3 replies to this topic

[Njmom]

Hello! This is my first time posting and Im so nervous. Im in my 40s, always acne prone, cystic too. I have has a cyst of my cheek for about 2 months. It grows, then calms, but wont go away. Feels like a small grape/large pea under skin.
i know id end up ripping it open, so today i went to a new derm and she injected 1 mg of cortisione (kenalog) to shrink it. I just had it done today. However I'm reading online my skin could very well dimple/dent as a side effect...now I'm a extremely worried and mad at myself.

I'm wondering
1. Has anyone had the injections and their skin didnt dent/fall in?
2. If it does dent, will it get better in time?
3. Did I make the biggest mistake ever?
4. Is there anything I can do to help it?

Thanks, in advance, for any insight or suggestions. I'm so nervous.
NJ mom

[JennyLG]

Hi NJ mom! I've been getting those types of injections since September and have never had any major issues at all. If anything, they are like magic for reducing the size of cysts. Within 6-10 hours of getting it, the spot is generally flat. Within 2 days, all redness is gone (as long as I don't pick at it!) and it's totally clear. I wouldn't worry about it being a mistake at all.

1. My skin has only "dented" once, it was a spot on my chin that had an abnormally large inflamed cyst and she put a LOT of cortisone in there. After about a week, the skin kind of sunk in a little, but only a tiny spot where the injection had been. They call it "atrophy" and within another month all of the tissue had filled back in. It really wasn't a huge concern for me, it was hardly noticeable and was MUCH better than the big spot that had been there! But I understand your concern.

2. Yes, the spot should fill back in like normal, or at least mine did!

3. No, I don't think so

4. I would just leave it alone. The cortisone will help reduce the swelling and it will just take some time to heal. I've found that the less I mess with those spots, the better. The cortisone and your skin's natural reaction to the injection will take care of it.

I hope that helps! I really wouldn't be nervous, I've had this done a lot and it's actually very helpful.

[Green Gables]

A little bit of atrophy from a cortisone shot is more likely to heal than an acne scar, speaking from experience

[shraddhaji]

Okay so I wanted to post a happy story to make people feel hopeful. I us to get cortisone shots for my acne cysts when I was suffering from acne. My doctor use to tell me to be very careful who you go to to get these shots because they can atrophy. I never had any problems when I got them done. At the time we didn't have internet and also later on I just never really understood the risks. 

 

Well recently I went through a very traumatic experience and had a lot of stress and I am perimenopause so I started to break out in cysts again. I had two on my face not super bad but big enough that they were bothering me. I went to another dermatologist and asked him if he would inject them. I asked him about atrophy and he said well it can happen but it’s only happen once for him. I asked if how much do you use and do you dilute it with saline. He said he uses .1 cc and yes he dilutes it (I honestly don’t believe it makes it safer if you do this-it can happen to any doctor). I went ahead and did it not really worried that anything would happen. 

 

Well after a week the cyst went down but now it was atrophying. By the way I had it on my cheek where all can see. I started to freak out and went to my other derma who said why didn't you come to me? He started to do saline injections and it really didn't seem to be doing much. I was freaking out to the point I was obsessing about it, not eating and looking every where on the internet for into. This also freak me out because I was hearing so many horror stories and not many successes. I really wish I had realized how bad this can be because if I had I would have dealt with the darn cyst. Any way I just had my third saline shot. The night of the shot it looked good of course because it was filled up. The next day it looked even more indent then the day I had the saline shot! I really went over the edge then. The next day, which is today, I noticed it actually looked much better and right now it looks better then it has since it all happened.  I feel very hopeful right now and after research I decided I would get it filled in even though it could still be healing. I decided I just can’t wait for it to fill in but now I think I can wait if it stays like this. I have been massaging it with Vi-c and other collagen products. I will keep you posted but I really feel good about it right now and just imagine it  filling up. No matter what I think fillers are the way to go. Just think if it takes from 1 month to a year to fill in you might as was well have it filled in so you can have a peace of mind. I will NEVER have a cortisone shot any where on my body!! It just isn”t worth the risk!!