Hello all! I know it has been too long since my last post. But for the most I have a good excuse.
I'm a grad student. For teaching. I student teach during the day, and go to grad school at night. And then I read. and read. and read. And I personally think that excuse is valid.

But I felt that I HAD to update, and you all deserve it. SO even if this is brief, I hope it's helpful.

I have felt so lucky throughout this entire process.

Since my last update, I have continued to progress as normal, began eating solid food (that pesky popping DID go away), all of the swelling went down, the soreness went away, and lo and behold...

I GOT MY BRACES OFF.







Can you believe it? This picture was taken at a friend's wedding that I was in; it was one of the first times where everyone I knew saw me without my mouth of metal and "duck lips" ( a lovely nickname from my brother).

I have had no problems with receding, soreness, or anything else that have made me think "Should I really have done that?"

I am so beyond happy with my results, and other than the weight gain I experienced- I'm pretty sure I'm the only patient EVER to GAIN weight after having the jaw broken and rubberbanded together- I feel so confident!

So, to close: I highly recommend that everyone who needs the surgery (and the braces) JUST DO IT!!! I had the support of loving friends and family, and a doctor I trusted with (literally) my life, and the mentality of success. I suggest that these three things are the most important factors that will get you through the surgery. And really, you need only the support of one other person who can help take care of you those first few days :)

I will be continuing this blog with my life stories, so if you choose to continue following, by all means do. Mostly I will be continuing it because I no longer have, and refuse to create, a facebook account. So although the title will change, if anyone wants to hear my story of metal and magic, please feel free to stalk my blog, and comment if desired.

Thank you for all of your support and love you have all provided throughout this year, and I hope that those of you who have gone or have to go through this experience have the same success and positive results as I have!

Sincerely,

Amanda

This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago, a few days after classes started. Everything has been going really, really great! I still am not on my my regular diet yet, but this really just involves not biting into anything and not eating hard foods. I am almost limitless, really, as I can have chicken, macaroni salads, pasta meals, which are perfect for this time of year anyway.

Last Monday I went to the Orthodontist to get my first adjustment since surgery, and it didn't feel any different then any other time, although I did notice that I couldn't open my mouth as much I used to, but it didn't cause any problems. I am so excited to finally be in the last long haul of my treatment! I can already feel my spaces closing, and I hope they close quickly at that! Michelle told me that typically spaces close at about 1 mm per month, and she could tell just by looking that my spaces were about 3 to 4 mm, so that's about 3 or 4 months to get the spaces closed! While doing that, Dr. Sbuttoni is shifting my teeth a little to the left, so that midlines match up. At the moment their slightly off, but thankfully this is just a "teeth" problem, not a jaw problem. I also still have to wear my elastics, but luckily am using the one's from their office, which are much thinner and "lighter," although they break more often ( I always ask for an extra bag!)

Anyway, this all I really have time to update today. I have lots of projects to work on, and I don't want my blogging to be my reason for falling behind! Enjoy the day :)

Hello there, all! I have not updated in awhile, but everything has been going well. I updated last Monday about having to wear my bands, and was happy to find that the achiness went away after a few days. All I have to do is take an advil every once in awhile if it gets achy at all, and that does the trick- I haven't touched my hyrocodone in weeks!

<---- not me anymore!





I have still been taking my vitamins, which to post again are

• Bromelain
• Turmeric
• Quercitin

I bought my vitamins for a total of about $35 from Vitamin World (vitaminworld.com), although I would definitely like to note that according to one my followers/commentators, you CAN buy these vitamins in an all-in-one supplement! Some of them run for about 15-25 dollars, depending on the amount in them- and you'll probably be taking them twice a day in the all in one. At the moment, I take two quercitin, four Bromelain, and 3-4 Turmeric supplements a day, especially in the morning and at night. The morning is when I am most swollen and at night I take them as a soft of preventative measure for the morning!

All in all, if you buy anything, I would suggest it be these vitamins. They have worked absolute wonders for swelling and muscle soreness, and the Quercitin also has vitamin C which I am sure has helped ward off some winter sickness!

