How do you manage your scars?

GlasweJen

My chest is now covered in them! Pacemaker scar about 2cm under left collar bone, one down the centre of my rib cage, one from sternum to armpit, one under right collar bone where they had a meds line in.

The one cutting me in half is huge and inflamed, even keeping it constantly under silicone and rubbing oils and steroids into it isn't helping.

Problem is I'm young, newish boyfriend and already self conscious enough without adding these scars in. Anyone else have similar scars and did they heal eventually?

System

how old are they ? my dd had a vns fitted april09 and still has a red raised scar across her neck , it looks like she has had her throat cut !

GlasweJen

Pacemaker is about 4 years old. The rest are all from October onwards.

ramsas

Unfortunately the scars can be problematic at times and become raised and inflamed,they call this Keloid scarring.Having had major surgery to my chest area i fully understand what you are experiencing,mine have taken nearly 15 yrs to settle down but i am left with significant scarring but the inflammation as subsided thankfully,another problem you may encounter is internal adhesions which can be very painful and restrict your movement along with a pinching tight sensation inside the chest wall...also due to the way you have been opened up the chest will be trying to return to normal positioning which once again take some time to be fully realised if ever.I used to have nerve blocks to my chest wall to alleviate the pain and i would also rub ibuprofen gel into the area and local anaesthetic creams.It can be a long road to recovery obviously unique to the individual,if you are being bothered by things ensure you get referral back to your consultant who may send you to the pain clinic. In addition application of baby oil along your scars can go some way to decrease the thickening ,hope all goes well and take it easy...i didnt and made other problems for myself.

Richie-from-the-Boro

No comment on the scars, its like a male commenting on childbirth. If you are not female and don't have the same degree of scarring .. .. say nowt.

However on the scars / boyfriend bit, if you were my lass it would not make a happenyworth of difference, why should it, the person you love is on the inside .. .. you were the same person when he met you .. .. and you will always will be that same person.

When it heals get a tattoo with a big arrow pointing to it, proclaim it to be body art, and have it say ""scar of life ... literally .... and proud to have it""

Best to you Jen, remember as you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction

GlasweJen

Ramsas I'm not actually out of the hospital yet so consultant knows. He's more concerned with healing inside as I've been returned to the table twice with leaks that needed patched (not their fault, my body just doesn't "do" stitches). The pacemaker scar was keloid, I used kelocote to some success and healan tape which worked better alongside the steroid injections but I've been told there will be no injections for the big scar that's bothering me most because it's so big and steroids won't help that much.

My mums supplying me with vitamin E oil. Using the healan but kelocote comes in such tiny tubes and costs something like £70 for a gram of it that I know I'm not likely to get that either. Surprised in even allowed the tape to be honest.

Richie, it looks like something from a horror film, even I'm a bit freaked out by it! Today's the first time I've seen it properly since I came off the diamorphine (hitting the tramadol these days alongside a muscle relaxed ).

KxMx

Bio Oil has been great for my stretchmarks, and it's supposed to work on scars as well. Can be pricey but if you shop around on eBay etc you can get good prices.

I know stretch marks can't be compared to scarring like you have, but I feel the same about my marks and even if a partner didn't mind, I mind that they are there and look feel/horrible

ramsas

No comment on the scars, its like a male commenting on childbirth. If you are not female and don't have the same degree of scarring ..
Richie-from-the-Boro

Well i am a male and suffered extensive scarring from serious injury and the point regards the scarring is to relay my experiences to the PO ..the scarring issue is not of concern to me cosmetically but the pain and discomfort that came with them has been a rough ride...so rather than say nowt i chose to pass the info on along with a pm..

jjblondie

My OH has a thick keloid port scar from 2.5 years ago which doesn't look much different than when it was fresh. His one down his spine, 4 years old, has faded a lot and with a quick glance you might not see it. It was never as thick as the chest one though. It just shows you how different scars can turn out. They have never bothered me, even when he sometimes gets down about them.

tomjonesrules

Not a cheap option (although some areas offer it on the NHS), but Fraxel laser treatment can be very effective on scarring. Otherwise, as long as they are not causing you problems I would leave them be. They will fade in time, but what is left I would take as a reminder of what has become a positive step in your life. Years of self harm have left me with various scars, and now I see them as telling a story. My experience of men seeing them has been positive, no one has backed off because of them ... and if they did, especially in your situation, they really ain't worth having around anyway!

Richie-from-the-Boro

ramsas wrote: »

No comment on the scars, its like a male commenting on childbirth. If you are not female and don't have the same degree of scarring ..
Richie-from-the-Boro

Well i am a male and suffered extensive scarring from serious injury and the point regards the scarring is to relay my experiences to the PO ..the scarring issue is not of concern to me cosmetically but the pain and discomfort that came with them has been a rough ride...so rather than say nowt i chose to pass the info on along with a pm..

ramsas, no offence intended M8, when I wrote that I was talking in the first person .. .. about myself .. .. I don't have scars, I was not suggesting that the male of the species should not comment on Jen's request which was 'how to manage scars?', only that I could not