41 and Tired of Looking Tired | Eyelids and TCA peel - Columbus, OH

I noticed in my mid to late 30's that I started to look tired all the time. Even though I was refreshed, I would still have family members and coworkers ask if I was tired. My upper eye lids were looking more heavy and hooded, and the bottoms were developing bags. No creams, serums, lotions or potions were going to fix this. It was time to start researching bleph surgery (hence where RealSelf comes in). This site helped me tremendously in reading others stories that I could relate to.
I found Dr. Shaw from a web search and was impressed from his client image gallery, so I made a consultation. He was very personable and did not talk "over" me - meaning he explained the procedure in terms that were understandable to me. He gave me two options for helping the lower eyes (I cannot recall the technical terms, but one method was to cut at the lash line and remove excess skin to smooth it out, and the other was to go inside the bottom and move the fat around to fill in the hollow spots). I opted for the second method due to less down time and no visible scars. In order to combat the wrinkles, he was going to do a TCA peel on the bottoms for added esthetic. On the 2-week appt. prior to the surgery, I asked about a full face peel due to my freckles and sun worshiping for many years. He went over the pros and cons, and I was sold. The thought of having clear, freckle-free skin was well worth the added expense. It just seemed to make sense that while I was already getting the IV sedation, go forth with the full TCA instead of waiting and paying for that again (IV service).
The day of surgery was a little aggravating since they asked us to show up at 7am, but didn't really get started until about 8:30 with the pre-op. I cannot figure that one out, as I was the only patient waiting. Anyhoo, after checking my vitals, my blood pressure was 148/80 (which is very unusual for me as I tend to be on the low side) - guess the nerves were really taking over. I was given blood pressure reducing pills, tylenol, a few things to reduce acid in the stomach, and then got hooked up to the IV with the 'good stuff'. Seems like I waited 10 or 15 minutes before I walked back to the operating room. I remember laying on the table, the doctor putting the protective lenses over my eyes and was out. I did "come to" at one point feeling tugging at my eye- I must've said "ouch" cause I heard him say "more medicine" and felt better - then heard them talking about ordering Pizza, which I remember thinking to myself was weird. At some point after the eye surgery, he started the peel and I felt an intense burning sensation. Again, I said "Hey...I feel that" and more medicine was given. Which seemed like 1 to 2 minutes later I was back to no pain at all. I vaguely remember walking to my car and nothing of the ride home and settling into the recliner at home.
I slept in my recliner for the first 4 nights- and that was very hard (I am a side sleeper). The first day of surgery, I slept a lot. I also slept quite a bit of the second day. My husband was very diligent with taking care of me and making sure I got my medicine. He helped with the ice packs (we tried corn and peas) and it seemed awkward on my face. He bought me some kind of eye mask to help out. We did not ice consistently - seemed more off than on. I am very lucky to not have bruised black and blue- only a pale yellow color (and no, I did not take arnica or bromelein)
I have taken many pictures of progress and did a video blog of what I was experiencing at different stages. If anyone cares to view, please comment and I will attempt to add them.

A few pics of progress (I am wearing a heavy sunscreen in these pics that was very unflattering. But would not risk going outside with nothing to protect my skin) As you can see, the skin is still red and flaky, but eyes are looking better!