119 replies to this topic

[charlie700]

hi, hopeful. don't give up on your skin, yet! i don't know your skin type, but dermarolling is effective for scar treatment. however, response to dermarolling will vary from person to person. the results from dermarolling may not be apparent for months because collagen formation takes more than half a year. some people see positive results quickly, and others may see no results for a year...or ever. i still think it's worth trying, but please do research on this. there's a lot of misleading information about dermarolling. i'm not going to recommend a website, as that may violate a rule, but be wary of sites that claim immediate and dramatic results -and- try to sell dermarollers. just my two cents.

i wish i had known about dermarolling sooner, but it was recommended to me by a top plastic surgeon in new york city in a very, very nice zip code. i went on a consultation early this year to discuss options for treating the various scars on my face. i'd hoped he would be able to perform dermabrasion as i have many different types of scarring, ice picking being the most troublesome. most dermatologists don't perform dermabrasion anymore, but i've had laser surgery and the results were minimal. after looking over my scars (rolling, indented, ice picking), he suggested dermarolling to me and microdermabrasion. the cost was prohibitive though; it was over 2k for a single treatment. i went home, read about it, and was intrigued by the information.

currently, i'm dermarolling once every 4-5 weeks to allow my skin to heal from inflammation, and i just bought the pmd (thanks for the rec ^^) which i'll use once every week. it's just as important to have a realistic idea of what you can achieve with your skin
if you want to eliminate scarring entirely, it might become a fruitless endeavor. i don't know your skin that well. maybe you have much better, more resilient skin than mine, and therefore your skin can bounce back to relatively normal. but from what i know about my scars, it's hard (impossible?) to remove them entirely. you may be able to minimize the appearance to the point where it's visible only to your scrutiny, but if you want a treatment to return your skin to its pre-acne state, i don't know if that's possible. wishing for that might make you even more upset.
from your posts alone, you're a lovely person to be around. i thinkthat's why your thread has so many posts. people are drawn to your cheer and hope. don't lose hope in yourself.

[Ham84]

Hey, long time no see. =)

Pitted and rolling scars can be so depressing. I have them too, coupled with the red marks and they make me feel really depressed. So weird to see differences between my torso/neck and my face. My whole body is so smooth, even and acne-clear, yet my face looks dry, red and has rolling/ pitted scars.

Still haven't got my pms, so I guess I have to call the postal service. So annoying.

You're so right. Acne is pure evil. On top of that, why on the face? :s I also think all the time what if I could turn back time and treat the acne when it was still moderate, but then again, it wouldn't stop becoming severe I guess. I don't know about you, but my acne became severe within a day of two. I had pretty good skin, the next day when I woke up, Bam! I had little bumps on the left side of my face that became big and inflamed. The next 2 weeks my acne spread to the right side of my face. Just thinking about it makes me shiver. It was hell and it still is.

Those people who have severe acne and still can enjoy life the fullest, I so envy them. I have class with a guy who I think still has active acne. I'm not sure, because I'm not friends with him and I usually "observe" his face from a distance (I know, I shouldn't stare at people's acne, but I can't help it). Anyway, his face has cleared up a bit, but he has alot of red marks and red scabs. And I mean alot. And they are super red. Worse than mine. Doesn't help he's so pale, so the redness stands out even more. Yet, he is so positive and funny, has alot of friends. Then I'm thinking: why I am not so positive?
Actually, everytime I see him, I secretly stare at his face, thinking: is his face clearing up faster than my face? It's horrible, I know, but I can't help it. It's like I'm obsessed.

Edited by Ham84, 28 April 2011 - 05:53 AM.

[Bonbonique]

I have a mixture of both pitted scars and red "leftover spots". I asked my derm about dermarolling he said he doesn't recommend it at all, and my skin is already very sensitive I can only imagine what dermarolling will do to it...I'll be inflammed for years! But sometimes I feel like I really wanna try it out but I chicken out, I hate needles I had an Ematrix consultation session today with a new dermatologist. She's like Ill probably need 6 treatment sessions but my deepest icepicks will really improve..and now I'm kinda hopeful. As for he red spots, I keep applying Retin-A and the redness is fading.

[hopeful87.]

hi, hopeful. don't give up on your skin, yet! i don't know your skin type, but dermarolling is effective for scar treatment. however, response to dermarolling will vary from person to person. the results from dermarolling may not be apparent for months because collagen formation takes more than half a year. some people see positive results quickly, and others may see no results for a year...or ever. i still think it's worth trying, but please do research on this. there's a lot of misleading information about dermarolling. i'm not going to recommend a website, as that may violate a rule, but be wary of sites that claim immediate and dramatic results -and- try to sell dermarollers. just my two cents.

