Pain- 0/10 Discomfort- 1/10 Weight- 119/122 Energy Level- 6/10 This morning I took my bands off for the first time on my own! I had two elastics on each side, one set in the back and the other closer to the front. The back bands do not need to be put back on, but the others need to be worn 24/7. When I took them off, I used a pair of tweezers and they came off with no issues. I can only fit one finger in my mouth and I didn't realize how small of a space that was until I tried to brush my teeth. Even with my baby toothbrush, it was still too big to fit between my teeth. I was however able to use the WaterPik to get direct water onto the backs of my teeth and tongue, which was better than nothing. I decided not to eat soft foods right away, so I used the tweezers to hook the front bands on and gave speaking a try. I am so used to my teeth being clenched that I have to keep reminding myself that I can open my mouth a little to talk a bit clearer. With the bands on, I can fit half a finger in effortlessly. I'm sure I can stretch the bands more, but I don't want to put that strain on my jaw and risk snapping the bands. Maybe in a couple days I will be more willing to take some risks. As I mentioned, my speech is much clearer with just these two bands on. However, I have realized that I have habits of moving my jaw back and forth as I talk, so now I am trying to do that now post surgery. This doesn't hurt my jaw, my jaw is more like "hey, I don't like that anymore." It's a friendly nudge. Am I saying that I have to relearn to talk? No. Not at all. I just have habits that I didn't know about prior to surgery that are no longer necessary. I'm sure before surgery I was subconsciously trying to make sure my jaw was in the correct position by holding it forward while I spoke. I was aware of holding my jaw forward when just sitting and listening, but not while I spoke. Which makes sense because talking with my jaw far back felt unnatural and uncomfortable, so I would automatically hold it forward while my muscles fought to pull it back. Long story short, I have to get used to talking with my new bite. Just like going from driving your old car to a new one. You didn't forget how to drive, you are just accustomed to handling your old car and it will take a week or two to adjust to this new car. I'm expecting the same with talking and it will just take a bit of practice. For dinner, I attempted tuna salad and mac and cheese. It took FOR-EV-ER. Here's what I did:
Speaking of my tongue, I cannot stick it out between my teeth. If I try, it pushed my jaw past it's capacity and it hurt a little. This was a lot easier while looking into a hand mirror and make sure to have some sort of bib because this is messy! I'm going to try to eat this way at least once a day. It takes a lot of time and energy and I don't want to overdue it since I have not been approved to start stretching or exercising my jaw yet. While I did not eat as much food as I thought I would, it was nice to not be so tightly banded shut anymore. The soreness in my teeth seems to be better now as a result.
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