You should be scared, it's only natural given what is going to happen. I was really nervous too going into it( I just had it done last tuesday 6/24). I had never been under general anesthesia before so that was a big scare. Then there are the horror stories you read on here which make you second guess it as well.
As far as day of surgery, its all kind of foggy to me. They gave me a valium and my natural response to everything when nervous is to turn it into a joke. The nurse was laughing a bit and the anesthesiologist made a joke that I should do this all under local so I can entertain her. That's the last I remember until I woke up. When I woke up they already had you on pain meds. You could just feel a lot of swelling especially on the forehead. I went to Dr Mayer so they apply a compression bandage to your head which was annoying but you deal with it. I think most do that to keep the swelling down. Like I said pain was definitely not a problem you just kinda feel numb everywhere you had something done.
I was then transferred to an aftercare facility which took care of me and applied regular icing and compresses. It was a bit awkward and lonely going through all this alone but the nurses kept me in good spirits. I took one vicodin while there. The nurses thought I was kinda crazy but I was just numb. I had more pain after a dental procedure with local anesthesia than this.
The day after I saw Dr Mayers nurse and had my compression bandage removed. I would definitely second that you will feel weird when you first kind of see it all. I almost passed out seeing the forehead stitching and general swelling of the face( not to mention a really bad hair day! ). I knew though reading from past peoples experiences it was all normal but its still kinda shocking.
It's getting better everyday though. I have 2 black eyes and a fat lip as the most visible things right now. It's a little weird combing your hair when you cant feel your scalp but I knew all this going in and was explained thoroughly pre and post op. Definitely do your research ahead of time on preparation and post op recovery. Things like arnica, bromelain and a good diet going in will help. Then follow the post op instruction from your doctor and it should go smoothly.
For me, my procedures were a type I orbital shaving( I could barely see any bossing on my xray but he definitely shaved it down ), brow lift, hair line lowering, soft radix graft on the now, chin reduction, lip lift with fat augmentation and trachea shave. I am also pretty healthy in general. I did a 50 mile bike ride 2 days before surgery so being fit may have played a big role in pain management.
So in all its normal to be scared. Just be prepared going into it. There are a lot of resources online about plastic surgery and how to take care of yourself before and after. Read these thoroughly and it will definitely help you out. It's also great to keep up with things on this forum about different peoples experiences.
