Addicted to plastic surgery???
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free skin care · Fri Sep 26, 2008 1:12 am

skincarefreak wrote:

It's tragic that someone will do that to themselves on purpose.

IMHO she has not done this to herself - doctors have done it. And, I think they should be held accountable. Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath for the practice of ethical medicine and swear to care and not harm their patients. Women like Jocylyn Wildenstein (sp?) and Jenny Lee clearly have unhealthy issues about the way they look. It is a doctor's responsibility to counsel their patient and not perform surgery on a patient's whim. JW asked her doctor to make her look like a cat - and he did it! Disgraceful. The same principal applies to Michael Jackson, there must have been some point where doctors should have said enough is enough.

However, I can see how it's easy to become addicted to it - especially when money is no object. Really, PS is so common now, it's like going to the hairdressers.

Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:20 am

When I first saw this post, I looked her up.

I did a little research. The sad thing is that she sees this kind of stuff. She's even responded to some threads I've found on the net... and is open to questions... But does not take kindly to the attacks on her person.

She does seem know that she has Body Dsymorph. I'm not sure she's terribly interested in changing that or even feels that she can. However, it must not make things even remotely better for her to read how people think she has ruined her looks. Which must ultimately drive her to try to fix herself further.

She does seem very educated about PS... and is probably a HUGE source of info.

It's an interesting concept to suggest that a person get therapy before PS. I suspect that a person that has BD needs a very intensive program. And they they will continue the battle for the rest of their lives like a person who is anorexic.

I wonder if technically the same problem really exists for all of us looking for the right cream and such... I read of a report (will see if I can find it) that a person absorbs some 5 lbs of products into their body, can't remember the time frame.
But really, can that be good for you? Trust me, my cabinets are filled with my beloved magic potions... but it's food for thought. How can we be judgmental over a knife, but not perhaps the slow introduction of chemicals into our systems... which may have a negative effect you in the long run. Although not in a visible fashion... just makes me think.

Thu Oct 30, 2008 3:16 am

Kassy_A wrote:

Just wondering how "Manymanya" times, this thread is gonna be bumped, before 'Manymanya' gets bumped outta here.........just askin..

Laughing

I only came across this thread by chance - next time this happens (and I see this has been happening for a while) ***PLEASE*** report it.

Thu Oct 30, 2008 8:50 pm

Hi Ya'll...I came across this message board through a friend. I thought I would response to some of your comments here because I think, and know that I am largely misunderstood. I have participated on many shows, yes, and when you put your business out there you have to accept that people are going to talk about you.

What I did not expect is that people would hide behind their computer screens and dedicate entire blogs on how "grotesque" I looked, or compared me to Jocelyn Wildenstein (sp?), or reply to messages saying I looked like a clown, or a freak, and worse... To me THAT is ludicrous, mean, hateful and usually motivated by jealousy. I have not patterned my look after an animal, nor have I said I wanted to look like one particular person or celebrity.

People say what I have done is "tragic", yet they don't know the entire story of my LIFE that led up to this...now that could be "tragic", and I will share that in a book one day, hopefully sooner than later. And then, maybe things will start to make better sense for people.

People blame the doctors and want to hold them responsible, yet they don't know the protocol MY particular doctor makes me go through before operating on me, especially if he thinks it isn't entirely necessary. I have been turned down for many things I have asked for him to do and on several occasions (at least 5) he has refused to operate on me for one year on a procedure that he either A. thinks is not completely necessary, and MAKES me think about it for a year and if I still feel the same way or feel worse then he will do it, or B. Makes me wait until the healing process has taken place, wait 6-12 months and then discuss it again if necessary (i.e. repetitive nose jobs). I am walking into his office prepared for surgery , money in hand, and he sends me away and makes me wait. Sometimes I realize he is right, and agree with his opinion, and ultimately glad I waited. Sometimes I still come back a year later (usually a year exactly) and say "Yep, I still feel the same way and I am ready".

Let me say this about a comment Fitmama made. I am extremely educated on plastic surgery, especially on the ones that I have had done. Dr. Rey, who makes television appearances with me, is also my friend, and he said to me that I know so much about plastic surgery, I could probably tell him how to perform a procedure, and I agreed. I couldn’t tell you the countless hours of research I have clocked on the subject. The issue that people have or question is have I gone overboard, or will the next procedure put or get me there. I GET IT. I would be thinking the same way many of you do, especially if I am watching 3, 5, or 7 minute segments of an 8 hour interview chopped up in the editing room. You aren’t getting the whole story.

