sebaceous hyperplasia
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free skin care · Thu Oct 11, 2018 1:53 pm

I came across this poster on Reddit that had good results.

https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/9mr63c/misc_my_experience_with_getting_sebaceous/

Thu Oct 25, 2018 8:49 pm

Thank you that was a good read from that reddit post

Tue Nov 27, 2018 3:42 pm

Hello,
It's been about 10 weeks since I had my bumps treated with ACP and I can see they are coming back Crying or Very sad

They are not as big as they were initially and I can also see quite a few smaller ones that I didn't have before.
I don't know if I should have another treatment or not..I wonder if it's a bit too soon? Feeling so disheartened!

free skin care · Wed Nov 28, 2018 7:41 am

I had mine removed and some came back. The derm had told me ahead of time though that it might happen, sadly enough.
Truly, shrinking them from the inside is the only option that can finally reverse it so my derm says.

Wed Dec 05, 2018 1:29 pm

happycat01 - if you read through my posts you will see that you are only experiencing exactly what happened with me.

Please do not be worried or disheartened. Hemp is fortunate and was able to go six monthly at first and then annually, you and I need to go more often and it will take us longer to reach his low frequency levels.

I've no doubt you will continue to follow the same pattern as me if you continue having treatments and that is good news.

I started treatment at the beginning of March and have been going quarterly.

Each subsequent time the number that came back and the size of them were dramatically reduced. Benefits are cumulative. Each subsequent treatment means fewer and smaller regrowths.

Curiously the larger more prominent lumps are the ones with the highest total-extermination rate per treatment. The smallest are the most likely to return.

I have my fourth visit planned in a couple of weeks and honestly my skin is so good it is barely worth the petrol let alone the cost of the treatment (about £85 as I will only be in there 10 minutes).

Compare my face now to when I returned for my second treatment (in June, three months after the first) and it is like night and day.

In fact my face is substantially better than when I went for my third treatment in September.

I like to book my next appointment when I walk out of the current appointment but I really don't think a March 19 visit will be worthwhile so I may skip March and book for June 19 this time. Then again I love the perfection the treatment delivers so what the heck I may go back March!!!!

Remember:

1, There is no cure.

2, Only a percentage are permanently destroyed each treatment.

3, The ones that aren't permanently destroyed come back smaller.

4, New ones will continue to form and these tiny new formations are more noticeable to you once the big eye catching ones are all gone. Other people probably don't notice a thing.

5, Cumulative treatments yield cumulative benefits and are required anyway to treat new growths.

To answer you question - no it is not too soon. Book up another treatment for just after New Year so you don't have scabs at the Xmas and New Year parties!!! That will keep you going until just after Easter and then you can have another treatment so you are healed and look awesome for you summer holiday!

Wed Dec 12, 2018 10:20 am

Thank you GW for your reply, it is very encouraging and I will book another treatment in January.
Good thing my bumps are mostly on my forehead and I can just pull a hat down to cover them when I am out and about.

Some days I think that the bumps don't look so big, sometimes I feel like I'm back to square one..

I am also trying a new product that is supposed to help with blocked pores and blackheads, it is CosRx Bha Blackhead Power Liquid, I really like it and it doesn't seem drying like the usual BHA products.
I don't expect miracles, just hope it helps regulate the oil production.

free skin care · Fri Dec 14, 2018 6:30 am

Hi Happy Cat.

The first time I went I had 75 treated , some very large. It was soul destroying.

I actually had another treatment 3 months later.

I was under a huge amount of stress and my SH exploded.

I now feel happy to go once a hear. My 1st treatment was 4 years ago. It gets better. I have no doubt that stressing about them will make it worse , a vicious circle I know.

If you have them , you have the money and also the time to heal then I would keep going.
Get them under control , it will get better. Try not to stress if you can.

I am proof they should not control your thoughts. I'm happily remarried now , I go to get them dealt with once a year and don't think about them too much. You are on the right track.

I am rooting for you so please keep posting. If you need support we are here to help.
Take care.

Thu Dec 27, 2018 11:43 am

Yes Happycat most of mine are on my forehead now too.

So I had pre Xmas treatment and bar a few on the sides, all the scabs were on the forehead.

I was therefore still able to go out places (doing Park Run etc and family parties) wearing a santa hat I purchased!!!!

I was very stressed early in the year and not at all stressed now so that could also contribute to having fewer to treat now.

I remember after the first treatment when I was very stressed and some had come back, I'd look in the mirror and get really anxious and depressed as it would look terrible. Then the next day I'd feel better and when I looked in the mirror they were barely visible and it just been my mind and negativity playing tricks.

I also feel that this time they are healing quicker as I am really chilled at the moment and I think stress does slow down healing.

