9 Months and Counting...Feeling Overdue

Okay, so I've had my top braces on for over 9 months now and my bottom braces on almost 7 months. My bite is getting worse all the time (in preparation for surgery) and I'm feeling ready to do this thing!  The only experience I can compare it to is my first pregnancy.  In the beginning I was very excited. I couldn't wait to begin to see and feel the changes that would take place over the next nine months...I wanted to document every little detail.  For instance, taking pictures of my growing belly.  As you can see in the photo, I was very excited to be showing. The little paper I was holding up stated I was proudly 17 weeks pregnant and even had a cute little smiley face next to it!

As weeks sped by I continued to take pictures of my growing belly while sporting the same outfit. At 23 weeks I can't say that I was as "smiley"  as I was at 17 weeks, but I was definitely still very excited and amazed at the little life moving inside my growing belly.

As time wore on and the cuteness wore off I quickly grew tired of all the details that had preoccupied my time. I was just ready to have my little baby already!!! I feel the same way regarding this jaw surgery.

My next ortho appointment is on Wednesday. My orthodontist made a note at my last visit that there would "possibly" be impressions taken at this appointment. I don't really know what that means or how soon the ball will get rolling after impressions but I feel it's a start. Maybe sort of like those Braxton Hicks contractions??? :)

It's very humid here in the Midwest. Like 78% humidity...I feel like a 38.3 week old pregnant woman with swollen cankles who is retaining all her water. How is that, you ask???? Well.....My guess it that would look a little something like this.......

Sorry! I just couldn't help myself. Misery LOVES company! I figured that if I'm going to be posting some not so nice photos of a bloody, disfigured face I might as well throw these in as well! lol.
 
But, back to my comparisons on my jaw surgery journey and pregnancy...I think it's a great idea that your family and friends throw a baby shower for you during the last trimester of pregnancy. No better way to help get your mind off the swollen cankles and get your focus on that little miracle that is soon on it's way by receiving gifts to brighten your day.
 
What I'm trying to do is justify my "showering" of gifts to myself. I have to admit, I am not one to spend much on myself AT ALL. But I threw all caution to the wind and decided to venture out and pick out a couple items for my upcoming "event".  First, I purchased a Waterpik, which I am still a little unsure of. I am glad that the only thing in it is water because I have sprayed myself, the sink, counters and even the back of my throat (the water ended up coming out my nose-not sure how that happened). So, needless to say, this is a relationship that is probably going to need some work.
 
I also purchased a brand new Vitamix which was shipped to my front door today! I'm very excited about this. There were tons of recipes for soups, smoothies, drinks, sauces, etc. I bought my kids those little Popsicle freezer things so I could make some fresh freezer pops for them. Next week I am (or my loving husband is) treating me to an hour massage. My neck and upper back is really feeling the stress from all of this "adjusting" so I'm really looking forward to it! No hurt in "showering" myself a little is there?
 
Well, I need to get to work on my insurance appeal. It's probably a waste of time. There are so many super exclusions in my policy that it's going to be difficult to fight it but I'm going to go all out trying!
 
Then, maybe I'll put my cankles up and drink a nice cold fruit smoothie! lol! XOXOXOXO

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good: 
I'm warning you...I'm on my pity pot today so in my mind I don't feel like there's much good going on right now.  I am going to the ortho today. They put spacers in my two bottom back molars last week and today they will remove those (that's good) and redo all of my bottom braces to include my two very back molars.  These two molars were turned inward a little so they want to fix that. At least when things happen I feel "progress" and that we're moving right along. I'll ask my ortho when he anticipates surgery date to be. I asked him in January and he said late Aug, early Sept. so we'll see if he's still keeping that date. Oh, there is ONE really good thing...we should have our car paid off the end of June! We have been working really hard at getting our debt paid off before this surgery and other than our house, the car is the last thing. Then, we can start saving up for this surgery!!!

