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I live in the NJ area anyone know the best good affordable doc who will do payment plans OR does anyone know a good way to get a loan for this or something of that nature - is there any way to get insurance to cover it?
I hate my life I have no way topay for this!!! 🙁 I live in the NJ area anyone know the best good affordable doc who will do payment plans OR does anyone know a good way to get a loan for this or something of that nature - is there any way to get insurance to cover it?
Someone posted a similar message a few weeks back. They were thinking about using student loans to pay for their procedure. If your skin really bothers u that bad I would suggest using a credit card or two to fix the problem. I would personally rather be broke and in debt, even bankrupt than have soemthing so crippling in my life.
I hate my life I have no way topay for this!!! 🙁 I live in the NJ area anyone know the best good affordable doc who will do payment plans OR does anyone know a good way to get a loan for this or something of that nature - is there any way to get insurance to cover it?
Someone posted a similar message a few weeks back. They were thinking about using student loans to pay for their procedure. If your skin really bothers u that bad I would suggest using a credit card or two to fix the problem. I would personally rather be broke and in debt, even bankrupt than have soemthing so crippling in my life.
I have NO credit... actually my credit is kinda bad from a target card and macys card when I was 18.... does anyone know a good place that gives credit to those whom need it BADLY? Thanks in advance!
All i can say is HOLLY S*&^! I started my first serious of Fraxels a year ago this week when it was a new fangled machine and I had my first done at the 9/10 MJ level. Even that hurt! I had my 5th Fraxel done three months ago at 12 Mjs Full denisity/6 passes and it was mUch better since the pain management is better but I do not think I could go as high as 20mjs (Maybe 15 if I have a squeeze ball) I had a nice improvement From my last Fraxel. I am sure 4-5 full face Fraxels at 20 Mj's will come pretty damn close to CO2 level of improvements. Please keep us posted
PS My next step will be a few Rounds of Sculptra to plump up my sunken chin and cheek areas this should also have a positive benefit in lifting up the acne scars. I had a Restylane Touch up 6 weeks ago and I will have to say it is doing pretty good. I had the small .4cc syringe and I think I am still over 60% improvement in my worst scars.
I think the PEAK of Redness post Fraxel is 24-36 hours after you have it done. You look a few notches Redder then Me after my 12mj fraxel. Not sure how this translates into KJ which is the total over all energy being put into your face. I was OK to go to work on Monday (I had the Fraxel on the Friday) I did look like I had a severe sunburn on Monday but it was not all that bad. I was back to normal in a week. got a nice bump in improvements. Since I have experience at both Low levels and High level I can say with out a Daught that the higher levels are worth it NO PAIN NO GAIN.
I'm still pretty red and look like a (sun)burn victim, but almost all of the old skin has flaked/peeled off this morning. That's funny I kept saying to myself Self, NO PAIN NO GAIN while she was blasting my face with the laser.
Best of luck with the sculptra. Thanks for your help/support Floridaguy.
Does anyone know if Fraxel qualifies as a medical expense for a healthcare reimbursement account?? I have the option to sign up for one right now at work, where they set money aside out of your paycheck (pre-tax), and then you can use that money to pay for medical expenses through the year.
I've read all the IRS documentation, and it states that cosmetic procedures are not covered, UNLESS it is to correct an abnormality caused by disease or an accident. I want to make sure fraxel qualifies before I have them set $4,000 aside as I can not get it back if I can't use it... I hope it qualifies, it will save me $1000 in taxes.
Sean..
Kooky, looks like you got your fraxel treatment before me after all.. I'm scheduled for December 8th, but I may be moving that back a few weeks if this healthcare reimbursement account will allow me to pay for fraxel pre-tax.
Hey Sean, I would consider acne of the cystic nature a disease. I had a health spending account and used it for Lasik so it's possible Fraxel would be covered too.
So Yeah, well I got a little restless and started fraxel sooner than I had planned, I haven't done anything for my scars since august after all, Lol. I'm glad I didn't go do the exoderm. I don't want to get my hopes up too high, but I feel good about the Fraxel (of course, I've said that about other treatments).
