Now that the dreaded 4 days have passed, I really feel like I came back from the dead. I think this may be helpful for those who are planning to do this and who swell really badly.
Day 1: I woke up in the operating room and was brought out in a wheelchair while half-awake and groggy. Since it was a one-day hospitalization, I went to the inpatient room. That’s where it all began. As soon as I got there, I was lying down, and I was so, so thirsty. But you know you can’t drink, right? haha After that hellish time passed, I finally got my first sip. Right there, even though it felt like my throat was going to tear, I chugged one bottle of water, then went to the water purifier and kept drinking about 3 more bottles. While drinking, I got nauseous and got really angry. This kept repeating back and forth, and I was discharged the next day. I went alone and came back alone. My mom started taking care of me from the next day.
Day 2 At home, the real hell began. As soon as I came home on the first day, of course I finished a bottle of water. My throat hurt so much that I kept drinking only warm water. Then I went to the mirror to check my face, and what the heck, there was a monster. My eyes were swollen, my nose hurt, my cheeks were tight and puffy, my lips were swollen all day and looked like they were about to burst, and I couldn’t breathe because I had my nose done too. First of all, it didn’t hurt, but it felt like I was getting tiny little punches to my face one by one. I was wearing the compression band, and it seriously felt like my face was about to explode. My mom was worried and kept calling the plastic surgery clinic to ask, but they only said the swelling would go down with time. But I was really so swollen and upset, and I kept thinking, why did I do this? Then I couldn’t sleep until dawn. I drank only water all day.
Day 3 I looked in the mirror thinking maybe it would go down, but no chance, I was even more swollen. Seriously, 95% of my eyes were swollen and only 5% was left. They became smaller than Brock’s eyes from Pokemon. I was so swollen it felt like I was going to burst. Again, we called, and they said it would go down later and to wait a little, which made me so angry. Why did I do this? Ah, I should have just done my nose only All kinds of thoughts came up. Again, I drank only water all day. I really couldn’t even close my mouth, so my lips got all chapped, and even if I didn’t drink water for just a moment, my throat started hurting. I couldn’t think of anything else. I only drank water. I think I went to the bathroom like 2,000 times in one day. This was the real day when my lips were sticking together.
Day 4 I wanted to go for a walk, but nope. Since it was autologous costal cartilage, my ribs felt tight, so I couldn’t go out. That morning, I looked in the mirror. It seemed like something was starting to go down. Hallelujah Still, I was very swollen. That day I went for a mid-check on swelling care. Hearing just one sentence telling me not to worry somehow made me feel relieved. After getting it and coming home, the swelling had really gone down a lot. In the end, no matter how much you swell, it does go down. But my lips were the same, seriously very puffy. Wow, because of my lips, I got angry for the second time. I applied Vaseline like 5,000 times.
Day 5
I got really comfortable. A lot of the swelling went down, and my lips went down a little too. I also lost 5 kg as a bonus. I couldn’t eat and didn’t even think about food, so I only drank water, and the weight came off. I seriously had no desire to eat. By evening, my lips had gone down a lot, so I had porridge. I couldn’t chew it and just swallowed it as is. It was so delicious. I almost cried. This is heaven. Except my lips still wouldn’t close. I really want to close my mouth and breathe, but my lower lip is so stubborn it won’t let the swelling go down.
Day 6 The swelling in my upper lip is all gone. My lower lip? Not even close, it’s the same. I’ve been eating porridge since morning, and it’s still delicious. Tomorrow I’m going to get the nasal silicone splint or packing removed, and I’m looking forward to it. More than anything else, I just want to breathe. In 4 days, I slept a total of 5 hours. Breathing is hard and the sleeping position is uncomfortable. Starting tomorrow, I’m just going to sleep I’m going to breathe in all my air.
Conclusion: Even if you swell a lot, it slowly starts going down around day 4, so just wait through the dreaded 4 days. If someone told me to do this one more time, I couldn’t. That’s how intense it is. I think my face looks okay now. My nose looks higher, and I’m not sure about my face, but the feeling is good. I’m going to ask the hospital tomorrow about my lower lip not closing. If anyone is worried about this, please leave a reply.