First, I would like to thank all you realselfers that have so bravely shared your experience, it's not easy posting pictures of you in the raw. I'm scheduled with Dr. Beth Collins to get a Lower Face Lift on December 6th. I'm 52 and have noticed my neck melting so let's do something about it. I've tried laser tightening on my neck and it appeared to work a little, but not enough for me. Menopause is beating me up and I'm going to fight back, with a little(lot of) help from Dr. Collins :). Dr. Collins is a skilled surgeon and I have all the confidence in the world that she will do a great job, but still scared! I had an appt a few weeks ago and all I can remember her saying is I won't be able to workout for 4 o 6 weeks, for me, SUCKS! I have another appt the beginning of October, getting my lists of questions ready. So I've been stalking most of you, but especially those who have had not only a lower face lift but a fat transfer to the cheeks, so I'll be asking about that next visit, because of you, I'm thinking I should consider it. I've had fillers and they work amazing but wouldn't it be great not to have to do that every year?!?
Updated on 15 Oct 2017:
So I had an appt with Dr. Collins this week to ask a few questions.
Me - If you were me, what would you have done?
Dr. Collins - The lower lift with Fat Transfer will give you excellent results. No need to do your eyes at this point.
Me - Where would you take the fat from for the fat transfer and what kind of scar will I have?
Dr. Collins - Said my stomach wouldn't work, possible inner thigh(not crazy about that). The scar is really little, but still a scar not sure I want to touch my legs in anyway, I love my legs!
Me- What should I do to prepare for surgery?
Dr. Collins - There's no magic pill to stop the bruising or heal faster, it's a process just be sure to stop taking aspirin, fish oils ect.
Me - I have a mole on my face and was curious where it would end up?
Dr. Collins- Mentioned it wouldn't move very much
Me - Should I do a Halo before or after sugery? If you haven't had a Halo you are missing out, it's the most wonderful procedure, painful, but the results are AMAZING!
Dr. Collins - Suggested after
Dr. Collins is the most relaxed person to be around, she doesn't rush you, love her honesty and her matter of fact, no fluff! She explained how I will most likely be depressed after the surgery, it happens to most. I'll have the surgery, see her the next day and every few days after that just to be sure all is going well. I'm really up in the air about the fat transfer, I get mixed reviews on it. Some reviews I see it improved tremendously and others not so much at all. Ever since I booked this surgery I feel like my neck gets worse everyday, of course! By December 6th I'll have to drag it into the surgical center..LOL. I'm so excited and so flippin nervous at the same time, luckily Mon through Fri I'm so busy I have no time to think about it. Updating with some more before pictures.
Updated on 6 Dec 2017:
Well it's 6:00am, surgery is scheduled for 7:30am, I've never been so flippin scared and excited at the same time!!
Updated on 7 Dec 2017:
Home from the surgery center, I arrived at 6:30am and left at 5:00pm. When I woke up my right bicep was killing me, beside that I felt pretty good, just very emotional from the anesthesia. Very swollen but that's expected. Walking into the operation room has got to be the scariest thing, it's like, okay it's happening, am I crazy, what will the end result be. The staff at Guilford Surgery Center were very helpful and answered all my questions. At this point I'm taking my meds every 4 hours and will continue to do so for a couple more days!
Updated on 7 Dec 2017:
I'm basically sleeping all day, my wonderful husband has been taken great care of me. Got the wrap taken off today, came home, showered and then my husband wrapped me up again, Dr. Collins is saying to keep it wrapped and positioned high so I don't get wrinkles from lowering my jaw. So far so good!