I hate my life I have no way topay for this!!! 🙁 I live in the NJ area anyone know the best good affordable doc who will do payment plans OR does anyone know a good way to get a loan for this or something of that nature - is there any way to get insurance to cover it?
Someone posted a similar message a few weeks back. They were thinking about using student loans to pay for their procedure. If your skin really bothers u that bad I would suggest using a credit card or two to fix the problem. I would personally rather be broke and in debt, even bankrupt than have soemthing so crippling in my life.
I have NO credit... actually my credit is kinda bad from a target card and macys card when I was 18.... does anyone know a good place that gives credit to those whom need it BADLY? Thanks in advance!
Franky, there was a post below this one on a Fraxel study in NY for acne scars. You should PM leigh and check it out. I think it's free or steeply discounted for those participating in the study.
Hi everyone
I had a consultation regarding the fraxel laser for my scarred pores today.
The doctor said that since I have a dark skin tone, it could cause some pigmentation change in my treated areas. This is while I read the opposite in many websites and from my own research this laser is very gentle on skin.
I am really confused.
Does anyone know if darker skin people are a candidate for Fraxel or not? Maybe my doctor just wanted to be on the safe side as he has just got this laser recently and do not have much experience with it.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks for the update birch. I wonder where all the other people are who've had fraxel done? I did ask my doctor to get a Zimmer cooling machine for the sake of her patients who do not have as high of a pain tolerance as me. I am a little concerned that she consumed so much energy on my first treatment. I think this may result in prolonged redness, potential hyperpigmentation. It's too early to say, but it looks like my weekend is ruined and I will be couch-surfing watching football/movies all weekend. She used 9.2 KJ on my face and the general guidelines are:
Area of Rx Optimal Energy Output
Small Face 5-6 kJ
Medium Face 6-7 kJ
Large Face 7-8 kJ
Hands 1.5-2 kJ
Neck 3.5-4 kJ
Anyways, I'm attaching a photo of my skin 2 days post Fraxel. If someone whose had it done at high levels (20) could reassure me that this is somewhat normal, I'd sure appreciate it.
Kooky,
have you ever heard of LYCOGEL?? I was a derm today and they had this product available; it is a camouflage makeup with SPF 15 that 'increases oxygen' and is supposed to speed up healing post-laser using something called LYCD - Live Yeast Cell Derivatives.
i also researched and discovered that the original forumula of preperation-H has LYCD in them and is still available in canada... apparently conan obrien uses this on his face as well as other people in hollywood.
i will probally give the lycogel a try after my fraxel, since you can color match 8 different shades and it seems to speed up recovery. I think this might make it easier for me to go up to higher energy levels and not be homebound for 10 days!
- Eric
oh yeah, here is some science behind it:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...1&dopt=Abstract
http://archsurg.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/119/9/1005
Hi everyoneI had a consultation regarding the fraxel laser for my scarred pores today.
The doctor said that since I have a dark skin tone, it could cause some pigmentation change in my treated areas. This is while I read the opposite in many websites and from my own research this laser is very gentle on skin.
I am really confused.
Does anyone know if darker skin people are a candidate for Fraxel or not? Maybe my doctor just wanted to be on the safe side as he has just got this laser recently and do not have much experience with it.
Thanks in advance.
My research has lead to believe that this procedure is safe for all skin types. I have spoken with doctors that have treated dark skin and they have not experienced any issues such as pigmentaiton. They did indicate that they do have to pre-treat the skin before the procedure. Keep in mind that I spoke with 2 doctors; 1 has been using the machine for the past year and 1 for the past 6 months.
Hi everyoneI had a consultation regarding the fraxel laser for my scarred pores today.
The doctor said that since I have a dark skin tone, it could cause some pigmentation change in my treated areas. This is while I read the opposite in many websites and from my own research this laser is very gentle on skin.
I am really confused.
Does anyone know if darker skin people are a candidate for Fraxel or not? Maybe my doctor just wanted to be on the safe side as he has just got this laser recently and do not have much experience with it.
Thanks in advance.
