Considering Radiesse?? Please read this first!!!!

'm no stranger to dermal fillers. I'm 62 and have had various dermal fillers injected into my face. I have never overdone it, and this is not my first treatment with Radiesse. Several years ago I had Radiesse placed in the same area, by the same provider. I felt fairly confident that I would be satisfied this time as well.

I trusted the provider who performed the procedure because he's done several cosmetic enhancement procedures on me in the past. I have posted very positive reviews about him and really felt he deserved them. I like Dr. Romero very much, he's kind, compassionate and I've always believed he had a great eye regarding aesthetics.

This time I knew something wasn't right on my way home after leaving Dr. Romero's office. I glanced in my rear view mirror and was horrified at what I saw. I looked like the lion lady. Immediately I turned the car around and returned to his office. ( Remember, I had had this procedure several years before, same location; same provider). Dr. Romero assured me the swelling would subside within a couple of days. I followed his post procedural directions to a tee (as always) and sure enough the swelling naturally subsided. (The inflammation is due to a needle being stuck in your skin. Most people love the way they look upon leaving the office and after the swelling goes down...not so much.)

I gave it a good two weeks. Something wasn't right this time, I couldn't put my finger on it. I starting asking family and friends. I got answers such as "It's not even", one side is higher than the other, etc. There was also a hollow indent under one eye (wasn't there before), and my cheeks looked like they were filled like a squirrel gathering nuts prior to winter.

I returned to Dr. Romero and expressed my dissatisfaction and mentioned the above. His reply to me was that now I needed another type of filler called Beletaro to "fix" the hollow indent. (Huh?????, so another words I have to shell out more money to fix something that was never there prior to the procedure....)hmmm...I left there feeling very frustrated and disappointed.

My dissatisfaction with results were this: asymmetry, hollow indentation more prevalent under one eye, cheeks still puffy 3 weeks post procedure (see video), and a result of all of the above made my nose appear larger, eyes appear smaller and assymetical, and these craters under both eyes that I cannot cover no matter what I try.

I've never been a make up guru and covering these imperfections is impossible for me. 4 weeks later I decided to meet with another provider who has done fillers for me from time to time. Immediately he noticed the asymmetry and told me he could correct it with 2 vials of Restylane Silk, which I believe might of been known as Beletaro in the past.. , don't quote me on this.

I had already spend $1800 for the 3 vials of Radiesse. Restylane Silk was $630/vial. Finances are an issue, I could only afford one vial and emphasized if one wasn't going to repair the damage, I would return when I could afford both. He injected one vial under both eyes.

Two days later I am not only swollen, but both eyes appeared to be blistery. I contacted this second provider who suggested I visit one of those walk in emergency places. (see pic), which I did. I was placed on steroids and two other meds and couldn't go out for fear my face would explode. So now this cosmetic procedure has cost me over $2000 and I haven't even received the emergency room bill as of yet. The steroids reduced the blistery inflammation within a week but guess what......no improvement!!

Still have those hollow indents, still uneven, feel like I look like a freak, don't go out too often these days. Has anyone seen that movie "Throw Mama from the Train"??.....well, here's Mama!

Radiesse is a calcium based filler,if you are new to Dermal Fillers stick with the ones that can be reversed if you're not happy. Radiesse on the other hand cannot be reversed. I didn't choose Radiesse specifically; but had been lucky the first time.

I've always liked Dr. Romero and have given him positive reviews in the past on the site & on others. He really deserved them and I meant everything I said. Doctors answering questions on this site validated my concerns, as well as family and friends. I expressed my dissatisfaction to Dr. Romero and his solution was more filler, not to mention more money to correct something that wasn't there prior to this Radiesse procedure. If he was having a bad day, guess what....no bad days allowed, not with Radiesse.

I am not wealthy and I gave this Radiesse procedure alot of thought prior to deciding to go ahead with it. At age 62 I've been trying to return to the job market after a 20 year hiatus. I felt this dermal filler procedure would shave a couple of years off and/or boost my self confidence a bit. Instead I feel like a freak and don't go out much these days.

I really feel Dr. Romero should at least issue me a refund for the money I spent. The negative results are something I have to live with for a while and what irritated me was that he wouldn't even validate my concerns. Doctors on this site agreed with me, & I'm lucky enough to have family and friends who are comfortable being honest with me about the negative results

I mentioned bad things happen in three's.....well here's the third: I got one of the worst haircuts of my life.