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(Apologies if this is the wrong forum for this post)
I won't go into the details, but I had to have a minor surgery on my back which has left me with an exterior scar. The surgeon has said that the scar has healed as expected, but I am pretty self-conscious about how it looks.
Before I talk to a plastic surgeon, has anyone had luck using any over the counter scar repair products?
There are silicone strips and they are supposed to flatten the skin over time. You have to wear them consistently, but I am guessing there are limitations to over the counter products. If the scar is red you can get v beam laser treatments to take out the red. Fraxel can flatten the scar. A dermatologist that has lasers in their practice could look at your scar and make a recommendation or tell you if silicone strips will work in your case.
How long ago was the surgery? Possible it will fade as it ages, mine did.
I had open heart surgery and while the scar wasn't too terrible, I did use Mederma for a time on the part that showed above my shirt. It helped, but so did time.
I'm sorry it bothers you - maybe make up a story about "a duel" or "a jealous lover" and be really mysterious about it. Keep 'em guessing!
How long ago was the surgery? Possible it will fade as it ages, mine did.
I had open heart surgery and while the scar wasn't too terrible, I did use Mederma for a time on the part that showed above my shirt. It helped, but so did time.
I'm sorry it bothers you - maybe make up a story about "a duel" or "a jealous lover" and be really mysterious about it. Keep 'em guessing!
Surgery was about 18 months ago. It has slightly faded, but not nearly as much as I would have liked. It also sometimes causes me some discomfort as it is an exterior scar.
The scar repair stuff, you are supposed to use it right away when it is healing. If you wait and try it later, it's too late. Not that it would be that effective anyway. I have several facial scars and the strips did nothing.
I can understand how you are feeling. I have a large scar from cancer removal surgery and it is in a very prominent area and there is no way to hide it ever. I've thought about scar revision surgery numerous times and while I would love to have my scar gone, I'm not sure I want to go under the knife again especially since my initial surgery was very long and traumatic. Plus as I age I wonder why I even care what it looks like and also worry that the fix might look worse than what I currently have. I do have some issues with the way it feels but for me it is more of how it looks.
So with that said, I think since you are pretty far out from your surgery using any topical stuff probably would not do much. You might see about some surface treatments (depending upon what type of scaring you have) or you might, like in my case, have to consider scar revision surgery.
I've got a surgical scar on my leg that took about three years to fade and smooth out. I thought it was always going to be noticeable, but now it's so faint that when I had to have an x ray, the tech was amazed that I could have that much hardware without a scar.
So if you can give yours time, maybe your body will tidy it up some.
OP, I don't want to minimize your current feelings at all, but is it possible to change the way you THINK about your scar? I am 61 and I have many scars (some from major surgeries), and perhaps surprisingly, none of them have ever bothered me.
This is what I wrote in a similar thread way back in 2017:
Quote:
Originally Posted by karen_in_nh_2012
Or you could just re-think how you THINK about the scar, you know?
Scars are NOT inherently ugly. I have some and I have never thought of them as ugly, nor have any of my boyfriends/partners. A good (male) friend of mine years ago told me, "Any man worth having you would not give 2 sh*** about your scars." And he was absolutely right.
Honestly, I think many scars are kind of interesting ... they show a life lived, trials & tribulations and all. Again, there is nothing inherently ugly about them -- it's all in how we choose to INTERPRET them.
Three years later, I still feel the same way about my scars. I hope that if your scar doesn't end up fading, you will learn to view it differently. I wish you the best!
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I am 61 and I have many scars (some from major surgeries), and perhaps surprisingly, none of them have ever bothered me.
