OR-tho-dontia! Ortho-dontia, Ortho-dontia (sung to tune of Hallelujah)
Oh Dr Quo how I do love thee, despite the pain thou dost inflict upon me. I can’t help it. She’s so sweet! And everyone who works there is an angel, so I LOVE going…but I don’t so much love how I feel for a few days afterwards. Always a trade. Kind of like this kidney infection sucked big time, but since any pressure on my kidney from my stomach caused immediate pain/pukeage I had to eat much less and consequently got down to 151.5 for a moment!!!! That means I’m down 10 pounds!!! Hooray sick diet!
So this is what the good Dr. Quo did to me today:
One full week of this she says, but after 3 days I shouldn’t hurt as much. As much? Well, she explained with a kind of apologetic pained expression that my teeth were going to hurt A LOT…possibly more than they did when I FIRST GOT BRACES. Wow. I knew I should have eaten breakfast. By the time I got to work the throbbing in the head had begun and I couldn’t get pills into my mouth without un-banding (which I didn’t want to do). My boss and co-workers are wonderful and supportive and told me to get the H out of there since my job is talking and that wasn’t working well. I did some work, came home, and got some pain meds down. I’m just going to say this is all for the best and at least it’s all happening in one big fat chunk instead of sporadically. Right?
Ooh, here’s some fun news. Court bought me Guitar Hero the 80′s edition. Rock on sistah! I REALLY didn’t like the music on the first one…too heavy…hurt my head. But my new friend Lisa showed me the song list on the 80′s version (How can you say no to “Turning Japanese” and anything Oingo Boingo?), so I sat my butt down and rocked it. Mochi helped.
On a less pleasant note, I have officially confirmed my suspicions that the smell of leather makes me VERY nauseated, especially in a car, or probably any confined not extremely ventilated space. Add a the stop start stop start of traffic, and you’ve got me tossing my cookies on the side of the highway. That’s hot. NOT! Friday night it was raining, my friend Lisa picked me up, and the second I got into her car I felt REALLY bad. Leather seats have always been a problem for me, but I think since Dr. Li fixed my deviated septum and gave me ultra super smell power +5, it’s just plain unbearable. I wonder what that is. Allergy? On the one hand, I’m thrilled to be breathing better, but on the other, I had uber sensitive scent picking-uping nose before, and the more air in with each inhale thing makes stinky times EXTRA STINKY. I was hypnotized once by The Amazing Alexander. He told me his breath smelled like a rose and I couldnt’ get close enough. Then he told me his breath was horrible and foul and I gagged and almost uked on him and he had to quickly tell me the smell was gone. Maybe I need to get hypnotized to not be bothered by smells because Court is severely bummed now since the he was hoping his next car would have leather seats.
What to do…what to do… For now I think I’ll just concentrate on healing everywhere. Maybe if I get really in shape I’ll just run alongside the new leather-seated car. hahhaah
March 13th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Heya Shelby,
how are you? Whats happening with your jaw lately? I have read bits and peicies of your blog. I should be having my jaw surgery at the end of this year if all goes to plan. at the moment I am in Physical therapy and splints, to stabilise me. can i ask why you got your jaw surgery done, I mean if there was any other reason apart from the sleep Apnea? My story is long and complicated (isnt it always?) I will definately tell you in my next msg. But right now I am basically just wanting to know, being straight up about it. what is the insurance coverage like for Stanford and this type of surgery???
I have a great plan. The thing is, I already have an awesome surgeon. I have seen him 3 times and he has helped me all the way getting me to the right people etc to stablise me, he has taken me seriously and is the kindest man I have probably ever met. I trust him. I couldnt say any more nice things about him and thats the honest truth. He has been so good to me and I consider him my angel after everything I have been through. I also went through hell trying to find a good surgeon, honestly, i didnt know where to go, or where to look. the first surgeon I went to was actually at Stanford but I didnt like her at all. She wasnt interested and spent 5 mins with me. So not impressed. she acted like she was just popping in on me on her way down the hall… Then I went to UCSF and wasnt even allowed to see a surgeon, where they wated 3 months of my time making me go through the useless orofacial pain centre when my case was clearly surgical…. I was also left in severe pain and they didnt help me at all, sent me home in tears. its a big long story of course, but next up I went to my surgeon in Santa Barbara and he is the best. I moved here from New Zealand in September 07 with my husband. Been having the jaw problems and bite problems since the start of 06. We moved here mostly because I was having a very hard time in NZ getting the right help, I got treated very badly there too by dentists who did the wrong thing by me, and was also put through an awful pain clinic at the hospital there who treated me poorly and didnt get me the help i truly needed. I was going round and round in circles. I dont even know how i did it but I dragged myself over here, moving countrys, severely in pain and depressed and anxious. It was the hardest time of my life. still is, but its better now as Im getting more and more stable. I have an awesome Orofacial pain speciliast. She never gives up. She is supportive and knows what she is doing and is very highly skilled and trained. for me to say all these nice things about doctors, believe me, is a miracle, because I have trust issues big time with surgeons, doctors, and dentists.
