25 days post op

I hadn't planned on doing an update before Wednesday (4 week mark) but I was taking photos and thought the eyes were looking good so I decided to share!
I still have a little tightness in the corners; more on the left than right, but its lessening as time goes on. Much better than it was even a week ago. The tender spots are still there but those too are improving.
10 days left before vacation. It will be interesting to see how a tan looks with scars and not xanthies!
In the mean time... Life goes on~

3 weeks post op

A whole 3 weeks have passed! Its almost hard to believe.
Anyway, I didn't update yesterday because there was no real change in anything. In fact, there was no change today either but since its the 3 week mark, I figured I'd add photos for fun.
I think they are continuing to heal. I still have a little tenderness in some areas but I keep reminding myself that it has only been 3 weeks. I keep hoping that the scars will fade more... we'll see.
I probably wont update that often now. Maybe every few days or so just to see how the scars are doing. I look forward to that 6 month post op photo where the scars are all faded!!!
see ya soon~

19 days post op

Finally, the little raw spot is healed-or at least I think it is. The incisions on my left eye are still a bit tender and the inner corner is still tight. I'm not so sure that will ever change but so much. Kind of hard to explain why on a blog, you'd have to see different expressions on my face to see what I'm talking about. Photos dont show it that well so I guess you'll just have to take my word for it!
Today's photos have sunlight in them again. Scars are still pretty visable but are fading. Yea! Only 2 weeks until I go away. I so hope the scars fade some more by then. Even if they dont, by then I can use a little makeup to cover what ever is left. In fact, I might try some makeup later this week. I want to be sure the raw spot is totally healed first.
More tomorrow~

18 days post op

No big change today. The little raw spot is still there but is getting smaller. I washed my face before I took today's photos so it looks a little pink.
Something I forgot to mention in earlier posts; I have some slight tenderness around both left incisions. I only feel it when I touch them so I dont always think about it. It feels sort of like the underlying tissues and nerves are trying to put themselves back together but haven't quite figured out how to do it-if that makes any sense. I'm hoping that goes away with time. I'm not too concerned about it at this point. Of note, I dont feel it along any of the right side incisions. hmmm. That just goes along with my theory that my left side was more of a challenge for Dr. L.
Todays photos: No real change!

17 days post op

Quick update today. Nothing has really changed. The stye is all gone and healed but the little raw spot is still hanging in there. You can see it in today's photos; its that tiny little red scab spot. Its healing, s-l-o-w-l-y.
The scars are more visible today because there's no sunshine supplementing the flash. You can see everything~
More tomorrow.

16 days post op

Not a lot of change for today. The little raw spot is finally healing. It's still there but I can see a definite change towards getting smaller and more shallow. The photos are a bit deceptive on my left upper lid. It looks like there is a large area that isn't healed and that's not quite correct. The incision/scar is different on the left and the flash catches it in a weird way making it look like a larger open area. It's not. The (former) raw spot is really only about 2mm x 3mm which is pretty small and its at the very end of that incision. One interesting thing I noticed today is that the left lower scar is fading faster than the right lower one. Also, if I hold the mirror up above eye level, I see more darkness around the scars and when I hold the mirror below eye level, the darkness seems to disappear. Probably some strange optical illusion, I'm sure.
On another note, remember that stye I mentioned yesterday? Well, as expected, I couldn't let it just sit there and bother me any longer. It hurt. Now it's gone. I've done that before so it was easy. I also flushed the eye with the visine tears and then put another blob of the ointment in it. Right now, it feels 100% better than it did this time yesterday. Problem solved...
I saw a friend of mine, Amira today. She commented on how much better my eyes look. That made me feel good! I hope that means that all the tiny little flaws I'm seeing aren't really noticeable to other people!!!
That's it for now.

