Hi there.
I was diagnosed with SM just yesterday. I am 26 yrs., it started when I was about 12 years old. Actually I knew what it was before my doctors told me, though all of them over all the years always said after having a VERY SHORT look at them: Ah, its lipomas. You cant do anything. Now, its not lipomas but SM and stil the same answer I get is that surgery is the only way to remove them. Well i would probably look like frankensteins daugther afterwards, so surgery is not an option anymore, since they already took three of the cysts out for the diagnosis... what leaves are very ugly scarves, one under my arm, two on my bum..
So I was just reading about this cure nerfer suggested years ago. I wonder whether the treatment was successful in your case? My sister lives in China and I would love to visit her...
Anyway, if anyone did the fluorouracil treatment or has some research/paper or information about it that is available in English it would be very kind if you could let me know here. so we could get in contact!!! Would be a great relief. Those cysts really bother me since I am 12 years old. They are getting more and more (by the way: I feel some kind of flutter in different parts of my body (back, legs, shoulders...) from time to time..it feels funny and I do assume that is how it feels when a new cyst is "born". Does anybody have experience with this or experiences the same flatter feeling?
Greetings from Germany.
I read these forums often but this is my first time contributing. Mine started on my neck and has spread to my arms back, chest and now stomach in that order. I am in the Washington, D.C. Area and desperate like the rest of you to aggressively treat these pesky cysts which do unfortunately greatly affect self esteem and day to day life. I have tried excursions and live with many scars but am interested in a laser therapy. I am 28 year old female and started noticing the bumps in my early teens. It's hard thinking about living with this for the rest of my life and I'm worried about the rate at which it's spreading recently. Does anyone know of any doctors in the dc area you have had success with? I think the hardest thing is finding a doctor who cares enough to take the time to help. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you want to chat more.
Hi guys, I am 21 years old and I've had SM since I was 13. I am currently on my 5th month of accutane and I feel like I can't see a whole lot of difference, my doctor too has no answer and tells me there is nothing I can do. This makes me so upset as I have it all over my body especially my chest, back and abdominal area, my scars are so ugly a lot of them are red and brown and are very noticeable which make me extremely self-conscious and sad. I limit myself with the clothes I wear and it makes me want to cry just thinking about having to do this because I'm that self-conscious. It's also frustrating for me because I am the only person in my family that we know of that has this condition. I've read a majority of the previous posts but it would be really nice if we could get in contact through another platform such as FB as it would be nice and convenient if we could all just stay in contact. I am in Vancouver, Canada and if anyone is in the area please contact me!!
Hi.. Im a filipino, 24 yrs old. Im suffering with ds sm condition. I just want to ask if u know any dermatologist here in d philippines who knows how to cure this. Kindly helo me. Thank u
Hi! I'm Dani. I think I also have SM mostly in my underarm , bikini line and in my neck. It's really frustrating but I'm happy it's not really visible unless you will touch it. But in my neck and underarms they seem to appear now.
How's your searching so far?
How's your searching so far?
By the way guys ! I think the only way to lessen SM IS to exercise , avoid dairy food and oily foods.
Let's not be sad - and don't over think about this. We will be fine. We are still lucky it's not something like cancer, tumor or any disease that will kill us.
Just don't press or keep pressing it. They multiply easily if u do it. Love yourself everyone :)
Hi do u have alot of visible sM? I'm 23 and I have lots already. Just stop eating oily and dairy foods.
it's been a year - 2 years now, just to update everyone I'm still free and clear from SM so we can safely say mine was 100% an allergic case. I've gotten some mails from some people here, seems like some of you were allergic to doxy/mino cycline as well. I'm glad I could help. The whole ordeal however has left me with severe anxiety and depression(don't want to go explaining that)
Anyway, other people who are non-sporadic cases and had it since you're young, unfortunately there really isn't a "cure" Like in my old posts, i've mentioned i've tried everything possible.
Sm is a mutation in the k17 genes, homeotherapy etc isn't going to help because your cells are just functioning that way now. I know you're wishing that I could say there's a sure fire way to get rid of them but there isn't any as of modern technology can offer.
But, here are the options to control it:
1. Lancing. Getting a derma to slowly lance them out would reduce the appearance and hopefully make some of them go away. It's rather difficult since, once the cyst walls are formed, the only way to get rid of them is removing the walls entirely. Lancing only pierces through the walls and extract the sebum. So, chances of cyst returning is rather high, it is possible sometimes for the cyst walls to come out together with the extraction. I would say about 50% chance of cyst returning, and you'd need to keep lancing regularly.
Surgical removal- Meaning cutting in an oval form shape and removing the entire cyst with the wall. This would 100% leave you with a scar. but chances of that particular cyst returning is maybe 1-10%. Areas like the chest would also leave a keloid scar(not worth since it looks even worse).
These are your only options available... Some people reported accutane helping and some saying it made it worse. Staying healthy of course is a good thing, homeotherapy etc, but it really doesn't help much at all.
Anyway, other people who are non-sporadic cases and had it since you're young, unfortunately there really isn't a "cure" Like in my old posts, i've mentioned i've tried everything possible.
