Appointments and Appliances

I've had two appointments since the last update, and need to fill you on the latest.  Again, I will TRY to be as brief as possible, but...I'm wordy and so much is happening!  In the last update I had mentioned that I was headed to the ear/nose/throat/sleep specialist and that my 1st doctor had pulled some strings to get me in the same week.  It was interesting appointment. I was a bit disappointed with this doctor initially.  He hadn't read any of my file, looked at my cat scans or sleep study and after asking me some questions about my sleep habits, seemed to wonder why I was there.  He did examine me then and told me that my deviated septum is pretty severe.  It is supposed to be a straight vertical line, but mine is bent at a 75 degree angle, which probably is affecting my breathing.  He asked me if I thought I had difficulty breathing and I said I didn't notice a problem, but it's just the way I am and I am used to it, so how would I really know?  Upon leaving he told me that he would look over the file and reports, talk to  my first doctor and then let me know what he thought.  I was like, "WHAT?, That's it?"  So, I felt like it was a bit of a wasted trip.
Fast forward to the next week (last Thursday).  I was very excited to go to this appointment for a couple of reasons. 1. I would get my mouth appliances that were fitted for me instead of my temporary one that drove me nuts. 2. I would get to meet the creator of this whole treatment process. The assistant fit me to the appliances and then took a new cat scan with the daytime appliance in and another with the nighttime set in to make sure it was set like it was supposed to be.  Then the doctors came in and I was able to meet the creator of it all...it was awesome to hear from him, see the two doctors interact and analyze me and for this doctor to agree with the treatment plan, other than to say that we need to step it up and attack even harder so that we can get rid of my pain.  I also discovered that there are only 28 doctors in the US trained in this...God has His hand in all of this and the timing of it...I can totally feel that.  11 years ago when this all started, my main doctor wasn't out of med school yet...God's timing is perfect!   As they talked to me, the 1st doctor, Dr. K, told me that he wished he could've "warned" me about the ENT/sleep doctor.  He told me he likes to meet with and examine the patient, with no prior knowledge of the situation (scan results, sleep results, etc...) and then he examines the results and my group of 3 doctors sat down and discussed it together to collaborate and work on a plan for me. They did tell me that I will have to have surgery to correct my deviated septum.  When I asked more questions about this (I mean, really, who WANTS to have surgery?), we realized that I had misunderstood, in a way, my original diagnosis.  So...they believe that the root of all of my injuries (jaw, foot and back) goes back to my deviated septum in my nose causing me to not be able to breathe properly.  The inability to breathe properly through my nose has in turn affected my mouth and jaw issues, which has then spread itself and eventually manifested in my neck. WOW!!!  So, this treatment, along with the surgery for my deviated septum could truly fix me!
By the end of the appointment, both Doctors K and Doctor Creator gave me a long list of vitamins that I had to go get at the Vitamin Shoppe.  I was so clueless walking into the store and spent quite awhile trying to find everything...so 45 minutes and over $100 later, I headed home again, along with stopping to get a prescription of anti-inflammatories as well. Seeing the two doctors together was exciting, encouraging and hopeful for me.  Doctor Creator pushed Dr. K to treat me more aggressively...instead of spreading things out, to take a no holds barred approach to get me better. He told me that the reason he created this treatment was because he had suffered with migraines for years and no one or nothing (meds) helped him at all. He had enough and was determined to fix himself...and he did!  Now his goal is to help as many others as possible through his network for doctors that he has trained. He looked me in the eye and told me that I had suffered long enough and that I was going to get better!
The first few night of sleeping with the night appliance have been challenging.  The nightwear is pretty invasive.  Here's a picture of the night guards...there is actually a small appliance on the bottom and a much larger one on top that has a ring hanging down from it so that I can't fully close my mouth.

 I know it is hard to see and it is a bit dark...I don't put it in until RIGHT before bed because I can barely talk in it.  It is very invasive and uncomfortable, but I'm slowly getting used to it.  The next picture is my day appliance that I wear at all times, even while I am eating (which is also a challenge).  It is hard to see in the picture because they are clear. I'm adjusting pretty quickly to the day guard.

I go back at the end of this week...I am hopeful.  I have already had a few LESS-Pain days. I'm taking less Tylenol and the "diet" of gluten free, dairy free and sugar free is going really well!  To God be ALL glory in this...He is amazing and I see him working at every turn.  I can't begin to show it all here (or maybe you see it yourself), but He is so evident at every appointment and the timing of it all. Thank you God, for hope, patience, sustenance and joy!