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Talksurgery adheres to the Health On the Net Foundation's Code of Conduct
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'After Sept. 11, I felt even more haggard than before...'
Pros:
fresher, younger skin
psychological lift
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Cons:
Feeling guilty at being so self absorbed when the world was crashing down around me
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Cost:
$500
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Healing time:
1 day
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Pain-o-meter: 0
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I am a New Yorker, busy by definition. The pollution, the job stress, my recent divorce, and the constant worry about my children and their post divorce state of emotional health had added about 10 years to my face in the past two years. I had thought of a laser rejuvenation treatment to get rid of some wrinkles and pigmentation, and to give me a psychological booster, since I was so tired of seeing my tired furrowed face in the mirror.
I was all set to go for Sept. 14. Then we all know what happened Sept. 11.
It seems that after Sept. 11, our world in New York fell apart. And around the misery, my face seemed to fall more - looked ashen and gray like the world around me. I didn?t know what do to - to cancel the laser treatment or not. So I called my doctor's office and asked him if they were still going ahead and they said yes. I got into a long conversation with the receptionist, who was so nice. She told me everyone was having mixed feelings - how can they be so concerned with the outward when we all need to be concerned with the inward right now? At the same time, people were dark and depressed - and are doing anything, anything to make themselves feel better.
It reminded me of a comment that Guiliani made - he implored everyone to go to restaurants, go to the movies, go see theatre, so on - to keep moving forward - try to, even if it is not in our souls, to go on like business as usual. The economy needs it and we need it. But who feels like going to eat in a restaurant? Or a movie, for god?s sake, never mind having a laser treatment. But we do need distraction, even if that distraction is every day life, and getting back to our routines and our everyday worries.
So after wrangling with these thoughts, which varied between feeling like the most shallow, self absorbed person in the world to feeling that anything to make me feel better was worth it -- i decided to go ahead. Because at this stage, if I feel better emotionally, if there is a perk in my life even through something like appearance, maybe it will perk up my children, my colleagues my friends, my world around me. And in New York, we need this right now.
I know I am my own worst judge. But I think I did the right thing.
Here are more details:
How results differed from what I expected:
Feel fresher, like a layer of gray taken away
Biggest fears pre-procedure:
About feeling shallow and self absorbed
Healing aids used:
my children
Number of doctors consulted:
3
Number of years I thought about having the procedure:
2
Had an elective procedure before:
yes
Complications or follow-up procedures:
none
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This information is not to substitute for professional medical advice. You
should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or
disease without consulting with a qualified healthcare provider. Please
consult your healthcare provider with any questions or concerns you may have
regarding your condition.
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Gender:
female
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Age:
40
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Ethnic group:
caucasian
Education:
post graduate
Country:
US
State/Province:
New York
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Caucasians are more likely to have checked for skin cancer in the past year than African-American (45% vs. 17%)
(Source: American Society for Dermatological Surgery)
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