3 replies to this topic

[SteB193]

Hi, guys!


I'm Steven, 18, and I am from Seattle, WA.



Well, let me just start out by sharing my story.


July 26th 2008: I saw my first ever dermatologist because I had a few zits that I wanted to clear up. Some on my back, face, etc. Not too bad. My dermatologist (a good one, too) put m on a high dosage of Accutane. However, my body weight was too low, and the dosage ruined me.
my face BLEW up, no joke. My acne was SO bad, that my dermatologist had no answers, she had never seen anything like it. I skipped the first six months of my sophomore year out of pure shame. I contemplated suicide numerous times.

Today, 1/23/2012, I am dealing with the scars that are left behind. Yes, all these years later I am STILL devastated. My skin has gotten much better, but there are still red, dark marks, and discoloration that are noticeable.
I've had four IPL laser treaments' to help, they did nothing. I use Clinique products, and and array of others. Still, not much hope.

I AM, dedicated, and will not give up, in finding clear(er) skin in my near-future.

Let me know of your scar stories, I'd like to get some insight.



Have a nice day!



Steven

[daise2300]

Did you look into Fraxel Repair? I am dealing with indents that are not very deep.. it sucks! did you end up finishing the course of acutane? if so, did your scarring get better after getting off of it?

[LindyG]

Hi Steven

Sorry to hear you're having a hard time, I went through the same with scarring and it's not easy.

I'm in the UK, and so terminology may be different, as I'm not sure what an IPL laser is - however, I had CO2 laser resurfacing at age 24 to help with my scarring. It was carried out under general anaesthetic and painful, but it did massively improve my scars. Don't get me wrong, my skin is by no means perfect, but it's better than it was and so I'd recommend this treatment to others who hate their scars.

Afterward it involves putting wet surgical dressings on your face every 4 hours (had to set my alarm through the night!) for two weeks, on top of a thick layer of petroleum jelly, and severe redness remains for 3-4 months. You may need to wear make up to disguise the redness as it's very bad to begin with, so not sure how you'd feel about that. Also, no sunshine at all, and there is a chance of uneven pigmentation after healing (which I do have) but this doesn't really bother me.

Hope this helps x

[handmedown]

LindyG, on 23 February 2012 - 06:25 PM, said:

I'm in the UK, and so terminology may be different, as I'm not sure what an IPL laser is - however, I had CO2 laser resurfacing at age 24 to help with my scarring.

Hi Lindy, I have minor hypertrophic and rolling scars on my back from previous bacne... would C02 laser resurfacing help with this? Also did you get that done on the NHS in the UK or did you pay? Also where and how much if not on the NHS.

Thanks!

Ben.