Welcome to Gaia! ::

Okay. This is for you adults or people who know how to deal with money. Responsibly.

Okay. So here's the deal.

I have this... Condition. I forget what it's called. But basically, my jaw pops like every time I chew. And I have an overbite, but this is because my lower jaw is too short.

So about half a decade a go, my orthodontist suggested getting some surgery to move my lower jaw forward.

Well, half a decade a go, I was fine.

Now, I'm not.

It's gotten to the point where every time I chew, my jaw pops. And any time I am not moving my mouth, my jaw hurts.
To describe the feeling...

It's like when you clench your teeth together really hard. It feels like that all the time I'm not moving my mouth.

And then for chewing... c**k your jaw sideways and try to unhook it, essentially cracking it like you would a knuckle. There's a weird feeling kind of like pain but not really. That happens every time I chew. Constantly.

So, basically, I'm kind of sstuck between a stone and a hard place.

So the financial part.

Long story short, my insurand does cover part of the surgery(I'm thinking... A third or so) But the surgery itself is hella expensive. Like any surgery.

And then, there's the aftereffects of the surgery.

This is the part that gets to me, and this is the only reason I'm hesitating on getting the surgery.

They wire your jaw shut for a month.

I have to "eat" everything through a straw. My pills, I have to crunch up and slurp(and they are NOT chewable pills! gonk ).

Theoretically I could talk, but have you ever tried talking longer than five seconds while keeping your mouth shut? Yeah. Not fun.

So, it's not so much the surgery that bothers me, but the wiring of the jaw part.

I have to wonder what it will do to my mental health. I'm a very talkative person, and if something doesn't go well in real life I tend to cling to the computer and type up s**t... Like I am now.

If I had to slurp everything through a straw, I think my will to live would just wither and die. I think I'd either die of a heart attack(greasy blender'ed s**t) or lose a hell of a lot of weight.

Then, there's always school. If I get the operation done while in School, I'm going to appear to be a retard. I'll have wires around my mouth for god sakes! How would I talk on a daily basis without hurting myself?

And what about lunch? I HIGHLY doubt they'd let me bring a blender to school.

And then there's if I did it in the summer.
Well, I have a month of seclusion and antisocial values, but again, mental health. Will to live? Gone? I'm thinking so.

And if I went on vacation, I'd have an enormous amount of people staring at me... And wondering why I sound weird when(if) I talk.

And even more, what about my job? I can't just take a month off. All my jobs involve talking to people. I'd either be fired or... Okay, I'd probably be fired.

And then, I'm moving Next December.

If I held back on surgery until I'm out of school, out of a job(highly unlikely), it will be time to move.

How am I supposed to...

Well, you get the whole picture.

So yeah, as the subject says. I need advice! gonk

Yeah, halfway through typing up the sob story I realised that I DO want/need the surgery, now I just need to know when. D:

EDIT:
What are you doing here?
You need to be studying for finals! -slaps-

Well, I told my mom about this.
And she said she thinks summer would be good, too.

BUT, she also says that we ARE going on vacation, and she's concerned that I'll be embarrassed with the swelling and being unable to talk and all.
"Wouldn't you rather be home?" She said...

Gah, and we're thinking about Hawaii, too...

Summer. BUT. Plan a trip or something that will make you happy for the periods of time preceding the surgery and following the unwiring.
Finals? already?

Much too horrible to be pardoned.

C'est la vie

Ow! My friend got jaw surgery a while ago and he had to have his jaw wired shut. He told me after (he didn't really feel like talking while his mouth was stuck shut) that it wasn't too bad. Like a cast that goes from your wrist to your collar bone and resricts the movement of an entire arm for a long time. Long story short, he's very happy that his jaw is fine and sees the month of eating through a straw as a minor setback. But do it over the summer so you don't have to talk to a lot of people.
Good Luck! biggrin

Lol. Sorry Pell, but giving head just doesn't really appeal to me.

Aside from that, yeah I guess summer... But that's still a long time from now... -jaw pops-

crying ! gonk

Thanks, guys.