How long after surgery was it until you liked your new face?

[fixmenow]

Hey, I was just wondering how long it took you to start liking your post-jaw surgery face?
Also, how long did it take for all the swelling to be gone from your face?

[Elizabethrose1279]

I am almost 5 weeks post op. I'd say I was happy with my face around 2 weeks post op. By happy I mean I was fine going out in public and being seen. I still had and still do have considerable swelling along my jaw line. My smile is still stuff and weird because of the swelling. I can see my profile is better and I know once the swelling is finally over that I will love it even more! You have to be very patient though for everything to settle down. My dr told me last week I still have 25% swelling left and I know it's going to take a long time to look completely normal again.

[Jawbreak]

I'm almost 3 months post-op and I'm JUST starting to like my face, so patience is definitely key

I looked "normal" enough to go out without people staring at me at about week 2, but as far as actually "liking" my face, it's taking quite a while. After living for so long with your pre-surgery face, it's really weird to see something different every time you look in the mirror, no matter how subtle it is. It's like your brain focuses ib the slight differences and makes them HUGE! Like slightly flared nostrils will make you feel like your nose is gigantic when it's really not. In my case, I had no jawline at all pre-surgery, so I felt like I looked too "manly" after the surgery, even after most of the swelling was gone. That feeling is starting to subside.

So basically, be patient with your appearance. There's a certain amount of body dysmorphia that you may go through after post-surgery. I've heard we shouldn't judge the final result until the 5- or 6-month mark, and I think it's partly because there will still be swelling until then, but also because you have to let your brain get used to your new face.

As far as swelling, I'd say about week 5 is when most of my swelling was gone, but there is still some left even at 3 months. Not a lot and it's not obvious, but it takes a lot of time for the remaining 10% to go away.

Keep in mind that these are my timelines, but everyone is different, and it depends on the procedure(s) you had.

[glennstanzalone]

I'm 6 months post-op and I still don't like my face. I'm still swollen too & I'm the heaviest I've ever been so it's hard to tell what's the surgery and what is just fat.

[braces101]

My change was not all that drastic, so I'm sure my experience is a little different than some but I was happy with the way things were looking at about 6 weeks, despite the fact that I was and still am fairly swollen.

[scarface19]

I was very conscious with the fact that I did not feel normal. Whereas most people have a lower jaw that closes under the upper jaw, mine was half and half. After surgery I simply felt normal and that was enough for me even though it took me 6 months to settle down my look. Can you maybe post before and after pictures?

[fixmenow]

thanks all for sharing, I'm 11 weeks now and am still adjusting. Some days I look alright others I look bad. My smile is still very odd but I think it has to do with all my muscles and nerves regenerating/ getting used to their new positions. I'm doing a LOT BETTER than I was around 6 weeks, just some angles bug me, I also am not used to have so much face as I had an overbite and small lower face in the past. I feel like I have fluid in my cheeks still which makes things seem a bit lumpy if I look hard. I guess I just need to continue being patient. I'm sure there are more changes to come in time.

[supersadrn]

After almost 2 years I still absolutely hate it. If there is something wrong or something you hate about your new face right away, address it immediately; don't wait for the swelling to come down all the way because how you look while you're swollen is still similar to how you'll look years later.

My post recovery results: sorry to be a downer btw
http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... 15&t=51844