Botox: Stories
Write a ReviewJabba the Hut Puffy Eyes After Botox for Glabella Region
- chloerose
- posted 3 years ago
- updated 3 years ago
- Not Worth It
- Cost: $400
- New York, NY
I recently went to my provider, a prominent...
- 25 Aug 2009
I recently went to my provider, a prominent plastic surgeon in the area for treatment of the glabella region only. He also treated the "Charlie Gibson" horizontal line over my nose which is not that prominent but there. I have had this done by him many times before with excellent results. Usually I wait about 6 months between treatments but wanted to look good for my nieces wedding so was retreated at 3-1/2 months.
When I was injected this time I noticed the shots were extremely painful and he seemed to put more botox in the line over my nose. The night of the treatment I could not get to sleep at all and my eyes were actually hurting -- felt very dry and grainy. When I looked in the mirror the next morning I noticed a decided pouch under each eye that I definitely did not have before. My eyes themselves looked irritated red and beady. Over the next three days my eyes grew progressively worse -- the under eye pouches became huge, baggy and very wrinkly and the fat pad above the inside corner of each eye bulged out. My eyelids were also dropped -- my eyes are normally quite wide and large -- now they looked slightly closed and definitely smaller. They were also dry and uncomfortable -- I was using eye drops constantly.
Five days post botox treatment my eyes looked more puffy than ever. Upper eyelid was noticeably drooped and I had huge wrinkly elongated bags under each eye.
Alarmed, I phoned my doctors office only to find he was out for a couple of weeks but his associate would see me that day.
I went in looking for some help or at least compassion and admission that a the botox had gone wrong. Instead, the associate (who does only body work -- no face work) completely blew me off. He admitted my eyes looked very puffy but said it could not possibly be from the botox. I maintained that I believed the botox had seeped into the muscle surrounding my eye causing the puffiness and the fat pads to bulge. He said that could not happen because I had not had my crows feet treated and suggested perhaps I had eaten soy sauce or had an allergic reaction to something. He recommended I see a doctor and ask for "water pills". When I told him I take lasix every day he replied, well I guess that will not help then, sorry hope it goes away but it is not from the botox.
I am absolutely furious not only for my very bad result but especially for the shabby way I was treated -dismissed with little more than an afterthought. I examine my face everyday -- I know I did not have bulging puffy wrinkly eyes before the botox injections. I did not "eat soy sauce" or have an allergic reaction to something else. My baggy wrinkling puffy eyes were definitely the result of the botox injections I had received five days before.
I am sick of these doctors who are so willing to take your money but completely unwilling to take any responsibility when things go terribly wrong. I plan to go back to see the doctor who injected me when he returns from his trip but he too will probably take no blame for the hideous way I look and blow me off as well. It is going to take months for me to return to normal -- if ever and I am just sick about it.
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For a while, even after the range of motion was back, it would tire easily and would start to close a bit at night. That was livable. The 1st month or so was not. It was an extremely embarrassing and worrisome situation
For those getting botox, pick your doctor after doing your research! I think it can be a great tool (I did like what it seemed capable of within my forehead) but it can go VERY wrong! See someone experienced with a good record of success!
They are no miracle cure...at least for me. 5-10 minutes after the drops I might have had a slight improvement. The lid "seemed" a little less heavy and might half raised by 5%. Whatever good it did, it wore off after 10 minutes
I don't know if the continued use of the drops helps? From my understanding, the passage of time, plus the drops might help since the paralysis starts lessening. It's then that one should see a bigger benefit from the Iopidine. Is that right? Or do I need a buildup of the drops in my system before I can really judge whether or not they will work?
At day 7 my eye was closed all the way and hangs there now. My pupil is completely covered and I have no vision out of that eye because of it.
Nightmare!!!
I am nervous. It is my understanding that you can gauge how long the paralysis will last based on the reaction, or lack there of, to the drops. If they work, you can expect several weeks of droop. If they don't work, 3-6 months.
