Mouthguard in 2020s

Slept with the new mouthguard for the first time last night. It wasn’t uncomfortable or anything like that. The only thing is that it makes you drool a bit and can be tricky to breathe through your mouth unless you open your mouth wide. You can’t open your mouth all the way, though, because of the hinges. The instructions said most people need the number two or three arms you connect the two pieces with. The longer the arm, the further the jaw juts out and we’re starting with the number two. I woke up many times as usual, but not for more than a few seconds or minutes, and not to pee either.

One of the times I woke up, I wasn’t gasping or choking but I did feel a little short of breath and had to take several deep breaths. This may have been because I had my jaw closed as far as I could and this isn’t a very breathable mouthguard. The one we looked at where you can’t open your mouth has holes in it so you can breathe. When the top and bottom of this one are touching, you can’t get in as much air. We could probably drill holes in it. I wonder if that was the issue as far as feeling like I wasn’t getting a deep enough breath. You can’t open your mouth wide enough to yawn. One night with it isn’t enough to tell me anything, though.

So I do have a little more energy today despite still having some fatigue because I fell asleep earlier than expected after being up for 15 hours and slept for 8 hours with no long breaks in between. It will be interesting to see if it has an effect on me on the days I’m up for 18 hours or get my sleep broken up.

Tom went to the lab yesterday, but his results aren’t up yet. He’s mostly concerned with his A1C.

The skin-thickening vitamins he’s been taking have been helping his bruises heal faster in between donations.

Yesterday was the second time in a row my ENT canceled due to not being able to keep his fucking schedule straight as to when he schedules surgeries versus office visits, so I’m done with this guy. The good news is that the guy I’ll be seeing can get me in sooner. I was gonna see the other guy on the 29th but I’ll be seeing this one on the 23rd. He’s in the same group of ENTs that have offices in several locations.

The honker was out for 14 hours yesterday, only stopping in once to let the dog out. I heard a total of three lonely howling spells but luckily they didn’t go on and on. I dread what his next dog may be like.

Happy’s being annoying, but hey, you know how it is - the redneck thinks it’s funny as fuck - and I just saw Toni get out of her SUV. She’s moving better than I’ve ever seen her move before.

We both agree that Florida is a terrible place to live now that we’ve been here this long. Yes, the weather is better, and yes, the cost of living is cheaper. But food is average and insurance is insane. Plus, there’s the people and the crazy drivers. Yes, it was annoying in California to get stuck behind slow drivers but that was safer than all this erratic driving and dangerously set up roads. I also think the healthcare system is screwy here, which surprises me. I thought that with all the old people, it would be top-notch but it isn’t.