Tomorrow

Wow. I can't believe it is actually here. I'm surprisingly very calm as I'm writing this and laying down in bed about to go to sleep. I am scheduled to check-in at the hospital at 5:45 am so this is going to be a short post so I can catch some Z's...

I didn't realize how much support I had from family, friends and coworkers until this past week. It is such a good feeling knowing that I have so many people praying for me! I honestly feel at ease about the surgery. Stressing myself out these past two weeks has paid off, I think. I gave myself time to think about everything and I had all my questions answered by my surgeon. My recovery is my only concern at this point. OH and leaving my dogs at my house while I stay at my mom's for two weeks is a concern also. I'm going to miss them so much!!!!!!


Anyways, I'm off to bed. I asked my mom to take pictures during my hospital stay so I can post them here.


Wish me luck <3

It's been a WHOLE YEAR??!!

Ok, so I am the worlds worst blogger... but I figured now is a good time to re-up this thing because 
I AM HAVING SURGERY THIS FRIDAY. 

So much has happened in the past year, I don't even know where to start. I did get used to the braces, started a new job, changed some schooling plans, had loads of fun with the insurance company, and I even switched surgeons. When I say a lot has happened, I mean A LOT. 

Braces have been one of the easier things in my life this year. Besides getting carded every time someone even thinks I'm going to possibly order an alcoholic beverage, they've become part of my every day life and sometimes I don't even think about them. I definitely feel like I look younger, but I know it's only temporary and will be worth it in the end. 

I started a job in the front office of a pediatric and family medicine office and I love it. I have learned so much since I started working there in September and I can't wait to continue my journey with them until I start school. I plan on starting nursing school in the fall at a community college in my area. I had to take off this whole year due to the surgery... which totally sucked because I should be graduating right now!! 

My surgery is now officially, 100% for sure, scheduled for this Friday, March 24th with Dr. John Zuniga at UT Southwestern. He is my new oral surgeon that Dr. Bates had to refer me to after insurance would not cover the hospital he had privileges at. It was extremely frustrating and confusing at first, but now I'm really thinking it was an act of God. I feel much more comfortable with Dr. Zuniga. He's confident and answers all my questions without even taking a moment to think. I am really looking forward to putting this surgery behind me. The anxiety and emotional stress has really taken a toll on me these past few weeks, but I think I am in a good place now. Friday could not come soon enough!! 

I'll be posting all about my recovery the next few weeks. I hope that all my trials and tribulations can help someone else going through this one day. 

emBRACE it

WARNING: this post may contain drama queen content

When you're in middle school, braces are the coolest thing. You can change your colors to coordinate with holidays...so cool. Well, life with braces as an adult is different. I mean honestly, no 20 year old wants to wear braces. The lady asked me what color I wanted and I looked at her with a blank face and said "the one that shows the least", duh. My teeth hurt, which is making my jaw hurt more and I can hardly eat (I basically swallow everything whole which is probably not good...). I honestly look like I'm 15 and for the first couple days I wanted to climb into bed and watch Grey's Anatomy on Netflix and never get up again.

But, I'm embracing it.

It could be worse. My whole situation could be worse. I heard my oral surgeon mention that I had micrognathia, which is another symptom my arthritis has caused, so I have been researching it lately. I am extremely lucky that I don't have a severe case of this and I greatly sympathize for the people who do. So, I'm trying to look on the bright side of things. I no longer want to mope about it. I can laugh when the guys at work call me metal mouth as a joke. I have come to terms with the fact that I'm going to have braces on for my 21st birthday. If I'm accepted to nursing school, I'll most likely be in them when I begin classes. But I'm ok with it. The end results are going to get rid of my pain and probably make me a more confident person. Time flies when you're as busy as I am with school, work, and doctors appointments so I can imagine my surgery is going to be here before I know it. Then shortly after that, my braces will be off.

For now, I'm doing 3 month check-ups with my oral surgeon and hopefully at my next appointment in May we will be able to schedule the surgery and really get the ball rolling. Bad news, insurance randomly decided to come back and not cover some things so the out of pocket cost of my surgery went up... which is so annoying. CIGNA, IF YOU'RE READING THIS I HATE YOU. School and work are both picking up so my posts may not be as frequent for the next couple of weeks. But I will continue to update it regularly.

Oh and I realized I haven't shared any pictures of my dogs which is so out of character for me. Here ya go :)

Hi we're cutting your face open & you need braces

Total joint replacement was the verdict when my parents and I met with Dr. Bates. I wasn't shocked... I knew that was what was going to have to be done. But, I wasn't ready to hear that I was going to need braces so that was a bit of a shock. Dr. Bates went through the whole process with us and told us what exactly the surgery consisted of and that I would be in the hospital for 2-3 days after surgery. Braces would go on for 6-8 months and then surgery would happen and I would have about a full year until I would be 100% healed. There are many risks, but they definitely outweigh the pain of my jaw and how much it will progress if I don't go through with the surgery now. The whole cutting my face open and having screws and bolts inside my face doesn't bother me (I watch surgery video's all the time)... it's having to get braces that got to me the most. I understand that it's only 1-2 years of my life, but it's my 21st birthday, going out with friends, having to smile for pictures with a mouth full of metal that really gets me. 

Enough with the sob story... 

Dr. Bates office printed out a computer generated picture of what my face will look like before after surgery (I didn't notice too much of a difference, I'm sure it will look different in person). My mandible and maxilla will both be moved forward along with the joints being replaced. Because of this, my facial nerves with stretch and there will not be feeling in my face for a while. He did mention that some people's facial nerves are stretched too much and they lose feeling forever, which is a little scary. I really, really enjoy eating cereal and I don't think thats possible with a permanently numb bottom lip..

