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I am loving how the punch floats are turning out. They are not all perfect but some have removed my scars completely. I'd have to estimate improvement at 65-75% even before dermabrasion. I'm really amazed at how one huge boxcar is GONE. I'm so glad I decided to do punch floats prior to dermabrasion. I'd recommend this technique to anyone. I'm going to try to post some post-punch pics tonight. My pre-punch/during punch pics are still in Dr Y's camera. Those will follow later once I get them back.
Pics! Finally! - These are my post-punch pics taken with a new Fuji S3000 camera. My pre-punch float pics are in Dr Y's camera and I hope those came out well. I'll post those when I get them back from him. I'll also have him take more pics with that same cam, in the same room, under same lighting.
http://home.maine.rr.com/saab/punchfloats/
Thanks to all of you who have posted your progress with your floats and dermabrasion; your experiences have calmed my fears, as I had a horrible dermabrasion experience years ago (by an inexperienced doc). I flew to see Dr. Y yesterday; you all are soooo right! He is such a sweetie, along w/his staff. I was very nervous when I arrived and they all put me at ease very quickly. I figured I would have to fly back home with tons of punch floats taped up but he said I only needed 4; the rest are "hills & valley" that will be improved by the procedure. While he was doing the floats I laughed to myself because I remembered reading that someone said it felt like he was sharpening a pencil on your face; that's EXACTLY how it felt!
I stayed at the Clarion Grand Boutique Hotel (cozy little place); Dr. Y said he has a patient that just had derma on Monday from Pittsburgh and is staying there also; I'm curious if it is someone from this board. I also saw someone in the office who had their 3rd day mask on and wondered if that was also someone from this board. He said he's had tons of patients from this site; he said he finds that quite amazing because he's never even touched a computer. I told him he's a legend and doesn't even know it!
I'm scheduled for derma on January 3rd; is anyone else going to be there around that time?
Thanks to all of you who have posted your progress with your floats and dermabrasion; your experiences have calmed my fears, as I had a horrible dermabrasion experience years ago (by an inexperienced doc).‚ I flew to see Dr. Y yesterday; you all are soooo right!‚ He is such a sweetie, along w/his staff.‚ I was very nervous when I arrived and they all put me at ease very quickly.‚ I figured I would have to fly back home with tons of punch floats taped up but he said I only needed 4; the rest are "hills & valley" that will be improved by the procedure.‚ While he was doing the floats I laughed to myself because I remembered reading that someone said it felt like he was sharpening a pencil on your face; that's EXACTLY how it felt!
I stayed at the Clarion Grand Boutique Hotel (cozy little place); Dr. Y said he has a patient that just had derma on Monday from Pittsburgh and is staying there also;‚ I'm curious if it is someone from this board.‚ I also saw someone in the office who had their 3rd day mask on and wondered if that was also someone from this board.‚ He said he's had tons of patients from this site; he said he finds that quite amazing because he's never even touched a computer.‚ I told him he's a legend and doesn't even know it!
I'm scheduled for derma on January 3rd; is anyone else going to be there around that time?
Ebby!you should have said hi or something. I am LeafsFan. I told this board that I was doing my dermabrasion on Mon Nov 29th. The dressing/bandages came off yesterday (Thurs Dec 2nd) and now I'm on the vaseline and shaving cream cleaning up phase. I agree with one of the other person about which part hurts the most: Cleaning hurts like hell. I actually like the mechanical grinding of the machine against the skin during dermabrasion
. Doesn't hurt at all. Even with the spray, it doesn't hurt. I noticed Cassandra was covering my nose holes when it was sprayed near my nose. I wondered if it's to prevent my inhaling in of the fridgiderm or the spray touching my sensitive nose holes. Anyhow, I held my breathe whenever it's sprayed in case I'm not supposed to inhale it.
Recovering has been very well. I just HATE the cleaning part. It hurts like heck! QUESTION: Can someone give me a detail way to clean pain-free? My face is still red but I see a lot of new skin coming out. The red blotchiness were abundant on Tuesday and Wednesday. Now only one red blotch. Cassandra told me some takes longer to heal than others. I have taken pictures of my progress every day even in between dressing changes. I don't mind looking at it.
Advice: take 2 extra strength tylenols for the cleaning/dressing change. It kills!
Cassandra and Dr. Yarborough are truly sweethearts. Dr. Y has such a kind demeanour that makes you want to hug him all the time. He smiles all the time. I'm a guy, so I didn't hug him. I hug Cassandra at the end of the whole procedure. Cassandra is an angel on earth. She is so sweet and polite. She gave me a bunch of square gauzes that I haven't touch on my portion of them. She also gave me samples of Eucerin, Dove, and other little stuff.
I have a lot of digital pictures but I don't have digital cam cables to upload my pics. I forgot to pack them. Once I get home, I'll upload before and after pictures. Dr. Y classify my scars as severe and damn, he has done a great job of making them disappear or lighten them.
Please pray for me for the evenness in tone and speedy recovery. I worry most now about the hyperpigmentation. Dr. Y told me to call him and he can prescribe something to apply on those spots, be it Tri-Luma cream or hydroquinone something or something else. He said to apply only to those hyperpigmented spots and NOT to the entire face.
