Money & My Mouth

So, Friday was my Oral Surgery Consultation to kick off the great denture adventure. For those who seriously care to follow this issue in my life, there's been a slight change in the plans of my dental woes. We've decided to kinda go 50/50 on the whole thing. Well, more like 75/25. The top set of teeth is really beyond all hope, and in a few short weeks, will be permanently removed and replaced with a lovely set of falsies. The bottom, however, does still have a small amount of hope. See, the four front bottom teeth are in relatively good condition (oh, teh strange irony of that). I'll get some gum surgery, a few crowns, and then last but not least will get partial dentures for the back molars which have already been removed.
Anybody care to hear how hellish the upcoming procedure is? Well, fine, I'll tell you anyways. To remove the remaining teeth in the top portion of my jaw ain't an easy process. The surgery will more than likely take all day. But this won't be a simple thing, like being in discomfort for a week and then voila, I'll be happy as a clam. First hurdle I face is that I have a very impacted wisdom tooth up there that I didn't even know about. Since it's pushing into my sinus cavity, I'll be dealing with the high probability of a 'breach', or in laymen's terms, a giant hole in my jaw going right into my nose. Sounds lovely. To stave off any infection that the hole could possibly incure, I will have to be on a very strict regimen of sudefed and Afrin to completely dry out my sinus cavity. According to the surgeon, if there's any nasal drip into the hole, it will hurt so bad I'll want to smack myself with a sledge hammer. FUN!
Second hurdle is a more complex issue. Apparently, this whole procedure will leave me on a liquid diet for not just a week, but a minimum of three weeks. That's right, upwards of a month of eating only babyfood. This is perhaps the more devastating issue. See, the surgeon says because of this, I will more than likely loos a LOT of weight. Anybody staying on a soft diet that long would. But the thing is, I don't really have the weight to spare. Despite my own body image issues of having a physique that clearly screams "I have a kid!", I am a relatively slender gal, who just has the cruel misfortune of having a 'sturdy' bone structure. And beyond that, losing an exessive amount of weight on a frame that can't spare it means it will affect my health, and thus hinder the healing process. *sigh*
To avoid this consequence, I am asked to try and gain some weight pre-surgery so that I have a 'cushion'. She's thinking if I can put on about 10 pounds, I will be okay. What's the problem, one asks? Being given cart blanch to eat whatever fatty foods I can shove into my gullet would seem like a godsend. Well, kida big problem with that. For one thing when I get stressed, I don't eat. At all. Call it subconcious annorexia, but I simply cannot force food into myself. I've tried to force feed myself in these occassions, only to find myself wreching. Secondly, because of the massive amount of money this whole thing is costing, we cannot really afford to have me eating willy nilly. And knowing how much money this is costing is causing my internal conflict meter to go apeshit, and thus I am too ashamed to eat because the amount of money I am already costing my entire family. Everytime I put something in my mouth my mind starts ticking off the dollars of how much it cost and how that money should go to the surgery to relieve the stresses on my family. Vicious cycle? Why yes, yes it is.
I keep alluding to the cost of the procedure. As of yet, I only know half of the cost, and boy is it a doozy. $5,620 just for the surgery to remove the teeth. I don't even know how much the denture itself will cost. I find out on Wednesday. But in a financial crisis such as my life, it might as well be a million. What's mama gonna do? Don't know yet, but I'll figure something out, I always do.