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My jawline was sagging, my mouth drooped down and...
My jawline was sagging, my mouth drooped down and I had a turkey neck. I was tired of people asking me if I was OK, what's wrong, etc., when my face was at rest. If I was smiling it looked OK, but at rest, I just looked pissed off and tired. So after much reading and contemplating, I had a lower face/necklift.
I am 5 1/2 weeks in; the good news is I love my jawline and my turkey wattle is gone. But it's been a tough recovery. My right eyebrow doesn't move, I'm numb and stiff, my ears hurt, I have bright red marks on my neck, my face is hard, my smile is a bit rigid and uneven due to the facial hardness. Trying to be patient and hopeful through the discomfort and feelings of uncertainty.
I believe this will all end up OK in time and I would recommend my doctor heartily, both for expertise and for demeanor. My angst has nothing to do with him; I just didn't expect the recovery to be so complex and long. All that stuff I read about "the first two weeks are bad"? More like two months, at least, and more. My expectations of healing time weren't realistic -- perhaps I didn't research enough, but I figured it I read TOO much, I'd scare myself out of it!
I don't regret doing it, not for a second, but I do wish the healing would go a bit faster and I had a timeline of when my eyebrow/forehead nerves will come back. My doctor has assured me that he has never seen the nerves NOT regenerate, and I know this sort of thing is common and it heals, but it's still rattling me. It's hard because I don't have friends who have had facelifts, so I don't have anyone to talk to and compare notes with. Hoping to find some people here.
I hope I don't sound like a whiner. But it's ironic that, when you have a surgery to make yourself look better, you have to go through looking and feeling worse for a while! Really messes with your head.
I am 5 1/2 weeks in; the good news is I love my jawline and my turkey wattle is gone. But it's been a tough recovery. My right eyebrow doesn't move, I'm numb and stiff, my ears hurt, I have bright red marks on my neck, my face is hard, my smile is a bit rigid and uneven due to the facial hardness. Trying to be patient and hopeful through the discomfort and feelings of uncertainty.
I believe this will all end up OK in time and I would recommend my doctor heartily, both for expertise and for demeanor. My angst has nothing to do with him; I just didn't expect the recovery to be so complex and long. All that stuff I read about "the first two weeks are bad"? More like two months, at least, and more. My expectations of healing time weren't realistic -- perhaps I didn't research enough, but I figured it I read TOO much, I'd scare myself out of it!
I don't regret doing it, not for a second, but I do wish the healing would go a bit faster and I had a timeline of when my eyebrow/forehead nerves will come back. My doctor has assured me that he has never seen the nerves NOT regenerate, and I know this sort of thing is common and it heals, but it's still rattling me. It's hard because I don't have friends who have had facelifts, so I don't have anyone to talk to and compare notes with. Hoping to find some people here.
I hope I don't sound like a whiner. But it's ironic that, when you have a surgery to make yourself look better, you have to go through looking and feeling worse for a while! Really messes with your head.
Added a photo
Has anyone else had these kinds of red marks on their neck? How long did they take to go away?
Two months in
It will be two months tomorrow since I had my surgery, so I thought it was time for an update.
Overall, I seem to be progressing nicely. The swelling and hardness are greatly improved. The sides of my face are still rigid and numb, and my ears still have a lot of discomfort, but overall, I feel much better. It hurts to talk on the phone, since the phone pressing against my ear is painful; however, I don't like talking on the phone anyway, so it's not that much of an issue. My cheekbones have come back into view, and my smile is almost completely back; just very slightly off on the right due to the cheek hardness, but I think at this point, I'm the only one who sees it. My energy level is back to normal. Oh, and my libido has returned -- 'nuff said there. My hair stopped shedding, and now I am able to style and blow-dry it as usual; no more bandannas. My facial skin is smooth and people have asked me if I had a laser treatment as well as the facelift, but I did not. My jawline is perfect and my turkey neck is gone, gone, gone.
The not-so-good:
1. Right eyebrow is still paralyzed. My doctor told me that this is a rarity (lucky me!!), but also that he's never seen or heard of it not coming back, so all I can do it wait and hope. Fortunately, it's just the eyebrow, and not the eye itself. In the beginning, my eye was slightly frozen too, and the right one didn't blink the same as the left, so I looked like I was constantly winking. I have been told it's not obvious that one eyebrow doesn't move; I guess my bangs cover it.
2. Still have the bright red marks on my neck. Again, time will have to take care of those. Meanwhile, I am using BioCorneum scar gel on them and I can cover them up with makeup. Again, my hair covers up most of them.
I attached a couple of recent face selfies, one not smiling so you can see how my face looks at rest. No more angry face!
I will be seeing my doctor in mid-January, so until then, will continue to heal and progress. I now realize that full recovery takes longer than I'd thought, and I'm more relaxed about the process. I think I am ready to change my "not sure" into "worth it." :-)
Overall, I seem to be progressing nicely. The swelling and hardness are greatly improved. The sides of my face are still rigid and numb, and my ears still have a lot of discomfort, but overall, I feel much better. It hurts to talk on the phone, since the phone pressing against my ear is painful; however, I don't like talking on the phone anyway, so it's not that much of an issue. My cheekbones have come back into view, and my smile is almost completely back; just very slightly off on the right due to the cheek hardness, but I think at this point, I'm the only one who sees it. My energy level is back to normal. Oh, and my libido has returned -- 'nuff said there. My hair stopped shedding, and now I am able to style and blow-dry it as usual; no more bandannas. My facial skin is smooth and people have asked me if I had a laser treatment as well as the facelift, but I did not. My jawline is perfect and my turkey neck is gone, gone, gone.
The not-so-good:
1. Right eyebrow is still paralyzed. My doctor told me that this is a rarity (lucky me!!), but also that he's never seen or heard of it not coming back, so all I can do it wait and hope. Fortunately, it's just the eyebrow, and not the eye itself. In the beginning, my eye was slightly frozen too, and the right one didn't blink the same as the left, so I looked like I was constantly winking. I have been told it's not obvious that one eyebrow doesn't move; I guess my bangs cover it.
2. Still have the bright red marks on my neck. Again, time will have to take care of those. Meanwhile, I am using BioCorneum scar gel on them and I can cover them up with makeup. Again, my hair covers up most of them.
I attached a couple of recent face selfies, one not smiling so you can see how my face looks at rest. No more angry face!
I will be seeing my doctor in mid-January, so until then, will continue to heal and progress. I now realize that full recovery takes longer than I'd thought, and I'm more relaxed about the process. I think I am ready to change my "not sure" into "worth it." :-)
Provider Review
Dr. Martin O'Toole
My doctor and his staff gave me a good feeling from the first moment I entered the office. He has over 25 years of experience, all kinds of certifications, and a very calm, patient demeanor. He has been very kind to me, putting up with all my insecurities and fears about my slightly lopsided smile, my frozen eyebrow, my hair that fell out alarmingly the first couple of weeks (it has since stabilized and I'm taking tons of biotin to speed up regrowth). When I made a middle of the night emergency call for a bleed one week in, he was there, reassuring me and telling me what to do. (It was minor, just scary.) His nurse and office manager are friendly and kind and took care of so many details for me.