Alright. Later all. I didn't do punch floats before the dermabrasion. Most of my scars were rolling scars anyhow.
Happy healing leafsfan!!!
You guys are all so lucky! i have to wait another 4 months until i get my dermabrasion by Dr Y, i am booked in for the 4th of April, and i just cant wait!!! 4mths seems like forever! its all i can think about i just pray that nothing goes wrong (ie, like Dr Y becomes ill, or dies or something) aaaargh!
>When you ask for advice on pain while washing, are you STILL in pain while >washing? or are you past that stage?
The pain was more painful when Cassandra was cleaning my face. Injured and brand new skin I guess. Right now I'm still in that stage although the pain diminishes as the days go by. I am still in a bit of pain while washing despite being very gentle. Maybe I'm doing something wrong:
1. Use the cosmetic pads (my mom gave me a 100-pack) to wipe the excess vaseline. NO PAIN HERE. 0 out of 10 on pain meter.
2. Put the sensitive skin shaving cream on dry gauze and move gently in a circular motion (as Cassandra suggested) to clean the area. Little pain here. Maybe a 3 out of 10.
3. Use the cosmetic pads or gauze to wipe away shaving cream on face. 2 out of 10.
4. In a shower, at a very low water pressure, shower down my face. LOTS O' PAIN. 8 out of 10.
5. Gently pat (no rubbing) down to dry my face but don't need to be completely dry.
6. Apply vaseline. Soothing... -10 out of 10 .
Step 4 is very owwy!
I'm asking for now how to clean off vaseline with little pain.
>Do they wash your hair? If not, are you able to wash your hair in your hotel >room or will the mask just not allow it?
The mask will not allow it. You are not to wash your hair until after the mask came off on the third day. I shaved my head very close before coming in because I don't want another thing to bother my mind. But you DON'T need to shave your head. A nearly shaved head has been my style for the past year.
>How about your hair growth? Any ingrowns? When can you shave again? That >is my biggest fear is ingrowns. I get them all the time now anyway. I have a >good bit of rolling scars, they are large gradual rolls and don't show up very well >in my pics but you can still see some of it.
I haven't shaved since Monday morning before the procedure. Lucky for me I am Asian, my facial hair don't go fast; so far I haven't shaved and I am okay with them. I don't know anything about ingrowns. I probably never had them.
>Any tips on comfort while recovering?
Take the medrol (the brand name one) as prescribed. Drink a lot of fluids. Water, apple juice, OJ, milk, yogurt. Your body needs fluid to recover quickly.
>What did you eat? Can you not open your mouth at all? too painful? too restricted?
I ate congee (rice soup) that my mom made. She had 4 big cups of them frozen and I take one cup for each day. I had to eat congee from a straw. Remember to bring large-width straws. Very helpful. Besides congee, I had this soft solid food called "banh gio". It's a Vietnamese food. I like them. I would suggest fries. Keep in mind that with the mask on, the opening of your mouth will be restricted. I had to look in the mirror while feeding myself with a small spoon of "banh gio". After the mask is off, eat whatever you want. Your mouth is now free to open.
Ebby!you should have said hi or something. I am LeafsFan. I told this board that I was doing my dermabrasion on Mon Nov 29th. The dressing/bandages came off yesterday (Thurs Dec 2nd) and now I'm on the vaseline and shaving cream cleaning up phase. I agree with one of the other person about which part hurts the most: Cleaning hurts like hell. I actually like the mechanical grinding of the machine against the skin during dermabrasion
Recovering has been very well. I just HATE the cleaning part. It hurts like heck! QUESTION: Can someone give me a detail way to clean pain-free? My face is still red but I see a lot of new skin coming out. The red blotchiness were abundant on Tuesday and Wednesday. Now only one red blotch. Cassandra told me some takes longer to heal than others. I have taken pictures of my progress every day even in between dressing changes. I don't mind looking at it.
Advice: take 2 extra strength tylenols for the cleaning/dressing change. It kills!
Cassandra and Dr. Yarborough are truly sweethearts. Dr. Y has such a kind demeanour that makes you want to hug him all the time. He smiles all the time. I'm a guy, so I didn't hug him. I hug Cassandra at the end of the whole procedure. Cassandra is an angel on earth. She is so sweet and polite. She gave me a bunch of square gauzes that I haven't touch on my portion of them. She also gave me samples of Eucerin, Dove, and other little stuff.
I have a lot of digital pictures but I don't have digital cam cables to upload my pics. I forgot to pack them. Once I get home, I'll upload before and after pictures. Dr. Y classify my scars as severe and damn, he has done a great job of making them disappear or lighten them.
Please pray for me for the evenness in tone and speedy recovery. I worry most now about the hyperpigmentation. Dr. Y told me to call him and he can prescribe something to apply on those spots, be it Tri-Luma cream or hydroquinone something or something else. He said to apply only to those hyperpigmented spots and NOT to the entire face.
Alright. Later all. I didn't do punch floats before the dermabrasion. Most of my scars were rolling scars anyhow.
