My bedside set up....
Monday, November 9, 2015
Getting ready..
Tonight I spent my time cleaning the house..and setting up my bedroom..where I think I will be spending lots of time in the next few weeks....Netflix is hooked up and loaded up..picked a few books to load on my nook. I have a few magazine to read and solme coloring books....yes coloring to relax is a thing now.....
2 Days Until Surgery
Only 2 days to go..my teeth actually stopped hurting about a week ago so I can eat food that is a little harder..still no BACON...but some meat steak etc.
I am eating everything that I think i will miss the most in the next 6 weeks. I have a nice burger and fries for lunch today. I shopped yesterday and bought a nice steak, Asparagus and some potatoes to roast for a nice dinner....
I also bought a lot of soft foods to get me through the next few weeks while I am home.
Pudding
Ensure
Yogurt
Apple Sauce
Greens and why protein for smoothies
I am all ready to go!
I am eating everything that I think i will miss the most in the next 6 weeks. I have a nice burger and fries for lunch today. I shopped yesterday and bought a nice steak, Asparagus and some potatoes to roast for a nice dinner....
I also bought a lot of soft foods to get me through the next few weeks while I am home.
Pudding
Ensure
Yogurt
Apple Sauce
Greens and why protein for smoothies
I am all ready to go!
Monday, November 2, 2015
Pre-surgery testing and a visit to the surgeon
Today I will have my pre-surgery testing and then a visit to Dr. Taub's office I have put together my list of questions to ask Dr. Taub just to make sure I know what to expect next week .
I was in the pre-testing room about 2 hours. Met with the intake person, nurse who took my vitals, nurse practitioner who reviewed my history and asked a bunch of questions. The anesthesiologist who reviewed my medications etc and told me about the process on surgery day. The finally a tube of blood was drawn.
Then I walked around the corner to Dr Taub's office. The residents took some pictures I signed the surgery consent form and Dr Taub came in. His first comment was " this surgery is going to be a walk in the park" I said for you or me..both he said! he explained that he is aware of how conscious I iwll be of the gap in my front teeth because of the business I am in but I would have a great story to go along with it..some crazy surgery broke my jaw to move my teeth around....LOL
I asked quite a few questions about the surgery , after the surgery etc...
Surgery will take 2-4 hours
I should eat some fresh pineapple the day and 2 before..who knew fresh pineapple had anti inflammatory benefits.
I will be numb around my upper lip for a while.
The device will be activated to about 2mm so I will wake up with a space in my front teeth
I will be on liquids for about a week so need to be sure to add protein to my shakes etc. after a week still soft food but really no chewing allowed for 5-6 weeks.
I will probably stay over night but we can decide after we see how I feel after surgery.
Since I already have plane tickets for two weeks after surgery I asked about flying...he said I should be ok with some anti contestant and nasal spray! Yeah
Ready to go! 9 days until surgery.
I was in the pre-testing room about 2 hours. Met with the intake person, nurse who took my vitals, nurse practitioner who reviewed my history and asked a bunch of questions. The anesthesiologist who reviewed my medications etc and told me about the process on surgery day. The finally a tube of blood was drawn.
Then I walked around the corner to Dr Taub's office. The residents took some pictures I signed the surgery consent form and Dr Taub came in. His first comment was " this surgery is going to be a walk in the park" I said for you or me..both he said! he explained that he is aware of how conscious I iwll be of the gap in my front teeth because of the business I am in but I would have a great story to go along with it..some crazy surgery broke my jaw to move my teeth around....LOL
I asked quite a few questions about the surgery , after the surgery etc...
Surgery will take 2-4 hours
I should eat some fresh pineapple the day and 2 before..who knew fresh pineapple had anti inflammatory benefits.
I will be numb around my upper lip for a while.
The device will be activated to about 2mm so I will wake up with a space in my front teeth
I will be on liquids for about a week so need to be sure to add protein to my shakes etc. after a week still soft food but really no chewing allowed for 5-6 weeks.
I will probably stay over night but we can decide after we see how I feel after surgery.
Since I already have plane tickets for two weeks after surgery I asked about flying...he said I should be ok with some anti contestant and nasal spray! Yeah
Ready to go! 9 days until surgery.