Of course I'm looking forward to being pain free and being able to open wide enough to eat a triple cheese burger with lettuce and onions, but I'm also very excited for my jaw to be straight. My crooked jaw has always been something I am self-conscious about and after this surgery it will be corrected. 

I got my braces on yesterday. So according to my orthodontist, if my teeth and I cooperate, I should be cleared for surgery in about 7 months. I'm ready for them to be off.

 :')

Dr. Bates & Dr. Cheatum

Dr. James Bates of Dallas, TX is incredible. He is an oral surgeon who has qualities that are extremely hard to find. He sincerely cares about what is going on with his patients, rather than immediately putting them under the knife. The first time I went into his office the staff was extremely nice. I felt so comfortable there. 

My first few appointments were strictly x-rays, measurements of my face, and a consultation. The first time I really knew he was a great doctor was when he said that he wanted to figure out exactly what was going on with me. WHY was my own body attacking my joints and bone? 
He sent me to a rheumatologist, Dr. Cheatum, who I sincerely think is a vampire (a nice one). My dad made the appointment for me and said "Ok, he has one appointment available tomorrow. But it's at 4am in Dallas..." I was clearly shocked that I had to wake up at 3am to go to the doctor, but we had to take it so we could get this process moving quicker. Dr. Cheatum is a quiet man, but you can tell he is a genius and incredibly good at what he does. He asked me questions, did a physical exam of my joints, and took blood... A LOT of blood (vampire hint number 2). As you can see in the picture, they took roughly 90% of my body's blood (kidding, but it felt like it). I literally almost passed out from blood loss. They had to test me for several different auto-immune disorders and each one required a blood sample. 
At the end of my appointment, he gave me a packet that explained what he thought I may have and requested that I get an MRI. At my follow up appointment, he concluded that I have rheumatoid arthritis. Finding out that you have rheumatoid arthritis at age 20 is pretty nerve racking. I now have to be on medication for the rest of my life and hope that I can keep my other joints from deteriorating like my jaw for as long as I can. 


For my next appointment with Dr. Bates, he asked that both my parents be there to talk about what's going on now, what needs to be done, and how much it would cost. In my next post I will explain what happened in that appointment. 

$100,000 face??

If you search for anything regarding TMJ online, chances are, you will come across Dr. Larry Wolford. He is a world renowned oral surgeon who specializes in cases just like mine (If you would like some information on TMJ, I would suggest going to http://www.drlarrywolford.com/tmj-temporomandibular-joint-disorders/). People travel all over the world to see Dr. Wolford and I thought I was lucky enough to have him 45 minutes away. My dad and I went to his office and checked in with his wonderful nurses and were seated quickly in a consultation room. Dr. Wolford came in and introduced himself and then quickly started taking measurements of my face and taking notes into his recorder. I thought it was so interesting that he was still using a tape recorder for his records. After the measurements and pictures, he drew a sketch of my face now and another sketch of how it should look. He showed me everything that would need to be done and said I would have to get braces first and then he would do surgery to replace my joints. And that was it. I left feeling satisfied, but still a little confused. My dad felt uneasy with everything (not unusual for him though... Mr. WorryWart). We really did have so many unanswered questions. Our main concern was why my joints were wearing down at the age of 20. I wanted to move forward with Dr. Wolford since he was so well known and clearly had been doing this process forever... but the amount of money they wanted upfront before they could schedule the surgery was ridiculous. Dr. Wolford's office was also out of network with our insurance so it would have cost us a pretty penny out of pocket. My dad insisted I see someone for a second opinion and I'm glad we decided to do that. 

The next doctor I scheduled an appointment with was Dr. James Bates in Dallas, TX. 

I hope all my readers are enjoying my blog! Please follow me if you're interested in finding out more about this crazy journey of mine!

Ashley

The Beginning

After complaining to my dentist about the jaw pain and limited opening I was having, he told me I needed to visit an oral surgeon. My dad pulled up a list of the "in network" TMJ surgeons for our insurance. I picked the closest one to me that had the soonest available appointment, Dr. Buckles in Plano, TX (honestly, what was I thinking going to a doctor with the name of a clown). I drove to his office in Plano and walked into an office building that had decor older than me and I patiently filled out pages of paperwork before I was called back (note I was the only one in the whole entire office other than the nurses). I did the whole x-ray process and waited for them to print the x-ray on their outdated software. Dr. Buckles comes in (seriously Santa Claus in scrubs), really nice guy. He started talking to me and told me that my joint was slipped out of place and needed to be popped in place and he said he was going to attempt to do that now.....*WHAT - RED FLAG ASHLEY*. He put ice cold numbing spray on my cheek and jaw area, waited for it to dry and then with all his might tried to manipulate my jaw and push my joint back into place. It was so painful. I told him that it was uncomfortable and he stopped and said that he would like me to come back in so they can put me under for him to try again. He also said that I would need cosmetic surgery after the fact to fix the crookedness of my jaw. No thanks Mr. Buckles. Like I said, really nice guy. I'm sure his grandkids love him, seems like a cool grandpa.. but I would never recommend him to anyone who had TMJ issues. 

From here on, I was so nervous about going to see other oral surgeons. My next step was to go see the oral surgeon that my dentist recommended, Dr. Ranschaert in Prosper, TX. He was a great guy (with modern technology...) who recommended I see Dr. Larry Wolford in Dallas. Dr. Wolford is known for this type of surgery, he practically invented it. 

In my next post, I will talk about my experience with Dr. Wolford. 

Thanks for reading, 

Ashley