Dr. Pimple Popper - General Discussion

[Madding crowd]

I wanted to see what the woman who had all the spots looked like too. This show makes me feel grateful for my own health issues. I felt so bad for that man who was so deformed by his tumors. I am more interested in seeing people freed from these terrible lumps than hearing the Dr compare everything to food.

[Twopper]

33 minutes ago, 2727 said:

I wonder if it was on purpose because it didn't turn out well?

There sure was a difference in attitude between the woman with the neck cyst and the one with seborrheic keratosis. Several patients have commented that one of the reasons they put off getting their lumps removed was their fear of surgery, but still. Calm down, tiny dancer. Dr. Lee's talking anesthesia technique was funny.

Dr. Lee stressed that neurofibromatosis can be "excruciating," but I was still a little uncertain why those smallish cysts would cause the guy so much pain.

Another episode that makes me grateful for my own diseases in comparison!

Yes, I wanted to see  the after pictures for the woman who had the bumps frozen, and I also wondered if the results were not satisfactory.  Also I thought it possible that a cancerous bump could be hidden among all the non-cancerous ones; maybe the Dr looked more closely but it wasn't shown.

I am also surprised the dancer's parents had not taken her for treatment, but she did say it had started to grow more rapidly as she got older; so maybe it was so much less noticeable when she was growing up, although if I had had that as a teen I would be begging to get it removed.  Also I like her talking to calm her patients, but I think a few of them need a real chill pill.

I think she said that some of the guy's lumps were more under the skin than was obvious, and those hurt more.  So they would be closer to nerves, I think, and the weight of a heavy carton would push into them.   It really bugged me that she held a consultation about him  with her husband in the office.  I would like to think that she would have allowed him to also examine the man even if she didn't want it shown.  I  actually screamed at the tv about this, and scared the cat out of one  of her nine lives.

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, Madding crowd said:

I wanted to see what the woman who had all the spots looked like too.

I have to say, she was one of the calmest patients I have ever seen. 

[rhys]

I was wondering if there could have been a topical spray applied first like lidocaine to somewhat deaden the skin before Dr Lee goes after it with the liquid nitrogen.

[JennyMominFL]

Im going to assume some of these people didnt have insurance. Im sure that some who do have insurance will have insurance turn down certain procedures as “cosmetic”

[roughing it]

8 hours ago, GaT said:

Why didn't they show what the black woman looked like when she healed? I really wanted to know.

I had one on the side of my face on my temple.  It was about the size of a dime and kind of looked like a scab.  I called it a barnacle LOL.  My derm used the same technique with the freezing.  It fell off within a few days and never came back, no scar or anything.  So I'm hoping the woman had a similar result.

[JJ1]

So confused by the patients who come in with something that could have been easily treated by a hometown dermatologist years ago.  For example, the woman with the brown spots on her chest and neck - I get those (granted, not nearly the volume she has) and I go to the dermatologist once a year or so to have them all blasted off with the freezing stuff. And OMG the young woman with the huge cyst on her shoulder! Why wasn’t that removed immediately? Even if you don’t have insurance, those procedures would not be expensive.  Hate to think that their lives were so impacted - for years - by an easily corrected problem. 

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, JJ1 said:

So confused by the patients who come in with something that could have been easily treated by a hometown dermatologist years ago.  For example, the woman with the brown spots on her chest and neck - I get those (granted, not nearly the volume she has) and I go to the dermatologist once a year or so to have them all blasted off with the freezing stuff. And OMG the young woman with the huge cyst on her shoulder! Why wasn’t that removed immediately? Even if you don’t have insurance, those procedures would not be expensive.  Hate to think that their lives were so impacted - for years - by an easily corrected problem. 

I don't think it is as inexpensive as you think. I went for a simple consultation visit to schedule a test that I needed. The bill was over $300, with insurance, I pay $50. And last year, I went to the ER and ended up needing a CT scan..... my bill was $10,000! I can only imagine what some of these procedures would cost. 

[cynicat]

On 1/11/2019 at 9:44 AM, 2727 said:

Dr. Lee stressed that neurofibromatosis can be "excruciating," but I was still a little uncertain why those smallish cysts would cause the guy so much pain.

