One of the benefits of staying in the hospital for a night or two is that the medical team will be better able to manage your pain with appropriate medications. The discomfort that you feel after your body lift is influenced by your unique pain tolerance. If you've had other surgeries and felt only mild to moderate discomfort, you can expect your body lift recovery to be similar. If your pain threshold is lower, you may find your early recovery a bit more intense. Fortunately, discomfort is at its highest in the two days after surgery. Beyond that point, you can expect to feel progressively better. You may even be able to switch to over-the-counter pain relief after just one week of healing.