I am sure that if Hemp or myself passed you in the street, we wouldn't even notice that you have SH and would think you look great. We are conditioned to look for SH too whereas your average person out there wouldn't even be looking.

Sun Jan 06, 2019 2:02 pm

Hi
Just found this forum & post , alot of helpful experiences on here thank you ,I just had 4 SH treated as a test prior to another future session, I went to a clinic in Winchester UK and was wondering if it was the same clinic as others have been to ?
As for healing , first couple days was okay , then two developed huge scabs and the other two were not as bad .I'm really worried in case they leave a scar/dent . I have another 5 prominent ones to be treated & not looking forward to it really as there is considerable downtime,
Although can't believe I've lived with these SH for years as I always thought they were acne scars !
I have to agree with an earlier post in that now I've spent time looking in a magnifying mirror I can see probably another 6/7 small ones & also finding the healing time quite stressful as one of the treated bumps doesn't look any smaller 10 days post treatment ,
I think I also agree that stress is a factor in these blockages occuring?

Sat Jan 12, 2019 11:04 am

Hi G. Yup the Winchester clinic is where Hemp and I go. Turn left just after the clock face then down the alley, through the doorway on the right and up the stairs.

I would have had the whole lot done in one go rather than a test on a small number.

Reason being I find a percentage come back so the four you had treated might all come back if you are unlucky. If you had 50 done you may find only 20 came back. Then the next time you go and kill those 20, perhaps only 5 to 10 come back.

I also had a really old large wart sized one that was reduced in size during the first treatment and then killed entirely after the second so repeat treatments are key.

I've never had a single scar and that's from having maybe 350 zaps this year (edit: I mean in the last 12 months). So 0 scars out of 350 is very good IMO but I understand it can worry you when you have scabs and the redness is slowly fading. Downtime sucks but get all of them done in one go as 80 scabs look no worse than 20 scabs.

They aren't blockages but overgrown glands. I believed that stress possibly sped up growth or maybe it made me more sensitive and paranoid about how visible they are.

In all honestly I don't think there is much you can do to influence their development. Welcome to a life of regular treatments to keep them down! When I look at myself now compared to a year ago though, the treatments have transformed my life.

Sat Jan 12, 2019 12:41 pm

Thanks GW , the clinic is the same one I went to , I'm really pleased for you that all your treatments went well and zero scarring is fantastic news. You have also bolstered my confidence in returning for more treatment after reading about your experience at the same clinic. I've booked a return visit in a months time .I agree as well its best to get all the glands zapped in one go ... although this time I've booked a week off work . I had two large glands zapped on the first visit and now two weeks later one is still a large scab ,and on the other one the scab has fallen off but there is a fairly large red atrophic scar still ( this is stressing me out somewhat!) so I'm going to try vaseline to see if that helps with healing.I also agree that it could well be that I will have to have a repeat treatment on a couple of others.Have you found that after your treatments any open large red pores will eventually close up and flatten? Many thanks ...

free skin care · Wed Jan 16, 2019 10:35 am

Yes I agree with GW. I have never had a single scar. I had 75 done at once and it's true a percentage needed a second treatment.
A very large one needed 3 treatments but has never come back.

One thing that I think you can do is to try and reduce the amount of oil on your skin. I wash twice a day and I am religious about that. I think a salicylic face wash helps with the oil.
Its well documented on here about my use of B5 and I still take 1000mg every night before bed. I believe it helps but that is just my opinion..

You will not regret your treatments I am sure.

Keep updating on your progress if you can.

Wed Jan 16, 2019 10:45 am

Yeah probably after 6 to 8 weeks the full skin cycle has occurred and there are no red marks. By the time I return after 3 months there isn't even a single slight feint pink mark or any evidence that I'd had prior treatment.

I've had spots before that have left marks that have lasted far longer but even they fade after a number of months or even a year.

The treatment just isn't deep enough to leave permanent marks. I do have some larger pores where I had really large ones removed. They can destroy the gland but I don't think you can do anything about the pore itself but that isn't visible to anyone other than you. That's not caused by the treatment, it's just a consequence of the SH that we can't do anything about. They aren't red though. It's just a large pore.

Some bad news I had was that the nice guy Andy at the Winchester clinic has moved on. I used to see him on Thursdays so that would give me 10 days off work for healing.

The one positive to come from that is that they have another guy who I will have to see on a Tuesday. They called me this week to tell me and reschedule my next one. That adds a couple of extra days healing time for me as I will still take all of the following week off work. I can work from home and take a bit more leave so that's fine.

I don't know how good this other guy is though.

Andy had said on my last few visits that he was thinking about doing various other things but for ethical reasons he couldn't use the contact details to steal clients from the Winchester clinic if he set up elsewhere.