My research has lead to believe that this procedure is safe for all skin types. I have spoken with doctors that have treated dark skin and they have not experienced any issues such as pigmentaiton. They did indicate that they do have to pre-treat the skin before the procedure. Keep in mind that I spoke with 2 doctors; 1 has been using the machine for the past year and 1 for the past 6 months.
Hi, all,
My doc is unwilling to go over 18 mj even after my repeated requests and he said he doesn't think there is any difference between 18 and 20mj.
Should I move on and give another doc a try?
JL
To all that have had a few treatments of fraxel (floridaguy and birch and others) how would you say the improvement has been on your shallow scars?
I am considering the treatment. I have a couple deep scars, but mainly have shallow ones now after other treatments. Im not expecting this treatment to really help the deep ones, Restylane is good for those, but if it can really help the shallow ones by flattening them out permanently, it would be worth it.
Thanks!
hey guys..
do you think fraxel will halp my scarings:
http://www.geocities.com/alpha1365
Any comment would be much appreciated.
Kooky,
I called the company that administers the healthcare reimbursement account... they said they will cover it as long as my doc will write a letter stating he recommends the treatment to remove scarring left by acne. Basically, as long as the purpose is to remove a deformity or defect caused by a disease (acne), they will allow you to use the account. However, cosmetic procedures just to improve appearance due to normal aging and wear and tear of the body is not covered.
This is going to save me over $1000 on the fraxel treatments...
Sean..
I just got back from my fraxel treatment. She did 20 mj, low density because I have asian skin and 2 passes full face.
I can't tell you how painful it is even with the injections. I was in so much pain I curl my toes, tense up and I was squeezing two balls she gave me. The first pass was really painful, but the second pass was less painful for some odd reason. I kept telling myself no pain no gain to make it through. Gonna go lay down my face feel like its burning.
seems like everyone is doing this treatment at very high levels. so far, only seen meetpetes photos after one treatment. and he did it at 30mj! how does everyone who did it at high level feels about their improvement level so far? i would rate anything above 15mj as high. from kooky's photos, it looks as if he just had co2 laser! defefintely some downtime at high levels. did those people who went through this treatment at lower levels see any improvement? and what happen to everyone who promised to update on their progress with photos? is this treatment really as good as its before/after photos show? or is this just another fad treatment like so many other treatments out there??? if people don't share their experiences, the only people benefiting from this is the rich corporations who keeps getting our money for lousy bogus treamtents such as IPL and smoothbeams and whatnots! share people! SHARE!!!!!!!!
ok good nite. 
seems like everyone is doing this treatment at very high levels. so far, only seen meetpetes photos after one treatment. and he did it at 30mj! how does everyone who did it at high level feels about their improvement level so far? i would rate anything above 15mj as high. from kooky's photos, it looks as if he just had co2 laser! defefintely some downtime at high levels. did those people who went through this treatment at lower levels see any improvement? and what happen to everyone who promised to update on their progress with photos? is this treatment really as good as its before/after photos show? or is this just another fad treatment like so many other treatments out there??? if people don't share their experiences, the only people benefiting from this is the rich corporations who keeps getting our money for lousy bogus treamtents such as IPL and smoothbeams and whatnots! share people! SHARE!!!!!!!!
ok good nite. :doh:
where did you see kooky's pictures?
Hey guys, to all of you freaking out about having it at low settings, I just visited with dr.fitzpatrick the other day and he said that low settings are fine as long as the total energy is high. HE recommended around 2500-3000 for total density if the setting is from 10-12 and that should be adequate for mild-moderate scarring. if you go too deep you might just overshoot it, which wouldn't huet it would just be pointless to go that deep. I just had my second a little over a week ago, not sure if I've seen improvements or it's just my imagination but I think my skin tone has at least gotten better. I'll let everyone know once I'm done, but I don't plan on going past 12 and to just have the total energy up there (much like Florida Guy did). Also, he said all the before after photos on the site were in the top twenty percent, but that almost everyone sees some results from the procedure, and getting no improvement is rare. Best of luck to all.