15 days post op

I woke up with puffy eyes again this morning. Gees, I'll be happy when that stops! Then again, it could have been happening all my life and I just never noticed it before! ~sigh~
The little raw spot is still present today. It's not red or wide open so I think it's okay. It just has to heal and it's taking its sweet time doing so. While I was inspecting it this morning, I noticed a stye starting to develop around the middle of my left lower lid. Nice time for one of them to show up huh? I get them every so often but its usually the result of using makeup that is too old. Not this time! I put a big dollup of the antibiotic ointment IN that eye today to help it along. That made my vision nice and blurry for about 30 minutes! I know better than to bother it but that probably wont stop me once it gets a little bigger. If you've ever had a stye you know how annoying they are.
Otherwise, everything is healing up as it should, I guess. I still have dark circles around the lower incisions but I'm hoping they will fade. Did you know that dehydration can cause dark circles? **goes to get bottle of water** I'll have to remember to drink more water and see if they go away. I also see some little bruising areas rising up to the surface of my skin today. Nothing like what had been there but you know how bruises are---weird. Probably some deeper bruises that are now just resolving.
Nothing else really worth reporting. Except for that stye, my eyes feel fairly normal. Even the corner tightness has improved. I dont feel it at all on the right but still just a little on the left. Dr. L must have had a hard time with that eye. It seems like he had to pull skin from my nose to work it into my eyelid, if you can imagine that. At least that's how it feels. Like its pulling from the side of the bridge of my nose.
Here are today's photos. You can see the raw spot. Its not really raw anymore but for consistancy, that's what I'm calling it. I think it looks worse in the photos than it does in real life.
See ya tomorrow~

2 weeks post op

It's hard to believe that it was 2 weeks ago today that I had the surgery. The time has flown by! For the most part, the bruising and swelling issues are almost gone. The little raw spot is still giving me a little grief though. I've been keeping it dry but today I got some water on it and it softened up again. Absentmindedly, I rubbed it and some dried ick stuff rubbed off. Now it's semi-raw again but smaller. I also noticed some redness around it--but not in it. I'm not 100% certain or convinced that it's infected though. The corner of the other eye is red also and that incision is completely closed. Everything else is going quite well. The scars are still pretty visible but just as the bruising has faded, the scars should too. It all just takes time. I've got 3 weeks until my vacation for them to fade! (Just kidding) I'm happy with the results and I'm sure they'll look fine for my trip. There are still 3 little xanthie spots but they are nothing compared to what was there.
I was thinking about make up this morning. Everything I read (about blepharoplasty not xanthie removal specifically)says you can start wearing make up at around the 2 week mark. I have not even considered that yet and I don't plan on it until the raw spot heals completely. I'm sure those photos will be interesting..!
In the mean time, here are today's photos. Looks good!

13 days post op

Not too much of a change in status today. The little raw spot feels much better at the moment. I didn't put any ointment on it last night, and I didn't let it get wet today. It looks like it dried up a bit and definitely doesn't itch as much. Maybe I'll just let it be for another day or so and see if it will heal up.
My eyes were a bit puffy this morning, but that went away after the first cup of coffee! The bruising is minimal now, as it was yesterday. It just looks like I have not slept in a few days...! I still have those little lumpy areas across the upper lids and I hope they will un-lump one day. Not really noticeable unless you look closely at my eyes. Some one else probably wouldn't notice it but I do because I'm scrutinizing them at least 5 times daily! The incisions are still fairly noticeable but they look way better than yellow free form blobs all over the place.
My eyelid corners are still a little tight, again, the left more than the right. I don't want to stretch it too much because of the raw spot but once that heals I may be able to stretch it some to relax it. When I'm looking straight ahead I don't notice it but if I look slightly up or try to fully open my eyes, its noticeable. I have no idea if this is normal or not but its not really a problem. Now that the swelling and bruising are almost done, I'll probably focus on the scars next. They wont fade very fast so after tomorrow, my updates will probably be less frequent, maybe. We'll see and as always, if there is any kind of change, I'll post it right away!.
Here are today's photos. Not bad huh...?

