FX CO2 Laser - Day by Day Progression on 65 Year Old! Hermiston, WA

This type of FX laser is ablative - meaning invasive. I researched it well before having it done and expected down time of around 1-2 weeks. Luckily at 65 I work when I want, mainly from home and am not seeing clients. I am a clinical Hypnotherapist with medical background.

I expect that it will erase fine lines, get rid of brown spots and sun damage and tighten my face 10 to 20%. I chose the FX laser because it leaves "bridges" between the ablation which aids speedier recovering and I hear is the best to have. It is also a fractional laser.

Some doctors performing this give you light full sedation which adds to the cost. This Dr used 20 mg of Valium and (from memory) either 50 or 100 mg of Demarol. It worked fine - I was very relaxed, needless to say with all those meds (!) and felt no pain. 45 mins out they spread freezing gel on my face and put inter-ocular (yes on your eyeballs) shields in. That did NOT hurt because they put in freezing drops so don't worry. Everyone was kind, attentive and professional at the office.

I chose Dr Flaize because of a recommendation from his prior assistant and because of price. It was almost HALF the cost of elsewhere - he explained they were a smaller town etc. I wasn't wiling to spend nearly $5000 on the procedure in Spokane or nearly $4000 in Tri-Cities WA - the latter place actually having some poor reviews!

Day 1 looked bloody (prior to showering the next day) but didn't have any pain.
Day 2 tender face but no real pain. Took over the counter sleeping pill to help sleep.
Day 3 Some pain - took 2 acetaminophen that helped. Swollen face and eyes.
Will update....as I go

Day 3 night into Day 4 very swollen, very very itchy and slept little despite taking Benadryl. I took over the counter Tylenol and an anti inflammatory which helped. Day 4 night through Day 5 much better - the itchiness had subsided despite still flaking, somewhat swollen but no pain...so on the road to healing!

By day 6 I was still itchy and flaking but the swelling had gone down a lot. Because of still some swelling it is difficult to tell completely but I see lines are gone. When one is puffy it makes one look younger!

I forgot to mention, one uses Aquaphor Day 1 onwards. The doc literally layers that stuff on when you leave and it's the best treatment up until Day 4 or 5 depending on how you are healing and how your face feels when you put on the first SkinMedica cream. IF you start using the alternative to Aquaphor and it really stings then go back to Aquaphor for one more day. Aquaphor is a nightmare to get out of hair. Have a hair band and keep hair well off face. I was shampooing my hair about 6 times to try and get it out!

ALSO drink tons of water, take vitamin C or have a diet high in it and steer clear of sugar. Sugar debilitates the immune system!

Day 7, the redness is gone quit a bit. I am taking two over the counter sleeping tablets (Benadryl) at night because for some reason the itching is worse at night. I wake up looking very saggy puffy eyed but think that by tomorrow day 8, I can put on make up and go out.

My guy friend whom I sent a photo - said "looking good" so things are improving. If you were having this done and work outside the home (I work from home and have put off clients because I didn't want to scare them LOL!) then I suggest having the procedure done on a Friday and not going back to work for a week from the next Monday. You would be sufficiently healed and no sign of the procedure I think.

This procedure works best on people with fair skin - like mine - prone to fine lines, wrinkles, brown spots etc. I hear that it does not work well for dark skinned people - do your research on that.

The only thing I see that maybe may need a redo is the lines on my upper lips. The doc used two levels of laser, one lighter and one deeper. The deeper one is the one that "cuts" the most, hence the blood on first day. I think he should have used the deeper one on my upper lip. I am thinking that I could always just have that zapped again and will ask him on Friday which is Day 9 when I have my checkup.

Regarding the deep laser (the one that produced the bloody look), don't worry about pain! I was given 20 milligrams of Valium and Demarol along with it - I think 50 mills of that but it might have been 2 x 50! Didn't have a care in the world after that :) The doctor also put in "intraocular eye shields which go on your eyeballs - now don't get worried, it sounds worse than it is. First of all one has the nice meds in you working already and he also puts drops into your eyes to freeze them, easy peasy!

Day 8 progressing well. Still very itchy at night - one must not scratch, one must not pick - repeat after me! Have a tighter feeling which is progressing each day. Probably the worst part of day 6 thru 8 is using the specified cream and restorative ointment. It say "don't get it in your eyes" but since my eyelids and below my eyes were done right to the edge I need stuff on them because otherwise it is so sore and starts to crack....so I put it on as close as I could and used a bit of Aquaphor nearer the eyes themselves. Aquaphor doesn't seem to be a problem near the eyes.

So Day 8 venturing out to a "do" this evening with a bunch of older ladies! If ever there was a good crowd to tell me what they think this is it. One of them I hear wants to have this done so I think I shall be asked for some info.

Feel free to message me with any questions :)