Hangers&Hangers

On July 9, 2010, British regulators approved the use of Botox for the treatment of Migraine Headaches.  It is expected that the U.S. will shortly follow.

Ok, considering the fact these treatments have been around for many years and in fact, Dr. Cantrell was one of the first in the area to offer such treatments, it’s nice that the Government will make it “official” soon.  For those patients that think anything ‘not approved’ by the FDA is ‘illegal’ please note that the use of ice packs to reduce swelling has never been approved by the FDA along with many other standard practices used everyday in medicine.  So, if you suffer from debilitating Migraine Headaches you can choose to wait and see if the FDA approves of you being treated; or, you can can choose to dramatically reduce the severity and frequency of your headaches for up to a year, right now.

By the way, all those cool Botox treatments that you’ve been so pleased with for your forehead, crows feet around the eyes, frowns around your lips, etc. - they’re not FDA approved either.

I.B.D. has reported that a particle of English ivy may protect the skin from UV radiation four times better than today’s metal-based sunblocks.  Interesting that it also states that this “…would avoid the potential health problems of metal-based products, which can seep into organs.”

By “metal-based products” they mean the Zinc oxide or Titanium dioxides.  By “potential health problems” & “which can seep into organs” they mean:  we’re making this up to get funding and to better position our research.   In all the generations that these have been used to block the damaging rays of the Sun, there has never been a reported case of health problems associated with them “seeping into organs”.   On the other hand, there are numerous studies implying or proving that the current batch of “chemical” screens can and have caused health problems to the point that many countries put minimum age requirements on their use.  Many people will insist that they prefer the “natural” products from something like this plant over the Zinc or Titanium dioxides.  They fail to realize that not only are Zinc oxide and Titanium dioxide “natural” products but they are far less complex than most of the chemical alternatives, including the “natural” ones.  Along with their long history of use, their interactions with the body are far better known and offer far fewer opportunities of unhealthy interactions than do the chemical substitutes.  Perhaps that’s why Australia still recommends them as the most approved and proven ingredients to be used in topical sunscreens.  “New” is not always better.

Finally, after all the “acne cures” on the market today they have finally gone directly to Gold for probably the most expensive solution yet.   Not just any gold but lauric acid inside Gold nanoparticles to attack the acne bacteria directly.  Can you just imagine the marketing hype and the price tag for that cream!?   Still, nothing indicates the treatment will ‘cure’ acne which to-date usually can just be controlled.  Guess if you have to have the most expensive method available, this will bring that to a whole new level.  But, if you just want your acne taken care of at an affordable price, Dr. C has had over a 98% success rate with compliant patients in clearing up their acne.  Even the old acne scarring of youth can be pretty well eliminated in a single treatment.  But clearly there will always be someone who must have the Golden Treatment.

Recent studies indicate the use of Botox  “…may diminish the quality of emotional experiences.”  Now, if you read carefully you’ll notice that the emotions that are diminished are associated with frowns and negative emotions.  Nothing wrong with diminishing your negative emotions and the bad day blues, is there?  Other studies indicate that people with natural frowns also experience improved social relations and feel happier after they have their frowns minimized or reversed with the use of Botox or Dysport.  So, I guess it’s fair to say the Botox makes you happy…really.

Every day I see patients that are new to medical cosmetics and one of the first treatments they are confused over is Botox.

Botox, and now Dysport, are medicines used for a large number of different treatments.  They are effective in treating symptoms as diverse as Cerebral Palsy and sea sickness.  For our purposes I will keep it limited to Cosmetic services.

Most people identify Botox with facial wrinkles and indeed that is its most common use.  But, not just any kind of wrinkle.  Botox and Dysport work only on dynamic wrinkles.  The kind of wrinkles that occur or are enhanced when you make strong expressions.  Frowns, squinting and even smiling.  (These are not the same as static wrinkles that are there all the time regardless of your expression.)  The areas most effected by dynamic wrinkles are the forehead, brow area and around the eyes.  By treating the specific muscles that make these wrinkles, they are dramatically softened and over time they can be eliminated.  These are not the same muscles that you use to actually make your facial expressions (unless you feel all the added wrinkles enhance your expressions).  I’ve treated patients as young as 19 and as mature as 79.  It’s not the age, it’s the look.

Wrinkles are not the only use of Botox and Dysport.  In the proper hands, they can be used to change the shape of your lips and your smile, the shape of your nose when you smile and other areas in a very subtle way that can still have a dramatic effect on your appearance.  I have treated actors and actresses who needed specific muscle groups to perform in specific ways and my ‘custom Botox’ has been the treatment of choice by those who could have receive treatment free of charge else were.