12 days post op

Not too much progress to write about today. The raw spot is back, right in the same place. I don't think it likes water. It itches like crazy too. I've been keeping the ointment on it but something in the back of my head is telling me to let it dry out. I don't know what to do. The ointment doesn't help the itching much either! It doesn't look infected or anything and it's not any redder than the area has been so I'm pretty sure it's okay---at this point anyway. But darn, it itches!
Today was the first day that I didn't take any advil. Yea! I don't seem to be swollen and the bruising continues to resolve. I still feel a little tightness around the inner corners of both upper lids, more on the left but I'm thinking that's because I didn't have that much skin left to work with. I'm hoping it loosens up a bit over time. The left corner is still a little lower than the right corner so that hasn't changed. Its a little less noticeable today because I'm not swollen at all, or at least I don't appear to be. But that itching in that one spot is about to drive me insane. I'm thinking about putting some benedryl ointment on it but as I said before, I don't know if it would be better to just let it dry out. Ugh! I want to scratch it but I definitely know better than that! Maybe I should try not to get that side wet in the shower for a few days. Will let you know how that goes.
Meanwhile, here are this afternoon's photos. It's coming along...

11 days post op

Today I woke up with 2 swollen eyes. I have NO idea why either! I took some advil and that helped. By early this afternoon, the swelling had gone down.
Another thing, my left eye feels like it's not opening all the way and when I look at the photos I do see that the inner corner (upper lid) isn't rising up as far as the other one. I skimmed back through all of the photos and this doesn't seem to be anything new. I guess I just hadn't realized it. The right upper lid has definitely slid back up faster. I'm not sure if the left one will stay this way but I hope it doesn't! I'm still a little bruised but in person, it doesnt look like bruises any more. It looks more like huge dark circles under my eyes. I usually have dark circles anyway because of the olive complexion but these are different. I can tell its remnant or resolving bruises. Anyone else would just think I was tired.
The little raw spot seems to be better today. It's not hurting anymore. I just have a tightness feeling where the corner isn't going up correctly. Either way, I think they are healing up nicely. I'll be glad when the bottom incisions fill in and fade. They are already doing that but I get a little impatient sometimes. I want it to happen faster!
Nothing else exciting to report. Will update on the left inner corner tomorrow.

10 days post op

I did a lot yesterday and I seem to be paying for it a little today. First, I did color my hair. No problems there. The best part of that was standing in the shower letting water run over my face---for at least 10 minutes! It felt great! After I got out, I checked the incisions to make sure they were okay and 3 were. The fourth, which is actually the upper left looked a bit strange. Kind of how a scab looks after you've been swimming or something. I put the ointment on and just let it be. Then... I decided that I was ready to go out. I've been craving Red Lobster for about 2 weeks so thats where I went. Everything went okay there too. Got a few funny looks and Frank got a few funny looks too. Let me explain. Right now, I look like I have 2 resolving black eyes. When you get close, you can see the incisions but walking through a restaurant, it just looks like I've been punched a few times. On the way out, I walked with my head down. It was worth it though because I love this particular Red Lobster location. Food is great!
After that, I came home and watched a little TV and fell asleep. In the middle of the night I woke up with a jolt because I realized in my sleep that I scratched my left eye lid and it hurt! Just great, I thought. I flew into the bathroom to see if I did any damage. It looks like what ever was there when I got out of the shower is now gone. I dont know if it was a scab or a piece of skin or what but its gone and what's left is a small open area of the incision. I put more ointment on it and went back to bed. I guess having 2 drinks with dinner distracted me in my sleep. Up until now, I have been totally aware of my eyes when I fall asleep. Dr. L had told me to use the eye shields from day 1 but I never did. Hmmm. Maybe I should have last night! So, this little spot hurts today. Kind of like a raw spot. It doesnt look infected or anything and I'm sure it will close up eventually. I'll definitely be more aware of it in my sleep tonight! (its a mom thing, we can will ourselves to sleep light when we need to)
Today, Nicole is celebrating her birthday. Its actually tomorrow but she and Samantha put together a barbeque for today so I'll be there. Too bad its not sunny out. If it was, I'd probably sit there with sun glasses on to hide the bruises. Her friends dont know me that well and I'm sure they know nothing about my xanthies and my surgery. They'll probably think I got punched too! I'll be glad when the bruising is gone. For the most part, if I look past the bruising, I dont look all that bad! I can definitely see that my left upper eye was difficult for Dr. L just by how the scar is and what's left. Then again, I'm 10 days post op. It will likely look much better by next week. :)
Here are today's photos. You can see the little open spot. Still improving though.
I'll update again tomorrow because of that spot.

