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 :)
1 comment:
OMG Leah! I was reading this and so taking a trip down memory lane....and not a fond memory I might add!
I about died laughing when I read your addition regarding your coworkers already hating you for that sound of spit being sucked up. I totally did that too, I mean OMG how can you not when your mouth is drooling like a faucet. My coworkers still tease me about that! They make the sucking noise to demonstrate and say how they could hear me down the hall for like 3 days! LOL... I totally remember how much that part sucked. Thankfully it does get better, well maybe better is not the best word. It gets to be more manageable though! Thank goodness! Anyway...I'm sure you will adjust and survive like the rest of us have. It was funny to see your additions though and totally be able to relate to what you are going through!
Best of luck to you! Oh, and no worries about plagerism! LOL... quote away!
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