"WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG?!!" Amazing results! Amazing doctor! -Glendale, CA

For starters I never write reveiws, but this procedure was a big deal to me. Growing up I've always had hollow eyes, but as I got older (mid 20s) they began to become so much worse. I couldn't smile because they would create two huge creases, not to mention the dark shadows and the fat pockets that began to form. I literally stopped smiling in pictures due to this. I looked tired no matter what I did and MAKEUP never helped and believe me I live at Sephora.

For the last four years I've been researching fillers under the eye area. I think I've read almost every single review, doctor response, blog, and more! To my disappointment, most the reviews were bad ones with a lot of complications. Being someone who has never had any luck with procedures, I figured I was better off staying away. I've always bruised, swell, and had thin/terrible skin. So I just automatically assumed I'd be categorized under the group of people who wouldn't like their results.

Anyways, the more and more I researched, the more I realized there was one thing everyone (patients and doctors) were in agreement over: CHOOSE YOUR INJECTOR CAREFULLY! So, after I came across a recent post on here by a user who used a doctor in my area and got amazing results .. I contacted her and she was kind enough to tell me further details and share additonal photos. After a few months I booked a consultation and went to see the same doctor. To my surprise he turned out to be among the first to pionner fillers under the eye, so therefore he's even more experienced than your regular doctor. Furthermore, he's a plastic surgeon who only performs procedures on the FACE, making him even more familiar with the anatomy.

Anyways, I paid $50 for the consultation (they deduct it from your procedure). Months after the consultation (due to fear again) I finally booked my appointment when I called the office to ask about the cost of dissolving the filler if I didn't like it because that's when I talked to one of the girls who worked there and she said something that stuck with me and made me take the leap, "don't think like that." Then she further comforted me by telling me that she had it done by him too and that he does it on the regular and I shouldn't be nervous. She was so nice and helpful that I said what the heck, I'm going to book.

I did it this past Friday afternoon and I made sure I didn't have to go anywhere the entire weekend. When I got there the doctor and the nurse came in sperately to talk to me again about the procedure. The doctor was so kind and patient with my questions and the fact that I was so nervous. He was honest in his replies and told me what to expect again. He almost spent another consultation time with me. After the talk they numbed me with cream and let me sit for about half an hour. When the doctor came back he placed ice on each eye and poof the whole thing took under 5 minutes to do and I felt VERY little to nearly nothing. I heard crackling of my skin which the doctor talked me thru and told me was normal. Afterwards he gave me gaze and told me to put pressure on the eyes (for about ten minutes). Then he came back and we took a look at it and it didn't look perfect, but it looked better and it was obvious I had bruised (which again is not the doctors fault).

Day 1: I was slightly swollen, but my skin texture and color was totally off (red/blue/yellow/dry)

Day 2: Woke up very swollen, especially in my left eye since that was my more problematic eye and both the doctor and I agreed that it needed more.

Day 3: Swelling sat a little bit, but still clearly swollen

Day 4 (CURRENT DAY): Still swollen, but not nearly as bad. Bruising is now starting to set in so there is a lot of discoloration (blue/red/yellow). It covers up pretty well with makeup.

So all in all, so far, I'm pretty glad I went thru with it and one thing I'm certain about is that I'm happy with the doctor I picked. I'm scheduled to go back and see him next week and I think I'll have a better idea of how it's going to look long term by then. I hope I don't experience complications as the swelling goes away because I have read reviews with problems months down the line. All I know is that even swollen I look better in pictures than I did before I did it.

What I did PreOp:
- Stopped taking pain killers
- Started taking arnica (4 days before)
- Started drinking more water
- Didn't eat salty meals (1 week before)
- Started eating fresh pineapples (1 week before)
- No alcohol (2 weeks before and days after)

I mean I still bruised and am swollen, but I'm sure it could've been worse if I hadn't done the above.

What I did PostOp:
- Immediately iced
- Iced area for 3 days straight
- No makeup
- Washed my face gently with face wipes
- No eye creams
- Slept on my back with two pillows to elevate my head (3 days)

Again, I only wrote this detailed and extremely LONG review because I've spent so much time on this site reading reveiws and I hope it can help someone out because I know how it feels to be miserable over hollow tear troughs!

Finally, I'll keep everyone posted on my progress .... hopefully once it settles in, it'll look better as opposed to creating complications!

(You can see my before photos on the other question I posted before I got the procedure done)

Swelling is completly gone, I have the smallest of bruises left which barely shows. I can't believe I waited this long to do this. It has made a HUGE difference in my eyes. I just wish I got a little bit more, but otherwise totally and utterly happy!

Everything has healed properly and OH MY GOODNESS, I'm so glad I did this! I don't think I'll be able to ever go without this, I hope there isn't any long term effects!