Day 4. The bruising is traveling down my face. No pain and not really any discomfort. My eyes feel a little tired. I could drive if I had to. I could have driven yesterday if I had to. But I feel like the swelling is limiting my field of vision.

Day 5. Bruising is subsiding. I still won’t be seen in public, if I can avoid it (and I can).

By ten days those bruises will be yellow, a whole ‘nother look. You’re well on the way and the results look excellent. Very interested in the internal brow lift, what a great idea although it may have to be done in the setting of a surgery where there will already be incisions made in the vicinity?

Glad you are not having a lot of pain; I had none and was back to normal in a couple of weeks, although all the swelling did not subside completely for another week after that.

I also think more people among us have had procedures and they just don’t talk about it as freely as we do here. My SIL had a facelift and forbade her husband ( DH’s brother) to say anything to anyone.— as if we couldn’t tell 🙄 Reminds me of that scene in a movie where someone tells Candace Bergen’s character that she looks very well rested when she had obviously just had a lift.

It's very generous of you to share this experiece here! Looks great so far. Hope it heals fast!

The youngest member (barely 60) of our cookbook club had a full facelift a year or so ago. She had to tell us she had had it done! I think I’ve mentioned before, if you include me, 5 out of the 8 members have had some sort of work.

The doc has told me that it will be give-or-take 6 weeks until all of the swelling is gone. Apparently, the brow lift swells a little more. It doesn’t hurt, but I am aware of it.

Day 6. Still just rocking along. The yellow is appearing.

Had a little scare last night. Suddenly one eye fogged over. Thinking it was fuzz or a hair, I looked at it in the magnifying mirror. It was blood leaking out of my eye! Not pink-ish tears - bright red, no-joke, blood. The surgeon gives his private cell number to his patients. I called. He told me to put pressure on the eye for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, the bleeding had abated but not totally stopped. I applied pressure for another 5 minutes and it stopped. He sent me a text asking how I was doing. He thinks I may have rubbed my eye without realizing it. Scary but all seems well today. I appreciated his following up with a text.

bleeding frim the stitches or from the eyeball??

Oh my, @bbtsx, glad that little scare was resolved!

Oh goodness, I kept seeing this thread pop up and didn't realize that you had the surgery and were documenting it. I'm glad things are going well with only a minor (and frightening) glitch. Thank you for posting the pictures.

Yike, Bbstx, nothing like blood coming out of your eye to stop you in your tracks. 😵‍💫 Very glad that is over and hope it was a total non-event.

Your very brave to be going through this. I am sure it will all be worth it once you are totally healed. Thanks for sharing

Day 7. Eyes look a little watery because I forgot to take the picture before I put the drops in. 🤦🏻‍♀️

@njmomma, I don’t know that I am brave. I was tired of raising my forehead so I could see better. And vain enough to want the bags under my eyes gone!

@dedtired, I’m pretty sure the bleeding was from the stitches. The doctor thinks a tiny part of the internal incision separated and that is what caused the bleeding.

I drove yesterday afternoon, out of necessity. My vision was totally normal.

Things are really improving! I think if a petson is only going to do one cosmetic procedure , you get the most bang for your buck from eyelids.

Oh dedtired, that must have been scary! You are really looking good!

Now that I think about it, I remember having one of those plastic eye protectors I had to tape over my eyes at night. Or maybe that was when I had Lasix or cataract surgery or for each of them. Too long ago to recall now, but maybe something like what happened to you is the reason for it.

Despite the scary incident, it looks like you are healing very well!

Day 8 and last progress picture. Stitches out (that hurt worse than anything so far!!) Doc said swelling will subside as we go along but it won’t be 100% resolved for at least 2 months. What looks like bags under my eyes is just bruising and swelling. At this point, I’m very pleased!

Amazing progress and looking great! I’m excited for you to have the hard part behind you and smooth sailing ahead!

You ’re well on your way!

So happy it has gone so well for you, BBSTX

Just had to share, this is what DD gave me for my bday:

😂

HA! Love it. Last year, mine gave me a gift card for a facial. Are they trying to tell us something???

Since we’ve re-opened this thread, here is an update on my eye surgery. This picture is 11 days post-op. (Have you ever seen such stubby eyelashes???) I wore sunglasses to get my mammogram, but I don’t think anyone would have noticed if I’d worn my normal glasses.

You've done really well - everything looks really great!

Wow, you are really healing well. I remember I had only a small bruise left after two weeks.

I had scheduled my procedure and then got a new job. I told my new employer that I had a pre-planned vacation and would it be okay if I took two weeks off without pay. They agreed and I had my blephoroplasty.

I had a story made up if anyone asked about the small bruise. I was going to say I was hit in the eye with a canoe paddle. Fortunately no one asked so i was not forced to tell another lie. At that point I was so new they didnt know me well so no one noticed my newly sparkly eyes.

Thanks, RC. I have been pleasantly surprised .

Ded, love the canoe paddle story …even though you didn’t have to use it. DD says my eyes are sparklier. I thought it was just the eye drops! I hope it lasts.

