Sunday, July 28, 2013

My Acne Treatment Experience


I have long been waiting to share my experience but had no chance since I didn't have a blog! ;) Anyways, it's a very long and tedious journey for me, from my mid-teens to my early-20's. Of course when you're young, you just believe your older relatives about their regimens when they were younger. My grandma told me that she used boiled guava leaves and applied them on her face and that dried her pimples. I tried it and because I have very sensitive skin, I ended up burning my face! Oh well... Then an aunt told me that she used Perla soap as facial soap. I was very doubtful about it, but since my mom egged me to try it since it helped my aunt, plus it's cheaper than going to buy those expensive creams or even go to the dermatologist, I tried it, and ended up with a lot more pimples. These and some other stuff over the counter and nothing seemed to help.

This is a photo of my cheek when I was a senior in college. Not a good sight, I know.



When I already have some financial ability to go see a dermatologist on my own, I went to Dr. Margaret Corcoran as per recommendation of a friend who was her patient as well. She was very nice and accommodating and very patient in explaining to me how acne comes about and the treatment options. I had acne facials, acne cure light treatments, and numerous acne injections. She gave me toners, gels and creams. She also gave me Acnotin capsules which is an Isotretinoin. Plus she advised me to sleep at least 6 hours each night and limit my intake of fried foods, spicy foods, sweets, nuts and starchy foods.

After 2 months, my skin was cleared of big pimples. This is a photo of my cheek now:



I'm currently undergoing scar treatments with Dr. Corcoran every month. I have some deep scars, but I know that with Dr. Corcoran's able hands, I will have way better skin. I will update you on the results soon. 

Dr. Corcoran's rates are very reasonable. Plus she is a real dermatologist. Try it out and see if Dr. Corcoran is the right dermatologist for you. 

Her clinic details:
   CorDerm Advanced Dermatology and Laser Center
   Suite 1502 Medical Plaza Makati, Amorsolo corner dela Rosa St., Makati City
   Phone: 8088140, 0917-9579335
   Open: Monday to Saturday 11-7pm
   Website: www.corderm.com

33 comments:

  1. Hi there. Just want to ask what are the recommended treatments for your scars? Thanks

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    1. for acne scars, there are three kinds of treaments i knew.
      1. Fractional c02
      2. microneedling, using dermaroller
      3. microneedling with rf using the more advance machine, this also what they call

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    2. Is it okay to post part of this on my website basically post a hyperlink to this webpage?Acne Treatment for Teenagers

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  2. I'm now undergoing subsicion and CROSS treatments every month and my derma said that after the end of this month which will be my last session (my 4th), we will do fractional laser.

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    1. How much did you pay for those treatments? Are they effective? :)

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    2. I paid a package of 5,000 pesos on the subcision and the CROSS. They are very effective. Right now, the deep scars have really improved. For fractional laser, I haven't asked my derma yet on its price.

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    3. is the 5k just one session of subcision and cross? did they leave dark spots? sorry for asking a lot of questions. I just want to improve the appearance of my acne scars. ;)

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    4. 5k is for each session of subcision and CROSS. There were no dark spots afterwards. Though there was a little redness and bruising for around 5 days. I applied the cream that my derma gave me to lessen the down time and prevent darkening of the treated areas.

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  3. How many milligrams was the recommended dosage for you on isotretinoin?

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    1. Im currently at it too. :)
      Im on my 11th day,(20mg).. just curious if your dosage was upped to 40 or 60?

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  4. HI, how much all in all did you spend during those 2 months in order to clear up the pimples. I have the same issue as you. I do have a lot of pimples, I think it is hereditary? since my mom used to have a lot of pimps too. How many times do you visit their clinic a month?

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    1. I can't really remember the exact amount, but in 2 months, I think I spent around 10,000 pesos, that's including the medications and treatments. I visited my derma every 2 weeks.

