MommaDucky: update pg. 13 - nearly 6 mos!

[Sandista]

Hi Katherine,

Even though I have only been braced for less than 2 weeks, I have already noticed some subtle changes and check out my teeth ALL THE TIME!!!!

So, I think it's natural that you're checking them out - you should be really proud of how far you have come and excited as to what the end result will be.

Though my changes won't be as significant as yours, I'm very excited to have what I call "movie star teeth"! So keep checkin' yourself out - you deserve it!

Sandista

[Wired Skull]

Hi MommaDucky

Real nice movements there. I remember how I constantly checked my smile out when I started my treatment. There are real noticable movements in the beginning.

I hope it will continue in they way you want.

//Wired Skull

[metalmom]

Tomorrow is the big day!!!! Are you excited??? Just checking in I can't wait to hear about how EASY and WELL this one went compared to the last one!

Best of luck!!

[MommaDucky]

KK, Sandista, and Wired Skull: Thank you for those reassurances, I'm glad to hear I haven't gone completely nuts! I feel better knowing that I am not alone in wanting to look at my smile every chance I get.

metalmom: Thanks for checking in on me and for the well wishes, I'll take all the luck I can get!

So -- today is the day - oral surgery number two! I get five teeth out this afternoon, bringing my total up to 8. Today the wisdoms will be removed as well as the upper right first premolar. (The three other first premolars were taken out on my birthday in March)

I am a little nervous at the idea of having stitches in my mouth. Oh, and getting raped in my sleep is always a concern.... (joking, if you didn't already know)

UGH! I can't believe I have to be at the surgery place in less than an hour! It's 12 noon here in MN right now. My surgery is at 1:15.

Yesterday I went in for one more quick visit to my ortho, just to prepare for surgery today. The wire was cut free from the tooth that will be extracted, and the bracket was popped off. (I had my first taste of what de-banding will be like!) The assistant scraped the excess glue off my tooth and I was free to go.

Here's a photo of my naked tooth and wireless right side.







I am SO not looking forward to this.

Lucky for me, both my mother in law and father in law are coming over to help with the little guy while I sleep and recover this evening.

The worst part about this surgery so far is how hungry I am and I can't eat! I haven't eaten since last night. I'm sure by the time I get home I won't have any interest in eating anything anyhow, I'll probably just want to go to bed. Hopefully. Then I won't be thinking about how starving I am.

[Laurie]

I hope your surgery went well and that you are at home resting comfortably.

[Miss Smiley]

Momma - I hope your extractions went well! Hopefully you've had a little to eat and the little one is giving you some time to rest. I'll read up when you update us. Feel better!

[cwatt1]

We're anxiously waiting to hear how everything went, Katherine! Hope you're feeling OK.

[pharrstarr]

DANG girl, you'll have that hollywood smile in no time!!!! Keep up the great work!

[metalmom]

Hope everything went well! Can't wait to see the pictures of your newly formed gaps!

[MommaDucky]

Wow, it has been an interesting couple of days.

Sorry to those of you who've been anxiously awaiting my update after surgery - I haven't come through, and I won't be doing so right now either. This is going to be a short little note that includes vague details - just so you know I'm okay. But I'm not up to reliving the whole story just yet. More details later, when I'm feeling better.

You'll all be pleased to hear that surgery was a much better experience this time around. All the luck must have helped - I thank you all. The doctor actually talked to me (what a surprise!) and told me what to expect, etc. I felt as though the people gave a crap this time. More on that later.

General anesthetic, woke up crying again like last time - not for any reason, really. I have stitches in my mouth. Had to cut the end of one because it was long and bothering the back of my throat. Better now.

Been taking 600 mg's of Motrin every 4-6 hours plus Vicadin every 4-6 hours.

Swelling got really bad Saturday (surgery on Thursday, Saturday was supposed to be worst for swelling) and I should have painted my face green and grown a really long tongue to attack enemies with... I looked like Yoshi.

It's been tough, but I've had lots of help from my in-laws. They've both been here a couple times in the last few days to assist me in taking care of the little guy. My husband left town last night to go to our cabin without me. He offered for me to join him, but I was advised by the OS not to leave town for at least a week.

At this point, I'm still very swollen, though no bruising. Most of the feeling came back to my mouth/chin/lips the day of surgery, save for the inside of my right cheek, which I can't feel at all. I'm incredibly tired. The drugs are helpful with the pain. Felix is doing well without the nursing, and I pump a couple times a day to stay comfortable.