So other than Googling him to see if I can find where he has gone (and I wish he was closer to my home) I can only hope that someone else like Hemp will get wind of where he went. If anyone knows, please share.

Wed Jan 16, 2019 12:45 pm

Thanks both for the posts .Its very reassuring to know that you have no scarring at all . I was treated in Winchester by Dr Prem who is also a GP.
My healing does seem to be better this week which is two weeks post treatment , I think on the most prominent SH I was a bit unlucky where the scab was very large & it came off prematurely which left a dent on my forehead so I'm praying it flattens out .I think you are correct in that healing does take quite a while . I was worried as the doctor said after heating the bump he then inserts the Sterex probe into the middle of the SH to seal the gland,therefore I was worried about a visible hole being left in the skin, I'll probably have to wait a couple more weeks before assessing the healing.I'll look into the vitamin B5 though. I have actually found personally that leaving my skin alone with no products and just splashing it once a day with water my skin responds by regulating itself.Also in future I plan on using sunscreen in the summer as I think years of being outside may be a factor in SH . I would also mention that 12 months ago I purchased a home micro dermabrasion device which at first I believed was beneficial however a year later I think it has wrecked my skin as I had some milia appear , just think it was too harsh on the sensitive parts of the face.

Thu Jan 17, 2019 1:55 pm

Yes the dent will fill out. That's normal. The treatment punches a chunk of tissue out.

I usually think a dent is good as the treatment took out a lot of gland.

More likely that the gland is dead or will take longer to grow back to the surface and be visible.

Far better than a very shallow destruction of tissue.

That chap you mention is who my next appointment is with! Will see how he compares to Andy!

I definitely put mine down to sun and I wear a hat, cap or sunhat at all times now. Even this time of year.

Thu Jan 17, 2019 3:01 pm

Best of luck with your next appointment . I'm going for my second appointment next month ( will be the main one as I only had a trial 4 SH's treated on the initial consultation).It's also reassuring to know that the scars will fill out and flatten,I rang the clinic and they said not to put anything on the skin whilst healing ( I have tried vaseline which I think helped a bit though) They also said I would probably need to go back once per year for a top up treatment.
Totally agree about the long term sun exposure, from now on I'm going to use a high factor SPF in the summer.Please post how you get on ....

free skin care · Sat Jan 19, 2019 5:57 am

Well that's a great shame about Andy leaving.
Fingers crossed the new guy knows his stuff.
Please keep posting as I am keen to hear how you get on.
I will not go again until July for my annual appointment.

Good luck to you....

Sat Feb 16, 2019 1:12 pm

Have been to the clinic today for my second visit .
Today I had 5 large SH treated and about 12 small ones zapped .So tonight do look rather battered .
Where a SH has been treated today they look kind of dish shaped ( red , swollen edges with a slight sunken centre ) so will be a case of waiting for the healing process to start & the inflammation subsides and the scabs form over .
I spoke to the Dr regarding my last treatment and that the biggest SH he zapped has left a dent on my forehead ... he said to leave it a couple more months (had it treated 7 weeks ago) for it to fully heal but he said the treatment can possibly leave small dent like scars.I'm really pleased and encouraged to hear about Hemp & GW having zero scars... however at the moment I'm still rather anxious about what level of scarring my face will eventually end up with ! Got a week off work but personally I'm finding its more like 2 weeks minimum before the larger scabs fall off . Best of luck to anyone going for treatment.

Wed Mar 06, 2019 9:28 am

Had a treatment with the new chap in Winchester yesterday.

Seemed fine to me. No different to the previous chap really albeit I used to chat to the previous chap about my relationship problems etc whereas this time it was more formal! Laughing

I had perhaps 50 to 80 treated again and it was the most painful treatment I've had (it was my 5th treatment).

No idea why that would be. Maybe the new chap used a higher setting or used a different technique with more time or contacts on each lesion.

It's neither good or bad. Sure it hurt more but maybe the effectiveness will be higher with a lower re-occurrence rate. Time will tell. The second most painful treatment was actually the first one.

My face was really red afterwards, especially the forehead where I have loads and he slapped on a lot of the cooling gel so I looked like I was dying of some alien disease from the X-Files. I walked back to my car rather than using the P&R bus as I definitely didn't want to be seen. By the time I got home it had calmed down to that "calm before the storm" stage where it is barely noticeable that anything has been done....until the scabs are all formed 48 hours later.

Obviously I don't have large SH anymore (my largest these days would look like a smallish white head) so its nothing particularly drastic that would take more than 10 days to heal.

I booked my next appt for 3 months time whilst I was there so yeah no reason to change clinics yet unless I find something closer to my native Bristol.

