I turn 26 this May, which means my parents' health insurance will stop covering me at the end of the year. I am up for a better job at work which would include healthcare, but we don't know yet when that hiring process will begin, let alone be resolved so I don't know when or if I'd be getting that new insurance.
I've always tried to keep on top of my health, and I have spent the last several years going to too many doctors too often. However, with the looming expiration of my health insurance policy I've felt driven to tackle a lot of concerns that I previously considered too minor, especially compared to my other problems, to bother going to the doctor over.
In addition, one of my best friends is getting married at the end of August this year and as the maid of honor I will be in the secondary spotlight and in a lot of photos and I have suddenly begun to feel highly self-conscious of all the little things I've put off improving about my appearance. I haven't had a haircut in over two and a half years, my teeth are yellow, I'm about ten pounds overweight and far too little of my body mass is muscle... you get the picture.
As part of this general drive to fix my body, both in the sense of healthcare and in terms of cosmetic issues, I have begun pursuing treatment for my scars.
I got my first keloid scar sometime fairly early in college. It might've been the ear piercing that got infected and closed up into a big scar, but I think the first one was the burn on my lower spine. The first time I actually noticed a keloid, though, was the third time. I had to have my gallbladder removed in January of 2010 and although it was done laproscopically, my incisions were closed up with glue and the edges were poorly aligned and in general the whole thing was a mess and I ended up with three dark, raised scars on my stomach and a fourth in my belly button. The last keloid (thus far) appeared on my chest after I had a mole removed on the advice of my dermatologist. Even though a plastic surgeon did that one, it formed a big thick raised scar and a year of over-the-counter treatments and patches did nothing for it.
So finally, at the end of 2013, I went back to that plastic surgeon and he injected the scar on my chest (the only one that's highly noticeable, and will be completely visible in my bridesmaid dress) with a treatment to reduce it. It did help but I'm going back for a followup and, I expect, a second injection to flatten and lighten it further. If this goes well, I may repeat the process on the scars on my stomach.
I went to another plastic surgeon, one who is also an ENT and who I have seen before in that capacity, about the scar on my ear. It was on the back of my ear and was a perfectly round, red bump about the size and shape of half a pea where the second piercing in my left earlobe once was. The appearance of it always bothered me a little but more than that was the feel of it, and the fact that it still often itched and hurt, even years and years after its initial formation. Plus, it was so big that I couldn't wear studs in the remaining piercing in that ear.
On Tuesday I went in for the surgery to remove the scar from my ear, which was kind of awful mainly because I could hear the entire process - the incisions, the electric cauterizer, the stitches, everything. Because the scar was on the back of my ear they had to fold my whole ear forward, effectively turning it into a drum that carried all those sounds right into my ear canal. So while I couldn't feel anything thanks to lidocaine, I was forced to listen to it all and it was quite difficult psychologically.
It was also quite painful once the anesthetic wore off. I had to raid my stash of Vicodin leftover from a virus I had a few weeks ago because Tylenol didn't even touch it. It itched incessantly and exploded in pain any time I accidentally brushed against it.
I was instructed by the surgeon to wash it three times a day and, each time, apply Vaseline to protect the incision. I spooned about a tablespoon of Vaseline into a glass bowl and mixed in five drops of lavender oil, four drops of frankincense, and three of melaleuca (I am taking a prescription antibiotic and I hate the smell of melaleuca so I skimped a bit). I have been applying this after every cleaning and I am thrilled with the results. My ear has been hurting and itching less, and that is huge! It's only been two days and the swelling is supposed to increase over the first 48 hours but mine stopped when I started applying the oils (about 24 hours after the procedure). I am looking forward to watching the swelling go down because I think it's the cause of most of my discomfort.
doTERRA oils have saved the day again!
I've always tried to keep on top of my health, and I have spent the last several years going to too many doctors too often. However, with the looming expiration of my health insurance policy I've felt driven to tackle a lot of concerns that I previously considered too minor, especially compared to my other problems, to bother going to the doctor over.
In addition, one of my best friends is getting married at the end of August this year and as the maid of honor I will be in the secondary spotlight and in a lot of photos and I have suddenly begun to feel highly self-conscious of all the little things I've put off improving about my appearance. I haven't had a haircut in over two and a half years, my teeth are yellow, I'm about ten pounds overweight and far too little of my body mass is muscle... you get the picture.
As part of this general drive to fix my body, both in the sense of healthcare and in terms of cosmetic issues, I have begun pursuing treatment for my scars.
I got my first keloid scar sometime fairly early in college. It might've been the ear piercing that got infected and closed up into a big scar, but I think the first one was the burn on my lower spine. The first time I actually noticed a keloid, though, was the third time. I had to have my gallbladder removed in January of 2010 and although it was done laproscopically, my incisions were closed up with glue and the edges were poorly aligned and in general the whole thing was a mess and I ended up with three dark, raised scars on my stomach and a fourth in my belly button. The last keloid (thus far) appeared on my chest after I had a mole removed on the advice of my dermatologist. Even though a plastic surgeon did that one, it formed a big thick raised scar and a year of over-the-counter treatments and patches did nothing for it.
So finally, at the end of 2013, I went back to that plastic surgeon and he injected the scar on my chest (the only one that's highly noticeable, and will be completely visible in my bridesmaid dress) with a treatment to reduce it. It did help but I'm going back for a followup and, I expect, a second injection to flatten and lighten it further. If this goes well, I may repeat the process on the scars on my stomach.
I went to another plastic surgeon, one who is also an ENT and who I have seen before in that capacity, about the scar on my ear. It was on the back of my ear and was a perfectly round, red bump about the size and shape of half a pea where the second piercing in my left earlobe once was. The appearance of it always bothered me a little but more than that was the feel of it, and the fact that it still often itched and hurt, even years and years after its initial formation. Plus, it was so big that I couldn't wear studs in the remaining piercing in that ear.
On Tuesday I went in for the surgery to remove the scar from my ear, which was kind of awful mainly because I could hear the entire process - the incisions, the electric cauterizer, the stitches, everything. Because the scar was on the back of my ear they had to fold my whole ear forward, effectively turning it into a drum that carried all those sounds right into my ear canal. So while I couldn't feel anything thanks to lidocaine, I was forced to listen to it all and it was quite difficult psychologically.
It was also quite painful once the anesthetic wore off. I had to raid my stash of Vicodin leftover from a virus I had a few weeks ago because Tylenol didn't even touch it. It itched incessantly and exploded in pain any time I accidentally brushed against it.
I was instructed by the surgeon to wash it three times a day and, each time, apply Vaseline to protect the incision. I spooned about a tablespoon of Vaseline into a glass bowl and mixed in five drops of lavender oil, four drops of frankincense, and three of melaleuca (I am taking a prescription antibiotic and I hate the smell of melaleuca so I skimped a bit). I have been applying this after every cleaning and I am thrilled with the results. My ear has been hurting and itching less, and that is huge! It's only been two days and the swelling is supposed to increase over the first 48 hours but mine stopped when I started applying the oils (about 24 hours after the procedure). I am looking forward to watching the swelling go down because I think it's the cause of most of my discomfort.
doTERRA oils have saved the day again!
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