What a Difference a Week Makes

It's been exactly a week since the surgery, and time for the stitches holding together my eyelids and chin to come out. I slept badly last night since it's still very uncomfortable to sleep in any position but sitting up; the tenderness around my ears is significant, and even the light pressure of a pillow on the side of my head is disturbing. If I had had any more sleeping pills (they only dispensed 5; one for the night before surgery, two for during surgery, and two to be used during the first week post op) I would have taken one. But all things considered, I woke up feeling pretty much like myself, albeit like myself with puffy eyes like I had been crying all night.

Headed to the surgeon's office to have my stitches removed. His Surgical Manager met me at the door and escorted me to an exam room where she snipped the threads holding my upper eyelids together and pulled them out, and did the same with the two little stitches under my chin. Didn't hurt a bit. She reviewed what care and treatment I should follow for the next week, took some "after" photos, set up an appointment for a one month check-up and went to fetch the doctor.

Then the doc came in and gave me a hug. "You look wonderful," he said, "better than expected for one week." He reviewed another few items (I could go back to exercising if I started slow and was careful, could start wearing make up if I kept it off the incisions, and could switch to warm wet compresses instead of ice if I was so inclined.)

"But doc," I said, "the stitches in my lower eyelids are driving me crazy." Turns out the lower lids are stitched with dissolvable stitches that would take care of themselves. "But it's like having caterpillars on my eye, and they itch. A lot. And I'm not sleeping very well." Though he couldn't refill the sleeping pill script, he suggested I pick up some Benedryl at the drug store that would help both with the lingering itchiness and would help me sleep. Those two little stitches at the inside corners of my eyes were buried pretty deep, but he took a good look and told the Surgical Manager she could go ahead and remove them, too, since I was healed well enough.

She had to dig a little to get them out. That hurt. But it was such a relief to get them out that I forgive her the 10 seconds of real pain.

There's still another week or two where the swelling will diminish and the real shape of my "new" face will reveal itself. I'm beginning to see cheekbones.