am I just a cry baby? still painful after almost 3 months

 had arms lift and face lift three months ago and I'm sitting here with the throbing pain in my arms again tonight - seems to not be as bad in t he morniing but by around 5pm it gets really bad - I can't see any signs of infection or swelling and the bruising is all gone - saw the surgeon last month and he was thrilled with how well I was healing....but when I said how painful it was he just shrugged and said something about beauty and pain...I've just been t rying to take over the counter meds but I'd love to knock this out with something stronger without fear of addiction to living on meds.

I've had other surgeries and four pregnancies, but this post surgery pain is getting to me - is it normal to still have the pain after three months or is something wrong or is my tolerance level just not what it used to be?  

Feedback please ....thanks!

I'm 2 years out this week from my arms and first TT and I still have pain in my arms. I thought I was the only one.
I had my thighs done 6 months ago and I am still awaken at night with pain in my thighs. While I was sleeping last night, I woke up abruptly with a lot of discomfort.
I think some of us just have these problems. I had a LBL with an Anchor Cut TT and Flap Butt Aug and I have no pain at all in that area. If I didn't have a scar, I'd never know I even had the surgery!

 Hi - not sure if I'm glad to hear this from you or not - nice to know someone else is having the same problem but I sure don't want to be still in pain two  years from now....what is causing it?  any ideas?  what can we do to fix it other than take pain meds?  it seems to help when I massage the arms with really warm water soaked washrags or have the shower head hit them with pulsating ho****er ....but it only helps for a little while and often I can't sleep through the night from the throbing and sometimes burning pain - plus hard to lay them down in a comfortable spot - is it swelling or nerve damage?  

 Thanks for your answer - I do try to massage the arms myself and it seems to help but some days things are ok and then others it goes crazy....I'm wondering if it's because the nerves are coming back and that is what causes them to burn and throb more than other times - if so, then that's a good thing and I can handle it knowing it will eventually all work itself out.  My surgeon was a great guy - but he's in Mexicali and so I can't just call him for pain meds - but I will contact my Calif regular doc and see if he will prescribe something - of course, the US docs get worried about giving out controlled substances so I will have to deal with that.  I certainly don't want to get addicted to pain meds by taking them consistently for months or years...but also can't stand how crabby this pain and lack of sleep is making me.

 Yikes - I think when I read about potential problems I assume that won't happen to me - I've always been pretty healthy and never had any bad reactions to anything so I'm maybe too much the optimist - I appreciate your insight about it being the nerves - it helps to try to understand the problem so I can work to find a solution - I did have some Vicadin from some past something or other and took one the other day and my body went totally pain free but then I also fell asleep so obviously I can't take that during the day, but I will try and get my regular doc to prescribe for me so I can sleep at night....just worry that it could turn into an addiction - never been addicted to anything so maybe it won't be a problem for me, but then agaiin I've never taken anything on a long  term basis either...thanks again for your reply - helps to talk to someone about it

 Your doctor seriously pulled the "beauty is painful" card on you? Oh man that would have pissed me off SO BAD!! Yeah you're going to have some pain with your surgeries but I think people somehow have much less empathy for people who've have elective surgery. Surgery is surgery. If someone had a tumor removed and was still having pain 3 months later, I don't think their surgeon would say "Well that's the price you pay, deal with it." No, don't think so. They'd investigate, give medications, etc. Plastic surgeons can see you for 10 minutes and then walk away from you for 6 months or longer. They already have their paycheck, and they don't have to live with the results of the surgery. YOU do. 

I had my breasts done 3 months ago and I still have breast pain so I don't think it's totally unreasonable for you to be having arm soreness. I don't know how severe it is but some discomfort wouldn't be abnormal. That doesn't mean that you should have to suffer though!! Your surgeon should have options for you, and if he's unwilling to explore them, you need to see your general doctor or a pain doctor or someone else who can work on a solution. 

Also, are you feeling depressed or anxious? People who are suffering emotionally have markedly lower pain tolerances. It can become a vicious cycle, because pain itself can make you depressed. So you're in pain, it wears you down emotionally, which lowers your pain threshold, which puts you in even more pain, etc. I don't know if you'd consider taking an antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication. I started taking both an antidepressant AND a tranquilizer at bedtime, I'm not ashamed to say. They have both helped me deal with the trauma of my experiences and I am functioning much more normally and suffering less. 

I hope you can find a solution! 

 Hi Lizzy - he's a good guy, just didn't know what else to say I think....it is true that I did all that surgery to look good and not for any medical necessity - he was also joking with me about it but has always been available - he is in Mexicali and so I know he can't prescribe any pain meds for me to get up here and I'm not interested in driving down there at this time - if there was any definite problem that I thought he could fix, then I would for sure....but everything looks fine and I don't see any infection, etc.  just this throbbing pain that gets better sometimes and then comes back with a vengeance other times.  So I'll assume it's normal and nothing to be concerned about and live with it and keep massaging and trying to get some pain meds of varying strengths that I can take when I really can't stand it....sorry you are also having the breast pain - saw your pictures and you look sooo beautiful if that helps at all...I need to put up my  recent pics but the site says they are too large and I just put it off again - but I do look pretty damn good myself for a 66 year old!  facelift got rid of the saggy stuff under the chin and jowls and eyes are wide open again - just still need to heal more before I want to put on mascara, etc.  Have a great holiday and let's be happy - and I don't have the depression issue  - btw - just get crabby due to the pain and not knowing how long it will last.