Lower Face and Neck Lift Success! Cleveland, OH

For those who asked for a straight-on photo, and a picture of my incision, here they are. The "before" picture is so awful I hate to even post it! It was just out of the shower, with no makeup. And the shot I took today is with no makeup and messy hair from being outside all day. But you get the idea. Today is 5 weeks post and all is well! I still have slight numbness along the sides of my ears and just under my chin, but don't even notice it at this point. Everything else is back to normal.
As I pointed out in a comment response, the incision is virtually invisible. You can barely see a faint pink line where it starts, then it disappears into my ear, coming out the bottom and around the back of my head. I do also have the one under my chin, which is still slightly visible, but easily concealed with a little makeup. Dr. Leedy is masterful!

I had talked about doing this for years and finally got the courage to go through with it. My sagging neck and jowls made me look like my mother, and older than I was. I'm thrilled with the results and have no regrets. This sight was very helpful and gave me a lot of ideas about what to expect. Some applied to my situation, some did not. I had no complications and actually recovered faster than I expected.
My experience included the following:
I had the surgery on a Monday and spent the night at the hospital. I'm very glad I did because the drains were removed before I went home on Tuesday. It was nice to have someone take care of things for the first 24 hours.
I did not use any supplements before or after the procedure and healed fine.
Expect to look slightly like an alien for a few days. Don't panic! It's normal.
I only need pain meds for Monday and Tuesday. After that, I didn't even need Tylenol.
There is definitely a very tight sensation around the neck and sides of face. It didn't really bother me that much since I knew to expect it. I did not feel like I was choking. Someone here described it as feeling like there was tight, heavy clay packed around your neck. That's pretty accurate.
Be prepared to sleep on you back for at least two weeks. That was hard; I don't sleep well on my back. I was able to sleep in bed, slightly propped up, the whole time.
Before I could sleep on my side normally, I could use one of those travel neck pillows, and put my ear in the hole/opening so no pressure on my ears.
I didn't really go anywhere for the first week, until after I got the stitches removed.
Dr. Leedy made the incisions inside my ear, and once the stitches came out, you couldn't even see them! The one under my chin is easy to hide.
I went out to dinner with friends after a week and a half, and no one noticed anything (or at least no one said anything!) even though I still had some swelling and bruising. However, the following day, my neck was very sore from talking and trying to be expressive. :-)
By the end of the second week I was feeling a bit depressed from being isolated. I'm very social and missed being with people. This was my choice, as I didn't want people to know. Keep this in mind if you decide not to tell people. Make sure there are a least a few people who can visit and keep you company.
I was pretty tired for the first two weeks after surgery. Don't push yourself; your body needs the time to heal. By three weeks post, I felt mostly like myself.
After two weeks, I was able to be out and about with people.
Today is 4 weeks post and I still have some slight numbness and tightness, but I don't even think about it anymore as it continues to gradually subside.
My results are VERY natural. I don't look any different, just like myself about 10-15 years ago. Nobody notices anything except that I look younger. Exactly what I wanted!
My advice: DO IT!!
I'd happily answer any questions!