I wish I had known about dermarolling sooner, but it was recommended to me by a top plastic surgeon in new york city in a very, very nice zip code. i went on a consultation early this year to discuss options for treating the various scars on my face. i'd hoped he would be able to perform dermabrasion as i have many different types of scarring, ice picking being the most troublesome. most dermatologists don't perform dermabrasion anymore, but i've had laser surgery and the results were minimal. after looking over my scars (rolling, indented, ice picking), he suggested dermarolling to me and microdermabrasion. the cost was prohibitive though; it was over 2k for a single treatment. i went home, read about it, and was intrigued by the information.

currently, i'm dermarolling once every 4-5 weeks to allow my skin to heal from inflammation, and i just bought the pmd (thanks for the rec ^^) which i'll use once every week. it's just as important to have a realistic idea of what you can achieve with your skin
if you want to eliminate scarring entirely, it might become a fruitless endeavor. i don't know your skin that well. maybe you have much better, more resilient skin than mine, and therefore your skin can bounce back to relatively normal. but from what i know about my scars, it's hard (impossible?) to remove them entirely. you may be able to minimize the appearance to the point where it's visible only to your scrutiny, but if you want a treatment to return your skin to its pre-acne state, i don't know if that's possible. wishing for that might make you even more upset.
from your posts alone, you're a lovely person to be around. i thinkthat's why your thread has so many posts. people are drawn to your cheer and hope. don't lose hope in yourself.

Charlie700,

Thank you so much for your kind words. I don’t mean to sound so over-sensitive about this stuff but it’s just so annoying to have to deal with the same thing every single day. My sister tells me that there are bigger worries in the world. Granted, there are. But after all that bleeding and pain I went through over these past few months, it did leave me a bit traumatized. I felt like I was slowly decaying or something . I’m going to dermaroll as soon as my marks disappear. My left check is nearly clear. My right cheek is a bit stubborn but then again, it was the worst on that cheek. How soon did you see progress while dermarolling? Did it cause you to breakout? My acne is under control (knocks on wood) and I’m scared that by causing the puncture wounds on my face, it’ll make way for bacteria or cause some sort of unwanted reaction. Other than that, it looks like it'll do my skin some justice. I have a PDF on dermarolling that I did download. I bought a dermaroller through ebay (the one that was advertised on the Doctor’s show). I just don’t know what ointment to apply after the treatment. Any suggestions?

I’m glad you purchased the PMD. I absolutely love the device. But please be careful when using it. I can't stress that enough. I would stick to the blue micro crystal tools for the first 4 to 6 weeks and then bump up to using the green ones (which are used for more aggressive treatments). They do sell red microcrystal tools on skincarerx’s website but I’m not even going to get near those (those are for the really abrasive treatments). I scab my face here and there from being too aggressive or doing too many passes in one spot. I would start slow and test your skin out first and see how much pressure to use. You’re right about eliminating scarring entirely. I’ve never really taken care of my skin prior to my crazy breakout. But I’m hoping that the combo of dermarolling and microdermabrasion (along with my M2/Differin) will help me to the point where I’ll just be satisfied enough. Seeking perfection is definitely a fruitless endeavor. I can’t say that I had great skin prior to my breakout. I had extremely oil skin and a few pimples here and there (nothing to cause any concern). I feel like with continued use of the aforementioned items, I’ll have better skin than I did getting into this. At least I hope for that to happen

Your post was really heartwarming and uplifting. Sometimes a few kind words can really make someone's day. Thank you for that. I was pretty depressed (looking through the pictures when I was at the peak of my breakout. I don’t know why I did that. It just brought back really bad memories.) There are options and I am doing something as opposed to nothing. I am seeing progress even if it's gradual. I think I was just being impatient. I guess I let that get the best of me. I’d love to hear more about your dermarolling experience (what your method is like, what types of creams you use, your daily regimen etc).

Thank you again!

[hopeful87.]

Hey, long time no see. =)

Pitted and rolling scars can be so depressing. I have them too, coupled with the red marks and they make me feel really depressed. So weird to see differences between my torso/neck and my face. My whole body is so smooth, even and acne-clear, yet my face looks dry, red and has rolling/ pitted scars.

Still haven't got my pms, so I guess I have to call the postal service. So annoying.

You're so right. Acne is pure evil. On top of that, why on the face? :s I also think all the time what if I could turn back time and treat the acne when it was still moderate, but then again, it wouldn't stop becoming severe I guess. I don't know about you, but my acne became severe within a day of two. I had pretty good skin, the next day when I woke up, Bam! I had little bumps on the left side of my face that became big and inflamed. The next 2 weeks my acne spread to the right side of my face. Just thinking about it makes me shiver. It was hell and it still is.

