Guest guest Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Hello there misssss Katja, greetings to the weirdo from the west! How are you? I hope your ok and that your appointment on thursday went well! Apologises for taking forever to get back to you, i have been run off my feet with uni and work! Mental madness! Wow thankyou so so much for that very long and entertaining post! I am in a lecture at the mo and my friend looked over to see my just sat staring at the screen with a big grin slapped across my face. She gave me the weirdest look. Brilliant. Thats the face of a person thoroughly enjoying a great email! congratulations are in need again for a very succesful, very long post! well done! Oh no oh no did i make you late for work. Oh no im sorry! Tell them it was me! i dont mind hehe. Ok refer to you post now, hmmm theres so much i cant remember what i need to reply to. I never knew that grinding clenching could have such an effect on the plates, thats mad. I would say that you were pretty fortunate to have those dissolvables, i didnt know that they could be a little more flexible too, so thanks for that. Its true you learn something new every day. In my case its tht theres someone out there who can seriously challenge how much i can write/rant on. Bravo!!!!! I agree i think we would need to be in our own continents i dont think the world is quite ready for this double act of plain weirdness! yeah!!!!! hmm so i was the only one with the smell huh. Oops never mind. I seriously think that those pigeon rings had seen their day as had the rotten food inside it, i wasnt storing that there to eat for later, believe me! haha. ming mong smelly pong! I didnt get cleanings with my braces on so maybe that was it. Blur! Good luck with yours i hope that the smell doesnt make you wrench! and good luck with the buggs bunny impersonation! lol. I hope that those trays dont rub. Did you find out when you get your braces off btw? Good luck not knawing your way through things, other than good old food! Yep i have a strong set of teeth there, suprisingly strong consdiering i can knaw through metal strange girl! Yep your not the only one with the bedsheet. I also if i swill my mouth out after cleaning my teeth, if the waters real cold i get awful sensation up in my gums, which really hurts and i have to spit the water out. Strange this sensitivity malarkie! i wonder if when its over, then thats it. I has been weird the past 3 years not going to appointments, they really are like your second family and then it jsut STOPS! What are we going to do with ourselves? That whole carry on with the med student sounded scary! I think i would have been freaking out there. You did right calling your ortho and finding out the crack! Mental. Sometimes do you feel that you could do the job just aswell, even better? My ortho used to joke and said that after all mu hardware etc that i had better be able to fix a brace on a patient by now, ive been trained. He he. i think orthodontics would be a great career to go into tho. He did offer me a job as a nurse workig in his department, but he said that i had to get my degree first, hmm wonder if that offer would still stand next year. hmmm...... My ortho is a little weird. I remember my first appointment and he was looking inside my mouth and he was like " your a dancer arent you? " hmmm. Ok i thought, lucky guess? He said he could tell by the shape of my back teeth (molars?). Ok then strange! hehe. I guess thats why we get on so well. haha. aww those dreams and grinding pains sounds in your mouth dont sound to pleasant, i really hope that your bite settles there and finds its own place. Its so odd that some people get these problems and others dont (lucky things). Actually i dont know whether they are lucky or not, because i am greatful for having been through all this! i wouldnt change it for the world. yep they left the splint off after day 3/4 i cant rememeber which. I was quite suprised by that too, but i didnt mind as it was so annoying in my mouth. THey said that it wasnt serving a purpose so it may aswell not be in there, RESULT! hehe. Aww i had the whole throwing up blood shebang too. Not nice! I also had one of those tubes into the stomach going down my nose, and out into a little bag. I remember my dad and his wife had come to see my the night after my op, and i was laughing, mainly because i was high on morpehene, and that its just me to laugh all the time and in the most bizzare circumstances. anyway i was actually laughing because i was being sick, ok sounds odd but you havent heard my reason. Have you seen the mr bean programmes with rowan atkinson? well on one of them he is on a plane and he is trying to make a little boy laugh and blows into a sick bag to pop it, not realsing that their is already sick in it. Yep well i had visions of that because i could see the bag filling with blood as i was being sick and i just had visions of it going all over my dad and his wife. hahahaha. Ok randomness........ im glad that you enjoyed my little story of the wheelchair there. haha. Im glad that i can laugh at it now but then it wasnt a laughing moment, if i could of got out of that wheelchair i think i would have swung it at that loon of a porter attempting to drive it! i was laughing out loud as you said you were laughing, no worries i too like to entertain as you put it! hehe. i totally and utterly agree those pictures from your first meeting with the ortho should be destryoed, oh my god i was so ashamed of them, they are dior! blurrrrbbbbB!!!!!!!!!! that wee med student saying that you were a perfectionist, how dare he! What a cheek! After what you have been through and how much you know about your bite etc, i dont know where he got the nerve to say that to you! i would have been raging! chhhh! wow thats cool that there will be no evidence of having this jaw surgery done in your bones etc. My grandad used to work as a foresic scientist at scotland yard (our big head police dep in the UK). I bet that was an interesting job! Wow! Yes it would be brilliant to have a full set of xrays and photos, for proof and to freak out your friends! yeaH! hmm the widening of my palette. ok well i felt that terrible crunching pain right out of sugery and then i could jsut feel like a lump there for a while which i persume was the plate. It was quite sore for a while and i dont know if this was anything to do with the plate or just because its me, but the skin was quite orange up there for a while too. Lol. THe palate was also numb for quite a while which was a weird sensation. As for opening my jaws, im not sure if im at the orignal opening before all this surgery. I did find that at my ortho apps after surgery that my jaws would tire sooner and ache. i can open it quite far now so its not too bad. I do know tho when i have pushed myself too far they still ache sometimes. especially when i havent worn my brace in a few days or if its cold. How is your opening coming along? Has it improved? well i still question my chin even now. but i think at the time it would have been too much for me to take on, i was only 17 and i had to deal with the change of my face. my ortho and surgeon thought it would be too much of a change in just the one sitting if you like, but they said i can go back anytime and have genio. I have consdiered it but at the moment im just leacing it as it is, see how i go. Do you ever feel that you still look like the person before your op? sounds odd, but when im speaking to people i think " why do they like me and talke to me with the way i look? " ok ok, oddness, i guess it takes a while to settle in with you that you look different. I sometimes look in the mirror and the person that looks back at me, isnt me, just someone who is prettier than me, than i feel. I so need a man in my life make me feel special! I havent had a boyf since my op, i think thats just because in someways im still not comfortable with the way i am now, maybe it is because of my chin, maybe its because i have this self doubt, i dont know. Am i just talking aload of bumf or do you know what the wierdo is on about? awww im glad that your surgeon/ortho is proud of the work he has done on you! hehe. Ur a walking advertisment! there you go. you could charge mega bucks lol. oh yeah you mentioned a stone, ok i think our stone has 14lbs in each, im not familiar with any other form of measuring sorry. I hope that helps in some way. Its scary how much you can lose huh? my mum had to meet with the dietian because i wasnt eating much after surgery and my ortho was worried about my weight. i think that had been the lightest i weighted for a good few eyars, scary! I can loose weight really easily, scarily fast infact, but it takes me forever to put it back on! im glad you liked my description pre and post op feelings. I totally agree with yours too. I on the otherhand tried to pull my lower jaw in, not very successfully unless i could magic away the mass of bone there lol. It was awful being amongst people and just feeling completely uncomfortable because you felt you stood out a mile. Hate it! Aww you made me laugh you just randomly smiling at your boyf and he grins at you in amusement, how sweet! Bless. And you randomly shake your head, which i started doing when i read that! hehe. Mental madness. yes i think you should get the tshirts that would be so funny! i can see it now, and passers by would have the strangest looks on their faces lol. glad