Hi all. I'm writing to share my bad experience with a laser tx. Sometimes it helps me to cope just by sharing with others out there who may have gone through it too or may just have some good tips and advice. I had a non-ablative laser tx. 7 months ago and it was the biggest mistake of my life. It damaged my skin significantly. I had nice smooth skin with good complexion, the only reason I was having it done was for more of a preventative/maintenance type thing so as to "avoid or slow" aging and keep my skin looking good. Well, now I'm stuck with enlarged visible pores all over my face whereas before the only visible ones I had were on my nose. It also changed the texture of my skin, it is less firm and no longer smooth. There are slight linear indentations. Some of the lines run vertically up and down my cheek. I also have some that are parallel and radiate out from my n.l. lines. I visited a derm who agreed that they looked "artifactual" and I asked what he meant by that and he said "Well, those that were created by the laser". My skin just looks like it has some grooves in it now. It's hard to explain but bottom line is I believe the collagen was broken down too far causing these artificial wrinkles or lines and enlarged pores and uneven texture, decreased firmness. It's been very upsetting and I'm so very self concious now. I don't want people to know but at the same time I worry that they're wondering what the heck happened to my skin. It's not noticeable from a distance but if face to face conversation it certainly is. I have a p.s. consult coming up. I'm going to look into fat grafting as well as ask about mini lift or mid face lift to help minimize the depth and look of the indented lines and smooth the skin back out. I'm scared to have anything else done but at the same time I hate how my skin looks now. I've consulted with a couple of derm. so far and I don't get anywhere with it. They just act puzzled and say things like, "Hmmm, the lasers are not supposed to cause things they're supposed to improve things like that". Usually, it's derm. who use lasers themselves and they personally report not having this ever happen to them which is probably the case, they just must be skilled at it. It boils down to skill. ALso, I think alot of Dr. are hesitant to give lasers a bad rap because they are such a big money maker and if word gets out that they are damaging people well there goes their profit on lasers. I did have a p.s. tell me they personally don't use lasers because of the known problems they can cause including problems that they personally had with patients so he quit using them. I have also talked to some other people I met on another forum that had similar problems following laser tx. It's very unfortunate.
So, what I'm also trying to do for myself is take pre-natal vit.s, evening primrose, a wrinkle fighters supp. that has DMAE, C ester and alpha lipoic acid in it, and biotin. It's hard not to stress about it though as I see my skin getting progressively worse, even still. If anyone out there has had a similar situation or has any tips or advice I'd love to hear from you. :)