My Next Steps

Wow, it has been exactly two years since I met Dr. Piper for my first consult on Halloween in 2011. It is truly remarkable how far I have come. I am very grateful that I feel so good and that I have no jaw pain or headaches. I still travel to St. Pete every two months to see Dr. Jackson, I am eating all normal foods again, I'm off almost all my prescriptions (except 25mg at bedtime), I continue to work out daily and do Pilates twice a week to keep my neck and shoulders from hurting, and most importantly, I'm talking and smiling to my heart's content! I couldn't be happier about having my life back, even though I know I have another journey ahead. I guess that's the funny thing about life...

October 7, 2013 
DR. PIPER APPOINTMENT- 1:30pm

My checkup appointment with Dr. Piper went really well. He was pleased with my progress and the fact that I am feeling so wonderful. However, as I stated in my previous posts, my bite isn't going back together properly, so although I am going to continue with the brace work, it looks like I will require the jaw lengthening surgery (Sagittal Split Osteotomy) and the chin lengthening surgery (Sliding Genioplasty) to get everything back together, so that my joints aren't damaged from a misaligned bite. These surgeries will be done together to reduce my recovery time. I will return to see Dr. Piper at the beginning of February 2014 and then have the surgery within a month. I am happy to report that the recovery time for these surgeries is only a couple of months. That seems like a walk in the park! I am actually not even dreading it. I am so excited that the end is almost here. I have a real inner peace about it all, so as for now, I am going to take nothing for granted, focus on living in the moment, and enjoy my health each and every day!

18 Months Post-Op

June 24, 2013
DR. PIPER APPOINTMENT- 10:30am

I went into this appointment feeling really fantastic. I was having no pain and no headaches at all. As with all of my other appointments, I started out with CT Scans and measurements. Then Dr. Piper spent a lot of time with us going over all of his findings and answering all of our questions. He's truly the best at never rushing and making you feel like his only patient. Here was his report...

Because I was feeling so good, and things were progressing so well, Dr. Piper said that I could start chewing regular foods again. I cannot begin to explain how very excited I was that my 18 months of a soft diet had come to an end. My first meal was a salad and a few chips! I had a little bit of muscular soreness from chewing at first, but nothing that required medication. Now, I pretty much eat anything I want within reason and have zero pain or soreness. Ha, I have also gained 5lbs. Oh well, this girl loves food!

I have continued to work out daily and do Pilates twice a week, which really makes a difference for me. I am still taking all of my vitamins and supplements, but Dr. Piper said that I could wean off of my Trazodone at night. I've cut back from 75mg to 25mg at bedtime without any problems or clenching. He wants to keep me at this dose until he sees me again in October. Until then, the waiting game continues, but I don't mind because I feel so wonderful!

LESSONS LEARNED

Everyone keeps asking me if the last year totally changed me as a person. It’s funny, because when people asks this, they're clearly wanting you to say yes and explain why you’re so different. At first I wanted to tell people that it did, because I guess I thought that if everyone kept asking, it really should have. I don’t want to sound dismissive about the whole process, because it was a huge ordeal and is still ongoing, but I think more than changing me into a different person, it made me more myself. This surgery and healing process solidified who I am, what I stand for, and most importantly, it made me appreciate the people who love me unconditionally even more. So, my pain is gone, which has totally changed how I feel, and thus changed my lifestyle, but I don’t really think I am a different person at the core. Today, I am just a stronger, more blessed and appreciative version of myself.

THE BEST LESSONS LEARNED

1. For better or worse and in sickness or health, can sometimes get very ugly (aka wearing a splint for a year), so marring my best friend was the greatest decision I ever made.
2. Patience truly is a virtue.
3. I am stronger than I ever imagined.
4. Sometimes only siblings can make you smile and help you laugh at yourself.
5. There is healing power in positivity.
6. I only get by with a little help from my friends.
7. Tears heal you as they flow.
8. As a child, my parents gave me the greatest gifts in the world… faith and confidence.
9. A dog really is a girl’s best friend.
10. Nature heals and running outside refreshes the soul.
11. Even during the darkest times, a bright light can shine from within.
12. And finally, that there is a plan for my life and that everything truly happens for a reason. There is no point in asking why things happen, only how and what one can do to turn negative circumstances into positive situations.

