Week Nine (9)

I'm up to Aligner #4.
David says he can see movement. I can see a little movement, but not that much. The first Aligner that was worn for three weeks, and the others for precisely 14 days.  I have tightness and pressure in my mouth only for about 24 hours and some times even less. For the first two to three days the removal and insertion are a bit painful, especially the upper aligner where my gap is, the teeth still jaunt out.   Removing the top aligner requires the use of both hands. Right hand to back left tooth pull aligner off to left canine followed by left hand pull aligner to right canine, then thumb and fore fingers to pull Aligner off the two front teeth. Meanwhile the lower aligners have always been easy to remove one handed simple peel it up off my teeth from either side of my mouth back teeth.
I suppose later on when there is more movement in the top front teeth I will not have such difficulty.
Shoot, I'm probably over-thinking the whole thing, Dr. Galler watches me remove the aligners in his exam remove and doesn't question my technique so I can't be doing that badly.

On the effort of weight loss, exercise has been evasive or rather, I have not made time for it. I've talked briefly (texted) my friend 'Rae whose also doing the P90X to work out together, but in the course of life, we've yet to meet for a session.  David says he now wants to work out so that's a plus, Ms. Rae you're not off the hook just yet though. David will not commit to more than three days a week.

My diet/ food intake is still pretty responsible (with the exception of Bun & Cheese over Easter.) I've dramatically decrease my dairy intake in hopes that it will help.

There are about 80 days before a family trip to Jamaica and I hope to wear my two piece bikini, big booty and all, weight loss will not reduce that.   The two piece bikini is without a cover up is my motivation.

The First Set

The first set of aligners, previously called trays, have arrived and are now on my teeth.

I got "a" story from the doctor about why the aligners were so delayed. I'm not sure if I believe him entirely.  The story is that the aligners are created out of the country in Mexico then driven across the border and mailed from El Paso.  My aligners, and another patient's, were held at the border for some time under suspicion of drug trafficking.   I suppose that story is plausible.   But really? Patients spend, I'd guess, an average of $4,000.00 why can't they afford American labor.   Get off the Soap Box Sonnett.  

With that said, here we go.   I have pressure in my mouth as expected.  The aligners are tight, when removed for lunch, my teeth did feel a bit more sensitive than the initial attachment.   I'm told that by Friday the pressure will subside.  I'll keep you posted.  

My doctor is going to put small attachments on my teeth, they are about the size of a very short gained rice.   That will happen next week for a better fit of the aligners. 

I have a little kit for the aligners when eating, so I don't toss them out with a napkin.   And really appreciate it too.   While, I've never really been that careless, it could happen in a rushed situation.

"Blue is new, Red is dead"   The Blue for the current and the Red for the previous,  aligner.   Well I won't have a used one for another two weeks.    I'll have 27 aligners and I guess a little over 12 months for the desired outcome.

 I don't think you'll be able to see the aligner in this picture.  Maybe a little though.


On another note.  I'm down 3 more pounds from last week.  I've not felt great this week so I haven't been working out as much as last week.  But I'll be pushing.

Really Working Out

So I've finally  started to work out, and work out kinda hard too.   I'm using P90X, you know it, you've probably seen the infomercial a hundred times.   Tony Horton is funny and really sensitive to the newbie.  Yeah I know he's not in the living room with me, but I like that he pushes gently while being competitive with his co-stars, totally recommended.  From the advice of a friend using Nutri-System, I'm incorporating the correct portion sizes.  I eat a pretty balanced diet now but yeah. I'll go for two slices of bread instead of one and 2 cups of rice instead of half.  Here's a link about portion sizing, if you'd like to see check it out.  http://www.scribd.com/doc/7209430/Serving-Size-Chart 
I can do this, I can stick with it and push through.  I'll get stronger, leaner and yeah become, A happier me.  



Thanks for reading.

Wait, wait, wait.

So initially I was told the first trays would be in and ready for me on March 2nd, that was an optimistic arrival date.  And now I know why.   It is March 8th and after it was determined that the trays would not indeed be in to the dentist office on the 2nd I was rescheduled for this morning.   2 hours before I'm supposed to go in, I get another call, "Sorry, the trays didn't come in last night as expected."  There is a delay.  But I'm not told exactly what the delay is.

What does this mean?  Will all subsequent trays be late?  My new appointment is next Wednesday at 1PM. 

I'm a little anxious now to get started, I'm afraid my impatience is showing. 

And so it begins...

I am a happy person.  I am in love my husband, David Guy, who is all around wonderful. I have a fantastic loving family immediate and extended.  I have close friends who mean a lot to me and I have a job that pays well.  

So what's wrong?  Why am I looking for A Happier me?

It's a couple of physical things.  First is something that has bothered me since my childhood, my teeth.  I have a overbite, aka an overjet with a large gap. And two, I'm overweight at my heaviest 215lbs.  Sure, its not extreme but at 5'5" for my BMI I am considered - Obese.

So where do I begin? I begin with Invisalign.  
I like to get advice from others and if I don't know anyone personally, I often look to www.yelp.com. Yelpers seemed to really like David Galler, so I decided I'd get a consultaion with him.  At the consultation I was told I could have my desired smile with 10 months of treatment. That's 10 months of wearing aligners (clear plastic trays) for 22 hours a day for a whopping $5,300. That is considerable more than traditional braces but I've tried traditional braces, well they only lasted for 2 months, inside my lip was sore and often cut from the metal attachments to my teeth.   I've been warned that invisalign is not pain free but I am ready for it. 
The molds have been made for the aligners which I'm told will take 3 weeks to be ready. Making the molds was interesting. Some blue goo is put on my teeth and then some blue goo is put in a tray.  Then that tray is put in my mouth and held in place by the doctors hand, hmm, how does one breathe then without gagging.  Through your nose...slowly; in and out, slowly.  There are also a bunch or pictures and a panoramic x-ray.

So I will not see Dr. Galler again until March 2nd at 4:30 PM.  He's advised me to eat a big meal because it may be painful after the aligners are on for the very first time.  I'm actually excited to get this process started.  I can't even imagine my smile with teeth lined up and no gap.

Weight-loss is the next struggle.  
It starts with food.  I have a weakness for cakes and pastries. I cook and bake at home, including my own bread, but I have to slow that down immediately.  A lot of healthy diet suggest, small frequent feedings, 5 to six meals per day and I'm trying.  Starting with oatmeal for breakfast, followed by fruit and yogurt, a good lunch another snack post lunch and then dinner.   The eating smaller portions I can deal with.  What I'm having a difficulty with is exercise. I don't like it, but I must.  I have the Wii and the WiiFit, exercise DVDs Turbo Jam by Chalene Johnson; 30 day shred from Jillian Michaels, a few Yoga DVDs and trainer for my bicycle so that I can ride inside.  But none of these gets used regularly.  The trainer is louder than I thought, but with ear buds, that shouldn't stop me.  So I will commit to exercising at least three times a week.  And will only have dessert twice a week until the cravings go away.