Dealing with Injury and Abilities

I'm doing fine. My jaw, TMD injury is a whole new arena for me as I have no previous experience with jaw problems. I received pretty good instructions from my dentist. He says it will heal on its own in two-three weeks. I am supposed to take 600 mg Motrin every six hours but that has proven to upset my stomach too much. I take as much as I can comfortably ingest. I supplement with lots of ice packs to help keep the swelling down. I have currently pilfered a bag of rice from the freezer as it can freeze and thaw without damage.

It was also advised that I buy and wear a mouth splint all the time except when eating. Well, I bought the darn thing, followed instructions, tried it twice and gagged both times. It shall not work.

I have the greatest difficulty eating...anything. It appears that jello followed by applesauce are my two foods most consumed with the least discomfort. Idk, I guess one positive of jaw injury with pain is that I have no appetite. Meds require food, thus I comply.

Talking is the second greatest challenge. I had to try and wager whether it would be more beneficial to talk with my therapist or stay home and rest. I went with the therapy appointment because I hadn't really conversed with anyone for awhile. I continue to be ambivalent about whether or not I made the right choice as the ensuing pain was much more than I could have possibly guessed. But it was a good talk:)

I've had a lot of time to think. It's hard to know what is the right thing to do. Like with this injury...it was scary not knowing what it was and I wasn't able to get prompt answers. Maybe the ER would have helped, maybe not. I struggle to be independent and make my own decisions yet I long for friends to talk to and share opinions. I have to realize that my aspiecommonsense limits me a bit at times, but it's all I have to work with. That has to be good enough:) I'm working on learning to live with myself in a healthier way.

I continue to try and figure out what I am capable of, what I need help with and what to try, that which I should give up and, simply, acceptance.

Yeah, life is a bit painful. Not used to injuries that take weeks to heal. I have to be on guard to not overdo things. Teaching both my dog and my boy some new and interesting hand signals. Working on monitoring meds so the pain doesn't get ahead of me. Lots of ice, resting whenever possible. Yeah, I'm doing okay:)