9 days post op

I guess I dont have to tell you that the steri-strips fell off within hours yesterday. Actually, the top ones fell off by themselves. I helped the bottom ones a little. I was able to take a good look at the results for the first time too! Yesterday, the scars on top looked a little lumpy but today they arent as lumpy. I'm thinking that the lumps will go down or fade with time. Also, on the top left, there is a bit more xanthie remaining than I thought. Still, it's less than before and what's left (except for one small spot) is hidden in the crease of the lid. The bottoms look okay. He removed nearly all from the bottom lids except for that one 2.5mm spot on the left. As he said yesterday and as I had been thinking, had he taken any more off, there wouldnt have been enough skin for reconstruction. I'm happy with the results so far. I still have quite a bit of healing to do and I'm sure as it heals it will continue to look even better.
Dr. L also told me that there may be some little pieces of stitch left under the skin. He said I can just remove them when they come up. I found two such pieces today. They were really small and I used tweezers to get them. I'm kind of surprised I didnt poke myself or something. I'm not really good with tweezers!
My plan for today is to finally get the incisions wet! I've been totally faithful in keeping them dry up till now. I'm kind of excited and scared all at the same time. See, the thing is.... I really need to color my hair. Silly me, I should have done it before the surgery but didnt get around to it. Now, I have my regular 4 week pépe lé peu stripe (dark brown hair with white/gray roots). It needs to be done. Now that I can get my face wet, I'm going to do it. Not a full color job, just a touch up. I'll do the full color right before I go away. It's still basically the same process just less hairs colored. If I didn't need to do the color, I probably would have waited another day or two to get the areas wet--not because I cant, just because...because... I dont even know why. He said I can get them wet now so I dont know why I'm nervous. Sorry, got off track a bit there...
So, here are today's photos. Still bruised but improving a lot. I'm not quite ready to go out for a night on the town yet but that's coming soon!

8 days post op #2

Yea! The stitches are out!! Dr. L said they looked good and put a few steri-strips on to make sure the incisions stay closed. He told me that my upper lids were a challange for him, but that he knew they would be, going in. He said that because the lesions were large and also kind of spread out that he wasnt able to get all of it but that once I heal up and some skin comes back, we can talk about revision/removal of what ever remains. He felt that the little pieces left on the top would likely slide back into the crease and not be too noticible. Fine with me. What's left is a huge improvement over what was there before!
Then he dropped a bomb on me... he's leaving the group practice at the end of this month. Yikes! He told me this as he was taking out the stitches. He said that as his patient I should have been notified but I assured him that I wasnt. However, having worked with doctors and group practices for many years, I kind of understood. I dont know what happened between the docs in the group, and that really doesnt matter to me.
Back to the eyes...
He asked me the one question I had been avoiding with him--did I smoke. I had to answer yes because I do--plus the sweatshirt I had on smelled a little of smoke (ugh). Smoking slows down the healing process. I already knew that but I couldnt quit. He didnt say I wasnt healing properly or anything but he reviewed why I should quit and then let it go. Hmmm. I had been taking extra vitamin C hoping that would counteract any problems. I guess I'll never really know if it helped or not since he really didnt say one way or the other.
He said that I should avoid sunlight for another few weeks, but that I should be okay in Puerto Rico. He also said that normally, he schedules a post op visit for 2 months out but since he's leaving the group, he would leave it up to me if I wanted to continue with that practice or find him where ever he is at that time. In my mind, I decided that I will find him if he is still in the area. He also told me that his cell phone number is on the bottom of my surgery paperwork and that if I ever needed to use it that it would be okay.
So... the major part of this is over. All that's left now is to continue healing. He said the steri-strips will probably fall off by tomorrow so when they do, I'll post photos again. In the mean time, here are photos with the steri-strips. Looks different without the stitches huh?? ;)
P.S. I peaked under the steri-strips. They're already coming off on the tops because my eyelid isnt flat and I cant not blink! They look like little scars... LOL. Photos of that tomorrow~

