Eleven weeks...

It had been my great hope that this would be the week I would be given clearance to start eating for real again--i.e., chewing. It was not to be. Dr. Jelic wants me to hold off at least another two weeks pending an orthdontic adjustment. My front teeth apparently need to brought out a bit to allow my upper jaw to settle properly on my lower. Right now, they're preventing my jaw from meshing; my back teeth are mostly out of contact with each other.

Don't tell Dr. Jelic...

But I've actually tried chewing a couple times with mixed results. My jaw is currently weak (no surprise) so too much pressure hurts, and with my jaw not meshing properly, I can't grind but can chop stuff up a bit with my teeth. I certainly can't manage particularly hard stuff like nuts or popcorn, but seem to do okay with bread, lettuce, and softer meats like chicken.

So the good news there is that I've getting a lot better at eating without chewing. I've found I can pretty much eat anything as long as it's chopped up fine enough, including meat and vegetables. So I can eat, but eat slow. Either way, I'm grateful. Went to lunch and dinner with coworkers this week, and was able to get through half a plate of mexican (quesadilla and burrito) and a full plate of fish... thought it took me an hour and hour and a half, respectively.

I've pretty much decided...

At this point to pursue full orthodontic correction. Might as well get my jaw and bite fixed fully while I have the chance; might even help full resolve my TMJ issues if my jaw is back in alignment instead of nursing that crossbite. Even if that means being in braces another twelve to eighteen months.

This past week...

Has been an interesting one. On Monday--Labor Day--I went into a local Mattress Firm in my town and came out about $3400 poorer because I bought the high-end Tempurpedic memory foam mattress. The one that's 11" deep, in other words. Tried eight mattresses, and that felt the best--basically a newer, deeper version of my previous 8" memory foam mattress (bought in 2004) that had basically worn itself out. Used the 20% coupon they gave me to Bed Bath & Beyond to buy new high-end sheets from Sheex that are supposed to be good with body heat and keeping you ventilated and sweat-free.

Naturally, the day the mattress was delivered was also the day my brand-new AC system decided to break down (they had to replace the outside coils because apparently a copper pipe was improperly rubbing up against it and rubbed a hole right through, draining the freon). I came home that day--one of those hottest days of the summer, even though it's now September--to find it was 86 in my place, and it didn't cool off much at night.

But I made my new bed with the new sheets and a single thin blanket, pointed my old college floor fan at the bed, and... the last two nights, the first without AC and the next with (it was fixed on Thursday, two days after it broke), I slept quite well. I also ordered a new lightweight down comforter from Lands End which hasn't arrived yet, but perhaps this means my remaining sleep issues were environmental--old mattress, uncomfortable bedding. I certainly hope so.We'll see if I can keep the run of decent sleep going tonight.

I was talking with coworkers at dinner tonight...

Both old and new, about what I'd been through. Four martinis helped a bit (I appear to be a bit of a social drunk, and losing 30 lbs means alcohol hits me that much harder), but basically, I told them I was happy... even with the continuing sleep issues, my apnea was gone, I was figuring out ways to eat again, I'd realized side benefits such as no more heartburn or acid reflux, and I wasn't complaining about the lost weight.

I forget if I mentioned this before, but my downstairs neighbor asked me last week if knowing what I do now, I'd still have gone through with the surgery. My answer to that is hell yes. It's done me a lot of good, even with the long recovery. I'm free of the CPAP, free of my apnea, the end of my recovery and the ability to eat normally again are in sight, and I'm figuring out my sleep issues.

It would have been nice if I'd been able to sleep soundly right off the bat from surgery like some people can, but that wasn't to be for me. No matter. I took out the most major factor in my insomnia, and the rest is solvable over time. I'll get there.

My next appointment...

Is in two weeks, at which point I get a final set of x-rays and get to see how much the bone has healed/grown back in after three months. I also have an appointment with the orthodontist on Tuesday and may be setting my future course of treatment from there. So be it. A year of braces is nothing compared to what I've already been through. And worth it to me in order to finish the job.