Silicon sheets

It’s been 5 days since my visit to Stanford Plastics, and I’ve switched from Cortran tape (12 hours a day) to Silicon tape (24/7) and it looks like my scars are starting to flatten!

Stanford Health Care - Plastic Surgery Dept

Update!

I recently accepted a full-time job (Am I a grown up yet?) that's allowed me to change my health care plan, and am now revising my health team. I've been a Kaiser member since birth, but thought I would change it up a little to get a new perspective on care so I signed up for Athem Blue Cross PPO. I haven't really decided on how my doctors compare, but thought I would give Stanford a shot---especially cause I've been dealing with these keloids since forever. Converting health care plans is no fun. I've had to get my records in order, request my files be transferred and also get referred again related things I've been seeing doctors for a long time for.

Hopefully this change will be worth a shot. I saw a Plastic Surgery doctor today for the first time at Stanford in Palo Alto. I cried in the office when explaining my treatment history, what I've tried, modalities that did not work. It seems like there's little any doctor can do. It was hard to get the words out and explain to the new doctor why I switched to a new hospital. It's not that I didn't like my old doctor, it just started to feel a bit routine. I wanted to new person to consult with. There has been so many times I've considered flying down to LA or New York for a new professional's opinion. These scars are unpredictable and tricky, especially with the placement of my scars being directly located mid chest where there is so much tension. I guess I'm a little sad that I lost my old doctor with the insurance switch. She's been with me since my keloid excision and watched me grow up in a lot of ways.

I was able to get a round of kenelog shots in, which is pretty normal maintenance for my scars. It's starting to feel like getting an oil change, haha. Just something I need to do every 3 months. Anyway, the Stanford doctor thinks I should stop with Cordran tape (what!) and solely use silicon sheets 24-7. New doctor, new opinions---so I am willing to try this too.

New news: New doctor is willing to excise again. I'm scared though. I've excised before with a worse re-occurrence of the original scar. He thinks it could be different, followed immediately by radiation. It's something to think about. What are your thoughts world? Worth a shot?

Progress

Here’s an update photo!

I have a doctor appt on Monday for my third round of injections for this cycle. The tape has seemed to be helping.

Cordran Tape Tips

Hello!

My doctor prescribed cordran tape to maintain my scars from  getting too out of hand, and it really helps to keep my scars from getting bulky! I’ve noticed that when I use the tape, it slows the growth process of my scars and usually also helps with the itching.

However, the tape needs to be cut exactly like the shape of my scars—so everyday I would have to customize my tape by cutting it exactly to size! However, since my doctor recently asked me to use the tape everyday, replacing it every 12 hours—I found some short cups to make this process less annoying,

I can’t belive I didn’t think of this sooner! What I’m doing nowadays is pre-cutting my tape. I use a stencil so the tape is the same shape as my scars. Because they are pre-cut, I’m more likely to keep up with using the tape everyday instead of having to cut it to shape everyday. I pre-cut about 2 weeks worth of the Cortran tape.

Anyway. Cutting the tape was really the most annoying part—it would leave little bits of paper everywhere and stick to my scissors and pre-cutting it makes everyday a little easier. Hope this helps anyone who’s also having to use cordran tape

Hello! Here’s just a quick update, not much has changed! In this pic, I have cordran tape on my scars. My doctor asked me to take a break from the steroid shots, and I was due for an injection this month—but just started a new job so I wasn’t able to get an appointment. I’ll be booking an appointment for the next week!

Also, I’ve been reading your comments. Thank you for the words of encouragement, sharing your treatment stories, and letting me know that I am being heard on this platform. I share such similarities to what you have shared. I’m rethinking radiation, and maybe thinking about contacting a specialist for cryotherapy. I’ll keep you posted when I’ve decided which route I’ll be going. 

I too, get discouraged when I’m picking out my clothes or am shopping for tops because it’s such a huge part of my identity. I’m always trying to find the perfect top that hides me scar. I know that the scar is part of me, but it’s such easier to hide it then having to explain what it is and how I got it. 

I’m working up the courage to not care as much, but it’s not easy. 

What I Do In Between Steroid Injections

Here are some things I use to treat my scars while I am waiting in between kenalog injections.

