Al's Journey Week 324 update

[ALDWLZ]

Let me start by apologizing for being away so much this week. As you will see in my write up, I had a busy week this week. I still have more to write, but I have a good start ready to read.

My week 324 update...
Click Here.

[KCalla]

Oh MAN, Al! You have been through the mill this last week!! I hope it's getting better now!!

[ALDWLZ]

Thanks Karen! Unfortunately, I still am not seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. With the dentist's office closed from Friday to Sunday every week, there is a long wait between visits when you have a serious problem. I am just trying to hang in there until Monday when I hope we can make some progress on the denture. Right now it is like trying to put a tight shoe on a foot covered with blisters from a 20 mile hike, in bad shoes. The pain in putting the denture on is far greater than I would have ever thought possible. I am certainly questioning my sanity in taking this route at the moment, even though I am assured that six months from now I will be just fine. We'll see.

I do appreciate the supportive thoughts!!!

[AuntaAnne]

Al - you poor thing. I read that story you put up and it sure doesn't sound like you are having any fun now. My ortho and your Dr. have it good. Mine only has office hrs on Mon and Wed. He operates on Thurs and Frid. When he came to see me pre-op he had on a flag do-rag. Somehow I knew he would!!

Here's wishing you better fitting and eating!!

[ALDWLZ]

Thanks Anne! I appreciate the kind wishes. Hopefully the two of us will be doing better soon.

I just put up the rest of my write up for this week and have added a few things to the denture page. I am pretty well finished with week 324 I think. Here's to a better week coming up.

[Jeanne]

Al -

Sounds like quite an ordeal! I am so sorry to hear about it! I hope you can get in to see the Dr frist thing on Monday morning.


My FIL and MIL told my DH and me yesterday that they would watch the 3 DDs for a long weekend next week if we wanted to go away somewhere. We really had to stop and think - NOT!!! So we decided to head to Lake Tahoe. Problem is I couldn't find a room for less than $350 a night.
Plan B - 20 miles out of Tahoe is Carson City, NV. Fancy rooms are $109 a night and we can drive the 20 miles. So we will leave about noon next Thursday and return Sunday! I can't wait!!

I signed up for another 5K yesterday. I have doing lots of walking lately, but no running. This time my plan is to walk the entire thing. Every time I start to run again, my knees hurt like crazy. So, I will wait for more weight to come off before I start running again. Watch out C25K - I'll get ya someday!!

We are going to a Baseball game tonight! Bball food always gets me! I plan on eating before I go and talking some friendly food with me.

to everyone,
Jeanne

[KCalla]

Oh Jeanne have FUN next weekend! Good thinking on the hotel choice! I've never been to Tahoe or Vegas to vacation but my DDIL says it's LOTS of fun! Her family has flown down from the "cold" of Alaska many times to Vegas during Christmas vacation.

And on signing up for the run! I think, even when I get my weight off, my knees couldn't handle running anymore.

[bzrenew]

Al -

I just read your dental saga. Wow, I sure hope you gums are feeling better soon!

Brenda

[AuntaAnne]

Hi everyone - I actually walked up and down the stairs with both of my legs. It's great to have the pain gone finally. Even my rt. leg is working for me. Thank you, Jesus!! Wish I would have done this sooner, but later is better than not at all.

Will read the rest of the dental story tomorrow AM, Al. It's pretty warm up here in the office so I only want to stay for a short time.

Jeanne - my DH and I are heading to Reno the end of August. We are staying at Silver Legacy. My good friend moved to FL from Reno and she is going to be visiting. We used to stay with her now we have to pay for a room. YIKES!!
Where do you live again? It slipped my mind.


Brenda - good to see you post here. We need to get together. Are you still in the same house? I haven't seen any zonies in ages.

[Jeanne]

Anne - I am in Yuba City! What part of Northern California are you in?

[AuntaAnne]

Jeanne - Vallejo - maybe we can meet at Cache Creek someday.

