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FFS w/ Dr. Spiegel in 10 days

Started by Tori_Chi, March 21, 2015, 02:35:15 PM

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Tori_Chi

Thanks Eva, it still hurts, and now my face is all banged up and looks strange and different to me, so I think there is some emotional stuff for a while.  But I hope I will like it.
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Devlyn

There's definitely some emotional stuffs.  How are you and your assistant coping? Had a chance to check Boston out?

Hugs, Devlyn

Hugs, Devlyn
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Sophiabutterfly09

You are a composite of all the things you believe, and all the places you believe you can go. Your past does not define you. You can step out of your history and create a new day for yourself. Even if the entire culture is saying, "You can't." Even if every single possible bad thing that can happen to you does. You can keep going forward.
-Oprah Winfrey
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Eva

Quote from: Tori_Chi on April 04, 2015, 04:29:19 PM
Thanks Eva, it still hurts, and now my face is all banged up and looks strange and different to me, so I think there is some emotional stuff for a while.  But I hope I will like it.

Hang in there, it WILL get better faster than you think ;)  I know I went through some surprising post op blahs, its not uncommon to have a little depression after such an invasive surgery.... You will feel better when you get home if you haven't left already ;) The hardest thing for me was not getting enough sleep due to all the pain and discomfort :( I was also worried Id end up looking weird and even regretting it but that was all wrong and nearly 6 weeks into recovery I LOVE the results Im seeing as things heal ;D In a few weeks the worst will definitely be behind you and what you see now is not really how it will end up... I bet Dr S did another awesome job on you and your gonna look great and love it 8)   
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Tori_Chi

That photo is kind of tongue and cheek. I felt so hurt and scared I wanted to take a selfie full of bravado. It's pretty hard to see yet what the results will be still.  I haven't taken a straightforward photo because I'm a little too scared of staring at myself.
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Devlyn

You got some nice shiners going. You'll be healed up and gorgeous again before you know it!

Hugs, Devlyn
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Tori_Chi

Quote from: Eva on April 05, 2015, 04:21:58 PM
Hang in there, it WILL get better faster than you think ;)  I know I went through some surprising post op blahs, its not uncommon to have a little depression after such an invasive surgery.... You will feel better when you get home if you haven't left already ;) The hardest thing for me was not getting enough sleep due to all the pain and discomfort :( I was also worried Id end up looking weird and even regretting it but that was all wrong and nearly 6 weeks into recovery I LOVE the results Im seeing as things heal ;D In a few weeks the worst will definitely be behind you and what you see now is not really how it will end up... I bet Dr S did another awesome job on you and your gonna look great and love it 8)

Thanks Eva, that makes me feel so much more confident going forward. I'm so happy you are so pleased with your outcome! <3
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TerriT

Quote from: Tori_Chi on April 05, 2015, 09:50:11 PM
That photo is kind of tongue and cheek. I felt so hurt and scared I wanted to take a selfie full of bravado. It's pretty hard to see yet what the results will be still.  I haven't taken a straightforward photo because I'm a little too scared of staring at myself.

I couldn't look at myself for 3 days at least and then it was still hard to look until a few days after that. But you'll get used to it and it feels amazing when the bandages come off. Congratulations on a successful surgery and hope you have a super speedy recovery!!!
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svaso

I thought after 1 month I would be settled with how I was going to turn out. 5 months later, I am more than pleased with the results that Dr. Spiegel offered me. I would say that the timeline month to month for healing, that Dr. Spiegel offered me were spot on. Even today, I still have residual swelling, but I couldn't be happier.

At this point, you are months away from your final results. Sit back and enjoy the changes.
Stacy
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Tori_Chi

Quote from: svaso on April 08, 2015, 03:25:01 PM
I thought after 1 month I would be settled with how I was going to turn out. 5 months later, I am more than pleased with the results that Dr. Spiegel offered me. I would say that the timeline month to month for healing, that Dr. Spiegel offered me were spot on. Even today, I still have residual swelling, but I couldn't be happier.

At this point, you are months away from your final results. Sit back and enjoy the changes.

Stacy--you look amazing! I'm so happy to hear that, and I think I will be pleased in the end. It's just scary. This morning I thought about my old face when I woke up and started to cry, thinking I made a horrible mistake--before surgery, I had that weird thing where I didn't pass but people still said I was pretty.  Now, I felt like maybe I would pass, but I would now no longer feel pretty and that made me sad.  So, to feel better I put on makeup, and tried to cover the bruises and contour to kind of balance the swelling, and I got an idea of what it might be like soon and I felt happy.

http://imgur.com/mAkf0it

It's been about 10 days since surgery I guess.  Here's what I looked like april 1st:  http://imgur.com/zSiCdW8

So when I look at these two pictures, I can see that  even though this has felt like the longest, most painful ten days of my life, I'm healing pretty quickly.  Seriously though, people, this is a really painful surgery, and I just did forehead and nose, which is supposed to be less painful than jaw.  I might have a low pain tolerance, but even still, I was not ready for it.

