Menopause Present -- Facelift, Necklift and Fat Transfer at 53

The four week mark was a turnaround for me. I'm getting happier and happier with my results every day. My eyes are definitely going to need some work down the road a little bit (I'm getting botox for the crow's feet next week) but I can live with that. It was always the lower part of my face, with the sagging, that I hated more than my crinkly eyes. I'm still a bit swollen under my chin and my gland on my left side of my neck pops out a little bit, but that may settle down. Besides, it's barely noticeable. I have a couple more weeks to go and will have my after photos taken at the surgeon's office. I'm very pleased at this point.

Well I am feeling much better today, having spent quite a bit of time discussing my concerns with my PS and his nurse. The "swelling" I am feeling and seeing under my chin and a little to the left side is a gland. He said it's my anatomy and it's not swollen. However, right under my chin, under the scarred area, is a little swollen. He said that should subside much more in the next two to three weeks.

He likes where I am with my healing. My scars around my ears are looking fine, although he warned me this is the stage where they may turn red. He said that will last about a month and then it will turn and they will start fading.

We discussed my eyes. I am still concerned about having a lower bleph. It still troubles me to think of getting that surgery though because it can change my eye shape. I keep focusing on that every time my PS mentions it as a risk. So we talked about perhaps doing laser resurfacing around my eyes and all over my face. I have to do some more research on that, but I like that idea better than surgery right now.

If anyone has any experience with laser resurfacing, I would love to hear it!

I guess I've been feeling a little regret about having all this work done, spending all this money, going through all this recovery time and having the crepey loose skin under my eyes continue to age me. But I can get that taken care of, which was always my thought any way. I just need to be careful about my research and figuring out the best method for that.

I have an appointment tomorrow with my PS for my four week post op appointment. I have a lot of hard swelling under my chin. It's very bothersome. My left side of my face is tighter than my right.

In the pics I just posted, I looked pretty good on Friday but today I can really see the wrinkles under my eyes. In hindsight I wish I would have had a facelift and eyes and forgone the fat transfer. I am getting some Botox next week for eyes and forehead. I will likely get my lower eyes done in the future. I hate that I spent so much money and my eyes still age me.

I am still wearing a head/chin wrap at night and still sleeping elevated. I am on a very low, nearly no, salt diet. I'm anxious to hear what the doc has to say about the neck swelling.

I am ok with my lips now but my cheeks are so tight that my smile still isn't normal. I can't tell if it's the face lift or fat transfer that's causing that.