Day 45

I don't think my teeth have ever been in so much pain after any adjustment as they were this morning. I slept terribly and woke up multiple times with my teeth aching SO badly, to the point I was holding my face in hopes of any possibility of comfort. They honestly felt like they were being pulled out. The new elastic configuration pulls my teeth really tightly together, and I think with that and the constant pull on the brackets that the elastics are connected to, my teeth had way too much pressure on them. I couldn't sleep past 7 am because the pain was that intense. I never thought my teeth could hurt that badly. I took 4 ibuprofen first thing this morning and they started feeling better. Thank god for painkillers! I took 3 more ibuprofen later in the afternoon, and the pain has gone down a lot. They are still sore, but I am eating fine and going about with my day.

I am not sure if I have changed the amount of time in elastics during the day at all. I was at the point of taking them off probably 6+ hours a day, but with the new configuration, Dr. S never mentioned how much he wants me wearing them. I think I am going to just wear them as much as possible, because they are SUCH a pain now to take in and out multiple times in a row. Before, I was doing it without a mirror, but with these teeny tiny bands and triangle configuration, it's too hard and even with a mirror I end up snapping myself with them.

My mouth can open enough to fit two knuckles through. I always have had a small mouth and have no idea how far it opened before surgery, so I feel like I am doing pretty well with how much I can open now. I haven't really been doing exercises but I think I am going to start my own, even without Dr. M's instruction.

I know I mentioned in my video that I've kept off 5 of the original 12 pounds I lost, BUT, I made white chocolate milk chocolate cheesecake cookies today. So I will keep you posted on how the weight fluctuates :)

My smile cracks me up. It is seriously so terrible. Anyone who tells me otherwise, I think you're lying. I look like such a cheeseball. I can't figure out the smiling thing yet. I think that after many years of pulling my bottom jaw forward to make it look 'normal', plus knowing exactly how to position my lips, I had my smile down pretty well. Now, I am back to square one. I have no idea what to do with my mouth to make myself look normal. 2 months of practice better be enough because I am going to be in tons of photos at my sisters wedding and I am NOT going to look like this!