Margie112

Hi Fix, sorry you're not completely happy with your results. Have you posted pictures on this site? I bet you look great. As for your ear, have you asked your surgeon about possible damage to the Greater Auricular Nerve (GAN) ? As I understand it, numbness in the area in front of the ears is normal but the ears themselves should never feel numb unless there was GAN damage. I feel well versed on this issue because I suspected GAN damage to my right ear from the beginning & I read a lot about it on this site. My ears were never numb but they felt so miserable I thought something must have been really wrong. I still wonder about it because at 1 year my right ear occasionally feels much tighter than the left & sometimes feels plugged up. Hope your issues resolve soon.

Hi Debra, I had a lower mini-face and neck lift. I looked OK to go out after 4 days (hardly any bruising and just my ears were swollen. My scars were pretty much invisible around the 3rd month. The jowls that I had pre-op are 90% gone but, alas, my neck still has some wrinkling but not nearly as bad as before. Overall, I was pretty happy with the aesthetic results; I look 7-10 years younger. It all looks very natural and not "done." My big complaint from the very beginning was with the painful, tight pulling sensations around my ears (excruciating at first; now just mildly uncomfortable & annoying.) Even though I was happy with the visual outcome, I was totally unprepared for how challenging recovery can be. I feel like I lost a year of my life to this recovery process. (Don't think for a minute that it will be this way for you; everybody is so unique.) -- I never had a sick day in my life prior to this ordeal & I'm a non-smoker, exercise everyday, etc. My ps said he's done 4000 facelifts and I'm the only one who had so many problems for so long. Lucky me! ) Anyhow, if you're happy with the way you look at 90 days it will probably only get better. Good luck to you & keep us posted on how you're doing.

Myownhope, 9 weeks is the infancy of recovery. Keep that in mind & don't get discouraged. My ps, like most surgeons, did a really lousy job of explaining what recovery would be like. According to him in 2 weeks all would be back to normal. HA! As for the tightness & pulling being permanent; well, I hate to admit it, but that's what I'm thinking too. On the other hand, some ps will tell you that it takes a full 2 years for everything to settle down so I guess there's still hope. (And there's certainly hope for you at only 9 weeks!)

Myownhope -- its seemed for me like the pulling sensation around my ears would never end but it finally did...around the 9th or 10th month. However it was replaced by a general feeling of tightness around my upper neck & lower ears which I still have. Next week is my 1 year anniversary. Hopefully your recovery will be quicker & less eventful. Everyone is so unique in their healing process it's difficult to say how long things will take. My point is: don't despair; it probably will get better in time. Best of luck to you.

Hi Debra, thanks for your comments. I take a tiny dosage .25-.50 mg and I only take it maybe once per week. I don't have an addictive personality; on the contrary, I HATE to take chemicals of any kind, even aspirin. However, this blasted nerve related discomfort has me going down roads I wouldn't ordinarily. I don't take it for anxiety or sleeping, just the nerve symptoms. My neurologist prescribed it for everyday use saying that clonopin is the least addictive of any of the benzos. But after this miserable ps ordeal, I don't really have a lot of confidence in doctors anymore. Thanks again for your comments.