May 2010 Buddies

Message

#76 Post by **BracketRacket** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 10:50 am

On my way to see the OS for a follow-up --- wish me luck (and non-owie thoughts!)

#77 Post by **geordie999** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 3:10 pm

Good luck! I hope it went well

#78 Post by **BracketRacket** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 5:12 pm

Thanks...he said that all looked good, I haven't lost any space, etc. Seems to think that most of the complaints I have (pulling, pains, other weirdness) are normal and isn't concerned.

Now if only I could stop being concerned, I'd be in great shape!

Aaaaand....I have an eviction date for the distractor. Five weeks from today. And I'm already getting creeped/freaked out worrying about it. Aaaagh!

#79 Post by **BracketRacket** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 6:57 pm

Ouch! The wires are killing my gums. I don't get how they can be so numb and hurt so much at the same time!

I'll pretend that it's a sign that the numbness is starting to subside just a teensy bit!

Starting to be a bit more adventurous with eating, although I still feel like a pelican swallowing everything whole!

#80 Post by **charlsie142** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 6:08 am

Yay BracketRacket for eating new things! I've still not tried pizza, and I'm officially 10 weeks post-op tomorrow (which is what my post-op recovery book says is necessary for healing to be able to eat harder foods)...so that may be in my near future. I still have trouble chewing things all the way though...just because my muscles get tired.

Not much is new for me recovery-wise...still feeling more and more normal as each week passes. I still have a small amount of swelling in the upper lip/nose region and numbness in the same places, but overall if the feeling never comes back I can live with things the way they are.

Hope you're hanging in there, geordie! Let us know how you are doing!

#81 Post by **BracketRacket** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 12:32 pm

Glad you're feeling better. My OS said the "last 5 percent" of swelling can take awhile to go away...I think I have a bit more than 5 percent left still, though.

Mostly I can feel it in in my sinus/sides of my nose area.

Now that I'm eating a bit more substantial foods I get to play a new game. GROSSNESS WARNING: "Identify the food particle that shot out of the expander when I sneezed"

I try to swish and waterpik often, but somehow things "appear" at the most inopportune moments! It's slightly better when it's say, a mushed up carrot from soup, not so much when it's an unidentifiable black blob!

I swallowed a little of pizza (whole). Just cut it up really little (I didn't eat the crust or any part near it) and make sure it's a bit soggy and not well done. I was able to swish it around a little (I'm still not really chewing anything) and swallow it. It's messy, but tastes the same (like so many of the things we've been eating lately!

)

#82 Post by **BracketRacket** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 2:19 pm

Just posted some pics in my update thread if you want to check them out. They're gross, but pretty interesting (at least to me!

)

viewtopic.php?t=33725

#83 Post by **geordie999** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 9:20 am

Glad to hear everything is going well for everybody. Isn't it amazing what a big difference it makes when you transition to 'real' food. I can defintely feel that my maxilla is now much more stable - so lots of bone healing than even a couple of months ago. And I can feel the top part of my mouth, some of my gums right at the back, and when vertical pressure is applied to my top teeth. Anyway, I've moved onto firmer foods with full chewage - though not pizza crusts yet. I even started riding my back back into work last week before the heat wave hit us down here. Nice to get some fresh air and exercise.

Nice update pics BracketRacket and congrats on a date to get your expander out. I'll get mine out end of August and I'm prepping myself for the cracking as they break away the cement. I noticed that the widest that your gap was is probably about where mine is right now - my ortho said it was the biggest gap he's seen - nice.... The gap hasn't really changed in size since I stopped expading. Now I wasn't very crowded to begin with so I probably shouldn't be too surprised that I haven't seen any movement. And now I have my braces on they're not going to move unless my ortho starts doing it - which should be beginning of August. He and my OS (who I don't see again until the end of August) wanted me to heal a little first before the start closing it.

I should probably ask my OS and ortho about this but here's a question - apologies for the little bit of grossness. I can definitely feel my gums where I've expanded. They wiggle a little since there isn't any bone there yet. But bone grows quite slowly - I've heard about 1mm a month. Yet I've read on these boards that some peoples gaps close very quickly so I'm guessing that teeth can move in gums even if there is no bone straight away to support the tooth. Mmmm.

Anyway, great to hear that everbody is doing great.

