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Old 02-21-2018, 04:11 PM   #41
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I'm a regular at about 6 months. Nothing earth shattering, but have periodic dermatitis areas, several cysts, & a few moles. Once I had a big rash on my....... oh, never mind.

BTW, in our area they aren't easy to get into without a family member already in treatment with them. Waiting lists.
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Old 02-21-2018, 04:30 PM   #42
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Never considered it before. At what age would you consider a first exam?
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Old 02-21-2018, 09:14 PM   #43
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I let a weird mole/rash go to long. Ended up being bc. Got so big I had to go to a plastic surgeon. That was at about age 40. I now go every 6 months. Like everyone else I get frosted at my visits. Seems like a no brainer to me. My Doc is very thorough.
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Old 02-22-2018, 06:39 AM   #44
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Going back in a half hour to have my head checked. For years my bald head has been flaky and bumpy. Now after burning it chemically for a month, then letting it heal for a few weeks, it's smooth as a baby's behind. But that's not why I'm looking forward to the appointment. The dermatologist has the nicest pens I've ever used, and I'm going to snatch a couple more.


Edit: Got my two pens and my obligatory freeze. I guess I'll check back in next year.
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Old 02-22-2018, 06:59 AM   #45
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Never considered it before. At what age would you consider a first exam?
I had my first Mohs surgery in my early 50s and should have been checked sooner like in my 40s. But I also didn't use sunscreen when I was a kid so I probably should have started going in in my 20s.
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Old 02-22-2018, 07:17 AM   #46
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Never considered it before. At what age would you consider a first exam?
For you, garyt, I would suggest the age you are now + this coming Tuesday.
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Old 02-22-2018, 08:53 AM   #47
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My dermatologist has me on a 4 year cycle. Everything that looks suspicious so far has been sebaceous keratosis. Of course we get less sun in the PNW. And I cover up in Mexico.
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Old 03-17-2018, 07:09 AM   #48
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I just had a biopsy which turned out to be a basal cell. It's on the very tip of my nose. My doctor gave me a choice of fluorouracil cream or MOHS surgery. I opted for the cream, but I admit I'm a little freaked out by the descriptions of how awful the spot will look during treatment. I haven't picked up my prescription yet, and I'm seriously wondering if I should just go ahead and have the MOHS.
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Old 03-17-2018, 08:48 AM   #49
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Two weeks ago had an interesting conversation with our dermatologist about sunscreen. First was, you don't need anything more than a "30" rating. Higher ratings are an excuse to charge more.

He said ALL sunscreens should be reapplied every 75-80 minutes, but very few companies will state that on their products because Americans assume that means the product is not as good as the "others." (Note: I did buy a product last week that states how long it lasts).

In Mexico, all products state the re-apply rate, so natives of Mexico are used to it. At the beach in Mexico, he overheard one American family reading the label on the locally purchased sunscreen say, "This stuff is not very good. It says you have to reapply it every 75 minutes!"

He believes that it will take legislation to mandate that U.S. manufactured sunscreen products have labels that state you have to re-apply every 75-80 minutes. Even using "waterproof" sunscreen doesn't extend that more than a few minutes.

He says 1 ounce will cover your body, so if you're at the beach all day you need a 6 - 8 ounce bottle of sunscreen per day per person.

And anything you're getting frozen off now came from sun exposure 20 years ago.

So I guess at some point in life, you can forgo the stuff... !
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Old 03-17-2018, 08:54 AM   #50
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I just had a biopsy which turned out to be a basal cell. It's on the very tip of my nose. My doctor gave me a choice of fluorouracil cream or MOHS surgery. I opted for the cream, but I admit I'm a little freaked out by the descriptions of how awful the spot will look during treatment. I haven't picked up my prescription yet, and I'm seriously wondering if I should just go ahead and have the MOHS.
So sorry to hear about your biopsy results. Both DW and I have had MOHS surgery - mine on the side of my nose, hers just above the inside part of her eyebrow. I'll be honest - the surgery was not much 'fun', however, the results were good and you can hardly see a scar.