Those people who have severe acne and still can enjoy life the fullest, I so envy them. I have class with a guy who I think still has active acne. I'm not sure, because I'm not friends with him and I usually "observe" his face from a distance (I know, I shouldn't stare at people's acne, but I can't help it). Anyway, his face has cleared up a bit, but he has alot of red marks and red scabs. And I mean alot. And they are super red. Worse than mine. Doesn't help he's so pale, so the redness stands out even more. Yet, he is so positive and funny, has alot of friends. Then I'm thinking: why I am not so positive?
Actually, everytime I see him, I secretly stare at his face, thinking: is his face clearing up faster than my face? It's horrible, I know, but I can't help it. It's like I'm obsessed.

Hey!!

Hahaha I completely I agree. I was looking at my arm the other day and was wishing I could magically have that kind of skin/tone/texture on my face. I’m surprised it’s taking so long to get your PMD. I don’t know if you have already mentioned this, but do you live in the States? I got my kit within a week after it was ordered. I hope you get it soon, you’ve waited so long! Did you order the recommended serums? I know there’s one by Bosque? And then there’s the M2 serum (in 12% or 20%). If any, which did you order? I’m kind of wishing I had ordered the 12% solution of the M2 serum. The 20% causes me to peel like no other and it burns a lot too when initially applying it after the PMD session. But I guess that’s a good thing since I’m seeing a difference in my skin’s health.

You know, I could swear on the same thing. One day my face was in ‘ok’ condition and the next day I get these tiny bumps (I noticed them first on my forehead) and then BAM! Cysts/zits/nodules/papules/pustules/ galore. According to this site, I’ve come to the conclusion that I had Acne Conglobata because somehow on my right cheek my acne became interconnected (even though it started out to be spread apart). Whatever it was, I’m just glad it’s over. And I hope to never have a visit from acne like that ever again. I don’t think I can handle the emotional stress from getting something so severe again. It’s just a big nightmare.

And you’re definitely not alone, I have caught myself staring at random people’s skin and taking a mental note on how bad mine is in comparison to theirs. Lol I can’t believe that something that should be just a small concern can cause this kind of a psychological reaction. I feel like we’re on the same page. I really can’t wait to see how your skin reacts to the PMD. I’m praying and hoping that you see the type of change that I have. You deserve it.

[hopeful87.]

I have a mixture of both pitted scars and red "leftover spots". I asked my derm about dermarolling he said he doesn't recommend it at all, and my skin is already very sensitive I can only imagine what dermarolling will do to it...I'll be inflammed for years! But sometimes I feel like I really wanna try it out but I chicken out, I hate needles I had an Ematrix consultation session today with a new dermatologist. She's like Ill probably need 6 treatment sessions but my deepest icepicks will really improve..and now I'm kinda hopeful. As for he red spots, I keep applying Retin-A and the redness is fading.

Hi there,

You know what, my dermatologist initially said the same thing to me. But this was back in February I think. When my left over marks were still raw/fresh/and maroon! I looked at an old picture of my marks from February and I can't believe they were so raw/dark red. My dermatologist didn't even want me to exfoliate until my skin healed a little and now I understand why. I hate needles too I bought a dermaroller a while back but have yet to find the guts to use it. I'm waiting for my red marks to fade thoroughly to begin any sort of scar treatment. Meanwhile I am doing microdermabrasion weekly (which is helping me a lot!). I just googled what Ematrix is. I'm so scared of getting a laser treatment done. Hell, I'm scared of all those abrasive treatments. Are you going to go through with the treatments? I'm using a retinoid derivitive (differin .3) which isn't as aggressive of a gel as retin-A might be but it is helping with getting my skin to heal faster as well. And then the microdermabrasion is speeding up that process too. Good luck with the laser treatments! If I ever start dermarolling I'll definitely create a blog about that (just to monitor any change).

[charlie700]

I’d love to hear more about your dermarolling experience (what your method is like, what types of creams you use, your daily regimen etc).
Thank you again!

Hi, hopeful ^^ I don't have extensive dermarolling experience because I started in late March, but I'll share my experience and, perhaps, you can glean something useful from it.

My daily skincare regimen consists of:

Morning:

-Sunblock: Neutrogena UltraSheer liquid SPF 55 sunblock. I apply 20-30 minutes before leaving for work, and I try to reapply every 2-3 hours when possible. I have oily skin, but this doesn't break me out. It's matte, which I like, and it doesn't pill when I reapply. You can find it in large drugstores for around $13-14 per 1.4 fl oz bottle.


-Cleanser: I've been taking care of my skin for 18 years, and anything that doesn't abrade is fine.

Night:

Moisturizer: I use Lumene's Vitamin C+ Pure Radiance 24 h Lotion (also available at large drugstores $20-ish). It's a nice moisturizer. I like the citrus scent, it moisturizes, hasn't made me break out after a month of use, but it's not Christmas miracle. I'm going to switch to Jason Pure Ester-C moisturizer when I use up this bottle. It's cheaper, and it's highly rated.

