To Kat!!!

[Guest guest]

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

! ! !