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5 hours ago, JustSomeName said:ur honestly pretty good looking. scars are so much faded in comparison to the first time you had them, more-over you only have them on ur cheeks. they are seriously not bad at all..
you're good looking.
Thank you, I actually also have a scar on my forehead lolbut I dont really focus on it as my cheeks really get me more.
I needed to hear that I have been having some down days about myself recently
Hey everyone - a bit of an update. I had said that I was going to wait a while before doing anything else to my face but today I decided to see a dermatologist here in LA and give filler a try. I must say, Im really loving the results! He used Restylane on my left and right cheek. Myface is so much smoother already. The dermatologist also treated my forehead separately with TCA cross.Dr rullan did this in San Diego last month and I really liked how my forehead scar responded.
I would have seen Dr Rullan if I could but its easier to stay in LA atm and Dr Rullan is booked out for the next two months.
@shei514 See I knew you would love filler, I would use Sculptra on your case to stimulate collagen, you can wait till the filler you have filler has dissolved naturally and do it as well 😉 It makes a great foundation, HA can go on top, or just keep doing the HA filler alone. Keep up the good work, ... I am so glad you found a place to do filler! Rullan is getting popular 😉
Would you mind sharing a picture of how you look with filler, that could help others 
@beautifulambition I couldn™t stop thinking about your filler recommendation, I had to give it a try lol and definitely love the results. Filler is amazing.
For anyone wondering, I saw Dr Ben Behnam in Santa Monica. Nice guy. He said filler wouldn™t have been his first choice as it™s not permanent but he said it would smooth out texture for me and would be happy to do it. He said he would want to see more TCA and subcisons done to my cheeks (I agree). A full syringe of filler was 550 USD and the TCA cross was 450 USD (he gave a discount for TCA cross because he only did my forehead and some little scars on my cheeks, the usual cost is 600 USD). Reasonable prices IMO. He didn™t push anything and listened to me, which was nice.
I will take more photos and upload them later but this is a before and after of my left cheek (both cheeks have filler in them and I will upload more of the other side later today) There is redness but hopefully you can see how smoother my left cheek looks.
Overall very happy with the outcome!
@shei514 Does he do Sculptra injections your Santa Monica Dr? That lasts a long time, but some providers do not have the experience to do it. HA filler is more temporary but put on top of it.
Regardless...Your looking really good, enjoy your summer.
Amazed how improved your skin is. Thank you for sharing your entire journey, from the treatment plans, photos and your emotional state, youare big inspiration for everyone who need help in this forum helping thousands who came here everyday lurking for a improvement or something to make them not lose hope.
Thank you. Wish you the best.
On 6/15/2019 at 11:00 AM, beautifulambition said:@shei514 Does he do Sculptra injections your Santa Monica Dr? That lasts a long time, but some providers do not have the experience to do it. HA filler is more temporary but put on top of it.
Regardless...Your looking really good, enjoy your summer.
Yes he does Sculptra I might ask him about it as Ill see him again in a couple of weeks. Im thinking of more TCA and subcision treatments for right now and spacing them out every couple of months and topping up with filler every so often.
On 6/17/2019 at 1:59 AM, De Rerum Natura said:Amazed how improved your skin is. Thank you for sharing your entire journey, from the treatment plans, photos and your emotional state, youare big inspiration for everyone who need help in this forum helping thousands who came here everyday lurking for a improvement or something to make them not lose hope.
Thank you. Wish you the best.
Thank you, I really hope this thread helps people who feel hopeless or like there are no options
Hey everyone - I™m back again with more updates. I had a full face of TCA cross today and a few touch ups with filler. I took two photos before treatment in very harsh lighting and photos immediately post-op. A few days ago (before treatment) I took some photos just out and about in the sun so people can see what my skin looks like in different lighting.
I want to continue doing TCA cross and subcision treatments (no subcision today). I want to see how much improvement I can get from them.
Also in the second photo you can still see my very broad boxcar scars. Nothing really works on them. They have softened, yes, but their shape remains. I wonder if they will ever go away or if that™s wishful thinking. I am contemplating punch excision but then again not sure if it would work for those scars.
@shei514I see improvement, don't rush it, Box cars take time to treat. I do see a filly deficiency still and I would do sculptra throughout your cheeks. This will help a lot. Continue the subcisions and tca cross, you will need quite a few. Texture will be handled at the end of treatment you can do a peel with Rullan if you so wish.
For the box cars, have you consulted anyone regarding punch excision of them, plastics can do this in LA.You are taking the steps manually to deal with them and they might improve with Sculptra - sub- cross. I would also be doing dermastamping monthly at home or derminator with the single needle attachment to the scar border to soften the box car.
