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wow thats really good news..i guess boxcars are the ones that don't improve much,,anyway i'm seeing Dr. Y this November, so he'll recommend the best treatment i'm sure..i gotta say i don't know him yet, but just by seeing peoples result from him gives me confidence in his work,,the only person who i read wasn't satisfied from a puch elevation from Dr. y was monsoon, witch kinda surprised me because i have not heard any negative results from him
Thanks everyone for your thoughts, hopes, and support!!
I am still in hope that work does let me off. Only a week left and still no word!! I still have to buy a plane ticket and thank goodness it isn't rising in price.
I am glad that I did the punch floats. I had a few boxscar types done on my upper cheeks and they turned out very well for those of who wondered. Only a few did not reach totaly to the surface. My deepest ones are improved but I think dermabrasion could possibly even them out. The majority of them are surfaced with new scar tissue in it's place and the dermabrasion by Dr. Y will smoothen them. I recommend the punches. Worked great on boxscar and pits.
I'm starting to really stress out....i need to calm down (DEEP BREATH) anyway.... am i correct in thinking that before getting the dermabrasion you are prescribed medication, incase of infection, and cold osres etc.... well i stay in the United Kingdom so would Dr Yarborough write out a prescrition for me and send it to me, and i would then give it to my local chemists?
Also is it safe enough to fly for 12 hours on a plane after having had dermabrasion the week before? due to cabin pressure, etc?
Poe would you say that you have noticed a HUGE difference in your skin now? has the dermabrasion resulted in any new scars at all? I must say in your sig, your skin looks very beautiful!
Thanks
HI Miss Shady. I think it's very normal to be be nervous before a dermabrasion. in fact, I think it would be worrysome if you weren't nervous because it would mean that you weren't fully comrehending the seriousness of this procedure. It is a big deal and it is serious. This is why I believe I would never have this done by anyone other than Dr. Y, at this point. BUT, if you go with Dr. Y, you will be placing yourself in the best of the best of hands. He is the most experienced person on the planet for this procedure and he has an unbelievable track record. I have all of the confidence that you will be pleased with the results. I think the only way someone would be usatisfied is if one were to go in with unreasonable expectations. He can't erase scars, but I believe that he can improve them in a more effective and safer way than anyone else out there to date. And he's a wonderful person to work with-he actually listens to you instead of copping an attitude like he's doing you a favor even to treat you (as so many other Drs do). Also, with respect the hyperpigmentation, if you have fair skin with ruddy, pinkish undertones (we Americans always imagine natives of Scotland as having this sort of coloring, so I apologize if I'm just jumping to a conclusion here), then your skin should bounce back to it's normal skin tone pretty quickly. Darker skin or skin with yellowish undertones may take a bit longer (I have fair skin with yellowish undertones and I was back to about normal in about 3 weeks) Remember, Monsoon has asian skin which is more likely to stay red or splotchy for longer than caucasian skin. Yes, he prescribes three medicines and he can either send you a paper prescription that you can take to your pharmacy or he can call them in to them directly. Also, I don't think that the flight should be a problem a week later. The only thing you may need to be careful about is keeping your skin moist, since airplanes are so dehydrating. You may just have to make more trips to the bathroom than usual to apply your vaseline or aquaphor. Good luck to you.
MOnsoon, I'm so sorry to hear that you're feeling down. I have to say, from your before and after pics which I saw a while ago, I would say that your skin looks greatly improved. I knwo for me that I was really able to see the improvement after the redness had subsided (or when I toned down the redness with makeup). Since you have Asian skin, which stays redder for longer, and since you are a guy and probably don't wear make-up, perhaps you are just unable at this point to see the real improvement because of the residual redness. In any case, if you feel as discouraged as you sound, I hope you call Dr. Yarborough. I'm sure he'd want to hear your concerns and could recommend a course of action, perhaps the tri-luma cream that Poe has had such success with. Please keep us updated with your progress.
--leo
Miss Shady,
As I flew in from another country I can tell you getting the medications is no trouble. The only one you have to try and get in your own country is the one for Cold Sores, can't remember the name becuase you take it two days prior. Your local doctor can prescribe this for you but you will need to see him/her to get this as Doctor Y can't get you the drugs in a foreign country. I just took the print out of the drugs needed to my local doctor with the scheduled surgery date and he gave me the script.
The other two - a steriod and the sleeping pills if you request the scripts are flown in to Wallgreens and there is one across the road from where the dermabrasion is performed if you just go in there and say your name the script is ready - but you have to let Cassandra know you want them flown in. With these two you can actually even get them on the morning of the surgery.
As for the flying I flew 27 hours (it is not this far to Australia) but was doing the cheapest fair possible after 10 days and had no problems, aside from telling people I had spent too much time in the sun he he he
PS Really well said Leo --- she is spot on. I personally feel so much better. The only small thing I would add is if you are a guy you have to protect your skin from the sun and wearing sun screen all the time looks rather oily so in my opinion you just have to grit your teeth and wear the make up.
yeah i know wha you mean about the sun care, dr.y stressed that a good bit, i am from Puerto Rico so you know sun is a big deal here, anyways i will be spending my recovery months 2-3 months in the states, probably in florida with my dad.
I will have the derma probably done in march along with the floats.
I really don't know if whta i have are boxcars but they are like smooth indentation rounded in shape, not too deep but looks like a shallow chicken pox scar.
I'm afraid that derma may change skin texture, my skin is very soft and smooth but i do have scars, will my texture change?? bad or good?
