Keloid timeline

Let recap again from the first time I started to document my treatments. What does this tells me? My keloid started to grow out of the frame. It's time to make a new timeline!

click on the photo to see full size image

Keloid still spreading, what's else is new?

This's how my keloid looks today. I notice a new development on top right corner. This is so frustrating!! You can see it better on the bottom photos. My doctor have recently told me to use new cream called Bio Croneum. And stopped using Cica-Care, because it's not FDA arpoved in United State. I gave it a chance and tried using it for about 4 months now. I have to say, not only it doesn't work, it f***ed up my keloid. Let me explain why. 

1. Bio Croneum might work well on newer scar or to prevent scar tissue to form. Bio Croneum works by forming a thin silicon layer to protect the skin to lower the chance of scar tissue to form. But it doesn't work on older scars or keloids. Because the scar is already there. 

2. That thin layer of silicon does absolutely nothing to protect my keloid from rubbing against my shirt and that causing the keloid to continue growing. 

3. In my case, the shoulder is an area where there's high stretching and contracting activity. The keloid tend to spread because of the skin moments around it. 

4. I still think Cica-Care is the best solution in term of protecting my scar from rubbing against my clothes and minimizing skin moment around the keloid. 

With all that being said. That's not the end. I'm still fighting!

Keloid dresses

Even though I have keloid on my shoulder, I still wanna look cute and fashionable to compensate with what I'm missing in sleeveless fashion. On day to day basis I manage to find clothes that cover both my shoulders and I even make sure that they are opaque enough so my Cica Care bandages won't show. I don't wanna have to answer anyone's question like oh what's wrong with your shoulder blah blah, you know what I mean.

I'm so thrilled with the recent trend of one shoulder dresses. A lot of designers make cute dresses and tops. This give me more options for formal wear or even cute summer dresses. Unlike back in the 90s when one shoulder tops were like un cool 70s things from the past.

Here are one shoulder dresses (preferably left shoulder) with long enough sleeves to precisely cover my BCG keloid.

Keloid dresses by keloiddiary featuring one shoulder sleeve dresses

Inspiring story | Katie Piper

I came across this documentary on youtube about a former model and television presenter, Katie Piper. A few years ago a vicious acid attack destroyed her face. It is very inspiring to see how strong and how open she is to come out. And tell her personal story. I almost cried.

Sorry, there are 6 parts videos but I can't find part 1 anywhere.

I find it's very important to have good support from family and loved ones. This is something I'm short of. My family think I'm crazy and that breaks my heart. They all don't have keloid and they don't understand how it feels. My mom thinks that if I leave it alone, it will go away. I just don't wanna bother sharing my treatment experience with anyone even my husband. Because I would end up getting discouraged. Even when I told him that my keloid is growing, he can't tell. He thinks it looks the same! That's how men are...sign..

Botox on keloid. Who would have thought?

After I been complaining nonstop about the itchiness, my doctor suggested me to try Botox. Since it known to temporary reduce muscle moment, I thought it makes so much sense to try it on the top part of my keloid. So I did it. He injected multiple shots of Botox directly on my keloid. (This technique is so much different from steroid injection where a needle would only enter the keloid once.) I have to say that makes me nervous. Because multiple jabbings = multiple trauma = keloid growth.

As I expected,  the keloid started to form on the injected area. I'm guessing that we could have prevented this by adding steroid injection immedietly after the Botox. But my doctor refused to do it. Maybe they would counteract each other.

I think the Botox works ok in term of reducing the itch. I felt like I was itch free for about a month. I'm not sure if I wanna do it again. The problems I had with my experience was...it's pricey. And you still have to do steroid injection. I did mine 3 weeks after.

The Keloid and my shoulder.

I just wanna show you my keloid relative to my arm. The most uncomfortable part is the top area. Where it's still growing toward the shoulder. It's painful and itchy especially when the seam of  the shirt is rubbing against it.

Latest on my keloid. The color is looking really great!

This is how my keloid look from the most recent photo I took right before I went to see my doctor. It seems that the middle part looks a lot nicer than before. The color looks almost like normal skin. Before the color gets to this point, my skin has been cracking and peeling out. I guess that's the part of the process.

On the other hand, the top part of the keloid where it's close to my shoulder is still not improving much. Lets see what the doctor is going to see this time. It's been a really long process, but I'm still hopeful. I hope that one day I can get the whole thing flatten down.