Spot treatment: Proactiv AHA toner. I spot treat on active pimples or when I feel a bump that indicates a pimple is scheming to take over my face's real estate. 1/3 of the time, this prevents the pimple from forming. Another 1/3 the time, the pimple forms but comes to a head quickly, instead of chilling with its buddies on my face. The other 1/3 of the time, it does nothing.


Dermarolling:

I bought a 1.5mm and started my treatment by rolling once weekly per the instructions of the manufacturer and merchant websites, but I've reduced that to every 5 weeks. This gives my skin a chance to heal instead of it undergoing weekly cycles of inflammation. I've seen improvement in some shallow scars after about 2 months of treatment and my skin texture has improved a little. With dermarolling, and any other acne scar treatment, time is the most important factor. The pimple that took two weeks to develop, then spent a week or more on the skin before scarring, will take years of upkeep. God forbid I should finally see results when I'm 80, but dermarolling requires time before significant improvement.

I choose a time when I will have at least an hour to myself for dermarolling. I also won't go out for the rest of that day and the day after. I prepare by getting my supplies together. Using a cup, I pour in as much isopropyl alcohol as needed for the dermaroller head to be submerged. I get some paper towels, tie my hair back, and prepare for pain You could use a skin numbing cream, but I don't like to put anything on my skin that isn't absolutely necessary.

The skin needs to be pulled back, and then I roll over small sections 5x horizontally, vertically, then diagonally. The pain level depends on the amount of pressure applied to the skin. Please don't try to push all 1.5 mm into your skin. I haven't measured how deeply the needles penetrate, but it seems only the sharp tip fully penetrates. I apply enough pressure to see redness and occasionally tiny drops of blood may appear. That's normal. If you see that your face is becoming a bloody mess, then you are using too much pressure. I wash the roller head in the alcohol after each section. I also disinfect the just-rolled area with some alcohol and then apply the vitamin c moisturizer (c supposedly helps promote collagen development).

I DO have a warning. Be very careful when rolling your nose. I have some icepick scarring on the sides of my nose, and they didn't improve after dermarolling. They might have even gotten a little worse, I don't know. I learned too late that the skin there responds differently than skin on the rest of your face.

I don't break out in huge pimples after dermarolling, but some areas do get tiny, tiny whiteheads, but they don't develop into pimples, and they go away fairly quickly. Your skin will also be red-pink for day or two. The areas that were treated will become dry and it will feel slightly scabby, but it isn't actual scabbing. If you wear makeup, that dry, scabb-ish skin will be a problem.

Microdermabrasion: I'm using the PMD, just like you ^^ I did my first treatment last week, and I messed up I tested a section of my wrist to get an idea of how it would work. Next, I treated my forehead, nothing bad. Then I brought it to an area of my cheek that is scarred, and the PMD took on a life of its own -- that's my story and I'm sticking to it!! I was taken by surprise by the strong suction, and couldn't move it away fast enough. I had scabs from last Saturday's treatment that just fell off today. I'm sure the scabs made me look extra beautiful this week... Still, I'm not giving up. I've been dealing with acne for so long that little setbacks like this don't faze me.

This post is getting super long. I hope you made it to here ^^

[hopeful87.]

I’d love to hear more about your dermarolling experience (what your method is like, what types of creams you use, your daily regimen etc).
Thank you again!

Hi, hopeful ^^ I don't have extensive dermarolling experience because I started in late March, but I'll share my experience and, perhaps, you can glean something useful from it.

My daily skincare regimen consists of:

Morning:

-Sunblock: Neutrogena UltraSheer liquid SPF 55 sunblock. I apply 20-30 minutes before leaving for work, and I try to reapply every 2-3 hours when possible. I have oily skin, but this doesn't break me out. It's matte, which I like, and it doesn't pill when I reapply. You can find it in large drugstores for around $13-14 per 1.4 fl oz bottle.


-Cleanser: I've been taking care of my skin for 18 years, and anything that doesn't abrade is fine.

Night:

Moisturizer: I use Lumene's Vitamin C+ Pure Radiance 24 h Lotion (also available at large drugstores $20-ish). It's a nice moisturizer. I like the citrus scent, it moisturizes, hasn't made me break out after a month of use, but it's not Christmas miracle. I'm going to switch to Jason Pure Ester-C moisturizer when I use up this bottle. It's cheaper, and it's highly rated.

Spot treatment: Proactiv AHA toner. I spot treat on active pimples or when I feel a bump that indicates a pimple is scheming to take over my face's real estate. 1/3 of the time, this prevents the pimple from forming. Another 1/3 the time, the pimple forms but comes to a head quickly, instead of chilling with its buddies on my face. The other 1/3 of the time, it does nothing.


