To Connie-Re: Katja on recovery and eating

[Guest guest]

Hi Katja,

Sorry I didn't get back to you for a while. I went on my annual

camping trip over Labor Day weekend.

I'm doing better with the whole eating thing. I'm forcing myself to

try foods I really don't think I could eat. My doctor suggested

thin sandwiches to help exercise my jaw. My local deli makes

wonderful sandwiches so I got one today, sliced it into itty bitty

strips and shoved it in. It was great. I've especially been

craving salad, and delis use shredded lettuce and they had a ripe

tomato, so my sandwich also satisfied my salad craving.

On the flip side the right side of my jaw is absolutely killing me.

It actually was hurting quite a bit at my last OS appointment but he

didn't seem to concerned. Even though for the most part I'm still

eating soft foods it doesn't seem to stop. Did this happen with

you? I'm thinking even if I'm not really chewing, maybe it's the

fact that subconsciously I'm stretching my mouth wider when I try to

eat.

I noticed you said you had wore one of your K9's flat. Today, while

trying to finger pick the gunk out of my splint after my sandwich, I

noticed one of my molars seems to be worn down a bit on one side.

Don't know what that's all about. I've never been a teeth grinder,

although directly after my surgery I would wake up in the middle of

the night clanking my teeth together like my jaw was trying to

figure out where to go.

Also, my tongue and the inside of my lip are starting to swell up

where the splint touches. I wonder if I could be having a reaction

to the splint. I'm sure anything is possible, after all I'm

allergic to a bunch of stuff. One of my biggest allergies is

latex. After my surgery I had a humungous sign on my hospital room

door, " LATEX ALLERGY " . I know my splint's made of acrylic so I

should be fine with it. If it continues I'll call my OS. I think

I'm just being a baby.

At my last OS visit I asked if I could start exercising again. He

told me yes, but that I also needed to start eating, I've lost 25

lbs to date. Anyways, I go to Curves gym, and I went today and was

weighed and measured. Normally you do each of the machines, they're

all in a circle, three times, a total of 30 minutes. The instructor

told me to only do 2 rotations since I am still recovering. By the

time I was done I was huffing and puffing. Little old ladies were

looking at me funny and wondering why I was skipping the butt

machine (I've hit myself in the face with a piece of the machine

several times in the past). Needless to say it was funny. Next

week I'll try to start 3 rotations again, but for now I'm only doing

to. I've been so excited about my weight loss, even though my boobs

are gone, and now I am trying to tone things up. I gave it a little

extra time after my OS okay to make sure my nutrition was better,

I'm not wanting to push things to much.

Connie

PS- I know it sounds funny that I hit myself in the fact with a

piece of the " butt machine. " Actually, it's a squat machine. It

has a large arm you lift up and it comes down and rests on your

shoulders and then you squat. In the past when I haven't been

centered I've allowed the arm to come back down and smack me in the

face. Yes, I am a clutz.