3 Weeks and 1 Day Post SARPE...

Just checkin' in...(and I just realized I have on no makeup...only carmex on my lips...and why does my face look a totally different color than my neck?)
Still a lil' bit swollen and numb in places...but I am still trying to smile in this pic :) I haven't noticed any stitches dissolving either...
The one good thing is that I have been eating pretty good for the past week! Spaghetti, chicken, fish, green beans, eggplant, blueberries, bananas...the list goes on :) I was getting so tired of soups and smoothies!
Just waiting on this gap to start closing some on it's own...

~Leah

No More Turning! (and Cute Puppy Pics!)

Yeah! Went to my Ortho yesterday and he said no more expanding! After only 14 turns! I am so happy that my gap is a big as it's gonna get! I go back in 8 weeks...although I am not sure exactly what is happening on this appointment. I know I need to ask more questions!
Oh, and I got a copy of my diagnosis, so here it is (kinda long):

Profile:
Maxillo Protrusion

Crossbite:
Posterior

Midline Off:
Upper and Lower
**madible is deviated to the right**

Overbite:
Minimal (not bad for a thumbsucker of 16 years)

Overjet:
Excessive Protrusive

Alignment:
Rotations - upper and lower
Crowding - upper
Spaces - lower

Occlusion:
Left - Class I
Right - Class II

Oh, and Shontell posted some pics of her cats, so I am posting some pics of my 6 month old puppies. Two Jack Russells - Coco is on the left with spots and AJ is on the right. As you can imagine, they are full of energy! But they were so well behaved when I was recovering from my SARPE. They must have sensed that I was not my usual self.

Lost That Love and Feeling...

Actually just the feeling...in my upper lip! Somebody please tell me when it will come back???!!!
I can feel most of it...just not the corners and it is still swollen! I know people heal at different rates...but Iam just getting impatient!
Well yesterday was my first day back at work. My mouth was aching a bit by the end of it.
Tomorrow I go to my Ortho and he will check to see how my expansion is going. I think it's going pretty darn fast! So hopefully not to too much more cranking needs to happen!

1 Week Later...

It's been 7 days since my surgery...I am doing OK...

My surgery was scheduled for 8:30am...The last thing I remeber was laughing with the nurses in the OR at 8:35...
In the recovery I opened my eyes several times...I finally spoke and asked what time it was around 10:30am...
I was out pretty good!
Around 11 they had me drink something...I couldn't use a straw because my lips were swollen and numb...and my throat was so sore from that breathing tube being in there...most of the juice ended up on that hospital nightshirt...
Around 1pm I was ready to go home to my own bed...they sent a wheelchair for me and I pretty much slept the rest of the day...

Over the next few days I had a couple minor nose bleeds...the swelling went down a bit everyday...the numbness started to go away...I did utilize those pain meds though...I think I just wanted to avoid the pain so I was being proactive :)
I ate lots of soup and mashed potatoes...pudding and applesauce too. Once my mouth stopped being so sensitive to the cold I finally made some smoothies

Yesterday I went to the OS for a follow up...I am healing just fine...I went to the ortho today...he agreed that all looks good. I do still have some swelling and numbness in my upper lip but hopefully that will be gone totally by next week. I do have a nice size gap in between my teeth already. I have taken pics all this time, but I left the cable for the camera/computer at work and I don't go back until next week...I promise to post some pics then...

Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts :)

I am gonna try and make the best out of my Thanksgiving...I hope you will do the same!

~Leah

Less Than 24 Hours To Go...

Until my SARPE that is...

I went in for another presurgical visit on Friday - I knew I would have to give blood for a couple of more tests, and surprisingly it wasn't as bad as I expected (I am a big ole' baby when it comes to needles). I told the tech that I would come to her everytime I need to have blood taken :)

Dr. Relle went over everything with me again and tried to reassure me about the gap that I would be developing - kind of like his but a little bigger. Those were his words not mine :)

Oh, and I found out that my copay for the surgery is only $15! I love you Kaiser!

All of y'all have given me such helpful information so that I'll know what to expect - thanks alot! I am still a bit nervous though...I think it's normal...surgery, no matter how simple a procedure, is still surgery.

Pray for me, or wish me luck - whatever it is that you do :)

I'll be in touch soon.

