I have been obsessing over neck and jowls for...
-
7 Aug 2013
-
Day of treatment
I have been obsessing over neck and jowls for years. Hopefully I can allow myself to grow old gracefully after this.
I had the lower face lift, and fraxel laser around mouth, Dysport between brows, and Perlane under the eyes.
Pros- so far it doesn't hurt much at all.
Cons- Feeling of tightness. I have to sip soup and smoothies through a straw, because it becomes uncomfortable when I chew. Remember this is only the first day.
4 days out
Lots of swelling and bruising. Can't imagine being able to work in just a few days.
Photos
Ive been trying to post photos but they are apparently not being uploads for some reason. I'm going through a lot of anxiety right now that I may have done something very foolish. I look tight and swollen and not like myself at all. I just have to try to be more patient.
Swelling after surgery
The swelling after surgery is not something I expected to encounter, and it is quite
pronounced. It's impossible to say how I will end up looking at the point. My consolation is that, as weird as it looks, it feels just as weird. So when sensation returns to my ears and cheek area I do have hope they will look much better as well.
Two Weeks
The surgery was two weeks ago and although I am slowly healing and improving, I truly expected better results by now. I have swelling, even though I'm on a second dose of prednisone (medrol dose pack). I have numbness and stiffness as well. And I mean these are debilitating symptoms in that, for instance, I cant ride a bike, because I can't turn my neck enough to see all around me. It's too stiff. I can't go outside without a scarf because of bizarre looking swelling and bruising. This is pretty tough to explain in the middle of August. I have a large, swollen, hard lump under my chin with an ugly scar where the lipo suction was done. Did I really need lipo? I didn't have a fat face or a double chin. :-/. I'm really questioning my sanity in doing this to myself at this point.
4 weeks out
It's 4 weeks today since I had this procedure. I still have almost no sensation in my right ear area. There is still a lot of swelling, tightness and bruising. I am totally average, by the way, when it comes to bruising from injuries. I can see where the healing process is headed, and there is about a 50% chance as I see it, at this point, that I will not be disappointed. For instance, as the swelling goes down I can see my jowls returning to their former glory. The worry lines between the eyes, which were erased initially by the Dysport, are already returning. AT 4 WEEKS. The broken capillary, which I had fraxel laser for, is now an ugly red spot on my face. I also had fraxel around my lips and it did absolutely nothing to erase the fine lines around them.
11 weeks out
-
23 Oct 2013
-
2 months post
At about 4 weeks I realized that I was not going to see the complete picture until about 6 months to one year after the procedure was done. The simple truth is that is how long it takes to fully recover from surgery. Having said that, I believe I look better now than I did before the surgery. As long as I wear a lot of makeup on my scars when I have my hair up. I never had to wear makeup before so this is somewhat trying. I still have numbness, tightness, and swelling at 11 weeks. Would I do it again? Possibly not If I had known what all is entailed. On the other hand, if I only was shown a photo of the after results I probably would have gone for it.