8 days post op #1

Good morning! Hopefully this will be the stitch removal day and yes I'm excited!
The bruising looks better to me today than it did yesterday. Still a little swollen when I woke up but everything looks okay to me. We'll see how right I am in a few hours.
Here are the "before stitch removal" photos and I'll be back later with what I hope will be "after stitch removal" photos and an update from Dr. L. Wish me luck!!!

7 days post op

Today is exactly one week since the surgery. At this time last week I was a mess! haha~
The eyes are feeling okay today. Not bad and not great but closer to good than bad. The stitches are really pulling now and I absolutely cannot wait to get them taken out! If he doesnt take them out tomorrow I just might scream. Another stitch has come aloose on the right upper lid. I'm not touching it! The ones that have come aloose have done it all on their own I swear! The one I clipped is still perfectly intact by the way.
The bruising looks better, or so I thought until I took the photos for today. Its possible that since I charged the battery for the camera that the flash is stronger and showing better contrast--I dont know but they look darker to me. I could also just be tired. I only slept for 4 hours last night. Thats not related to the surgery or anything its just one of those things that I go through from time to time.
I have plans to wash my hair today so it's clean for tomorrow. I'm not really sure how I'll do it by myself but I'll think of something. It needs to be washed. 3 days is about my limit before it starts to look stringy and today it looks nice and stringy!
I'm hoping Dr. L will be as pleased as I am with the healing but since I had absolutely nothing to compare it to I wont know until he looks at me. For all I know, I should have been totally healed by now or maybe I've surpassed what was expected. I have no idea. I think its healing up well and I'm sure it will look and feel better once these gosh darn stitches are out. The ointment helps a little with that tugging feeling but its getting worse. I'm sure that means that the stitches are ready to come out...RIGHT...?????? :)
So, here are today's photos. I'll take some in the morning before I go see Dr. L and then again when I come back and put them both in the update tomorrow.

6 days post op

Feeling much better today! My eyes seem to have a bit more endurance today than yesterday but I'm still trying not to overwork them.
Remember that loose stitch I mentioned a few days ago? It fell out this morning along with a second stitch from the other eye. I wasnt pulling on them or anything they just slipped aloose and finally slipped out. I saved both of them in a piece of gauze for Dr. L in case he's one of those doc's that likes to keep track of stitches. The second one that came out was from the upper lid on the left. That one had been poking me so I'm kind of glad it came out. The incisions dont appear to be affected by the missing stitches so I guess its okay.
As expected, the tube of antibiotic ointment is almost empty. I think I have enough to get through today and tomorrow. If Dr. L wants me to continue to use it after the stitches are out, I'll refill it Thursday.
Looking at todays photos, I'm a little disappointed that the bruising looks the same as it has for the past 2 days. I'm not sure what I can do to help that along. The swelling has improved and it looks like my upper lids are falling into place now. As you can see, the upper stitches seem to be more hidden in the creases like the incision/scar is supposed to be when this is all said and done. Thats a good thing I think! I'm starting to see the light at the end of this particular tunnel. Yea~
More tomorrow~