Another episode that makes me grateful for my own diseases in comparison!

Because they are tumors of the nerves.

[auntjess]

On 1/11/2019 at 2:57 PM, libgirl2 said:

I don't think it is as inexpensive as you think. I went for a simple consultation visit to schedule a test that I needed. The bill was over $300, with insurance, I pay $50. And last year, I went to the ER and ended up needing a CT scan..... my bill was $10,000! I can only imagine what some of these procedures would cost. 

Also, she usually mentions sending things for a biopsy, and I just googled, and it says a mole biopsy costs between $100 and $400.

[camom]

Quote

I like her talking to calm her patients, but I think a few of them need a real chill pill.

I had some minor surgery on my face in the dermatologist's office and they offered me a tranquilizer before.  Yes, I took it!

The woman with the lumps on her head who wants to be a voice over artist -- I'm glad her procedure went so well, but I don't see her being successful in voice over.  People think it's easy, but it is extremely competitive and there are thousands like her in LA trying to make it.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 1/4/2019 at 12:05 PM, Yokosmom said:

On 1/4/2019 at 1:12 AM, GaT said:

When she was examining the guy with psoriasis all I kept thinking was “why doesn’t she wear gloves?” She’s always touching people with her bare hands, aren’t doctors supposed to wear gloves to prevent the spread of disease? Though I have to admit, she really changed this guy’s life.

Psoriasis can't be caught by touching someone's skin.  It is an autoimmune disorder.

And I assume she washes her hands in between patients. 

But I like the fact that she doesn't wear gloves.  These people have enough problems feeling like monsters, and it must be just wonderful to have an empathetic stranger who isn't scared to touch you with her bare hands.  I think of what a significant gesture it was when Princess Diana touched an AIDS patient back when people were terrified of them.

[GaT]

2 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

And I assume she washes her hands in between patients. 

But I like the fact that she doesn't wear gloves.  These people have enough problems feeling like monsters, and it must be just wonderful to have an empathetic stranger who isn't scared to touch you with her bare hands.  I think of what a significant gesture it was when Princess Diana touched an AIDS patient back when people were terrified of them.

It' not just to protect her, it's to protect the patient also. I'm sure she washes her hands, but she probably doesn't scrub under her nails, & you just never know, she's dealing with all kinds of bacteria all day long.

[auntjess]

I watched the "extended" show, actually ff'd through it, but didn't see anything labelled extra or added, as other TLC shows do.
There wasn't an update on the frozen bump woman, which was why I bothered to watch it.

[PityFree]

Dear god,  I am so excited to find out what’s wrong with the man in the previews for tomorrow’s show. His skale-y skin looks so painful. I am really hoping that Dr. PP can help him.

[mmecorday]

Quote

Dear god,  I am so excited to find out what’s wrong with the man in the previews for tomorrow’s show. His skale-y skin looks so painful. I am really hoping that Dr. PP can help him.

I know, right? It's got to be some sort of autoimmune condition similar to psoriasis. That poor man.

[threebluestars]

I am thinking a very bad case of ichthyosis from how painful it looked.

[Granny58]

10 years and no English?

[PityFree]

3 hours ago, threebluestars said:

I am thinking a very bad case of ichthyosis from how painful it looked.

Nailed it!  I’m so relieved she was able to give him some help!  I think the best part of how he had healed was that he was no longer in pain.  I loved watching him dance with Dr. Lee.

[mmecorday]

I just think it's so sad that the VA couldn't have helped him with his skin condition sooner. Ichthyosis is not that uncommon.  Our veterans deserve the best care available. I'm glad Dr. Lee was able to help him and that he obviously has a son who would do anything to help him going forward.

Quote

10 years and no English?

I thought she said she had the cyst for 10 years.

[blatantlyobvious]

1 hour ago, Granny58 said:

10 years and no English?

She may speak & understand some English, but that doesn’t mean she can communicate effectively with a medical professional and cameras in her face in English. Having her brother translate wasn’t an inconvenience for Dr. Lee, especially since her nurse/assistant was clearly quite fluent in Spanish. 

 

She’s been in the US for 10 years, holds a job, and is raising her kids just fine. 