you liked my description there of how i feel now. I was glad to hear also that you are going to be worse after your braces are off. I can see you now wearing that big cheesy grin slapped on your face, parading it down the high street with pride. You go girl! HE hE. aww im sorry to hear you had a ruff time of it after you op with the meds and all. Well done for setting a new record in the 25 years your ortho had worked there, haha. And for getting a new leaflet drawn up. congrats haha. thats bad that you shoul dhave suffered because of another persons ignorance! aye i totally agree with you there the stitches werent exactly savory! lol. But they were fun whilst they lasted! Yep we really are the durcell batts! if i could ramble, as in walk/hike, as well as i ramble, talk, i would be over there in the USA within the next hour! haha. Ok well i hope i have answered everything in your post, i have tried to shorten it down, but i am afraid i may have failed, though i do think it is a little shorter. What do you reckon? I best do some work, i havent done any yet haha. Too little time! Take care Best wishes Kat > > Hi Kat, > I'm well, how are you?? Please allow me to plagarize your words > and " congratulate you on writing the longest post ever, > well done, give yourself a pat on the back from me. WOw what a post > and what a read, thanks! I thoroughly enjoyed it and you had me > laughing which is no bad thing. He he. " > > What you said fits for YOUR last post too!!!! > > I am going to seriously try to make this one shorter! > Yes, 'ol pond really fits, doesn't it? > > I was fortunate to have the resorbables for another reason besides > being turned into a perceived security alert at the airport! The > grinding puts pressure on the plates when healing (I started grinding > as soon as I started sleeping again post op). Because the resorbables > are a different material with a different kind of flexibility than > the other kinds... I was spared problems like bending the plate out > of position... My surgeon explained that with metal plates... they > are thin and can be bent and possibly would stay bent rather than > returning to their original shape/position the way the resorbables > do. If they get bent, that could result in the position of your jaw > changing in relation to everything else... thus possibly having that > jaw heal in the incorrect position. The resorbables have some flexion > without being able to have their original shape and position changed. > That ultimately was really important in my case with my healing and > the clenching and grinding. I guess the Dr. could have given me > relaxant meds, but he didn't.... Maybe I should have asked for some?? > > Oh gosh, it's getting long already! > > Yea, i've hear cases where pets get into accidents (like tangled in > blades in farm machinery) and get all chopped up. I read one case > where the dog recieved jaw surgery and was somehow wired shut I > think. No braces tho! Just incredible. He survived and recovered just > dandily. > > Ok, here's where we differ! I dont remember a SMELL!!!! when my > braces were taken off the last time. Those things must have been ripe > to come off! Yikes! lol Sometimes I do notice a gross smell when I > floss (which I confess isn't everyday). We're gross and weird > apparently! I'll let you know if there is a smell when they come off > this next time. Yes, I have the pigeon rings around my back teeth. > They are perfect for trapping stinky garbage gunk! > > Well, I think I've had two cleanings with the braces on. This next > one, I'm going to my OD first to have the wire taken out to make it > easier on me considering all my other sensitivities. Then, I probably > will schedule the next one around the time these things come off... > Oh, I wonder how large my teeth will look this time around?!? I'll > let you know what I think! > > It's true.. it will be like an end of an era. What you said is > exactly right- all of the sudden it just stops! It will all be over. > What will I do with myself?!?! This HAS been so long and involved. It > will be so strange to just be over.... > > If you ended up knawing your way through so many retainers, I wonder > what I'll end up doing?!? I haven't been known to knaw through metal > though! That's amazing!!! Those are some teeth! At least that gives > me hope, not that I had much doubt, that my bite and teeth will > eventually be really strong again. yea! I hope my tray-retainers > don't rub. If they do, it will be an excuse to make an appointment to > go in for a visit and make them trim it! > > Grind? Yes... and clenched... better described as a death grip from > the tension!!! My OS said that it should resolve once my bite is in > place and settled. We