Braces

Braces:
I got my braces on last week, on Tuesday afternoon. And it didn't hurt... For a few hours. Then it was absolutely agonising. And it still is. The orthodontist and assistants are all really nice, and they explain what they're going to do before they do it, and they warn me if something might be painful! This is all new for me, my last orthodontist thought braces were a "pain-free" procedure, but it would be hard to eat steak for the first week. She obviously never had braces, or met people with different pain thresholds!

I'm on Panadeine Forte for the pain, which, as bloody always, does almost nothing. On the upside, it means I can open my mouth enough to eat rice, but apart from coconut rice, I'm basically living off jelly, ice cream, and anything soft that doesn't require chewing. I take Mersyndol before bed and when I wake at 3am, because it's supposed to help you sleep. It didn't when I last had braces, and it isn't this time! Still, it means the Panadeine Forte will last longer, because I don't know how long I'll be in pain.

The pain is keeping me awake at night. I've been waking at 3am every single night since I got these braces, and today, I haven't got back to sleep yet. And I have to get up at 12.45pm for maths tutoring. I'm really not looking forward to it; it's hard for me to concentrate at the best of times, but when I'm in overwhelming pain, calculus is infinitely more difficult. I haven't been able to revise at all. The first week of the holidays I was too exhausted and busy, and this week I've been in too much pain and too sleep deprived. I really hope I can remember the basics of antidifferentiation and integration, I really don't want to waste my tutor's time revising. I feel guilty that I couldn't revise, and that I'm taking up my tutor's weekends every week...

I'm considering going to the hospital if the pain keeps up much longer. It isn't often that pain brings me to tears, but this is. On a daily basis. Also, decent pain relief (like morphine) helps you sleep, apparently. It didn't when I was 9, but, who knows? I just want to be pain free for one entire day!!!

Sleep routine:
I'm still going to bed each night between 10.30pm and 11.30pm, and I am generally asleep by midnight. I always wake at 3am, regardless of what time I got up the previous day, whether I napped, or anything else that's sleep-hygeine related. This week, it's been the pain waking me, but before that, it was a new pattern. I just hope it changes again soon. My younger brother goes back to school on Monday, so I'll be able to go to bed at 10.30pm every night and get to sleep sooner, because it will be quiet, finally. Mum has promised. I figure if I stick to a night time routine, the day time sleep will lessen - my need for it, that is, so eventually I can get up earlier. Some days I'm in bed until 4pm simply because I can't get up. I really need more sleep, at night, in order to do well this year, and to get back to school and Orientation. I'm trying my hardest, but my body is trying it's hardest to make sure I don't sleep! M.E. is the most confusing, frustrating and misunderstood illness!!

Reunion:
I have a one-year reunion for my high school coming up in about a fortnight. I've pretty much got my outfit, but I need a bag, as mentioned in a previous post, and I might get a new pair of Chucks. One day I'll be able to fit into adult's shoes. I'd wear flats, but I can only fit into one kind, that is sold at one store in one season, and last time I went, they had a size 2 (I've grown out of mine) and a size 6. Not helpful. But at least I'm relatively cheap to buy for when it comes to clothing; I fit kid's shoes a lot of the time, especially if they're runners.

I'm hoping the pain will subside enough for me to go and look for a bag and maybe get some Chucks. I know my size, and the colours I like, so it's not too energy-consuming to buy them. I'm excited about the reunion; I haven't really seen anyone since my November exams last year, and then it was only a few girls. If I'm still in pain by the reunion, which I shouldn't be, I'll eat some rice beforehand, because I doubt they'll be serving jelly, lol!!

Unfortunately, I'm seeing my specialist earlier that week, so I'll be tired from the constant battle for meds or a treatment that isn't SSRIs. I just refuse SSRIs and Melatonin; they don't work, they never have, and they won't now!

Thanks for reading, and I love reading your comments and seeing your feedback. LMK if the last post was too long, okay?

Shopping & Twilight

Shopping
So, yesterday I went shopping. I found a blazer on Friday in Portmans after I'd had my hair cut, but they only had a size six. And I'm not a size six, so they put a size ten and twelve on hold at another store in a nearby shopping centre. I managed to go yesterday, as they wouldn't hold it any longer, and the size ten fits (almost) perfectly! I just have to get the sleeves altered; they are too long. I never fit anything properly, and I can never buy shoes. (Unless they're runners, generally Chucks, or Havaianas.) Apparently girls with size 3 feet don't exist. Anyway, Mum talked me into trying on some nice tops (that weren't t-shirts for a change) while I was there, and I found two that I really loved, as well as a necklace to go with the outfit!

