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hi everyone, thanks for your good wishes. it is now 5weeks after my treatment and i can report thatyes, my narrow, deep boxcars have noticeably improved- i would say at least 40%.
it's hard to be objective-as the scarring gets betteri definitely get closer to the mirror and tilt my head to catch the light more-butit was a bright sunny day today and mirror angles that would previously have made me feel instantly depressed are now more: 'hmmm, not so terrible at all.' so, i'm very relieved but it has been hard going: i endured a lot of peeling/redness (although i think part of this was due to starting on a retinoid too).
another treatment this week, so the whole thing begins again.. but i'm now very optimistic for the future.
let's hope we all make good progress in the coming year!
update: i saw professor chu again yesterday, he agreed that my scars were 'filling in nicely'.
he did another round of tca cross, and said i should wait three or four months before deciding whether to have another, as things should continue to improve over that length of time. trying not to get too excited at this stage but it all seems very encouraging.
incidentally, he said the redness/peeling i've had was due to seborrhoeic dermatitis- i've had patches of this before, but not for years. i think the tca, or perhaps the cold weather we've been having, triggered an outbreak. he's given me some cream which will hopefully clear things up.
anyway. best thing i can do now is try to forget the scars and let them heal so i probably won't check in here much, but hope this has been of some use to others. ill update again in a month or so if anyone is interested.
good luck to all.
scabs fell off a few days ago (both times they've stayed on over two weeks). there's further improvement, i'm maybe 60% better than when i started. with time (and tretinoin) i expect the filling in to continue.
when i saw professor chu he said the other option i had was excision, but stressed there is always a risk that it will heal imperfectly. i'm really glad i went with this method: it is one of slow, incremental gains, but they do add up! i don't expect perfection, and already im at a stage where i feel i can more or less get on with my life.
i know from experience that feeling of defeat and hopelessness, but there are techniques that can make a difference.
well done and i hope you continue seeing improvements.
I've had to struggle with acne for most of my adult life. Eventually, I got it under control thanks to Isotretinoin.As youve probably guessed, its left me with various types of sunken scarring. Im new to the world of acne scarring, and Im slightly frightened by the amount of jargon and acronyms that have been thrown around during my brief reading on the subject. I did read through the FAQ, which was very helpful btw, and it seems like subcision followed by some form of filler is the way to go?
I live in the UK and Im on the verge of booking a consultation with Dr Chu, who was recommended in the FAQ. However, because Im largely ignorant on the subject, would it be wise to see him? I would have to essentially go in partially blind and trust everything he suggests. I would love to research more deeply into everything, but I just dont have the time to do it anymore. My work hours are insane and I have a million of other responsibilities I have to take care of. Im hoping to get married in a few months, so I would like to get treated as soon as I possibly can. But as you can deduce, the wedding preparations are also eating away at my time.
Im also considering booking a consultation with Dr Patel, who is also in London. Im particularly interested in the Enerjet machine he has. From my limited understanding, it performs much like a subcision + filler, but not as effective? The reason Im drawn to it is the minimal downtime it has compared to subcision.
Im just looking for a bit of guidance really, and perhaps some reassurance. It feels like Im about to take a big step here, and obviously, theres a lot of money going to be involved. I want to make sure Im at least on the right lines here. Im getting older and I dont want the scarring to become more prominent as I age.
Thank you.
BloomBloom.
When you get there, ask him how often he does subcision. You're looking for a doctor who has done a lot of it. If he pushes laser instead, that's a bad sign.
26 minutes ago, publicoracle said:There are a limited number of options. Never heard of the enerjet.
When you get there, ask him how often he does subcision. You're looking for a doctor who has done a lot of it. If he pushes laser instead, that's a bad sign.
Yeah, after doing a bit of research, it seems like I should be avoiding lasers. I will definitely ask how experienced he is with the subcisionprocedure. Thanks for the tip.
So,after three rounds of TCA Cross 100% i am very happy with my improvements: hard to quantify but around 70%-75% i would guess? the worst icepick type scars are perhaps a little wider but much shallower and have lost their sharp edges. i don't think anyone would consciously register them unless they were actively looking. This treatment definitely works if performed correctly.
Having suffered the awful anxiety and loss of self confidence these scars can inflict I'd encourage anyone to do your research and seek out an experienced doctor who can help.
Thanks to the owner of this forum for support and valuable information, and to Dr Chu. Good luck to everyone!
Sorry if this is a late reply but I can strongly recommend Dr Chu (see my thread). Not only were the treatments effective but I felt all the way through that he had relatively little interest in making money from me, I truly think his primary goal is to get the best possible result for his patients.
On 01/09/2017 at 0:57 PM, BloomingWasp said:Sorry if this is a late reply but I can strongly recommend Dr Chu (see my thread). Not only were the treatments effective but I felt all the way through that he had relatively little interest in making money from me, I truly think his primary goal is to get the best possible result for his patients.
You said in your other thread that you saw Dr Chu privately. How did you got about contacting him/arranging the consultation? And which hospital/clinic did you have the procedure in?
Chu is a good dermatologist from what I gather. He has taught many dermatologist in the NHS and abroad, he taught subscision to Dr Emil, and continues to pass on his knowledge. He has good reviews from many patients. The NHS has an allocation of patients they can treat within the catchment area, however most NHS Dermatologist will have private rooms. As for the Enerjet system.... reviews seem to place it in the superficial category- ideal for injecting low HA concentration fillers vvv superficially, most scars lie deep, hence subcision probably more effective. Enerjet has a role- in v superficial scarring or pore size reduction. Given the low HA filler concentration, may only last 3-6 months.
as I said in my thread, Dr Chu was definitely a good doctor to me. I saw him (privately) at the sainsbury wing of the hammersmith hospital, contact details are here:
https://imperialprivatehealthcare.co.uk/consultants-directory/name/anthony-chu/
On 9/16/2017 at 0:12 PM, BloomingWasp said:as I said in my thread, Dr Chu was definitely a good doctor to me. I saw him (privately) at the sainsbury wing of the hammersmith hospital, contact details are here:
https://imperialprivatehealthcare.co.uk/consultants-directory/name/anthony-chu/
I can no longer find his profile on the website. Has he retired?