The Bad:
So, now to the bad...I received my denial letter from insurance on Wednesday.  I had a feeling they were going to deny it but I was willing to file an appeal due to the fact of medical necessity. I have been ordering and organizing all of my medical records ready to fight the appeal...then I read the letter which states, "Because this denial is a result of a specific benefit limitation under your plan, this appeal will not be reviewed for medical necessity at any level of appeal REGARDLESS OF YOUR HEALTH CONDITION. " So, I was pretty bummed. I am going to email an attorney that I used to work for to see if there is anything else we can do, but if not...we're totally stuck with the bill. It just angers me how insurance will pay for something like lap-band surgery, but not this when it's something I cannot change or manage on my own w/out surgery. 

I've been trying to work out at Curves and they had this Chiropractor there doing this computerized spinal examination where it checks your muscle contractions. It was very interesting to see where all of my muscle tension was held. The pic on the left is a "normal" person and the one on the right was me. Notice how much tension was in the left side up high by my jaw?? Crazy....That's the side that has the cant that the oral surgeon says I compensate for. I really hope after this surgery this tension can be relieved.

The Ugly:

So, I told you I'm on my pity pot....I feel really ugly right now. I've had the braces for 9 months now. I really don't mind them,but since it's adjusting my mouth for this future surgery everything is screwed up. I feel like I just "hang" there w/ my mouth open all the time--With no teeth touching. I'm always the last one to finish my food and have to use my hand to cover my mouth the entire time.  Since my jaw is relaxing and moving back in it's place I have less and less of a jaw and chin and I feel like I have a harder time breathing. As most people LOSE weight with braces I have actually GAINED over 7 lbs. That's a lot for someone who's only 5'2'". I am totally an emotional eater and I think this whole situation has taken a bigger toll on me than I want to believe...so I turn to food. :( Soft, easy food like cupcakes, brownies and noodles and french fries... very sad--but TRUE. I've been working so hard on our financial situation and seeing lots of progress.  I need to focus just as much on my spiritual and physical health too.

The Mystery of the Missing & Mangled Toothbrush...

So, about a week ago I could NOT find my brush head to my supersonic Sonicare toothbrush. This was a bad way to start my day as I have a very serious attachment to this instrument. You see, I am very obsessed with my oral health.  Having braces has put a strain on my relationship with my mouth so my new toothbrush (I have to give props to my orthodontist -as he supplies these AT COST to his patients) has helped bridge the gap...pun intended! :)

I looked for my missing brush head all day. I gave in and used a "normal" brush but was not receiving any satisfaction at all. I was seriously getting "shaky" from withdrawals. Finally, I showed my 3 year old daughter her Daddy's brush head and asked if she could possibly help Mommy find HERS.  Her reply was a very confident, "Sure Mommy, follow me..." I was more than happy to play along. She leads me into my closet behind my husband's hanging shirts. This is one of her favorite hiding spots so I figure she just is taking advantage of this moment so we can play a little game of hide and seek.

As I'm uncomfortably squeezing behind all of these clothes I notice a small white something and lo' and behold' there it was in all of it's mangled beauty...My daughter knew EXACTLY where it was and obviously had some help from her furry little friend who obviously enjoyed this brush head as much as I do.

Now....we don't live close to a store that carries these but I figured this was worth a trip to Sam's Club so I could "buy in bulk" and not relive this traumatic event again. Needless to say, my mouth and I have restored our relationship for the time being and we're smiling again!

*NOTE*

May is National Smile Month

Smiling triggers your body to release those feel good endorphins and serotonin so remember to do it and do it LOTS...c'mon brace face.. SMILE!

^^^Put on a Happy Face^^^

So for all of you medical term techies here is what the orthodontist deemed me at my initial consult...

Crowded teeth, overbite, overjet, incorrect fit of teeth, jaw joint issues.  Oral Surgeon consult is estimating cost for...Lefort 1, Bilateral Sagittal Split Osteotomies of the Mandible, Surgical Splints and genioplasty invovling two night stay at Hospital.

