Wednesday, September 27, 2006

miles upon miles

MapQuest's finest

I spent a lot of time driving today. The new doctor, the TMD -- tempero-mandibular disorder, thankyouverymuch, not TMJ -- doc, was all the way up in Cave Creek which is about 40 miles away. And this evening's thyca support group meeting was in its usual digs up past Shea Blvd, which is about 25 miles away. Plus, a trip to school to get the boys, ferry the boys to the Y, get DD from dance class, and then an extra trip to get DD's left-behind school clothes. Man, that was a lot of driving.

Today's advice: Do not get orthodontia when you have TMD-induced headaches.

I assured Dr. C that I wouldn't do that, since my teeth are fine. He scoffed at my retainer's ability to stave off TMD: So much for this as a bite guard. But it is a good retainer, though.

No, really, he said that. He also explained that for many people, wearing a retainer like mine is enough to get them to stop the clenching/grinding behavior that leads to TMD. For others, like me, the effect is temporary and they can return to their previous destructive behaviors. Well, mine lasted about 7 years, so I guess I oughtn't complain.

Dr. C is making an appliance for me to wear at night to keep me from grinding, I'll get it on Oct 11. Until then: heat, NSAIDS, and this nifty trick he showed me to fix the dislocation of the pad in my right jaw joint. Oh, and a return to my physical therapy exercises for my neck, since whacked muscles in my right neck (which I can't feel because of the nerve damage that occurred during my dissection surgery) are one of the main causes of all this... I should just resign myself to the fact that PT is for life.

I ran the Thyca support group tonight and it went well. We had 3 new people and plenty of time to hear their stories and answer their questions. I think I helped. I certainly talked a lot, but there was a lot of information to convey to the newbies. It surprised me how much I actually knew when I needed to talk about different topics -- and I was happy because we covered just about everything a newbie would want to know.

Finally got through to the GYN and discussed what's next re:the lump. They would've been OK with a core biopsy but when I said I wanted the lumpectomy they said OK. I called Dr. D's office and he can do it, I have an appointment Monday morning, and all the paperwork transfer is all set up for it. Here we go again?

I hope not.

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