I have taped my eye shut since the double vision and strain have been causing muscle cramps and pain. I was hoping the Botox would help for my severe migraines......so far, it's made them worse. This was the absolute WORSE case scenario for me. Just a nightmare. And so much for my venture into extra work. Who would hire a one eyed monster :(
Thank you all for the encouraging words. My heart goes out to everyone of you and I thank you for sharing your stories. People nned to know this happens and that it is not as uncommon as they make it out to be
I mean.....I posh plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills?!? You'd like they would get this right! People around here count on their appearance for work. If he was a butcher, he wouldn't have a successful office in town fir the past 20 years
BUT.....I think he was cocky and quick with the procedure. He took more time trying to sell me on other procedures. I wassnt in the office more than 5-10 minutes with him and most of that was talking about eyelid surgery and my smoking. The injections took 1 minute at the most and he gave me no post op instructions, even though I asked if there were any.
I think he put out a Groupon trying to get people in the office for an upsell of services and he became so busy that he rushed things along. Or as others have suggested, diluted the solution?
I found someone else on line who got the droopy eye from him this past month. That makes two of us at least...so he is lying about me being the only one. Sad there can be no compensation for this kind of thing....no recourse. I cant afford the $450 drops to see if they will work and I can't afford to go around with one eye for a year. But he can continue on like nothing has happened. There is something wrong with that IMO
You might bounce back really quickly depending on where / how much was injected and if you had a migration? the cosmetic effect wears off quickly the muscles then have to grow new connectors - this will depend on your age / health - lots of things. but it WILL come back to what it was. stick to the shadows but go OUT - theatre, cinema, wine bars with soft lighting - grow a fringe, buys some glasses without prescription lenses, go to the gym, walk in the countryside, by the beach, in the hills - drive out of town for lunch - but for god's sake keep active and socially engaged or you will get depression. tell your closest friends who will be sympathetic and get some support.
it's not your fault - and if your PS was giggling, there is something mentally wrong with them. they always say it's the 1st time, who is going to admit to bad work ?? he / she is unfit to do his job.
it will fade, don't obsess and concentrate on doing things that make you feel good for now. it's healing every day.
keep well
Best Wishes
Melty x
flygirl - Stop! Breathe ! Think !
Your muscles are completely relaxed - sounds like bad botox, followed by a dysport migration and more bad botox.
if your PS wasn't a complete shit he would have said - "possibly drift - hard to tell who has done what at this point - get back to baseline."
i went for a second opinion and thank god I saw Micheal Prager (in London) as he was completely upfront and said - it's the botox, don't do anything else for at least one year. the hammocks and starburst effect are commonly document edside effects of bad botox . the swelling is lymph trapped in your tissue.
DO NOT SEEK A SURGICAL SOLUTION. my face is still changing 2 years later, if i had been cut and then those muscles tightened further as they healed from botox i would look like bloody Joan Rivers by now.
You will heal but the panicking and traumatising your face further is not the solution, there is no quick fix to this and any decent PS would tell you the same.
100% of everything has to be gone from your muscles for them to heal. Botox has an afterlife way beyond what is quoted and should be used at MOST twice a year in a very controlled and undiluted way.
There's about 52 muscles in the human face, not including any individual distinctions regarding things like posterior and inferior, longitudinal and transversus, and major and minor.
It is not possible to predict with 100% certainty how the face will respond to partial paralysis and the long term effects of botox in the face are unknown and there are NO scientific studies I know of in this are currently running based on long term users of cosmetic botox. you know why.. so that when it comes out it destroys the muscles ability to contract and stay healthy over time they can claim ignorance and avoid liability.
willfull blindness is what it is. they see women claiming bad side effects and claim it's aging which is bullshit.
you are still beautiful to your husband .. this man will love you in a care home, in a wheelchair - whatever. Love is love.
when you are competing pull your hair tight - get cornrows it will give you a temporary facelift.
keep those muscles working on your face but be gentle they have been chemically damaged. do not focus on your face too much - focus on your mind and your body at this time. tell yourself you are STRONG and SMART every day and you are turning your back on the insecurities that led you down this path.