Has your new derm done any laser or plan to do any laser, ... did you ever do rf needling?
Keep up the good work , you have severe scars but I see improvements and that is a great sign.
Worry about major treatments after summer in LA as it's hot and sunny.
When my filler fades, I™ll ask for sculptra throughout the cheeks. This filler stimulates collagen, right? Definitely second that, my derm in Santa Monica thinks I could do TCA every 6 weeks. Is this too soon? In San Diego, rullan said four to six weeks between treatments. Again, is this too soon? I usually don™t have the money to treat every month anyway, so I usually go two months or more without treatments. Is TCA cross and subcision okay for summer or should I be waiting until after?
havent consulted anyone yet. I know I mentioned it here before I think. But I have heard mixed things about excision and that it is a risky procedure that has the potential to go very wrong (I mean any procedure has the potential to go wrong, but I™ve heard the risks are higher with excision). If anyone here reading this has tried this procedure, let me know. It™s never been recommended to me by Lim or Rullan but again I have never asked.
My LA derm thinks TCA and subcision are the way to go for now and laser should be considered later. Never tried RF needling and don™t know anything about dermastamping.
At the moment, 24 hours post-op I have scabs and my skin is a little bruised and yellow. I think my derm said they should fall off within a week.
You seem to still break out. You should consider low dose accutane. 5 days straight 20mg/day and then 40mg/week - Dr Rullans protocol. New scarring will diminish effectiveness of future scar revision. You should try the suction method next time around as well.
Rf needling will be a waste of money. Stick to Subcision and phenol or suction
9 hours ago, Wobbywob said:You seem to still break out. You should consider low dose accutane. 5 days straight 20mg/day and then 40mg/week - Dr Rullans protocol. New scarring will diminish effectiveness of future scar revision. You should try the suction method next time around as well.
Rf needling will be a waste of money. Stick to Subcision and phenol or suction
Yes I changed my diet in February and broke out like you wouldnt believe and now Im still breaking out in July. Every time I think Ive got my acne under control, I break out some more. I might consider a low dose accutane or doxycycline.
@shei514I do agree that a course of low dose accutane could help you, better than chasing new scars from acne. That can be frustrating. Has your Dr tested you for hormonal acne, how about fungal acne, have you tried Nizoral shampoo that can help if it's fungal or sulfur soap.
I do not agree that rf needling does nothing, this person has no authority to make this statement(They can tell me if they are a Dr and I will take care of the situation) - if it's their opinion wanting to avoid energy devices that's fine ;-). There is countless histology - split blind papers that show rf needling does work on boxcars. Manual methods are always best, that is good your Dr wants to start with them, get the full extent of healing, and then move onto energy devices like laser. Sounds like your in good hands between Rullan and your Dr.
Good Sculptra will stimulate your collagen. I would never treat every 6 weeks, ... treat every 3 months, you can do a combo of sub-cross- and filler in one session. The skin is incredibly slow to heal and produce collagen, if we rush things then you will not get the full benefit and see what really works for your treatment.
Yes punch excision is a last ditch thing if nothing else is working, correct. Especially those who are sensitive or heal poorly have to be careful.
Another couple of photos, I™ll post updates that I think are helpful for people who are considering these treatments. It™s been ten days since I had my procedure and the scabs have mostly fallen off. There are just œspots now where the TCA was and I can cover them pretty well.
TCA cross is probably the easiest procedure (in my opinion of course) in terms of the pain and ease of recovery. You can cover it okay too just wear sunscreen.
My ultimate goal with scar revision treatment is unclear. But I want to feel more normal, more free to show my skin even if it™s never fully scar free which I realise is unrealistic. I think a lot of us on the severe end are like that, we just want to feel more normal and less limited.
Thanks to everyone who is still reading, a year and a bit later. I will post more photos and updates regarding what I™m doing next!
5 hours ago, acnescars2000 said:did the scars raise up a bit?
by the way, you look good!
Definitely, especially because I had filler done as well. Hard to say completely though because Im still healing from the procedure. Every time I notice an improvement just hard to say how much.
5 hours ago, Wobbywob said:I pull red easily and I'm fair skin. So as a guy considering this treatment in 4-5 months, how long would you say the redness in the treated spots lasts?
Agree with BA, its super individual but you can expect the redness to be there for the weeks and months to come. I have super fair skin too so i definitely stay red for a lot longer and its easier to see because of my skin tone. But if you can cover the redness with a BB cream, or something light, it usually doesnt even look like youve got heavy make up on your face. Super light.
Alsosunscreen!!
