Saturday, November 11, 2017

Getting our "ugly on"

People of the Night

Spending so much time outdoors skiing, hiking and cycling has side effects both good and bad. It helps keep down the waistline, sleep well at night and an improved sense of well being. The downside is all that sunshine is hard on the skin. We have both had a few Mohs surgeries for skin cancer. Now we see the dermatologist on a regular basis and get PDT (photodyanamic therapy).
PDT is a preventative skin treatment. A medication is applied and sits for an hour or two before putting us under an ultraviolet light for 16 minutes and 40 seconds. The sensation of needles poking our faces is minimized with a little fan while a technician  talks to distract us and is over fairly quickly. Then we become people of the night for 48 hours,no sunshine or bright lights. When the sun goes down, we head outside. The rest of the week we just look like we got a bad sunburn (getting our ugly on).

Once we heal, our faces look refreshed as the collagen rejuvenates. Yeah right. Maybe we just don't look so scary and think we look better.
The two surgeries on my face left ugly scars on my face. Mike's healed nicely and are hardly noticeable. I tried silicone patches at night but would wake with them stuck to Mike's face or my leg. The gel did make some difference. My plastic surgeon (got one of those too) had several recommendations. I opted to try microneedling, yep more needles in the face.
The first of four treatments (maybe four) made a big difference in the scars. I am going back again and will take it a treatment at a time. I won't go into the details but I was squirming in the chair.
Maybe we are crazy being outside people. After only 24 hours of our 48 inside, I can see the looney bin would not be far away if we couldn't get out.


We met a nice lady from Ohio who thought it was strange that she kept overhearing people talking about hiking when she arrived in Arizona and decided it must be a thing around here. Why would we want to go through the effort of climbing a mountain or hill, get sweaty and just walk outside? We often forget that everyone doesn't like the same things we do such as being outside and enjoying nature. I guess it would get too crowded outside if everyone did it.


18 comments:

  1. Personally I think both of you are looking pretty snazzy. I don't see any scars.

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  2. Fran has always worn a hat for additional protection, I am wearing one more often now too. Being an morning person, I prefer to be outside ... not sure I could make the transition to nocturnal. Thanks for the reminder to use the sunscreen. And I agree with Sharon - you guys look great! - or is that an old photo??? :)

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    1. Thanks Jeff. I think the damage is from our youth. Who wore sunscreen back in the day? We were up before the sun this morning too. We spiffed up for Mike's class reunion this summer in that photo.

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  3. Well I don't see any scars either!! Enjoy the great outdoors but just be careful of the sun and take the proper precautions!!

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  4. Is it OK to tell a man he has beautiful skin...lol Really, you both look super.
    I wish I would have taken take of my skin better when I was younger.
    I don't know how anyone could live in AZ and not hike!

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    Replies
    1. We thought a tan was healthy. Who knew when we got these bodies they would last so long.

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  5. I feel your pain. I'm having my second top of the head blue treatment in Jan and having been going every six months for years to have little pre-cancers removed from my face. When we were young we were out in the sun all of the time and no sun screen back then or even knowledge of the damage being done.

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    Replies
    1. Mike got his dome done this time too. Not a bad time to be a dermatologist.

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  6. yep we feel your pain but even after surgeries the outside world beckons us and yes we will continue to be in the sun...

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  7. We've both had our share of little skin "stuff" removed, too -- but there's no way we're giving up our outdoors activities! I've worn natural sunscreen and big hats for years, but the real damage probably happened when I was a toddler frolicking in the ocean in Miami. :-) You both look great. Keep on enjoying life!!

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  8. Who knew we would still be around or that sun could cause issues. Good thing we can get tuned up and out there again.

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  9. I too have suffered with skin issues and microneeding was recommended. Since it doesn't sound fun, I've avoided it thus far and have stuck with IPL treatments. I'll be curious to hear what you think of your skin 6 months down the road. I may reconsider the treatment.

    Yeah, not everyone gets why we would voluntarily walk miles out in the desert and that's ok. Less traffic on the trail ��

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    1. Less people on the trails, the better. Hiking in AZ on Thanksgiving weekend can be trying.

      The things we do to take care of our skin.....

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  10. Interesting procedures. Good for you for keeping it all in check. Something that needs checking on when we spend so much time outside. I also don't get people that don't like to hike? But like others day, more solitude for the rest of us!

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    1. We should warn them about the dangers....more solitude is better.

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