Restylane: Stories

Thanks, Reparata, for sharing your story. Hopefully those of us who have the courage and the conviction to comment about unsatisfactory results will help others to make better choices for themselves.

Hello there, oh it breaks my heart to hear a story such as yours. After dealing for two years with the emotional trauma of my results and how they make me feel, I can only say that you will eventually find some peace in having to live with this situation. For one, over time you will slowly come to accept that this bad outcome and the complications have occurred. Second, you will keep looking for solutions and find some things that you can depend on (I am currently having much better luck with the filler Belotero as injected by a very good injector). Third, you will probably find over time that you become more accustomed to the changes on your face and, I believe, the filler and injections do have some lasting impact (they seem to dissolve more slowly than quoted). I read that even the pin pricks can leave behind tiny amounts of scar tissue which actually serve to help fill in under the eye area. It is very subtle, but better than nothing. Last, be sure to learn about facial exercises that target the muscles under the eye. I believe that by exercising them you can thicken and strengthen the muscle which helps diminish the appearance of hollowing. Because the muscle is small it is not like building up your biceps--the change is gradual and subtle but, again, worth it. It would also help with your concerns about the bags returning due to the stretched skin. A gentle laser could also eventually help tighten that skin if it does indeed stay stretched after your current filler dissolves. Oh, one more thing, it you find that you are feeling desperate, I would recommend considering counseling and/or anti-depressants. I have found both to be very helpful as this situation is a very private trauma that people around you simply do not understand. Unless it has happened to you, you can't begin to imagine how life-altering and scary this road can be. So, talking to a therapist and calming down your emotional reaction with medication can help you privately work on this issue while you work to maintain your relationship with your fiance or with anyone else this has affected. I try really hard to keep my concerns to myself so as not to upset my family, but I do reach out to folks like you because it is so important that victims of botched cosmetic procedures not feel alone. For now just know that there are solutions out there and that you will find them. Be very conservative and careful in who you trust to help you. It may take a long time and tons of research for you to find a good practitioner but that is much better than further complications by rushing to try to fix things. At this point, I would not trust a soul to do any kind of surgical or permanent repair for me. I will only allow temporary fixes such as filler so I know that if it doesn't come out right at least it will eventually dissolve. Hang in there and be assured that you will come to feel more accepting and at peace with this. It takes time and research on your part, but you will get there. A silver lining? This situation forces you to think hard about who you are and how you want to live your life. I love the expression, "Adversity builds character." Not what you signed up for, I know, but a positive outcome of this anyway. Take care. : )

Thank you so much for your thoughtful response. IREALLY needed to hear that. I have really been trying to accept my situation these last few weeks. Its been really hard for me though, even when i try to have fun i end up in tears. I guess a therapist is probably inevitable. I can't sleep and have horrible nightmares about waking up after my surgery and my face being deformed. I have also been dealing with numerous health problems for the last few years as well as being anorexic when i was younger. I think that having being anorexic in the past that i am more prone to being overly depressed. This surgery was supposed to be a present and it just added to my list of problems. How did you ever learn to forgive the surgeon? im struggling with that because i feel as if he ended all happiness in my life. I am so scared for my relationship now. It kills me to think that i will never have my dream wedding.

It is my pleasure, Yolanda. I haven't had a lot of luck or satisfaction since I started down this path (mainly due to the outcome of the initial blephs and chin implant in Portland) but I truly feel that the only silver lining for me is to share my story with others so that they have a better chance of making good choices and ending up with good outcomes. Thanks for your kind note!

Yeah, I agree with Anika1, the new 'do is very cute on you!

Appreciate your kind and complimentary comments, gals. Thank you!

