Re: the rubber band mystery

[Guest guest]

Heehee! Not with rubber bands, but I wear earplugs at night, and

every once in awhile, I wake up to find them neatly tucked in each

pocket (it's cold up here so I sleep in sweatpants ....) and of

course my husband is snoring away : )

Ask Cammie about the Old Man Rubber story! and the secret life of

ortho rubber bands.

> okay so i've " unwired " for a little over a week now. my OS put me

in

> rubber bands that i have to wear for at least another week. they

are

> somewhat thick, but still allow me pretty good mobility and, of

> course, i can take them out to eat. so i wear them all the time

> unless i'm eating or brushing, including when i go to bed.

however,

> the past two mornings, i have woken up and they're gone - nowhere

to

> be seen! now, i KNOW i've gone to bed every night with them in, so

i

> don't know how they disappear by morning. they are too thick to

just

> snap or come out on their own, so the only possible explanation is

> that i'm actually taking them out while i am still sound asleep!

> this is the oddest thing. i'm not worried about it, its just funny!

>

> has this happened to anyone else?

>

> confused,

> heather

[Guest guest]

that's funny that you mentioned ear plugs because my sister just told

me that her husband sometimes wears ear plugs at night only to find

them sitting on his bedside table in the morning.

ahhh... now i'm off to enjoy a cheesy gordita crunch from taco bell.

i'm still enjoying the novelty of being able to bite and chew.

> > okay so i've " unwired " for a little over a week now. my OS put

me

> in

> > rubber bands that i have to wear for at least another week. they

> are

> > somewhat thick, but still allow me pretty good mobility and, of

> > course, i can take them out to eat. so i wear them all the time

> > unless i'm eating or brushing, including when i go to bed.

> however,

> > the past two mornings, i have woken up and they're gone - nowhere

> to

> > be seen! now, i KNOW i've gone to bed every night with them in,

so

> i

> > don't know how they disappear by morning. they are too thick to

> just

> > snap or come out on their own, so the only possible explanation

is

> > that i'm actually taking them out while i am still sound asleep!

> > this is the oddest thing. i'm not worried about it, its just

funny!

> >

> > has this happened to anyone else?

> >

> > confused,

> > heather

[Guest guest]

Oh, yeah.

When I came to, post op, I had no elastics (I wasn't wired, either).

I asked doc about it, and he said, " You broke them. "

I don't know whether that was true, or whether he was kidding me. I

do know that from time to time they just vanished. I reckon I

swallowed them, or something. I just put some more back in, and went

on, and it didn't happen that frequently.

If you're worried about it, ask your surgeon -- he can probably

modify the hooks that hold them so they stay put a little better.

Cammie

> okay so i've " unwired " for a little over a week now. my OS put me

in

> rubber bands that i have to wear for at least another week. they

are

> somewhat thick, but still allow me pretty good mobility and, of

> course, i can take them out to eat. so i wear them all the time

> unless i'm eating or brushing, including when i go to bed.

however,

> the past two mornings, i have woken up and they're gone - nowhere

to

> be seen! now, i KNOW i've gone to bed every night with them in, so

i

> don't know how they disappear by morning. they are too thick to

just

> snap or come out on their own, so the only possible explanation is

> that i'm actually taking them out while i am still sound asleep!

> this is the oddest thing. i'm not worried about it, its just funny!

>

> has this happened to anyone else?

>

> confused,

> heather

[Guest guest]

OK, Miz :

Old Man Rubber: Some years ago there was a very colorful, very funny

artist who was an active member here. She was lots of fun, and was

named the group's " Orthognathic Goddess. " She had major, major work

done, did really well with it, and even eventually forgave her

husband, who ate steak and corn on the cob in front of her while she

was wired shut.

Anyhow, when her braces eventually came off, she had a positioner,

which she christened Old Man Rubber. She tried to use it faithfully,

but somehow every night it migrated its way to, um, the spot that one

might call " the crack " in her husband's pajamas. (You spose it was

taking revenge for that steak dinner?)

As for elastics, I am firmly convinced that they reproduce asexually.

I am still finding them in hidden spots of my house, and my braces

have been off since October of 2002. Far as I can tell, though, they

pretty much stick to their own kind and do not interbreed. I have

found no strange mixes of 1/4-inch and 3/8-inch, nor of 8.50 oz. with

the 4.5s.