Insurance sent request for medical records last week that my oral surgeon is faxing over so hopefully I will hear something soon. I should probably order my oral surgeon records so I have them available for appeal if possible. When I receive those records I can post the medical issues that they listed.  For those of you in the states w/ our "private" insurance plans the total cost with braces included is approximated around $35k if they decline coverage (in my situation) and w/ my insurance plan it will be around $18k if they accept it. I have a high deductible and all oral surgery is out-of-network, so that's that! :)

Now on to the interesting...back in my teens I had an ex-boyfriend that said I looked like Droopy Dog. What a winner. Anyway, the sad thing is I knew what he was talking about. I have this circle around my mouth that has gotten more noticeable w/ age and when wearing makeup. I always assumed it was because of my gums and teeth but my Oral Surgeon said it was because I had over-exercised those muscles around my mouth in order to try to close my lips and it left that circle around my mouth. I guess I never realized all the muscles in my face. I have grown up with migraine headaches and muscle tension in my face and this is why. I just assumed it was only the joints but we can cause much tension in those facial muscles as well.  So, now I just let loose and let it all hang open! It's really interesting stuff. You should research it!!! My sister who turned the big 4-0 this year got this funny lil' DVD called Hapy Face Yoga. It's seriously yoga for your face. I watched a video on you tube and it's hilarious. My husband caught me in the act of doing this "facial exercise" and just shook his head. I'm curious on these results....what if it could help relieve tension in the face as well? I'm going to try it after surgery.

Well, have a great week and don't forget to put on a Happy Face! :)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoNeuAloVlU

In the Middle..Where you at?...In the Middle...

Okay, so I'm probably going about this all wrong but I decided to start a blog on my "jaw journey" that has already begun. Better late than never???

I feel old and have absolutely no idea how to 'blog' but I'm just here to broadcast my jaw journey in the hope that I can help others in the same boat and get support at the same time.

I won't catch you up-to-date right now because...well, just because...but I'll give you the low-down of it and I'll post more as I go along. I'm in the boring phase right now anyway.

So, here it is: I'm a 32 (well on Saturday) yr. old stay @ home mom with two small kids (5 and 2) and a supporting husband of nine years. I have always been insecure of my mouth and gummy smile but never realized the medical issues involved until I really starting diggin' this passed summer after a regular dental exam. My dentist mentioned the "J" word and I confidently said I didn't need Jaw Surgery as I was "okay" with how I looked. I got home and started "googling" and found out that so many medical issues I've dealt with my entire life could be related to my misaligned jaws! I was amazed.

I am a major "type A" personality and this issue became my focus all summer. I've calmed down some now but when it's time to fight insurance (in the very near future) I'm sure I'll have guns a-blazin'!!! To cut this down to a small size.. two dental, two orthodontic,and two oral consults later I am in the process of my Orthognathic Jaw Surgery Journey.

I have a deviated septum in my nose with polyps that are in the way of me being able to breathe through my nose...Upper Jaw Surgery will help correct this along with my gummy smile. Lower Jaw Surgery will correct my underdeveloped jaw and chin to help support my bite and my big fat tongue to lay better so I can breath at night w/out sleep apnea. I also have what the oral surgeon called a "cant" where my bite is lower on one side than the other. It's wearing my teeth on one side down and I tend to tilt my head to the side to compensate. You'll notice it in my pictures when I get around to posting them. I never realized that but it's in almost ALL my pics.

Right now I only have four teeth that touch when I bite together so I tear all of my food up in little bites to eat.

So far insurance hasn't covered anything and we've paid for braces and all the appointments out of pocket. I have an exclusion in my insurance that says it won't cover this unless diagnosed 30 days from birth...This is our next big battle as I have LOTS and LOTS of medical issues that could possibly relate to this. I'll get to that in another post.

Well, thanks so much for being a part of my bloggety blog blog and if you have any questions I hope I can help. Thanks for your support as well. I'll post some pics w/ and w/out braces soon. XOXOXOXO E

*side note* I went to do spell check and orthognathic came up w/ no spelling suggestions...doesn't that just make you angry?????? sigh....:)