Fact: It is easy to get “addicted” to plastic surgery. I equate it to getting on a runaway train where there are no stops. 90% of plastic surgery has to be maintained to some degree eventually. Breast implants have to be replaced; face lifts need fillers and Botox to maintain the initial look. In time gravity and age will beat us all to the punch and eventually we are screwed. The last time Dr. Rey visited my house I Texas, he said that I had never looked better, and that everything I had done to my face in the past (brow lift, lower eyelid lift, cheek implants) had finally “settled”-which it does over time. His fear was that if I continued to work on my face in particular I would have a “surgerized” look, and I agreed with him because that is not the look I am going for. He agreed that I could maintain my face and the work that has already been done for a good 10 years with Botox and fillers. Good news about this is it gives technology time to advance further to find ways to achieve desired results in less invasive ways.

For the record, I have never appeared on Dr. 90210. I have only appeared on the show “The Insider” with Dr. Rey.

Now for the psychology part of all this mess…I have been to numerous psychiatrists, and psychologists to discuss my BDD, because one doc said I had it, one said no, one said borderline. The fact is you either have it or you don’t. I have it, and I know it. I have been able to tame the beast to a certain extent over the years using cognitive behavioral therapy and putting the surgery money to better use. I have found and discussed with my current doctor that I feel the symptoms of the BDD occur during bouts of depression, so this is my clue to stay away all together when I am depressed. BDD comes in waves, and varies in levels of severity. I now have 2 daughters, a husband, house, and 2 dogs, and I have my own company doing eyelash extensions. Being this busy leaves me with less time to obsess over my flaws. I am constantly aware of the BDD “the beast”, and I manage it much better than others. Some people suffer so badly they cannot function, ad some commit suicide. At one point in my life I struggled worse than ever while I was severely depressed, but through a lot of hard work I am better now. BDD does not go away ever. All I can do is manage it. There is no medication specifically for BDD. Usually it is treated with anti anxiety meds and sometimes anti-depressants. I don’t take either anymore because I understand it or get a handle on it before it consumes me. Sometimes a quick Botox fix will do it for me.

In case you don’t know what BDD is (Body Dysmorphia Disorder), the definition is imagined or “perceived” flaws in one’s appearance. Men actually suffer from it as much as women but don’t know they do…hair loss for a man is a big issue. People who have blemishes, or bad skin and pick at their skin are exhibiting BDD symptoms, especially if they are doing this a lot. Here is the cold hard truth….every single one of us has a bit of BDD in us. If you have EVER complained about a flaw in your appearance that can be classified as BDD…because you are either imagining it, or perceiving it. Others may think you look fine, but you don’t see it that way. I have a friend who has lost her mind over lip enhancements, and actually has two (yes I said TWO lip implants in her top lip and one large one in the bottom. She thinks this looks beautiful, and everyone else thinks she looks like a baboon. I don’t give her my opinion. It is not my place. I know my lips are big. They were naturally big to start with, I got lip implants for the fullness, and to match both my sisters who have big full lips-however I think they look so much bigger on TV than in pictures or in person. I have considered taking them down a notch. Shiny lip gloss doesn’t help either.

Where the BDD gets me the worst is what I see in a reflection of a mirror or window is not the same as what I see on TV, or in pictures. I can explain this to you, but I cannot understand it for you. When I apply my make-up I actually take a picture of my face to make sure everything looks even because it looks “off” in the mirror, but I can see that it is okay in the photograph. I can look at these amazing photos that these incredible photographers take of me and be blown away at how beautiful they look, and then take a bathroom break during the shoot ant glance in the mirror and not understand why the camera shows me one thing and the mirror shows me something else. I honestly think the photo shoots have become a source of therapy for me, because I can go back to them and look at them and say “I have gotten to an amazing stopping point, and all I need is injection maintenance (Botox, Juvaderm), so why screw this up?” I request that my photographers do not Photoshop ME in pictures. They may need to Photoshop the background (wall plugs or things of that nature) but I want to be photographed AS IS. So what you see in my pictures is really me.

And yes Fitmama an obsession with creams is not much different than my obsessions with wrinkles. Applying the cream to prevent the wrinkles and getting an injection of Botox is basically the same thing, except mine is virtually instant faster results. You are obviously concerned about it and want to prevent the wrinkles otherwise you would skip the sales pitch at the beauty counter if you didn’t care, and slap on sunscreen.