LOVE your little face, be compassionate towards yourself and HEAL this. It's not your fault - bad technique is not the users fault. but don't hurt yourself further - you will come back from this nightmare and be 200% better because what doesn't kill - defo makes you stronger.
love and light
Melty
Best of luck to you.
I think your skin looks taught after exercise as blood fills the area ? When you are tired / dehydrated the skin looks flat but when you are flush from exercise the skin looks pumped - same affect as weightlifting.
gymbunnies swear their botox wears off extra fast and i think wet heat and exercise will push fluid around and keep the area healthy while the nerves heal? gentle massage will help ? chew lots of gum and buy the eva fraser facial exercise book but be very very gentle not agressive with your face. you mentioned that you had flattened levetor muscles (i'm guessing from your description). these do indeed hold up the face and messing about with the frontalis and levetor muscles will lead to pstosis over time in my experience ? muscles thin out from underuse.
everyones face and case is different you might bounce back you might crawl back but i'm pretty sure you will get back to baseline ?? and NEVER botox again ? it's a crap shoot and not worth it if it goes wrong. healthy muscle is thick muscle and your face is tight and smooth - that is what gives a young face its shape - they have lots of edges... botox flattens out the natural planes of the face and it rarely looks 'youthful' and often looks strange ?
all the best and keep think about 6, 9 and 18 months down the line - this will be a blurry nightmare. it's just for now and NOT for ever
ps. if it was just bad practise wouldn't we have to go to the same clowns to get exactly the same result ? it's defo the DRUG.
Get some funky frames and some non perscription lenses for your glasses? This will distract people - or cut some bangs and wear a bright lippy. They will notice some changes but will put it down to this ? People do not have photographic memories - they will look at your for about 10 secs decide it is actually you and carry on talking.. about themselves :0) tough it out kid - don't be a hermit - it's soul detroying.
The dr shrugged it off, almost laughing at it. The 1s time it's ever happened to him he says. He thought it was interesting and odd and seemed almost amused. He keeps saying it will wear off in a few days if not by 2 weeks or so.
I as embarrassed I dont want to leave the house! I wear sunglasses now everywhere. My vision is so compromised I can't really drive, or drive safely at all. Between the puffiness and the sagging closed eye I look like a victim of some sort of beating.
I went in to something small and simple that I thought might take a few years off my looks. I had NO idea that something like this could happen!! My worst fear was looking a little fake or frozen. I never would have tried this had I known this could be the result. It wasn't that important to me. I wasn't all too wrinkled. I just thought it might be a fun thing to try to see if it made any significant improvement. I am mortified!!
To think this may last for a year....I don't think I could do it. I have sunk into such a deep depression over this. I can't look at myself like this for months let alone an entire year.
I thank you all for sharing your experiences. I can only pray that it is different for each person and that this wears off quickly .
The thing I can't understand is that every time I see a doctor about the problem with my eyes, they say that it's impossible for it to have been the botox as it wears off after 3 months. I hope one day soon, we all get some validation that the effects of this drug can last a lot longer. 9 months on, my eyes have improved enormously from where they began. However, still not enough to lead a normal life. It's funny. When I first did Botox, the dr told me the worst that could happen is I could get a droopy eye and eye drops would fix it. Tell the truth!! Even a droopy eye is serious and eye drops will fix it? Rubbish.
For now, we have to hang in there.
Best wishes
botox droop in zygotimus,temples, right outer frontalis, caninus muscles, damaged right obicularis oculi, hydrolonidase dents in lower cheeks, bodged filler in both cheeks and and either side of nose (!)
three ps from the same practice in succession trying to remedy the errors by the first.
they should have said..it's botox droop and over filled naso labial folds.. our bad, sit it out. instead they all had a go and 9 months on i am still a bit freaky faced, but improving v. slowly. will take another 9months for everything to exit my system i reckon ??