Dermarolling:

I bought a 1.5mm and started my treatment by rolling once weekly per the instructions of the manufacturer and merchant websites, but I've reduced that to every 5 weeks. This gives my skin a chance to heal instead of it undergoing weekly cycles of inflammation. I've seen improvement in some shallow scars after about 2 months of treatment and my skin texture has improved a little. With dermarolling, and any other acne scar treatment, time is the most important factor. The pimple that took two weeks to develop, then spent a week or more on the skin before scarring, will take years of upkeep. God forbid I should finally see results when I'm 80, but dermarolling requires time before significant improvement.

I choose a time when I will have at least an hour to myself for dermarolling. I also won't go out for the rest of that day and the day after. I prepare by getting my supplies together. Using a cup, I pour in as much isopropyl alcohol as needed for the dermaroller head to be submerged. I get some paper towels, tie my hair back, and prepare for pain You could use a skin numbing cream, but I don't like to put anything on my skin that isn't absolutely necessary.

The skin needs to be pulled back, and then I roll over small sections 5x horizontally, vertically, then diagonally. The pain level depends on the amount of pressure applied to the skin. Please don't try to push all 1.5 mm into your skin. I haven't measured how deeply the needles penetrate, but it seems only the sharp tip fully penetrates. I apply enough pressure to see redness and occasionally tiny drops of blood may appear. That's normal. If you see that your face is becoming a bloody mess, then you are using too much pressure. I wash the roller head in the alcohol after each section. I also disinfect the just-rolled area with some alcohol and then apply the vitamin c moisturizer (c supposedly helps promote collagen development).

I DO have a warning. Be very careful when rolling your nose. I have some icepick scarring on the sides of my nose, and they didn't improve after dermarolling. They might have even gotten a little worse, I don't know. I learned too late that the skin there responds differently than skin on the rest of your face.

I don't break out in huge pimples after dermarolling, but some areas do get tiny, tiny whiteheads, but they don't develop into pimples, and they go away fairly quickly. Your skin will also be red-pink for day or two. The areas that were treated will become dry and it will feel slightly scabby, but it isn't actual scabbing. If you wear makeup, that dry, scabb-ish skin will be a problem.

Microdermabrasion: I'm using the PMD, just like you ^^ I did my first treatment last week, and I messed up I tested a section of my wrist to get an idea of how it would work. Next, I treated my forehead, nothing bad. Then I brought it to an area of my cheek that is scarred, and the PMD took on a life of its own -- that's my story and I'm sticking to it!! I was taken by surprise by the strong suction, and couldn't move it away fast enough. I had scabs from last Saturday's treatment that just fell off today. I'm sure the scabs made me look extra beautiful this week... Still, I'm not giving up. I've been dealing with acne for so long that little setbacks like this don't faze me.

This post is getting super long. I hope you made it to here ^^

Hi Charlie700!

Wow, thank you so much for the detailed response! The strangest thing is (and I guess I shouldn’t complain about this) but I felt tiny tiny bumps on my right cheek this morning and there are these weird micro zits on my right cheek and 1 or 2 on my left cheek. Scared the crap out of me. I did exactly what I didn’t want to do. Usually after I do microdermabrasion on my face with the PMD kit (every Friday) I do not go out for the rest of the weekend lather up in moisturizer and just chill at home usually working. I don’t wear makeup either. Unfortunately, since it was Mother’s Day weekend, I did do a light PMD treatment on Friday night and applied makeup on Saturday night and all day Sunday. Just this morning I felt the strange bumps. Kind of bummed out about that, but they’re so tiny, I’m hoping they’ll go away in the next 2 days after I apply Differin and M2.

Dermarolling definitely sounds scary. My friend kind of tried convincing me not to start dermarolling but I’m not going to go off her opinion solely because she didn’t even know what it was until I brought it up. I feel like collagen induction therapy is amazing as far as healing skin and promoting anti-aging as well. I'm also very very thankful that my scars are unnoticeable from a 5/10 feet radius. When I asked my sister if she noticed any scarring on my face, she said none but saw my marks and when she looked closer, she could see them. Nevertheless, I’m really happy that you’ve started. I can’t wait to begin myself but I’m kind of worried that I’m going to be doing too much by starting dermarolling. And I’m not certain how my skin will react. I was hoping that I’d get rid of these marks first and stop wearing makeup so often (5/6 days a week) and then to start dermarolling, just to give my skin a chance to breathe and heal naturally without all these extra things I’m putting on my face.

I will definitely refer to your comment when I start my dermarolling treatments. I really hope things are looking up for you! And as for the PMD kit, I’m sorry you scarbbed your face but don’t worry too much about that. It heals within 2 days and you’re left with your natural skin color beneath. Just try to be careful I have done about 8 or 9 treatments now and I still scab here and there. Even when I’m trying to be gentle. Good luck and keep me posted. It feels good to know that other people are showing improvement. Gives me hope

[charlie700]

Hiya, hopeful! I'm sorry to hear your skin is giving you a bit of trouble. How is it today? I hope you're doing well. I'm going to send you a private message with a link to a dermarolling website, if you're interested. It talks about what you can and can't achieve through dermarolling. I would have been skeptical of poking holes in my poor skin if it hadn't been recommended by the plastic surgeon. I've read two scientific studies on the efficacy of dermarolling, and so far it seems to be helpful for certain scars.

