penguinpug

/u/Differently-Aged, who commented thus in the same post on /r/ama that I deleted:

• Was this done in the US?
• How much did it cost, and did insurance cover any portion of it?
• How do you feel this will impact your self-identity?

My reply:

• Yes, in California

• The upper lid surgery, by itself, was $2000. The lower lid, which is more involved and takes much longer, was $4000. Combined with nurse fees, consultation fees, and cost of IV and local anesthesia, it amounted up to $8000. I tried to have insurance cover the surgery; the eyelid surgeon was willing to vouch for me, but I needed to go through my primary care physician. She was skeptical about the eyelid surgeon's diagnosis and wanted me to go through physical therapy for the headaches. When I talked to her, I got the vibe that she was against cosmetic surgery, and she tried to talk me into admitting I just wanted to be prettier. So I gave up on getting through her and just paid everything up front instead.

• I don't think I've had enough time to get used to my new eyelids yet, my face still looks unfamiliar when I look in the mirror. But to most of my friends, I look the same, just more alert. In fact, the first before picture is more alien to me and my friends than my post-surgery photos are. I definitely do look as alert as I feel, which has boosted my self confidence when interacting with people when I don't have concealer caked on my lower lids. The absence of the tension headaches has been heavenly :)

Yes, definitely, if I didn't raise my brows. I suspected I had ptosis, but my surgeon correctly diagnosed that it was the excessive heaviness of my lids that was obstructing my vision.

In real life, though, I kept my eyebrows raised all the time, so I had no problem seeing.

A couple coworkers jokingly talked about me becoming more white (before surgery), but that was it! I went back to work a week after the surgery, and everyone was very interested in what my eyes looked like. The general reactions were - "You look good!", "You still look like you disappointed face", "You definitely look more alert."

I didn't tell my parents about it until my eyes didn't look so freaky anymore (read: sutures, bruising). I brought it up very carefully, because somehow it seemed disrespectful to change a face they gave me. They were sad that I had to go through this far away from home, and my mom actually apologized for giving me heavy eyelid genes, although her own eyes have a natural crease :P But overall they were happy my headaches disappeared and that I liked the new look.

Edit: forgot to add - my boyfriend always told me I have a thousand different faces, so according to him this is just another new face. He was happy that the surgery turned out well. He was a little bit saddened that I didn't resemble a terracotta warrior anymore

So I was worried about that when I went through with the surgery. Fortunately, I don't really! Except when I'm talking to people, which I'm trying to consciously fix. Instead of looking alert, now I just look really surprised when I raise my brows. As I should!

The lower bleph was purely aesthetic. My upper lid, however, blocked my vision when I didn't have my brows raised. I had no problem seeing properly when I raised my brows, which was always, but keeping them raised created a constant headache I was anxious to get rid of.