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I had some boxcars on my left, as well, but they were shallow. They are more or less gone now, except in the harshest light imaginable at a very specific angle.
On the right side of my face, the boxcars are all more or less still there (there are two major ones, really, one of which is better defined as, say, a groove-like scar), but they have become shallower.
I'm gonna post another picture on the 28th, which would be exactly a month from my second procedure.
Uploaded new pictures. I had to delete some pictures to make room for the new ones.
These are also probably the last pictures I'll be taking. I'm going to be moving to a new apartment in a week, so the lighting will obviously be different.
actually, I'm not very satisfied with the last few pictures, they're kinda blurry. I'm gonna retake them later.
there, updated, much clearer now.
I have reached the point where I honestly don't even care about these scars anymore. Like, I didn't even seriously look at my scars until just today when my reminder told me to take pictures to post on here.
I think I may go for another touch-up somewhere down the line, but right now, school's about to start, I got more important stuff to worry about.
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Hi Dragz,
Great to see such improvement, im planning on seeing a pre-op appointment with Dr. Rahimi real soon, definitely will be doing my first mixto laser with him by the end of this year. I would love to get similar results that you got, if you recall the thread I started, did you ever get a chance to look at my photos? Do you believe I can get significant improvment after doing 2-3 sessions of mixto with Dr. Rahimi? Did my scarring look similar to yours? Thanks.
I feel like you'd get improvement, sure. I honestly couldn't say how many sessions it would take.
To be honest, your scars don't look very bad at all. Any improvement you're looking to do would probably take only a single session, at least based from my own subjective experience.
*shrug*
I met with Dr. Rahimi last week and I'm getting two rounds of subcision & filler for my dented scars on the right side of my face. I go in for the first round on Thursday, so I'm pretty excited yet nervous. I'll probably make a thread documenting my process as well, for those who are interested.
If anyone is in the Los Angeles area, I recommend going in for a consultation if anything, since consultations are free. Dr. Rahimi is very personable and he really gets an up-close look at your scarring, unlike other doctors I've gone to who've examined my scars from across a desk -_-. He's also very negotiable in terms of price quoting, and he's very understanding of people who are just out of college and tight on money, but are desperate to improve/rid their scarring.
So at my consultation, we decided on 2 rounds of subcision and filler (he'd use half the filler my first visit and the remaining half my second visit), and he quoted me $500 total. I had my first procedure done last Thursday (9/13) and Dr. Rahimi was nothing but professional and quick with the procedure. He explained everything he was about to do and was reassuring and verbally took me through the subcision and filler as he was performing. I didn't hear the infamous "popping" sounds as he performed the subcision so I asked about it, and Dr. Rahimi assured me that he had felt friction in his hand as he cut my scar tissue, so I'm guessing it's a good sign. And DRaGZ, he used Juvederm XC as the filler; he says it lasts for 1-1.5yrs.
My dents are completely flat and invisible now, and while I still have my last round to go at in 2 weeks, I'm very happy with what I'm seeing. My only slight worry is that although the filler lasts for quite a while, again - it's not permanent. Dr. Rahimi said the collagen my body produces on its own from the subcisions will be the only permanent improvement I'll see later down the road. When I met with him for the consultation, the second option for treatment he suggested was 3-4 subcisions alone, and he said this was guaranteed to 100% improve my scarring, but he quoted $1000+ and it was way out of my budget. I figure I'm doing 2 subcisions already, so that should amount to some pretty good improvement (the added fillers of course, so the area looks perfect for the time being). I guess anything that may come back, I'll see in 1-1.5 yrs once the filler really fades so if I need more subcision, I'll figure that out (I'm actually not 100% sure so I'll make sure to clarify all this when I go in again).
But yeah to anyone who has lurked this thread and lives in the LA area, really pay Dr. Rahimi even a visit at least for consultation, since it's free. And for anyone considering subcision, this guy is it. I've Googled a lot and haven't found any other dermatologist who performs the procedure or is well known in LA. His place, Forever Young, is honestly a bit of a drive for me (1-1.5hrs due to damned LA traffic. Which is why I previously had kept searching for a dermatologist closer to me) but it's worth it. He's a really nice guy and you can tell he genuinely cares for his patients and he doesn't push products or recommend outrageous procedures. He even repeatedly says that he wants all his patients to be satisfied and happy with their results, so yeah - he's a go-to in my book and I really recommend him.
