How do people survive recovery?

I’m 8 days post DJS + Genio and this is pure misery. My face is ridiculously swollen and my lips won’t close. They‘re painfully dry and burning, making it nearly impossible to brush my teeth. I’m constantly hungry but can barely eat and I get exhausted so quickly throughout the day. My throat is full of phlegm and I keep coughing. The surgical hooks are digging in and my stitches even started bleeding today. Changing rubber bands feels like torture. My lips are so torn up and sore so it‘s extremely painful to pull them every which way trying to reach back there. I tried using tweezers, but I accidentally pinched the skin where my stitches are, and it hurt like hell and bled all day. Despite my efforts to eat at least 1000 calories a day, eating has become such a huge struggle that I honestly have no desire to eat. I feel like I’m forcing food down just to survive.

Before surgery, I thought the only problems I would have were eating and pain. I knew it wouldn’t be an easy journey, but nothing could have prepared me for this recovery.

How do people push through this intense healing phase? Any tips or encouragement would be so appreciated.