The pain is making me so sour...

[Aditi]

I should probably be writing this to my dentist I guess but we have been over this once and he redid the impressions after I went 10 weeks then told him I was going to quit.

So I have had new braces for 18 weeks now and though I do admit things are marginally better I still have daily pain and stress and I am so sour on Invisalign I am probably in tears about them every other day. It is a sad way to live. My husband said yesterday, "but won't you be happy when they are done?". But you know what, it is not worth it. If I didn't have to pay for the damn things I would quit. This has been the worst year of my life and I have another 10 aligners to go yet. that is 20 more weeks of this living hell.

It is so awful. Also, besides the pain, I am constantly chewing. My jaws hurt from it. I can't stop chewing over and over and over. I don't chew in my sleep. My teeth hurt even when I don't chew. Sometimes they bleed a little, not much though. The pain is relentless. I am very sensitive to pain though, I am told. But it is like my teeth are being twisted with pliers. If I did not file the aligners to smooth them out it would be worse so I do that and it helps.

Ice water helps.

Not much else helps. I am so sad because there does not seem to be anyone but me with this issue.

I'm sad and sour.

[BracedSurgeryStudent]

Awh I have self ligating Damon 3mx braces which hurt a LOT. IM always in a bad mood because of it I've got 30 months total treatment time and I def want to throw in the towel sometimes but then I remembered how much MORE depressed I was because of harassment because of my teeth and fear of my speech impediment having some sort of negative effect of my career as a surgeon you know always being specific talking about things and I don't want to be responsibile for being misunderstood by my bad speech and harming the patient because of it. I think its worth it dont give up now you're come with far. Im sure maybe your orthodontist could help re-adjust them.

[crooked rory]

You really need to look at it as a rough road leading back to the nice newly paved highway at the end. Sorry, engineer thought-train. I always try to look at the bright side of an issue. Having chronic severe clinical depression, no amount of medications will help me cope with life if I do not look past the negatives and see that there is a silver lining. I have been getting severe headaches frequently now that I am in braces, and that has made me question things a few times. If you have never experienced a migraine, believe me that TMJ related migraines are not fun. All I want to do is curl up and cover my head with a thick black blanket to block the light and sound. And I have a high tolerance for pain, I can not imagine if I did not I see the light that down the road I will again be able to eat foods I love without getting a sore jaw, and not clench and cause migraine headaches. Oh, and I will have a nice smile to show off I hope this helped, just think of how nice your teeth will be in 20 weeks when you are looking back at it

[BracedSurgeryStudent]

I tihnk seeing the imporvement has definatly helped my self esteem for sure I never took any medicine nad come to tihnk of it when I get my braces off im oging to be the happiest camper around

[Aditi]

[quote="BracedSurgeryStudent"]Awh I have self ligating Damon 3mx braces which hurt a LOT. IM always in a bad mood because of it I've got 30 months total treatment time and I def want to throw in the towel sometimes but then I remembered how much MORE depressed I was because of harassment because of my teeth and fear of my speech impediment having some sort of negative effect of my career as a surgeon you know always being specific talking about things and I don't want to be responsibile for being misunderstood by my bad speech and harming the patient because of it. I think its worth it dont give up now you're come with far. Im sure maybe your orthodontist could help re-adjust them.[/quote]
Hi, you have 30 months to go, and you are a surgeon too? I almost feel a little ashamed for my weakness in the face of what you have gone through and have yet to go through. I really hope you do well and attain your goal. I did not know that teeth could cause a speech impediment. You sound so nice I really can't imagine that anything about you could have a negative effect. Thank you for taking the time to respond to me. My issues wax and wane and right now after I have slept in my braces the pain is negligible (though I am still chewing a bit). Anyhow, nice to meet you.

[Aditi]

[quote="crooked rory"](snipped due to quote not working)[/quote]
Thank you for your helpful words, I am really apprciative. Are you an engineer? You are right, 20 weeks is not a long time to go. I didn't know about TMJ migraines though I do seem to get headaches more frequently but really mine are fairly mild and I don't thiink it is too big of an issue for me thank goodness. Yes, your words helped. But I tell you reading about all the people who say "the pain will abate" or "yippie I have no pain", really pains me. I should feel happy for them! But all I want to do is gnash my aligners with envy. I will try to see the silver lining though, you are right, it is there, it was just really hard to see at the time I made my post. Thanks so much for writing, it was really nice of you.

