Juvederm: Stories

I just saw this...So sorry this was so distressing (and fellow Sydneysider here, now live in US - enjoyed reading your nose surgery review. My primary surgery was last April, just had minor revision to "tweak" things yesterday). Anyway, I have small mouth and thinner upper lip so I had my regular dermatologist inject my lips last year. She used Restylane. I was very happy with it. I also looked like Donald Duck initially!! However I only felt embarrassed to be seen for about a day. I don't think anyone noticed after day 1, it just looks really nice in pics and made me feel good. I think she may have been a bit more conservative. She is known to be "talented" at injections (even my rhinoplasty surgeon said this and he does facial fillers etc) and she did small amounts at a time. Also a few weeks after there were a couple of blebs in my lips and she massaged them out for me and said this was normal. I see you had some blebs or something? I went back to my doctor after about a week and she massaged them for me (whereas I know you couldn't do this). Mine also didn't bleed at all. She used one small size syringe of Restylane whereas I have had her inject under my eyes (I am late 30s but small and thin so not a lot of facial volume) and for that she has used I guess the larger syringe and used one syringe for both eyes and then to inject two small pitted scars on my forehead from chicken pox. I am not sure how much is in a syringe of Restylane vs Juvederm..? For me it lasted in my lips I think at least 6 months. She told me that with Restylane that it tends to last longer after you do it about 3 times ( and she has had this herself which is handy). Possibly if you could find someone you like in Sydney? I went to dermatologist originally as my skin is very sensitive and I could not find an under eye cream or sunscreen that I did not react to. Oh and us Aussies know about sunscreen! Then I actually got plastic surgeon referral from her for rhinoplasty. Anyway, if you happen to see this hope it helps!! :) And also that by writing this it doesn't come off as making you feel bad as that is not the intent - I just feel bad for all you went through whereas for me it was sort of like nothing vs the whole rhinoplasty stuff (one day of weirdness and some money) and I think you should be able to have that!!! I don't have nose surgery review and pics for privacy reasons. I am going to get my lips injected again soon - it has worn off and I want it back! :) It was $400 USD.

I feel your pain. Its everyone noticing and JUDGING causes a fuss! Oh also of course the downtime swelling. Also I have an advice that you may try! I'm too freaked out by the swelling after my first time:D who didn't!))) Rushed to the emergency room coz it was a weekend and my doctors office wouldn't open till monday! So actually it helped apart from the fact that I was judged by every doctor and every nurse in the emergency)))) Bottom line they prescribed me allergy pills and they worked! Swelling improved in a day. Also did try arnica pills and cream doesn't do it for me.

I think the long flight home & humidity would definitely attribute to some of the swelling . I fly a lot and always get really puffy under my eyes when flying to or from Thailand/Malaysia etc. Although I have heard the lips swell a lot on most people. Maybe a week off work next time you get it done? Also I heard if you top up earlier rather than later you might only need a tiny bit so less swelling :)

I had this but my Dr recommended a different filler ( not certain which it was ) though I had juviderm ultra under eyes with amazing results( though I looked beaten for several days! my upper lip is naturally tiny so I only had it injected there, the tiny smokers lines and a bit in my nasolabial ( ?) folds- procedure done Monday with dental blocks which helped enormously BUT left awful swelling, the injection sites were VeRY bruised, and I had a mustache look that I could not cover with makeup!! My lip looked AWFUL and freakish though my DR did a lot of " spreading" and this may add to bruising( I'm guessing) but I'm glad she did it! I have a large bruise at corner of my mouth but my results! OMG it's amazing!! I also had Botox in forehead bt eyes and crows feet and honestly I look 12 years younger! ( I'm 50 ( am looking 39-40 -in THE FACE only ) I read your results to decide so, thanks so much for sharing! I haven't posted pics but will soon! I think letting my Dr help me pick the filler was very important! ( I've had collagen lips 10 yrs ago- lasted maybe 3 months! but I went in to get the ultra and am glad she said " Eh, I'd rather use this in this area! bc I had to trust her, though now I'm so glad I had it, at first, I was in tears!! You should be warned that you'll look like a duck for days - bc much stress old be avoided If I worked , I'd have definitely called in bc of my appearance! plus I honestly looked " possibly abused!" ROTFl bc of my black eyes and bruised mouth! Now 5 days later I only have bruising at the corner of mouth- I find a yellow correcting powder is so much better to cover dark bluish areas ( under eyes, injection sites, I bought bare minerals " well rested" on amazon and a good eyeshadow brush and it's amazing for this! hope this helps! thanks again for giving details updates, I decided on this largely from reading these!

oh my god! i know how you feel when you said you are surprised at how much this freaked you out... i was very swollen and infected for about 4-5 days and i completely freaked out! i cried to because i thought i would look like a freak forever! now my lips are completely healed and look great... i want to continue to get the injections but I'm scared of getting infected again! also I very surprised that they didn't massage after the injections they are suppose to spread it around your lips

I think they look awesome :)

Hi, I think it looks fine (my honest opinion). Your lips don't look big or overblown in the photos. They look nice and plump and hydrated :)

I'm really glad to hear you got in touch with a PS you trust. Please let us know how that appointment goes.

Sorry to hear that the swelling has persisted. Here are a couple Q&As you might find helpful:

Juvederm Swelling

What to Expect from Swelling After Juvederm for Lips?

Here is a review from another community member who wasn't comfortable with the way her lips looked after getting Juvederm. You could reach out to her to ask about her thoughts on dissolving or you could check out our Hyaluronidase community. You will see there is currently a 55% Worth It Rating, so it seems people are pretty split on it.