My new Bracey Friends

As i mentioned in an earlier post, I have been extremely fortunate enough to discover 4 other women in my local area that are also going through Orthognathic surgery. We have met up a couple times now and it really is lovely to have a group of ladies to see and to discuss the ups and downs of this process, the fears, worries, hopes, funny stories and to support each other through it.

2 of my lovely ladies are going in for surgery this month, 1 on Wednesday and one next Friday. We met last night and they talked us through their pre ops, meetings with the surgeons and orthodontists, what they were having done, what they had packed, what they had ready for when they come home, what foods they had prepared, and what medication they were looking to take.

On my way home it dawned on me that both of there approaches, answers, topics of discussions, fears and surgery's were quite different. I guess it makes sense really, we are all having a similar operation on paper, but our faces are individual to us, unique, so our surgery will be slightly different, our recovery will be unique to us, how quickly our body heals, how resilient our minds are to pain, boredom  fear, worry, anxiety. It helps to hear and read other peoples experiences, I think it helps to prepare you, after all knowledge is the best weapon against fear!

Another thing that made me think last night was how lucky I am not to have children and be going through this surgery. Both women spoke about how they were explaining to their children what was going to happen to mummy and trying to get them prepared for the visual and physical effect the surgery will have on them. It must be really difficult to prepare children, especially young ones, and then trying to be mum during your recovery when you probably don't feel up to it. So big major respect to all the mummies and daddies out there who go through this surgery.

Here is our group pre-op picture (I'm on the left, went straight from work hence the more formal attire!)

The lady in green and the lady back right are going for surgery this month. Next time we meet up there will be another picture with 2 of us post op! So exciting!!!!

I'm off to see my orthodontist today so hopefully, fingers crossed I will get a confirmed date! If not I have my surgeon's secretary's direct dial number, so she will be getting phoned every day till I have a date. :-)

Will update later eather either way.
Much love to all xxx

P.S I go on holiday in 9 days! sooooooooooooo excited!!!!!

Long overdue!

Eeeeek! It's been ages since my last post!

Not much and so much has happened since then.

The not much is;

• I don't have an official surgery date yet (don't think it's May any more!)
• I still have my braces on
• They are still cutting my lips, cheeks and sporadically pissing me off
• Still working like a super hero
• Still single (and enjoying it)
• Still looking forward to surgery
• Still enjoying life
• Still remaining positive!
• Still not eaten Skittles! (miss them so much) 

The so much that has happened is;

• Had two extra brackets fitted very back teeth on top - took Mum and Dad along to that appointment so they could see what I do, very proud of me for sitting so still and being brave (I know, I'm not 7, I'm 24 but I'm a wimp!) 
• My teeth have moved - They move all the bloody time and probably only by a mm if that but every time it is such a big deal to me and my mouth and my speech! 
• I've had braces on for 11 months!!!! 
• I have met up with a small group of women who live in my local area, who are all going through Orthognathic surgery (some for overbites and underbites) and we all share the same Orthodontist! very lovely ladies, great fun having a chat and sharing stories and experiences and reasons for having the surgery. Will do a proper update on this at some point.
• Been having really bad jaw ache/pain for the last month, has been awful, really difficult to concentrate at work, think that has what has annoyed me most about it. i feel like I'm trying to maintain a normal life throughout all this and it just crossed the line and came and made my working day increasingly difficult and stressful. So my usual over the counter does of ibuprofen doesn't work any more nor do heat pads, so I went to the doctors this morning and he has prescribed me some stronger pain killers and said that i was definitely doing the right thing by having surgery, it should help it but may not completely remove the jaw ache problem. Wished me well and said to try the stronger tablets and if I need more or a different kind just come on back and he will do what he can to help me manage the pain till i have my surgery  Very lovely doctor, I have a total doctor crush going on! Might go back next week :-) 
• Looking at buying a house! Tres excited!
• Going to officially hound my Orthodonist and the Hospital to get my surgery date as I have so much I need to get in place at work with interns etc before I have it done, stressing me out! 
• Going on holiday with my wonderful brother in 3 weeks and 4 days!!!!!!!! 

Hope everyone is well and recovering from surgeries and tightenings and is coping well with normal day to day life with all this going on! 

Enjoy your weekends and for us UK-ers Wahoooooo Bank Holiday weekend and it's sunny! OMG never thought I would see the sun again! 