In the wrong hands, you can get the “frozen” look that so many people are familiar with, drooped eye brows, crooked lips and strange effects during normal expressions or worse.  The good thing about these ailments are that they won’t last.  After about 3 months your expressions and face will begin returning to ‘normal’.  Of course, when you get the look that you want, the bad thing is that it too will return to ‘normal’ in about 3-4 months.

Botox and Dysport have other benefits that many people are still not familiar with.  Tired of wet, clammy hands and feet?  Disappointed that, in this Florida humidity, you can’t wear those special blouses and tops without unsightly sweat marks and stains?  Excess sweating can be controlled for 8 or more months with just one treatment.  Migraine headaches can be controlled and even eliminated for months at a time.  Do you ever wonder how the Hollywood Stars keep their cool on stage under all those lights?  They use Botox in a lot more places then just their faces.

With one of the highest retention rates in all of Florida and years of unique training, my treatments are not like anything else.  The Botox ‘connoisseurs’ have found that there truly IS a difference.  Call me for a complimentary consultation and experience the difference that is Med Spa Plus.

In health,
Diane Cantrell, M.D.

In today’s economy, every penny counts, and consumers are choosier about where to spend their hard earned dollars. Every day we see some new sales pitch, special, or guaranteed product to make us thinner, younger and ultimately happier. Every week I receive an email targeting physicians to “increase their bottom line” by buying cheap equipment, and beauty products I would dare use on my own skin. There are a few things that you should know before you try to save money and end up spending even more.

DID YOU KNOW? - That many of those brand-name cosmeceuticals in your medicine cabinet have no active ingredient? High-end department stores are selling you products at INSANE prices that have you BELIEVING they make a difference when in reality actual medications that CHANGE THE SKIN are more AFFORDABLE!

BEFORE YOU BUY, DO YOUR RESEARCH
Find out what the active ingredients are in the products you are buying. When in doubt ask your DOCTOR, not the sales lady behind the counter.

Hair removal is another area where misinformation and a glossy sales pitch can actually cost you money.
Below is an ACTUAL conversation I had with a provider at a MAJOR “Laser” Hair Removal Chain

Q: Do you have a real laser? I heard that you use an I.P.L.?
A: Gee, nobody has ever asked me that…
Q: All those years there and all the consumers who do “research”?
A: I’ve never had anyone ask that.
Q: What would you say?
A: Uh, yes, it’ll remove your hair.
Q: You’re COMFORTABLE with saying that? So, you don’t tell them that I.P.L. is less effective than Laser? What wavelength is your “laser”?
A: Nobody asks that.
Q: Well, it’s a dead giveaway if there’s a single wavelength (meaning a laser).
A: Nobody has ever asked that.
———-
SO WHAT DO I NEED TO ASK?
-Is it a Real Laser, with one wavelength?
OR…
-Is it an IPL/Filtered IPL?

WHY ASK?
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, lasers can work broader areas of skin than IPL. As a result, IPL hair removal is often more time consuming and costly than laser hair removal. This may explain why you’ll find dozens of laser hair removal centers in your area with constant advertised discounts and relatively few “Laser” hair removal providers. Additionally, the jury is still out on whether IPL’s actually can be a factor in causing cancer unlike the monochromatic beam of coherent light used by a Laser.

If it’s not a single-wavelength “Real” Laser, thats plugged into a 220-Volt outlet, instead of a typical 6 Treatment Package, you’ll have to go 10-20 TIMES! WALK AWAY! Because and IPL will WASTE your time, and TIME IS MONEY!

In health,
Diane Cantrell, M.D.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in weight loss would be that it’s ACTUALLY ATTAINABLE…for EVERYONE

We’ve all been there or know someone who has.  The group meetings, the $800 a month meal plans, the 25 minute work-outs followed by a power bar nutrition or a protein shake. “If only I’d stuck with it a few more weeks/months/years and didn’t cheat so much…”

In it’s simplest form, food calorie intake, must match your energy output to stay at the weight you desire. When something in our physiology and/or lifestyle becomes unbalanced, our weight will often reflect that unbalance. These are some of the basic steps I successfully use on each of my patients:

1.    EAT REAL FOODS!

Focusing on what you CAN eat; Normal foods, normal diets. If you need to    change your entire lifestyle then you probably won’t be successful in the long run with keeping the proper balance. The key to maintaining weight after you’ve reached your goal is keeping life simple and “normal”. By understanding what you CAN and SHOULD be eating, many of your friends won’t even notice the significant shift in your eating choices.

2.    PRIVACY

Yes, Privacy. I’ve found that you don’t need to share your particular issues with twenty other people, and that patients don’t benefit from being reminded that they are not at their ideal weight. Waiting for hours in a weight clinic while everyone who comes in knows exactly why you’re there doesn’t enforce desired outcomes. My staff and I work hand in hand to minimize patient wait time and maximize my one-on-one to help better achieve your desired result.

