After <Immediately after surgery><Day of surgery, Day 1><Post-op Day 2><Post-op Day 3>Before <Before surgery>★Post-op Day 1★ I went into the operating room without thinking much, then suddenly got so nervous I thought my heart would burst. Surgery time was about 4 hours / they said the surgery was successful. The first things I thought as soon as I opened my eyes after surgery were that I was hungry and my throat felt burning dry. They told me to make sure to eat something when I got home, but my mouth wouldn’t open well, and when I ate, maybe because of the anesthetic gas, I coughed and felt nauseated. You could basically say I just starved that day. Because of swelling, I did cold compresses once every two or three hours. They said if swelling gets severe, the pain gets that much worse too, so I kept doing it consistently. The pain was like the pain from getting lower wisdom teeth removed + 3 times worse.
★Post-op Day 2★ If I gained one useful tip, it’s that when lying down or getting up, it’s better to support the back of your head and the back of your neck yourself while moving. (It’s less exhausting and hurts less.) My lower lip swelled up a lot. After eating anything, mouthwash is essential★★★ (including milk and juice). They said that helps recovery go faster. And please make sure to take the prescribed painkillers on time. (If you don’t have any, Tylenol.) After taking medicine, the pain becomes much more manageable. Also, if you pile pillows and cushions around your body and lean back at an angle, it’s easier to breathe and feels better. You have to sleep like this too. That evening, I finally ate food. I boiled some soup and ate pumpkin porridge too, but honestly I couldn’t really tell the taste. Sensation in my lips was also slow to come back. Since I had basically starved for almost two days after surgery, I think I took about three spoonfuls... and was too full to eat more. Still, after eating a little something, I did feel like I could live. And because the cheekbones and nose are connected, even if blood comes from your nose, you absolutely must not blow your nose. I didn’t know that and blew it, then blood kept running and the swelling was no joke.
★Post-op Day 3★ The most important thing after facial contouring surgery is cold compresses! That’s the answer! I really realized that clearly. If I keep doing cold compresses and then stop even for a bit, I swell up right away. My jaw swells so much that breathing feels difficult, and it’s not like there’s a problem, but overall it feels harder ㅜㅜ So even if I only get short naps, cold compresses are essential★★★ The swelling definitely goes down faster. Since I spend the whole day sitting, I sleep sitting up too, and my tailbone feels like it’s going to be completely crushed. How should I put it.. it feels like I’m about to get pressure sores on my butt.. lolㅜ And a thought suddenly came to me while looking in the mirror this morning.. “This swelling won’t just never go down, right?” lolololololololol I started the day with a weird worry lololol
On the day of surgery, honestly it was really hard, I was out of it, and the whole day passed in such a frantic blur that I don’t even know how it went by. But today, Day 3, I feel very, very slightly more alive. I can even joke around now.. lol The first day was really ㅜㅜ there was zero joking or playing around or anything like that. Even when my friends saw my super swollen face and laughed in that funny-but-sad wayㅠㅠ lol I was strugglingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ so whether they laughed or notㅋㅋㅋ But now I laugh with them heheh.. Still, my friends say they’re really jealous. They say whatever happens, if I just endure this moment, I won’t have to worry about my face shape for the rest of my life hehe. Ahh and the band under my eyes is there because I also had lower eyelid fat repositioning done together with my facial contouring surgery. It’s something I had only been thinking about for a really long time, and somehow I ended up getting it done together this time. I don’t know how long it will take until recovery is complete, but I believe that if I keep managing it consistently like now, it will improve quickly:) I uploaded the pre-op photo just in case. It’s still a bit too early to compare it with my current state though hehe..
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