Woman issues stark warning about plastic surgery as she claims nose job 'ruined' her face
Wendy Macias, 36, from Los Angeles, California, has been self conscious about her nose ever since she was a little girl.
At age five, her brothers started to pick on her and called her 'Narizona,' which means 'big nosed girl' in Spanish.
After years of battling insecurities over it, she decided to go under the knife to get a rhinoplasty earlier this year.
But as soon as she saw the results she 'realized she had made a huge mistake.'
She said she immediately missed her old self, and fell into a 'deep depression ' in the weeks that followed.
Now, she regrets getting the plastic surgery and still struggles to look at herself in the mirror.
Wendy is now trying to warn others about the severe emotional impact of surgically changing your appearance.
While speaking with the Daily Mail about it, she explained that she drove to Tijuana, Mexico, to get the procedure on May 27, and it cost her $6,640.
Initially, she couldn't see the results due to swelling and bruising, but 'not recognizing herself' in the mirror felt 'strange.'
While she couldn't take off the bandages, the doctor had taken a snap of her new nose while she was on the operating table and showed her a before and after comparison.
'Upon seeing my table pictures for the first time, I immediately realized I had made a huge mistake,' she admitted.
Wendy said the doctor made her 'nose tip incredibly high up' which was not what she had wanted.
'My nasal bridge had been made too sloped for my preference. I didn't want an upturned, fairy cutesy nose,' she said.
'I wanted a subtle, straighter curve and for the tip to be parallel to the ground when I smiled.'
She described the first few days after surgery as 'miserable,' explaining that she was in severe pain and struggled to eat, sleep, and breathe.
'I was so sleep deprived, bruised and swollen. My mouth was severely dry all the time,' she shared.
'To purse your lips for a straw or to open wide for a bite hurt so much because the cuts that were still healing would tear.
'It felt like paper cuts on your nose. I could only open my mouth a little. I had only soups and smoothies and tons and tons of water and tea.
'I would wake up in the middle of the night ... It was so uncomfortable because I couldn't move my nose or mouth very much.
'The first five days I constantly had blood and snot in my throat and had an incredibly dry throat all the time. It was absolutely disgusting. I do not recommend it.'
But harder than the physical pain was the emotional toll that it had on her, as she completely regretted going under the knife and longed for her old self back.
'I started to unknowingly fall into a deep post op depression,' she shared. 'I cried for a week straight. I was so wildly sad.
'My loved ones would console me and call me beautiful over and over. I would just shake my head and fervently say, "Thank you but I don't believe you." I felt like I had ruined myself with all my heart. I felt so ugly.'
She said she felt 'incredibly guilty' for changing something that had been a piece of her her whole life and 'deeply ashamed of herself for giving in to societal standards.'
'A nose job is an incredibly profound change to the physical, mental and emotional state of one's being,' she stressed.
'Your brain will also reject your reflection and make it appear more warped than it might be so you can clear your face of foreign objects. I couldn't look at myself without shaking my head in regret.
'I still can't look at mirrors from a far away distance to this day.'
She slammed her doctor for failing to go over the potential 'repercussions' with her.
'He did not go over the repercussions of how I can react afterwards,' she said. 'He hadn't informed me about the possibility of post op depression.'
In the end, Wendy views it as a 'deep lesson on forgiveness and self love' and is trying to accept her new self.
Her message to others who may be thinking of going under the knife?
'Do not rush, do not make decisions while you aren't emotionally stable,' she urged.
'Talk to your loved ones about it. You don't have to feel alone. Surgeons will not advertise bad work. Don't rely only on social media for their work.
'Scour the internet for their name and look for bad reviews. Take your time to craft what you desire your nose to look like in a program if you can. Know the risks. There are many!'
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