Hi everyone
I had my 1st Fraxel done on 29 Oct and its been 10 days. The doc only did 8 mjs 🙁 despite my telling him I'd want him to go higher. He did 4 passes for a total of 1000 mtz/cm and I think reduced it to 6mjs (the lowest u can go!!) for the last coupla passes. He insisted that he wanted to do some general re-surfacing before cranking it up next time. I'm going to have to sign up for 5 Fraxels.
They gave me 30% hydroquinone cream, a moisturising mist spray and some Noni gel for the healing. Had to spray and apply gel 4 times a day making it difficult to leave the house.
I don't know how Pete can take 30mjs...for me even with the anesthetic cream and the zimmer, I felt like my face was being burned! It was hot! I had goggles even tho' the doc said technically the machine won't target anything without the blue dye.
I had it done on a Sat afternoon but even on Sat night, my face was still kinda swollen and I still had the burning sensation. The doctor said swelling in the 1st 24-48 hrs is good.
I only started peeling on day 4 on my cheeks mostly. Didn't peel on my forehead at all. But compared to the peeling from chemical peels, the peeling here is pretty light and I noticed that only the skin over my acne scars seemed to peel. My cheeks are still a little pink but I can't see any visible improvements to my scars altho' my skin does look a little clearer (I have pigmentation too!).
And Andrew, I've noticed a coupla pimples since Fraxel but no real breakout. I'm gonna ask the doctor abt it the next time.
Keeping my fingers crossed for the rest of the Fraxels. At more than US$700/- per session, it better be worth something!
Hi, Pinky, may I know who your doctor is and where you did your first Frexal treatment in Singapore?
Cause I am going to have my first frexal treatment soon in SG.
how does your skin look like now?
wish you can see more improvement soon!
seems like everyone is doing this treatment at very high levels. so far, only seen meetpetes photos after one treatment. and he did it at 30mj! how does everyone who did it at high level feels about their improvement level so far? i would rate anything above 15mj as high. from kooky's photos, it looks as if he just had co2 laser! defefintely some downtime at high levels. did those people who went through this treatment at lower levels see any improvement? and what happen to everyone who promised to update on their progress with photos? is this treatment really as good as its before/after photos show? or is this just another fad treatment like so many other treatments out there??? if people don't share their experiences, the only people benefiting from this is the rich corporations who keeps getting our money for lousy bogus treamtents such as IPL and smoothbeams and whatnots! share people! SHARE!!!!!!!!
ok good nite. :doh:
where did you see kooky's pictures?
i saw it on this board, before he took it down...
just had my first fraxel with dr. fitzpatrick today. he said he is seeing much better results with acne scars now and that it isn't so much a factor of the energy setting as the total coverage. he treated my surface area around 30%
i think the energy was 15mJ and perhaps the density was 250, maybe 150. total energy around 7.3 kJ for the cheeks and temples.
i am confident that this will produce much better results... along with using the tns recovery complex, topical vitamin c serum, and taking the appropiate supplements for collagen growth....
i think'hadenough' is right about people freaking out about having the highest energy levels, especially if the scars are not very deep.
- eric
ps. anyone have any suggestions for products to cover up the redness and speed up healing / recovery ???
I just had my fraxel today with Dr. Castillo of MDLaser Studio in NC.
When I got there they put on the numbing ointment and waited 30 min before putting an IV in my arm. They waited 15 more min and put on the blue dye and some vaseline. They used 2 injections (called "Twilight Sedation") into the IV beforehand and one during the procedure. It made me feel like I had just had 10 beers and could still talk/think/move okay.
Here are my stats:
21 year old caucasian male
10.93 kJ total energy
Zimmer setting of 3
4 passes 10mJ at 250 density full face except nose/under eyes
4 passes 20mJ at 125 density full face except nose/under eyes
8 passes 10mJ at 250 density nose
6 passes 10mJ at 250 density under eyes
2 extra passes at 20mJ at 125 density on my scars
The procedure didn't hurt me at all. It felt like microderm around my forehead and beard line and didnt feel much on my cheeks/nose. It actually started hurting more when they stopped and I was sitting there. The first half hour felt like bad sunburn but after a couple hours felt okay.