I have a question for you about the PMD. I'm unable to obtain any suction when I use the smaller discs. Is that true for you, too? The smaller discs are longer and they rise slightly above the cap (I tried with both caps). I don't know if that's how it is meant to operate.

Edited by charlie700, 08 June 2011 - 11:02 PM.

[hopeful87.]

Hiya, hopeful! I'm sorry to hear your skin is giving you a bit of trouble. How is it today? I hope you're doing well. I'm going to send you a private message with a link to a dermarolling website, if you're interested. It talks about what you can and can't achieve through dermarolling. I would have been skeptical of poking holes in my poor skin if it hadn't been recommended by the plastic surgeon. I've read two scientific studies on the efficacy of dermarolling, and so far it seems to be helpful for certain scars.

Oh, and I'm delighted to let you know that some of my scars are older than Justin Bieber, and they (the shallower ones) have shown some improvement. They aren't gone, and won't have significant improvement for another year, at the earliest, but I'm surprised that such old scars responded positively. I used to think of my skin as the enemy (Y U No Listen to Me and Be Beautiful?), but I began to feel sorry for it. Is it weird to personify one's skin? Probably...but it's helped me to take are of it and nurture it, instead of attack it. My poor skin has done its best to protect me from the environment, and all I did was abuse it verbally and physically. Waaaaaahhh!

That was totally tangential, hehe. Oh, I have a question for you about the PMD. I'm unable to obtain any suction when I use the smaller discs. Is that true for you, too? The smaller discs are longer and they rise slightly above the cap (I tried with both caps). I don't know if that's how it is meant to operate.

Hi Charlie!

I'm so sorry for the late response. I've finally started going out again and I've been caught up in weddings and graduation parties. It was very uncomfortable at first but I've found the right make up to give me good enough coverage to get by. Surprisingly, a lot of my friends are having issues with breakouts on their face. I'm happy I've passed that phase and can pass some knowledge along. My face isn't currently breaking out (thank you God!) It's not breaking out as it use to in the past. I no longer have to deal with those painful pimoles. But I do notice surface zits. They are very micro and go away when I use my astringent or wash my face. I skipped my PMD treatment this past weekend due to weddings and graduation parties but I'm itching to do it this friday. I told a few of my close friends what had happened to me (explained why I went missing for 6 months). And they want to start the PMD treatment as well. It's helping so much with preventing the breakouts. I honestly feel like it's a God send. I didn't feel that way initially when starting my treatments but I'm finally beginning to see results. My marks have decreased significantly Probably 80% on my left cheek, and my stubborn right cheek has cleared up approximately 60%. That's a lot givem what I went through. I want to wait a few more months before I do this, but I'm going to put up a collage of how my face was then and how it is now (since the time I started breaking out). I will hopefully have updated pictures up this weekend

In regards to getting suction with the smaller discs... I had the same problem initially. They have improved the discs since April I think. Now we are able to push the discs down significantly so that the plastic suction cap sticks above it as opposed to having the discs stick out of it. Try pushing it down with your thumb. If that doesn't work, I would try not tightening the plastic cap fully so that the disc meets it equally at the rim. Hope that makes sense!

[hopeful87.]

Hello All,

I wanted to update this thing (mainly for my future reference)

Currently, my face is still doing a lot better than it had in the past. So thankful for that. I am getting bouts of acne here and there. But never to scare me. They go away as fast as they come. I missed 2 sessions of PMD due to my family forcing me to go out with them. I don't wear makeup for 3 days after I do my PMD in fear of messing with my overly sensitive skin but I've told my family that I'm not going out for the following 3 to 4 weekends and I'm all their's on weekdays. Hopefully they'll oblige with my request. I really love taking care of my face now. As I mentioned early, I broke up with small zit like bumps on the week of the 6th I believe. So I kind of upped my dosage of doxycycline back to 2 times a day as my dermatologist had done early on. I'll begin weaning off of it again during the month of July. So I'm upping my dosage for 2 weeks until the end of this month. And see how my face reacts to that. Then I'll come back down to once a day. And then to every other day. I'm hoping to be off of doxycycline by either the beginning or the end of August. I'll stay on Yaz until I figure out what to do about that. Yaz has caused me weight gain... hateeee that so much. I would like to consistently continue with my PMD as I had been in the past. I'm waiting for my skin to clear up enough so that I'm comfortable going out of the house without make up. Everyone has a few acne (no biggie). But my case left me with crazy marks everywhere. As soon as those fade enough to make me comfy, I'll go out without makeup. My sister actually wants me to start doing microdermabrasion on her face as well. She really like how much my skin is improving. I'm most importantly happy with how the pmd kit is smoothing out my rolling scars. Ok that's my vent session for today. I want to post pictures up soon. Just so I can track how much progress I've made

[psych0sis]

Nice, we would love to see your progress, keep us posted!