I don't know anything about the cream so I wouldn't even try to recommend one over the other. But I wish you the best whatever you decide to do.
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Old 03-17-2018, 09:01 AM   #51
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I go yearly as well. I have no melanin in my skin at all and have frequent "actinic keratoses". Just went the other day and had a bunch frozen off.

I lived in Florida from ages 2-12, in the era before effective sunscreens, and would often get severe sunburns and blisters. I am very attuned to the dangers of melanoma.
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Old 03-17-2018, 09:08 AM   #52
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I used the fluorouracil (commonly referred to as 5FU and a big joke among pharmacy school students!) to treat the scores of keratosis that were on my nose, temples and scalp. After about 2 weeks, my face looked like hamburger. Two weeks later, it all flaked and peeled off. After 6 weeks total, I had the skin of a baby on my face! It is unsightly, but does not cause pain. I would do it again if I had to...
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Old 03-17-2018, 09:18 AM   #53
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I used the fluorouracil (commonly referred to as 5FU and a big joke among pharmacy school students!) to treat the scores of keratosis that were on my nose, temples and scalp. After about 2 weeks, my face looked like hamburger. Two weeks later, it all flaked and peeled off. After 6 weeks total, I had the skin of a baby on my face! It is unsightly, but does not cause pain. I would do it again if I had to...
Speak for yourself. I did the same recently, on top of my head. I was told "you will know when to stop" using it. I went 4 weeks, and the last two were misery. Burning pain constantly. I do agree that after two weeks it wasn't much, but those last two...yowser! But a few weeks after that, the skin was all clear, no scarring or blotching. DW keeps rubbing my head and exclaiming how smooth it is. It was definitely worth doing.

I have a friend who did the MOHS surgery on her lip, and that was pretty ugly and painful too. But after she healed up she looked fine. I can't really say which would be better to do. Whichever way you go, good luck.
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Old 03-17-2018, 01:29 PM   #54
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Thanks for the good wishes. My doctor didn't try to steer me toward either treatment. She did say it would look pretty bad for awhile with the cream, but that I could cover it with a bandaid, which is what I did for the biopsy spot. I may take the weekend to decide what I want to do.
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Old 03-17-2018, 06:17 PM   #55
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5FU is great stuff - much better (and cheaper) than the Solaraze (Diclofenac Sodium) I had been prescribed before. When I first started on Solaraze, it was about $300 a tube. Then $500 and $700. Finally, it went generic - the generic was $800 and the brand $1100!

I read about fluoruracil and asked my dermatologist to switch to it - $110 a tube and it lasts me much longer.
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Old 03-17-2018, 07:35 PM   #56
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I will need to ask one of our our fellow church members about which process he did. He said that it looked like heck (we were in church at the time, I might have described it as something different...), but that it didn't hurt. His insurance did not cover the treatment, but this was a one-time investment, and less pain than having multiple biopsies and diggins. He said that it really was the obvious choice for him. I need to find out what and where he had that done also. When I was a kid on the farm, we roasted all summer long.
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Old 03-18-2018, 09:40 AM   #57
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Maybe I used it longer than I needed to, since I had all that pain and discomfort. Although I'm not usually accused of having a high pain threshold. DW often tells me I'm a baby, and to suck it up and walk it off. She should have been a high school coach.
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Old 03-18-2018, 03:41 PM   #58
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Just curious - when using the cream (instead of MOHS), how do you know it completely did the job? With MOHS, they keep checking the margins until they're clear.
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Old 03-18-2018, 04:01 PM   #59
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The Dermatologist told me to stop using the 5FU when I told him over the phone that my face was a mess. I had told him that it was bubbled up and crusty. He said to stop the treatment and let things heal. Two weeks later, after everything peeling off, I had pink scarring and in two more weeks things were pretty much smooth as a baby's behind...
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Old 03-20-2018, 05:50 PM   #60
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Yes, when you start using the creams (5FU or diclofenac), things will look awful for a week or so. But then the skin will clear up.

How do you know it "completely did the job"? When you can't see any evidence of the keratosis anymore. But that doesn't mean you can relax vigilance.
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