think it's because before surgery, I never had > a bite... never had a place to put my teeth/jaws together... so I was > grinding trying to find a place. Sometimes, they would be clenching > on a spot precariously... eventually lose the balance and slip... > that would cause the most terrible scrunching grinding screaching > sound in my mouth. It would wake me out of a dead sound sleep. I > would panic,thinking I had broken my teeth into pieces. That was > horrible!!! Only happens every so often now. I think I still clench > grind a little now (doesn't seem to be as bad) because my bite isn't > perfect yet, and my muscles are still figuring out the new positions > of everything. > > I'm glad you can finally breath clearly now!! yea! > > You wrote, " as for me i loved every minute of my ortho > journey, i too found it highly interesting and fasinating how they > tempted the teeth to move and realign, and how the body heals > itself. Weird!!! " > I totally agree with you. I've been totally fascinated by this whole > process with the surgery and everything. > > I'm surprised they left the splint off if everything was moving back > to their original position. I would have cried! I'm glad the banding > did the job and you healed up nicely after all. 3 months IS a really > long time to be banded though!!! > > I'm jealous. I didnt' get a good look at the xrays taken right after > my surgery. I wish I had. I didn't get to see the screws in there or > anything. I should go back to the hospital and demand to see them!!! > > Speaking of being a guinea pig. A med student did my preop. yikes! he > couldn't take impressions to save his life! That's confidence > building! He had two more students come in to help him. I felt like I > was at the mercy of the three stooges! The appt. took forever! He > couldn't discern any of the assymetry and subtleties of my problems. > He thought it was a straightforward lower jaw advancement. So then > he's trying to see the cant and the assymetry and couldn't (my nose > is slightly off midline but he didn't discern that). By the end of my > appt. I was a little disturbed. He had a totally different take on my > surgery than what I had discussed with my OS. So the next day I > called my OS and arranged to meet with him again a couple days before > my surgery to once again for the last time go over everything. In > time for that appt. (2 days preop) he had looked at my models and > reassured me of everything and that basically that student didn't > know what was going on! Phew! The student was saying to me " oh no, > your upper is fine. You dont' need anything. Stop being so critical > and perfectionistic. " WHAT??? It's the OS that discerned everything! > The nose off midline, thus my upper jaw actually off midline too... > upper too long (by a little bit, too narrow, and canted. But " it's > fine and I'm being too critical says the resident!!! " Right!!! > > That must have been so cool to see the xrays and photos from your > first appts! I've seen my photos from my very first preortho ever > records... wow! I looked terrible! And my teeth were horrendous! > yikes. It is humiliating that those photos exist!!! > > I know what you mean... I totally appreciate all the work that's gone > into my care. I LOVE my OS and OD!!! > > I totally agree with you on this one: " It would be brilliant to > have a full set of all the xrays in your file so you can show them to > everyone who comes round! " I wish!!!! and photos too..... > > I'll let you know once the holes are filled in, how it looks... I > probably just won't be able to tell where they were. According to my > OS, there isn't supposed to be any long term evidence that the screws > were there, or for that matter, that the surgery was ever performed. > He said it would all even out and fill in just by nature and that a > forensic scientist examining my skull one day wouldn't be able to > tell!! I think that is so freakin' cool and amazing! > > I'm glad to share with you what I've learned about the screws.... > Yep, they turn to jelly... one part of the compound at a time > apparently breaks down until all parts have been resorbed. > > Seriously!! : " Yep we are new buddies in dissolvable plates and > screws, weird memebers only haha. " I ditto that!! > > I wonder the same as you... if the lower will take longer for > resorbtion, then it probably would apply to the dents as well... I > think it has something to do with the nature of the bone in that part > of your face vs. your bone in the upper jaw/midface area. The density > and all..... > > It's not that much more metal work than you! Just one more plate! > > I never could feel the widening of my palate. What did it feel > like???? Like a hole