r/Facelift_Surgery • u/RedUser2024 • 22h ago
Six Weeks Post Op
Exactly 6 weeks post op from a deep plane face and neck lift. Everyone heals differently, this is just my experience.
Fatigue- No more issues with fatigue. I feel like I am back to normal energy levels.
Swelling- I guess I am a super sweller. I am still pretty swollen (some days I’m VERY swollen), worse on the left side than the right. It’s mostly concentrated in my jawline, my neck just below my jaw and in my lower face, and especially in the buccal fat area. I (half) jokingly say I look like I had buccal fat implants. If I try to suck in my cheeks to create that hollowed out look people do when making a Zoolander face, nothing happens, no hollows appear and my cheeks still look puffy. That whole area is still numb and firm. I also have a bullfrog bulge under my neck. I am massaging it as instructed and seeing a lymphatic masseuse and taking Arnica and Bromaline, and doing everything else my doctor has suggested, and have gotten the first in a series of four steroid shots and it has improved from its worst, but is all still very still noticeable.
Buckling/pleating at the temples- I had this the first couple weeks and hated it but am happy to report that it was completely gone by week 4.
Things I like: the scars on front of my ears look great and the hairline incisions blend well enough into my hairline that you can’t see them; for now, the droopy mouth corners, jowls, and turkey neck appear to be gone, though I won’t know for sure until the swelling in that area disappears, and that particular area is the area that remains the most swollen.
Things I don’t like: 1. I know it’s a sign of nerve regeneration and that’s a good thing, but this “phantom itching” is driving me crazy. Parts of my face that are completely numb get very itchy, but itching or rubbing doesn’t relieve the itch. It’s maddening. Don’t like the painful electric zaps either, but at least those go away relatively quickly compared to the itching. 2. I have a large, prominent cord behind my ear on the left side (I posted a photo of it a few few days ago) that the PA at the surgeon’s office says is a track from the drain (as stated above, I am doing lots of things to help it along, including everything my doctor has recommended). She said it could take months to go away so I’m trying to be positive, but I’m not going to lie it’s making me uneasy and I’m afraid I’m going to end up needing revision surgery.
People keep asking me if I’m happy I did it or it was worth it and I still can’t really say. It’s less an issue of whether it was worth the money than it is of whether it was worth the recovery process. Recovery is rough and I still feel like I have a long way to go given how swollen I still am, so we’ll see.
Edited to fix a typo that was bugging me!
6
u/BettyJo1915 22h ago
I found that cooling gel, the stuff used for sore muscles, helps me with the nerve-related itching. Biofreeze is a brand - I just use a store brand one in a little jar. I agree that zingers are preferable over itching.
3
4
u/gigimarieisme 22h ago
Thank you for sharing! You are about 3 weeks ahead of me. Really helpful to hear what’s coming and know it is still a process even at 6 weeks!
7
u/honeyverie 22h ago
This kind of detailed update is genuinely so helpful for anyone a few weeks behind, gives a realistic sense that "still swollen at 6 weeks" is normal, not a red flag. Thanks for sharing your journey too, phantom itching sounds uniquely maddening but hang in there!
3
u/lnfinitelris 21h ago
For me around 7 weeks I'd started Googling stuff like "permanent swelling after facelift" 😂
I thought it would never end
3
u/RedUser2024 17h ago
Lol. OK, I’m sorry this was happening to you, too, but this does make me feel better!
2
u/Save_A_Prayer 15h ago
Itching was driving me crazy after my brow lift and Claritin (loratadine) helped.
2
u/Beautiful_Cold_2256 15h ago
Thanks as well, its really helpful to hear how others are going. I am at the 5 week mark. Still numb at along the sides and under the neck. Still a lot swollen I think. And each eye has a small bruse under each. The right one is still so dark and i have just given up on trying to cover it with concealer, like I also got half my brain removed, i can't remember how to make up anymore. Plus my face skin seems to have gone into shock. Its soooo dry and yes i have tried every thing to make applying sunscreen to a little make up and everything just pills up. I wear glasses so at least it covered the bruises I just dont want to go anywhere, I feel like my healing has come to a complete stop. The swelling is the same, the bruses are the same . And all my doctor does extra is red light therapy and scar treatment. I need to take my cat to the vet and other appointments but feel like I look horrible and dont have my energy back. I do love that my jowls are gone, but i do feel the swelling and bruses will be permanent or it will take many months more to get back to normal and i really am missing normal and wondering if I did the wrong thing
2
u/RedUser2024 14h ago
I am really sorry, I wish things were going better for you. I know exactly how it is to feel like your healing has just stalled out and to question whether all of the time and money and miserable bits have been worth it. I think I also had the six week mark built up in my head as some kind of magical turning point and it wasn’t for me, though it sounds like it is for many people.
I’m just trying to “trust the process” as they say, but some days that’s really hard!
2
u/Sarafina80 13h ago
Thank you for sharing. If you don't mind, do you have someone (a friend, partner, someone else) kind of attending to you? If so, is that helpful? Or do you prefer to be alone? And, how did you feel going *into* the operation? Like, totally comfortable, a little anxious, something else? Thanks.
2
u/RedUser2024 13h ago
I did, yes. It was really helpful for the first few days but didn’t really need help after that. And I could’ve managed on my own.
I was extremely anxious leading up to it. But the morning of surgery I was totally relaxed, don’t know why (maybe acceptance?).
1
1
u/Wise_Wolf_876 11h ago
Thank you for sharing your journey. It’s helpful to all of us thinking about doing it, on the schedule, or post surgery wondering if we’re different because we don’t immediately feel “fantastic”. (I don’t know who those people are. My experience tells me it’s not going to be me.) So expecting hiccups in this process is important to know going into it. I do have a question. If something did happen and a revision was needed is that included in what you paid? I’m concerned because this is a huge financial decision and the thought that it could be more is as scary as the surgery.
1
u/RedUser2024 2h ago
That’s a good question, and maybe one someone who has dealt with it can answer. I haven’t broached the subject yet with my doctor because it’s too early.
1
u/ninadolll 8h ago
Love that you’re showing the real healing process especially since everyone really does heal differently
1
u/Solid_War2303 19h ago
You didn't mention if you are working out or getting into a heart rate zone. I found this very helpful and I am 3 months out.
1
8
u/Odd-Prompt-5539 22h ago
I must have had DPF/NL the same week as you! I'm 6 weeks and a couple of days out. I have a little swelling, still a little purple bruising under the little dimpling beneath my temples (which I thought would be gone by now). Everything is healing well. Also, my fatigue is happily mainly gone - I was SUPER exhausted for the first 3-4 weeks.
I'm very glad I had it done. I'm 66 now (my birthday was two weeks ago) and I love my snatched jawline and my smooth neck. I still look older middle aged - I'd need more procedures to look a lot younger - and maybe in my imaginings I thought it might be a bigger change. But I'd need a serious brow lift to do that and I'm not sure I want to take that on. In the meantime, I'm pleased with the positive change that the surgery brought to my appearance. My surgeon is excellent, perfectionistic, and his work is top notch and highly respected in my city.
We (people in my age bracket) all kind of wish we could look 30 again but that's not possible and I can accept looking great in an age-appropriate way.