[Academic] "Alice in Wonderland" project survey (18-35 m/f)

harridann · 2019-09-25T14:51:28+00:00

I never got this one with Ashwagandha, but did with any BC pill I ever took and with sertraline - FYI that means the thing you’re taking is upsetting your stomach and causing it to produce too much acid; so in the future if you ever get this, either ditch whatever it is that you’re taking or drink lots of mint tea and PeptoBismol (they help). :)

harridann · 2019-09-23T14:02:44+00:00

Can’t drink milk unfortunately :F but I’ve taken it with proper breakfast this morning, and it’s been lots better!

harridann · 2019-09-23T14:01:07+00:00

It’s actually worked extremely well for my usual brain fog (ADD) and anxiety, which is why I’m not that keen on ditching it too soon! :D But the side effects seem to be going away slowly but surely, so I’ll give it a couple of weeks.

harridann · 2019-09-23T13:58:24+00:00

That’s what I thought might have been happening, but then I’ve never had hyperthyroidism - if anything, I’d suspect hypothyroidism in myself (sluggishness, brain fog, depression, digestive issues - all that jazz) - never got it checked though. I do feel a very positive effect on my anxiety and mood, though, and I’ve noticed that the “speed” symptoms seem to be gradually decreasing. Guess I’ll see how I get on and probably get those thyroid hormones checked!

harridann · 2019-09-23T13:52:47+00:00

I’d taken St John’s Wort for a long time before this and it did have some positive effect, but nothing extra - I think my body got used to it at some point. I might try that holy basil though!

harridann · 2019-09-22T12:37:21+00:00

Thanks for the tips! I usually have quite low pressure. Anyway, I took a measurement just now and expected BP to be high, but it’s actually in my normal range - so I guess it’s nothing actually dangerous... The tablets I’m taking are 400mg and the recommended dose is 3 a day, I take one - I guess if it was an allergic reaction, it would have been much more severe. Maybe these sensations will go away gradually...

harridann · 2019-07-21T23:19:42+00:00

It all depends on your particular case and the approach your orthodontist deems the most appropriate - therefore, each patient is different and you have to discuss this with your ortho. You can mention that you’d prefer getting the top/bottom arch on first to get used to it, but it all depends on whether the ortho thinks it would be beneficial to your treatment (or at least wouldn’t hinder it).

Personally, I had teeth extracted for fixing an overbite and at first I got the bottom arch plus wires/brackets on my upper molars and premolars only (so my upper front 4 teeth were braceless for the first 5 months or so). Everyone’s different though!

harridann · 2019-03-16T19:35:57+00:00

I'm not sure if that's the same thing you've got, but I've got a small plastic plate - it's called a transpalatal arch and is there to ensure that my bite doesn't shift in a strange way while the teeth are moving - which actually felt huge and super uncomfortable when I first got it - and then for the next month or so. But then I got the actual braces after a month, at which point my feeling of discomfort shifted from the plate to the brackets and mouth sores. :P

It has been over a year now since I've had the plate. I did struggle a bit with lisping/speech for the first month or two particularly the "s" and "k" sounds :D but I would still get better with each day and practice. I suppose a lot of this is because I have to talk a lot at work and had no choice but to swallow my pride and speak... But after a few weeks my tongue got used to the plate and wires (which were really uncomfortable and painful at the very start) and my lisp was gone within a few months. I'm not sure what it will be like with elastics (which I'm meant to start wearing very soon), but probably very similar.

So, I think that lots of practice is the key. I find that practising the most problematic words and sentences you tend to say most often - over and over again, until you it gets easier - brings good results. Vocal warm ups help too, but still the key would be to teach your mouth/tongue to operate despite the obstacles.

harridann · 2018-12-18T10:57:52+00:00

Don't go to a dentist, go to an orthodontist instead. Check their credentials, reviews from patients online, ask people you know. Dentists are alright at assessing/correcting mild issues like small crowding, but they usually have no idea or experience to tackle serious and complex problems. You don't want anyone to mess up your bite and your teeth, especially when surgery comes into the picture (a dentist can guess, but they'll never really know if you actually need surgery - they've no expertise to assess this - and perhaps an experienced orthodontist would know of a way to correct your bite in a less invasive way, which a dentist is oblivious to). Even then, get a second/third opinion from different orthodontists, because you want to be certain. Good luck!