=
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Devlyn

Big hug! Good on ya for being honest about the pain, you'll be helping someone else get ready for what they're going to endure.

Hugs, Devlyn
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Eva

Looking GOOD ;) 8)  I know exactly how you feel and Im telling you your gonna be more than OK in a week or two ;) YES it does HURT!!! But you will forget all about it in time.... Love the freshly run over by a truck pic that only FFS veterans get :P  I like to dig mine out every now and then to see just how far I come :)
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Tori_Chi

Thanks Eva, Stacy, and Devlyn.  I accidentally deleted that photo earlier so here is the day 10 photo again.

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Tori_Chi

or for comparison:

April 10th



March 28th



Rhinoplasty and Forehead Package (brow bossing, scalp advance, mini eyebrow lift)

I look happier in the before picture, but thats mostly because my lip is still bruised on the inside from the rhinoplasty and my eyebrows are funny, so it feels weird to smile too much still.
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Devlyn

Nice! I love your freckles!

Hugs, Devlyn
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Alaia

Looking great Tori! Spiegel's done a great job, that's just the kind of subtle work I'd like done if I ever can afford it.



"Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray."

― Rumi
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Tori_Chi



2 weeks post-op, no makeup, still bruised.  But happy!

I went shopping without makeup or styling my hair at all, and got ma'am the whole time. The changes aren't huge, but after only two weeks the are significant enough that I feel like there are whole new possibilities for me, and my confidence is really good. 





My nose and eyelids are still swollen, and my forehead is numb (and will be for a while)--but I feel already like I can begin to put the experience behind me and move forward in my life.  Therefore, I'll just kind of write some closing thoughts, because I think it will be a while before there are whole new changes.

I think Spiegel is a very good surgeon for the things I wanted for my face and my priorities--which was to do as little as possible while still working to pass. He didn't try to sell me on jaw at all, he said mine was fine as it was if I didn't want it.  When he recommended a lip lift and I said I didn't want that, he didn't press at all.

In person, he is funny, and his bedside manner is good--but you don't get a ton of time with him.  I dealt with his surgical fellows as much or more than with him.  They were also very good. My only complaint is that the surgical fellows gave me 10 fewer painkillers than they thought they did, and when I was still in pain, and called for more, they told me to wait--so I was really stretching out the ones I had, and had moments of real pain.  Due to pain, the recovery ended up more stressful and hard than I think it needed to be, especially for my mom, who was watching me in pain and really upset about it.  When she called to ask if she could come get the 10 pills they didn't give me, the surgical fellow said, "some people with drug addictions do this surgery on just ibprofen."  This may be true, but I have to say I found this kind comment of insulting. I am not a drug addict, and therefore, don't agree that I should have had to take precautions and endure pain that a drug addict would endured.  Some women also give birth on dirt floors in certain parts of the world, but when paying thousands of dollars for a doctor, I think most women would be upset were they asked to do so.

Ultimately though, when I'm not longer in pain, and pleased with the results, it def doesn't seem like a sufficient reason to chose a different surgeon.  For the surgery I had, forehead and nose, I would recommend Spiegel and his staff, if you want to have surgery in the United States.   I think the procedures I had will be worth the money for me, and that it will help me move past this kind of stage of my transition, which is pretty priceless.  Good luck to all you other girls considering it!

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Kova V

That's really awesome! For such a short time you really look awesome!

As for the pain killers that sucks, I have know two people that had problems with pain killer addictions after a medical procedure. I kind of get why the doctor's people worry but that much pain really sucks  :-\

When you did your consultation, did you skype with him or do a face-to-face? And also would you mind me asking about the the price for the trip, hospital and surgery all together? You can also totally just ignore me if you don't want to. Sorry, I ask too many questions sometimes  :P
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Tori_Chi

Quote from: Kova V on April 16, 2015, 01:19:04 AM
That's really awesome! For such a short time you really look awesome!

As for the pain killers that sucks, I have know two people that had problems with pain killer addictions after a medical procedure. I kind of get why the doctor's people worry but that much pain really sucks  :-\

When you did your consultation, did you skype with him or do a face-to-face? And also would you mind me asking about the the price for the trip, hospital and surgery all together? You can also totally just ignore me if you don't want to. Sorry, I ask too many questions sometimes  :P

No, I am happy to share. I feel like the more knowledge we have together, the better outcomes we can get and the better decisions with our bodies we can make.  It was about 9,000 for the nose job, and 9,000 for forehead package + 2500 or so for hospital fees and anesthesia.  So total was around 21,500.  I've heard of people getting better prices with him when they get more stuff, but I wanted less so i think I didn't get the best prices.  That said, when I tried to negotiate, they weren't really having it.  They sent me an estimate and were pretty firm on it.

As for consultation. I did to Skype sessions and then had a long session with him in-person the day before.  He didn't take any x-rays or anything though.  It was more like, "we decide what to do when we see what is there." I brought in pictures of noses that I wanted mine to be like--cause there seems to be leeway to shape the nose, but the forehead is more just standard, was my impression.
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