#84 Post by **charlsie142** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 4:26 pm

Wow...you guys have some great stories to tell!! I really had never thought about what was involved in SARPE, especially of what you two are telling me!

javascript:emoticon(':shock:')
And I'm amazed how quickly your gap is closing, BracketRacket! Congrats--I know it had to be great to see progress!!

geordie- I think exercise really helps...not just with feeling more normal, but also with swelling! I've started lifting weights along with cardio in the last couple of weeks and it's really helped with some of that residual swelling (I also think I have a bit more than the 5% your surgeon is talking about, BracketRacket!). Glad to hear you're getting back into normal activities!

#85 Post by **BracketRacket** » Sun Aug 01, 2010 8:51 am

How are you guys feeling?

I'm doing pretty well, aside from these darn wires. I have one on each side that goes THROUGH my gum

and the end on one of them has now decided to rip my cheek to shreds the last few days. Fun, fun, fun!

The swelling is still sticking around, making my nose and cheeks still feel weird/pressure-y (which is especially fun since I've been fighting a cold the last few days!

)

Lots of my gums still feel numb, and I have a tiny spot at the upper corner of my lips on each side that is tingly if I touch it.

Hope you guys are doing well!

#86 Post by **charlsie142** » Thu Aug 05, 2010 5:23 am

Hello guys!

BracketRacket- I have numbness in my upper gums and around my upper lip/nose area on my right side. It's really annoying. I can say my residual swelling seems to have snuck away when I stopped paying so much attention...that, or I've gotten really used to it.

When you say your wires are poking through your cheek, are you referring to the archwire from your braces? If so, get that thing trimmed! No need to suffer.

So I haven't updated my blog or anything lately...life is finally going on pretty normal these days. Still haven't gone a day without thinking about my jaw and having surgery, so I'm not "totally healed" yet. My ROM is pretty much 100% what it was pre-surgery, despite the heavy Class II bands my orthodontist has me in. Speaking of orthodontist, I went last week and got some really good news.... my braces may be coming off in the next couple of months!

I'm SO excited. I've been in them nearly 18 months now, which was the minimum sentence I was given, but I figured they would be on much longer since I had to wait for surgery until Spring semester was over instead of having it in Feb. when I was technically "ready." I'll update when I go back at the end of this month.

Hope you're doing well, geordie. I think at this point our lack of posts mean life is good.

#87 Post by **BracketRacket** » Thu Aug 05, 2010 9:48 pm

charlsie142 wrote: When you say your wires are poking through your cheek, are you referring to the archwire from your braces? If so, get that thing trimmed! No need to suffer.

Nope, no braces yet. This is a wire that wraps around the arms of the expander (which is attached to the bone in the roof of my mouth), then goes around a tooth on either side and through the gum and is kind of "tied" on the outside of my gum. It's there to provide support in case the expander "falls out"

Nasty little bugger!

#88 Post by **geordie999** » Sat Aug 07, 2010 9:37 am

Isn't it amazing how time flies and May now seems like a distant memory. BracketRacket sorry to hear about your expander - it does sound nasty and I bet you'll be happy when it's gone - then it will be on to braces which aren't anywhere near as bad. Charlsie - I still have numb gums and a lack of sensation in my top teeth - which really isn't as bad as I thought it would be. If I push up on the teeth I definitely feel pressure so maybe some feeling is coming back. I can also feel that my upper jaw is now much more solid than it was even month ago. Now I can eat just about anything which is great. And congrats on getting a de-braced date! Very cool.

My only update is that I'm getting my molar banded expander out end of august - or more realistically they have to take it out, put it back in, then take it out again before it's gone for good. They have to take an impression after they take it out for the first time and then send it off so I can get a fitted trans palatal arch which goes across the roof of my mouth - much better than the metal bar I have now. And they finally got started closing my gap by putting a power chain between them - I had some vision that it was like a chain on a bicycle but no it's just an elastic band with holes in it - between my two front teeth which closed the gap a little but has now gone a little slack.

Great to hear from everybody and it sounds like we are all making great progress .

#89 Post by **BracketRacket** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 9:01 pm

Yay, glad you guys are doing well!

I'm getting sooo freaked out about the removal. My OS said it's no big deal, just need novacaine and it'll be over quickly, but the idea of it is really worrying me. I just keep thinking about how it's IN the bone and the new bone has been healing around it and how they're going to tear it out of that....ugh. I don't care if it hurts, it's really the idea of it that is getting to me.

I wish others had been through the same thing and could be reassuring

but I know most if not all who have posted here in the past have had traditional expanders. I guess maybe it's similar to those who had plates removed after surgery?

#90 Post by **BracketRacket** » Fri Aug 13, 2010 7:51 am

3 days...eek! Skeered...