I just need to get a bag, and then I've actually got an outfit I can wear to more formal occasions. Until now, my whole wardrobe consisted of jeans, t-shirts, hoodies and tracksuit pants. (For when I'm too sick/in too much pain to put on and/or wear jeans, or need to exercise.) One top is a black lace one, and I'm going to wear a black camisole/tank top under it, obviously. The other top is sort of a dark purple, and it's really pretty. Yes, I'm great at describing things, aren't I?! Um, the blazer is sort of "tuxedo-inspired" (apparently) and it's black.

Twilight
For those of you who are my friends on Facebook or who follow me on Twitter, you may know that I'd been planning an outing with an old friend (our parents met when we were babies!) to see the movie 'Twilight: Eclipse'. I'm not a fan of romances, for instance, I love Shakespeare, but really strongly disliked 'Romeo & Juliet', which was sadly the first Shakespearean play we did in English at school. That was back in Year 9. (In Year 10 we studied 'Macbeth', and in Year 11 we studied 'Othello'. I loved both. Some people thought that was odd.)

Anyway, Mum rented the first two 'Twilight' movies for me last week, so I could catch up, as I wasn't well enough to get to a bookstore. The first one was alright, the second was worse, and the third, which I saw with my friend, was probably my favourite. There were some funny lines, but the last film we saw together was a James Bond movie at Gold Class, with Starlight. That was my choice! So that might give you a clue as to my interests when it comes to movies. I also don't like people messing with the classics. Don't mess with 'Dracula', okay, people?! I don't like my vampires sparkly and feeding off animals! Speaking of 'Dracula', I love the book, and the film. (I don't know which particular version I have, I should check sometime.)

I had a great time, and I was even well enough to wear lip gloss. (The last time I wore make-up was at my Year 11 formal!) Well, I actually wanted to look nice. I didn't want to look like a vampire, being pale and all, but considering that Edward seems to wear lipstick, I probably ended up looking more like a vampire than ever! I really hope that there are some good movies coming out over the next few months, I really want to catch up with this friend again. She even likes 'Doctor Who' now!! Awesome. (I hadn't seen her since March last year, so people can change a lot in that amount of time!)

It was a fundraiser for a charity/support group for adolescents with chronic illnesses - I've been a member since I was in Year 8 (age 14) but I haven't been able to go to any of the socials or camps because they're not designed for spoonies. Things like ropes courses, swimming, rock climbing, indoor sports centres (wheelchair friendly) have been the reasons I've missed out. It's been so long, in fact, that we've now got a new co-ordinator (again) and I only recognised two of the people there. They still remembered me! I had a brilliant time, and I love going out. There was a bookstore next to the movie theatre, and I got super excited, because they had the definitive edition of 'The Diary Of Anne Frank'. Which I mistook for the critical edition. Can I just say that it sucks, because I still have to order it in from the US. Hopefully it's not so expensive anymore, otherwise I'll have to wait until Christmas. *extremelysadface*

Sleep (or lack thereof)
My sleep pattern has gone crazy. I go to bed between 10.30pm and 11.40pm each night, am generally asleep by midnight at the latest, and wake at 2.30am or 3am every night without fail. I stay awake for hours, usually falling asleep again around 7am. But it's now past 8am, and I have not slept since 3am. So I think I might try to sleep until 3pm. I don't care what it supposedly does to one's sleep pattern, I just can't keep using Ondansetron because my crazy, stupid body won't let me sleep! Right now I'm really craving a bagel. We get our milk home-delivered, and you can order other things like eggs, bread, and bagels. I have recently discovered sesame bagels, and love them! They're perfect for when I feel sick, but have to eat. But back to the sleep. Because this new sleep pattern only started about 10 days ago, I figure that if I continue to go to bed at around 11pm nightly, and avoid naps, it should right itself, so that I can start to get up earlier each day. (No earlier than 11am. That's just a waste of rest time, and the only advantage of distance education!) I'm still not sleepy. I have no idea what is wrong with my body clock, because I am really starting to feel sick now.

Braces. Again.
So, on Tuesday afternoon I'm having my braces put on. Yay! NOT. I am really not looking forward to the pain, and I couldn't get an appointment with my G.P. until Wednesday evening, so I'm going to have to use lots of OTC painkillers to manage. (Last time I got both top and bottom sets of braces on at once, and I was on a liquid diet for a month. I couldn't chew! I'd tear my sandwiches into pieces, then swallow them whole. I was 12, and it was much less painful having four teeth removed under general anesthetic than it was to have braces.) I'd rather have the painkillers I got when I had those teeth pulled than Panadeine Forte! IDK what they put in my drip, but it was effective. I couldn't feel my lip for two days! (It was quite funny.) I'm hoping because I am only getting braces on the top set of teeth, and on a much smaller section, that the pain will be a lot less, but I really don't know. I have an incredibly low pain threshold. I just hope I can still get things done this week. Like get a bag to go with that outfit, or see my grandmother, or even study, because I have tutoring this Saturday. And it's the last week of the holidays. *sigh*

Thanks for reading, comment if you want, I'm sure you know by now that I love comments!

