high_jinx

i don't really settle in and take a long look in the mirror very often beyond straightening my hair and cleaning my teeth, but i did the other day and noticed several moles that i always knew were there but they just seemed more prominent and plentiful than i ever remembered.

i wondered if anyone on here had a story from themselves or someone they knew that went through with removing one or some moles.

did it hurt?

how expensive is it without insurance?

how bad's the scar?

looking back, was it worth going through it?

this is the stuff i was wondering about and i'm hoping i can find out without getting a sales pitch from some cosmetic docs office. thanks.

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Hotmnkyluv

I did... 2 moles...
No, it didn't hurt because I got novacaine shots first, but it was my face so those hurt.
1- no scar, they sliced it off at the skin line.
1- small scar, they dug out the "root" so I had a quarter inch divot missing. It healed.
Is it worth it depends on you. Do the moles bother you? Are they cancerous? Then yes.

Hektore

I've had three moles removed, when the biopsies came back as "I'm not going to say it's cancer, but I'm also not going to say it's not cancer."

If you're going to pay out of pocket to have them checked out I would get a biopsy done first, then worry about removal when they results come in. Not only will it be cheaper, but it will be less stitches.

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ngdawg

Why would you even go to "some cosmetic doc's office"? If you didn't see them until you were doing your hair, no one else will either. You should be having your doctor check them at each physical.
Depending on your age, moles will change their shape and size. In my early forties, I went into a panic at seeing a couple of them change so drastically (and my dad and brother have both had melanomas), but the changes were due to age, not illness, thankfully.
I have had three removed, including a large one on my breast, and one biopsy on a fourth before deciding to leave it alone. The biopsy was the worst of them, but none really hurt.

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Ultrabum

I had a really dubious looking mole on my back. I went to my GP to get it checked and I was referred to a dermatologist.

The dermatologist agreed it's appearance didn't look good. The National Health Service in my county has a policy of removing moles and sending them off for biopsy. It came back clear but I have a half inch scar. It didn't hurt because I had a Novocain shot in the skin first.

Moles do change shape and size. The cancerous types tend to have irregular shape and sometimes differences in colour within the mole. Other signs are itching, bleeding and crusting.

If in doubt, check them out.

high_jinx

thanks for the info everyone. to be honest, i don't think they're cancerous or anything. they've been on my face forever and haven't changed much. i just have been on a kick lately of caring more how i look and while no one has ever said anything, i know i notice a big mole on someone's face sometimes when i meet them, and i know i'd never remark on someone else's... so i doubt anyone would talk about mine if it's all they saw when they were looking at me.

this is something i was just considering saving up for and having done. i'm still curious about the price as i don't have insurance. any ballpark ideas on how much it would cost?

__________________
-my phobia drowned while i was gettin down.

chinese crested

Have you tried concealer? Would the girls on the make up counter help show you how to do it and you can see what difference it makes - and I believe most places would make no charge. If they are changing shape and size - or if you are worried then please get your doctor to look at them. If you were in the palace of Versaille at its heyday, you would have been considered most modern and you would have been the envy of your peers.

high_jinx

to me, someone noticing the makeup of me trying to cover up the mole would be more mortifying than them noticing the mole. besides that i'm kind of neurotic about having anything on my skin beyond clothing... even down to jewelery and watches. i'm afraid it's either pimp it proudly or slice it off. thanks for the laugh though

after this thread i'm down to just weighing my options on only one of the 2 offending moles. i'm keeping the one by my eye. it doesn't stick out much and gives me a kinda male sherilynn fenn thing.

__________________
-my phobia drowned while i was gettin down.

MSD

Just about any mole that meets criteria for removal will come back as pre-cancerous, meaning there was a high risk that it could become malignant in the future. If it was definitely not cancer or a risk they wouldn't have removed it. I have at least two that I have to have removed next time I get a physical. Rule of thumb, if you're worried and your insurance might deny it, just tell the doctor that it sometimes itches. You're almost certainly not lying, and it's an aggravating symptom that warrants medical action.

Grasshopper Green

I had one taken off my back a couple of years ago - hubby said it had grown and my doctor said it looked suspicious, so she removed it. She used a tiny cookie-cutter looking thing to cut around it and remove it. Removal itself wasn't painful, but it hurt for a couple of days afterward. I have a pit in my back where it used to be.

I am a mole-y person and have been meaning to start seeing a dermatologist on a regular basis. This thread has reminded me to do so and making an appointment is now on my to-do list.

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freeload

Thank you! You reminded me of an itching mole I have - and after inspecting it (in an akward place) a trip to the doctor makes sense. I have a boat load of moles, but this is the only one that doesn't pass the checklist as benign.

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