Sunday, November 1, 2015
RPE placed
Friday Oct 23 I went to the ortho to have some spacers put in to make room for the RPE device. The spacers would stay in until the device is placed on Tuesday. The spacers kind of feel like a piece of meat stuck between your teeth which is annoying.
Tuesday Oct 27 I went to the ortho which I was told would be a 20 minute visit...90 minutes later I was on my way back to work. It was a bit off a challenge getting the device placed. Since both of the teeth the device would be hooked to are crowns it was a little hard. The crowns need to be filed down to make the brackets fit. Finally here was enough space and we were set to move forward and cement the device into place. I am already planning that these two crown will need to be replaced when I am all done.
So more about the RPE device...wow..uncomfortable and annoying...trying to figure out how to eat is quite a challenge. It is amazing how much you need the roof of your mouth to swallow. I almost choked the first few times I tried to eat anything. Then made a very bad decision to have tacos for dinner....what??? So here are the challenges. You cannot really feel your teeth - specifically the ones where the brackets are which mean you cannot really tell how well you have chewed your food. It was definitely scary to swallow a chip for fear of it getting stuck and choking. So cross chips off the list or anything that is hard. I even tried a tiny piece of bacon...not fun..I will miss bacon for the next few months. Biting anything hard hurts so pasta has seemed to be best and since I love pasta I was OK with that. Swallowing has become a little easier but best to keep a glass of water near by to wash everything down that gets stuck around the device.
I have been reading a lot of other blogs to get as much info as I can. One comment that I feel summed up eating was that..eating as become so much effort that you don't even want to eat. Besides that I cannot eat what I want and have to think about everything I eat and whether I can eat it or not. Also you cannot really taste your food. You have to get the food right to you back teeth..be sure you chew and swallow..so the food barely comes In contact with your tongue...so the taste buds miss out. It will be a tough year for the foodie in me.
I did have pancakes for breakfast this morning and they were a good choice and easy to eat so they stay on the list..
The list of things I can eat so far
Smoothies
Pancakes
Yogurt
Pudding
Pasta
To get a little crunchiness toasted crackers are good..not too hard
Medium hard cheese
Pizza for dinner tonight..not too bad..cut up in small pieces of course.
Here is a video showing this surgery.
SARPE surgery
Tuesday Oct 27 I went to the ortho which I was told would be a 20 minute visit...90 minutes later I was on my way back to work. It was a bit off a challenge getting the device placed. Since both of the teeth the device would be hooked to are crowns it was a little hard. The crowns need to be filed down to make the brackets fit. Finally here was enough space and we were set to move forward and cement the device into place. I am already planning that these two crown will need to be replaced when I am all done.
So more about the RPE device...wow..uncomfortable and annoying...trying to figure out how to eat is quite a challenge. It is amazing how much you need the roof of your mouth to swallow. I almost choked the first few times I tried to eat anything. Then made a very bad decision to have tacos for dinner....what??? So here are the challenges. You cannot really feel your teeth - specifically the ones where the brackets are which mean you cannot really tell how well you have chewed your food. It was definitely scary to swallow a chip for fear of it getting stuck and choking. So cross chips off the list or anything that is hard. I even tried a tiny piece of bacon...not fun..I will miss bacon for the next few months. Biting anything hard hurts so pasta has seemed to be best and since I love pasta I was OK with that. Swallowing has become a little easier but best to keep a glass of water near by to wash everything down that gets stuck around the device.
I have been reading a lot of other blogs to get as much info as I can. One comment that I feel summed up eating was that..eating as become so much effort that you don't even want to eat. Besides that I cannot eat what I want and have to think about everything I eat and whether I can eat it or not. Also you cannot really taste your food. You have to get the food right to you back teeth..be sure you chew and swallow..so the food barely comes In contact with your tongue...so the taste buds miss out. It will be a tough year for the foodie in me.
I did have pancakes for breakfast this morning and they were a good choice and easy to eat so they stay on the list..
The list of things I can eat so far
Smoothies
Pancakes
Yogurt
Pudding
Pasta
To get a little crunchiness toasted crackers are good..not too hard
Medium hard cheese
Pizza for dinner tonight..not too bad..cut up in small pieces of course.
