10 Things No One tells you before plastic surgery

I’m getting personal today - like, really personal.

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I’ve been open about my deep plane facelift journey, but that wasn't my first time under the knife. From breast augmentations to a "mini" tummy tuck, I’ve learned through experience that what you see on an Instagram "before and after" is only a fraction of the truth.

There is a whole world of "in-between" that influencers rarely mention. I'm talking about the emotional dips that catch you off guard, the recovery timelines that don't match the brochure, and the one thing plastic surgery will never actually fix.

Whether you are considering a procedure, currently in the "goop and staples" phase of recovery, or you've decided to age naturally and just want the tea - this episode is for you. I’m sharing the 10 things I truly wish someone had told me before I had plastic surgery.

Ready for the unfiltered truth? Let's dive in.

• Read the Transcript

  Hey guys. Welcome back to Well Worthy Life podcast. Thanks so much for joining me. Okay. Today I'm talking about plastic surgery, the 10 things that nobody tells you that you wish you would've known, right? Because that happens all the time. I have talked about my facelift and my journey with my facelift.

  A little over a year ago, I had a deep plane facelift with the endoscopic brow, with laser around my eyes, around my mouth. And boy, it was quite the journey and there are 10 things I wish I would've known, but that's not the only plastic surgery I have had, believe it or not.

  If you don't know this, I started with a breast augmentation years ago. Actually after I had my second son. I had always been very small chested and I nursed him and all of a sudden I had boobs. And I liked having boobs because I always felt like my body was not proportioned correctly. So after my second and before my third son, I had a breast augmentation and I was really pretty happy with it.

  I was a C-cup and really happy with it. And then I got pregnant with my third and I was like, oh my goodness, I'm going to have a tummy tuck. And so after my third, when he was probably about a year old, I was gonna go in for a tummy tuck, a mini tummy tuck, not a full tummy tuck.

  And this is back in probably 1995. My youngest son was born in 94, so this is probably 1995. And I went back to my surgeon that had done my breast augmentation and my husband, who is my ex-husband now, had said, oh, well you should get your boobs bigger. So I listened to him. We should never listen.

  We should listen to ourselves and not do it for anybody else. But anyway, I did. I had the mini tummy tuck and then I had my breast augmentation done again with bigger. So now I was a full D. And so I had that. And then when I was going through my divorce years later, I never was happy with my breasts and I just felt like they were too big.

  And so I ended up going back and getting them redone. This was like 20 years ago now. And they're back to a C and I feel much more comfortable. I will have to end up getting them done again at some point because they are saline and really, I think they're good for 15 to 20 years and it has been 20 years.

  But, so I have had some plastic surgery. So I have had some experience with this. And so today, like I said, I'm gonna be sharing the 10 things that no one tells you about plastic surgery that you need to know because this is important, okay? Number one, recovery takes longer than you think. I hear people go in and they're like, oh yeah, I'll be out.

  The doctor said I'll be out for a week and then I can go back to work or whatever. Just count on a little bit longer. It just, everybody heals differently, on Instagram. And one of the reasons I shared my journey through my plastic surgery is because you see so many people on Instagram showing befores and afters, and they don't show you all the in between and all the different emotions and all the different things. And I can't tell you how many people I have talked to that have experienced some of the same things that I have, and sometimes even different things that maybe I didn't even experience, but most likely your recovery is going to take longer than you think.

  Just know that. Now the next thing is, and this was huge for me, more in my facelift than any of my other surgeries, but I remember experiencing this when I had my mini tummy tuck also. Emotional dips. Oh man. I mean, my emotions really mentally. It was really tough and I was not prepared for that.

  I really just felt, and I shared this on the one on my podcast I shared about my facelift. I felt a lot of shame, like, I can't believe you did this to yourself. I would look in the mirror and I'd be like, oh my gosh, am I ever gonna look normal again? And the other thing is because you're not living your normal life, you're not getting all those oxytocins, like I couldn't go for a walk, which normally is how I would deal with something in my life.

  Go for a walk, get some fresh air, all the things. I couldn't do those things. And so it really took an emotional toll on me. And again, I had so many messages from so many women that have gone through the same thing, and I have talked to so many people that have experienced that. Now, maybe not everyone, but I would tell you, a lot of women.

  So be prepared for that. Be thinking about how you're going to deal with that. Have the right friends around, the right support system around, maybe write yourself a letter that you're gonna experience this so have a way to deal with it. I went into praying a lot and really growing closer to God.

