Sunday, October 14, 2007

CO2 LASER RESURFACING.....
I know the one picture is very painful to look at. Trust me it was painful!!! There were days I thought what the hell have I done to myself. I look like a monster, I will never look the same. The picture was on day 4.
These others are today day 10. I put a little powder on my face so I'm not bright red. My neck is still healing that part has hurt the most.
I will make a separate blog about the journey soon with more details.

Thanks to all my friends who have been supportive of me during this. Jo Lynn, Julia & Jerry the 3 "J's" you guys are awesome. I have only been out of the house at night a couple times to walk Rocky. Without my friends I would of been 100 times more depressed. I know I told Jo Lynn I would of never done this if I knew how much pain I would of been in. You know what looking at my skin today I would do it all over again.
I decided to do the Laser resurfacing because I had a lot of sun damage. I noticed more after the PCT. I now will wear a hat and sunscreen; I have too. It usually takes a month to start seeing results but I see them already. My doctor was amazed Thursday how fast I'm healing. It takes most 14 days to where they feel ok to put make up on and go out in public.
I'm heading in public in the day for the first time now. I should be able to run in a couple more days. My neck should be healed enough by than.
WISDOM CARD........................
"Don’t overload yourself with any more thinking. This is more a time of resting before action takes place. Intellectual reasoning only leads to frustration or leads you away from the direction you should be taking. As this is a re-orientation period take time to evaluate your goals, they may not be the same goals that you started with. Trust your feelings more, future success is at hand. © Stephen Haynes "

14 comments:

Eero said...

Yikes...that looks just as painful as you described it.

Glad you are healing up so fast. I have a lot of sun/weather damage as I work outdoors all summer and ski all winter. I don't know if I'd have the courage to have the laser work, though...

E-Speed said...

oh sweetie that looks so painful. I'm glad you are a quick healer!

Anonymous said...

Good job girl... the sun is really tuff on us. I'm 57, surfed for the last 47 years of my life, and have damaged my skin through the constant exposure without protection... sun-screen wasn't even invented untill I was in my middle 20's. I do freezing every 3 months... and have had all major tumors removed... now it's just getting rid of the pre-cancerous stuff. When you get back in the sun, may I sugest Ombrelle sunscreen by L'oreal. I had to buy it online because it is unavailable in the USA. The Sport 30 is great for water contact, and the 45 SPF is great, with moisturizing qualities. It protects against both A and B Ultraviolet rays. I just wanted to share this info with a fellow human in the sun. I really enjoyed your PCT log, and am hoping you are able to complete your journey... take care, Steve

Catra said...

Hey eer0-
Hey I'm suprised I did it. I just didn't know what I was in for I guess that's why.
Everyone who's stories I have read or heard having this said it was they were very happy with the end results.
I already am. It really takes around 3-6 months to really see the end results.
I ain't going to lie the recovery has been awfull.
Catra

Catra said...

Hey E-speed-
I know :) But still it was super painful going through the recovery. The surgery didn't hurt. Well only 3 times did I feel burning but was so out of it I couldn't say anything. But it only lasted a few seconds.
Catra

Catra said...

Hey Steve-
Thanks for recommending the sunscreens I will look for them online.
I've been a lover of the outdoors for only 11 years. Was into the whole being as white as a ghost goth thing for years. Only came out at night to go clubbing..
My skin could of been a lot worse.
I will now be extra carefull to take care of my new healthy skin on my face and neck. I'm also lucky I have lots of tattoos on my body. My doctor told me those areas I won't get skin cancer because they are protected. I still wear sunscreen on them don't want them to fade.
Catra

HERC DRIVER said...

Glad You're healing up quickly!!! Hang in there!!

Namaste,

Tom

Anonymous said...

Ouch!!

Reminds me of when I had a second degree burn on my neck, it was extremely painful. I used aloe vera gel a lot and it really helped. Glad you're recovering quickly!

Jay.

Anonymous said...

Hang in there...my wife went through that and goes back for some kind of laserlite 2x per year. It only makes the skin pink.

She has found that wearing a quality sunscreen daily (even when not going outside to exercise) really helps. Wears hats with big brims or capes and also wears solumbra sunshirts with big collars.

That will be a big change for you wearing headgear constantly. Train more in the dark or get done before the sun gets too high in the sky.

Also, I am thinking those orange lenses are not good for the eyes during daytime. Those are meant for lowlight conditions???

Hung-Kwong Ng said...

Hi. I ran across you at Rocky Raccoon... Can I get some tips on running the San Fran One Day ultra. Will I need gaitors or cold weather gear? How do you stay awake till 9am? I've been up to 4:30am before taking a nap. Do you conserve or bank the miles.

Steve Ansell said...

Wow, Catra, its hard to even recognize you in that one picture! It looks wicked painful. Glad to see that you are healing so fast. By the way, I love your comments going from "I would of never done this if I knew how much pain I would of been in" to then saying "I would do it all over again." It kind of sounds like the sort of thing one says during and after an ultra ;-). I'm gonna keep your pictures in mind when I am at Javalina in two weeks as my reminder to put on extra, extra sunscreen. Good luck with the rest of the healing.

Olga said...

Mama mia, I am glad it's getting better by day, girl! The things we decide to go through...and I thought I was a hero by sitting at a hair salon for 4 hrs last night:) Just kidding!

JeffO said...

Thanks for sharing. Wow, you are brave for doing that.
I'll just look grody, thanks.
Glad to see you're over the worst of it.

The Mayor said...

I hope your taking some heavy doses of probiotics to combat antibiotic usage. Another help, once finished with master cleanse is some serious green juice, spirulina,chorella to help detox from meds.