Just When You Think That Torture ......

...... of orthodontics couldn't get any worse ...... it can.

Oh.
My.
Word.

Today I went in for my monthly-ish visit, and to get the next set, or two, of Invisaligns.  You know, those clear plastic molds that I have to force over my teeth, upper and lower, and that cause no end of pain and torture for at least a week.

Well, I had no idea ...... no clue as to how much worse things could get.
In my mouth anyway.

My visit wasn't all that neat and tidy.
Nope.
Not mine.
And here's why ......
Before they gave me the next set of Invisaligns, they glued 6 little plastic pieces of .... plastic, onto my teeth.
Three on the top.
Three on the bottom.

I am ready to throw something.
Or hurt someone.
Anyone.
You have all been warned.

These little plastic thingees are on the outside of my teeth.  One is on a front bottom tooth.  You can actually see it ...... if I smile.
I'm not smiling much.
Or at all.
At the moment.

All 6 of these things rub against my gums/lips if I'm not wearing the braces.  So eating ..... yeah, not much fun.  The inside of my cheek ...... the side that I don't chew in times of stress ...... is swollen due to the constant rubbing.  When I ate dinner (which may have been my last meal ...... ever) I kept biting one corner of my mouth, where a plastic thingee has rubbed it raw.

So not only do I have to deal with these 6 sore points in my mouth, but I have to deal with the pain and pressure of a new set of very, very tight braces.  So tight that it requires a lot of effort to get them on ...... and off.
I may decide to just get dentures.

In other news, because really, I know that the topic of my teeth and the plastic thingees on them is completely boring and uninteresting to you ...... no matter how much pain I'm in ...... today was the day that Koda and Jesse (pronounced Jessie) came to live with us.
Dogs, not people.
I've never met a person named Koda, but one of you may have.  Or is named that.
Who knows?

It was a sad day.
And I felt terrible.
And yet good.
But mostly terrible.

My friend and her family are moving to S. Africa.  They leave Thursday.  And they have been Jesse and Koda's family for a long time.  But they knew that the dogs would have a very rough time if they took them to S. Africa.  Jesse is on the "older" side of dog years ...... and they feared that she would't be able to survive the stress of being in a crate for 24 hours (because really?  Who could?!), nor the many days/months of quarantine.  And so Jesse and Koda came home with me today.
Many, many tears were shed.
And I felt rotten.

But they know, and I know, that these 2 dogs are going to be spoiled rotten.  They are both sleeping in Son #3's bed as I type this.
And will probably sleep with him every night.  For as long as he's here.
Or for as long as he gets away with taking them to college with him.
Which he is totally hoping/planning to do.

No, I'm not taking them to NY.  They are Texas dogs and will remain in Texas.
Unless he somehow manages to take them to Oklahoma.
Since I'm not moving to NY full time, they, along with Oliver ...... the cat who is currently not talking to me, or sitting in my lap (ever since the dogs came this afternoon) ...... will stay in Texas.
Which is how it should be.

And in yet other news ...... because I know that some people don't care for animals (heartless, soul-less beings that you are) ...... Son #2 came over tonight for pizza and a movie.  I enjoyed that.  Very much.
Until the movie ended.
Not to post a spoiler here, but if you haven't watched "Act of Valor", which isn't all that good of a movie (but what can you expect when the actors aren't actors but are actually real Navy Seals?), then you might just be struck by the sheer number of them that have been lost since 9/11.
Or at least I was.

Tomorrow I go for my 2nd infusion.
Oh happy, happy, joy, joy.
Or not.

Actually, the first one wasn't all that bad so I'm not worried or stressed about this one.  I'm just hoping, yet again, that I feel some relief after this one.
So far, not so good.
The pain is pretty constant ...... as in 24/7.  My elbows and shoulders are killing me.
So much so that I've had to resort to taking sleep meds in order to sleep through the pain.  Really.
In the last two months I think I've averaged about 3 hours of solid sleep ...... every single night.
Which sucks.
Big time.

I really didn't want to have to take those meds.
But it's the only way I can sleep.
Or actually, it's the only way that I can sleep a solid 5-6 hours without waking up, to find myself crying in my sleep because of the pain.
Yes, it's pathetic.
And oh, so old.

But ...... in the good news department, because who doesn't need good news? ...... I played tennis yesterday for the first time in around a month.  And though I was dreading how it would affect my elbows ...... and the pain they bring every single second of every single day ...... playing tennis did not hurt.
I know!
I was a bit stunned.  And very, very relieved.
I thought I was going to have to call it quits.  But, for some strange and really weird reason, hitting a tennis ball with a racquet didn't cause me any pain whatsoever.
Everything else imaginable does.  I can't pick up something, or twist something, or hold something, without experiencing excruciating pain.
Go figure.
But yay!

OK, I've taken my sleep med so it's time to hit the hay.
You are now pretty much caught up on all things boring in my life.
I have to go find the Orajel and apply it to the inside of my mouth.
In many places.
To numb the pain.

They should make Orajel for the heart.  Or the mind.
Or for whatever would make grief hurt less.
That's just an aside.

They should also make it for elbows.  And toes and wrists and fingers and shoulders.
Wherever one needs to feel numb.

Just my two cents.
For whatever it's worth.

Happy Wednesday, Peeps.
:)