Yeh, i went in and asked for a letter to see him. I had no idea you could get it on the NHS, as my doctor said i wouldn't be able to but Dr Chu said i was able to, which made me trust him even more.

I think i had to wait 3/4 months before I saw him. My consultation with him was Jan last year and then I had to wait till May for my first roller.

Brokeninside, I'm sorry to hear you've not seen much improvement as of yet. I'm also going to Dr Chu in Hammersmith for my dermarolling, and so far during each of my two sessions I've had TCA cross performed on about 10 or so scars on each cheek immediately after having my dermarolling done. Perhaps you could ask Dr Chu at your next appointment if that would be an option for you?

I have my next dermarolling session scheduled for March as well, (it'll be my 3rd) and so far I've seen a small improvement in my scarring, but nothing really major. Where I've had the TCA cross performed, however, the scars have improved slightly more with them becoming shallower/smaller in diameter.

I recall speaking to one of the nurses about how many dermarolling sessions are typically necessary, and she said that really it varies according to each individual but that some will need up to 6 or more. I'm really hoping that after my 3rd, I'll have made a bit more progress so I can judge whether it's worth continuing with. I'm also hoping that after adding oral vitamins, vitamin C serum and LEDs that I'll see better results, but I know not to get my hopes up too much.

I wish you all the best, and hope you begin to see some better results soon.

Ok, thanks for the information. I think I will see what my GP says.

There is a clinic near me which does dermarolling, but I don't know what they charge, if it is too much then I will probably do it myself.

Thanks sixfeetunder. Roughly, how bad is your scarring?

What type of scarring is Dr Chu performing the TCA on, as i imagine they will be the ones that i will have treated with TCA.

Good luck to you as well.

Interesting watch there Eric, he seems very pro the dermaroller. One things I was unsure of though, is that he said it should take about 15-20 mins to roll each cheek, should it really take that long?

yea, i thought that was kinda long too.. but it actually sounds about right if you take your time and make sure to roll all areas and roll going at all 4 angles..

Wow, thats scarry about the vitamin A!!

So it's been about a week since my first roll. My smaller scars seem to be less noticeable. No big changes yet though.

Lamarr: How long or after how many sessions did you really start seeing big improvement? THX!

Things like this are becoming very vague in my mind now, i would say about 3 sessions, but it wasn't until i started using individual needling that i got the best of my results...

 

ok, thanks... well, its been about 4 weeks now since my first roll and i gotta say 2 scars i had near my chin that were actually pretty deep seem to be almost completely flat!! The other scars are still pretty much the same, which is weird cuz those were my 2 deepest.

and how did you stop your spontaneous scaring ?

If it is caused by accutane then avoiding topical or high dose oral vitamin A and omega 3 acids will help stop the scarring. If you are getting spontaneous scarring even when not using these things then i recommend an anti histamine.

 

holy crap, omega 3 as well?? that worries me cuz i take up to 4g of omega 3 fish oil everyday for my heart.. i havnt noticed anything from it though. will this effect everyone who has taken accutane? i took a pretty high dose about 4 years ago... if stopping omega 3 sups is a must, do you know if krill oil will be ok to take instead? i did however stop taking my multi vitamin since it had 10,000iu of vitamin a in it.

Thanks sixfeetunder. Roughly, how bad is your scarring?

What type of scarring is Dr Chu performing the TCA on, as i imagine they will be the ones that i will have treated with TCA.

Good luck to you as well.

I really to struggle to say how severe my scarring is, to be perfectly honest. At a guess, I would say it's moderate... but then that's mostly because although many of my scars aren't necessarily particularly deep, they're very widespread. Dr Chu seemed to think I have a mixture of boxcar and rolling scars, and then I have some deeper icepicks on my cheeks, and an overall 'orange peel' type texture due to enlarged pores. I also have some raised scarring on the sides of my chin.

He performs the TCA cross on the deeper (what look to me like ice pick), scars on my cheeks. Although obviously still there, they definately have improved afer the TCA. It's still too early to judge what effect the second round of TCA + dermarolling has had, as it's still not even been a week since it was carried out, but I'll definately try to update with my progress if anyone's interested.