Updated on 12 Dec 2017:
Words can't describe how I feel, Dr. Collins is one bad ass surgeon, I love my results and it's only been 6 days! I'm still swollen and my lips are crazy big, but with time it will go down, I'm trying not to judge to earlier, I really can't believe what 6 days has gotten me! This is the best decision I've ever made, besides having my children and marrying my husband ;) if you're thinking of doing a lowerface lift, just do it! With the right surgeon you can have remarkable results! I have done nothing, besides wash my hair the second day. I have not iced my face, no special creams, nothing, mother nature is doing it all. If I don't stay on top of my meds I do have pain in my ears, there's no pain where she took the fat, no pain where she put the fat. I'm not doing anything, usually I'm at the gym everyday for 2 hours, I have not even walked, I'm waiting for the okay and actually it's a nice change. Hanging home doing Christmas decorations and really enjoying the time, not rushing around trying to be somewhere, healing, that's all I'm doing is healing. I wish you all the best and thanks for being here to share your journal and allowing me to share mine. XX00
Updated on 15 Dec 2017:
Taking it one day at a time, not trying to rush it and not trying to expect unrealistic expectations. I'm 52 I'm never going to look 20 or even 30 again, I just want to look my best at 52. I've been reading a lot of post on here, because I have the time, that will end soon :) and one women mentioned in her post us being in the honeymoon stage. I had to think about it and she's right all(most) posts on here are 3 months or less so it's important that we continue to post, maybe not every week but every 6 months, just a hey, still here and this is where I stand. We will continue to age so this procedure will only last until gravity says it will, but until then we can only do our best to take care of what we have. We are all so fortunate to be able to do this. I don't think any of these posts would of changed my mind on who I was going to have do this procedure or any other procedure I will have done, but the posts have clearly made me understand what to expect or not to expect and I thank you ALL for that! It's been 9 days since my surgery and I'm healing nicely, I still haven't worked out, KILLING ME, waiting until by body gives me the okay. I could go walking on the treadmill but not ready to see everyone yet, the questions the stares, blah blah, I'm home in my happy place. I did a lot of prep cooking prior to surgery so I have plenty of healthy meals for me so hopefully I won't gain to much weight, plus my body could use the break. 9 days is really not a lot of time when you think about the surgery that has been just done, we live in good times. So,I guess Dr. Beth Collins and I are in the honeymoon state right now and I'm loving it! Dr. Collins is a skilled surgeon and sooo much more! I'll check back in after the holidays, Happy Holidays to all!!! So much to be thankful for!
Updated on 15 Dec 2017:
I forgot the front view, this is where you can really see red blothes which I'm sure is just a thing my skin is going through.
Updated on 6 Jan 2018:
It's been exactly 1 month since I had my lowerface lift and I am extremely happy with the results especially after I just sat here looking at my before profile pictures. I can't believe how much healing has happened in 30 days, it's amazing! I had my staples removed last week, thank goodness, those sucked. I'm a side sleeper and I could feel them everynight as I hit the pillow. I still have tightness in my neck and it appears a bit bruised on my left side. On my right side cheek I had a small bump for a bit and you might still see it in the pictures it's from the fat injection, massaging it helps. My numbness has subsided to almost not at all, but my ears are still very red and senistive to the touch. My chin scar appears to healing nicely but it's very noticeable, I feel like everyone is always looking at it. I haven't been wearing makup, I really don't care who knows, but I feel like the chin scar is saying, look at me. I did my first Yoga class in 4 weeks today, very excited! I also started going back to the gym last week but only working legs lightly for now. I've made the decision to get a Halo laser on Jan 10th. I'm kinda of in a "healing" mode right now so I'm thinking it's the perfect time. I'll post again in March when I see Dr. Collins again, it will be my 3 month checkup. Happy healing everyone!!
Updated on 4 Feb 2018:
Hi All it's been 8 1/2 weeks and my life pretty much as gone back to normal. I'm still applying creams to the scars in hopes they lighten up but I think that's going to be a long road. I don't have any tightness really at all, a tiny bit at the top of my neck, I hardly notice it at all. I wasn't going to post until my 12 week checkup but I can't believe how far I've come so wanted to share some before and afters. I tried to get the exact same shots,no makeup, no nothing, not an easy task :). What an improvement, besides the scar, it looks amazing! My lips look fuller and all the extra skin is gone! You can still see a little baby jowl but big improvement for sure. After reading many reviews no one seems to "totally" get rid of their jowls, they seem to always come back a little once the swelling goes down.I'm super happy, I'll take it. I recently had the Halo laser done, Jan 9th so it's been a couple of weeks, I figured I'm already down, why not! I feel like it's given me a more refreshed look, whatever that means :). Happy Healing!
Updated on 21 Oct 2018:
Well I guess I'm not very good at updating, apologizes. It's 1 month from being 1 year since I had the procedure, all is wonderful, I couldn't be happier with my results, would do it again in a heart beat, hopefully I don't have to :). It took a while to feel comfortable with the scars, especially since I wear my hair up a lot, but I'm over it now, it's like anything, time heals and the scars in my opinion look pretty good, for being scars! I appreciate all the support that realself gives and all of you, that put yourself out there, for all to see. Hope this helps someone, somewhere.