Sm is a mutation in the k17 genes, homeotherapy etc isn't going to help because your cells are just functioning that way now. I know you're wishing that I could say there's a sure fire way to get rid of them but there isn't any as of modern technology can offer.
But, here are the options to control it:
1. Lancing. Getting a derma to slowly lance them out would reduce the appearance and hopefully make some of them go away. It's rather difficult since, once the cyst walls are formed, the only way to get rid of them is removing the walls entirely. Lancing only pierces through the walls and extract the sebum. So, chances of cyst returning is rather high, it is possible sometimes for the cyst walls to come out together with the extraction. I would say about 50% chance of cyst returning, and you'd need to keep lancing regularly.
Surgical removal- Meaning cutting in an oval form shape and removing the entire cyst with the wall. This would 100% leave you with a scar. but chances of that particular cyst returning is maybe 1-10%. Areas like the chest would also leave a keloid scar(not worth since it looks even worse).
These are your only options available... Some people reported accutane helping and some saying it made it worse. Staying healthy of course is a good thing, homeotherapy etc, but it really doesn't help much at all.
lastly, i want to mention that i understand how each and every one of you feel, whether it's a permanent or allergic case.
Don't let this condition eat you up like how it did to me. Life is short, and 2 years of my life just flew by while i suffered from severe depression.
Don't let this condition eat you up like how it did to me. Life is short, and 2 years of my life just flew by while i suffered from severe depression.
oh and anyone who wishes to contact me feel free to just reply to my post, and i'll leave my contact here again. The site keeps removing my email. Also, a great idea is for people here to create a facebook page to keep in contact, when i was going through a rough time, the best way is to relate to those diagnosed with sm as well.
-reallysad
Hello guys,
I have SM since I was 15 yrs old. I'm now 22. At first I thought the little white bumps were white heads. I had lots of acne on my face back then. I was diagnosed with SM when I was 19 when I finally decided to go to a dermatologist because there were red bumps suddenly emerging rapidly. It was a quadruple whammy, turns out the small red bumps were measles, the white bumps were steatocystoma, the red bumps were acne vulgaris, and there were lot of scars in my body left by years of eruption. It was in my chest, back, arms and forearms, back of my scalp, face and neck . She even thought there were keloid scars. She did not mention the icepick scars and strecth marks I have.
So now you know my story, let's fast forward to the present. My face has cleared of acne one to two pimple here and there a month. I have my SM less visible and eruptions less frequent. Scars and dark spots are improving. I am using Freeman's Clay Mask ($4 for 6oz bottle that lasts for 3 months) once a week all over my body. It really helps control SM and its eruptions. For the scars I use a more expensive product, BioOil ($11 for 4.2oz bottle that last for only a month and a half) applying it twice a day all over my body. I know I can't have a dream body, but those imperfection are hardly noticeable now from 4ft away. If you look closer, well it is much better looking than a plucked chicken skin. You can hardly notice the bumps, they're more like white spots now.
I would say the description of my body is like an intricate pattern of white spots. It actually looks good. The differing color of the skin had sprouted an unexpected riveting effect. It is comparable to those with henna tattoos, with those white pattern. Someday I would like to get a tattoo in white ink to enhance the beautiful outcome of this unique deviation, which in my perspective is not a disease.
Hope my story helps you fellow SMers
I have SM since I was 15 yrs old. I'm now 22. At first I thought the little white bumps were white heads. I had lots of acne on my face back then. I was diagnosed with SM when I was 19 when I finally decided to go to a dermatologist because there were red bumps suddenly emerging rapidly. It was a quadruple whammy, turns out the small red bumps were measles, the white bumps were steatocystoma, the red bumps were acne vulgaris, and there were lot of scars in my body left by years of eruption. It was in my chest, back, arms and forearms, back of my scalp, face and neck . She even thought there were keloid scars. She did not mention the icepick scars and strecth marks I have.
So now you know my story, let's fast forward to the present. My face has cleared of acne one to two pimple here and there a month. I have my SM less visible and eruptions less frequent. Scars and dark spots are improving. I am using Freeman's Clay Mask ($4 for 6oz bottle that lasts for 3 months) once a week all over my body. It really helps control SM and its eruptions. For the scars I use a more expensive product, BioOil ($11 for 4.2oz bottle that last for only a month and a half) applying it twice a day all over my body. I know I can't have a dream body, but those imperfection are hardly noticeable now from 4ft away. If you look closer, well it is much better looking than a plucked chicken skin. You can hardly notice the bumps, they're more like white spots now.
I would say the description of my body is like an intricate pattern of white spots. It actually looks good. The differing color of the skin had sprouted an unexpected riveting effect. It is comparable to those with henna tattoos, with those white pattern. Someday I would like to get a tattoo in white ink to enhance the beautiful outcome of this unique deviation, which in my perspective is not a disease.
Hope my story helps you fellow SMers
I have same case, i also have SM and im searching for people who cud help me. Pls add me in FB just search boy tirador.. Thank you
I have same case, i also have SM and im searching for people who cud help me. Pls add me in FB just search boy tirador.. Thank you
Add me in fb, search boy tirador. Thanks
I know this was along time ago but if you read this i wanted to ask how long you have had the disease and how fast it spreads. Thankyou.