  I couldn't, there was a point where because of my laser, I had put so much goop around my eyes that I couldn't really see good. So it wasn't like I could watch TV or scroll Instagram or any of the things. So I listened to worship music and it was, I'm not gonna tell you, it was probably one of my lowest times.

  So it wasn't pretty. But I did survive and you'll survive too. But just know that you may have an emotional dip. This is something I personally did not experience. I didn't feel like I experienced it anyway. I probably did and didn't realize it, but I know some people experienced this: swelling lasts a lot longer than expected.

  I did experience this when I did my mini tummy tuck. I will tell you, I did swell up a lot and I was depressed because I was bigger than I had been, and it was all due to the swelling. So swelling can take a while to go down, and that's where lymphatic massage comes into play. I'd never even heard of lymphatic massage back in the day when I did my mini tummy tuck, but now it's all over the place and you can find somebody to do lymphatic massage.

  Massage that has helped me and continues to help me to this day with my facelift. So, just know that really can help with the swelling. You wanna make sure you get cleared by your doctor and all of that, but it can last longer than you think. And it depends on, everybody is different.

  Remember? You cannot compare your journey to someone else's journey. Bruising again, bruising can be surprising. I did not experience this with my facelift. Luckily, I did not have a lot of bruising, but I think it was because the vitamins and the arnica that the doctor had me taking beforehand, I stayed away from the Advil, all the ibuprofen, anything like that, that would cause bruising.

  All of that is really important. But bruising can happen and it can last and look pretty nasty. So it's normal, but I don't think that people are prepared for how scary it can be if you have a lot of bruising. And this, number five, you'll need more help than you think. And this is so true. I needed more help.

  I wish I had hired somebody to stay with me a week, at least a week, to help me through my recovery, to help me around my house, just to be that person. And I didn't, I thought having my husband here was enough and ha ha on me. I should have known right? But anyway. That is really important. I think that is one of the most important things that I learned from this is to make sure you have the right help and that you have them for enough time because you're going to need somebody to help you through this. It's just as easy as like I at first had my husband put all the ointment on all my staples, and I was so scared he was going to mess up my hair color when he was putting the staples on 'cause I didn't feel like he was being careful.

  So I had to do that. I think if I'd had another female that understood hair color and all the things, it would have been better. Just I couldn't, I felt horrible. Obviously my head hurt from my surgery plus, if you've been following me, you know I got sick during all that time too, during my facelift.

  So I would've loved for somebody to have done my laundry. I remember at one point on the floor sitting in front of my washer and dryer, putting laundry in and then putting laundry into the dryer just 'cause I felt so bad. But I couldn't stand the laundry piling up. And then the other thing was cooking for me, somebody that could prepare meals for me that were healthy and nourishing and healing.

  All of those things, those things are really important, especially that first week. Okay. Number six. Numbness is common and a year and two months out, I still have some numbness. So that is common. I remember for the longest time I couldn't feel my ears. I can feel my ears now, but I still have some numbness around my neck and around my ears.

  So that is common. It takes some time for those nerves to regenerate. And some people I don't think ever get that total feeling back. I'm hopeful I will. But it doesn't feel as strange anymore. After time it does get better. Each day you get better and better and months go by and then years hopefully, and it gets better.

  I remember in my stomach, when I did that mini tummy tuck it was dead around there and it's still pretty much, I mean, I wouldn't say I can feel some, but right around the incision is a little numb still. Number seven, your energy will be low. That's a given, right? Our energy is gonna be low 'cause you've had surgery. If you were put to sleep, that affects you. All the things, it's gonna affect you. So you need to take the time to rest. Plastic surgery is a trauma on your body, so you have to realize that and it is going to affect your energy. People aren't prepared for how tired they're gonna be those first few weeks. They think after a week or two they should be able to bounce back, but it just takes some time. So understand, your energy will be low for a while and you can't exercise. Number eight is you cannot rush exercise.

  I remember before my facelift, I was like, so when will I be out being able to walk? I mean, I walk every day. How hard could that be? So when can I be out walking? And they were like, well, probably not for at least a couple of weeks. And I think it was more like three or four weeks before I was out walking and even a little bit longer before I was really doing any sort of exercise.

