The "Procedure"

Yesterday I did it!  I had my acne scars treated.  David brought me to my appointment with my med.s in hand.  When it was time to go back to the room it was a short goodbye.  The MA was great.  We got back into the room and I took my Percocet and Valium.  She gave me a headband and cap to wear.  She hooked me up to a blood pressure machine and she applied the topical numbing cream.  While we were waiting for it to work we chatted about pregnancy and I told her my horror stories about pregnancy since there was a chance she might be pregnant.  (Poor thing I probably scared the poop out of her.)  I kept licking my lips which was a dumb thing to do cause it caused my tongue to go numb.  Once my skin was numb Dr. Taylor came in and injected numbing medication into the sides of my face where he would be inserting the tool.  Sometimes the numbing medication can cause some burning and stinging but I didn't have a problem.  After he inserted a long needle into my face and injected it with a saline (water) Lidocaine mixture.  It's used to swell the skin and numb at the same time.  It was so bizarre cause I could see my cheeks puff up and feel my skin stretching.  When I was all "puffy" he inserted his special tool and started cutting away at the scar band that are beneath the skin.  It made the weirdest noise.  I didn't feel anything though.  Once all the bands were cut they applied the chemical peel on.  It burned like a sun burn from HELL.  They were nice and sprayed my face with more numbing cream.  Last Dr. Taylor took the laser to my cheeks.  I couldn't feel most of it cause I was still numb but there were parts where I could feel it.  It kind of felt like what I imagine a taser would feel like.  After the laser they applied wet gauze to my face.  Once everything was cleaned up they let David come in.  The look on his face was priceless.  I asked him if he still loved me.  I don't he knew what to say.  Once  they sat me up I could see my reflection in the window.  I didn't even look like myself.  I was a scary monster.  On the way home we were laughing about how hideous I looked.  If I gained 100 pounds that is what I would look like.  I had trouble talking cause of all the swelling and numbness.  B's were the hardest thing to pronounce.  I couldn't open and close my eyes very well either.  I looked like a deer caught in headlights.  Now to applying this greasy ointment on every 30 min. for at least a week!
I said I wanted to document this process and what better way to document then to take pictures.  Here is a picture of a scary monster after the procedure.

After Procedure

After Procedure R side

After Procedure L side

 Still swollen from the saline and bloody from the laser treatment.