Dental Update #4

It's now been almost exactly 3 weeks since I had my uppers pulled. I have been back for the follow-up so the dentist can see how well I'm healing. He's really pleased, but he's very meticulous. He shaved off a little bit of a "spur" while I was there. And when he mentioned that he was going to be "shaving" that spur, I almost threw all over the place. He was surprised at how queasy I got but my brother gets me completely. Later on, he said that he bet the dentist now understands why I was so gaggy about all the blood before. Lord.

Oh well. Now I can get the bottom teeth done next month, hopefully. Then those extractions have to heal up before I get any new teeth. At least most of my toothless time will be during the winter.

While I am waiting, my biggest gripe has not been about vanity. It's been about food!  If nothing else, this ordeal has been a great lesson about appetites. Since my food choices are so limited right now, I'm losing weight like I did when I was younger. My plan is to keep the smaller meals when I do heal - I mean, after I eat my way through the state...

Seriously. For a couple of days, I couldn't make myself eat any of the soft foods I'd been depending on. I have been eating a rotation of Cream of Wheat, rice, potatoes (mashed, not mashed, sweet), beans (cooked to as soft as I could get them and with softly-fried hot water cornbread), Greek yogurt with honey, Greek yogurt with milk and honey, and then I added some Carnation Breakfast drinks.

I realized I needed the vitamins from the Carnation drinks when I was getting even more fatigued than usual and feeling blah more often than ever. It's amazing what little changes in a diet can do to you. When I get through this, I might never eat mashed potatoes again! On the other hand, I am down about 14 pounds. I'd be losing more weight if I had the strength to do at least a little exercise...

My brother and SIL are so sweet. Every time I see them, they ask what they can cook for me. On our way to an appointment the other day, my SIL asked if I wanted to swing by a fast food place to get a shake or some ice cream. I jokingly requested that they buy a piece of chicken just so I could lick it. Okay, I was half-joking.

Anyway. Today I decided to jazz up my Carnation Breakfast drink. It's decent-tasting but it's thin and not (in my opinion at least) very satisfying. I got the chocolate flavor so I added a couple tablespoons of Greek yogurt and blended it all up. At least it felt more like a liquid meal than before.

I was going to get some kind of meal replacement drink mix but, not only did they cost more than my regular groceries, but it was hard to find anything with my preferences:

• No artificial sweeteners
• No high fructose corn syrup
• No invert sugar
• No stevia
• No artificial colors
• Nothing with the word "soylent" in it. (I only read the old book that the movie was based on, but someone just had to tell me about the movie. Ick.)

I couldn't find a Boost drink in chocolate and I don't like vanilla or strawberry flavors in drinks. Ensure has chocolate but their product line is so varied, I got tired of weeding through to find something with the rest of my wants. 

As far as the dental work, the top is all healed up and I'm getting ready to start having all the bottom down. And I know this sounds really strange, but I've gotten so used to having no top teeth that I'm going to have to adjust...

Right now, I am fighting off a new cold. I'm drinking garlic water with honey as I write this post. Keep me in your prayers. The time is going by slowly but I'm looking forward to the end results. I know it will be worth it. And, on the positive side, I am saving a lot of money on groceries! 

Peace

--Free

P.S.: I recently learned something that terrifies me. Apparently, wearing dentures takes practice. I'm pretty sure the dentist mentioned that but it only hit me when I saw it online. I will have to get used to eating and talking with the dentures. Now I have something new to keep me up at night.