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2months and a week
A lot has changed. My lips are actually bigger. My friend who said they were too small said recently "they're perfect." Another friend said "you have very kissable lips." I think 4 was the perfect size for me after all. Even my not-smile has improved significantly!!!! Sorry my phone camera is so messed up but these pics are from this morning and there was different lighting but no Photoshop. Turning 46 tomorrow. So glad I did this. The only bad news is that my pain has returned ????. I have no idea why it went away for 6 weeks. But that wasn't the reason for the surgery in the first place. I had severe face dysmorphia, I'm not going to lie. My lips just seemed to disappear overnight. It was so upsetting and preoccupied my thinking more than I'd care to admit. Now I'm happy to meet new people and see old friends too. This was one of the best things I've ever done for myself and I can't express my gratitude to Dr Pearlman and his staff enough.
Pain reduction clarification
Just realized point 3 was confusing. I was in tremendous facial pain for 15 years. Then I had this surgery. Now a huge chunk of the pain is gone. It's amazing to be out of pain. Or in less pain as I still have some. But I think this surgery has changed my life on that account alone. So that's why I'd recommend this to anyone who has facial pain that hasn't gotten better from other methods. I don't know if it would do the same thing for them. But TMJ surgeries are like $20,000 plus and often don't work so worst case scenario, better lips.
So much to share! A much improved face! So so so so worth it. (I'll also share the complaints) 7/20/15
O.K., so I'm going to write about a novel's length here. I just found a really bad pic from last year. Then I posted two from today. The glass on my phone is broken so it's all hazy below but wanted to use the same phone camera as my previous posts. I want to give people the happy ending story, but I also want to share the parts I still struggle with so that you get a right sized point of view.
1) It is a tremendous difference and improvement. I have some issues, which I will post. But if your lips are gone, I'd highly recommend this surgery.
2) I need to a pic when I'm not smiling. The smile looks great. The not smile isn't as lovely. The bottom lies flat, which is a common complaint, but still a 1000% improvement
3) I have been in terrible agony with facial pain for 15 years. The discs in my jaw were torn in a brain surgery 15 years ago. So not being in pain is the ultimate bonus. Recommend this surgery to anyone with myofacial pain, especially tmj. I think this surgery is going to change my life on that account alone. Have no idea why this is. Most likely because some nerve in my lips was cut. (Feeling in the lips comes back, though)
4) size 4 is a little small. Unless you have a narrow face, I'd opt for 5. But that's just my suggestion. It depends on your age and face shape. Your surgeon is the best person to guage what size will look natural but one of my gay male friends said he wished my lips were bigger. Whatevs.
5) Wrinkles on the lips - GONE. That alone is worth the money.
6) Lip is slightly elevated. Total Bonus.
Downsides
1) The top is still a little unstable. And when I'm not smiling it seems like my mouth is a little more compact. May need a longer implant. Dr. Pearlman said we should wait a month because it takes 2 months to see the final result.
2) As I mentioned, bottom lip is flat. I need to get used to it but it's an older looking bottom lip shape. I hope they fix that in the next generation of permalip. Still, an improvement over previous bottom lip but just being honest.
3) The way my lips are shaped, a future lip lift may be hard to pull off. So I'd recommend a lip lift first if you want both procedures. There is a bit of a lift with this so that's great. But I'd like to get rhinoplasty and some times women need a lip lift afterwards. (Yes, I'm that neurotic)
4) Be prepared to look like a monster, then awful, then weird for awhile. I looked weird for 2 1/2 weeks. I guess I'm a slow healer, though. It really starts looking better when you start stretching, then it folds into a pocket. But I would recommend going to a meditation retreat - no yoga - and hanging there for a couple of weeks.
