I looked for day-by-day reviews for when it hurts and the anxiety hits, but there were not many, so I am posting this. I hope this helps people like me. I wanted a thigh gap, but did not have enough fat, so I ended up getting thigh and arm liposuction together. I had my thighs done two weeks ago, and my arms are scheduled for next week. I wrote this quickly while I still remembered, so use it for reference.
------------------ Day 3 Getting more used to it than yesterday, but the pain is the same. The swelling has gone down to my knees. Applying swelling cream and bruise cream diligently.
Day 4 The swelling has gone down to my calves. The knee area where I did not apply bruise cream has become badly bruised, so I am applying it there too. Since they say bruising travels downward, I started applying bruise cream to my calves in advance. I can sit on the toilet now. Stretching whenever I can and taking walks.
The night leading into day 5 The swelling had gone down to my ankles, so I applied bruise cream, swelling cream, itch-relief cream, and leg-slimming cream all the way to my ankles.
Day 5 A little itchiness begins. More swollen. It feels like my skin hurts from the swelling. The compression garment feels tighter, so it hurts. When will the swelling go down? Can I return to how I was before? Can I become prettier than before? Whenever the anxiety hits, I endure by reading other reviews.
Night of day 5 After showering, my leg movement suddenly improved a lot. I do not wear the compression garment while sleeping. The swelling has gone down to my feet, and the boundary between my feet and ankles has disappeared. Please let it get better from tomorrow onward..
Day 6 The tops of my feet suddenly started swelling like crazy, so I took off the compression garment because I was worried my feet would burst. My legs became complete elephant legs. I applied bruise cream to my thighs early on, so they barely bruised, but bruises suddenly began appearing on my knees and ankles, where I had not been applying it.
Day 7 So painful. So swollen. Now I understand what fibrosis means. It hurts so much as the skin and muscle begin adhering. Every movement is tearing pain. Even this morning, walking made it somewhat bearable, but by night the fibrosis developed, my skin pulled more, and the tops of my feet suddenly swelled as if they would burst, even above my toes. I wore the compression garment during the day and took it off after coming home.
Day 9 My legs suddenly started pulling more, making it very hard to walk. Waddling along. I walk for 40 minutes twice a day, morning and evening. Walking helps a little. Whether it is an office chair or dining table, getting up after sitting still is unbearable. I thought my waddling would look strange at work, so I just said I had come down with a bad body ache.
Day 10 Now I understand what reviews meant by joint pain. I woke up in pain, and took additional pain medication for the first time. After taking medicine and looking in the mirror, I saw my kneecaps for the first time in a while. It seems the swelling is beginning to decrease.
Days 10–11 Before moving, while lying down or sitting, I am figuring out ways to survive by stretching in advance. After applying an over-the-counter topical anti-inflammatory analgesic to every painful joint, then applying bruise cream and swelling cream over it, I feel much more able to live. Cooling swelling cream is the best. Since the day of surgery, I mixed and applied bruise cream, swelling cream, anti-itch cream, lifting cream, and aloe gel, and I have almost no bruising. At first I mainly applied it to my thighs, so my knees bruised. After seeing that, I applied cream to my calves and the tops of my feet before the bruises could travel down from my knees; only the sides of my feet and toes, where I did not apply cream, bruised. lol I inadvertently proved that bruise cream works. lol Applying it diligently over everything.
Days 11–12 Perhaps because I applied cream diligently, the bruises have already almost disappeared. There are barely any bruises turning dark or yellow. There were not many bruises to begin with, and they did not look like sweet potatoes; even the bruises on my feet are gone. Only a little remains on my knees and in a few areas. The problem is, far from figuring out how to survive... new pain has arrived. Liposuction is a surgery that takes turns introducing you to pains you never knew existed: pain from swelling -> pain as skin and muscle adhere (fibrosis pain) -> sharp bone pain (joint pain). If pain no. 1 has decreased to 30%, pain no. 3 has grown to 50% today... I could not sleep again today, got up in the middle, took pain medication, applied my cream mix to both legs, stretched, and lay back down. Since yesterday, I also added a topical anti-inflammatory analgesic for joint pain.. How long is it going to hurt so much that I cannot sleep?????? It hurts every day whenever I walk too???
Day 12 I woke up again because it hurt so much in the morning. After breakfast, medication, and some stretching, a few hours passed and the pain from the skin adhering firmly seemed to ease, but then it hurt again at night. When will it stop hurting.... I do not think I could ever get liposuction again...
**I have not had my stitches removed yet, but this cream combination seems highly effective for bruising and swelling, so I am sharing it. (The brands probably do not matter.) 1. Bruise cream and swelling cream (their ingredients may be similar, but I use both): one gel type and one cream type. 2. A cooling cream to apply before sleeping when the calves are swollen. Since my arms are scheduled soon too, I bought two more tubes. This is the best. Essential whether it hurts or itches. 3. Itch-relief cream 4. Lifting cream 5. Aloe gel 6. Body whitening cream 7. Roll-on topical anti-inflammatory analgesic Apply no. 7 first to painful areas such as the knees, then mix nos. 1–6 and apply to both legs.
Day 13 My feet are still swollen. I have learned some survival tips, such as stretching while lying down immediately after waking. The hardest time is when getting up in the morning (after staying in one position for a long time), but it is better than yesterday...... The fibrosis is very severe. Gently massaging it to loosen it. My feet are so swollen that the tops of my feet hurt when I move.
Day 14: Finally, stitch-removal day!!! Many reviews say things change drastically after this day, so I am looking forward to it. There is still a lot of swelling up to the tops of my feet, but at least movement in my whole legs has finally become about like muscle soreness the day after a hard workout.... Even this much feels livable. My arms are next week, and I am scared of how painful it will be. Of all the procedures I have had, liposuction is the most painful... I do not think I could ever do it again, revision or otherwise T_T Many reviews and clinics say daily life is possible -> it is possible. But only “daily life” is possible, literally, and it comes with pain. I can still walk while bent over... Even if I walk sideways like a crab, I can walk around and do housework... Still, even this much feels livable T_T I saw reviews saying a new pain comes from day 20; if that happens, I will share it.