Perhaps it's worth asking him about subscision too, if there are any particularly deep or isolated scars which don't seem to be responding to the dermarolling?

All the best.

Im going to start doing needling myself...Are these good to buy??

http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com/-...hort/Detail.bok

Im getting a bit disheartened about my dermaroller treatments. I had my 3rd one in late Dec and I still havent seen a huge improvement.

I have a good diet, take vitamins, use LEDs and use terproline but one side of my face just looks scarred and horrible still.

Im having my 4th in March and I can't wait. If i dont see improvements after that one then i dont think this will work for me at all.

Sorry for being so negative, of course I am really hoping that my scarring fades. But im not sure it will.

However, my scarring is not mild at all lots of ice picks and pock marks, id say mine is severe.

It can take up to 10 months to see improvement. Do you have any pictures of your scarring, or something to compare it to?

 

I dont have any pictures myself but Dr Chu (having my DR at hammersmith) has taken photos. I started my treatment in May, 2nd treatment in September and third 2 weeks ago. So I am 9 months through. And I kinda hoped there would be more filling in.

Lamarr- Is there any derms that perform needling? I just dont have the confidence in myself to do it.

Dr Chu said that when dermaroller is up, he might treat some of the other scars with TCA Cross?

Whats peoples thoughts on that?

I might take some photos 2mrw and just keep them and take some more come early March, before my fourth Dermaroller.

How many treatments have people usually received when their derm or themselves have stopped rolling. ( I know the obvious answer is when the scarring is gone but just anything to make me feel a little better)

Thanks all

 

TCA cross performed by Dr Chu is a very good procedure. I would let him try that if you aren't confident doing the needling yourself. Sorry i don't know anyone in the UK practising needling, which is a shame....

What LED device are you using and how are you using them?

and how did you stop your spontaneous scaring ?

If it is caused by accutane then avoiding topical or high dose oral vitamin A and omega 3 acids will help stop the scarring. If you are getting spontaneous scarring even when not using these things then i recommend an anti histamine.

 

holy crap, omega 3 as well?? that worries me cuz i take up to 4g of omega 3 fish oil everyday for my heart.. i havnt noticed anything from it though. will this effect everyone who has taken accutane? i took a pretty high dose about 4 years ago... if stopping omega 3 sups is a must, do you know if krill oil will be ok to take instead? i did however stop taking my multi vitamin since it had 10,000iu of vitamin a in it.

 

In all honesty bro i really think the health benefits of high doses of omega 3 is over rated anyway....Now having said that, if you have no other side effects from accutane (i'm talking rosacea, joint pain, muscle soreness, depression ocd etc) then i wouldn't worry about these things, especially if you aren't noticing any spontaneous scarring. My recommendation is more for people who are dealing with spontaneous scarring already (believe me it is more than you think).

If you have no other side effects from accutane then don't worry to much bro, 4g is ALOT though. What heart problems do you have may i ask?

As i said don't worry to much and if the oils are helping you in other ways then why change?

Im going to start doing needling myself...Are these good to buy??

http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com/-...hort/Detail.bok

They look OK, at 8mm however you are going to have to ensure you use no more than about half of the length of the needle, which can be tricky when your getting to grips with the needling.

Im going to start doing needling myself...Are these good to buy??

http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com/-...hort/Detail.bok

They look OK, at 8mm however you are going to have to ensure you use no more than about half of the length of the needle, which can be tricky when your getting to grips with the needling.

 

Ok thanks...Any recomendations for buying needles?

I recommend the BD Micro-Fine Pen Needle 31 G x 5mm.

Does anyone prepare the skin with anything OTHER than Hibiscrub? I'm looking for an alternate method since Hibiscrub is not readily available in the U.S.

I asked on another post if you can just wash the face, but I assume this creates a higher chance for infection.

After I get my Terproline I'm ready to start needling. I can't wait !

and how did you stop your spontaneous scaring ?