Cordran Tape: This tape was prescribed by my doctor. It costs about $70.00 with my insurance and the roll will usually last me about 2 months. The tape is infused with steroid medication, and is one way to maintain my scar in between injections. I put the tape on right before bed, and will take it off the next day when I'm in the shower. The tape isn't very comfortable because it's really stiff, but it helps to cut the tape to the exact size of my scar with rounded edges so that there isn't any tricky sharp edges. I've been using this tape religiously since my last kenalog injection. Let's hope it helps

 Jojoba Oil: Whenever my scar is feeling dry, I'll apply some jojoba oil directly to my scar. I use a cotton ball to apply it to the scar, and it makes me feel like I'm returning some natural oil to the surface of my skin. I bought my bottle from Trader Joe's!

Clindamycin Phosphate: I've also used Clindamycin Phosphate to clean my scars in between steroid tape or silicon tape. Acne and blackheads tend to form around my scars, so this is one way that I've been able to control those break outs. My scars are a result from acne, so I'd rather be safe than sorry! There will be no new scars from acne if I can control it with CP!

Plato's: I haven't been really good at consistently using Plato's Scar Serum or Dark Scar Corrector but I do use it whenever I remember to. I think because I'm already using other products, I tend to forget about these guys. I'm not sure if these guys have made that big of a difference to my scars, but I thought I'd share!

Silicon Sheets: 

ScarAway-I've recently started using these again! I like the ScarAway brand because it's my skin color and it's really soft. But one thing I don't really like about ScarAway is that the fabric can collect swear and get kinda smelly after a few uses. The directions say it can be used for about 14 days, but I usually throw it out after 3-4 days. The box costs $26 on Amazon.

Embrace Scar Therapy for Old Scars-I used this for the first time this week. The directions say you can leave it on for 10 days at a time, but I took it off after 24 hours my first time using them. I thought that I could re-apply after taking it off like most silicon sheets, but unfortunately they lost their stickiness after taking it off. I think I was supposed to leave it on my scars for 10 days without taking them off. I like that these sheets are soft and I don't really notice that it's on. I think I will give them another try in a few more weeks if my scars start to get better after using the cordran tape. Because I'm applying Cordran tape every 12 hours, it doesn't really make sense for me to use the embrace tape which requires me to leave the tape on for days at a time. The box comes with 3 strips and costs about $22 on Amazon.

Hello Friends! Here's my update. I saw my doctor last week and got treatment with kenalog steroid injections. We did the same routine, with lidocaine cream to numb the area, then biofreeze spray simultaneously with the steroid injections to relieve the pain.

After my treatment, my doctor mentioned a different approach to treatment that I have been thinking about. The new approach would be that my scars would be surgically removed (again) followed by radiation therapy. The new part of this treatment would be the radiation part. It wasn't the first time she's told me about radiation therapy, but it wasn't until now that I've been seriously considering it. I have had my scars surgically removed before in 2012, and they came back even bigger than before. You can see the progress from previous posts.

I've tried all treatments from laser, surgery, steroid injections, cordran tape (steroid tape), silicon tape, essential oils....everything! I am desperate to get rid of my scars, but nothing really seems to work. I couldn't do the radiation therapy right away though. I would need to lose weight before the new approach. I've been in grad school for the past two years, and during this time---I've gained a lot of weight. The scar and weight gain has been huge factors effecting my self confidence. So some good from this talk with my doctor is that I'm motivated more than ever to lose this extra weight that I've put on over the past few years.

Because the scars would be surgically removed, I would need to lose weight before the surgery. My scars on located in my chest, where skin is very tight---and if I were to do this surgery/radiation treatment, I would need to lose enough weight so that there would be enough elasticity to close my incision without so much tension. The doctor said this has worked for the majority of her patients. I think we've done the steroid route for so long, maybe she's afraid it's no longer working. For now, I'm still leaning towards less aggressive treatments. I'm just so afraid that my scars will become bigger if I surgically remove them again. I want to do more research on radiation therapy and look into success rates first.

If I go with radiation treatment, it's going to be a long and well-thought out decision. As much as I want my scars to be removed, I don't want to risk them coming back bigger than ever.

In my opinion, the scars do feel a lot softer and less painful after the injections. However, I have noticed that they have been growing over the years even with the steroid injections. My concern is that I don't feel like my current approach has been aggressive enough. After 3 months, we always take a break from the steroids. But I want to keep going consistently until we see some big changes. My doctor says it's not good to have too many steroid injections though, so I've been putting my faith in her approach.

So for now, I'm doing the silicon sheets and cordran tape in between sessions. Stay tuned!