Cammie

> Heehee! Not with rubber bands, but I wear earplugs at night, and

> every once in awhile, I wake up to find them neatly tucked in each

> pocket (it's cold up here so I sleep in sweatpants ....) and of

> course my husband is snoring away : )

>

> Ask Cammie about the Old Man Rubber story! and the secret life of

> ortho rubber bands.

>

>

[Guest guest]

It's strange getting used to a new bite, isn't it? I still marvel

that I don't have to push my lower jaw forward to bite into things,

and that I don't have to bite things off " side-saddle " . Less wear and

tear on the joints, that's for sure.

I think the reason the ear plugs come out are because I can't hear my

husband snoring, and I think something might be wrong. So the plugs

go neatly in my pocket, I hear him breathing, and I nod back off

without knowing I ever woke up.

Either that, or there's some gremlins in my house with a very wicked

sense of humour : )

> > > okay so i've " unwired " for a little over a week now. my OS put

> me

> > in

> > > rubber bands that i have to wear for at least another week.

they

> > are

> > > somewhat thick, but still allow me pretty good mobility and, of

> > > course, i can take them out to eat. so i wear them all the

time

> > > unless i'm eating or brushing, including when i go to bed.

> > however,

> > > the past two mornings, i have woken up and they're gone -

nowhere

> > to

> > > be seen! now, i KNOW i've gone to bed every night with them

in,

> so

> > i

> > > don't know how they disappear by morning. they are too thick

to

> > just

> > > snap or come out on their own, so the only possible explanation

> is

> > > that i'm actually taking them out while i am still sound

asleep!

> > > this is the oddest thing. i'm not worried about it, its just

> funny!

> > >

> > > has this happened to anyone else?

> > >

> > > confused,

> > > heather

[Guest guest]

Ahhh, once upon a time .... and they all lived happily ever after,

right?

> > Heehee! Not with rubber bands, but I wear earplugs at night, and

> > every once in awhile, I wake up to find them neatly tucked in

each

> > pocket (it's cold up here so I sleep in sweatpants ....) and of

> > course my husband is snoring away : )

> >

> > Ask Cammie about the Old Man Rubber story! and the secret life of

> > ortho rubber bands.

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

okay, THAT is funny!!! and i know what you mean about the elastics

reproducing... they are everywhere in my apartment!!!

the thing is, i have very secure hooks so my only thought is i must

be physically taking them out in my sleep. anyway, i only need to

wear them for one more week, so its not a huge concern. just funny

to me.

and that was so mean of that lady's husband to eat like that in front

of her!!! most of my friends and family were pretty sensitive about

that, but i also didn't want people walking on eggshells around me

either.

well, i'm eating now and getting stronger everyday. the only thing

that still really annoys me is the numbness in my top gums and the

roof of my mouth. the doc said it will go away and i'm starting to

get more feeling up there, but not completely.

this whole experience has become such a part of my life, though, i

can't imagine not having had this done. and i must say, that as the

swelling keeps going down, i keep getting cuter. teeheehee. is that

wrong to say??? i mean, i'm no super model, but geez... i do like

what he did with my chin.

enough of my nonsensical rambling... i must get back to work...

heather

> > Heehee! Not with rubber bands, but I wear earplugs at night, and

> > every once in awhile, I wake up to find them neatly tucked in

each

> > pocket (it's cold up here so I sleep in sweatpants ....) and of

> > course my husband is snoring away : )

> >

> > Ask Cammie about the Old Man Rubber story! and the secret life of

> > ortho rubber bands.

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

<

>

My upper gums are completely numb, but I like it. I told that to

the ortho's assistant this week. I've always hated having my o-

rings changed because it feels as though my teeth are being pulled

out one at a time. They've always been so-o-o sensitive, and even

picking off the old o-rings makes me wince. Not now - being numb, I

can't feel what they're doing. The bottoms still hurt, but the top

teeth might as well belong to someone else. I told my ortho I hope

I stay numb until I'm done with braces. He said, " Oh, no, it'll

come back soon. " I hope he wasn't trying to be encouraging.

What I would like to go away soon is the feeling that my nose is

running when it isn't. I'm finally getting feeling back in my

eyelid, but my nose is still wonky. I know, I know - patience! Six

weeks isn't all that long.

Kris