Tending the Scar - Day 34

When I saw my doc at the 2 week point, I asked about scar cream.  My Home-PT had suggested Mederma Scar Cream or Vitamin E Oil.  Doc said I needed to wait until it was "dried out".  I interpreted that to mean that all the little crusty bits had to be gone.  At that point, the staples had just been removed and there weren't even scabs on those little holes yet.  He suggested it might be another month before I would be ready for scar cream.

Last Thursday, when I was at PT, I asked my PT Kristen about scar cream and told her what my doc said.  At the time I asked, she was massaging my scar, and she said I was almost there - meaning my crusty bits were almost gone. Being the impatient person I am, I decided to stop at CVS on the way home that day and pick up some cream.

It took a few minutes, but I finally found Mederma on the bottom shelf of the hand-cream aisle.  However, it was over $36 a tube!  Right next to it was the CVS version for $25, so I went with that.  The next item over was Bag Balm, and I thought to myself that might work just as well, but I went with the CVS stuff.  The next day, I decided to try my new cream just on the part of my scar that is above my knee, where all the little scabs were gone.  First, it's not really a cream.  It is a clear gel.  The good news is that a little dab goes a long way.  As soon as I put it on and rubbed it in, my scar changed in appearance.  It went from being sort of dried out with white skin flakes all around it, to being all smooth and pinkish/purple.  As of today, I think the rest of my scar is ready for a treatment as well. 

 I am anxious to see what Kristen says about it when I see her later today.  She told me that eventually all my staple holes will disappear, and I'll be left with a thin purple line where the incision was.  

On another subject, I have not taken any Vicodin for several days.  I've taken Ibuprofen 2-3 times a day instead.  It is supposed to be better for inflammation.  I did wake up with my thigh muscle aching last night around 2:30, but I got up and walked around a bit, and that helped.  

I think it took me about a day to recover from my mile hike at the park.  The swelling in my foot is back down to where it was before that adventure.  Yesterday morning, before it got too hot outside, I walked out front - past 5 houses and back.  It is too hot for that today, and since I've got PT this afternoon, I decided not to push it.  

Time to go put my "gel" on.  Thanks for reading!  Have a great day!

:)Amy