[Jeanne]

Anne - Where is Cache Creek? Is it one of the casinos nearby? I am new to NorCal.

[ALDWLZ]

Here is a picture of me yesterday trying to smile. Progress is slow. After the dentist ground on the denture some more, I was painfully able to at least get them to stay in for a while. Right now my goal is to get them in and keep them in for more time today than I had them in yesterday. (They were in for 3 hours yesterday. Today, I am shooting for at least 4 hours in. Wish me luck. )

Thanks for the kind thoughts everyone!!!

I will be back later to post more.

al,
although i have never had dentures, i did have about 3 straight months of pain last summer from all the deep fillings i had done on my teeth. so i can empathize with your struggle. i kept kidding my dentist office and referring to myself as "customer of the month.....and then customer of the month again the next month...". i spent a lot of money in there. fortunately, insurance helped a lot. but the pain was persistent because i would get 3 fillings done, then go back in a couple weeks for 3 more...and repeat. so ibuprofen and i became very good friends last summer. in fact, i took the maximum dose every day for about 2-3 months. i was wondering if the pain would ever stop and i can assure you that it does. it just takes time and sometimes a lot more time than we expect. but it WILL GET BETTER! hang in there!

[AuntaAnne]

Al - I love the way the new teeth look on you. That makes me smile when I say that because in normal circumstances no one would ever let on that they had dentures. Here on DWLZ we know just about everything that is going on with each other. It will get better day by day.

Today I went out for awhile with DH to buy some cards and get a few groceries. It wore me out. Had to take a long nap. Well, gotta scoot. See you later.

[AuntaAnne]

Jeanne - Cache Creek is one of the Indian Casinos. I'm not sure how far from Yuba City but it's about an hour drive for me. I like it because they have penny slots.

[bzrenew]

Al - Your smile doesn't look too painful! It looks wonderful!

Your having to wear them a bit more each day, reminds me of when I was first wearing contacts. Over 45...just wear glasses now. Tried wearing only one, but felt sick to my stomach.

Hang in there! Like a new pair of shoes? Need breaking in!

Brenda

[KCalla]

Now Al...this is your "jimmy cricket on your shoulder" prodding you on. My Gma had her teeth out at 21. She said her dentures were TOO painful. She lived for 90 years and I would watch her "gum" her food (imagine chewy bacon...) to death for hours. "Shaking my head" SOOO grossed out as a kid.

At 75, her DH, my Gpa, had all his teeth pulled in Mexico and VOWED that he would get past the pain and WEAR his dentures. It was tough for him but he did. I was SOOO proud of him.

I'm also reminded of the time we went back to Kansas and my DH (a Calif. city boy) drove my Gpa to get his dentures adjusted in Hoxie, Ks. Gpa was SO ornery...he would only tell my DH to turn north, south, east, or west...NO Right and Left directions. He was trying to teach that boy how to "know" where you were going. They had a fun day and my DH will never forget it. He still laughs when I tell him to go a "direction" and teases me about my Kansas ways. Grandpa did make him go to Kentucky Fried Chicken afterwards to "test" the fit of his dentures.

Now you would have loved my Gpa, Al....he never met a person he didn't like...and he was a lot of fun. And he was a determined man about his dentures. You seem to have the same personality...so I'm sure you will do FINE! We are all cheering for you!

And by the way...your smile is GREAT!!!!

[ALDWLZ]

Well, I went in again yesterday morning to the dentist. Before that, when I first woke up, I was feeling pretty low until I came here and read the supportive posts in this thread. You all are great!!! I was feeling so upbeat that went in and tried to put in my denture plate right away. (That was about 06:30.) I could see that was not going to work, and so I waited a couple of hours, until the office opened, and I made the trip in to see the dentist. He did some serious grinding, and all at once the big pain I was having on the left side just went away, and I slid the dentures in all the way with very little pain. (It wasn’t pain-free, but it was light-years better.)

