SARPE Surgery

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#361 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 10:35 am

Lina,
Your summer will be fine.....you will be back to normal pretty much within 2 weeks, even if you are not done expanding by then. As for your expander.....I know others have had theres put in quite a bit in advance of surgery, but I only had mine for 3 days prior. That was plenty to get used to it etc and I'm so glad that I did not have to wear this beast a whole month longer.

If you have an option, two weeks might be better than a full month. I'm telling you that this RPE appliance is truly the worst part of the whole ordeal. In my opinion even worse than the surgery. You may adapt better because you are still young, but I'm telling you it is definitely not very pleasant (the RPE that is.) So you may want to adjust your time, especially if you are going to have to spend another 4-6 months in it after surgery.

JMHO....

Brandy

#362 Post by **Lina** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 1:12 pm

Brandy so your saying I should get the surgery sooner?

Like right after they put the expander on? and not have it on for a whole month then get surgery?

#363 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 1:49 pm

You could move your surgery date up, or, just change the date that they actually put your expander in to closer to the surgery date. Like I said, I wore mine 3 days and that was more than enough to get used to it before surgery. I would've hated wearing it for a full month before! (although I know a lot of people have done that) if you can avoid it why not do it. It's one less month of unpleasantness. Personally if it was me, I would try to get it cemented in about 1 week before your scheduled surgery day. JMHO....

brandy

#364 Post by **ang** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 2:00 pm

hey guys! it's been a while since i posted anything. I saw my ortho last week and she said i only have 5mm to correct so my bite isn't that severly "bad". I'm reluctant to get the SARPE. She said that we will go ahead and put the braces on and evaluate together in a few months whether or not to go ahead with the surgery. Did you all have braces out on first then surgery??

#365 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 2:13 pm

I have seen both.....but personally I had mine on a month before my SARPE. Originally my OD was going to do the SARPE first then put the braces on roughly about 4 months afterwards when things had sufficiently healed up. So it just depends on how your OD wants to proceed.

Brandy

#366 Post by **Slawdawg** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 2:16 pm

hey, ang!
I just had my SARPE on Wednesday and I am in a very strange place with my bite right now, but I'm excited to be on the way. I will only need about 5 - 6 mm of expansion as well, but that just means less time cranking, less time with the appliance, and the RPE will be removed faster. I should only expand for about a week and have only 3 - 4 months to heal up. With any luck, I'll have this expander out of my mouth before school starts back in August.
I had my braces put on Feb. 1, the bracket installed March 1 so I could get used to it, and then the surgery on April 5. I would certainly recommend these steps if that is an option. It was well worth the time getting used to the slurping and eating problems with the RPE before surgery. I wouldn't want that added burden at this time. Best of luck to you! And thanks again to all of you who post here for making my journey thus far a failrly comfortable process.

#367 Post by **Lina** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 3:03 pm

Brandy, Ohhhh I see what your saying now. Once I get fitted for my expander they say it takes 2-3 weeks and 2-3 weeks from April 12 is around 1st or 2nd week of May. My OD said once I get my expander on they can do surgery at any time. Maybe I'll have then put my expander on arounf May 25 or something. I can do it tho. I can handle the process. lol

and I just noticed you had your SARPE surgery March 3. Thats my BIRTHDAY.

#368 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 4:33 pm

Hey Lina,
If you can, ask your doctor if he has an RPE that you can see. My doctor has all his appliances on display so if you are getting one you can see what it is like.

Slawdawgs appliance is 1/2 the size of mine. I might not have minded it that much if it was as small as his. Mine however is a beast and at only 4 weeks out, I cannot imagine wearing this thing one minute longer than I have to, little lone one month longer. Three days to adapt was plenty for me, It was enough time to figure out how to eat with it, and get through the whole uncontrollable salivating that goes along with it for a few days. I'm sure you can handle it, and expansion width (according to my OD an OS) is irrelevant. As Slawdawg pointed out, you will expand for less time, however, it still takes minimum about 4 months for the bones to heal and refuse. Thankfully my doctor is going to take my RPE out after 8 weeks and give me a different type of maintainer. I cannot imagine living with this thing for 4-6 months, but hey there are a lot of people on this board who have done it, or are doing it now. It has not been easy for me with this appliance at all. The SARPE was no big deal, but getting used to this appliance is not. I have lost 8lbs in the last month as it is just entirely too much work to eat. I'm not telling you this to scare you, as like you said, you will survive. Just that it is challenging for sure and in this case I personally think less time is better!

Like I said you will adapt, and probably a lot quicker because you are so young, but if you can get used to something in a week or two, as opposed to having it an extra couple weeks why not do it.