  You cannot rush it when you start doing plastic surgery. You have to know, you have to give yourself some time. And yes, you may lose the muscle because it seems like we lose it faster than we can gain it. Just know that, kind of prepare beforehand and really work on that muscle and then make sure you're nourishing your body and doing all the things so that you don't feel like you have to rush back to exercise.

  I know a lot of us, including me, that's where I feel my best is when I'm exercising. But you cannot rush that. Number nine, results change over time. That is so, so important. I remember when I was like two months out and I remember thinking even three months out thinking I kind of looked plastic and not really liking it and even gotten some comments from people on Instagram about my lips, about my mouth, about different things. And a year later, everything has settled down. I think I look very natural. I don't look like I'm too tight. I feel like all of that changes. So just remember that as the swelling gets better, the bruising goes away and your body settles into it. You have to give yourself some time.

  Even, I remember when I had my first breast augmentation. My back hurt. All of a sudden I had this pressure. It just took some time. I felt like they were high, they kind of relaxed into, it just takes time. So you have to understand that results will change over time and they will get better. Things do get better. And I think number 10 is the most important thing: that plastic surgery does not fix self-confidence. For instance, when I got my breast augmentation that first time, that didn't magically fix my whole body image of myself. I did feel more confident in a swimsuit and things like that. But, over time things shift and change. And even from my mini tummy tuck I, to this day at 60, have this still this little pooch. I do not have a flat stomach. And I have even considered, yep, I have even considered going back and having some sort of revision to get this pouch out because I work so hard and exercise and it really bothers me.

  There are some clothes that I cannot wear or I don't like to wear because I've got this pooch. I call it my like my little kangaroo pooch. It really bothers me. But I'm not willing at this point to go back and have surgery because I know all of these things and I know that just doing that is not gonna fix everything about my body.

  The other thing is I am getting older. I am 60, and you can only fix so much, right? I mean, now my knees are sagging a little bit more. It is just age. It is gravity. Things are gonna happen. And that's the one thing you need to remember too, that plastic surgery isn't for everybody.

  We all get to choose what we do for ourselves. And so I don't think anybody should be condemning anybody else for having plastic surgery. Some people choose to embrace everything and choose to just grow old naturally. And that I applaud. I applaud that. My mother was absolutely stunning.

  Never had Botox. The only thing she did was in her fifties, which she would say she hated, she wish she wouldn't have, she had her eyes done, but she never had Botox. She never had filler, she never had a plastic surgery and she had a lot. She was out in the sun a lot because she was a tennis player and she didn't wear SPF.

  And so towards the end of her life, she passed away at 75, so she was wrinkly, but she was still so beautiful. So beautiful. So I think we all can choose our own route when it comes to what we wanna do, but having plastic surgery is not gonna fix your self-confidence if you don't have confidence from the very beginning.

  My mother had lots of confidence. I have confidence. So I didn't do the plastic surgery to gain self-confidence. I did the plastic surgery because that's what I wanted to do for myself. And if one day I decide my kangaroo pouch has got to go away, then I'm gonna do it for myself, not for anybody else, but for myself. So again, we all get to choose what we want to do and what we don't want to do. I see people even talking about some of the stars on there and they shouldn't have done this and they had botched this and all the things.

  But I don't think we can any of us judge somebody else. Look. For some people, plastic surgery is a great choice. But the best thing that we can all do is just be informed and be prepared and have realistic expectations if you do decide to have plastic surgery. And if you don't, if you say, I don't wanna go that route, then that's great.

  Embrace it and live it and do your thing. Like I said, we are all so different and we will go through this life so different. So I'm curious if any of you have had plastic surgery and what was the one thing that surprised you the most? I love to hear from you, so direct message me. You can do that on Instagram.

  You can do that through email, deanna@wellworthylife.com. I love hearing from you guys. I love hearing what you think of these podcasts, and I love hearing your ideas of what topics you want to hear on these podcasts. If this resonated with you or if you want to share this with somebody else that's getting ready for plastic surgery, please share this because I do think we need to get the word out that it's not just easy peasy, like some people like to make it be on Instagram. There are some things that people need to be aware of because the more we know, the more informed you are, the better off your journey will be on this.

  I just think that there were some things that I did not realize before I went into my facelift, into any of my plastic surgery, and I wish I would've known these. So I wanted to share these with you. So if you're getting ready to do plastic surgery or you know somebody that is, please share this episode.

  Thank you guys for joining me. I hope you have a wonderful day.