“Had It Done Yesterday - Pain Was Minimal - Nashville, TN”

I am 39 years old and lost 10 pounds quickly last year. I was slender anyway but I had a lot of worry & stress that took their toll on my face. My smile lines are deep and my eyes have deep hollows underneath with very little padding on my cheeks.

After reading the reviews on here, I was very nervous about the pain involved with Sculptra injections. I was confident that my plastic surgeon was skilled in administering the product so I decided to take the chance. I did have a consult with another doctor, a dermatologist--but instead I saw the nurse practitioner who led me to believe that she would be doing the injections. This made me nervous and she said I would need at least 4-6 vials on my face (at $750 a vial).

After visiting the plastic surgeon's office and having photos taken, they said I would probably only need one vial ($950). It was mixed with water the day before. An hour before my appointment, I applied a numbing cream provided by the doctor. Once I got there, they had me hold ice on my face for 30+ minutes. By the time the doctor came in, my face was completely numb. The injection pain was minimal--much less painful than iv's I've had inserted for other procedures. That was a big relief.

From what I can see, I only have one injection site on each side of my mouth/lower cheek. I had my smile lines filled from my nose to my lower mouth. I had two sets on each side that looked like parenthesis. He also filled my upper cheeks to give me a more defined face. I don't see a big difference in my hollows under my eyes but that area is very thin so I knew there would be no injections there.

I saw results immediately because of the water mixed in with the product. This morning, the swelling and water have gone down a bit so the affects aren't as pronounced. The doctor wants me to come back in in 3 months to see the results and to determine if I need another treatment. When I expressed relief that it didn't really hurt, he said it is important to him to make time before the procedure for the numbing cream and ice. I think the preparations to prevent pain would be an important question to ask a potential doctor.

pros: will update when I see results, experienced doctor who didn't try to oversell vials, not blatantly obvious to others-my husband and children didn't even notice, no bruising

cons: headache for the last 24 hours, a bit pricey - ($950 per vial) I am but willing to pay more for an experienced doctor.