Day 13

I think my swelling in my cheeks has increased today. I am definitely getting sick of sleeping upright, and last night just tried to sleep comfortably, but still kind of propped up, but definitely not as much as I should be. My cheeks are feeling more puffy today. Dr M told me he would like me to sleep upright through the weekend, so I only broke the rules a few days early.

At least one of my brackets is no longer attached. The one behind the spring on the right, so now the spring is just spread out on top the tooth and the bracket is sitting kind of in between that tooth and the next one. Does anyone know if this is OK to have happened, or if I should call my ortho/OS about it?

I am a little afraid to ask Dr M about the whole chewing situation, because I think I have been going a bit crazy with it. I have been going through blogs in the last few days to check on where other people were at the same point I am at. It seems like most people aren't really tackling food the way I am. I definitely don't want to hear that I shouldn't be chewing, because I am finally able to chew and I cannot possibly go back! Yesterday I had a fried egg for breakfast that I chewed through. I had wild rice soup for lunch, and last night I ate a brat from the grill, potato salad, and baked beans. The brat had pretty tough skin from the grill, and I was able to chew through it. SO good! It was so nice to be out with my family and boyfriend, eating the same things they were. I was only able to take down about 3/4 a brat, but had tons of baked beans because they were so easy. My boyfriend brought me cake batter icecream from cold stone for desert. YUM!

My stamina has definitely started to come back. I know it will be weeks or even months until I am able to keep up with all of the things I was able to before, but I am definitely physically feeling a lot better. There were a lot of days I would get out of bed and just feel like complete crap, not just because of jaw pain. The way too much sleep, pain meds, and general lack of moving around left me feeling exhausted just moving from the living room to the kitchen. I am now taking 2-3 walks daily (about 15 minutes each). I am able to get OUT of bed, get my teeth brushed, change into normal clothes, and get things done. I never thought I would get to this point, and it feels GREAT!

I got the sweetest care package from one of my coworkers yesterday with magazines, a candle, perfume and one of the Chelsea Handler books! It is so great to know that even when I have been missing from work for 2 weeks, there are still people thinking of me and wishing me well :)

I am seriously about to go insane because of this lip. The two sides of the top lip have gone down to what I think is their normal size, along with the bottom lip as well. I honestly have noticed the absolute tiniest change in the swelling of the center portion, and I think it only LOOKS like it has changed because both sides of it has. I am worried that it isn't just the sores in my mouth causing this... what if something else is wrong with my lip? I can't go back to work until it's down because it keeps me from talking properly. Even though I am feeling great, I don't want to go out in public because it looks so ridiculous and I look worse off than I am. I am getting more and more frustrated every day. This lip is nearly all that is keeping me from going back to my normal life.

My sister told me yesterday I look like a square face, and I completely agree. I am praying to god that this is just because of swelling, and that my new face shape isn't a square. I am not absolutely loving the way my face is looking straight on. I am feeling like my jawline is a bit too masculine. It seems to me like Dr. M should have pulled my chin out a little bit to give me more definition and make my face more soft looking. Hoping this changes as the swelling goes down.