24 Year Old, Wants Permanent Solution for Full Lips - Pittsburgh, PA

I've tried Juvederm, one full syringe, and it didn't seem to make a huge difference and was gone FAST. For me it really seemed it metabolized within a month. So for $500 I felt pretty cheated and turned off from fillers. I've been researching permalip implants since then(about a year and a half) and really feel like this is the best option for me. I have a consultation January 14th and hopefully if all goes well, will be able to set up a date for my procedure!

I went to my consultation yesterday. It was with Dr. Brian Heil at Premier Plastic Surgery in Pittsburgh which is about a 2 hour drive from where I live. The biggest factors in my decision to go to this practice is:
-They do this procedure under GENERAL anatesia. Which means no being awake during the process, no seeing the tools, no hearing any of that. Which for me as someone with a sensitive stomach that means the world.
-His reviews are pretty much all fantastic. He had a decent amount of reviews in particular that were for lip inplants, so I knew he was very familar with doing them.

When I got there, every employee I came into contact with was extremely sweet and personable. I did have to wait awhile past my appointment time to talk to the doctor, but it was because another consultation he was having was running late and he really takes the time to answer all his patient's questions. In the meantime I talked to a couple different nurses one who already had lip implants done! Seeing hers, that Dr.Heil did, made me want them even more. She even let me feel them(with a gloved hand haha) When Dr.Heil came in he was very thorough in explaining it all to me and made me feel super comfortable. He measured my lips and we decided on 5mm too,4mm bottom. But now I'm thinking I wont be content with 4mm on the bottom, so I think when I call tommrow to give them my payment method I will ask if I can change that to 5mm bottom as well.

So today was the day! I was able to get my procedure done a day earlier then expected which was awesome. I started talking arnica yesterday for brusing. When I got to the surgery center I was NERVOUS NERVOUS, as I pretty much am for anything medical. The nurses I had helping me were very sweet though and tried to make me comfortable. I got abxious when one was putting in my IV, but she was so gentle and even cracked a joke to make me smile. Once that was in I was able to relax and wait and my boyfriend got to sit with me as well. When it was my time for surgery Dr Heil came over and explained the process again, and answered all my questions. He was also kind and reassuring that everything would run smoothly and I had nothing to fear. Then the anesthesiologist walked me through his part and took me in the surgery room. The surgery team was amazing as well, and explained everything they were doing as they were doing it, including administering the droswy drug into my IV (which made it sting just a bit) Last thing I remeber us talking to one of the girls about when I got Juvederm and next thing I knew I was waking up in the recovery room haha. I was feeling fine when I woke up as the numbing medicine had not worn off yet. The nurses gave me some applesauce and ice chips which I was able to eat relatively easy, but a little difficult due to how tight my lips are. They explained my medicine,etc to me and then wheeled me to my waiting boyfriend in the car. The drive home is about two hours. About 20 minutes in to the drive the pain and discomfort started to set in. Still, I would put it as maybe a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. It was throbbing and annoying. I couldnt drink water at all at first because I had to figure out how to swallow lol. I forced myself to eat the rest of the applesauce so I could take a Percocet as I had an empty stomach due to not being able to eat for the anesthesia. Once the pain meds set in I was fine though and was able to drink. I was also prescribed Zofran for nausea which I dont think I will need, and an antibiotic. When I got home I was able to eat some solid food. Now I'm just icing and relaxing!