So, I walked out of the dentist’s office with a real smile for the first time in a while, and went with Dotti to take care of a few items that were waiting for us. When we got home I stuck a Triscuit cracker in my mouth.

Now, you probably don’t realize it, but that was like going from a wheel chair to doing a high jump in one step. Or at least it would have been if I could have actually chewed it. The big thing was that I even thought about doing that! Also, it tasted so good after all this time that, even after the prohibitive pain when I slowly bit down, I was able to patiently soften it up enough to finally break it up with my teeth. A couple of minutes later I had another Triscuit, and then I thought that was probably enough. (I actually put my teeth in in the late evening and had a couple more Triscuits!) I moved on to some very soft items to eat. The Cottage Cheese Doubles had some cut up peaches in it. The peaches were too tough to handle easily, but I worked through them over time. I know that sounds like nothing, but this is like learning to walk with wooden leg, and at first you fall down more than you walk. Later--and I have always held this memory since I witnessed a coworker of mine do it in 1972--a man with a wooden leg can get out there and play basketball with the two legged men. If he could do that, I can do this.

The big change was that the pain I was feeling was from the lower gum area that used to surround the teeth. (That is where normal chewing pressure is applied.) That is what I would have expected from the start. So, now it feels like I am finally able to start down the road to recovery, and “become one” with my dentures. But there is a long way to go before then.

I did something else yesterday for the first time: I took my dentures out and then put them back in on the same day. And I did it more than once! The pain level had finally dropped enough to tolerate it. I think I have finally glimpsed just a bit of light, way up at the end of the tunnel, and there doesn’t seem to be a train attached to it.

I very much want to thank you all for your supportive comments because they really helped get me going yesterday!!!

This morning I am not sure where I will be heading. My gums are sore from the workout yesterday and I may take it easy today to regroup for another push tomorrow, or who knows? I may jump in a little later today and start in again. In any case, I feel quite optimistic that things will work out in the long run.

I am a slow writer and and I am now going to start working on the personal responses, and will be posting them as soon as I get them completed. Hopefully it won't be too long.

[ALDWLZ]

When I started to work on this, I found that I had lost my DVD drive on my computer and had to run down the drivers for it. It’s back now, but it slowed me down.

Jeanne – Thanks! It has been an ordeal, but I am hopeful that things will settle down in time and my teeth will become a non-issue. (I have my fingers crossed anyway. )

In 1999, Dotti and I took a trip to Reno, and we drove through Carson City, and stopped off at Lake Tahoe and Virginia City as well.

Here we were just getting set to board the MS Dixie II tour Lake Tahoe and Emerald Bay. It was a great day for a cruise.



And here we were in Virginia City, painting the town.

I hope you have a great time on your trip!!!

My walking loop around my neighborhood is 3.1 miles long. That is 5K but it sounds shorter in miles. The Bloomsday Race that we normally do in Spokane is just under 7.5 miles long, but it is a 12K in metric units. If there is one area of our society where the metric system is really making headway it is the area of racing, at least for the self-propelled types.

Great job on doing the races!!! (As for the running, I had to give that up when I quit smoking and put on a bunch of weight. My knees just wouldn’t take it.)

There is nothing wrong with walking; it is a great form of exercise, and it does a lot less damage to your joints in the long haul than running does. It is not as strenuous, but it can be done by most people, even into their latest years of life. (My 76 year old mom has put in over 120 miles so far this year walking, and she has recently upped the number of times per week she is walking, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see her well over 200 miles for 2007, maybe even topping 300—or 482K in metric. ) Walking is great for your heart, and you burn about the same number of calories walking a mile as you do running it. (You just burn them faster covering the ground in a hurry when you run.) The main thing is to stay at it, and not go in spurts. You are less likely to injure yourself walking than you are jogging, and so the odds go up that you will not quit because of injury. So, keep up the good work!!!

Brenda – Thank you; you really made my day!!! And I appreciate the good wishes!!!