One thing that was interesting that I talked to Dr. Castillo about was that he doesn't use the 50% overlap technique. He just runs it over the same spot then moves to the adjacent space, doing horizonal/vertical passes. He also wanted to be more aggresive and do more passes or 25mJ but I was looking for as little downtown as possible, so I limited it to 20mJ.
After the procedure my face wasn't red and it took about 10 min to get the dye 90% off using dawn dishwashing liquid. I used the zimmer on my face myself for 10 min after and iced it for 20 min before driving home (2 hour drive from virginia). In the car I could see that it was a little red, and every 10 min or so I would use the AC to blow cold air in my face since I didn't have any ice around.
I just got home and my face is not red at all and looks almost completely normal. It feels like it is slightly sunburnt. There is some visible swelling around the bottom of my eyes. I feel like I could go out in public right now and be okay aside for the trace blue dye on my face. To show you an idea of how non-sensitive my face is, I tan easily and when I use 100% apple cider vinegar on my face I don't even turn red.
Also, I think I probably had a blackhead in every single one of my pores but now they are all gone, and my pores are clean and open. The look is dramatic, especially with the swelling.
Price was $1150 total
ok so i am seriously considering getting some 'makeup' so I can go out of the house post-fraxel this week.
tell me what you think of these options:
http://www.studio5ive.com/HTML/mens-foundation.htm
or perhaps the lycogel which is supposed to speed up healing anyway with live yeast:
http://www.lycogel.com/about.html
anyone out there think this is going too far? i am dreading the question: "are you wearing makeup!!?" but both of these products claim they are 'undetectable'
- Eric
Kooky --- how is the redness for you now???
ok so i am seriously considering getting some 'makeup' so I can go out of the house post-fraxel this week.
tell me what you think of these options:
http://www.studio5ive.com/HTML/mens-foundation.htm
or perhaps the lycogel which is supposed to speed up healing anyway with live yeast:
http://www.lycogel.com/about.html
anyone out there think this is going too far? i am dreading the question: "are you wearing makeup!!?" but both of these products claim they are 'undetectable'
- Eric
Kooky --- how is the redness for you now???
I live in virginia... and my brother lives in virginia... and his name is ERIC too! .... ok sorry for being wierd... just wanna make sure you aren't my brother... lol. how'd the fraxel go?i'm having erbium laser sessions. And i'm also looking into mineral makeup.. odd. Well good luck 🙂
Eric:
You are flying from VA all the way to CA for the fraxels? Also what level zimmer did Dr. Fitz use? I can't figure out why I am not red at all and I got higher total energy than some other the others on this board.
yes, dr. fitzpatrick is that good... no acctually i live out in california now. if i was in va i would go to dr. alster.
i have no idea how you could not be red from the energy ouput you got. unless you have super resilent skin or perhaps the laser wasn't working correctly?? i didnt ask about the zimmer level, but it really, really hurt even with the zimmer. i am not super-red right now, like kooky's picture, but i want to look 'normal' for thanksgiving.
- eric
Eric:
You are flying from VA all the way to CA for the fraxels? Also what level zimmer did Dr. Fitz use? I can't figure out why I am not red at all and I got higher total energy than some other the others on this board.
yes, dr. fitzpatrick is that good... no acctually i live out in california now. if i was in va i would go to dr. alster.
i have no idea how you could not be red from the energy ouput you got. unless you have super resilent skin or perhaps the laser wasn't working correctly?? i didnt ask about the zimmer level, but it really, really hurt even with the zimmer. i am not super-red right now, like kooky's picture, but i want to look 'normal' for thanksgiving.
- eric
I am pretty sure the laser was working correctly because he also treated a scar on my hand with no zimmer and that area is red. I could feel it the entire time but the pain was minimal especially after the 3rd shot into the IV. Again it felt like I had just had 10 beers after the 3rd shot. Perhaps it was the high zimmer setting (3), stopping to use the zimmer inbetween switching areas, the 10 mins of zimmer after, 20 minutes of icing, and the AC blowing in my face for 2 hours on the way home which prevented a lot of redness? Either way, I'll take not being red.
I still have about 1mm of swelling so there is a obvious line under my eye from where the laser stopped. It looks at lot like the picture MeetPete posted before he removed his posts.