And DRaGZ, you definitely brought him a ton of business. He said he loves Acne.org because a lot of people have gone to him for treatment. Haha
I'd just like to say that Dr. Rahimi is DEFINITELY not the only doctor out there who is looking out for your best results. Seriously, there are tons out there who are great. They may seem rare, but they're out there.
Yeah, I'm sure that's true. But my experience with dermatologists generally have been bad. I remember many years ago one derm pushed my mom into buying me $200+ worth of Peter Thomas Roth anti-acne products which only irritated my skin more. Last fall, I also visited a beauty clinic my mom frequents that does lasers and such procedures and I asked the dermatologist there about the dents I had. He didn't even look at my face up close, and from across a desk, concluded on the spot that I needed to do CO2 Fraxel laser 3-4 times and said it'd cost $800. Also, the second I sat down, he noticed I had acne and immediately pointed to a display shelf on the right and suggested I buy some anti-acne serum he fronted that would cost $100+. I don't know...I know there are good people out there, but again, dermatology is a business, and I feel I've just had bad experiences with derms aggressively pushing expensive treatments and products in my face.
DRaGZ I am really thankful that you shared this doctor, it is very rare to find professional doctors that are not just after my money. boafriend do you have somewhere a thread with your results (like before/after pics?)
Not sure if it's good enough, but my avatar is more or less a before picture, taken in April 2012. I'm pretty sure you can click on it to enlarge. I will try putting up good before and after pictures later. I'm just a little upset right now because I have a big cyst that formed near where these previous dents were and I'm scared for my life that it'll form another dent. I had a small imbedded pimple that I got rid of the day before my subcision+filler and the hyperpigmentation scab came off recently and I'm really paranoid that there's a slight indent in the area right now (I'm going to ask Dr. Rahimi about this when I see him on the 27th). I hate forming cysts (I mean, who does?) but it's worse because I always have them pop up near my cheekbone area, and the skin there is really thin, so any deep cyst will very likely leave an indent of some sort. Ugh so yeah once this stuff clears, I'll put up pictures.
So I'm definitely one of the lurkers, and have followed this thread closely for a few months. I actually had a consultation with Dr. Rahimi nearly two months ago and he also did a test spot on my most prominent scar. Seeing Dragz's results was what motivated me to see Dr. Rahimi, so I can confirm that yes he has indeed brought a lot of business to the practice LOL..... I'm also happy to hear that Boafriend has had great results as well going a totally different route with the subcision and fillers. It goes to show that no one solution is right for everyone and that great improvement can be achieved with something a little less radical and agressive than lasers. I think it also says a lot about Dr. Rahimi as a physician because he's willing to try other approaches rather than immediately pushing lasers on you.
Personally, I hope to see Dr. Rahimi again soon and move forward with treatment. I'm one of those people who can honestly say I've tried everything (fillers, excisions, TCA cross, subcisions), with disappointing results and sometimes being left worse off than before. I'm really hoping the mixto / subcision combo will actually give me noticeable improvement.
Dr. Rahimi really follows up with patients should they require help. He's been continuously helping me since I've been running into bad luck since getting the subcision done. I've been having deep cysts form right near the area I got treated and I've been pretty much scared shitless that I'm gonna be left with new dents. Dr. Rahimi prescribed me doxycycline to take to take down the inflammation, and while it really brought down one cyst I had, there was another one that popped up and I've just been praying that it won't cause a new dent (but I kind of have a feeling the damage has been done already 
). Anyways, Dr. Rahimi has recommended I ice the area, which I have been doing, and it's brought the new cyst down a lot, but I can feel the crap is still rooted under the skin.