Here is a video showing this surgery.
SARPE surgery
Moving forward...
The pope has left Philadelphia and I did not get the new job so onward we go! I reached out to Lori at Dr Tunjays office to find out the next steps. It was time to take an impression for the device I will need for SARPE surgery. The appointment was set up and back got the ortho I went.
Getting the impression done was nothing really..bite on some waxy gummy stuff..and off to the manufacturer the mold went so my device could be made. I made an appointment for 2 weeks later to have the device placed and started working with the scheduler at Dr Taub's office. I had my ore-surgery visit and test scheduled for Nov 2nd and my surgery is scheduled for Nov 11th.
Lori is really great about telling me what to expect. The biggest part of this first step of SARPE surgery is the gap that will become very evident. As Lori said..we need to go through some ugly before we get to the pretty.
Getting the impression done was nothing really..bite on some waxy gummy stuff..and off to the manufacturer the mold went so my device could be made. I made an appointment for 2 weeks later to have the device placed and started working with the scheduler at Dr Taub's office. I had my ore-surgery visit and test scheduled for Nov 2nd and my surgery is scheduled for Nov 11th.
Lori is really great about telling me what to expect. The biggest part of this first step of SARPE surgery is the gap that will become very evident. As Lori said..we need to go through some ugly before we get to the pretty.
Surgery is approved
In the beginning of September 2015 I received the letter that my surgery was approved! Now things get real. I was in the process of interviewing for a new job and since I am in the hotel business in Philadelphia I was getting ready for the popes visit. So the next step would have to wait a few weeks.
My first visit to the oral surgeon...
I went to see Dr Taub..again the best in his field.. He has previously done some work on Wayne..which Dr Roberts referred to as parking a car to him- so easy for him he could do it in his sleep....the type of surgery I will have done is what he specializes in..and teaches his residents..He is also the head of the residency program at Thomas Jefferson Universiry.
He had already spoken to Dr Tunjay about what he though needed to be done..Again time for another surprise..I would need SARPE surgery 1st. Surgically assisted rapid palette expansion. This adds 3-4 months to the whole process which is not a very exciting prospect. He want to do everything in stages. Sarpe, braces, then orthognatic surgery. Then..beautiful smile..great profile..,lined up bite and breathing easy!
The next step was the approval process with the insurance company. Dr Taub was confident that there would be no challenge with the approval. I have a severely constricted airway which is the main rason for the surgery. I wish that had been figured out earlier. I have had three surgeries on my nose, and still can't breathe, but turns out it was much bigger than my nose. Dr Taub also said I must have sleep apnea which can be very dangerous. Everything was just in the wrong place. In reviewing my x-rays he also asked if I was in a lot of pain...which I guess I am but have just learned to live with it. My TMJ joins look like they have been shot up. This surgery is not the recommended treatment TMJ problems but hopefully as a side benefit it will help. I am also help it help with my occipital neuralgia/ constant headaches.
Time to relax and wait for the approval...
He had already spoken to Dr Tunjay about what he though needed to be done..Again time for another surprise..I would need SARPE surgery 1st. Surgically assisted rapid palette expansion. This adds 3-4 months to the whole process which is not a very exciting prospect. He want to do everything in stages. Sarpe, braces, then orthognatic surgery. Then..beautiful smile..great profile..,lined up bite and breathing easy!
The next step was the approval process with the insurance company. Dr Taub was confident that there would be no challenge with the approval. I have a severely constricted airway which is the main rason for the surgery. I wish that had been figured out earlier. I have had three surgeries on my nose, and still can't breathe, but turns out it was much bigger than my nose. Dr Taub also said I must have sleep apnea which can be very dangerous. Everything was just in the wrong place. In reviewing my x-rays he also asked if I was in a lot of pain...which I guess I am but have just learned to live with it. My TMJ joins look like they have been shot up. This surgery is not the recommended treatment TMJ problems but hopefully as a side benefit it will help. I am also help it help with my occipital neuralgia/ constant headaches.
Time to relax and wait for the approval...
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