked me if getting surgery was worth it. The dreaded question of the year… I decided that ultimately yes, the surgery was worth it. But that assumes that my pain will go away eventually..

I promise things aren't all bad, I can deal with my bite not being perfect. I mean who can expect that anyway. I just am starting to lose hope that my pain will go away.

I am currently still getting my special retainer to wear at night adjusted weekly because my bite is not settled. Once my bite settles, my doctor plans on adding composite to different surfaces of my teeth to help adjust the bite. I just feel like my bite is too off to fix that way :( and we are getting less optimistic.

But hey, I must try to be optimistic. I survived recovery. and that is pretty great all on its own :)

Here is a year in pictures.

I got glasses a few days ago. They aren't as bad as I thought!

I graduated from high school last month. Onto bigger and better things at college next year :)

I guess a lot can happen this year. I am so blessed overall. The days when my jaw pain subsides make the surgery seem worth it. I see my surgeon in a couple weeks, and I'll be posting more. Until things are perfect, I won't be leaving. haha. I hope things are great out there. I cannot put into words how much other blogs have helped me throughout the past few years. Thank you more than anything. Much love.

-Katie:)

Day 183 - SIX MONTHS:)

June 10th - December 10th.

I made it to 6 months post-op. Wow. Who would have thought I could have made it this far :) So i was gonna write a super long post… but it is late.. and i had a full day of homework and college applications. so to say i am exhausted is an understatement. anyway, ill still mention a few things! basically though things are the same from my last post.

I do have some updates though because i had an orthodontist appointment today! and it was exciting because it was to get my "finishing bands" (which is code word for a big pain in the butt) basically i have one huge rubber band for each side and i have to zig zag it up and down across every tooth. this basically makes me unable to open my mouth at all. reminds me of days after surgery…! and i didn't miss it at all… luckily i only have to sleep in the bands.

what is really odd to me is that my orthodontist cut my wires and only kept them across my front teeth. maybe that helps the tiny movements of my back teeth allow for a better bite? I'm not sure. i see the point of the rubber bands to move teeth to fit a comfortable bite. i just better make sure i wear them every night! because during the day my back teeth don't have any wires or bands on them. weird right?!

today i had to see my incision sites in my lower back of my mouth as i have to start the bands on my last molar. it was bigger than i expected and kinda scary to see. but it made surgery seem like such a real and lifelong thing i guess. idk, it was good and bad to notice!

but anyway, i go back to the orthodontist in 4 weeks for them to see what everything looks like. and then hopefully by february i get my braces off!! woo :)

my last post had so much info… and i feel like I'm only repeating myself… but hmm. things are good! ill keep you guys updated with how i end things with my braces :) hopefully we get to part sooner than later.

here are a few random pictures i guess?

definitely feel like swelling is gone. yay :)

when they had my wire out at the orthodontist and i was pretending like i didn't have braces… if only it were real. haha.

before bands.

after…

soooo many bands……………..! but you can
 see how there isn't a wire on any of my back teeth.

hope all is well with those of you on this journey too :) off to sleep for me..! if ya need anything, just holler :)

-Katie:)

Day 132 - Busy, Busy, Busy

so this past week i have been dealing with a sinus infection, and that made my jaw pain increase substantially. the areas on either side of my nose not only ached immensely from the sinus infection, but also the plates there from surgery just made my whole face ache. ouch! luckily i am starting to feel better from the antibiotics i got, and things are going back to normal.

sorry i haven't updated for a while! golf season just made me insanely busy. since i have to go finish up some homework, ill just attach a few random pictures, and then update at a later date?

im set to get braces off at the end of january as of now.

 

my HUGE pills for my sinus infection. 875 mg.

my last homecoming!

golf tournament with my tissue box. don't golf with a sinus infection. not fun.

GUYS. I had my first piece of gum today (well multiple). another reason why i felt it appropriate to make a post. Before surgery i was truly addicted to gum, we are talking like 5+ pieces of gum a day, so it is pretty darn great for it not to hurt to chew it again. yay for normalcy!

I still get headaches and randoms aches depending on the day, but hoping that it just continues to be less and less... some things are irritating from surgery.. but overall i can live with it.

hope all is well with you guys!

-Katie:)

Day 112 - 16 weeks!! wow wow wow.

Oh my goodness, I made it this far!!! way past the 100 days mark, and soon approaching the 4 month mark (oct 10th). Things are pretty darn awesome :) if i weren't so busy with everything i would post more! but life just kinda gets hectic as im sure we all realize.

before/after 3 months.

SO hmm..... what to talk about relating to my jaw. well, i can eat almost everything now! I still have yet to try raw carrots or an apple.... but im a little scared. so ill just avoid those for a bit longer. some parts of the day i have no pain... but i normally wake up to a clenched achy jaw from grinding my teeth :( also, my upper lip is always really stiff in the morning, but by the end up the day it is more normal. hmm what else....

OHH GUESS WHAT. I have an ortho appt a few weeks ago and asked him when he thought id get my braces off since i was debating when id take senior pictures etc. my ortho said i would get them off by january. so YAY. 3-4 more months from now isn't horrible :)

I still have clicking more than not in my left jaw joint when i eat which wasn't there before surgery... but we'll see. some days it isn't there at all, so maybe itll go away eventually? idk..

I finally feel more normal when i see my reflection and can accept that this is my face. i dont just see "puffy cheeks" when i look in a mirror anymore. woo! Sometimes i still feel a little stiff and swollen, but just depends on the day.

Numbness is bearable at this point. my top gums are still completely numb which is fairly annoying. but oh well. everything else has at least partial feeling.

Also.... i have this weird feeling between my left nostril and my left top tooth. if i blow my nose the tooth and jaw area above it kinda vibrates.. and i feel certain things in both spots... maybe the nerve healed weirdly? like if one area feels something.. the other does too. and when i have a stuffy nose and i talk loudly.. the tooth and that part of my jaw vibrates too. sigh... sorry that was not a good explanation. but it's just so gosh darn annoying! hope this isn't permanent :(

my biggest complaint though is the sensitivity. brushing with my sonicare hurts so badly!! i hate it :( sensitivity sucks let me tell you.

and now you get the loads of pictures. because jaw surgery is a good excuse to take many selfies and not feel (too) ashamed. hope all is well with you guys!!

 

-Katie:)