5 days post op

My biggest update for today was that I went back to work. That was also my biggest mistake! Most of me feels fine and I thought it would be okay but by 11am, after sitting in front of the computer for 4 hours, my eyes were hurting. Not just that strain feeling I've been having but actual pain. You'd think that alone would have made me stop working for the day right? Yeah. So I sat here for another 2 hours and really pushed myself to the limit. Right now, I think I'm done for the day. My vision even got blurry in the past hour or so. Honestly though, I'm not the kind of person that can loaf off during the day. I have a lot of work and I'm a really disciplined/focused kind of person. I'm self employed and have to be that way in order to keep my business. But today, I think my eyes won this battle...
Here is today's photo. I dont see too much change from last night (thus my reducing the updates to once a day now...) At least its not getting any worse now!

108 hours post op

I made it through the weekend! Tonight my eyes are feeling a little strained. I've been feeling like that most of today and I still have the headache. Again, I dont think the headache is related to the surgery. I've been watching a lot of tv these past 2 days and I think that's contributing to the strain my eyes feel right now. I'm going to take some more advil and go lay down as soon as I write this. I'm actually an hour early tonight but that's okay.
The swelling has gone down again and the bruising is much better. I scrolled through the photos from the past 4 days and I cant believe how much improvement there is. The stitches are definitely in itch mode now but its not like a regular itch. It's more like a tug-sting-itch kind of thing. Advil does seem to take a little of that away but it doesnt last.
My original plan had been to return to work tomorrow. I typically work a 12 hour day but I can tell that tomorrow will not be a typical day. I'll probably work a few hours in the morning, take a break for a few hours to rest my eyes and then work a little more in the afternoon. 90% of my work is done by computer and I just dont think I'm ready yet. When I was researching this surgery, what little I did find suggested taking a week to 10 days off. Um, I cant do that. Being self employed means that if I dont work, I dont get paid. I have to work. I'm just going to do it slow for a few more days.
Tomorrow, I'll probably update some time in the middle of the day, and do it just once. If I notice any significant differences I'll post more.
Anyway, here are tonight's photos.

6:00pm update

Nicole and I washed my hair this afternoon. It wasn't as bad as I thought but I'm definitely not used to someone else doing it! I sat on the floor with my head tilted back into the bathtub and she used the handheld shower head. Sounds trickier than it was. We got it done and my head feels better!
Today, I have a little bit of a headache. I woke up with it and I'm not sure it's totally related to my eyes. Advil didn't seem to help it too much. I really just want to go to sleep!
Anyway, Nicole just left a few minutes ago. I'm all alone again, except for the cat. It's kind of lonely at the moment but I'm sure I'll be fine!
I'll be back for the 10pm update and then, starting tomorrow I think I'll just go to one update per day. Not much is changing at this point and I dont expect too much of a change until Thursday. (stitch removal day!!!!!)
see ya later~

96 hours post op

It's been 4 days. Wow. The 4 days prior to the surgery went by so slowly and these past 4 days have gone by pretty quickly.
As seems to be the case lately, my eyes are swollen when I wake up in the morning. More on the right eye than the left. Last night, I thought I had pulled a stitch out. We were watching TV and I was running my finger under the stitch line trying to cure an itch and I felt a tiny piece of something come off. I was so scared it was a piece of stitch! I ran into the bathroom, looked at it and it looked slightly different. I then got on the computer and had Nicole compare last nights photos to what my face looked like and after about 5 minutes of scrutiny we discovered that it wasn't a stitch after all, but just a small piece of gunk (dried blood or other something) Whew~
There are other pieces of dried gunk but I left them alone. I'm sure a nice hot shower running over my face would remove them but I cant do that yet...
Over all, I think I'm continuing to improve. No real pain, but still a little uncomfortable at times and the bruising is starting to improve. I touched up my eyebrows last night and then noticed this morning that they arent even. Gees. I'll have to get the lady at the nail shop to do them after I'm healed. I was just trying to clean them up a bit. Guess I should have left them alone for now.
Plan for today is to get my hair washed. Will let you know how that goes in an interim update, unless I chicken out and dont do it!
Here are todays photos. I'm getting better!!

