Day 11

I had another appointment with Dr. M today. Due to the numerous issues I have faced trying to recover from this surgery, at my last appointment on Tuesday Dr. M asked if I wanted to come in Friday as well and of course I said yes.

My stitches were still sticking around on in my upper lip area. I know they only serve their purpose for about a week, and after that, Dr. M said they can sometimes cause more bad than good. He decided it would be helpful to remove these stitches. Well, with all of the sores up there, this was seriously a painful experience. Dr. M was being so gentle and careful, and it was still excruciating pain. I was literally squeezing my hands together and wincing out loud at how badly it hurt. Can you imagine having a little tiny scissors go in near a bunch of stores to cut tiny stitches out? I am in pain just thinking about it! Dr M worked as quickly as possible, and I think he got out all but one stitch, which he said was dissolving fine. Please send me good vibes that with the removal of these stitches, the sores start to GO AWAY.

I brought up having pain in my teeth where the bands were connected, and Dr. M moved them to a really odd configuration in the front teeth to allow the other teeth to rest. He told me I can place them wherever I want, my bite is perfect but it just needs guiding. I think its a bit scary to say I can put them wherever I want, so I think I might just rotate them between the different configurations I have seen him use to give some of my teeth a break. I also found a bag of bands that are a little bit more stretchy than the ones he's been using, so I put them on instead. My teeth seem to get sore instantly with any configuration at all.

There has been so much on tv about backyard BBQing, and it has been driving me nuts. My appetite has come back, and I am really going crazy. I am craving steak and brats and burgers and EVERYTHING! My dad is making brats tomorrow and I think I might try to somehow get a little bit down. Grilling is one of my favorite things about summer, and I am seriously going crazy from the lack of meat in my diet. I am able to eat a bit, but I am already getting sick of the soft chew diet.

I was pretty excited about the whole weight loss aspect of the surgery, and now I am not liking it so much. I have lost 12 pounds, but am expecting to start gaining some of it back. I can't really change out of gym shorts and t-shirts because my summer shorts are massive! I have lost weight in areas I would prefer to keep weight in, such as my booty! If only you could pick and chose where you lost the weight :-P

I realize I focus a little too much on the negatives and not enough on the positives of this surgery. I did have a lot of negative days, and I can't possible sugar coat the experiences I have gone through, but I don't want my blog to be a discouragement. It has taken me longer than others to heal, but that's the way it goes sometimes. My bite is officially PERFECT. I need very little guiding with my bands, am now able to keep down food, need very little assistance from ibuprofen and Tylenol, and am getting close to sleeping through the night! I have a lot of good things going for me and I really feel like I am improving every day.