I'm scared about the surgery aspect of FFS, as well as the results.  If I do it, which won't be any time soon, how bad is it going to hurt afterwords?  I mean is it debilitating enough to havemto leave work for a long time?  Also, how do you like your results?  Are they what you expected?

In my experience, and I had aggressive forehead and nose job done, it was not painful AT ALL. They put you on a ton of painkillers, and even when the effect of my painkillers would run out, it still did not hurt. You're just going to feel uncomfortable and numb all around.

I had surgery exactly a week ago and besides the cast/bandages on my nose, my face is 80% back to normal. Just a bit more swelling left. I was out and about shopping with my sis today.

When I first saw my results, I freaked out. You are so used to seeing yourself a certain way in the mirror that no matter how good your FFS turns out, you are always going to feel self-conscious and regretful of your decision. That is normal with everyone who undergoes surgery. If you would like to see a more thorough description of my FFS experience, I have it posted in my thread. I went with Dr Cardenas.

Anna

I agree with Roni's comments.  If you prepare well you should know what to expect.  I went to Dr Z and he provided DVDs covering the operation and recovery.  It helps if you speak to former patients and the nurse or support you organise to help you through the first few days.

My FFS was extensive.  I did not read the manuals or view the DVDs until the night before (not a good move).  However you wake up groggy and heavily medicated.  Pain is not an issue and was easily controlled by meds.

The only issue I had was in the first few days as I had upper and Lower eye  lid reduction, brow bossing and lift, scalp advancement, rhinoplasty, cheek implants etc - I felt claustrophobic and panicked. 5 mins after taking a Valium I was fine.  Like Roni, seeing yourself in the mirror is a bit of a shock not because of the swelling, stitches etc but because your face has changed and it is some time before the bruising settles down and feeling returns. 

So IMHO the results justify the discomfort.  You do feel like a bus hit you, it is after all major surgery.   You will feel weak for a while but pain should not be an issue.  Be prepared and arrange good support for the first few days as it makes the recovery a whole lot easier.

A good thread to read is one posted by enigmatic fluff.  She captured the whole experience and comes with daily video updates.

Safe travels

Aisla

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.

Thank you for the replies and I will research the hell out of it.  Unfortunately I can't do it anytime soon, but if after about a year and a half of being on hormones Ill see how I look and go from there. 

I had no actual pain from my 5 extensive surgeries, just extreme dizziness from the painkillers. The only real pain was from removing the staples afterwards, but even then that wasn't too bad. It's definitely intimidating, but the results are more than worth it

FFS is a major procedure, there's no sugar coating it, and trepidation is natural.

The main thing is going in with realistic expectations - knowing what the worst case outcome will be and taking anything better than that as a bonus.  Fatalistic I know, but with that mindset, you're not likely to be disappointed.