[hopeful87.]

Hi everyone,

These pictures are from July 10. I just did my PMD/M2 today so my skin is really red. I thought I would post what I had from this month at least. Don't think 20 days is gonna make a difference. So here's my progress. Please pray for me because my left and red cheek each broke out with like 10 pimples each... I think it's because I haven't had water and sleep as I should. I've also been in bed rest for 2 weeks due to a sprained ankle.

The scab on my lower right cheek is from PMD and is gone now.

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[HappyCloud]

Wow, what an amazing change! And that's taken around 6 months.

I'm suffering from red marks just like yours, and it's been around 2 and a half months since I started treatment (currently no active inflammatory acne thanks to 100mg Doxycycline and 0.1 Differin every night ).

So hopefully that means my face will look great in around 3 months. (: That's something to look forward to. Only thing is, I'm only on the Differin to help with the marks, not all this other stuff you're doing. :S Well, I guess I'll hope for the best. And good luck to you too!

[hopeful87.]

Wow, what an amazing change! And that's taken around 6 months.

I'm suffering from red marks just like yours, and it's been around 2 and a half months since I started treatment (currently no active inflammatory acne thanks to 100mg Doxycycline and 0.1 Differin every night ).

So hopefully that means my face will look great in around 3 months. (: That's something to look forward to. Only thing is, I'm only on the Differin to help with the marks, not all this other stuff you're doing. :S Well, I guess I'll hope for the best. And good luck to you too!

Thank you! I'm getting there, little by little. I've been on doxycycline for 8 months. I can't wait to get off... it's causing me random stomach pain and indigestion. I still break out here and there... feels like this is a never ending story. I was on .1 Differin but I requested to be bumped up to .5 and it's helped a ton with the marks. I'm also using an AHA (m2 20% serum). The M2 makes my skin peel more than Differin does. I love it! It burns a little when I apply it but it's definitely worth it.

No one deserves to suffer the way we have. I'll pray that you're ailments go away soon

[hopeful87.]

Bad news...

My acne is coming backkk!! NOOO!!!! :'( I just want to cry. I think I've become antibtioic resistanct. Or at least for Doxycyline. I've been on it once a day for the past 3 months I think? I have a deep pimple on my chin that hurts a lot and hasn't come up yet. I am healing from 3 other pimples on my troublesome right cheek. And I see small little inflamed pimples on my left cheek. My heart is aching from this. I don't want to go back to the severe reaction I had 10 months ago! I don't I don't I don't!!! :'(

I'm going to see a dermatologist today. See what he recommends for me to do. I don't want to go on accutane. I don't want to deal with gut flora issues. I just want this to be over.

I really need to pull myself together. I'm going to continue to do my microdermabrasion tonight but I will skip over the active pimples I have on my face. I just want to continue the PMD sessions because it's helped give me my skin texture and color back. Not entirely, but at least enough for me to say that it works (gradually).

I just hope the doctor doesn't say Accutane. I heard so many awful things about it. And I'm already sensitive to any medication. God knows what state my liver's in. Having a bunch of yogurt and water from now on. Neeed to recover my stomach bacteria. And need to regain some good bacteria in my stomach. Antibiotics are never the solution. I'm upset for convincing myself that staying on them for so long was remotely helpful. I shouldn't give up hope now. God willing this will not continue on for years... I've even started working out. I have to be doing something right.

I think i'll stop wearing makeup unless it's absolutely necessary. I just hate getting awkward stares at work. But if it'll help me. I'll do it.

Wish me luck today

[Ham84]

Hey hopeful87.,

I'm really sorry to hear that. My derm told me if your acne keeps coming back, then doxy can only be considered a short term solution. As you already know my acne came back within a month after I stopped using doxy in May/June. I'm on doxy again now, but I have 4 angry inflamed pimples that are very deep and haven't come to a head.

So, what to do? You know, I always thought hyperpigmentation was worse than active acne. I forgot how awful acne is. It hurts and it's difficult to cover up.

You're taking doxy once a day and you use a different kind of Differin. Maybe your body reacts negatively to the changes.

How's your liquid intake? Keep the stress level to a miminum. God, hearing all this, I'm as frustrated as you, but I'll tell you this, there's no way your skin will be as bad as back then. You have come a long way and you now know the do's and the don'ts.

Keep us updated!