#369 Post by **Delag** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 4:54 pm

Brandy, I just read your blog entry and I am so sorry you are having such a hard time today. I really think if you could just get a few decent nights of sleep you could deal witht the expander better. My DH also has apnea issues so I can understand a bit of what you must be going through. YOu are a very strong woman and if you can make it through this, the rest of your life will be a piece of cake. Good luck with the house!

#370 Post by **Lina** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 4:56 pm

Brandy,

I saw the expander. And I read about it all day everyday. BTW, I want to be a dentist. lol so yea I know everything there is to know about it. Well almost everything.

#371 Post by **ang** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 5:53 pm

slawdawg,

thanks for the info. do you have pics of before? i'm working on mine. how old are you if you don't mind me asking. I'm 29 and not looking forward to all this with 2 children I have to take care of everyday, BUT it will be worth it... right?!
My ortho told me that if I opt for the expander, it will be the kind that I don't have to crank.... any input on that???

#372 Post by **Slawdawg** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 9:20 am

ang,
I'm 38 years old and looking forward to a great 4th decade once all this is done! There are some photos on m "Our Braces Stories" Journal (Slawdawg's Journal). I don't think they're very good, but you can see the expader pretty well. I would post more, but it is really difficult to open my moth wide enough to get a good picture. Don't know how Brandy did it. I go back o the OS on Wednesday for his the turn and some training. I assume that I will turn it over the weekend and he will see me back on Monday and the following Thursday and that should be it! Only seven or so days of cranking for me...if all goes according to plan, of course.

I'm not sure about expanders that don't need cranking unless your os plans to do the full expansion at one time and just braces it until it heals. Not sure how that would go.

I also have two children (boy-9 and girl-5) and a wonderful wife who takes good care of me. We both teach school, so we've been home on spring break during this process. I'm hoping to go back on Monday if at all possible, but it's not loking good. I have stopped the pain meds...didn't like how they made me feel and the pain isn't awful, just really uncomfortable.

Unfrtunately, many folks ask me why I'm doing all this at 38 years old, but the way Ifigure it, I've got at least another 40 years with these teeth and I want them operating the way they were supposed to in the first place. I'm really tired of knawing on things and using my tongue to bite through food. It's no fun biting into a sandwich and pulling all the insides right out of the bread and onto your lap! I want things to work right!

#373 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 11:58 am

Hey where are all my other SARPE girls? 10101? Delag? Mia? How are you all doing? Haven't heard from you all in a while.

I'm doing well, still have a sore tongue daily but other than that things are just plugging right along!

Brandy

#374 Post by **Delag** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 12:24 pm

LOL! Hi Brandy! IÂ´m still alive and kicking. Down here the kids get two full weeks off school so I have had my hands full and haven't been able to check in as often as I would like. I do however manage to peek in on your blog every single day! (IMO the best source of SARPE info on the web). I am sorry to hear about your continued tongue woes. I wonder if you could put something on it at night that would help it heal - like canker sore medication.......

I'm going to the dentist at lunch time today to get some molds done for my crowns and have made an appt. for DH to get his teeth cleaned (he doesn't know it yet). I am still looking for good info about crown lengthening but can't find much. I'll ask the dentist when I see him later.

I have made an executive decision - everytime I get something nasty done to my teeth I am going to get a massage as a reward. I just got back from my root canal massage and it was bliss. Now that I think about it, I think that root canal may be deserving a two massages as it was quite difficult and still hurts. I may become like Pavlov's dog and start to crave dental work so I can get my prize.

#375 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 1:25 pm

LOL....hey Delag, in my opinion there are a lot worse things you could get addicted too! At the very least you will have great teeth, and constantly be mellow and relaxed. Great choice for a reward though....and I agree, those root canals are pretty stressful and take quite a long time. So they are probably worth double the reward! Although I don't know how you find time to get a massage with kids.....mine keep me way too busy for that! LOL.....

Thanks for the compliment on the blog. I feel like people are probably getting bored with it, but until I'm fully healed I'm going to stick with it so that people know what to expect. Then I will get to follow my whole jaw surgery ordeal for several months. I told my husband that I think I should just print the whole thing and save it like a diary or journal for posterities sake.

My gap is getting smaller though! Tomorrow is three weeks since expansion stopped, and I will post some new pics of it on the blog soon. It is closing nicely on its own, and I have no doubt it will be finished by the time I go back to see my OD in May. This is so good as then I won't have to wear one of those "Devil powerchains" to close it!

Glad to hear you are doing well though! What happened to all the others? I think they abandoned us! LOL...

Brandy

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