Looking good, bb!

Canoe paddle, LOL.

@Sueb20, tell us about the under-eye patches. I’ve been thinking of buying some but I get overwhelmed by the 10,000 different brands and what each promises to do.

Incredible progress. looks great. I showed DH and he said ” probably not”. He is pretty cautious.

Looking great, bbstx!

The brand she gave me is Summer Fridays. I don’t know what it is with DD and that brand, but she gave me lip gloss for Christmas last year from Summer Fridays, and now these eye patches (along with a couple face sheet masks…yes, I am getting a message!). BTW I do really like the lip gloss. I did think my eyes looked pretty decent after those patches! I should have taken before/after pics… maybe next time.

https://www.sephora.com/product/summer-fridays-jet-lag-tm-eye-patches-P515210?country_switch=us&lang=en&skuId=2858389&srsltid=AfmBOoqhLfquUbLHU6lFTWH1tLlBgD-ZJryg7OGmb57ee6mhstITORjIKQs

Summer Friday sounds like Sunday Riley. Next time you use them, please send before and after pix!

Still trailing, I promise, it looks much worse than it feels. The biggest irritation has been getting ointment on my glasses. I have to wash my glasses several times a day with Dawn to get the ointment off!

Looks great to only be 11 days!

I tend to bruise a lot. It's interesting to watch the changes in color. :D

Wow! Your healing is amazing!

If I might ask, were you lids hooded when you were young? Mine were and if I had it done, I wouldn't want that to be any different. I wouldn't want to end up like Greta van Susteren who ended up looking like a different person.

@Annie Deighnaugh, here I am at 26. At least within my family, I was considered to have big eyes. I’m not sure how the rest of the world saw me. (The picture is obviously professionally done, but I have no idea what, where, or why. But I can tell you that t-neck is red! 😁)

To compare, this picture was taken by DSIL as I was walking out the door to have the surgery.

The surgeon who did my eyelids showed me pretty much what they were going to look like when he finished. I told him I wanted my eyelids back, but I didn’t want to look like a lot of people who’ve had it done and look almost cadaverous.

Glad that you are healing so well. It would be a scary surgery - anything that remotely involves my eyes would make me nervous.

I remember when I had Lasik, I had NIGHTMARES the night before - I was so anxious/nervous - I overheard one of the nurses tell the medical assistant, "There's a patient in the pre-op room that's going to need an extra dose of valium in order for her to make it through the procedure." A few minutes later, the medical assistant came over and handed me another little cup with another pill for me to take . . .😳

@dani_m08, I can’t say I was terribly anxious, nevertheless, they gave me a little extra something. I told DD I remember being wheeled out of the pre-op room, down the hall, through the doors of the surgical area, and I remember ZERO after that. I do not even remember them stopping the gurney I was on. Next thing I knew, they were giving DD discharge instructions.

And you are beginning to look wonderful. You're going to be so pleased,-.

Two MEN in our family have had the procedure. They had been in for cataract surgery and it was suggested to them they would see better with lifted eyelids. Neither had much in the way of bruising - in just several days (and a few months apart) may I say they both looked refreshed and yes I can say with only bit of jealousy - younger! How is it these men are getting 'cosmetic' procedures and paid for - insurance 😊 Medically necessary according to their doctors,

Thanks bbstx, most helpful. And such a lovely pic of you!

Morz8, my DBIL had his done and now that you mention it, it was about the time he had cataract surgery! Mom couldn’t see as well as she thought she should have ther cataract surgery. Her surgeon suggested blepharoplasty. She was going to do it until she read the informed consent form, which, of course, outlines the absolute worst case scenario. She chickened out and canceled the surgery. As she got older and her health was too bad for elective surgery, she lamented not having had it done.

Checking in to see how you are progressing. Hope continuing to heal as you near the 2 week mark!

@bbstx I didn’t realize you had the surgery. I am glad everything has gone well with your recovery.

Thank you for sharing your progress pictures.

Your eyes look great and it seems recovery is going well for you.

On a swift path to looking well rested BBstx! 😉 Seriously, it looks like you won’t have ANY visible scars.

Your post- surgery improvement is amazing and inspiring. Good for you! You must be so thrilled with the change.

Nice healing!

bbstx, you talked me out of it, and now I'm all in lol. Congrats on taking the plunge! You look fabulous—now we need a smiling eyes pic next to the 26yo photo.

@gardener123, if you are contemplating blepharoplasty, I would encourage you to find an oculoplastic surgeon. They are board-certified ophthalmologists who have further training in plastic surgery in the eye area (lids, tear ducts, etc).

If your eyelids are interfering with your vision, most likely, insurance will cover it. Insurance covered the portion of the surgery that was allocated to my upper lids. I paid out of pocket for the lower lids and the brow lift.

HA! These eyes are never going to look like that 26 y/o again!

Wonderful outcome! So glad it's working for you!

Wise counsel, thank you Bbstx!