I'm 9 days post op and I've been going outside for walks and running errands. The first few days were miserable. For me, yes I was really swollen but that wasn't what really bothered me. I had a hard time swallowing anything! Not only was my throat swollen from the tube, but my mouth was completely numb so I had limited mobility. I was also extremely stuffy, thus I had a hard time breathing. I used a saline solution and qtip to clean out my nose, which helped a lot. I also took sudafed and that also helped with the stuffyness. My surgeon didn't wire my mouth shut. Instead, I had elastic bands on my both sides of my mouth, and the front. I could open my mouth but very little. This coming Friday, I'm seeing my surgeon again for a follow up and he said he's going to take out the elastic bands as well as the stint. This will enable me to open my mouth and speak more clearly.
After 3 days, you will start to feel a lot better. Then when you're approaching 1 week post op, you will not only feel better but you will be able to sleep longer. Even when I was at the hospital and my first few days back, I could barely sleep. I couldn't sleep not because of the pain, but because it was so uncomfortable! Like I mentioned before, I was extremely stuffy and I had a hard time breathing. It was a miracle if I could squeeze in 3-4 hours of continuous sleep. At the hospital, my surgeon gave me a shot of steroid, which is supposed to help with the swelling. Perhaps it did help, but like other people have mentioned, it made me somewhat depressed. This will all pass!
Make sure to have proper lip care post op! I highly recommend Burt's Bees. I was using Aquafor but I was reapplying several times a day. I also recommend going for walks. My second day post op, I went for a short walk around my block. I put my sunglasses and a surgeon's mask :P Since then, I've been walking around almost everyday (except for when it rained) and I think it helps with the swelling. Make sure to have proper intake of calories! There were some days when I think I didn't have enough calories because I felt super dizzy. I lost roughly 10 lbs since my surgery (I'm 5'4 and weighed 110 pre op).
Best of luck and stay positive!