One major aspect of plastic surgery that people do not consider is that a large percentage of patients will fall into a depression at some point during their healing process or directly afterward. Something to be aware of. It has happened to me, especially after nose jobs, which is the hardest procedure to do. After 3 nose jobs and still not 100% happy with the way my nose looked, I was told by my doctor I could never, ever, ever again get a nose job. In February 2008 I had to have a mandatory one that my doctor insisted on, free of charge. I had been having extreme pain and sudden allergic reactions to the stitches in my nose that needed to come out. The cartilage on the tip on my nose had split causing an indention in my tip, and the tip of my nose was pointing downwards which meant it collapsed. He took a graft of cartilage from the back of my ear and attached it to my tip. I went in to have the surgery due to the chronic infections and reactions to permanent stitches, and came out with a reconstructed nose that looked exactly how I had wanted it to all along. Doctors tend to be conservative in surgery with matters of the face and nose so that they don’t “over do it”…that is why it sometimes it takes a few times…but that can be the case with any procedure and that is why my number of “procedures” including injectables is at 40.

For years I was on a pursuit for perfection, although I could define for anyone, including myself what that looked like. Maybe it was 100% complete satisfaction in the way I looked. I have since come to my senses and realized Perfection did not exist so stop looking for it. I settled on the goal ok looking and feeling simply “okay” with my appearance. Some days I feel okay, some days not so much.

For the record (sorry if I have repeated this), I participate in these shows because I feel like if I share my story with people they may learn something from me. I am all about educating people…hopefully it is to do their homework on the procedure, know how it is done, what to do & not to do before the surgery and what to expect after surgery, especially the warning signs of an infection, fever, and extreme pain that does not subside with pain meds. Go to the ER immediately and call the plastic surgeon on the way or after you arrive. Google everything you can find!

As far as what Sahmisme said about taking things to the extreme to where you no longer look like yourself, I have definitely pushed the envelope on that one. I do think I look like a different version of myself, but I am still me.

To CareKate, here are some excerpts of what you had to say about me: (I am pointing them out because this is what I typically see from time to time, and you had the worst things of anyone to say about me.)

Quote:

Have y’all ever seen pictures of this Dallas socialite, I think her name is Jenny Lee, who has had so many plastic surgery procedures that she was featured on both Oprah and the celeb tabloid show “The Insider,” as people have become so concerned about this lady that they’ve tried to stage interventions? I think she was also featured on an episode of that reality show about plastic surgeons on E, called “Dr. 90210" or something.

The show on E! was called the Good, the Bags, and the Ugly, in which no one was categorized as good, bad or ugly. They were showing the extremities of plastic surgery.

Quote:

Anyway, they showed before photos of this lady and she was actually quite lovely in a California blonde, Barbie doll sort of way,

Thanks for the compliment of the way I looked before.

Quote:

but now she just looks like a caricature! Talk about one having a skewed body image...this poor woman just looks terrible now. See if you can google and find some photos of her.

This is a perfect example of what I am talking about when Keliu said I get upset about what people say about me. I am thinking are you kidding me? A caricature? Looks TERRIBLE? People that suffer from SEVERE BDD would do what was suggested before and seek more surgery, or simply kill themselves.

Quote:

In addition to lip, nose, cheek, chin, boob, lipo, etc., etc., Jenny Lee has also had some work done on her teeth. What do they call it when they file down your own real teeth and then put veneers on the front, “capping?” When this poor, deluded lady smiles, her teeth are so blindingly snow white that it literally hurts to look at her, like she’s got a mouth full of piano keys. I mean, I cannot even begin to describe how horrified I was when I saw this lady proudly showing off her dental work on TV!!

Yes, I have veneers, and even though you found them blindingly snow white (versus what? Stained yellow?) And it hurt you to look at my “piano keys”, my teeth are one thing people compliment me on daily and ask for the name of the cosmetic dentist who did them. She does all the Miss Texas pageant women, the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, and the list goes on. I asked for my teeth to be straight across on the top and bottom so that I could have the option at a later date if I chose to change my teeth up a bit, maybe round the corners, or something as I got older. I am happy with them. I am glad I have come to the point in my life where seeing comments like this don’t sting as much as they used to.

free skin care · Fri Oct 31, 2008 5:52 am

Thanks for sharing all of that. If you were referring to my comment about Jocelyn Wildenstein I wasn't comparing her to anyone but I was using her as an example of an extreme case.

As far as BDD, there are specific criteria that need to be met before a diagnosis can be made. I worked in the mental health field for several years and to say that everyone has a little BDD is simply not true. Sure, most people have some concern about their appearance, and they use creams and makeups to improve on their perceived or real flaws. However, it is not BDD until it starts to interfere with daily life, social interaction, etc etc. When it's an obsession, when there is an extreme need for reassurance about said perceived or real flaw, when extreme measures are taken to change or conceal the flaw.

I just don't think everyone needs to be thinking that they have a disorder because they like to use eye creams and makeup.

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