When it rains it pours

I should have gone running this morning. There was about an hour with no rain. I thought it was clearing, but nope, the rains started up again. They have just let up this evening. Wonder how long that will last.

I took Marco in for his ultrasound. Everything was normal. No cysts, tumors, floaters, stones, or anything. He has a small bladder, but it appears to be OK. Great. Dr. Glenn is convinced (as am I) that this is a behavioral problem and the only way to treat it is through medication. Better living through pharmaceuticals. There are two drugs, Prozac and BuSpar. BuSpar is a transdermal medication, but she is leaning towards the Prozac since she has had no luck with transdermals. That all sounds good, but she has never put a cat on Prozac, so we have no idea how he will do. All we can do is look up studies and see if we can find anything. Most studies are done with dogs, with the assumption that cats will react the same way.

I don't like this idea, but I really dislike keeping the cats in the bathroom or allowing them free reign and then wondering what I'm going to have to clean up. I thought I'd let them roam in the bedroom last night as well as the bathroom. That went OK for most of the night. Then I felt Marco get on the bed (he woke me up meowing) and I thought I felt him start to dig. So I jumped up and put the two of them in the bathroom and closed the door. I don't know whether I averted disaster, but I sure didn't want to wait and find out.

I really miss having them in the room with me. I do give them probation when I think I can watch them, and that has been nice. Even just to see them laying on the floor. We got cats to enjoy them, not to keep them in the bathroom!

When I went to the grocery store, I put Abby in there with Marco. She was on probation when he came home. That didn't go well. She was hissing and growling at him, which I don't recall ever seeing. All he wanted to do was love on her. Now she wants nothing to do with him. I suppose it is because he smells like the vet. I have considered letting them out, but I thought that they should be together so Abby can get over this attitude. They are going to be sequestered together for the time being and that is that. Perhaps we'll learn something from the pet psychic next Monday, but until then, they're going to have to tough it out.

Poor Marco had to have his belly shaved. I'm sure that is adding to his stress and humiliation.

While Marco was at the vet, I went to the orthodontist. I am not happy. I accept that my teeth are not perfect, but I didn't have a problem with them. Apparently there are significant problems with my teeth. Problems that are not easy to fix. I explained that I am comfortable with the aesthetics of my smile and I was there to know if fixing the teeth alignment will help the TMJ problem.

The answer is ...... maybe.

But to get to that point, first my lover jaw has to come forward and the upper has to come back in order to fix this "massive" (my words) overbite. The problem is, that braces will only do so much. The real answer is a complex surgery that involves cutting the jaw laterally, moving it forward, and then filling in the gap with some kind of bone replacement.

Yeah, that can't be easy or painless. I bet you a dollar to a cupcake that will take some serious time to heal. I'll more than likely have my jaw wired shut. While my husband may appreciate that (just kidding), it will make my job of interacting with customers and teaching classes that much harder.

We can skip the surgery and realign the teeth. Apparently my teeth align with one another rather than having an offset so the "point" of the upper tooth fits in the space between the two lower teeth. There would be a lot of fixing. My question (and I didn't think about it until after I got home) is if we align the teeth now and then opt for the surgery when I live somewhere near an oral surgeon who accepts Tricare (see previous posts), as suggested by the orthodontist, won't that undo the realignment?

I asked about the Invisalign, and they won't completely fix the front to back alignment, though they are good for the rest of the issues I have. We can go forward with them and see what the computerized results will come up with and see if they'll be fixed enough, but he really thinks that regular old braces are what I need. For about two years. The Invisalign will take 12 to 14 months (same cost), but he doesn't think I'll have the same success with them.

All of this, and we won't ever know whether it will help my jaw! He did notice that when I open my mouth wide I get so far and then it leans to the right. This indicates to him that I haven't fully gotten that jaw back into place. We can just wait and see, or have him make a splint to wear to keep the jaw relaxed at night and see if that helps. I don't know what to do.

I did cancel my trip to NJ. Monica understands, as I figured she would. It is not because of the vegetarian issue, although that is still bugging me, I just don't want to have to deal with the emotions I am going to feel at the same time I'm there. This may sound awful, but I don't feel like I get the compassion I need from my family. I'm sure two of my sisters are convinced that anything I touch turns to gold and that I could probably find the money to pay for the braces in the cushions of  my couch. They don't think that I suffer any problems. The other two would offer me some comfort, but the weekend is not about me, it's about Monica.

I explained the situation about Bill coming home for a few days after 6 months of being gone and before a year-ish in AFG, and Delta waived the change fee for me. I transferred the ticket to Christmas. That is a time for family. It would certainly be easier not to go, but I know that I won't go through any of the holiday spirit stuff with Bill being gone. I don't think I'd set up the tree and I'd probably just sit around the house doing nothing that day. Going to see family will keep me from that. I plan to spend a few days in NJ and then a few in CT with Monica and Dave and the baby before coming back.

So this is where I stand. Funny how just when I think I can't take any more, life throws more at me. I know I'm a tough cookie, but I just hate having that tested. All I wanted to do this afternoon was crawl in a hole and disappear.

Sorry this isn't an uplifting post. I know that tomorrow will be better and Wednesday even better than that. Monica arrives Wednesday night and I can't wait to see her! We have all sorts of fun things planned, so I should have much happier posts in the week ahead.