Stretch marks, we all have them. How do you get rid of them?

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I'm really sorry if this has been discussed, but what the heck should I use to get rid of my stretch marks??

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  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
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    Can't do it unless you have surgery. They will fade and shrink as you shrink but the tissue beneath the skin's surface has been damaged and doesn't "grow" back together (for lack of better terminology). I'm covered in them. I feel your pain :cry:
  • BunkyBumBum
    BunkyBumBum Posts: 157 Member
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    I'm very pale and developed really striking red stretch marks when I was pregnant. Year later after a lot of weight loss, they're still there, but they're faded considerably (most of them turned white) and I don't notice them at all. Honestly though, they don't bother me, it's just part of who I am.

    What does bother me are the scars all over my midsection from a laparoscopic gall bladder removal gone horribly wrong. Not so much about the scars as just about the fact that they didn't need to be there, it was because of my surgeon's incompetence. I should have sued him, but at the time I just wanted to forget the ordeal and it never even occurred to me. To this day when I do sit ups or crunches I get a pinch and I have to worry about how that doctor messed up my insides and if the clip is in the right place (and if he ever found the one he lost inside of me). Those scars are the ones that bother me, but they're never going away and I'm not concerned enough about them to pursue any medical treatment.
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
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    I'm very pale and developed really striking red stretch marks when I was pregnant. Year later after a lot of weight loss, they're still there, but they're faded considerably (most of them turned white) and I don't notice them at all. Honestly though, they don't bother me, it's just part of who I am.

    What does bother me are the scars all over my midsection from a laparoscopic gall bladder removal gone horribly wrong. Not so much about the scars as just about the fact that they didn't need to be there, it was because of my surgeon's incompetence. I should have sued him, but at the time I just wanted to forget the ordeal and it never even occurred to me. To this day when I do sit ups or crunches I get a pinch and I have to worry about how that doctor messed up my insides and if the clip is in the right place (and if he ever found the one he lost inside of me). Those scars are the ones that bother me, but they're never going away and I'm not concerned enough about them to pursue any medical treatment.

    Oh my...so sorry you had that experience. You're right, they won't go away, but put a positive spin on it. You survived that horrible ordeal so anything else you do will be a piece of cake in comparison! :drinker:
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    They don't go away, they turn white/silver with time. My oldest is 32 and I still have them.
  • BunkyBumBum
    BunkyBumBum Posts: 157 Member
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    Oh my...so sorry you had that experience. You're right, they won't go away, but put a positive spin on it. You survived that horrible ordeal so anything else you do will be a piece of cake in comparison! :drinker:

    Thanks, most days I just forget about it, in fact - maybe that's why my stretch marks don't bother me so much, I'm too distracted by being angry over my surgery scars! ;) What's amusing is that his medical student assistant came to check on me after the surgery and was looking at my stomach and saw the stretch marks I had (I had a baby 1 month before) and the moron asked me "are those from the surgery?" When I said, "No, I had a baby last month" he said, "Oh, was it a c-section?" Dude, way to add insult to injury.
  • _Schatzi_
    _Schatzi_ Posts: 112 Member
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    I use this french stuff called Leirac Phytolastil
    it helps a bit.
  • badfaith76
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    I gained close to 90 pounds with son and have horrible deep and wide stretch marks from pregnancy. Someone once commented that it looked like I had been burned in a fire. I have since lost the weight,my son is now 14 years old and they are still there just not pink now just flesh colored but still very noticeable.
  • HelenaHanbasket
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    Don't let anyone fool you, NOTHING gets rid of them but surgical removal.
    They are damaged tissue. There's no magical cure.
    I had a tummy tuck because I had 3 ten pound kids and massive damage and my abs underneath were blown out. It was extensive and they had to remove part of my abs and re position. It was painful and very costly but it was also one of the best investments I ever made FOR ME! It took me 30 years but I finally did it. I still have a few stretch marks because they could not get them all, but they are very low and the skin is tight so they're not noticeable.
  • JewelSmith
    JewelSmith Posts: 155 Member
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    They do not go away, but using shea butter (and the likes of) can make them "blend" a little better over time. You see my skin color in my profile picture and I have yellow stretch marks. I use natural skin butters and the stretch marks are not as "bright" as they used to be.
  • HotrodsGirl0107
    HotrodsGirl0107 Posts: 243 Member
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    Unfortunately they will be with us forever. Surgery doesn't even come with a 100% guarantee. Over time they get lighter and less noticeable. For me cocoa butter and staying hydrated seems to have made them lighten and I haven't had anymore show up. They don't bother me anymore though. I have been through a lot and I am still here and I am bettering myself everyday. I now choose to view them as battle scars LOL!