Hi everyone. I've been AWOL for awhile, trying to shift focus away from my scars. But I've been keeoing up with everyone's stories, and I just wanted to give a brief almost-6-month update. But first, I must say, Misty, you look fantastic! Wow. You must be so pleased. I would actually classify you now as an unscarred person. And Portlandboy, it looks like you are a "good healer," and I can only imagine with your skin tone (which I'm really surprised to hear was classified as IV, BTW), that you will fare very well post-dermabrasion. Also, best of luck to Dolmal, Shade, Kooky (with a "y") and everyone else going into this procedure. I think you will all be very happy with your results.
As for me, almost 6 months out, I have to say that I am still so pleased and that I can actually still see improvements. I clearly saw a "boost" around the 3-month mark, at which point thigns got much smoother (with respect to the underlying fat, not so much with the surface), and I would have to say that just in the past 2-3 weeks, I have noticedyet another "boost." I just thought I'd report this, because the results of dermabrasion just keep on coming and I would say that even thought most people seem very happy with their results after the first few weeks anyway, at least for those whose scarring involves underlying tissue loss, keep watching for further improvements.
Anyway, that's all.
cheers,
--leo
Hey Leo,
It is nearing six months for me also. I didn't notice much around month 3, but in the past 2 or 3 weeks, weird things have been happening. I'm seeing quite a few areas filling in. It really freaked me out at first b/c I was sort of disappointed with the procedure, but now to see this happening, I don't know, it just freaked me out. My friend asked me what I did different w/my make up the other day. I asked why, and she said something is doing wonders for you scars. All I can say is that these sudden changes are very suprising and, for lack of a better word, freaky!
Hi Kiki, Portlandboy, Shade, and everyone,
Yes, my punchs have healed quite well. I still see scars there, and they are kind of red, but better. I am so hopeful that things will turn out good. I know I'll never have perfect skin, but maybe some improvement will be enough. To Leopolda and Ann-a-bell, that might be the problem. We have become so focused on our imperfections that we can't even see past them enough to see the good things that we have, and be happy with the improvements. Nobody is perfect. The funny thing is that as I say this, I am not sure I will ever be happy with my face , but I am sure going to try!
I have my reservations and I will be staying from Dec. 12th to the 18th. I hope that is long enough for me to travel home okay. I may end up staying longer. I'd love to get together with other people. I am going to look odd, and it would be nice to go out (after the sun goes down of course) with someone or talk or something while I am healing. If I am out with someone else who looks like a mummy, I won't feel so out of place If not, I think I might get bored and depressed.
And you all have me nervous about the face cleaning! I think I'll ask for that demerol shot, is it in the butt? Ouch.
Happy healing leafsfan!!!
You guys are all so lucky! i have to wait another 4 months until i get my dermabrasion by Dr Y, i am booked in for the 4th of April, and i just cant wait!!! 4mths seems like forever! its all i can think about i just pray that nothing goes wrong (ie, like Dr Y becomes ill, or dies or something) aaaargh!
shade,
I only have my dermabrasion for less than 2 weeks. I am hiding out all the time from the sun. The only time I exposed to the sun was taking a cab from the hotel to the Memorial hospital. However, my skin recovers slowly. I am taking photo everyday to keep track of my progress. I definitely see recovery on daily basis and I am little bit impatient with slow progress.
leo,
Thanks for your well wishes. Your helps make me well prepared for the procedure. After my swelling went down, most my improvement reduces. It changes my preception a little bit (my mood goes down). It is especially for those area without punch float where the improvement is little. I hope I get the kind of improvement after a couple months as you and ann_a_bell mention .
Everyone,
The only place that I am extremely happy with all time (without the mood swing) after procedures is on an area where I have 9 punch floats followed by dermabrasion. I will holding my judgement on percentage of improvement for a couple of months. But the improvement is unbelieable now (compared with all the pictures I have seen in this forum). Just want to share with the board.
Happy healing leafsfan!!!
You guys are all so lucky! i have to wait another 4 months until i get my dermabrasion by Dr Y, i am booked in for the 4th of April, and i just cant wait!!! 4mths seems like forever! its all i can think about i just pray that nothing goes wrong (ie, like Dr Y becomes ill, or dies or something) aaaargh!
Hi Kiki, Portlandboy, Shade, and everyone,
Yes, my punchs have healed quite well. I still see scars there, and they are kind of red, but better. I am so hopeful that things will turn out good. I know I'll never have perfect skin, but maybe some improvement will be enough. To Leopolda and Ann-a-bell, that might be the problem. We have become so focused on our imperfections that we can't even see past them enough to see the good things that we have, and be happy with the improvements. Nobody is perfect. The funny thing is that as I say this, I am not sure I will ever be happy with my face
I have my reservations and I will be staying from Dec. 12th to the 18th. I hope that is long enough for me to travel home okay. I may end up staying longer. I'd love to get together with other people. I am going to look odd, and it would be nice to go out (after the sun goes down of course) with someone or talk or something while I am healing. If I am out with someone else who looks like a mummy, I won't feel so out of place
And you all have me nervous about the face cleaning! I think I'll ask for that demerol shot, is it in the butt? Ouch.