Back from the doctor

Well, I'm back from the doctor's office and feeling much better.  Basically I just need to be more patient.  She said its possible that the disc is inflamed/damaged on the left side and that's why I have more resistance on that side.  If its damaged, they can't tell by x-ray, I'd need an MRI for that and its premature to have that done  They'd only consider doing that like 3 months post surgery. I did have another x-ray done and the left condyle is a bit rotated, but that shouldn't affect function, but could explain why I have more pain. She also mentioned the possibility of physical therapy down the line if needed and that the breaks I had were/are bad. At least I think that's the gist of everything she said.  It's hard to remember stuff when your emotions are kind of crazy.  Bottom line is that nothing new to worry about at this point :)  The recovery is just going to be long.  From this I've learned that comparing myself to others with jaw fractures isn't such a good idea 'cause everyone's injury is different.  I just have a hard time dealing with the unknown.

She switched my bands around a bit which is irritating me a bit, but not a big deal.  I now have to fit one tiny band around 3 arch bar loops at the top and 3 at the bottom on the left side.  Hopefully it won't be too hard to do.  Next appointment is in 1 week.

I remembered to ask her about exercise and she said I could, just to take it slow.  I'm also back on the valium (its a muscle relaxer) at night to help prevent the teeth clenching on the left side that I'm still doing.  The past couple of days I'd been waking up with that side feeling sore so I suspected I was still doing it, and then last night it caused enough pain to wake me up. Valium is awesome, but I kind of hate taking it 'cause I've read about how addictive it is.

I'm going on a cruise in 3 months so I better be able to eat somewhat normally by then.  Otherwise I am going to be very sad looking at everyone's delicious food.  I figure it will be a good place to put back on some of the weight I've lost and will likely continue to lose despite my best efforts.  It's time for me to get more creative now that I know that its not going to get significantly better for a while.