I'm having a hard time being the mom I want to be, and with my husband gone it's even more difficult. I'm glad my husband's parents are retired and willing to help any time. Unfortunately, my mother in law is also at the cabin, so I'm at the mercy of my father in law's schedule when I need help.

I'm trying to get plenty of rest. Drinking lots of fluids, eating solid foods in little pieces because I can't open my mouth very far. I have three Vicadin pills left - I'll use them tomorrow and be done with that. Putting ice on my cheeks every once in a while.

Overall, not horrible. But I'm having a hard time because I'm trying to take care of my son on my own while trying to recover.

I will be back to give more details in a day or two. If there's anything here that I didn't cover that you want to know more about, please ask me specifically so I won't forget.

Thank you to Laurie, Miss Smiley, KK, cwatt1, pharrstarr, metalmom, and seriously for checking in on me after my surgery. And for the rest of you, thank you too - for being part of this website and being a part of such a wonderful support network that I look to. I really appreciate all the encouragement from you guys.

I need to go to bed. Good night, all.

[metalmom]

Glad to know you're okay! Don't worry about being the mom you want to be right now.. You'll be back to your old self soon. I understand it's a helpless feeling to not be able to do what you want.

This too shall pass!!

[Miss Smiley]

Just as I was beginning to think you'd been scared away and abandoning treatment. Somewhat relieved to have read some words from you on your status. Here is a little sun for you to brighten your days

[MommaDucky]

KK: thanks for the vote of confidence. I really appreciate that you're always there for us on the website. You are such a wonderful inspiration and a huge provider of support to us all, and I thank you for all the hard work and effort you put forth.

metalmom: I hope you're right about me getting back to normal soon... more on that in a sec. And I agree, it's really tough for me not having the energy I normally do to play with my son and be there for him. It's very frustrating, because I know I need to take care of myself to recover faster, but I feel guilty and selfish for having this subconscious stream of thought telling me I'd rather sleep than play with my little boy.

Miss Smiley: Thanks for the sun! It has actually been a bit chilly and raining heavily for the past three days - quite gloomy weather. No sun to be seen lately, so it was nice of you to send that my way. As for me being scared away - NEVER!!! I'm in this for the long haul... nobody can talk me out of doing this for myself. I'm going to fix everything that needs fixing, and I'm going to do it right. I say I'm nervous about stuff, but I'm braving my way through it all, and I know I'll be happy in the end.

On the other hand, I have a few questions and concerns.

Upon perusing through the posts in this forum, I've read a lot about people recommending salt water rinses. I've never understood the benefits of this, nor have I ever tried it. What does it do for the mouth - how does it help? Would it help with my soreness from surgery?

That actually brings me to my concerns: my oral surgery was on Thursday August 16th. At this writing it is nearly Tuesday August 21st. The pain in my mouth and jaw from the extracted wisdoms has been increasing every day... is that normal? I didn't really know what to expect with impacted wisdoms being extracted, but honestly I didn't expect the pain to get worse even five days after surgery - I figured it would be getting less painful by now. If anyone has advice, please let me know. I hope I haven't gotten dry sockets... what are the symptoms of that? I don't know much about it.

Anyway, I'm still feeling incredibly fatigued and also very sore. I hope everything is okay. I knew the recovery time would be longer with wisdom teeth, I guess I just thought I'd be starting to feel better at this point. I really don't feel much better at all.

I'm headed to bed now. I hope you all are doing well! Thanks everyone.

[ohmyjaw]

Hi MommaDucky,

I had my wisdom teeth out ages ago, and I don't remember it terribly well but I am pretty sure it is not normal for the pain to get worse after five days. I think you should probably see your doctor/dentist about it.

Take care.

[Miss Smiley]

The only reason I had more pain after 5 days was because the sutures were starting to "dissolve." It felt like I had dry socket but I was told to keep rinsing and using a syringe tip filled with salt water and clean out the area well. There could be food under there regardless of how meticulous you clean. But most of the pain was from the darn sutures, as soon as it fell out, I felt a million times better. Maybe that will give you some hope that you don't have dry socket. If it doesn't get better with any OTC pain meds, give your OS a call. They might have you come in and irrigate it out themselves. That hurts....