Not fussed about cost as it's worth every penny but it's a pain going to Winchester each time. Not a massive drive but the A34 between Winchester and the M4 often has problems. Then again it's probably easier getting there than it would be to a clinic in central Bristol if one opened! So yeah happy to continue sticking with what I know rather than looking for somewhere else.

Googled the previous guy but can't find anything.

free skin care · Sun Mar 10, 2019 4:00 pm

Thanks for the update GW.
I'm a few months away from my next visit. Usually go in June each year.
I am concerned about not seeing Andy anymore as I really trusted him.

Please give an update after 10 days or so to let us know how it's all healed.

Are you getting new ones or are you still deaing with the old ones.

50 odd is a fair number but I'm assuming he zapped literally everything..

Mon Mar 11, 2019 10:27 am

It will be one week tomorrow and I am seeing nothing out of the ordinary with the healing process. All going to plan and healing nicely. Very Happy

It's at a point where I no longer can tell what is new and what is regrowth of existing SH. I think its a combination but couldn't say what percentage.

If you stretch my skin on the forehead and look under the light, you can see tonnes of them forming where you see that slight discolouration. They will need treating one day I expect.

It would be impossible to get everything as I'd barely have any undamaged skin left when I came out!!! But he has taken out any that would be visible to my naked eye, if not the naked eyes of bystanders who all tell me that can't see anything.

That merely vindicates my current treatment frequency as I don't want people to ever see anything. Probably no one else would notice the largest one I had when I went in there as it was so tiny. You would have to look close and know what you are looking for. He was able to see them without the magnifier/light that he uses but he was stretching the skin and looking really close up. I mean even your wife wouldn't do that!!! Laughing

Mon Mar 11, 2019 3:52 pm

It's good to hear that your recent session was on par with the previous chap , I have no experience apart from 2 sessions with the same Doctor.
I'm finding a similar experience to what I have read on this forum . About 50% of the ones I've had treated seem to return... albeit smaller , which is rather disheartening . ( The ones on the forehead seem to clear first time round & not return and also heal quicker , any other area like cheek or temple they seem to be returning and not heal as well ?) Know what you mean about using the park and ride lol... I just pull a woolly hat down Smile

... I'm going back for a review in 3 weeks (only going to get 3 re-done , I need more re-done really, but am going to wait, as just cant face another load of scabs and time off work) Not sure if anyone else has had this also - but on two SH I had zapped... before they healed over I had to squeeze out some sort of pore blockages before it would scab over so I'm even wondering now if some are just overgrown glands and/or a combination in which they also contain like a comedone plug ? Via google on Acne.org , search Differin and SH ...( Can't post the URL on this it won't let me.. )
I'm hoping it might help others here on the forum , I bought some Differin and it certainly gets all the gunk out of the pores really well . The Doctor advised me to start using a good cleanser , have to confess just used water on my face for many years but will try anything to prevent these things coming up ! Still in the anxious healing period & to get on top of these things is going to take a lot longer than I originally thought.

Tue Mar 12, 2019 6:32 am

G901 wrote:

( Can't post the URL on this it won't let me.. )

I think this may be the link you were trying to share:
https://www.acne.org/forums/topic/378313-sebaceous-hyperplasia/

Tue Mar 12, 2019 11:16 am

Thank you havana8 ...yes that's the correct link ,
The patient has been using Differin and if you look at the posted images he has had a really excellent result in one month Smile

Tue Mar 12, 2019 2:54 pm

Yeah G901 on the first two of my five treatments I did have one each time where I think a spot formed in one of the treated SH.

That's what it seemed like anyway. As you described. Maybe it just got infected or maybe by coincidence I just had a spot form in the same place. Perhaps the swelling made a pore block easier.

As for retinoid creams, I was prescribed some once back in the late 90's for my acne. I found the side effects were not nice.

That said, the results in those photos are very impressive. I've read about a lot of others trying it with no success though so guess it depends on the individual. In all the browsing and research I've done, that's the first person out of dozens I've read about who found it worked. Then again, if it does works for people they are less likely to report back to a forum than those for whom it doesn't work. So that leads to forums posts that are biased against it.

He said the bumps are almost flat so I think I'm happy sticking with the ACP which eliminates them. I guess when he stops taking the cream they will immediately grow back - just as they do when people stop taking the drug orally.

I wouldn't deter anyone from trying it though. Worth a go. It's just that I bet for any decent strength you have to go to the incompetent NHS and beg on your hands and knees for a prescription - that's if you haven't died of old age before you get an appointment with a dermatologist.

When I went to my GP he started googling skin conditions in front of me as he didn't have a clue what I had. In the end I told him and he simply read a website that anyone could look up and said "oh it says here it is just cosmetic so we aren't treating it"!!!

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