Beyond that, today was the first day I was able to truly enjoy my winter break because of the fiasco yesterday. I still have to work on my thesis, but I have been studying for a test for grad school for weeks, and was finally ready to schedule it for a few days later. Well they were booked, but the woman I spoke to said I could do a walk in- and she had a spot in a few HOURS. Well, I took it and rushed to get there because I didn't want to take the chance of not getting to take the test before it was too late! Anywho, I know my scores for half the test, I'll receive a total score report in the mail if a few weeks- and I will not post them until then :)

Back to the Jaw- I went to the gym for the first time since signing up and I feel as I waited just enough time-I had not problems with my jaw 'bouncing' around or what not- and just made sure that if I was lifting something heavy to NOT clench my teeth (that = badness).

The next thing on my jaw itinerary is to put together a small scrapbook of my jaw surgery. I'm thinking of asking my Orthodontist about leaving it at their office for
people who are going to go through the same thing. What do you guys think? If so, I'm going to add tips and other advice, including some of my favorite recipes, and put it all in one thing.

Well, I must be going now, I have been sitting on my bum for two hours and I believe it's time to clean my house or I'll be stressed when I go back to school! Hope all is well!

Pictures of what the vitamin bottles look like (just in case? ha ha )

vitaminworld.com (all pictures taken from their site)
(oh-and these say chewables- mine don't even though they look like they are- I just swallow them!)



(sometimes if I couldn't take my bands off or didn't feel like it I would just break open the pill and put the contents in my food-stir it well!..and it adds a bit of spice)



(They have one without Vitamin C-but you might want to just get this one because recovering from surgery includes keeping your immune system healthy!)


and if you type in "quercetin plus bromelain plus turmeric" into google you can find a ton of different supplements that are all in one, such as this brand's:

http://www.nutrasanus.com/quercetin-product.html

Day 14


Day 15



So, as you may have noticed, I only update every few days now. No worries again, all is well, just not too much is happening, so I don't feel the need to have to post 5 words!

However, yesterday I went to the Doc's and the Ortho, so lots of things happened. From the Doc's, I learned that the spasms I have been having in my jaw are completely normal. My jaw, as I assumed, is just getting used to being in its new place and trying to heal. He also said that I can stop sleeping elevated, which I did last night-and lord have mercy I slept like baby!! (Soo happy)! He also said I can start working out again, and only have to wear my bands for twelve hours a day, which made me completely happy because i hate wearing them! The biggest complement I got however is that he said that we're at two weeks, but I look like I'm at six. That put a big smile on my face!



Then, flash forward to the Ortho. More compliments: "You look great!" "You're taking wonderful care of everything" and

"We're going to have you wear your bands for 24 hours for the next four weeks."

Oh it was... wait, what? TWENTY FOUR HOURS?! Oh my goodness I was not happy about that! The Doc told me that this was because my bite is trying to shift, so during healing time it's the best time to do this and keep everything in place. And of course, I do what they tell me, because I know it will be 10000% worth it in the end. BUT that does not mean that I have to be all smiles while doing it! Ha ha, I'm hoping my mouth will just get used to it. But for now, I am constantly achy :(. No worries though, I also know it will go by super fast, and before you know on picture day 3898238482749822983 I might just have my braces off :D.

SO, beyond being a bit achy, I did have a wonderful sleep last night which made me
feel much better about everything. Although, I am already planning my revenge on Michelle (my Ortho adjuster person) muah hahaha! I'm also still taking my vitamins, and happily no longer have to take my prescriptions!

Off to study and get ready for grad school apps:) Enjoy the day!

Side note- Over the holiday's, my Ortho office sent me a get well soon card plus 2 gift certificates that I can use at a variety of places in the area! I can't wait to use them (Burger at Fudruckers= amazing) and if they see this THANK YOU!

Day 12





Day 13






Once again, SORRY MOM! It's been 2 days since my last update. Oh, the horror! Well, on the plus side, it wasn't because I was feeling ill, I've actually been feeling pretty great! Day 12 was New Years Day, and Day 13 was Saturday, one being filled with with visits from my parents and taking the tree down, the other Steve had off which means I'm not allowed to touch the computer because I take too long and updating does not include him.

So, whether good or bad, this blog also won't be that long because not much has happened in the jaw department! I have been taking my vitamins, which I believe have really been helping with swelling and soreness, even though it's pretty gradual at this point. Although, I will still be taking pictures every day for a long while.

The bands have not been causing me much pain, except at night when I have to wear four of them. But even then it's mostly just an annoyance and takes me longer to
fall asleep. I usually taken them off 9-11, 1-3, and then 5-9 or 6-10 depending on how long I'll think I will be up!