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  6. hi, gaano ka katagal nagtake ng meds? actually nagpunta ako sa corderm dahil nakita ko ang blog post na 'to. And binigyan din ako ng same meds. Then nacurious ako kung ano ba ung isotretinoin and found some scary reviews. May side effects ka ba na naexperience while you're under medication?
    http://www.aad.org/dermatology-a-to-z/diseases-and-treatments/i---l/isotretinoin/why-dermatologists-prescribe-isotretinoin

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  7. hi, gaano ka katagal nagtake ng meds? actually nagpunta ako sa corderm dahil nakita ko ang blog post na 'to. And binigyan din ako ng same meds. Then nacurious ako kung ano ba ung isotretinoin and found some scary reviews. May side effects ka ba na naexperience while you're under medication?
    http://www.aad.org/dermatology-a-to-z/diseases-and-treatments/i---l/isotretinoin/why-dermatologists-prescribe-isotretinoin

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    Replies
    1. I took it for 4 months total. I didn't have any side effects, just dryness of my lips. My friends complimented me about how less oily my skin was during the time that I was taking it.

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  8. Hi! Thanks for the reply. I am experiencing severe dryness of my lips and fatigue. I asked Dra. about it and she told me to take lots of water and vitamins. My skin became very dry too. I just used moisturizer to alleviate the dryness. But yeah, my pimples were gone.

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  9. I forgot to ask you, the tca cross costs 5k and another 5k for the subcision? just to make it clear. ;)

    I also went to corderm. She gave me meds, soap, cream and toner. I'll be coming back after 2 weeks. Im seeing some improvements already. Have you tried their licopeel? she recommended that and i'll have it done maybe next week.

    im having a hard time to go to clinics regularly because im just a student.

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    1. Yes, 5k for submission and 5k for TCA CROSS. Dr. Corcoran mentioned the licopeel to me before, though because of budget issues, I haven't tried it. But I heard from one of my friends that it's also good especially after acne facial. She said it dries out the pimples fast plus lightens the dark scars of pimples.

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  10. Hello. Just want to ask how much was each session of fractional laser? and how's the progress of your acne scar treatments so far? okay ba talaga ang results ng subcision and tca cross plus the fractional laser?

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    1. I have had 3 sessions of subcision & TCA CROSS. I'm happy with the results so far, around more than 50-60% improvement on the deep scars. I still have to undergo 1 more session of subcision & TCA CROSS, (I've been postponing it since I had to schedule it because of the downtime) but hopefully I can have it by next month depending on if I can have at least a week of time off from work. I haven't had fractional laser, but I've heard great feedback on that with the subcision & TCA CROSS.

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    2. thanks for replying! :) ohh, so medyo matagal ang downtime? Am planning to undergo same procedures din sana under Dr. Corcoran kaso lang takot ako sa tagal ng downtime.I have few more questions, if you don't mind:
      1. How many days did you allot as downtime (including weekends)? This is so I can plan my leaves.

      2. Are you still undergoing the monthly facial in between the acne scar treatments?

      3. Since 5k each for subcision and TCA cross, covered na ba lahat ng acne scars sa buong face nun or meron lang number of scars na ittreat?

      4. May additional fee pa ba like doctor's fee and meds after you undergo the procedures?

      Sorry sa dami ng tanong. Just want to get as much feedback from Dr. Corcoran before I transfer to her. Thanks in advance!

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  12. Acne has been my problem since my high school days. I’m glad that my skin doesn’t break out now.
    xo,
    ~Pauline @Kallony

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  14. Hi. after reading your post i went to her clinic and now i am on my second month. i'll undergo cross and subcision too but her price for me is 10,000. did you ask for a discount or is this really the price because i think it is very pricey. i highly appreciate your reply.thank you!

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  16. Your blog is good and impressive. If you want to know more about acne treatment than visit here.

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  17. How much consultation fee kay Dra? :)

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  18. pede po pakiupdate kung ilang % na ang improvement ng acne scars nyo ngayon?

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