“Smartxide dot therapy laser great so far”

I'm 36 years old with fairly good skin. I decided to do this for preservation & maintenence. I had some age spots and a few chicken pox scars and a slight amount of tiny wrinkles. I've had three children with serious weight gain and loss associated with that. I was concerned with the laxity of my skin. The Dr. said that this would restore my skin to my early 20's.

The numbing cream was applied for almost an hour. Then she came in and wiped it off and cleaned my face with alcohol and something that smelt like acetone. I was immediately taken to the laser chair where they allowed my hubby to hold my hand during the procedure. He started and about a quarter of the way through I could not handle the pain so the Dr. gave me a shot of Versed(sp?). The smell of burning flesh is pretty bad. I don't remember anything after that. When I regained my conciousness I was at home and 2 hours had passed. Wheww..

For the next 3 hours my face burned like HECK! I thought I made a really bad decision. The 4th hour it just stopped burning. I was so thankful. I immediately started to swell. My face was a hot pink color and swelling rapidly. The grid marks started to appear 6 hours post laser. I kept my face moist with the cream/salve and iced it on a hourly basis with the cold packs the Dr. provided. I must say that frozen peas in a zip-lock bag works wonders also.

I'm taking Zovarax to make sure I don't get a fever blister. It's important to finish the whole bottle of that. The Dr. told me that if you've EVER had a feverblister you really need Zovarax. I was also told not to let my face dry out.

It's 48 hours post laser now and I am in NO PAIN. None what-so-ever. My face is starting to itch and it's driving me crazy. There appears to be the formation of crusting in small areas. I guess the peeling will begin. The swelling is still pretty bad but seems to be dinimishing a bit. I'll update more later.

Updated on May 26, 2009:

Updated on Jun 13, 2009:

I am completely healed now and it's 3 weeks post SmartXide.  Please know that everything you read regarding healing is on a individual basis.  I thought I would be wearing makeup and shopping by day 5.  That was NOT the case.  Although I had minimum pain the healing process was VERY uncomfortable, time consuming, and not for those who are not EXTREMELY dedicated to spending most of your waking hours to sanatizing, sterilizing, etc.  You must drink tons of water.  I thought I would drown myself but know that's one of the reasons I healed so well.  It's so important that everything is as clean as humanly possible.  I even washed my cream jars/bottles before each use.  I sterilized all towels/cloths and bedding.  I only used Organic skin care and vinegar for the face soaks.  I used Avalon Organics and Alba NON-Petroleum Jelly instead of the horrible CP3 creams I was given.  Those were full of damaging chemicals.  Don't want to make that mistake and poison your skin after suffering through the healing process. Also you MUST AVOID the sun all together.  This is a must!  You can't even drive without wearing a scarf & hat.  I was told if you get any sun at all you will get brown spots.  It's 3 weeks out and I feel like a vampire but a pretty one.  I realize now how hard it is to avoid the sun.  If you are considering this just know that it is not like getting a microderm abrasion or light peel.  It's serious.    There are many risk but for me I lucked out and didn't have any complications.  Good luck.  I also wanted to add that my tiny  wrinkles & fine lines are back after all the swelling went down.  I was told it takes 3-6 months for the collagen to completely fill in so we'll see.  I will update this periodically with photos and anything I can think of that may help others.  :-)

6hrs post Smartxide

6hrs post Smartxide

6hrs Smartxide

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4 days smartxide