The Wrap Comes Off!

I know that the compression bandage was supposed to stay on 48 hours straight, but I couldn't stand it any more and took it off at 8 a.m. on Day 2. Only long enough to shower and comb the gunk out of my hair, and to redress the incisions. Then I put it back on.

The itching on my neck has been pretty intense, and not much helps. There's only one little incision under my chin, but the whole neck area feels like ants are in there. I'm guessing the liposuction causes the itch. If I put an ice pack on it, the itching abates a little, but freezes my neck. I tried to juggle two bags of frozen corn, a towel to wrap them in, the blanket on my lap, and the recliner lever all at once; too many things to do on pain meds. I finally figured out that I could set everything down on the end table, climb into the recliner, cover myself up, then apply the ice. Now I understand the Don't Drive directive.

I also figured out how to ice my eyes and nap at the same time. If I lay just so, with my head at just the right angle, and set the ice pack on the towel in such a way that it covers my eyes but not my nose, and hold very still, I can doze. But my own snoring can startle me awake.

My neck looks a little lumpy where the liposuction was done. I think that's normal at first, and will even out as the swelling continues to go down. I'm surprised by how much swelling has left my eyes; I feel like I have a bad allergy or sunburn. I've been icing my eyes almost continuously and that helps a lot.

Took the compression bandage off at the 48 hour mark and, lo and behold, the itching stopped. Maybe I'm reacting to the compression band itself; it's pretty much an Ace bandage with a velcro strip on the end instead of hooks (now that's an ugly picture; using those little metal hooks to hold on a bandage around your new face. Ewww.)

I'm feeling a little more like I was hit by a bus as the residual numbness leaves new parts of my face. I've stopped taking the heavy pain medicine and moved on to Tylenol, and that makes a difference, too. Bruises are leaking into my cheeks and neck, but they're minor; none of that dark purple and blue I expected.

I haven't had much appetite since the surgery, and it's difficult to open my mouth very far, so I'm sticking to really soft and manageable foods; lasagna for dinner tonight. A friend dropped by with some home made chocolate coconut pecan cookies and I almost cried trying to eat one; had to break it into crumbs and suck on those.

My neck feels like a rubber band that's pulled too tight. I'm going back to bed.