The Journey begins!!!!!

Hello Everyone,

My name is Lindsay and i am 21 years old. I live in Pittsburgh , PA and this is my journey to a what i hope is an amazing smile. I knew for a long time now that i would need braces to correct my teeth. When i was a little younger I visited the Orthodontist and they explained that to make this happen I would need to have a surgery to correct my narrow upper jaw. I was still in school at the time so myself and my parents decided it was not the right time. So i waited and waited and waited until one day when i had already graduated collage and started working in at a real job i decided that i was ready. So I called around and made some appointments, I actually got lucky cause my regular dentist also had orthodontics so i went with them. They told me the same information the previous Orthodontist had said about the surgery (SARPE) so i began the long task of preparing. First i had to have molds made of my teeth which was the easy part. After they studied my molds and had an "action" plan set out they referred me to an oral surgeon. That was great until i called and got and appointment 3 months out only to find out they did not accept my type of insurance. It was almost another month till i received a call that my orthodontist found someone who would take my insurance, then the fun began. I had my consultation and then a week later my insurance approved the surgery so i went to my ortho to have spacers put in between both my upper and lower teeth for the expander and lower brackets. They were very uncomfortable and i had to call off work the next day the pain was so bad. Next they made yet another set of molds to be sent out for the expander and also put my bottom brackets on. A few weeks later i had to go through yet another set of spacers on top to get ready for the expander. They were not bad this time and barley even hurt. Then a week before Christmas the day came for the expander to be cemented. It did not hurt but it was very hard to speak and of course eat properly and i lost almost 10 pounds due to this. I then scheduled my surgery which is this Wednesday and I CAN NOT WAIT! I don't know if i am excited or nervous about it yet , but i am sure tomorrow i will feel more anxious. This whole process so far has been a shot in the dark as far as the surgeon tells me it will not be so bad as far as pain. I have been looking all over the Internet for information and the blogs I have found left a lot to the imagination. That led me to start my own. Hopefully someone in the same boat as me will learn from it and not be a day away from surgery wondering. I will try to post pics each day and also information on how it is going. I am excited to begin my long journey to the perfect smile! :)