I am sorry to hear about your contacts. That doesn’t sound like fun. I had a roommate in school who wore them, and he wasn’t too bothered by them, but I had another friend in the boy’s dorm who was living a nightmare with his. Some eyes were not designed to tolerate hard contacts, and back then, that was all there were.

The teeth don’t "break in" unfortunately. Like the hard contacts, they just stay the same. They are extremely hard and my soft gums are no match for any pointy or even smooth unmatched extruding surface on the denture. At first there were several places along the top of the plate that rubbed sores into my gums. The dentist would look at my mouth and say, “Oh I see it.” And off he would go to grind that part of the denture down. It is an ongoing process and not a pleasant one. Each time I go in, it is another place on the denture, and another sore on my gum, that is dealt with. Thank goodness for Ambesol!

Anne – I am so happy to hear that your pain is gone and you can walk up and down the stairs again!!! And it is a very good sign that you wish you had done it sooner. That is the mark of a successful procedure.

When Dotti and I went to Reno we stayed at the Silver Legacy. I enjoyed watching the 24 hour day pass quickly over the mine site inside. Dotti enjoyed the slot machines.

Thanks! I like the way the teeth look too, when I can keep them in. My old teeth were quite bad, and I was not very happy with my smile before. But I could chew better. Then again they hurt a lot, and I was between a rock and hard place. Now, I hope that I will be spending more time smiling and less grimacing, as I work up to wearing the denture all day, every day.

Jamie – I am sorry to hear of your dental woes, and I appreciate the positive thoughts. The teeth can do some very effective pain generation. And, as I am now finding out, the gums can do the same thing, even without teeth. My primary concern was that the dentures were digging in and causing sores, which can turn into ulcers. I wasn’t interested in going down that path. First you have to start with a properly aligned denture plate, and then you can toughen up the bottom of the gums (or top if you have a lower plate) to tolerate the pressures associated with chewing. I think I am close to that point now, and will be able to start making progress.

My dentist told me yesterday that he is working with another patient who is about a week ahead of me in the recovery process, and she had a steak the day before, and she ate it with no pain. YES! Now that is what I am looking forward to.

Karen – Jimmy Cricket was never so motivational as you!!!

I shared your stories with my dentist yesterday. They really made the point. I can’t imagine going for nearly 70 years with “gumming food” the whole way.

My Dad had his teeth out around age 20, but he got dentures right away, and normally I never even noticed he was wearing them. Here he is with Mom, on their wedding day in July of 1950, one year and one month before I was born. He was 23 at that time.

His smile shows that his false teeth were very nice at that time. His real teeth had been very bad I am told, and this was a major improvement for him in the areas of pain and appearance.

At night, when he went to bed was the only time I ever saw him with his teeth out, and even then I didn’t see it usually, because taking them out was the last thing he normally did before crawling into bed. He didn’t chew gum, and I don’t think he ate apples whole. But I never ever thought of him being handicapped in the area of eating. He sat down to the same meals I did, and enjoyed them with as much gusto as I did.

I agree with you, I think I would have liked your grandpa. (I wish I could get Dotti to give directions like that. ) And I am going to get past this with the dentures. I will do whatever it takes. I am frustrated that it has to be this way (I get the feeling that dentists sort of mentally wash their hand of you once you get dentures, at least in the area of controlling your pain. It is incredible to what lengths they will go to make sure you don’t feel anything at all when doing a simple filling—something I have often done without Novocain—and yet they just sort of send you out with the wolves in the area of dentures and let you fend for yourself.) But life often can be tough, and I am going to get through this. Dad did it with style and gave me a great example. In fact, it was so good I didn’t even realize it was there until now.

And your story about your grandpa and the adjustment was super. I told my dentist that I want to get to that point, where I go in for an adjustment and go eat KFC afterwards to test it out. That is a classic!

And I am very flattered that you like my smile with the new teeth. It definitely looks different, but I think I will come to like the new look. There are certain things I like already: the once empty gaps that are filled, and the tooth alignment improvements. Once I get to where I can eat with them well, I will be okay.