behind your soft tissue up there??? > > I bet that swelling and pain at 6-7 month post op was the screws > starting to do their thing! I had both swelling and some > pain/discomfort. Maybe we did have the same brand! That would be > cool. > > I felt the cuts from my genio on the sides, yes... but they in face > spliced it right off, repositioned it, and screwed it back on. Now > that I'm thinking about it, I don't know how many plates/screws they > used for that... I just know that the bone grafting material was > added. I wonder!!! It is very odd to feel the cuts. Particularly when > I was right out of surgery. > > I know, it's funny that our cases are opposite. I would have taken > your chin if I could have!! How do you feel about it now? Do you > think you'll ever want to have a genio done?? I think they can do it > without the braces.... That's a relief. I almost didn't have it done, > but I am SO glad that I went for it.... my chin was totally > assymetrical and crooked too, so having the genio completed and > complemented the work done on my jaws. I think it would have stood > out and looked 100x worse post op if I didn't have it fixed. I hated > my chin before hand... > > I know, I remember hoping that my OS had a good aesthetic sense of > beauty and proportion before my surgery since he'd be deciding what > my appearance would be for the rest of my life! I hope'd he'd get it > right! I was nervous about my chin and profile, but he did a > beautiful job. I think he's actually proud of his work on me! > > I likewise loved your description of how you feel now as apposed to > how you felt pre op. I didn't elaborate as much as you did, but so > much of what you wrote is exactly how I also felt. My too- I HATED > people seeing my profile. HATED it. For example.. I hated when > stopped at a traffic light and someone would pull up in the lane next > to me and look over. I felt inferior just because of my horrible > profile. I hid my face in my clothes too... or I'd trying wearing > turtlenecks to create the illusion of a jawline! The lack of self > confidence is horrible. I am amazed by how much something like one's > profile can have such a dramatic affect on a person's > feelings/perceptions about themself and their place with the rest of > the world/humanity. It is just incredible. Oh, me too... i hated not > being able to eat or chew or bite either... I didn't enjoy swallowing > rice whole, for example!. And I hated having no bite or way to > comfortably put my teeth together. i hated meeting new people too.. I > felt incomplete and inferior. Lesser for having a lesser jaw. Forced > interaction was always totally uncomfortable. > > What you wrote about now describes my feelings too... to a T! > " Now i LOVE being able to show my teeth to everyone with pride, even > if i do look a bit strange walking round with a smile permanantly > slapped on my face, ha! I LOVE being able to eat. I LOVE being able > to go up to complete strangers, saying hello and give them a big > cheesy smile, i love being able to shrug off what people think, i > love the feeling of acceptance and of being complete, i LOVE having > a new confidence and being proud of who i am, I love that i now > stand with pride and not shrug and slump! I LOVE being out there and > being different instead of trying to hide in teh shadows! And did i > say i LOVE food. haha. " > > Kat, I could have written that. YOu captured it exactly. And I'm only > going to be worse once my braces are off! ha ha > > My boyfriend naturally has perfect teeth, jaws, and bite. I was > thinking that he and I should wear t-shirts that referred to our > smiles. His would say " natural " and mine would say " manmade " LOL I am > always giving him the biggest cheesiest grin ever. He just laughs at > me and shakes his head with amusment.... I even wag my head just a > little, as if to say " look (head goes left) at (head goes right) me! > (head goes left) " Or you could substitute " Rub it in! It's a good > thing you're over there and I'm here. Do you think the world could > sustain both of us in closer proximity?!?! We each need our own > continent where we can grin, and they can bear it. > > Having my teeth moved in a worse position was hard too. Not the worst > for me though. It took quite a while for my upper jaw to heal. It was > 4-5 months before it was solid... so around 5-6 months for me too. > Then, I was finally getting in there and really eating and chewing > and gnashing away again. Because of ortho adjustments, my ability to > bite into/through hard things isn't there yet. Soon though, very > soon! How long did it take for your mouth to restore it's original > sized opening? (Did it ever?) I'm not there yet. My jaws are