March 2 it is.

So yesterday I was supposed to see a 2nd oral surgeon, Dr. P. But I had a heinous migraine that kept me in bed all day, vomitting, so I cancelled. Now I can't get another appointment with him until next month, which is obviously too late. I go in two weeks to get my pre-surg stuff done for the March 2 surgery. So I decided to take a leap of faith and stick with Dr. C. I want this done so bad now I can't wait longer than a month. I'm a believer that everything works out the way it's supposed to and everything happens for a reason, so there you go.

There's so much to do in the next few weeks. I have to get my taxes done and out of the way. I have to deep clean the house. I have to get my teeth cleaned. I have to get my kids to the dentist too. I have to see my doctor and ask about anti-anxiety meds so I can get some sleep and get through this month.

I'm also a believer that preparation=relaxation. I doubt I'll be relaxed, but having everything ready and taken care of will take some of the load off, I'm sure.

!!!!!!!!!!!

More surgery info, and why Dr. J is missing the "flattery" gene

Went to Dr. J today for an adjustment. I complained about my stainy o-rings and asked for some "smoke" ones because I had read on ArchWired that they don't stain. So she put smoke on, and now it looks like I've been eating Oreos. They're quite dark. Oh well, anything's better than piss-yellow.

I also found out exactly what I'm getting done: surgery on my upper jaw for my gummy smile, and the OS will bring my chin up and out. No lower surgery at all. I no longer have an overbite, and my teeth fit together perfectly. It just seems like the rest is mostly cosmetic! But I'm sure pain reduction will come with a harmonious (love that word) face and not having to stretch my lips over my teeth unnaturally to close my mouth. No more posturing for me!

The following is why I believe Dr. J is not a smooth-talker with the ladies. He said to me, while showing me before-braces pictures of myself:

Dr. J: "When you're chin is balanced with the rest of your face, you'll be attractive."
Me: (Dead silence)

He didn't say "more attractive" either. Gee, thanks, Dr. J. You're no stud yourself. Okay, okay. I wasn't really insulted. He's right. Dr. J doesn't sugar coat anything and I appreciate that. I know I'll be attractive with a nice smile and a chin. I don't think I'm attractive now either. I agree with him 100%.

He also said my lips were too full and my nose was too narrow, and that both will look a lot less big after the surgery. He was very clinical about all his insults. And I agreed with all of it.

So then I took my unattractive face, my huge lips, and my honkin' nose out of his office and stuffed myself on fries and gravy in the mall food court.

I'm still seeing Dr. P on Monday, even though Dr. J's receptionist told me he may be booked up 6 months in advance. I can't wait 6 months. I'd much rather 6 weeks! But alas, I will find out from Dr. P himself. Hopefully he'll go easy on the insults so I won't develop a complex.

My head is spinning, and not in a good way

Okay. Remember last October when I wrote about seeing an oral surgeon (Dr. C)? About a month after that I thought, hey why not see another oral surgeon to get a 2nd opinion, and I called and asked to be notified when Dr. P (another OS) had an opening for a consult. They didn't call, so I called back last month to remind them. Then they made me and appointment to see Dr. P on Jan. 29 (Monday). Okay. Groovy.

Then Dr. C's office calls me today to give me a surgery date! March 2! First of all, I wasn't aware that I decided Dr. C would be my surgeon. Nothing against him, I liked him just fine, but I wanted that 2nd opinion. But all along Dr. C's team had been setting up these dates for me for final consult, physical, pre-admittance to the hospital, etc, etc. I told the lady who called that I wasn't sure I'd be going with Dr. C. She said okay and then asked who else I was seeing. I said Dr. P, and she said she knew he was very booked up. I said, really? Then I just told her to book me in anyway, even though I still plan to see Dr. P on Monday. I'll find out for myself how booked up he is, and when I can possibly expect surgery if I were to go with him.

Don't get me wrong. I DO want the surgery on March 2. I want to get it over with. I just want to be 100%, completely, and utterly SURE I want Dr. C to do my surgery.

What's worse is that I DO NOT KNOW WHAT I AM GETTING DONE! When I saw Dr. C a few months ago, he told me I might not have to have my lower jaw moved. Well, when will I find out??

I see Dr. J, my OD, tomorrow (my appt was pushed off last week). I am going to tell him, "Look, things are happening really fast and I'm not sure what's going on. I don't know what will be done to my jaws. I thought I could see more than one surgeon before getting a surgery date." And so on. I knew for a while that my surgery might be in March, but it snuck up really quick and I feel like I'm going into it blindly. I hate that feeling. I'm the type of person that has to know EVERYTHING so I can educate myself and be prepared. It's my skull, it's my face, and it's my bones. I should know exactly how they're going to be rearranged, correct? Correct.

When I looked at that surgery date written on piece of paper, I started to seriously freak out. It's really real now.

Noses

When I look through pictures of people who have gotten the same surgery I'm getting (upper, possibly lower, genio), I'm amazed at how different their noses look when their jaws and chin are finally proportionate. It literally looks like some of them have had nose jobs, their noses look that much smaller. Crazy! I'm now wondering how my nose will look when my face is balanced correctly.

Is it shallow of me that I think more about the aesthetic changes this surgery will bring more than the REAL reason I'm getting this surgery--for pain reduction? I know it's wrong to be so comsumed with looks but sometimes I can't help it.

Progress

I got the horrible bypass wire off a couple of weeks ago. Yay! It hurt like hell for a few days as my teeth went back into a straighter position though, and my Christmas turkey was hard to chew. That one crooked tooth is still crooked, but the rest of the teeth on the bottom are straight now. My top teeth are straight. No more overbite. Teeth are actually fitting together pretty well, though I still get pain and stiffness. Sooooo...I'm hopeful for that March surgery date.

I'm seeing a 2nd oral surgeon at the end of this month. Dr. P. He is pretty famous here, head of oral surgery at a university. Also, I want a second opinion on what needs to be done to me. This is my face we're talking about here--I need more than one OS's opinion. The staff at Dr. J's office totally understand.

Speaking of Dr. J and his staff, may I take a moment to say how great they are? The week before Christmas, my husband and two children came down with a bad stomach bug the day before I was due to get the horrible bypass wire off. They were all bedridden and sick the day of my appointment, and I wasn't sure if I should cancel or what. That wire was bothering me so much, I could barely stand it. Anyway, I called the office and told the receptionist that I might cancel, that it depended on how my family was feeling. She said no problem and to call them if I needed to cancel. I did end up going, and as I walked into the office, every one of them asked how my kids were doing. Somehow they all knew I had a sick family at home. They took me right in, the moment I arrived, and I got my wire changed and was out of there in 10 minutes flat. I thought that was so thoughful of them to ask about my kids and get me in and out of there as quickly as possbile so I could get back to them.

My next appointment is on the 18th and I plan to do something--anything--about these damn o-rings of mine. They stain like mad. The clear ones stain, the smoke-colored ones stain. I avoid coffee, I don't smoke, I don't eat curry, so what the heck is staining them? I thought about getting blue but if they stain they will turn green, which is worse than yellow. Then I thought of asking to have silver o-rings put on so I won't have to worry about staining at all. Would silver o-rings look really bad on clear brackets? Hmmm. How I wish I could go back in time and get metal brackets on my front top teeth instead of these blasted clear ones!