Take care

Edited by Ham84, 06 August 2011 - 05:07 AM.

[hopeful87.]

Ham... You're right. I'm not sure what the deal is. I had a derm appointment yesterday. I had 4 doctors see me in one tiny room. I guess they were residents that were doing their rotations? who knows. But the new derm say me. He was really strict. He didn't say much to me. Other than asking me why I hadn't gone on Accutane and why I want to get off of doxycyline. So one of the residents came back and said that they want to try spironolactone on me. They also gave me azelaic acid and tazorac. Doctor said that there's a chance for an initial breakout. I'm so ready to give up hope. I've attached new pictures. The thing is. I just started my period today. I usually break out a week before my period. So I know it's hormones. HOWEVER. the doctor's didn't even check my hormone levels and just went ahead and prescribed me spironolactone. I thought that this was just carelessness on their part. So i'm going to schedule another docs appt with my regular MD and have her do a physical along with blood work to see if I even need to take spiro. If my hormones seem normal. I'll wean off of doxy slowly and continue what I have been doing. They want me to stop the microdermabrasion as well. I don't know why because that's the thing that has helped me most. I'm so confused and lost. I don't know what to do. And I'm too scared to start tazorac because I can't stand another breakout. Not like the one before (God forbid I ever have to live with that again). I've been working regularly, drinking tons of water, have yogurt and oatmeal every morning and sometimes at night when I'm craving it. I'm doing everything in my power. And YAZ should have done something to calm my hormones down. I'll be more satisfied after I get results from the blood work. I was told to go cold turkey on doxy and just stop it. For the time being spironolactone interacts with yaz so they haven't given me that yet. I'll continue to wean off of doxy until I get my blood results back.

Wish me luck

Here are some updated pictures. Not that bad but enough to alarm me :\

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Edited by hopeful87., 06 August 2011 - 09:16 PM.

[Eradorael]

Ham... You're right. I'm not sure what the deal is. I had a derm appointment yesterday. I had 4 doctors see me in one tiny room. I guess they were residents that were doing their rotations? who knows. But the new derm say me. He was really strict. He didn't say much to me. Other than asking me why I hadn't gone on Accutane and why I want to get off of doxycyline. So one of the residents came back and said that they want to try spironolactone on me. They also gave me azelaic acid and tazorac. Doctor said that there's a chance for an initial breakout. I'm so ready to give up hope. I've attached new pictures. The thing is. I just started my period today. I usually break out a week before my period. So I know it's hormones. HOWEVER. the doctor's didn't even check my hormone levels and just went ahead and prescribed me spironolactone. I thought that this was just carelessness on their part. So i'm going to schedule another docs appt with my regular MD and have her do a physical along with blood work to see if I even need to take spiro. If my hormones seem normal. I'll wean off of doxy slowly and continue what I have been doing. They want me to stop the microdermabrasion as well. I don't know why because that's the thing that has helped me most. I'm so confused and lost. I don't know what to do. And I'm too scared to start tazorac because I can't stand another breakout. Not like the one before (God forbid I ever have to live with that again). I've been working regularly, drinking tons of water, have yogurt and oatmeal every morning and sometimes at night when I'm craving it. I'm doing everything in my power. And YAZ should have done something to calm my hormones down. I'll be more satisfied after I get results from the blood work. I was told to go cold turkey on doxy and just stop it. For the time being spironolactone interacts with yaz so they haven't given me that yet. I'll continue to wean off of doxy until I get my blood results back.

Wish me luck

Here are some updated pictures. Not that bad but enough to alarm me :\

You look amazing and I'm really impressed with your diligence in getting rid of the PIH. I'm certain you will continue to improve. Having a change in doctors and a different approach can be scary, and you always have to be your own advocate so I think it is wise that you made an appointment with your regular MD to get more information.

In addition, I wanted to post in regards to going on spiro, in the hopes to ease your mind. Spironolactone is an androgen antagonist, and you do not have to have a hormonal imbalance in order for it to be effective in reducing break-outs. It could be that you have simply become more sensitive to androgens (receptor upregulation) over time and that this eventually lead to the the unwanted skin-response.

I had persistent acne that left me with mild scars for about 5 years before I switched dermatologists (tried several antibiotics, many retiniods, yaz, ect). She immediately put me on spiro. In the past year I have only had about 3 break-outs and spiro is the only acne-treatment I have consistently used during this time. Even better, I havn't developed a single new scar. Its truly been amazing. I get regular potassium tests (spiro is a K+ sparing diuretic) to make sure I'm doing okay and everything has come back normal.

That said, be your own advocate and get all the information you need to feel comfortable with the new regimen. You are doing so amazing thus far!

Edited by Eradorael, 14 August 2011 - 12:32 AM.

[Ham84]

Hey there Hopeful87.!

Your skin must have improved alot by now.


Come back and feed us some updates girl.