Reviews you can trust, from real people like you.
How it works
- Our highly-trained Review Moderation team evaluates all reviews before they're published to ensure they're written by people like you and not a member of a doctor's office.
- This multi-step process takes up to 24 hours from review submission to publication.
- Doctors can't pay to have reviews removed or hidden.
- Reviews are only removed at the reviewer's request or if they violate our Terms of Service.
If you have questions or believe we should re-evaluate a published review, let us know.
Sort by:
*Treatment results may vary
It turns out curcumin is the answer
As I have stated previously, I've been taking supplements for some time to manage my complications and they have always helped at least some. But I still had swelling that was worse on some days than others and overall was not happy with how I looked.
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to try curcumin again as I had in the past, but this time I bought a very high-quality (and expensive) brand.
IT WORKS. I'm so happy to report that I'm very pleased with the way I look now.
If you have filler complications, please try it. It has been shown in studies to be as effective as steroids, and it's natural and healthy instead of fraught with terrible side effects.
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to try curcumin again as I had in the past, but this time I bought a very high-quality (and expensive) brand.
IT WORKS. I'm so happy to report that I'm very pleased with the way I look now.
If you have filler complications, please try it. It has been shown in studies to be as effective as steroids, and it's natural and healthy instead of fraught with terrible side effects.
vitamin D - light bulb moment!
As I said in my last update, I had the feeling that vitamin D is probably critical in correcting these adverse reactions (or preventing them in the first place).
I got to thinking about the similarity between some of these complications and keloids/hypertrophic scarring. The treatment is even the same--steroids and/or 5-FU.
Well, I thought I remembered reading before that keloids are more common in African-Americans and other people with darker skin...which points to low vitamin D levels being the culprit! I did some Googling and sure enough, new research suggests that vitamin D could possibly be useful to prevent and treat keloids/hypertrophic scarring.
***If you're planning to have any procedure done that could cause scarring, make sure your vitamin D levels are where they need to be! And of course you should do that anyway for health reasons.***
As for my symptoms, currently my swelling is worse on some days than others. I had several days there with pretty drastic improvement, but then the swelling came back after spending a long day outside in extreme heat. Not sure if that has anything to do with it or not. Overall the swelling is still never as bad as it was months ago. The pain is almost gone; I will feel an occasional twinge randomly but it's happening less and less.
I got to thinking about the similarity between some of these complications and keloids/hypertrophic scarring. The treatment is even the same--steroids and/or 5-FU.
Well, I thought I remembered reading before that keloids are more common in African-Americans and other people with darker skin...which points to low vitamin D levels being the culprit! I did some Googling and sure enough, new research suggests that vitamin D could possibly be useful to prevent and treat keloids/hypertrophic scarring.
***If you're planning to have any procedure done that could cause scarring, make sure your vitamin D levels are where they need to be! And of course you should do that anyway for health reasons.***
As for my symptoms, currently my swelling is worse on some days than others. I had several days there with pretty drastic improvement, but then the swelling came back after spending a long day outside in extreme heat. Not sure if that has anything to do with it or not. Overall the swelling is still never as bad as it was months ago. The pain is almost gone; I will feel an occasional twinge randomly but it's happening less and less.
Flareup
Due to being extremely busy and stressed for the past few months, I fell off the wagon. I was constantly eating unhealthy food on the run and wasn't taking the time to exercise or take supplements.
Well, it came back to bite. Two weeks ago, my symptoms returned (really they never resolved 100% but they had improved tremendously. My cheeks were still swollen this entire time but not that noticeably, and I had no pain).
This time around, the pain returned and swelling reappeared in places where it had gone down months ago. Thankfully none of it has been as bad as when this happened the first time.
So I'm back on the supplement regimen, with a few changes, and it seems to be helping a lot. The pain is mostly gone and the swelling is improving. At this point I don't want more 5-FU shots, although I will get them if things worsen and I start to look unsightly.
I started doing a lot more reading and research, racking my brain wondering WHY this is happening to me AGAIN. I'm a seemingly healthy person, so why is my immune system overreacting and unable to handle a product that is fine for most people? Something is clearly wrong here.
My conclusion: I really believe the biggest problem is vitamin D deficiency. It is a critical immunomodulator, which is what we need when our immune system is having inappropriate reactions to foreign bodies, or to our own tissue as in autoimmune disease, etc.
Deficiency is very common, and I would bet particularly so in this community since we care about our appearances and therefore most of us aren't willing to trash our skin in the sun. I urge you all to read up on vitamin D. You need more than you might think and the health consequences of deficiency go far beyond aesthetics and can be truly horrifying!
Current daily supplement regimen:
-2000 mg fish oil
-good quality multivitamin (taken as directed)
-10,000 IU vitamin D3 (large dose but just temporary to get my levels up)
-12 mg astaxanthin
-400 mg green tea extract (this is an immunomodulator as well)
I'll keep you all posted! Let me know if you have questions.
Well, it came back to bite. Two weeks ago, my symptoms returned (really they never resolved 100% but they had improved tremendously. My cheeks were still swollen this entire time but not that noticeably, and I had no pain).
This time around, the pain returned and swelling reappeared in places where it had gone down months ago. Thankfully none of it has been as bad as when this happened the first time.
So I'm back on the supplement regimen, with a few changes, and it seems to be helping a lot. The pain is mostly gone and the swelling is improving. At this point I don't want more 5-FU shots, although I will get them if things worsen and I start to look unsightly.
I started doing a lot more reading and research, racking my brain wondering WHY this is happening to me AGAIN. I'm a seemingly healthy person, so why is my immune system overreacting and unable to handle a product that is fine for most people? Something is clearly wrong here.
My conclusion: I really believe the biggest problem is vitamin D deficiency. It is a critical immunomodulator, which is what we need when our immune system is having inappropriate reactions to foreign bodies, or to our own tissue as in autoimmune disease, etc.
Deficiency is very common, and I would bet particularly so in this community since we care about our appearances and therefore most of us aren't willing to trash our skin in the sun. I urge you all to read up on vitamin D. You need more than you might think and the health consequences of deficiency go far beyond aesthetics and can be truly horrifying!
Current daily supplement regimen:
-2000 mg fish oil
-good quality multivitamin (taken as directed)
-10,000 IU vitamin D3 (large dose but just temporary to get my levels up)
-12 mg astaxanthin
-400 mg green tea extract (this is an immunomodulator as well)
I'll keep you all posted! Let me know if you have questions.