In our Lifestyle Lift community many people look back on their experiences and say, "I wish I knew..." some information prior to undergoing surgery. Here are tips from RealSelf community members (taken from individual reviews and comments) that you may find helpful. Feel free to add your own in the comments! -- Sharon
-- Healing Time --
1. You need to be realistic -- just because it's an out patient procedure -- you are not having a tooth filled at your dentist -- there are a lot of stitches. It definitely takes about two weeks before you feel comfortable going out in public. [Mr. Bill]
2. I am retired as of now, and I didn't go out socially until 2 1/2 weeks later, and I was still swollen. [Marilyn2009]
3. I was told that I would be fine to be back at work in a week. I took off 11 days from work just to be on the safe side since I do work in the entertainment industry and am in contact face-to-face with not only the public but coworkers also. I had to go back to work with my face still swollen, distorted looking. I am now four weeks in and can comfortably say that my lift and laser are a complete success. I am very happy with my results but just wish that they would have been more honest with the actuality of down time. [maxfred]
-- How Much Pain to Expect --
4. I really didn't have much pain -- just a feeling that my ears had been hit, numbness (which still remains five weeks later) and tiredness necessitating an afternoon nap. [Marilyn2009]
5. There is a lot of pain for the first several days but it is manageable. The first 24 hours after surgery are the worst. I did not require pain medicine after the third day. [Mr. Bill]
6. You cannot go back to work in a week (ha). Thank God I work from home. The pain is more severe than what I thought it would be. My neck is very tight, I have a hard knot on the right side and have no feeling in my earlobes. I know I still have time to heal, but to think someone can rip your face apart and you feel great in a short time is a lie. [valibabe]
-- Is Local Anesthetic Scary? --
7. I am an RN so I had a better idea of what to expect with this procedure. In order to do your face and neck, lidocaine has to be injected (not 5-7 injections) probably closer to 45-70 depending on your weight, neck size. Needle is similar to insulin needle (tiny) but still multiple pricks. [Dawn52]
8. The main pain was from the pricking of the lidocaine local anesthetic injections on the second side of the face, as chilling with ice cubes could not be done on that side because ice cannot be made sterile. [Marilyn2009]
-- Incisions --
9. I was told of the incisions around the ear during the interview -- sounded very logical and quite honestly healed great. They did have to redo one of the areas behind one ear a couple of days after the procedure but other than that they healed fine. [Mr. Bill]
10. I removed the bandages on the second day because it was tight and was annoying me. I noticed right away that the stitches were fine and I could tell right away that my doctor did a very good job. I had the stitches removed on the seventh day after the procedure. I was told that some sutures behind my ears will go away on their own. [Becca Goodwyn]
11. I have lots of itching and scarring in front and back of my ear even after using Scarguard faithfully. [202697anon]
-- Recovery Tips --
12. I planned on not going anywhere for a month. You bruise a lot, and swelling. Ice bags are essential. [Dawn52]
13. No one told me that I could order an "easier to apply" chin support wrap. The one they gave me to use is difficult to apply and a pain in the neck -- no pun intended. I ordered one, but not until post-op. I would have liked to have it for right after the surgery. [Marilyn2009]
14. I am a nurse practitioner and my husband is an OB/GYN. Everyone wants perfection, but everyone is different anatomically and physiologically. Everyone heals differently and at a different pace. [7054anon]