I've also been eating a few more 'solid soft' foods-but still no chewing. I pulsed
up some Chili a few days ago for dinner, and it felt so great to have some more substance! And last night I had a delicious chicken salad, and I enjoyed every single bite despite Steve's jealousy! (or maybe because of it!)






The only thing that has been really bothering me are the spasms my jaw has
every so often when I talk. Most of them are just little "hiccups," but
a few of them have
been really strong that usually involves an expletive that follows.
I'm going to make sure I talk to my doctor about them, but I think they
are normal. And there's no cracking or popping going on, thank goodness!



In all, things have been going well the past few days. The 'downness' i was feeling seems to be completely gone, and I'm enjoying my winter break, despite the loom of grad school applications. Oh- AND i joined a gym! SO EXCITED. I joined Planet
Fitness yesterday, but not for a new years resolution (I don't believe in those-anything I can 'change' about myself on Jan. 1 I could have changed any other month or day). I can do some exercise at home, like my pilates and I have a barbell or two. But I really wanted to be able to use a variety of different equipment and be able to work out with my the distractions at home (my cats think it's funny to lay down on top of me while I do some core work on the mat-jerks!).

Plus, I looked at the site the day before new years, and the start up fee was about $70, but it's always 10 dollars a month (cannot beat that). So, I decided to wait until After new years to see if they had any new deals going on-and they did. I joined yesterday for ONE dollar. Yep, a buck vs. $70. I'd say that's a deal! Have a good day everyone! And yes, mom, I'll make sure to come on later and update for today!

Happy New Years Eve everyone! I felt much better today, despite the fact that I didn't get to do everything I wanted to. But being in a good mood was enough for me :). Instead of waiting for the afternoon to come up, I decided to take Boe on walk this morning, which was of course the same time it decided to snow.

But the walk kept me feeling good and healthy and I was glad to be out of the house. I made sure to take my vitamins again today, and am trying to keep a good track of them so that they're in my system doing their thing. One thing I can definitely say that's helping is the Bromelain, out of all the vitamins this one is supposed to be good at helping sore muscles as well as being an anti inflammatory (which is prob. why it helps said muscles), and by the time I went to bed last night my left cheek was so much less tense that I could almost smile normally! I happily noted the difference.

I also pre-made some food tonight for dinner because we are heading over to my best friend's house, Brianne, for a New Years Eve get together and I need to bring it with me considering they don't have the endless supply of liquid diet materials like I do. The recipe I made is called Corny Chicken Soup- I don't know why I hate the name, but I LOVE the soup! It's even Steve's favorite. I'll make sure to post the recipe for those who would like to give it a whirl.

Any who, life's been going well, I'm so glad that today was not met with such a down feeling like the previous few. Hopefully whatever was causing it is out of my system and I can look forward to enjoying the rest of my recovery. Was that an ironic statement? Oh well. Goodnight, all and enjoy the New Year!

Today will be a fairly short blog. I'm feeling okay, swelling's gradually going down and I ran to the 'local' Vitamin World and got those supplements I wanted! I'll make sure to post how they're working for me and how my body responds to them (hopefully well).

When I got home, I took my antibiotic and then had to call my peeps at Rite Aid who told me that the prescriptions would be ready by tomorrow evening... um... almost done today! Luckily, they must have gotten shipment early because they said they were ready!

I went on another walk today, and thank goodness it wasn't as cold as yesterday, I almost enjoy walking in the winter weather! Of course, Boe decided to make a new friend with what looked like a mini version of a Husky who had escaped from his home. Eventually his owners came out and scrambled to catch him, of which Bow was very upset by because once he sees something he assumes that it's his.

After I got home I finally did some work on the paper I've been working on, which felt really good. But after I realized I was in some pain so I took the liquid motrin my doc recommended. I'm not sure if it worked because I was also tired so I hopped into bed with Boe and took a nap.

Everything with my jaw has been going smoothly. I didn't see too much of a change today, but of course I still had to post a picture but I would hate too miss a beat! Plus I know there's at leastsome difference, even if it's small. The thing that I don't like that I know is surgery relates is the 'downess' I have been feeling. From what I have been told, this is because of sterioids you receive at the hospital, which make you feel good for about a week, and then right about this time you go through a type of withdrawal. Which is, of course, a-w-e-s-o-m-e. I noticed it starting to his yesterday, and today it's been a bit more of a struggle.

Hopefully the new vitamins will help give me a boost and help with the swelling, which will make feel happier :) Till then, I'm off to pick up those prescriptions some Chinese food for the hubby.