Rhinoplasty, Open Browlift, Modified Rhytidectomy, Lower Lid Blepharoplasty - Santa Barbara, CA
Yes, I did it all at once. Once I decided to go...
Yes, I did it all at once. Once I decided to go for it, I hardly thought about it at all.
I know that it is a lot to do at once, but I figured better to be publicly scary and unacceptable just once. Also, its very difficult for me to take time off. I have had a strange nose since birth, a very deviated septum, never could breathe out of the left side and had some feedback inside my head, kind of echo-ie when I spoke, if you can understand that. But I was used to all of it, and even with the nose I was considered pretty. However now that I am 55, I felt like there were enough things that irritated me that I might as well finally conquer the nose. Bags under my eyes, the beginning of a wattle under my neck, and a sag of my lids.
The nose has actually been the easiest of it. The first day I was extremely nauseous all day from the anesthetic. But no pain. It was impossible to breathe through my nose with the packing, consequently my mouth became extremely dry and filled with bits of mucous while I slept. I highly recommend a humidifier in the room. It didn't hurt when the packing came out. I also recommend buying straws, especially if you can find the bendable kind, because it is very hard to eat. My daughter filled my refrigerator with yummy juices and they kept me going. I really benefitted from her career choice. Thank you to my personal R.N.
The ice on my eyes hurt, until I started letting it sit for a couple of minutes out of freezer. I am sure I have not iced enough. I did four procedures and can honestly say that pain has not been an issue at all. A little itchiness from stitches everywhere, and discomfort because I have a compression garment on my head, but no real pain at all. Regarding the garment, if you are using one for a procedure, download a photo of how it goes on before the surgery. Once I showered, it was impossible to figure out how it went back on until I saw a photo of one online. Regarding showering, I don't know why some people make a big deal about it. My doctor just said to do it normally but to avoid soapy stuff on the stitches. It was easy.
Here are my problems. I am really swollen. I had a lot of stuff down at once. And I can't imaging semi-acceptable any time soon, which is a bummer because I am going to visit my ex-s family in Mexico in two weeks. But we will see.
So, my surgery was a week ago Monday. Ten days...
My nose is just changed enough so that I have to get used to a new me in the mirror. I like the nose, but until everything else goes down, I am not sure that I like it on my face. Hard to tell if you like your look when you have chipmunk cheeks and swollen eyes, you know? But the doctor did a good job fixing what had to be fixed on my nose without doing anything drastically alienating. My kids still wanted to look at me and see mommy, even though they are in their twenties.
So far the most pain has been getting the stitches out. I wish that I had a little more attention regarding how to care for all this in the healing stage. Especially the staple area in my head. Now that the staples are out, how should I take care of that area? And anything that will encourage a nicer healing to all of the scars from the stitches? My eyes are tired. Anything to help that? Cucumber slices? I have no idea.
Replies (5)
Hopefully you'll be surprised at the amount of healing that happens in two weeks. Please keep us posted! We'd love to see your before and after photos!
Looking forward to seeing your pic!