Holidays!

Holidays!
Yep, it's finally the holidays!! Friday was my last day of the school term, and I was up until midnight finishing my homework on Thursday, after having tutoring at 6.30pm. Tutoring was alright, but calculus is just getting more and more difficult. I hope I'll be able to study next week, so I don't forget everything, but above all, I hope I can do well on my exams and remaining SACs. We covered Integration that week. I didn't like it much! I am seeing a friend on Saturday, we're going to see Twilight. I should really rent the other movies so I'm not totally lost! I can't wait to get out of the house, but my main concern is that I'll be so exhausted I won't be able to enjoy it. I've been doing too much these past few weeks. I also need to find a blazer. I saw some in a magazine that were by Living Doll, and I'm hoping there's a place nearby that stocks the brand, as well as blazers that aren't necessarily floral. I just want something plain!

The past week:
The past week has been pretty busy; on Monday I found out that I definitely need braces. Again. I saw the orthodontist (not the one who did my last set of braces) and I need them on my top set of teeth. I'm having them done on the 6th of July. It would be awful if my teeth moved again! So I need to get Panadeine Forte from my doctor for that, because it's always really painful getting braces put on or having the wires changed. But this orthodontist is nice, so that's one good thing. I had to have an x-ray that same day, and then I had an appointment in the evening.
On Wednesday I had my personal training session, and went to Officeworks afterwards to pick up some things for a school project. (For my younger brother.) I also got another notebook, identical to the one I currently use as a diary because I figure I'll go through it in the next few months, and I really like the design.
Thursday I didn't sleep very well, and was up from about 10am, watching the results of the leadership spill, and the speeches from ex PM Kevin Rudd, the new PM Julia Gillard, and deputy PM Wayne Swan. I ended up going back to bed at about 1.30pm for a nap before tutoring. (Previously mentioned.)
Friday I had another appointment, and I only got 2hrs' sleep. I also changed my bed linen (a huge task for me, one I try to do every week) washed my hair and put on a wash. I spent basically all of the weekend in bed; I feel completely wiped out, and most days it takes me an hour to sit up in bed. It's like my limbs are lead.

This week:
Today I had an appointment, as I did yesterday evening, but I don't have to do anything on Wednesday and Thursday except rest before I go out on Saturday. On Friday I'm having my hair cut, which is good, because it'll save me energy; I won't have to wash it that day! I've been going to bed between 11pm and 11.45pm for the past week or so, and it worked quite well some nights, except that I was waking every hour, but last night I went to bed at 11.45, gave up on sleep at 2am, watched tv, tried sleeping repeatedly, but was awake until about 6.30am. And I got up at 11am today, so I am feeling really sick, disoriented, dizzy and nauseous. If someone could fix my sleep, I think all my other symptoms would ease incredibly! Does anyone else feel that if they slept, their symptoms would be relieved?

The new PM...
I think it's a good thing that the Labor party has a new leader; after several disasters, for which Kevin Rudd took most, if not all of the blame, they needed a change of image. I also think that Julia Gillard would be able to defeat Tony Abbot more easily than Kevin Rudd, but it's still very early to be making predictions. But I do think that by changing leaders they have distanced themselves somewhat from the various disasters that have happened, and are also promising change. I am interested to see what sort of role Kevin Rudd will take on in the new Government, and am also wondering when he will change his Twitter account. It still has the title "PM" in it. Speaking of Twitter, there are some really funny (fake) politician's accounts out there. I can't wait for the election, but I really hope that it doesn't come too close to my exams!


That's it...
I guess that's all I can really think of at the moment. I haven't got a lot to say, but if I were feeling better, I would write more about the change of leadership. I'm still writing in my diary nearly every day, and I spend a lot of time on my iPhone. I love the "Fruit Ninja" app. It's heaps of fun, but not so good if you're trying to relax before bed! Then I just read news sites. I might try to get up at 11am or midday each day, because then I might sleep at night. I'll really need my sleep before I go to see the film, because it takes about an hour to get there, (I think, when you include picking my friend up) so I'll have to get up at about 11am. And I want to be able to enjoy myself, and eat junk food! =p


Keep the comments coming, I love to hear from any and all readers! Sorry if this was a boring post!!