1 Year Post-Op

December 18, 2012 
DR. PIPER APPOINTMENT- 8:30am

My appointment went as usual... CT scans, explaining how I was feeling, measurements, etc. After looking at everything Dr. Piper concluded that, although my condyle bones are stronger, and my left side is much more defined and my right side is becoming more calcified, the bones are still very small and fragile and not finished calcifying. In addition, my ball and socket still don't line up perfectly on the right side yet, but the left side looks good. Sadly, my open bite was also 1mm larger than at my nine month appointment, because of the seeding of the bone into the fat graft. So unless some miraculous bone growth occurs, I will have to have the bite corrective osteotomy (lower jaw surgery) for sure now. Bummer! At this point Dr. Piper just doesn't feel that the braces will be able to move my bite as far as it needs to go.

Next, I was disappointed to find out that I couldn't get the Incognito braces. Dr. Piper said that I should get regular braces because of the need to use rubber bands on the fronts of my teeth to keep the pressure off of my joints. Without the rubber bands, he felt that my fat grafts would get unduly compressed. By keeping the pressure off of my joints my bones will have a greater chance of continuing to calcify. Regular braces would also be needed for banding into the splint again when I have the bite surgery. Although I was wishing for anything other than regular braces, I knew that it was the best thing to do, and above all, I will always follow Dr. Piper's advice. The best news was that getting the new braces meant an end to my year long partnership with my splint. YAHOO!!!!

So for now, Dr. Piper wants me to stay on my vitamins and nighttime prescription (to prevent clenching while I sleep), and also remain on a moderate, soft diet. The good news was that I now get to chew the soft food at every single meal. I still just cannot bite with my front teeth and I have to always be sure to switch from side to side while chewing. With more time on a soft diet, we are hoping for continued progress and healing in the joints.

DR. JACKSON APPOINTMENT- 2:30pm
For my orthodontic appointment I got X-rays taken and then had the braces put on. I was sure to take a muscle relaxer and an anti-inflammatory before the appointment, just as Dr. Piper directed. They worked quickly and were good about letting me rest my jaw as needed. They placed six brackets on the top and eight brackets on the bottom...

Dr. Jackson did say that he would like to see me every two months, rather than every three months as was first discussed. My jaw was sore and I had a "normal person" headache after the appointment, but it wasn't anything a nap on the flight home couldn't fix.

BYE, BYE SPLINT
I no longer have to wear the splint (HALLELUJAH) and I only have to place one rubber band on each side while I sleep. Of course, a random thing did happen to me, though. By the time I got home that night, my two front teeth had separated and I had a huge gap...

I called Dr. Jackson and sent him photos. He said that it is something that can happen, but it usually doesn't happen so quickly and make such a large space. Normally, he would have just had me come back into the office that next day, but since I had already flown home, he told me to wait a week and then go to a local orthodontist to have it fixed by adding an elastic chain to close the space. I followed his advice and it worked like a charm. My teeth were sore for about a week and I took Aleve to help with the pain.

FUTURE SURGERY
As far as a timeline for bite surgery goes, Dr. Piper said that it isn't even an option until my teeth fit together properly again. Thus, he doesn't want to see me again until June, when I have had the new braces for six months. At that point he will assess my joint and orthodontic progress and he will have a better idea of when the surgery might happen. However, he did say that even after six more months, my bones still might not be strong enough to withstand bite surgery. We shall see...

February 18, 2013

DR. JACKSON APPOINTMENT- 2:00pm

During this trip to Florida, I only went to see Dr. Jackson. He was very pleased with my progress and said everything was looking great. They changed out my wires, replaced one of my front brackets, and added more wire support between my two front teeth so that the gap would thankfully never return. 

He wants to see me again in two months.

March 15, 2013

PROGRESS UPDATE

At first it was so strange not having to always worry about my splint schedule. I constantly felt like I was forgetting something, because it had become such a huge part of my daily routine. But now I feel such freedom. The new braces have been such a breeze compared to the surgical braces. They don't shred the insides of my cheeks like the other ones did, which is so nice. I have also gotten my pills down to only taking them with meals and at bedtime, so this simplifies things, too.

Overall, today I feel really FABULOUS. My muscles stay loose as long as I do Pilates and exercise five days per week. I no longer have any pain or soreness when I talk or smile a lot, I don't clench, and soft chewing at every meal doesn't make my joint or muscles fatigued, either. I would say I now feel like I never even had surgery, but I cannot really say that because I feel so good now and I felt so bad before. So I guess now, I just feel fixed and totally back to normal. Whether I have to have another surgery to correct my bite or not, I am open to and ready for whatever the future holds for the rest of my recovery.