Amnesiac-- Your skin texture will improve. I firmly believe that this is what separates mechanical resurfacing from laser resurfacing, even chemical resurfacing. It all "clicked" when I was reading a few quotes from Yarborough, and he explained the difference (that he sees) between dermabrasion and CO2--one is a burn injury, the other is a prolonged scrape. We've all scraped up our knees, and have no marks to show for it. But I know that I've got spots on my arms from a grease splatter that have been there for... Oh, a year a half now. He says that a dermabrasion can be healed from much better... Just go take a look at misty's pics. (Poor Misty! I hope things settle down for her!)
(rereading this, I know there's something I can clarify... A burn injury like the kind inflicted by the CO2 laser will evaporate layers of your skin, sure... But the temperatures to which that skin has been exposed are terrible. It's not as clean a procedure as the surgeons make it out to be. The swelling is horrific, the oozing.. Reread a few posts on CO2 resurfacing. You'll see that many of these peopel describe their skin texture as "waxy" or "ruined.")
Poe,
I am glad to hear that you are more comfortable with your face. I even feel more at ease after the punches... I don't feel like people are going to stare at my skin for the holes...b/c they are just about gone!
I am hoping that I will only have to do this this one time... that is why I had as many punches as Dr. Y would agree with to do. And it is not that I have severe scars (mild-moderate) but they were mostly pitted type and dermabrasion alone would not have done what has already turned out.
And it would be great to go out without make-up. I am such a makeup closet freak and would love to let my skin breath!!
I will probably freak out when people stare at me in the airport/plane. I am staying the minimum time of 3 nights so I will wear the "mask" home. What does it look like guys? A Jason mask or more phantom of the oprah?
Amnesiac-- Your skin texture will improve. I firmly believe that this is what separates mechanical resurfacing from laser resurfacing, even chemical resurfacing. It all "clicked" when I was reading a few quotes from Yarborough, and he explained the difference (that he sees) between dermabrasion and CO2--one is a burn injury, the other is a prolonged scrape.
Sunblock,
Glad you feel more at ease just after the punches! How long does the discoloration take to fade, and is it easily covered with makeup? I can't wait for punches, but of course it has to be scheduled within 8 weeks of the dermabrasion, so I have to wait until May.
Thanks! I'm happy for everyone who's headed to NO soon and look forward to hearing about it.
Sunblock, how did you know which scars to have punch floats on? Dr. Y said I didn't need punch floats, but maybe my camera didn't reveal enough for him to make an accurate assessment. I can't discern whether I have rolling or boxcar (pitted), and Dr. Y does not use rolling or boxcar terminology when describing scars. He said I had the ideal scars for dermabrasion...depressed, somewhat shallow, and that I would receive significant improvement, but not perfection. Can you describe your "pitted" scars...are they shallow, only seen in certain light, width, ....etc...I'm scheduled for derm. Dec 28; This is a major expense for me, so I need to get the most bang for my buck. If punch floats are worthwhile for me, I want them done before dermabrasion. Thanks for your input and good luck!
Wildcard,
I know you didn't ask me, but I can offer a little based on my consult with Dr. Y. From what I can tell, the best ones to float are small round pitted ones that are too deep for dermabrasion to reach. I'm no expert on the depth, but I'm guessing deeper than a mm or so.
I still have a bad complexion due to the darkness from the punches but when I approach akward lighting like before I can tell the improvement. My skin has no more craters. BUt the dark spots throw me off from time to time. As far as dermabrasion from animegirl's pics it seems it has taken the discoloration from her spots and in return having smoother one toned skin. I happen to be olive complexed though, like Poe. I still have a few small pin poked scars... very small like large pores but are from acne so I am hoping those will improve, they do not bother me much. I am pretty much filled in and waiting patiently. How long did anyone stay in New Orleans. I will probably break the record for the minimum amount of time needed to stay which is 3 nights.
Oh, and as far as what to punch, I alwayas examined my face and would count how many I needed and it was around 12-20, 20 being the hightest but I tried to keep money out as an issue. When Dr. Y looked at me he said he would do 20, I said that is exactly what I had in mind. That's just me though.
Hey Sunblock,
Thanks for replying to my PM. When I personally consulted with Dr. Yarborough, it was only a month and half after my bioalcamid injections. They had not fully settled down or encapsulated by my own collagen then so I think he assessed me at the time and said I did not need any punch floats. "What you have Dan is hills and valleys", he said. Now the good news is that the bioalcamid filled in my depressions where there really wasn't any scar tissue, just a loss of fat or collagen and I'm very happy about that. But as a poster (I think lonelyguy) said, where there is scar tissue..whether it be icepick or rolling, you must first break that scar tissue up and then use a filler...in my case with no subcision, the filler sort of pooled, and you can still see the scar there, although less deep.
Anyway, as I told you I pretty much had everything scheduled including my time off so I just went ahead with the dermabrasion and now recovering in my hotel room. The procedure as people have attested is not bad or painful at all so don't be nervous! I will be here in N.O. till next week so I might catch you in the office.
Good luck with your dermabrasion next week!
-Dan
Thanks Kooky, I am excited totally. I plan on bringing my laptop for entertainment while I recover. How long are you staying total? I am sure I will be raw after I am back home. Does anyone think I would be infecting myself in a plane after only 3 1/2 days? I just thought it was better for me to only stay the minimum b/c money will be spent alot this coming week.
Hope you like your results Kooky, happy healing.