84 hours post op

Today was very un-eventful. Nicole and I layed around most of the day watching TV. The only thing different today was that I stayed awake! No nap!!!
I'm still taking quite a bit of advil and as I predicted this morning, it definitely helps with the swelling. Something else I forgot to mention--- when I use the antibiotic ointment on the stitches, sometimes it gets into my eyes. The instructions say I'm supposed to put a little into my eye but that feels really weird. When I put it on my upper lids, it kind of liquifies and drips or oozes into my eyes anyway. It also creates a film over my eyes that is uncomfortable and makes my vision blurry. My solution to that is to use Visine Tears. I put a few drops in the inner corner and let it wash through to the outer corner. Its not in the instructions to do that but I have found that it helps not only clear the ointment but kind of cools my eyes off. Good feeling!
Nicole will be leaving tomorrow and I'll be all by myself. I think I'm ready. BUT.. before she goes, she'll have to help me wash my hair. I have no doubt that will be fun.(/sarcasm)
:)
Here are tonight's photos. I think they are improving. Cant wait to get the stitches out. 5 days!!!

72 hours post op

It's now 3 days after the surgery. I'm definitely seeing and feeling an improvement. I'm still swollen and bruised some but it's clearly better. I also slept late this morning and have not taken any advil since around mid-night and because of that, I'm a little more swollen than I was last night. When I look down, like at the keyboard, I can see the stitches on the lower lids. I couldn't do that before because of swelling so that's new--and good!
Nicole is still asleep. I'm starting to think both of my daughters have been bitten by tse-tse flies. They sleep SO much! At least the cat is up and sitting in here with me. She probably only wanted to be fed though. :)
Nothing else exciting to report. I'm going to take some advil and do my modified face wash. That always makes me feel good. I'm also going to have to wash my hair today or tomorrow. Washing from the neck down in the shower is easy especially with a hand held showerhead but my hair is starting to feel icky. It hasnt been washed since Tuesday, the night before the surgery. Nicole and I think we can do it with me leaning back over the edge of the bathtub. She also suggested I put a hand towel or wash cloth over my eyes. I have visions of the threads getting caught in the stitches so I'm a bit leary of the whole idea. I bet by tomorrow I'll be more willing. I normally wash my hair every 2-3 days. Its due....
Will let you know how that goes when ever I get up the courage to do it but it will definitely be by tomorrow.
Here are this morning's photos. Notice the slight increase in swelling on the upper lids. I'm sure this is because it's been 10 hours with no advil. Will have to compare with tonight's later.

60 hours post op

Samantha left this afternoon and Nicole got here around 7pm. Yes, two very different daughters. LOL. I had about 5 hours by myself and slept most of it away.
But nevermind that. I just took the evening update photos and I think my eyes are finally looking better! I had cleaned up the incision areas a little bit this afternoon so as not to scare the wits out of Nicole and I think it helped. Samantha is right, the bags I used to have under my eyes are gone too! What a bonus--an eye lift! At least I think that's what they call it...
Take look~ By the way, that is a stray hair on my cheek, not a long wayward stitch! I'm definitely excited now to see the final results. Only 5 more days till I get the stitches out.
I doubled up on advil since my slight relapse this morning. I think it helped with the swelling and it definitely helped with the strain feeling. I also think the bruising is starting to go down. yea! The incisions are starting to itch some and that means they are healing. I hope the itching doesn't get too bad because advil wont help that! In fact, I'm not sure what I'll do about itching since I cant scratch them.
So...that's it for tonight. I hope the improvement continues tomorrow!

1:00pm update

Okay. Trying to get some work done was a mistake. I spent about 2 hours on the computer and now my eyes hurt. Not a painful hurt, but they feel strained. I did get some stuff done and I'm glad about that but looking back, it probably wasnt a good idea. I'm laying on the bed, propped up with the ice packs again. I also took some advil.
Lesson learned. No more work for a few days...