3.    CUSTOMIZE TO YOUR LIFESTYLE

Customize a program for your specific needs and lifestyle. If everyone were the same then one program would work on everybody. A specific pill or diet plan that helps one person to lose weight may add weight onto another person. We first discover what caused the unwanted weight. It is important to rule out medical conditions as either the cause or contributing factor so that we don’t just treat a symptom and miss what could possibly develop into a more serious issue. This is why I deal personally with every patient on a one-on-one basis for EACH and EVERY visit to ensure personal customization.

4.    MAINTAIN

Now that you’ve finally achieved your desired results, maintain them! As you can tell by now, the process just works its way into your daily cycle, so by the time you’re at your ideal weight, you just continue what you’ve been doing. No one can do everything; but it’s nice to know the same doctor you’ve trusted for your treatments can also help you to maintain your ideal weight as you enjoy your new lifestyle. There’s always something more to keep you younger, fitter and meeting your new goals!

When I lose weight it seems to come out of my face first.  When I gained it back, it went somewhere else.  Now I look older and my face seems to sag and look boney.    What happened?  How can I fix this?

At some time in everyone’s life (usually around age 40), everybody loses fat, collagen, and bone, preferentially from the face.  This is also the time that many of us have found we’ve gained weight and we go on diets, work out or in some other way try to lose that weight.  When we do, surprise!  We’re observing losses that had already occurred but were masked by the added weight.  The process doesn’t stop when we gain weight back.  We’re now sensitized to the loss and during the year, 2 years or more that we cycle through our weight we’ve lost even more volume in our face.

When I look in the mirror I pull the skin on my face back over my ears!!  Right now, my husband says I look fine.  But that’s when I’m lying on my back.  When I sit up, my whole face falls!  What can I do about this very scary thing that’s happening!?

Your facial skin does not typically STRETCH with age.  It sags because you’ve lost volume under it (fat, collagen, and bone.)  This is natural and occurs in not just humans but in all animals.  Having a ‘face lift’ done simply tightens the skin along the older and now much narrower, more angular face.

I don’t remember having such deep lines on my face before.  I look at pictures of when I was younger and they don’t seem so deep.  Can you put Botox in the lines here (from the nose to the corners of their mouth)?

Botox is used to RELAX muscles, particularly ones that are ‘dynamic’ meaning they move and intensify with your expressions.  Often, these muscles create wrinkles that make us look angry or mad, not just older.   Botox and Dysport soften these lines helping to give us a more relaxed and smoother look.  Over time, Botox and Dysport can help natural collagen grow back and help reduce ‘dynamic’ wrinkles.  Static wrinkles on the other hand, such as those mentioned in the question above (called nasal labial folds or NLF), occur due to the folding of skin after volume loss (fat, collagen, and bone.)  Injecting Botox or Dysport into these areas will relax your upper lip, causing it to sag lower.  Not an improvement I can assure you.  But, there is a solution.

The Answer to Each of These Questions:

Replace the lost volume of fat, collagen, and bone.

Replacing this lost volume will restore your face to a more YOUTHFULL FULLNESS.  By filling (”puff up”) the deflated facial areas, many of these static wrinkles of aging and issues of sagging skin will resolve or improve, sometimes dramatically.  Not surprisingly, the term used for the products that do this is “Fillers”.  With modern techniques and medicine, a more natural, youthfull appearance is possible without invasive surgery and painful recovery times.  Results can be amazing, especially when combined with modern laser treatments and proper daily skin care. Treatments can let you can “try it out” for a while then commit to a treatment with longer results lasting years.

To keep this simple, Restylane, Perlane, Juvederm, Sculptra, all fill (”puff up”) the deflated facial areas and are the primary examples of “Fillers”.  Though there are others, except for specialized needs, these are the only ones I will use.  There are significant medical, esthetic, and ethical reasons combined with years of experience as to why I will not use other products that are on the market.  This is where you either trust your Doctor or you don’t.  This is not a treatment you want to get “wrong”, the “cheapest deal” on or have it done by “a friend” in a back room.  This is your face.  You will be wearing your decision in public for all to see perhaps for years to come.

If you review consumer blogs on the internet, over and over again you will see that the MOST important predictor of great results is… Who Your Injector Is!  Remember, anybody can stick in a needle…only a few will do it cautiously, artistically, and with great attention to your absolute comfort.  Medical Make-up for the 21st century.  Use it.

If you need some advice or medical assistance in your effort to live a healthier lifestyle, please give me a call and I’ll be happy to help you with a complimentary consultation.  I want to help you live longer, stay active, and of course, look younger!

Diane Cantrell, M.D.

