Author: lookforjoy

Getting an Orthodontic Expander

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Daughter #1 got her expander put in. It was very nerve wracking for me, her mom. I read online about how much it will hurt and how she won’t be able to eat well for awhile. Google is a wealth of information. There’s enough info out there to scare you about anything.

My daughter did quite well. She didn’t seem to be in any pain. That totally wasn’t what I was expecting! I don’t want to get my hopes up – maybe the pain comes later? She did have problems eating a bit, so stayed with liquidy foods.

We are also doing headgear. My poor child! I had her wear it for an hour during the afternoon – no pain, no complaints although she couldn’t wait to take it off. At bedtime, she put it on and got very quiet. She layed down in my bed. I thought she was tired and told her to go to her room. When I looked at her, she had tears in her eyes. She was in pain. On both sides of her mouth are hooks (attached to the expander) where rubber bands go to attach to the headgear. One hook was problematic for the lady who “installed” the expander. It was flimsy and wouldn’t “lay” right. We were told to be careful of the wire by being gentle. Well, when you attach the headgear, there was enough force to pull the wire out of place. My daughter was in pain, not because the headgear itself hurt, but because the wire was poking her and hurting her mouth. I had her take the headgear off. It helped some, but the wire was poking out of place still.

My daughter is so brave. She was quietly dealing with the pain of the wire and didn’t seem to want to tell me. I’m afraid this experience might scar her to the expander. She was so excited to get one! Now? I’m not so sure…

The next day we went back to the orthodontist. They tried adjusting the wire, but it got so loose, it broke off. The expander was taken out and will be sent back to the place who makes them to get the wire fixed. The ladies felt like the wire wasn’t put on correctly. It shouldn’t have been so flexible.

I wasn’t too happy that they didn’t notice the wire before and checked on it before we got the expander. Plus, this will delay our treatment and my child now has a negative experience related to the appliance. Not much I can do about it I guess. I’m thankful that we were able to get the expander out the next day.

Tip: Only have an expander put in on a day when the orthodontist will be open the next day. You never know what might happen. I would have hated to have my child so uncomfortable for an entire weekend, especially knowing that wearing the expander wasn’t helping since we would have to start the clock all over again.

See update here.

Fight or Flight Therapy – Session 1

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Once I decided to do the Fight or Flight Light Therapy treatment, I couldn’t wait to get started. I came home from the evaluation with a light and a green colored filter to go over it. I have to sit in a dark room for 20 min a day and just breath and look into the light.

Nothing eventful happened with my first sitting. It actually wasn’t as boring as I though it would be. I just sat and focused on my breathing, tried to let my mind relax and not dwell on life. It’s a great opportunity to do meditation.

I’d like to do two sessions a day. We shall see how that goes. It’s hard to get 20 minutes to myself with three kids around.

My initial evaluation

Checkup #1

Checkup #2

Checkup #3

Checkup #4

Fight or Flight Therapy – Initial Evaluation

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I scheduled an evaluation with Dr. Tessler to discuss Fight or Flight therapy. The evaluation was fascinating and not what I envisioned. Dr. Tessler is an optometrist, so his evaluations dealt with my eyes.

Evaluation #1

Dr. Tessler covered up one eye, had me focus on one spot on a piece of special paper, and then moved an object around to figure out my blind spots. He also showed me a stick with a color on it. Depending on how far away it moves from my eye, the shade of color changes. I had to tell him at what point the shade was the same. This created a circular pattern. Then he moved a stick around my visual area and asked me to tell him if I perceived anything uncomfortable emotionally, physically, or something unexpected when he moved the stick around. It was weird. When he moved it in certain areas, I actually felt “ungrounded” or uncomfortable. I’m not sure what to call it. In other areas, I experienced eye strain. Some people experience physical pain like a shoulder hurting.

The findings somehow tell me how “stressed” I am. The circular pattern I created was very small. It represents my life. If my circle is small around me, it doesn’t take much to stress me out. But, if my circle is large, it will take more to stress me out. Throughout the treatment, my circle will get larger and larger. Sounds fascinating and I can’t wait to see how this plays out.

Evaluation #2

I looked at various colors of light. While doing so, I had my thumb and pointer finger together in the shape of an “O”. Like and OK sign. Dr. Tessler tried to open my fingers while I tried to keep them together. With some colored lights, it was easy to keep them together, with others, I felt weak. This evaluation helped him determine which colors I would be using during my therapy.

Suggested Treatment

I have to stare at a light 1-2 times a day for 20 minutes, 30 times for my first color. I will be given 4 different colored filters to look at throughout the process.

Cost

Cost varies depending on how “bad off” you are – whether you might need a few therapies or many. I was on the many side. Dr. Tessler will give you a cost right then and there. It covers the number of times you will have to come back to him and the rental cost of the light you will be using.

Overall impressions

I’m pretty opened mined to alternative therapies. I’ve had friends who have reported great results for them. If this therapy can help me, I might actually save money in the long run because one of the possible outcomes is that it may help me get more out of my other therapies and improve my health which could translate to fewer doctor visits. I don’t want to fall into the category of thinking this will solve ALL my problems, but I’m pretty open to trying new things.

 

Checkup # 1

Checkup #2

Checkp #3

Checkup #4

Fight of Flight Therapy -What is it?

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stress-clipart-brain-clipart-69

I came across a new to me therapy from a friend. It uses light to help treat fight or flight responses. The theory is that over the years, the accumulation of stress can cause one’s body to constantly be in fight or flight mode and deal with stress poorly. This can lead to a number of behavioral issues and perhaps health issues.

Looking back on my life, I have had a number of significant stressors – a rigorous high school education, a stressful career, 3 pregnancies with a husband going through cancer, that same husband leaving, divorce. After all these years, I feel like I can’t concentrate as well as I could in high school. I have problems organizing my thoughts, organizing life, and I’m tired a lot. I always thought I had mommy brain, then I thought it was all related to my hypothyroidism, but perhaps there is more going on inside?

Fight or flight therapy attempts to reset the nervous system. A sort of tune-up. Once finished with the treatments, I should be able to handle stress better and some or all of my symptoms might disappear.

On the Fight or Flight Therapy website, there is a questionnaire where you rate on a scale of 0-5 how certain behaviors are problematic for you. Once you add up the score, you can see how much stress is effecting your everyday life. I was a 154. Dr. Tessler said this high score indicated PTSD or head trauma. I can definitely say that I have PTSD due to what has happened to me in life.

It will be interesting to see how this therapy can help me. Will it help my other therapies go better? Will it help my health? I have hashimotos and vitiligo. Both can be aggravated by stress. I have been working on treating these ailments for many years with a holistic doctor, but I still have not healed from them. Perhaps this light therapy will “jump start” my system and help my progress? We shall see.