I was just think of you a little while ago, wondering how you were doing. I think that smile says it all. Very pretty Julie. I'm glad this is turning out so well for you.
I was just think of you a little while ago, wondering how you were doing. I think that smile says it all. Very pretty Julie. I'm glad this is turning out so well for you.
Mary
It still amazes me how much pain we can take with the smile on our sutured, swollen and bruised face to uncover the girl within whom we known for entire lifetime but who was overshadowed by his artificial presence. There are those who say that we do this in order to escape life struggles..................WOW, what an escape it is!!!!!
Hon, throughout all those pics you have this beautiful smile which warms my soul.
I have started to use SHEA Butter on all the heeling sutures after about 3 weeks, it is an amazing cream made of all natural, tree nut from Africa. Look it up, it simply makes redness vanish and heels like on a 1 year old.
heal fast Titanium lady!
Love, Inna
Last edited by Inna; 12-10-2011 at 11:41 PM.
I stood beside Julie when she first took off the bandages. We stood side by side staring into the mirror. The work that Spiegel had done was obvious and stunning. I could see her beauty that day, only two days post op. It shone through the swelling like a light. Julie is not the first Spiegel alumnae I have been seen up close and personal. He is an artist.
The pain? Horrible at first. The first 24 hours are almost unbearable, but each day thereafter is a day of improvement. And eventually? It's all a faint memory.
FFS and breast augmentation are by far the most painful. SRS is a walk in the park by comparison.
I am glad you are finally home, Julie. I will remember you and our time together fondly. Would you like the pictures I took in the hospital? Maybe I should post them here? JUST KIDDING, dear. Just kidding.
Stephie
You just wait for a little while until everything heals and has had a chance to settle. You will be on top of the world because you are going to be gorgeous. I remember after my FFS and SRS I felt like I had gone 15 rounds with Mohamed Ali and then got run over by a full cement truck and then it backed up over me a couple of times. It is hell becoming a girl but so worth it!
Julie, You look great!!! The scar on your forehead looks really painful but the beauty shines through in your gorgeous smile. Once the swelling goes down you will be absolutely beautiful!! Thanks for sharing your journey through FFS
Sara
I've had 2/3 of these including soft tissue and bone work. Will have 3/3 very soon. I suspect it's like this(YMMV):
SRS drains your body like nothing else and the recovery period is the very longest. It changes your physiology.
FFS with bone work is the most intensely painful of all (think about all the nerves in the face) but it tapers off.
BA (especially with larger implants or different methods of incision) is more sustained soreness and discomfort.
Demonstrating that, even when it comes to pain, variety is the spice of life.
Lallie
Last edited by Starling; 12-12-2011 at 11:31 PM. Reason: to make it better
Time for a change.
Still hoping Steph will send me the hospital pics to post. In the meantime here I am with my ace bandage wrap...
Keep up your great sense of humor while you recouperate. A positive outlook will surely dull the pain a bit.
Sarah[SIZE="3"][/SIZE]
"Sport is for men.......But Ballet is for women" ---- George Balenchine
Here I am at two weeks...but still can't pluck my brows, do my hair, or use makeup...grrr....
Steph, send me the hospital pics!
Last edited by Zenith; 01-17-2012 at 11:10 AM.
Here I am at about 3 weeks. Big difference between this and 2 weeks is the eyes are opening up more from the blepharoplasty. Compare to the first post op pic I posted. Just rolled out of bed, with mussy hair in my bathrobe. I cannot wait to do my hair, makeup and eyebrows...just throw on some female cues finally...
Last edited by Zenith; 01-17-2012 at 11:11 AM.
Awe, now aren't you just the prettiest little squirrel up from a nice sleep in your nest. You really do look wonderful and I truly do see a very contented comfortable look in your eyes and face. I think that you know that it was all worth it already. Thanks for sharing.
PS: Maybe you need a cute young squirrel avatar without the bandage?
You are really looking beautiful!!! I love they work that Spiegel did. Keep us posted on your continued recovery.
Sara
Finally got they hospital pics back from Steph! Here are a couple, and if she gives me the OK I will post one of us together in Boston the night before...and that will close out this thread. I'll post some made up pics in another...
One is a few hours after in the hospital...with my octopus (glove filled with ice) and oxygen, the other is I think the second day in the hotel...
Last edited by Zenith; 01-17-2012 at 11:11 AM.
Oh........My. I'm so glad you are doing much better, now!
Joni
"Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free" Bob Dylan
You look really good, Julie. Congratulations!
I see from this thread that you had a blepharoplasty procedure. Was this upper and lower eyes? (I'd like to get mine done one day, to get rid of the hooded eyelid look, and also do something about the under eye bags. I'm beginning to look like all my old aunts. ). You also got your brow done, I see the suture line in your pic @119. Was there anything else? It doesn't appear so from the pic with no bangages on.
Was the pain as bad as everyone says? Did the meds help keep the pain under control?
Reine
The blepharoplasty was upper along with some work on the upper bridge of the nose to open up the eyes. I had a scalp advance/browlift that resulted in over 1 1/2 inches of new hairline and removed frownlines. The eyebrows were re-positioned during this too. Then a forehead contour with a titanium plate. The browridge was removed, reshaped, then reattached with titanium screws. Finally per Dr. Ousterhout's recommendation, Dr. Spiegel put dermal fat grafts in my temples to smooth depressions there.
The pain was the most intense I ever experienced, due to it being facial bone work. But it tapered off quickly unlike SRS. I have had separate soft tissue work (Rhinoplasty and Chondrolaryngeoplasty) and these were not even close to being as painful.
Not sure if you saw it but I posted the two week old pic in the pic gallery along with a celeb I seem to look like at the moment. Cannot wait till I can take a made up pic!
Edit: Remember my entire upper forehead was opened up with staples down the sides in my hairline and sutures on top. So everything was done internally, which saved me some outer sutures...like this...
Last edited by Zenith; 01-01-2012 at 07:51 PM. Reason: Add Picture...
Good God, kid, Happy New Year!
Lallie
Time for a change.
OMG ... ... I don't blame you for being alarmed before surgery!
Is all the pain gone now?
I'll go hunt for your pic in the Gallery, but again, you look beautiful, Julie.
If ever I decide to erase the strain of my last few years from my eyes, I'll come knocking at your door and you can give me some tips?
Edit - after all that, you should be good to go for forehead wrinkles? As you age, your likelihood of getting any is small?
Last edited by ReineD; 01-01-2012 at 07:56 PM.
Reine
A good one to talk to would be Kaitlyn Michelle. She had a blepharoplasty with Spiegel by itself, before she had the full FFS with Meltzer. You could PM her or maybe she will see this...a blepharo is a very good youthfulness procedure...
The corrugator muscle is cut and the skin pulled tight so any frown lines are gone. Again, I should post a side by side to compare how much forehead is gone now, including wrinkles...
Last edited by Zenith; 01-02-2012 at 12:53 AM.