Much Love and teppee Brushes to all! x 

Broken Brace

Well it only took me 9 months to do it but I broke my brace last week. On what? A crumpet! Of all the foods I never thought would break my brace, my trusty faithful, yummy crumpet was at the top. Well in crumpets defence, it didn't break anything major, it was just my spring. Somehow my spring had come loose and was hanging down in my mouth, and catching my lip and was very annoying because everything I ate got caught.

I have a spring over my little baby incisor tooth because it cant handle a bracket, too much pressure and it might fall out. I do wonder if once all this surgery and teeth moving is finished with if they will file down my teeth and get rid of any chips (like the one it that tooth) or ridges so they are all nice and pretty? Or maybe just leave them like are, I don't really know if that is something that happens with this surgery and/or in the UK? I'll add it on to my "Must Ask" list.

Anyway, I did manage to hook it back up but I phoned up my hospital to arrange an appointment with my ortho to fix it properly. I went in the next day and my usual ortho Mr O'Neil wasn't available so I saw Mr Bavra instead, he said that my spring had worked its way loose and that it needed fixing. He sort of twisted it back in, but then tied it with some wire on the 2 brackets either end.

This wire is now putting a bit of pressure on one of my teeth and I really notice it is there. Mr O'Neil has never wired my spring in like this before, so I'm not sure it will stay like this when I go and see him for my next appointment in a couple of weeks, mainly because  I will ask him to move it, but hey the spring certainly isn't moving any more!

Springy Brace

Jaw Ache Relief

Jaw ache is a punishment that should be dished out to the bad people not the unlucky and nice!

Since having my braces fitted and my teeth moving my jaw ache has got worse, I'm willing to put up with it as it's all for the greater good but it does get tedious at times!

I have now got my jaw ache relief kit down to T and more often than not it does help to soothe my poor little jaws.

So my drug of choice for jaw ache relief is Ibuprofen, a lovely anti-inflammatory that I can always rely on.

Jaw ache relief

If it gets really bad, then I take Syndol (paracetamol and codeine) but it makes me really tired and a bit nauseous so I try not to take it that often and you can get addicted to codeine.

My amazing heat pad is my best friend and number 1 combatter against jaw ache! It's gel based so I just pop it in some hot water and let it heat up for a while then put it in it's sleeve and hold against my face. This thing works wonders, really helps to relax all my muscles, its so soothing and lovely. It can also be frozen, so when the time comes for post surgery ice packs I am covered!

Jaw ache relief - heated pad

I have two of these, I keep one at home and one at work, I used to get caught out and end up in pain at work so now it's a normal occurrence for my colleagues to see me with a blue thing pressed against my face. I'm thinking of buying a stretchy hairband type thing so I can use it to strap the heat pack to my face and then I can go handsfree with my heated relief at work and be able to type with two hands. 

I currently have jaw ache so I'm about to go and heat up my wonder pad and get some relief! 

Also found this good picture of my profile last night whilst going through my ex's camera. Doing the handover of stuff tomorrow so I thought I'd best get the pictures I want to keep before I give him back his camera! 

This is me (with hair extensions in) and my friend on a night out recently, I think this picture really shows just how far forward my lower jaw and lip juts out and actually my top jaw looks really small in comparison. Also naughty me for drinking a vodka and diet coke without a straw! Sorry teeth! 

Only 5 weeks to go till my next appointment, roll on April! 

Going it alone!

Well there's not really any way to dress this up or make it less dramatic but I made the bold decision last week to break up from my boyfriend. He wasn't horrible or mean, he treated me well, he loved me and I loved him, the problem was that over the 14 months that we were together I grew and changed as a person. My goals, my achievements, my expectations of life, love, him and myself changed. Unfortunately he didn't. 

We were two lovely people, together, just heading in different directions, wanting different things out of life and the relationship. He hadn't changed and grown with me as I had hoped he would. 

In the next 6 months or so I am going to change again, quite dramatically after my surgery. I don't doubt for a second that my outlook on life will change, I will change physically, I will change emotionally and I think I will struggle to come to terms with some of the psychological implications of having double jaw surgery, of finally getting rid of something that has caused me so much pain and hurt but something that is fundamentally a huge part of me, and I love me. So it's kind of bittersweet, getting rid of my current face, jaw & chin and replacing it with a new one that will improve my life and my looks. 

