I have hated my droopy chin and neck for years. I was in the store one day and passed by a mirror and scared myself! Holy crap! What happened?! I have been wanting to get this done for a long time. I'm 66 so I'm going to treat myself. I think I deserve it. Also I'm in the beauty business, I'm a hairdresser, so I'm in front of the mirror with clients all day. And my husband is 4 years younger so I hate looking older than him. So three good reasons.
So I called Dr. Staahl for a consultation. Everyone in the office is very nice and he is nice too. I told him all of my concerns. So I did it! Scheduled surgery right then and there. My pre-op appointment is Oct 2 and surgery is Oct 16. I'm excited!
Updated on 6 Oct 2018:
I went for my pre Op appointment and paid for my surgery, got instructions. No asprin, no ibuprophen, etc. They gave me Arnica to help prevent bruising and Flurazapam for anxiety the night before and morning of the surgery. I'm starting to get nervous. Excited but nervous. We got a hotel for the day of surgery because we have to be back the next morning for a check up and we live around 50 miles away. There's nothing worse than getting bounced around in the car right after surgery! I made that mistake before.
Dr. Staahl is all business, just gets to the point. The nurse briefed me for about 30 minutes then the doc saw me. He examined my face and we discussed what was going to happen. He is going to tighten the muscles in my chin/neck area and maybe face too. That's gonna hurt! It will be worth it in the end. I'm scared lol!
Ten days to go!
Here's more pre op pics.
Updated on 16 Oct 2018:
Still groggy and out of it. Just laying in the hotel room and taking it easy. Going in tomorrow at 10:45 for follow up appt. Then home. My head is wrapped up like a surprise ball and pain is around a 5 with pain pills. Just chilling right now. Eating soda crackers and Jell-O.
Updated on 19 Oct 2018:
Three days ago was my facelift surgery. I'm super sore but I'm trying to get through it with pain meds and ice packs. Pain meds upset my stomach. Yuck. Here are some before and after pics. I'm really sore behind my ears and sides of my face. I'm taking Norco but it doesn't help that much. I didn't sleep at all last night. Just tossed on the couch and weird little dreams and very uncomfortable. Hope tonight is better. Everything feels super tight. I feel like there is a noose around my neck bet hopefully it will subside as the swelling goes down.
Updated on 22 Oct 2018:
It's been seven days since my facelift surgery. I didn't sleep well again, I was feeling uncomfortable and achy all night. I had a pulling feeling, kind of like a tension headache. I also noticed if I yawn it pulls on everything that has been moved/stitched during the surgery. Try not to yawn, it's impossible and makes you yawn even more! I found this to be a source of irritation around the surgery areas, especially the incisions behind the ears.
Also too much chewing irritates everything too. The less chewing and more soft foods the better at this point.
But regardless of the restless night I actually didn't feel too bad this morning. The swelling has gone down a little. Yay! But my cheeks are a little bruised. I was going to attempt a trip to the store but sending the hubs instead. I don't want to scare anyone! :-)
I think the worst sensation is the pulling under my chin. It feels like I've been hanging by a noose. It almost set off the gag reflex. So I try to keep my chin up (literally) to minimize the feeling. Hopefully that will subside. Here's an update pic for day 7.
Updated on 1 Nov 2018:
Last weekend I had a little infection behind my ear and it got swollen. It hurt and woke me up at 3:00 am. I had an old bottle of Augmentin so I thought what could it hurt. So took one and a pain pill. I called the doc the next morning, he said stay on the antibiotic and come in Monday. By Monday the swelling went down, but still a little tender. I had enough pills for 6 days so he said finish what I have, use peroxide on the [RS bleep] area and apply Bacitracin. Today is 5 days later and I'm feeling better and the inflamed area is looking better. I have to say, this doc doesn't want to write prescriptions. He asked if I had any old pain pills and antibiotics to use. It must be the new laws or something. But it worked out anyway. Here's a pic from today, 16 days post op. I am loving the results. :-)
Updated on 6 Nov 2018:
Here is a before pic. It's a really bad one. And an after pic. Of course the light is bad but they were both taken sitting in the same chair.
Yesterday I went for a check up and got most of my stitches out. Dr Staahl came and took a peek. Of course he never says much, lol. I told him I was really happy with the results and he did a great job. He just smiled and walked out. Hey, at least he smiled!
Updated on 9 Nov 2018:
Someone requested more side shot "before" photos. So here they are. These I took while my muscles we're relaxed, not smiling. Pretty saggy huh. All the sag is gone now. It felt like I had a noose around my neck the first few days after surgery. Very creepy feeling and uncomfortable. The doctor said it would relax over time and I could stretch a little. It's been almost four weeks post op and I don't have that "strangled" feeling as much now.
I just snapped a couple after side pics. I just got up so sorry for the morning face. Lol
Just thinking i might get upper eyes done next year. Lol
Updated on 31 Jan 2019:
Hi beautiful people! So it's been three months since my surgery. The tightness, twinges of pain are gone. I have some broken capillaries from the surgery by my earlobe I want to get removed. It seems that things have "relaxed" a little. Still fine with the results but I liked the post surgery tightness. The wrinkles in my chin are back. I guess this is normal? Hmm... Guess I will be making an appointment for some fillers because in the wrong light it looks bad. I'll try to put photos of this below. Still happy with overall result and I have a chin again! :-)