Hello Happy Grrl, what a sweet message--thank you! I did actually try a tiny amount of Hyaluronidase when I was trying to fix the weird lumps but I was wary of it since many folks on RealSelf felt that the enzyme dissolved some of their own tissue. I simply don't have any to spare after the lower bleph so I couldn't risk it! In the end, I did go ahead and try the Belotero and it has helped tremendously. It is so much smoother and more natural looking under the eyes than the Restylane is. (I may try fat grafting someday but for now I am satisfied with the Belotero). I had this new filler done at Dr. Tarbet's office in Bellevue by a lively and kind lady named Peggy. She is quite an expert as she has worked for Merz Pharmaceutical for years. She really knows her stuff. While I don't have taut, youthful perfection under my eyes (not a realistic goal anyway...), I now have very believable, natural looking, normal fullness under my eyes. Peggy did a great job helping me to achieve an appearance that is much closer to where I was before the unfortunate botched lower bleph in Portland. Thank you again for your kind message. Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello Portland...how did you find out about Belotero and Peggy at Dr. Tarbet's office? As mentioned, I have had the same experience as you with Dr. Young - before that, 2 years before, I had a bad experience with another physician. Dr. Young had assured me that he would fix everything and make me "perfect" - should have been my first warning clue. I agree with you that he appears to be such a nice person - I feel bad that I have even had this experience with him. Anyway, moving on...I am really wary of having anything done under my eyes - but am so miserable with the bumps and unevenness that I am becoming desperate. Please let me know about Peggy and how you felt you could trust another "injector" again? How much improved do you think you are? Thanks...and Happy Thanksgiving to you too.. :))

Howdy MyFaze, I learned about Dr. Tarbet when I asked the oculoplastic surgeon in Portland who he thought did good filler work in Bellevue (he had trained there). I asked on behalf of my niece who lives there. I made her an appointment and went with her. When I told the office staff about my issues, they told me about Belotero which has only been available in the U.S. since March. I did not have the Restylane dissolved first; we just used the Belotero to smooth out and fill in around the lumps from the Restylane. I was nervous, of course, but the injector I met in Dr. Tarbet's office (Peggy) fully explained why and how Belotero doesn't look lumpy under the eye. Also, she was there to teach the other injectors how the work is done and she also reported that she did the filler of the oculoplastic doctor of the office, Dr. Tarbet herself. I figured that if I was going to try one more time, these were the best circumstances I could hope for. I also explained to Peggy that I only wanted to try it if she felt confident that she could help me and make an improvement. I said I did not want to simply "give it a try" and "see how it goes," which seems to be the attitude of many less-experienced and over-confident injectors. She replied that she did indeed believe she could improve the situation and that she especially liked more challenging cases as her skill set was rather beyond the straight forward cases. She only used 6/10 of the vial and I had minor swelling and bruising for about 5 days. After that, I felt that the area under the eye no longer looked obviously injected. The lumps were WAY less obvious, to the point that I stopped noticing them or worrying about them. That returned my confidence quite a bit and for that I am extremely happy...and grateful. And one last bonus: the cost of the Belotero is a little less than Restylane so I didn't have to worry about sinking a new and larger dollar amount into my filler history. I hope that was thorough enough for you and helpful, too. Best of luck, my friend!

Hello my friend...thank you for your detailed and thoughtful email. I will give this a try. Would it be too much to ask for you to take a photo of your new and improved self? If not, it's okay - just thought I would ask. I will let you know how it goes for me. Can I mention you to Peggy? I am so glad to have met you through real self. Thank you again. Best, Farah

Of course you can mention me...no problem! I will try to find the time to post a new photo sometime today--good idea! Anything to help out others in my situation! : ). Take care.

Hello ughughugh, sorry I didn't see your message until now. As I had posted, the heavy-handed filler I got last January was not dissolving or going away noticeably and it was hard to live with and wait it out. I had the second doctor in Portland help me out with a conservative amount of Restylane but that began to go away. I kept reading and looking for advice and came upon the Belotero recommendation. I tried it in Bellevue at Dr. Tarbet's office and have definitely found it to be superior to Restylane when placed under the eyes. I now feel like the area under my eyes is much more believable and I no longer have the anxiety that I look strange or like I have obviously "had work done" that didn't come out very nice. I figure that to others I look like a normal gal in her 40's. That makes me happy as it is far better than feeling like I look botched. I also would recommend the facial exercises. I have tried them off and on over the years and they do some good for sure; I have just had a hard time sticking with them every single day. Best of luck to you, my dear!