and so it begins...

I can’t believe I have officially started this LONG, LONG, LONG awaited journey! I began looking into orthognathic surgery when I was in 10th grade. I went through an expander, Herbst appliance, and braces between the grades of 5-8. After getting the braces off, I wore my retainer ALL the time. I was very anal about it and did NOT want my teeth to move. When I got to the point of just being able to wear it at night, the problems began. I was always really thin, and it wasn’t until late junior high that I actually started to grow. I think that this caused my teeth to start moving fast, because I had problem after problem with the wire they placed behind my bottom teeth. It kept popping off and the orthodontist continued to glue it back on and it just kept popping off. It got to the point that my teeth were shifting, and when I would just wear my retainers at night, they got so tight that they were cutting into the inside of my mouth. I kept going back to get the retainer to shift to where it would fit again, but the problems persisted. I finally just kind of gave up, and it wasn’t until 10th grade that I really noticed how much my teeth had shifted back. My overjet from my front teeth had moved back to it was before, and my bottom teeth were beginning to overlap.

I went to see the orthodontist again when I was 16, because I was worried about the overjet not having been corrected. I was told that my lower jaw was underdeveloped and a bit misaligned, which finally gave me an explanation to what the cause of the headaches I had been experiencing for basically my whole life. Since I was a child, I have been getting such bad headaches to the point of migranes. I missed 42 days of school my junior year of high school because I just couldn’t deal with them. I tried strong migrane medication and got glasses to see if either of these would help get rid of the headaches. I now knew at this point that due to my upper and lower jaw not sitting together right, I was causing great strain on my jaw to force fit them together, causing these horrible headaches. I was unable to get the surgery at this time, as I wasn’t done growing. I continued to speak with surgeons and orthodontists, yet kept making excuses as to why I couldn't get braces. First it was because I was in high school, and HATED the idea of being judged because I was in braces. High school kids can be mean, and I just wasn't up for it. THEN I was beginning college, and I didn't want to begin COLLEGE wearing braces! A few semesters later, and I had finally made the decision that this was going to get done. BUT I was off to Australia for a semester! I arrived back from Australia on July 28th, and the braces were put on August 13th. I am now a senior in college, and have come to terms the best that I can with the fact that this surgery is necessary, including the braces, I am still under my parents medical insurance, and have decided that I am OK with having braces at 20. Trust me, I am not thrilled about them, but I am trying to keep a positive attitude and not worry about what anyone thinks. Like someone close to me said, anyone you care about won't care about your braces, and anyone who does care isn't worth caring about :)

I have been reading many blogs since I have started looking into this surgery, and they have been so incredibly helpful, I thought I could possibly help someone too! Something I didn't read much about was the beginning aspect of braces. I searched desperately for some answer as to when they were going to stop sucking so much! It took at least one full week to get rid of the mouth ulcers, and then another two weeks to get used to them being in my mouth!

I have my first orthodontist appointment tomorrow for my 6 week check up. I think they will be changing the wire and checking my progress. I will post again soon!