As the snow gently fell all day for the Toronto Santa Claus parade today, it is clear that we are entering that most feared of seasons: Winter. Not that I mind winter all that much. Toward the end of August I seem to start getting really sad at the thought of the end of summer, but then by the time Halloween rolls around I find myself looking forward the change of season. Maybe it's just a natural resilience in the face of something I can't change - some family of ours just moved to Arizona and are experiencing their first non-Canadian winter. I bet they'll miss the cold and show for about 1 day - Christmas. Then it's back to "hey, wanna hang out by the pool?"
Well this year I might have just found my first legit reason to dread the cold. My teeth are now incredibly sensitive to temperature changes, but mostly cold. Anything below lukewarm and I'm wincing in pain. Hot, however, doesn't seem to be nearly as much of a problem. In fact, I love warm drinks even more now than I did before - and that was a lot. The warmth seems to soothe my teeth.
Inhaling that cold winter air was pretty painful today, not to mention the effects on my jaws too, from sitting out on the street for a couple of hours. Even my wrists were starting to ache (since one was broken and the other had soft tissue damage in the accident). Thankfully the tooth pain will go away with the root canals that are coming...not soon enough now apparently!
My jaw still hasn't fully recovered from the day, but I'm not surprised. Once those facial and neck muscles lock up, it usually takes a nap or some good heat on them (usually combined with a muscle relaxant) to loosen them up. I am always hopeful when I wake up in the morning that I will start out nice and loose, and it's great when it happens. Sometimes it doesn't, and it can really set me off for the day, or at least the morning. It doesn't help the situation that I'm not a morning person....something I am working on.
If you're recovering from a jaw surgery/injury in the winter months, make sure you keep the area warm as much as possible, and make sure to heat it up afterwards. I was wearing my husbands trapper hat tied up under my chin and it really helped! I started out with a heating pad, but it's really a pain in the ass to use for your face. I plan to pick up a Magic Bag this week - smaller, more mouldable and portable!!! Nothing is going to be ideal to keep on your face, but anything that makes it a little easier is worth it in my books.
On the other hand, if you are recovering from this in the summer (my accident happened August 12), keep in mind that winter's coming (depending on where you live, of course!) and you'll probably need to deal with the effects of cold eventually. This is a long healing process. Some may say indefinite....
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