He just wasn't right for me, I wasn't convinced that he would be able to cope with that huge change in me and support me through it, I felt like it would be the other way round. I would be supporting him through my changes. A few comments had been made and a few of his fears had been expressed over the past few months and I don't think ill of him for having those feelings or making those comments. He was honest and that's all I ever asked of him. They were just not what I wanted or expected to hear from my partner.

So I'm going it alone, and you know what, I feel good. I feel like a weight has been lifted, like I just have me to worry about and look after and consider. I'm having my bloody face cut up and broken and moved around, I should just be worrying about me and nobody else!

So as the wise and wonderful Nina Simone sang;

It's a new dawn

It's a new day

It's a new life for me

And I'm feeling good

Valentines Day with my Braces

Well my first Valentines Day with braces has arrived, funnily enough it is just like the last Valentines day I spent, nothing much has changed. I am finding that my initial thoughts and worries on this whole process including getting braces could possibly have been misguided, over dramatic and dare I say it.....wrong!

I thought having braces was going to do the following;

1. Ruin my life
2. Make me look like a complete monster
3. Make me repulsive to the opposite sex
4. Give people another reason to take the piss out me
5. Make me talk like an idiot
6. Make me look unprofessional at work and not be taken seriously
7. Cut my Boyfriends lip to pieces every time I kiss him
8. Prevent me from smiling
9. Make me miserable
10. Ruin my life!!!

Turns out none of that has happened and isn't likely to happen. 

1. Braces haven't ruined my life they have actually made it  much better because I'm so close to having lovely functioning teeth!
2. I don't look like a complete monster, (I do in the morning, but I did anyway before braces) I look like me, just with braces.
3. Braces do not send boys running to throw up. I've had my fair share of offers over the last 8 months or so.  
4. The people that take the piss, will take the piss no matter what.
5. I sometimes mess words up and spit occasionally but hey everyone does that from time to time anyway, I just take my time with certain words and sounds.
6. It's how I perform and conduct myself at work that gets me noticed and respected, having braces actually makes me stand out from the crowd and makes people remember me.
7. Not once have my braces assaulted my boyfriend, my lips on the other hand, are a different story!
8. I smile more with my lovely straight braced teeth than I did with my horrible messed up pre braces teeth. 
9. Sometimes when they are cutting your lip up or it's your 3rd day on soup after a tightening it can get tedious, but I always remember my end goal and pick myself up again! 
10. Braces haven't ruined my life, they have made it better, so, so, so much better!

Happy Valentines Day Braces & Happy Valentines Day to my fellow Braced Bloggers and Readers! 

Much Love!

Double Jaw Surgery Here I Come!!!!

I have a date!!!!!!! an estimated date, but I have a date!!!!!! So bloody excited!

I had my 4th brace tightening on Tuesday and my wonderful Orthodontist told me that my teeth were ready! He said that he would write to Mr Harrop my surgeon and ask him to schedule me in for a May operation, but I've asked him to move it to a June operation as I'm on holiday end of May and I must have my holidays!

So a June surgery is on the cards! If all goes to plan I will be having surgery 13 months after having my braces on. I never thought it would be as quick as that, I don't think my Orthodontist did either but my little teeth have been on a mission.

I had some pictures taken after my tightening, I had a thicker wire on top no change on the bottom, my next appointment is in April, so hopefully I will find out some more about dates, measurements and the next steps etc, I really should ask more questions!

I went back to work after my appointment and started to tell the girls I work with the good news and then I just went a bit hysterical, I was laughing, crying, smiling, making no sense whatsoever. I just couldn't control myself, I was happy, excited, relieved, nervous and I think the years of emotion and problems and hurt just all came out. I just kept saying "I get a new face, I get a new face, I get a new face" and I will, I will get a new face.

I hope my new face solves a lot of problems and issues for me. I really hope it does and I hope I like it!

I'm all ready planning my "Goodbye Face" party and I think I'm going to introduce a soup and smoothie league table at work, so other people can get creating amazing soup and smoothie recipes for me! Some may say that's lazy I say it's enterprising, why not get everyone involved!

Aaaaaaaaaah! I'm having double jaw surgery in 4 months!!! It's actually happening! I'm so excited!!!

Happy weekend everyone! xxx