I went to see Dr. Mitton this afternoon and things are going well. He was relieved to see that my two front teeth didn’t turn brown. I asked him what he meant and he said due to my two front teeth being so close together it was possible he may have killed the root during the separation of the palate. He said the teeth would die and turn brown if that happened. Eep! They still look a healthy white color but we have to keep an eye on it. I sure hope that doesn’t happen!

I mentioned that I keep hearing/feeling a clicking noise in my mouth when I speak. When Dr. Mitton broke my palate he said the jaw was quite loose so he had to put some wire hooks in place to keep things steady. It’s possible the clicking noise I feel could be from that - or it may just be my appliance. He’s not concerned about it though and told me not to worry. It doesn’t hurt or anything it just feels weird. It’s odd knowing I have metal hooks in my jaw though.

I officially start turning my appliance once a day every morning starting tomorrow. Dr. Mitton gave Roy the run down on how to use the key so he can do the adjustment for me. “You just put the key in the hole like this and crank it back - see the gap that forms between her two front teeth?” *Nurses in the room all go “NEAT!” * Of course he ended up turning the key twice and decided the gap was too much and had to revert it. It hurt something HORRIBLE when he did it. I nearly jumped out of my chair screaming when it happened. Talk about a look of shock on his face “Oh I’m sorry, did that hurt?” No…I just felt like screaming and jumping out of the chair so you would remember I’m here. Gah! I hope we don’t do that again. I could feel the bones moving in my mouth and there was an insane amount of pressure when he did it. Freaked the hell out of me.
Anyhow, we have to make a gap the size of a tooth or a little bigger so I’m going to look like Goofy for a couple of weeks. It’s all going to be worth it in the end though - I can’t wait!! Right now I have a tiny little space between my two front teeth. To quote Dr. Mitton “Voila - you are now Madonna” lol. It’s so weird to see a change in my teeth after having them look the same way for years but I’m very excited. I have been taking progress pictures every day and I’m really impressed and surprised with the changes in my face. It’s very cool.

Pain and swelling have gone down quite a bit. I’m still pretty bruised but feeling fine. I’m still getting a lot of rest and trying to take it easy. Talking is still a bit of a challenge but it’s coming along. Slow steps. I’m off the steroids and VERY happy about that. I didn’t get weepy and cry like some women have reported but I did notice a change in my moods. I would go through periods of feeling happy then go down pretty hard and not be able to sleep. Hopefully all will be back to normal in the next few days.
The meals are getting a bit better. I swallowed some well cooked pasta for supper and some cranberry for dessert. Was quite good. I also picked up a variety of soups I’m going to try out. Overall I don’t think the liquid/soft food diet will be all that bad. Tried a tastey protein shake at the advice of Step - Peanut butter brittle. It’s basically a scoop of vanilla protein powder, some fat free butter scotch pudding mix, Kraft All Natural Peanut Butter and some rice milk. It tastes really good. If you use chocolate pudding instead of butter scotch it actually tastes like a Reese’s bar. A little sweet indulgence during my time of pain. hehe.

I’ve been listening to my gym songs and have a real urge to get going with my exercise again. I know I can’t lift weights but I might give my elliptical or the treadmill a try tomorrow at a slow pace. I’m just bored of sitting around and want to be on the move. I’ve been keeping busy with playing my guitar and reading which is fun but I want to get moving! As long as I go slow everything will be fine. My calorie intake has been around 800-900 calories a day which is low but it’s honestly all I feel like eating. It takes forever to eat a small amount because I’m eating with a baby spoon and it’s not an easy process trying to swallow all your food without chewing. LOL. There you go everyone - my diet tip of the day - eat with a baby spoon and don’t chew. You will really savour your meals and eat less LOL.
Anyhow that’s my scoop for today. Feeling good and very happy and excited for the changes to come.

Okay, so I picked up a copy Oxygen Clean Eating magazine last night. The magazine has an article with two weeks worth of menus for “Clean eating”. I decided to check out the snack section since that seems to be my problem area right now (i.e. skipping mid-morning/mid-afternoon snack). Anyhow, they gave this recipe for a “Mid-morning Booster”

Peanut butter oatmeal protein shake made with 1 scoop whey protein, 8 oz cold water, 1 tbsp organic peanut butter, 1 tbsp flax seed, 1/4 dry oatmeal, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup strawberries

I used Kraft All Natural Peanut butter and Rice protein powder. Close enough. I didn’t have any strawberries but I did have the banana.  Anyhow, when I ran this through Calorie King, this single shake is 358 calories. That seems like a heck of a lot for just a “snack”. Considering I don’t eat more than 1400 calories a day I can’t see where I could drink two of these and still have calories left for my three meals. I decided to cut the recipe in half and drink half this morning and the other half this afternoon. These menu plans they offer have got to be at least 1800 calories per day or more. I’m thinking only hard core fitness women could lose following this but I dunno.

Oh and in case anyone was curious. The shake tastes like crap. LOL.