[BracedSurgeryStudent]

Hi, you have 30 months to go, and you are a surgeon too? I almost feel a little ashamed for my weakness in the face of what you have gone through and have yet to go through. I really hope you do well and attain your goal. I did not know that teeth could cause a speech impediment. You sound so nice I really can't imagine that anything about you could have a negative effect. Thank you for taking the time to respond to me. My issues wax and wane and right now after I have slept in my braces the pain is negligible (though I am still chewing a bit). Anyhow, nice to meet you.

30 months total and Im just coming up on having them for 3 months so that's 27 more to go but I know I can do it I'm going to school to become a Surgeon yes, and Yes schooling and training is very hard but I believe it to be done through hard work and perserverance. Yup because my top teeth came out soooo far that I couldnt get my bottom lip over the top teeth to touch the top lip to get sounds produced propperly. Awwwwwwwh thanks You are very welcome and if you ever want to talk I am here I try to make time to be on here for ten minutes each day. I tihnk the worst thing of all about having braces is biting your cheeck on accident, that really hurts. Yes it still takes a while before you will be used to the braces, I am at sometimes but at other times I am still not used to it. My pleasure meeting you as well.

[belistic10]

hi i dont have invisalign but wanted you to feel some more support! do they why know the pain is not subsiding for you? do your teeth have a lot of moving or twisting to do really? i do not know too much about it as i have damon braces on but i still find i am fairly sore at times, when i go to brush i notice the sore spots thats for sure! but hang in there, the end result is going to be so worth it! think i heard someone say if you put a wet facecloth in the freezer for a bit and then chew on it, its comforting. I'd keep have panadol etc as needed to help. hope things improve soon

[Aditi]

@ BracedSurgeryStudent - Best wishes to you Surgerystudent! That is an admirable task ahead of you.

@ belistic10 - Thank you for the kind words and also thank you for the facecloth in the freezer tip, that would probably help a bit with my "teething" issues. They do not know why I am having such pain, apparently I am "sensitive" to tooth pain. I am really trying to wear them consistently and as of right now I am one week out from my aligner change and no pain this morning, just that the aligners are irritating me, but it is not painful. Whew. So the next week should be fairly ok until Friday night when I change aligners. Thanks again for your reply!

[BracedSurgeryStudent]

Thanks here are my goals:
Surgeon
Physician
Orthodontist
General Dentist
Nurse
Paramedic
EMT
Worker at a grocery store and then after that I ahve no other plans.

I tihnk with hard work and determination I can accomplish it I mean im not even doing it for the money I'm doing it to help people Tho I hear they make a killer sallary

[Aditi]

Those are a lot of goals. Are you working from the top down or the bottom up? o_O

[tennesseeditto]

Aditi, I can so identify with your pain. My dentist made me a clear aligner two weeks ago to move a rotated tooth on top. He warned me they would hurt but that was an understatement.

I have endured the pain by taking pain medicine every 12 hours, looking at the weekly pictures to remind myself of how much improvement I have, and reminding myself that "I will have straight teeth before Christmas."

As you noted in one of your later posts, you are without pain so my thoughts are as the teeth are moved into alignment with the appliance they are not so painful, right? Then the pain starts all over again with the new set of aligners. Keep you eyes on the goal and know that you are not alone.

[Aditi]

Hello tennesseeditto, thank you so much for writing and relating to me about your pain experiences. Yes, very similar to mine, I take pain pills too, it just seems like I have to take medication for a while (4-5 days) before my teeth finally settle into the new place. So currently (until next Friday night} I don't have to take the pain pills, however, the aligners still make me terribly irritable. And I chew and chew whether there is pain or no pain. The chewing reminds me of tardive dyskinesia if you have ever heard of that and that scares me.

You are so right though to keep the goal in mind. That is the entire objective and I know by the time it gets done it will be really worth it (I guess). We all needs these reminders to keep our eye on the goal, so thank you. I am glad to know I am not the only one, but sorry too about your pain issues.

[BracedSurgeryStudent]

Im working from the top to bottom on my list I know I can do it though, I plan on studying super hard and working really hard IM ranked among the highest fo my class, everyone I know is skipping school and they don't seem to care about their life and it gets me sad because all these kids have great potential. Im at a community college because I went to a Vocational high school and did not do so well because I kept needing surgery and being out a lot and my teacher did not like me after that. So IM getting my grades up thus far all As and B+s. Im still not feeling well but now its easier to last the day in school

I took CareOne Acetomenophin today works like a charm and keeps the kidney pain at bay while its helping my tooth pain. The pain you both are speaking of reminds me of the pain I get when I get a new wire in, Getting a new wire is EXACTLY like getting a new aliner.

[Aditi]

Surgery student, that is excellent! Best wishes on your career, you sound really determined and if that means anything then you will achieve your goals.