Dental Update #2

 This is my 4th full day without my upper teeth. I cannot wait until I get the others out but I don't know when that will happen. I follow up with the dentist next week and, hopefully, my upper plate has healed so well that we can move forward soon.

Now, let's talk about food. I'm down 12 pounds already. I think I gagged away 5 of those pounds while I was dealing with the first day! As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been able to eat Cream of Wheat, and what a lifesaver that is. But it's pretty boring so I had to find some other foods to eat.

Two things I learned during this process: 1) Eating a lot of Cream of Wheat is very, um, moving - and I'm talking about the tummy! 2) Making mashed potatoes from scratch is a breeze.

I had never ever made mashed potatoes before. I didn't even realize that until I had to do it. My SIL, who thinks I'm such a good cook, almost fell out when I told her I was making the dish for the first time. I had to look up a recipe.

Anyway, I killed the mashed potatoes recipe, if I say so myself. I figure if I have to eat soft foods, they don't have to be bland. For my potatoes, I roasted some garlic cloves to mash into the cooked spuds and added sea salt (just a smidge) lots of butter, some milk, and a bit of cream. Let me tell you what! Either those were some good potatoes or I was just starving. I can't wait til I get my fresh can of Bisto gravy...

So, as far as food while I go through the toothless part of this journey, this is my repertoire:

• Cream of Wheat (with cinnamon and brown sugar or honey)
• Mashed Potatoes (with or without garlic, gravy, or cheese)
• Greek yogurt (with honey or canned pumpkin pie puree, or fruit and/or juice)
• Mashed sweet potatoes (with spices and butter)
• Smoothies
• Ice Cream and sherbets
• Lemon & honey water
• Water, water, water, water! I can't have sparkling water yet though.
• And (hopefully, soon) "flaky soft fish", I heard that might be okay. I'm thinking salmon or cod.

And let's talk about my beloved Java Juice. I was so excited when the dentist gave the okay for me to have coffee. Until I realized that I had to drink it lukewarm. Also, as with any liquid, I can sometimes feel the stitches and that grosses me out. I've had 2 cups in 2 days and I didn't finish either.

My fatigue is worse than usual. That is not totally out of the ordinary though now that I notice I have an infusion coming up soon. I usually feel better after that. Also, I'm not getting my usual coffee boost!

Now that I'm past the first couple of rough days, I noticed that I didn't have a lot of pain. I am tender right under my nose so I have to be careful when blowing my nose. I have some tenderness in the roof of my mouth and I think that is from the shots of novocaine. Other than that, I haven't had to go overboard with the Tylenol.

So things are progressing. I'm just anxious for these icky stitches to finally dissolve away. They are just noticeable enough to be annoying when I am drinking anything. If I had a stronger stomach, I would use some sterilized scissors to trim the loose ones. But that ain't gonna happen! 

I will keep updating, of course. For now, I am just thankful that the journey has begun.

Peace

--Free