Thigh Lift / Reshape - Not Yet As Painful As I Expected

I was expecting to be incapacitated and in excrutiating pain having read numerous articles on the Thigh lift procedure.
I was checked into Spire in Leicester at 7:15am and at around 8:30am my consultant was in my room marking me up and taking pictures. I have excessive medial knee fat which just wouldnt go and the same at the top of my thighs. I was not overweight but have had these areas for 20+ years and 20+ years of exercise, good eating and gym havent helped and have seriously knocked my confidence
I went down to theatre at about 09:15 I had the anaesthetic in my canula and mask over my face and within seconds I was gone. I dont remember waking up in recovery, I first remember waking back up in my room, VERY groggy, it was around 15:00 (it took 4+ hours in surgery). I was partially aware of people talking to me and as soon as I moved I felt nauseous but was given an injection. I then fell asleep again for about 2 hours. When I woke, I found my legs very heavy - wasnt aware at that time I had compression pumps attached to the calves on both legs plugged into the bed. I also had a drain in each leg which was very sore. I thought they were in canulas but when i found they were about 6" into the wounds I understood where the pain was from. I was able just to get off of the bed with help - but sitting on the loo was nightmarish, any pressure on the thighs was painful. I was released the next day at 11:30am. I struggled with sitting, toilet and stairs i was taking paracetamol and ibro as I didnt want to routinely take the codeine I was given unless it became intolerable. I went to bed very early.
Woke up a few times in the night when i rolled on my thighs, I cannot sleep on my back but am having to! When I woke up eventually I felt suprisingly ok. Yes, it was painful when i put pressure on my thighs and yes, lowering myself to the loo and sitting on it is not pleasant, but I can shuffle around the house without too much agony.
Today I can see bruising coming out under the dressings - i have been given compression socks for a fortnight but told that compression leggings shouldnt be worn for the first week, so Im wearing baggies. I wasnt sent home with the drains in, so do not have that complication. There is slight swelling which is where the bruising is, but doesnt appear excessive
The bruising is starting to come out today (Friday - Op was Wednesday) and looks really fierce but isnt too painful and I havent needed the Codeine as yet.
I have read quite a lot of horror stories about how stitches / wounds split but you dont know as they are under the dressings, so I am a little frightened about when I go for my 1 week outpatients appt next week. Its a balance between getting around to prevent DVT but not doing too much. There doesnt appear to be any leakage at present so fingers crossed. Some areas are more painful than others I dont know if thats the level of bruising, stitches that may have pulled but hopefully not infection. Will see how it goes over the next few days,but so far so good

I went for my one-week check up yesterday and it all seems to be looking good. I was expecting to some extent (after reading the horror stories) that wounds may have split, that there would be infection etc but it seems not. It all looks very neat. Its still sore, and quite painful still to sit when my thighs are resting on a seat, but sitting on the edge of a seat or on a lower chair where I can arch my thighs is ok. There is still quite a bit of bruising and swelling. I am able to walk around, not too far as the pain does come on, and I drove the short distance to the hospital (with the car seat pushed forward so no pressure) and it wasnt too bad. I am finding it a lot easier to sleep now as I dont have to stay on my back all the time. I am really pleased at this stage as its seemingly getting a lot better than I expected a lot quicker. I now dont have the dressings on and am wearing some tight gym shorts under my clothes, using ointment on the wound (i have the dissolving stitches) which is obviously very rough and does catch. I can see what is swelling and what is not, so I am hopefult

I had my two week check up on Wednesday and everything is going very well (will upload some pictures shortly). Both wounds are healing very well indeed. There so far has been no splitting, no bleeding and no infection and Im very pleased. There is still swelling and bruising as expected.
I have been wearing tight leggings for a week now but have removed the compression socks.
I have been applying the "eye ointment" for a week to help with the healing and keep the skin soft and its going well. I havent had much pain at all, I get the odd twinge if I exert myself ie walk too much or take too big a step up some stairs etc. Its still sitting which causes me a little grief, anything where my thighs are pressed against the seat, if I can angle my legs into a bit of an arch its not bad at all, just like a dull ache for which I am not taking any painkillers. Im pretty good with pain and stopped taking anything after Week 1, I was only using ibroprufen and only had 3 of the stronger Codeine tablets in the first couple of days. I can see it starting to shape up, so I am really looking forward to the bruising and swelling going down to see what I am left with. My next appointment is in one month, when hopefully I should have a pretty good idea of how good its turned out. I have found it so much easier, quicker and more pain free than I expected. But then I always expect the worse!! I am quite active now, walking around fine, and have started to drive (moving the seat a little closer to get the arched thighs) and its just fine, no issues at all.