4) Go to someone good. I'd recommend Dr. Pearlman because I got a good result. And my friends have commented this week that my lips in no way look like plastic surgery lips and one friend says it looks amazing. Another friend just said I look better but that it doesn't look plastic surgery-ish and that is what she's the most happy about for me. I'm extremely picky. I still have a few issues with the length of the top lip, and may want to see about a bigger size, but hopefully those will get resolved. But my smile has improved 1000% and I gasp at how it looked before. I'll post in 6 weeks with an update. This is a very new surgery and there aren't that many Drs who know what they are doing, at least that's my guess. But he made me look much better. That before is like the worst pic ever taken of me. And the two smiling from today are pretty awesome. I'll try to post a not smiling pic soon. It's not as great. Still.
So in summary, turns out Dr. Pearlman was the right doctor for the job. I'm so grateful to him and his office staff. Really, can't recommend this procedure enough. And the pain reduction is going to change my life. But clearly I look a lot better. All that panic was for nothing. I am so happy I had this surgery.
1) It is a tremendous difference and improvement. I have some issues, which I will post. But if your lips are gone, I'd highly recommend this surgery.
2) I need to a pic when I'm not smiling. The smile looks great. The not smile isn't as lovely. The bottom lies flat, which is a common complaint, but still a 1000% improvement
3) I have been in terrible agony with facial pain for 15 years. The discs in my jaw were torn in a brain surgery 15 years ago. So not being in pain is the ultimate bonus. Recommend this surgery to anyone with myofacial pain, especially tmj. I think this surgery is going to change my life on that account alone. Have no idea why this is. Most likely because some nerve in my lips was cut. (Feeling in the lips comes back, though)
4) size 4 is a little small. Unless you have a narrow face, I'd opt for 5. But that's just my suggestion. It depends on your age and face shape. Your surgeon is the best person to guage what size will look natural but one of my gay male friends said he wished my lips were bigger. Whatevs.
5) Wrinkles on the lips - GONE. That alone is worth the money.
6) Lip is slightly elevated. Total Bonus.
Downsides
1) The top is still a little unstable. And when I'm not smiling it seems like my mouth is a little more compact. May need a longer implant. Dr. Pearlman said we should wait a month because it takes 2 months to see the final result.
2) As I mentioned, bottom lip is flat. I need to get used to it but it's an older looking bottom lip shape. I hope they fix that in the next generation of permalip. Still, an improvement over previous bottom lip but just being honest.
3) The way my lips are shaped, a future lip lift may be hard to pull off. So I'd recommend a lip lift first if you want both procedures. There is a bit of a lift with this so that's great. But I'd like to get rhinoplasty and some times women need a lip lift afterwards. (Yes, I'm that neurotic)
4) Be prepared to look like a monster, then awful, then weird for awhile. I looked weird for 2 1/2 weeks. I guess I'm a slow healer, though. It really starts looking better when you start stretching, then it folds into a pocket. But I would recommend going to a meditation retreat - no yoga - and hanging there for a couple of weeks.
4) Go to someone good. I'd recommend Dr. Pearlman because I got a good result. And my friends have commented this week that my lips in no way look like plastic surgery lips and one friend says it looks amazing. Another friend just said I look better but that it doesn't look plastic surgery-ish and that is what she's the most happy about for me. I'm extremely picky. I still have a few issues with the length of the top lip, and may want to see about a bigger size, but hopefully those will get resolved. But my smile has improved 1000% and I gasp at how it looked before. I'll post in 6 weeks with an update. This is a very new surgery and there aren't that many Drs who know what they are doing, at least that's my guess. But he made me look much better. That before is like the worst pic ever taken of me. And the two smiling from today are pretty awesome. I'll try to post a not smiling pic soon. It's not as great. Still.
So in summary, turns out Dr. Pearlman was the right doctor for the job. I'm so grateful to him and his office staff. Really, can't recommend this procedure enough. And the pain reduction is going to change my life. But clearly I look a lot better. All that panic was for nothing. I am so happy I had this surgery.
Provider Review
Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon
110 E. 60th St., New York, New York
I would recommend him for this surgery because this is a new procedure and it's important to find someone who knows what they are doing. He's efficient but nice. But what really matters is the result. And my result is pretty great.