Thanks again for the pep talk!!!

[Dotti]

Good early evening everyone!

I've been MIA but staying busy.

I've been so busy the last couple of days (okay, night into early mornings) reorganinzing (again) the kitchen (area by door to garage) and my scrapbook room (which had become a catch-all). Then, I get so achy all over I can barely move. I just refuse to lay down and die AND I don't want to go back on the RA meds, which might be a bad thing but being on them is no picnic either So, lots of Ibuprofen.

I just wanted to drop in and say hi to all our friends here and to say a huge THANK YOU for all your positive posts to my Al during this rough time for him. You guys are the best!

Have an awesome OP weekend and remember to SMILE

[KCalla]

Al, you look SO MUCH like your Dad!

I have a dear dear friend that has not had a "pretty smile" ever. Her husband recently told her to do "whatever it takes" and soo....she's gone through getting root canals, and 2 bridges, and crowns on all her front teeth. Lots of pain. I haven't seen her yet, only talked and "sympathized" with her on the phone. I can't WAIT to see her! She's such a beautiful lady inside and out and now she will have a smile to match!! I'm so excited to see her I can hardly stand it!

Dotti - It just bothers me that you have to deal with so much pain. Because I only see pictures of you with a huge smile on your face (and I'm sure that's a pretty permanent thing) I forget about your uphill battle with RA. Still, you carry on, and that's what makes you such a special person.

I am helping a lady whom I have known for 30 years (when I was a waitress in a local resturant, she used to come in) She's also been a hospice volunteer well into her 80's. She is the kindest, most gracious lady I have ever met in my LIFE! She also has much disfigurement and difficult to understand "speech" because of a cleft palate and lip. She was recently referred to hospice because of pulmonary fibrosis. I go to her house as much as I can to spend time with her. She can't talk much because she starts coughing so I do the "running monologue" - not difficult for ME!
My DH and my Mom also had this birth defect and I honestly feel that people that "go through" medical issues, often determine to "meet the world head on with grace and compassion" and have a strength of character that only comes through adversity. I put you in that category too Dotti. Know that, although we haven't met, you are often in my thoughts and prayers.

When you're done with "your" reorganizing...have I got a plan for you!!! I guess I should start saving up for a plane ticket for you so you can start on my pantry!!

Well I'm going to enjoy a "goof-off" Saturday with my family and the only big plan is to take some fresh catnip over to my "Grand-kitty" Chloe! And of course ooooh and aaaah over the lawn my son planted this summer that is looking good!!

Heading to the coffee pot to refill my cup and then heading over to check Tom's Journal and see how he survived the week with part of his family gone! I'm sure he "lived" on grapes the entire week...according to the last video I watched.

Oh...I put a silly post in my blog about the new "nutrition supplement" my DH and I are taking. He REFUSED to take the Vitamineral Green (that tastes and smells like it came directly from the lawnmower bag) so, on the recommendation of a friend, we started a new "thing." He's not a fruit and veggie eater so I'm trying to find a way to get in those vitamins!! I love him so much and want him around for a LOOOOONG time!

[Dotti]

Hi everyone!

Thanks so much Karen for your very kind words. One of these days we are going to meet each other and NO ONE will get a word in edgewise

[KCalla]

I saw my buddy at church yesterday!!! She looks beautiful! Although she had on one of those "I'm in SO much pain" smiles... I think you can relate Al?

Yeaaaay for a new week and healing mouths!

[ALDWLZ]

Karen - I have been told most of my life that I resemble my mother, because our mouths are similar, but when I was looking at that picture of my father in 1950, I was struck with how from the nose up we do look a lot alike.

He loved my mom a lot and I can see that look of pride and happiness he had on that day.

I am glad to hear that your friend's work turned out so well! Teeth just ruin your life when they go bad, until you can get them fixed. I hope the "I am in so much pain" phase passes soon for her.