Erin, I'm so sorry you're still hurting. I can't remember how long it took for the pain the lessen after the braces first went on. I didn't have teeth pulled until a couple years in (after we'd tried to avoid it). I had four pulled at once. One on each side both top and bottom. That part of the treatment was hard.

I hope it gets better soon! The holidays are a rough time to adjust to them. I got mine on in late September. It was the first and only year I resisted all the Halloween candy!