48 hours post op

Today I finally feel a little better! My eyes are still swollen and bruised, vision is still a bit blurry at times but the rest of me seems almost back to normal. yea! I think I'll be able to get some work done today. That's a good thing because it is piling up already. I also have to put the ointment on my stitches. Did I mention earlier that the tiny tube of antibiotic ointment was $133.00? The tube is about half the size of my pinky. I dont have a prescription plan and there is no generic version of this stuff so I had to pay full price. I'll probably have to refill it by early next week too! I guess in the end, it doesnt matter. I have to do what I have to do, so I cant complain!
Something else I noticed last night. When I'm watching TV or on the computer if I keep my eyes half closed I can see okay and it doesnt feel like it's straining my eyes. If I try to keep them open all the way, it starts to hurt. Hmmm.
I also washed my face really good last night. I carefully avoided all of the stitched areas but I did wipe around them and got some of that ick stuff off. I noticed that one stitch came aloose too. Looks like the stitch was cut too short and it just slipped apart. The skin is closed where it was so I'm not worried about it. Also, another stitch on the other side was sticking into my eye. I clipped a tiny piece off of it (shhhh. dont tell Dr. L!) so it wouldnt keep poking me. Feels better now!
I found the two pieces of xanthie that Dr. L was unable to remove. One is a tiny 1mm dot on the top left and the other is about 2-2.5mm on the lower left. I think he had to leave it because there was no more skin left for closure. I'm okay with that because its way less than what was there before. I'm starting to get excited to see how it will all look after the stitches are out and the skin settes back.
And oh... something I havent mentioned yet... I have a vacation planned for early July. My daughters and I are going to Puerto Rico for 5 days. I had told Dr. L about this way back when we started. He said I should be healed by then but that I'll have to use sunblock and wear sunglasses to keep the scars from burning. I didnt have the heart (or guts) to tell him that sunblock makes me burn! No kidding! Every time I've ever used anything over 10-15 spf, where ever I put it, I burn. Go figure... and its not just me. Nicole has the same problem too! I'm a beach bum and I absolutely love the ocean but I'm going to have to be careful with my scars. I dont want anything to mess them up. I'll have to keep a close eye on it--haha. Our trip is in exactly 33 days.
Anyway, as expected, Samantha is snoring away on the couch. I'll have to get her up soon. She looks too comfortable!

That's it for this morning. Here are the current photos. I'm thinking that I look a little better....

36 hours post op

I'm a bit early tonight for the 10pm update. Not much has changed since this morning as far as how I feel. Advil really seems to keep the pain at bay and I also think its helping with the swelling. I slept a lot today too.
The surgical coordinator from Dr. L's office called this afternoon to check on me. I told her I was fine, that I felt like I put my face in front of a speeding train but fine none the less! She said to keep icing and taking advil and that it sounded like I was good.
My right eye seems to tear up a little more than the left but it's not bothersome.
What I'd really like to do is stand in the shower and let the water run over my face for like a half hour. It just feels like it needs to be cleaned off! I am not supposed to get the stitches wet at all so I've been just wiping around them. Not very effective so I may have to come up with a new plan. My face feels dirty. About a month ago, I cut my finger and got 6 stitches in it. I got that one wet and didn't have any problems but this is on my face. I'm scared to mess with it. Oh well. I'll work it out.
Samantha will be leaving tomorrow :'(. It's been great having her here. A few hours ago I made her promise that she'll come visit more often. She said she would. :)
Nicole, my other daughter will be here tomorrow evening. While both daughters are quite the same in a lot of ways, they are also quite different. Should be an interesting changing of the guards... haha
Well, that's going to be it for tonight. I'm going to take some advil PM and call it a day. But first, here are tonights photos. I think its looking better, maybe....