Erica

All That I Had Hoped for

GDeborall, Your diary was such a welcome perspective on the ActiveFX experience. I've read it daily to remind myself to be patient...especially when I was looking like a goblin on days 1-3. My experience has been very similar, not a lot of pain but lots of swelling and bored senseless. It's now day 4 and I can say that I'm starting to recognize myself again. I'm still red, even "angry" red in some spots but my doctor assures me that I'm healing very well and I consider myself fortunate that I really didn't experience any pain beyond the procedure itself. I had 2 valium, topical numbing and local anesthesia so that he could be aggressive. It was tolerable and I was tender 24 hours later but didn't need the vicodin he prescribed. I started peeling on day 2 and by today (day 4) there is very little remaining flakiness. The only product that I've been slathering on religiously is the Vanicream cream that I've used for years as a moisturizer (Non-comedegenic and good for sensitive skin) I've also noticed an almost hourly improvement in the redness which has me running to a mirror every few hours to see what has changed. Yes, I am THAT bored. There are only so many closets I can clean out and loads of laundry to do so I sent my husband out today with a long list of DVDs that I've been meaning to watch forever... I also got the go ahead for mineral makeup today but I think I'll wait until I'm ready to face the world again which, at this rate, should be in 2 days. Overall, I'm very pleased with the experience and I can't tell you how much having this forum has helped to comfort me and deal with the emotional aspects of deliberately doing something so extreme to an otherwise attractive face. Patience is key as is finding a physician that you trust and who knows your skin. I would be very interested in getting an update on your progress since your last posting.