If it is caused by accutane then avoiding topical or high dose oral vitamin A and omega 3 acids will help stop the scarring. If you are getting spontaneous scarring even when not using these things then i recommend an anti histamine.

 

How often do you recommend taking an anti histamine for?

Good life do you have spontaneous scarring from accutane? What i mean by this is where scars form over night where there was previously no injury?

I only recommend the anti histamine in cases like that. 1 24hr anti hitamine per day at night, there are many different brands.

I have a couple of scars on my face, that are different to the rest of my acne scarring. The best way I can describe is that they are like little scratches, like a fingernail mark.

I took roaccutane about 5 years ago.

For anyone who has done needling on small marks.. do you need to point the needle in at a certain angle? Is there a technique to it?

Lamarr - http://www.theledman.net/660880dual.htm . These are the LEDs im using. Use the the yellow for five min and the red for 5 mins.

Do you have one unit with 120 leds mixed 660 (red)/880 (infrared) and one unit with 120 leds of the yellow leds?

With the above i recommend 15 minutes over the entire face for the red/infra red and 5 minutes for the entire face for the 120 yellow device.

You just hold them to the skin then slowly move them over the surface for the entire time.

For anyone who has done needling on small marks.. do you need to point the needle in at a certain angle? Is there a technique to it?

Go in at whatever angle you like, the more the better. Just don't go straight (i.e. perpedicular) into the skin. The 5mm length of the needles is quite long so you don't want to go straight in unless you are treating the cheeks then you will probably be ok....

I have a couple of scars on my face, that are different to the rest of my acne scarring. The best way I can describe is that they are like little scratches, like a fingernail mark.

I took roaccutane about 5 years ago.

Should I go for the anti histamine lamarr? Or should I just keep an eye on it for a while?

Well It sounds like you may of suffered from it at some point, it doesn't mean they are still forming though....

Type in AMVC scarring into google. Dr Chu had never heard of it, but when i showed him the condition he agreed that was probably what i had. He described them as 'sausages' lol. It may no longer be active in yourself so just keep an eye on it.

and how did you stop your spontaneous scaring ?

If it is caused by accutane then avoiding topical or high dose oral vitamin A and omega 3 acids will help stop the scarring. If you are getting spontaneous scarring even when not using these things then i recommend an anti histamine.

 

holy crap, omega 3 as well?? that worries me cuz i take up to 4g of omega 3 fish oil everyday for my heart.. i havnt noticed anything from it though. will this effect everyone who has taken accutane? i took a pretty high dose about 4 years ago... if stopping omega 3 sups is a must, do you know if krill oil will be ok to take instead? i did however stop taking my multi vitamin since it had 10,000iu of vitamin a in it.

 

In all honesty bro i really think the health benefits of high doses of omega 3 is over rated anyway....Now having said that, if you have no other side effects from accutane (i'm talking rosacea, joint pain, muscle soreness, depression ocd etc) then i wouldn't worry about these things, especially if you aren't noticing any spontaneous scarring. My recommendation is more for people who are dealing with spontaneous scarring already (believe me it is more than you think).

If you have no other side effects from accutane then don't worry to much bro, 4g is ALOT though. What heart problems do you have may i ask?

As i said don't worry to much and if the oils are helping you in other ways then why change?

 

hey lamarr, yea i know, 4g is quite a bit, i have high LDL cholesterol. My doctor recommends I take 4g a day to help with my heart and a product called lipid stabil. im not sure if i have amvc. i think it might be in my head... are these scars really pronounced? would i know for sure if i had it? i never really had any of the other symptoms from accutane that you describe... i just feel like my skin doesnt heal anywhere near as well as it did before i went on accutane...

Funny you should metnion the cholesterol thing.... I have familia hypercholestemia (spelling). Have tried statins but i don't like how they make me feel. I will need to start on something before i hit 30 though.

They aren't really pronounced but they are very unusual and certainly noticible to yourself and others close up.

Have you tried curcumin for your cholesterol? Do the fish oils even alter your LDL cholesterol?