Third Day of Recovery from Lip Lift - Baltimore, MD

I am now on day 9 of my recovery and am so far very happy. Once the fibre glue my doctor put on began to peel with my help and the scar was exposed I began using castor oil. This is something I believe in for many skin wounds as it penetrate beyond the surface Layer of skin. I have a lot of redness under the incision area and much healing left but feel like my diet and castor oil has truly helped my over all experience with swelling and incision. I love the tooth show which I had anyway. But my face looks younger however I did want the side up a little more but do like the pouty look that is more prominent now. I do have some stiffness but nothing I feel noticeable or limitating. I was also diligent about taking my steroid, bromelain, arnica, vitamin c and antibiotic. I too did fruit smoothies, veggie smoothies and lots of water. I was also fortunate to take the first three days to take my pain meds and nap while my kids were at school. I'm so glad I went ahead with this procedure. I must say there is that tinge of doubt since we never know how we may heal but in the gut we know what we really want to do and sometimes you just have to look forward and hope for the best if it means that much to you. It takes courage to make that decision and then patience to wait and heal.

I have been considering a lip lift since late spring and finally decided to have Dr. R be the one to perform my surgery. I have a nice curve to my lips already however, I am hoping to have a little more fullness and teeth showing once my recovery is over.
I was totally awake with local anesthesia and I did not take any valium or pain medication prior to surgery as I was driving home afterward. The procedure took about 1 hour. I must say Dr. R and I had a very warm and pleasant converstaion prior to surgery which helped confirm I was doing the right thing and to help with any last minute anxiousness. I was quite shocked once I was allowed to see myself in the mirror...SWOLLEN big time. Scary. Not to mention the stitches all along my nose. However, I am trying to remain calm and be patient as I know stressing over it will only inhibit the healing process. The numbness in the lip region has gone away but I have numbness in between the nose and upper lip and my lip is still about 2 times larger than my lower lip. My cheeks and nose are also very swollen making me look like a rabbit or chipmunk. I have been icing about every two hours with frozen peas. I am also taking bromalain, arnica and a steroid I began yesterday the day after surgery to help witht he swelling. I am also still finishing the antibiotic. As for pain, I really don't have any but do take the prescribed medication on occasion to help me nap and rest. It's hard to sleep for more than a couple hours ,so I am tired. I have been staying elevated and drinking fruit and green smoothies for nourishment as well as eating scrambled eggs, yogurt and a little soup. I'm hoping tomorrow to see more of an improvement as I don't see much of a change from my day of surgery. The lip has come down a bit but still way too big for my taste. I will hope to give another update in a couple days. I am 38 btw.