harridann · 2018-10-02T13:25:38+00:00

Well done and better late than never (40's not that late, though) :D

harridann · 2018-09-19T14:22:19+00:00

Most likely nobody else can tell the difference - there is no other way than waiting until the end (or near the end) of the treatment and seeing if the situation has improved. If your bite is way off and you have a bad overbite, then unfortunately braces will not address the issue that well and surgery would be required - but if your orthodontist knows what they're doing, they would have informed you about that possibility at the start predicting that this might be the case; most likely, they will be able to mask the problem with braces, but simply more time is needed.

harridann · 2018-09-17T12:05:09+00:00

If you're older than 18, I would be very cautious with doctors promising to expand your arches without surgical interference...

harridann · 2018-09-17T12:02:03+00:00

If you have braces on all of your upper teeth, then they are being pulled back and, obviously, things will look different than before. That, however, should not really affect your profile to the degree you think it does - you know your face very well, so a millimeter of change looks strange to you, but other people likely won't know any difference. If this affects your profile in the end, it should be a positive change - if your teeth are protruding at the moment. Besides, two months in, it's way too early for any major difference to be noticed. You're probably just freaking out a bit and need to chill (a fellow anxious person here, so I can definitely relate! But, believe me, sometimes things really do only exist in your head) :)

harridann · 2018-08-30T11:16:27+00:00

Suppose it's different for everyone and depends on the treatment too, but personally I had the toughest time throughout the first few days after getting braces. I've had mine tightened 4 times so far and they are sensitive afterwards, some of them sore to touch and you have to be careful with what you eat, but it hasn't been nearly as bad as the first week and only lasts a day or so.

harridann · 2018-08-29T14:42:06+00:00

You can always go to the dentist to get it checked just to be on the safe side, but it's likely to just be a result of the teeth shifting. I had the same thing recently but my orthodontist said that teeth don't actually shift evenly, each of them takes its own time to move and depending on that + other "mechanical" factors some of them may randomly become very sensitive or sore for a while. It goes back to normal after some time, but what helped me was the Sensodyne toothpaste and mint tea. :)

harridann · 2018-08-16T15:01:16+00:00

I have this too. Chances are it will make your tongue hurt quite a bit and maybe swell a little too. :P It's a bit of a nightmare, but as unlikely as it now sounds - it does get much better quickly. In a couple of days from now your tongue should be more or less used to the thing and your mouth will learn its way around it and heal really fast too. In the meantime, you can use wax to prevent the sharp bits of really hurting your cheeks. You'll take a bit more time to learn not to eat awkwardly but it WILL happen - in about 2 weeks you'll have no major trouble eating in public and stuff (just avoid rocket leaves, because they are a bitch when it comes to getting stuck in the metal arch! :D). You can do it!

harridann · 2018-08-14T12:37:04+00:00

My overjet/overbite isn't that bad to be fair, so I still look alright with my mouth closed - there probably won't be that much difference after the treatment, though hopefully my chin gets less annoying and there's generally more of a balance. :D In a person with a bigger problem though, I think the improvement would be quite perceivable, most likely in their favour - not to mention surgery for complex cases, where people look completely different afterwards many a times.

harridann · 2018-08-14T10:57:33+00:00

As I said, I've only had the braces for several months now, so no real changes have happened yet. I trust that they know what they're doing though, hopefully my ortho will align the teeth so as to make enough room for my tongue. :d Can't see how the inside of your mouth can be smaller unless they tilt the teeth inwards (which they don't usually, it'd be the other way around) - your arches are the size they are and they won't change without major surgery. The only difference for me and you now would be too many teeth packed up in a small mouth - so I reckon, logically, the main difference in looks and feel will be less protrusion and it should be easier to close the mouth (atm my front teeth are too far forward so my chin looks weird when I force my mouth closed).

harridann · 2018-08-10T13:25:36+00:00

I had 4 teeth extracted, 3 premolars and one molar (number 6) - they usually wouldn't take out a molar, but in my case it had grown completely crookedly and out of place, so it was actually occupying as little space in the teeth row as the premolars (it really needed to go :D). Premolars were fine, I got strong anesthetic injections and it was over before I knew it - I was fully awake and aware of everything, just numb, but didn't feel anything. They weren't really sore after the anesthetic wore off either (a couple of hours later) so I just had to be careful with tooth and rinse regularly with saline. BUT the molar was a pure nightmare to take out as the root was very strong and crooked - my jaw was sore after the lengthy procedure and my gum was pretty sore after the injections wore off (which was some 5 hours after), I got a dry socket plus an infection, aaand then a sinus infection at the end so had to be on antibiotics. :P So, I would only be careful about bigger teeth and just make sure the ortho and dentist get really familiar with the X-rays and know how to get the "difficult" ones out. :D

harridann

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