~Leah

DAMN, DAMN, DAMN!

In the words of Florida Evans in the infamous episode of Good Times - Google it if you don't know what I'm talking about - it even came up on Wikipedia!

Well, I had "THE EXPANDER" (imagine my voice - it's like I'm announcing an evil cartoon character or something...but I digress) placed yesterday. I was too annoyed to write about it in my blog at the time so here are my thoughts a day later...

Pretty much everything Brandy said on her blog is exactly what I will say in mine...I'm just gonna copy and paste it with some added notes (don't sue me for plagurism girl!).

"Had my ortho appt this morning and the RPE torture device was placed. At first I thought it wasn't going to be so bad, but as my day wears on I'm really starting to dislike this device. The appliance itself sits about 1/2 an inch from the roof of my mouth. If you have a serious gag reflex I could see how it might really be annoying, (I do have one and came close to puking oh so many times) but since I don't really have too much of one, that part is not too bad. My mouth is watering like crazy, so it is next to impossible to talk for more than a couple of seconds without having to suck all my spit up. I have noticed that it seems to interfer with the normal tongue thrust that goes along with drinking and swallowing also. It is not something I totally can't bear, and at this point it is not painful at all, just more annoying than anything else (I did mess up my tounge...but I put some wax on it so it can heal). It is definitely going to take some getting use to. Drinking my morning coffee (drinking anything) was quite a challenge today. Liquids now go up over the top of the appliance between the roof of my mouth, and since my tongue is not thrusting normally, the fluid is hard to control. I ended up choking on it twice while only drinking a small amount. I tried a straw but that didn't seem to make much difference either. Talking is quite a challenge too, I have noticed that if I don't try and fight against the appliance as much, that the words come out a bit easier to understand (only a bit though). Talking, without drooling is going to take a bit of practice.

Eating is a totally different ball of wax, very very unpleasant and hard! My tongue is getting very sore from rubbing against the appliance, and from having to constantly keep myself from drooling everywhere. I"m hoping that eventually I will develop some type of technique that works but so far I have not found anything remarkable yet. At this moment I'm wondering how I will ever survive at work with this appliance (my coworkers already hate me for that sound of spit being sucked up). Eating was not pretty tonight and requires a lot of sucking noises that would not be appropriate in mixed company (they will just have to deal with it until I figure something else out). Hopefully my mouth will figure out soon that this piece of metal is not food, and the water works will decrease."

- Brandy

Today is a BIT better, but not much...not painful...but just a pain in the you know what!

I would put some pics up here but I can't seem to take any on my own that don't come out blurry...I'll have to comission one of my friends to help me :)

It's My Mouth and I'll Do What I Want To...

Hi Y'all,

If one more person tells me - "Your teeth are fine!"..."Why are you going through all of this?"..."Did your dentist pressure you into this?" - I am gonna SCREAM!

I don't know all the terms for my diagnosis, but the need for braces is not just cosmetic - it is absolutley essential for the health of my teeth and gums in the long run.

I sucked my thumb until I was 16 years old! Granted, my teeth are nowhere near as jacked up as they should be! However, there are some things about my mouth that I definitely want changed!

For instance...I have never liked my smile; it is off...kinda like Tom Cruise. My teeth could also stand to be a little bit straighter and some minor spaces could stand to be closed. So, I am fixing these things now before my wedding day approaches and I have spent all this money on a photographer and I HATE my smile in all of my pictures! Funny, because I don't even have a boyfriend now so a wedding is far off...but at least I will be prepared :)

So with all of that said...(I'll say some more...)

I went in for my ortho consult in March 2007. In September 2007 I finally decided to have it all done. There were alot of things to consider...2.5 years in these darn things (thank God for ceramics), the SARPE (looking forward to my new gap - not really), the lower jaw surgery (will need to be broken/reset and wired for 8 weeks)...I just wanted to make sure that I was ready for all this.
In October 2007 I got my bottom braces put on and some spacers to make room for bands and "THE EXPANDER" (I love all the nicknames everyone has come up with!).
On November 6th (tomorrow) I get "THE EXPANDER" put in. Then, on November 13th I have my SARPE!

Well, it's too late to turn back...I already gave my ortho $1000 :)