The plan is to have surgery once the braces are done with my surgeon in Santa Barbara. here lies the problem though. They are a private practice, They are actually the best in the country and have set the standard for this type of surgery throughout the nation, thats why I went to them, they train loads of other surgeons etc on this type of surgery. I dont doubt their skills and expertise at all, but because they are a private establishment (sort of like having plastic surgery at a top private beverly hills plastic surgeon instead of going to a hospital to get it done) they have to charge more to cover their out of pocket expenses. My surgery total is around the $40,000 mark. I am only being covered $4,800 of this by insurance….. which leaves me to foot the rest of the bill. They require the full amount up front 2 months prior to surgery. I have to spend 3 weeks in Santa Barbara all up because I am out of town (I live in Northern California near SF) so there is accomodation on top of that. Then there is the matter of how much insurance will cover the hospital fees.
I saw an endodontist today for a root canal. He spoke very highly of Dr Li and gave me his details and a printout all about it from his website. I know he is very qualified because he is also an MD and i have read about him. But I need to know from another patient as much as I can. I dont want to change surgeons. Not unless I really feel like I have no choice. And thats where the cost comes in. I know it being Stanford, it will most likely be covered by insurance a hell of alot more. You dont have to give me figures if you dont want too but i need to know as much as I can about the coverage and if its good or bad. Also the waiting lists for appoints, how long Dr Li spends with you on initial appnt etc. anything I could benefit from. The only reason why I would need to change surgeons is purely because of the cost. and it sux that it comes down to that because I do have trust issues with docs and surgeons and I have just been to hell and back, so its not easy for me at all. I dont want to have to go through finding a surgeon all over again if I can help it but I also dont want to be in debt for the next 6 years trying to pay off this surgery from various credit cards and loans and family loans etc. Also the reason why I went to the Santa Barbara people is because they are well known for having done alot of ‘re-dos’ from what other surgeons have messed up, and because I have been through alot with other docs and do have the trust issues, this made me alot more comfortable going to them. They are the place basically you go to if you are a very complicated case, as I am.
i would be so grateful for any advice. right now im so confused!
March 13th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Hi Helen.
I am sorry to hear about all your medical mishaps. I understand what you mean about (not) trusting doctors, but I will tell you that Dr. Li is hands down the best most awesome doctor I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and being treated by. He’s incredibly intelligent and absolutely the best in my book.
Financially, I cannot actually remember what I paid…mental block perhaps. I do know that the Stanford Hospital bills were mostly taken care of by insurance (and I had crappy insurance). Dr. Li also required 50% upfront but worked out a payment plan for me for the other 50%. He and his staff are extremely communicative about the insurance and out of pocket expenses so if you meet with him, they will tell you. If you live in the area I would recommend just making an appointment. Decide for yourself what you think of him, his nature… A friend of mine went to see Dr. Li for deviated septum work and was in within 3 weeks. He reported that his initial appointment was about 20 minutes. The important thing though is that no matter the length of his appointment or any of my appointments, we always left completely understanding what was happening. He is thorough and detailed and if you want to know more, he will tell you.
I should note that I do not make any money referring people to Dr. Li
Oh, after my surgery, it never took me more than a few days to get in to see Dr. Li. He’s incredibly responsive and when possible, would even call me at home to answer questions that did not require an office visit. I honestly don’t know when he leads the “rest” of his life…he was in the hospital early morning and in the evenings and even in the afternoon perhaps on his lunch break when I was in.
My surgery, by the way, was 100% sleep apnea related.
I wish you the best. I know how you feel about loyalty to doctors. If I lived in Santa Barbara I would fly to Palo Alto to see Dr. Li…I’d also fly from new Zealand to see him…though that flight is a killer!
Be well. Be happy. Be gentle to yourself.
Shelby