You’ve seen them on TV, magazines, women you pass in the grocery store and if you look, perhaps even early photos of yourself.  Beautiful, full sensuous lips.  How do they do that, how do they keep them and what happened to yours?

It’s as simple as injecting naturally based medicines that re-establish the fullness both men and women lose with age.  Or is it?

Women, and now even men use make-up and lipstick or gloss to add and enhance the appearance and to highlight the contours of their lips.  The next step in modern make-up is replacing lost volume or adding volume that was never quite there to begin with.  However, this new technology, which has been used in Hollywood since the 1980’s and before is highly specialized and not available at your drug store or make-up counter.  No matter what else you try, nothing, and I mean nothing will substitute for the dramatic improvements available through modern “medical make-up”.

One of the biggest concerns patients tell me is that the idea of “injecting” their lips is just not something they can even tolerate the idea of.  The dread of the needle and pain outweighs the benefits.  If this sounds like you, Please, read on.

I’ve heard stories from so many women who ‘went some place’  to plump up their lips.  “The doctor stuck the needle in my lip… I passed out… when I came to, I apologized to the doctor and was so embarrassed.”  Geez, YOU apologized to the doctor??!!  Shouldn’t he have apologized TO YOU??!!

I have been injecting for many years patients who have a low pain tolerance, anxiety disorders, needle-phobia, or the popular “My Dentist NEVER gets me numb” patient.  (By the way, it really helps to know this ahead of time…)  Our happiest patients are the ones who went somewhere else first.  I often hear, “I didn’t feel ANYTHING!!”, or “Gee, this is so different … after that ‘other’ doctor I swore I’d never get this ever done again!”  We’ve even had patients, nervously awaiting the torture of a repeat lip treatment in other offices, actually walk out of their waiting room…into ours.  They all say they didn’t know that being this comfortable was even possible.

This is the way it’s supposed to be.   That’s what we specialize in.  That’s just one of the reasons why we’re different and not “just a doctors’ office” but a true medical spa.  And that’s one of the reasons people will drive for miles for our services and why we have so many medical professionals, other doctors and nurses, as our patients.  So if you’ve sworn off the modern medical beauty aids because of the injections, come in for our complimentary consultation.

How does an IPL/Photofacial differ from a LASER treatment?

Since the first Lasers were approved in the early-mid 90s, dramatic changes
and advances have occurred in Laser technology. Several types of laser
devices have been developed for the treatment of various skin conditions and
excessive hair growth.  Here at Med Spa Plus we use several Lasers, both Ablative
and Non-Ablative depending on what we are treating and the specific patient needs.
The most commonly confused are the Laser (Non-Ablative and Ablative) and IPL
(Non-Ablative) devices.  Non-ablative IPL means that the skins surface does not
get burnt off, and the sub dermal layers are not being treated.

There is an important difference between the light generated by Lasers and
pulsed light photo devices, (Lasers vs IPL).  Lasers emit the so-called
coherent light (synchronized light waves of the same wavelength), providing
very specific and intense targeted energy delivery to a particular skin
structure.  IPL on the other hand, emit a spectrum of various wavelengths of
light.

The IPL, is light device that mainly works on the surface of the skin.  Different
than a Laser, the IPL uses a bright light to shine many wavelengths into your skin.
It does work on brown spots and redness or small blood vessels, but not as
effective as a Laser, and the results are less noticeable.  A series of 4-6 treatments
will help even skin tone but does little for rebuilding collagen and tightening skin.

Ablative Lasers, or laser skin resurfacing lasers, briefly direct intense
bursts of light energy onto the surface of the skin causing the outermost
layers of the skin to be removed, and penetrating below the surface to
eliminate some of the causes for aging skin.  The skin then heals over a
period of time, and new layers of skin and collagen are produced. This acts
to remove unwanted pigment (brown spots) from the skin, remove sun damage
and rebuild collagen. The overall effect after a series of only 2-4
treatments is more even skin tone, fewer fine lines, and smoother skin.

A Photofacial using an Erbium-YAG Laser can offer patients a noticeable
improvement in skin texture and tone.  By mildly exfoliating skin (removing
the top layer), it improves texture, stimulates collagen, and removes
pigmentation.  An additional benefit is studies have shown that patients
receiving Laser skin treatments with this type of laser have a decreased
incidence of skin cancer, because the precancerous cells are sloughed off.

If you are treating brown spots, redness/capillaries, dull or sagging skin,
your best option is to use a Laser.  The number of treatments required will
be far less that what is required if you are using an IPL.  You will see
dramatic results and you skin will become noticeably healthier and firmer.

If you need some advice or medical assistance in your effort to live a healthier
lifestyle, please give us a call and we would be happy to help you with a
complimentary consultation.  We want to help you live longer, stay active,
and of course, look younger!