Sounds like she is cautious which is good.

If it's a wound it will fill in, if it's a scar it will not without intervention. Big difference.

She is saying you have wounds and as such she feels you will get improvement - naturally and w/ the clynda, ... many don't want to wait and thus treat prematurely. We all heal differently. A often misconception is one has scars after Accutane and they are actually wounds or PIE (see more in the FAQ under Skin: PIE - section).

"she said to wait 6 to 9 months."

Castro Oil is very healing, you can try that as well on the spots if you want to try that.

I wish you luck.

[Link removed]

Thanks.
I suppose that it's good news. And thanks for the tip, I'll look into that. I'll keep you guys posted on the progress. I know these questions about scarring come up a lot.

So, I'm seeking a second opinion...I just wasn't confident in this last derm. I'm not saying she was wrong, but she was very dismissive and didn't even come within arms- length of me before making that assertion. ( See post above)
Through you good folks here and a lot of research, I've learned a few things...so I decided to go outside of my crappy HMO and found someone in my area that is equipped with a variety of lasers and microneedling (including RF), and more in their repertoire.
Reasoning...a lot of derms don't like dealing with acne patients... and I sort of got that feeling from that last derm. I wanted to find someone that is experienced with acne and scar revision and is well versed on what they are looking at (provided they actually LOOK at it) and actually CARES about how my face will look in the end.
I told the girl on the phone what was going on and what happened at the other derm...she was very reassuring. She told me I would be evaluated by three different experts, their medical tech, the esthetician, and the doctor. Plus, they have a special camera to take a pic to see inside the scar...to see what is happening under the surface!
I go on the 27th. I'm relieved.

15 hours ago, TheBean said:

She told me I would be evaluated by three different experts, their medical tech, the esthetician, and the doctor.

Why would you need to be evaluated by a tech? What, you're going in for a blood draw? Evaluation should be left in the hands of the doctor. If he requires the help of non-medical staff to make any diagnosis, then you really should look elsewhere. Lastly, if they push lasers as the first method of treatment, you should run for the door. That should tell you they have no clue about acne scars.

Yes, thank you...to answer your questions, mine is an early scar, so it's still healing... I'm a new patient as well, so evaluating my overall health before suggesting medical procedures is being responsible. That doesn't bother me at all.
Having a group of people you work with put their heads together on evaluation is not a bad thing. I've been through SERIOUS and life- threatening illness before. Once something like that happens, you learn first hand that doctors are people. I'm keeping an open mind.
At this stage, I'm looking for something to basically enhance my body's natural healing... to start small. I can't even be sure of how much permanent scarring I will have until a year out, right? I'm not excited about lasers anyway though and I'm fair-skinned. If you could expound on why you are so against them suggesting lasers?? Any tidbits you have--it may be helpful to be armed when I go in...
I'm most interested in the RF microneedling, my understanding is that it stimulates new collagen and that scars in the early months respond very well.
Thanks!

9 hours ago, TheBean said:

If you could expound on why you are so against them suggesting lasers?? Any tidbits you have--it may be helpful to be armed when I go in...
I'm most interested in the RF microneedling, my understanding is that it stimulates new collagen and that scars in the early months respond very well.

Actually, I'm not against laser. It just should not be used as a first weapon of choice. Think of road construction as an analogy. Would you not fill the potholes before you repave the top with new asphalt? The same logic applies to acne scar remodeling. Why do doctors and others continue this stupid practice of resurfacing the skin without first fixing the pits? As such, get your pits treated first with subcision or RF microneedling in order to elevate them as much as possible. Then use laser or chemical peel to even out any surface irregularity.

HTH

Oh, yes... thanks for clarifying. I totally agree!

I just wanted to add a follow-up on the clindamycin gel...fyi, I have a history with C. Diff, so I refused any oral antibiotics, but the doctor insisted that the gel would be okay. I had just a couple small spots emerging at the time...it did arrest that immediately. It seemed to be effective for the first few days, but the following week it seemed that I was getting more spots than I had the last couple months. Then my stomach started to get funny, so I decided it ultimately wasn't worth the risk. It's not even a long term fix.
I stopped using the gel. Started using (again) the Mario Badescu drying lotion as a spot treatment and decided to try eating half a grapefruit for breakfast every morning.
Within two days, I cleared and haven't seen a new spot yet (all week).