taking a > while to settle in. > > Please excuse my ignorance! How much is a stone? I am pretty > familiar with kg if you don't know america's archaic system of > measurement. I just don't know " stone " . I lost weight too! I went > down to 95 pounds! > > Sounds like you had as much fun as I had with your post op meds! I > was allergic to one of mine.. broke out with a horrendously itchy and > disgusting rash on various parts of my body (lower abdomen, underarms- > i looked like an ape when I itched there!, and my forearms, and > other little spots). My OS was mystified and I was his first and only > case ever in about 25 years of practice to ever react that way to the > meds. I showed him the rash and he was completely puzzled. Again, > weird! Oh, and I didn't get proper dosage instructions on my > antiinflammatory meds so I was taking an 8th or less of what I should > have been taking for the first week post op. That was miserable. My > OS was annoyed about that too.. they ended up putting together a > sheet of post op instructions to give out after that incident. It was > inspired because of what happened with me. Apparently a new resident > was stupid and misinformed and gave me his ignorant misinformation to > basically go home and suffer! At least other people won't go through > that now. > > The description of your wheel chair ride sounds terrifying, but was > hilarious to read and I laughed out loud. I'm sorry that happened! > My ride didn't take me outside.... and the orderly was nice, so it > wasn't too bad. But I was all hunched forward the whole time... > trying to stay forward enough, yet not so far that I would fall out! > I was hunched because I had a horrendous time with vomitting blood > all night long the nite before. Wondering why it wouldn't stop, I > finally figured out that it was fresh blood draining from my > nose/sinues. So, if I leaned forward, the blood would drain forward > through the nasal packing instead of into my stomach to come out my > mouth. That vomiting was miserable... the worst part of the whole > thing for me. Eight times, Bleah!!! With all the puking, I didn't > get to enjoy the good pain meds at all. I was rather disappointed > about that! I was only in the hospital for that one overnight. I went > home the next afternoon. I saw my OS a week later. > > My stitches were resorbable too... so as they were ready, they just > fell out.. .mostly came out when I was brushing/rinsing. Some came > out pretty quickly while others seemed to take forever. How long did > it take for your stitches to come out? I remember looking and seeing > all the white thread stained brown from the blood... little messy > knots of it everywhere. Blecht! > > I'm glad you made use of your stitches while you had them and freaked > people out with them! That's fantastic! > > I'm glad i'm not the only one who is weird about the bed sheet > touching my lips. I hate that sensation!!! Yes, it totally makes me > shudder too... > > I have some altered sensation in places too... having feelings that > are unusual or that you never had before in places. I get that a lot. > I am still numb in places in my mouth... including part of my tongue, > and my lower lip and chin. It's all slowly coming back though, thank > goodness! I can't wait for the feeling to fully return in my tongue. > I hate that numbness the most. > > I'm glad to hear that my stiff, disobedient lip should become more > cooperative with time. That's good to hear! > > Ok, so it's official. We are duracell weirdos who just write back and > forth on and on and on! I wonder what the rest of the board thinks of > us??? I doubt anyone has read all of all of our posts! There's a lot > of good info in there though, actually! They should read it ALL!!!! > heh heh Yea, i've totally failed at making this post shorter. You > try! > > I agree, I love finding a post addressed to me too! Thank YOU for > writing back and forth. I enjoy the banter and all the recovery and > treatment comparisons. And yes, I enjoy your posts! I was almost > late to work it took me so long to read this last one! I'm glad you > enjoy mine. I DO try to entertain! > > Thanks for telling me where your pictures are... I'll have to go look > at them! > > Hope that pumpkin soup was tasty and that you're getting work done on > that dissertation! I'll let you know how my appt. thurs. goes. As > usual, I have a list of my latest concerns and things we need to > tweak. lol That poor OD is so bloody patient with me. He's a saint. > > Take good care, > Katja_US aka weirdo of western hemisphere > Greetings to weirdo of eastern hemisphere > > ! ! ! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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