I was originally supposed to go in this Thursday for my second round of subcision and filler, but I feel that this visit may have to be changed to see if he'll have to give me a cortisone shot or not. I'm really upset with how my skin is so uncooperative (during the time when I had the dents and had only been dermastamping, I NEVER formed a single pimple in the affected area. And now that I've finally gotten treatment, my skin feels it's the perfect time to start sprouting cysts in that area. WHY?! I don't know why my luck is so bad). I also have another cyst that formed on my other cheek, and this one I feel has already left its mark..although the cyst isn't 100% gone, I can feel a dent already on the side of the cyst. -______-
Anyways, I will update later with what happens. Please pray for me...I've put in all the money I have on my subcision & filler and if my face gets screwed over by these new cysts, I won't have any money to do anything more...
Any idea why cysts would be forming? It seems weird, it is known that lasers may cause pimples due to inflammation, the dressing on skin, and bacteria getting into the open wounds but, they are usually white heads or millia. It seems odd that cysts would form especially with something like subcision.
Thanks for your support, DRaGZ. So I went to see Dr. Rahimi on September 27th and he said the cysts wouldn't leave dents and gave me injections of cortisone in both areas. I already had felt slight indentions in the two areas, but he insisted there would not be more dents. However (honestly, I am not this crazy) - there are dents in both areas now. Most people probably wouldn't care too much, but I feel they are noticeable. Also, while the cortisone shots did calm the two cysts down, they never fully cleared them. Luckily in my previous weeks of frustration, I went ahead and purchased Renee Rouleau's Anti-Cyst Treatment (which I had bookmarked but never went ahead and purchased) and applied the product for about 3 nights to the areas before both really went away. As of now, I'm left with some stubborn scabbing that won't go away. The other side of my face (the "good" side that never had dents before) has really been fighting with me, though...I have a few minor clogged bumps near where the cyst on that side was before. The anti-cyst treatment helped "surface", I guess you could say, some of small cloggage in that area, and I was able to gently pop some of the gunk out last night.
Right now I'm not sure if the minor dents I see on the side of my face where I had treatment are new ones or those of the two dents I previously had (I feel it shouldn't be so since I had fillers and the fillers are supposed to last 1-1.5 yrs, so the old dents shouldn't resurface at all). Also, I had no cysts or problems where these new indentions are at, so that's what is really puzzling me. When I had inquired with him about some the "dents" I feel were forming, Dr. Rahimi had told me that I may feel the areas are indented since I had cysts there (and cysts are raised, hence the different feeling in elevation of the skin). But now that the inflammation and cysts have cleared, these dents are still there, so something has definitely happened. I just hate the way my skin is...I feel it's structurally weak and I'm subject to dents really easily, I don't know why. I've been taking a lot of liquid collagen and collagen tablets, too. =/
Anyways, I'm rambling, but I'm scheduled to see him on 10/11, so I'm going to try figuring these new dents out. Like I previously mentioned, I have had experience with minor dents (I had two on my left cheek around April/May that came out of nowhere) that have completely disappeared on their own. It's really weird and I have no idea how this phenomenon comes about. I'm just hoping I won't have to be paying more money or anything because I'm honestly broke and kind of disheartened over what's happened with my face -_- But granted, Dr. Rahimi is always a really kind person and always assures that I'm going to be fine and that he'll take care of me, so we'll see. He's prescribed me doxycycline and Epiduo to take and use in the meantime. I haven't really been using the Epiduo though, because I fear those initial breakouts that topical treatments give patients (and also my past experience with topical prescriptions have been bad). I have been consistent w/ the doxycycline, though.
Anyways, I'll update after I see Dr. Rahimi again.
And sorry DRaGZ that I kind of am stealing the thread; not my intention at all. I just thought it'd be an appropriate place to share my ongoing experience since I am seeing this same dermatologist that you have previously seen, and a lot of Acne.org members who are interested in seeing Dr. Rahimi are reading this thread.
Dude, steal away. I hope it all works out for you, man.
In my experience, the Doxy doesn't really help unless I start taking it about two weeks before my treatment even begins, and topicals (especially tretinoin) work reeeeally well for me.
Yeah, everyone is different.
I have another cyst that popped up in this area again -_- What the fuck, man. I'm using my Renee Rouleau Anti-Cyst treatment and I'm hoping it'll bring this sucker down. I don't know why my skin is so uncooperative. It's so frustrating