[GaT]

Yikes, this one was a tough episode. That poor man with the ichthyosis, how could no other doctor tell him how to moisturize his skin?  

Edited January 18, 2019 by GaT

[2727]

11 minutes ago, GaT said:

how could no other doctor tell him how to moisturize his skin? 

How could Dr. Lee let the producers talk her into pretending she didn't recognize ichthyosis and needed a consult? That doesn't add drama, it adds stupidity.

Loved the bada-boob guy. He really does look at lot younger than his age. (78? Whatever it was.)

[libgirl2]

11 hours ago, Granny58 said:

10 years and no English?

Sometimes people do speak some English but are not comfortable with it. Her English could have been very poor and it was easier just to talk Spanish. She is holding a job even with having that growth. I thought she was sweet. 

10 hours ago, mmecorday said:

I just think it's so sad that the VA couldn't have helped him with his skin condition sooner. Ichthyosis is not that uncommon.  Our veterans deserve the best care available. I'm glad Dr. Lee was able to help him and that he obviously has a son who would do anything to help him going forward.

 

I thought the same thing too. Is this the kind of care he gets at the VA? Nothing. I'm glad he got some help and seems to be treating it the right way. He was so polite with Dr. Lee that it broke my heart to see him suffering. This man gave his life serving this country and deserved better. 

5 hours ago, 2727 said:

How could Dr. Lee let the producers talk her into pretending she didn't recognize ichthyosis and needed a consult? That doesn't add drama, it adds stupidity.

Loved the bada-boob guy. He really does look at lot younger than his age. (78? Whatever it was.)

He looked to be in his late 50s. Wow, that man aged well. 

Edited January 18, 2019 by libgirl2

[Granny58]

10 hours ago, asemumma said:

She may speak & understand some English, but that doesn’t mean she can communicate effectively with a medical professional and cameras in her face in English. Having her brother translate wasn’t an inconvenience for Dr. Lee, especially since her nurse/assistant was clearly quite fluent in Spanish. 

 

She’s been in the US for 10 years, holds a job, and is raising her kids just fine. 

yeah, and I didn't disparage any of that.  If I lived in Mexico for 10 years though I think I would speak Spanish pretty well.  

[Jadzia]

I was surprised that guy was 70 years old and was in Desert Storm? He must have been an old soldier. I'm 48 and I have classmates who were in that.

[libgirl2]

23 minutes ago, Jadzia said:

I was surprised that guy was 70 years old and was in Desert Storm? He must have been an old soldier. I'm 48 and I have classmates who were in that.

I was surprised as well. Like I said, poor guy, he deserved better. I was just struck by how kind he was. 

[roughing it]

My friend has a young grandson with ichthyosis - lots of lotion is a way of life for them.  I wish Dr. Lee had taken care of the scab-like things on his face.  Those are the same as what Dr. Lee removed from the woman from last week's episode (can't remember what she called them).  A little freezing and off they come.

[readheaded]

On 1/4/2019 at 7:46 PM, PityFree said:

I thought the same thing about the brand name Cosentyx being mentioned so many times: they are paying for some of his meds and/or sponsoring the show.  I don’t remember any Cosentyx commercials though.

I do wonder why the guy with psoriasis haven’t tried an internal medication previously. Maybe insurance issues.

Many people are fearful of biologics, as well as not being able to afford them.

[Granny58]

19 hours ago, mmecorday said:

I thought she said she had the cyst for 10 years.

if that is the case, then I apologize.  

[Tls]

Has had growth for 8 yrs. Came here 10 yrs ago.

[Twopper]

10 hours ago, Jadzia said:

I was surprised that guy was 70 years old and was in Desert Storm? He must have been an old soldier. I'm 48 and I have classmates who were in that.

I wasn't sure if he meant he was in the military or was in some sort of civilian capacity such as working with Red Adair to put out the fires.  I am just glad he has learned how to treat himself.  I also found it silly that she had to consult to make a diagnosis unless it was such an extreme case she wanted to be completely sure.   It reminded me of the time she "consulted" her husband who was in the office;  surely the husband went and looked at the patient.  That just seems so unnecessary and fake to me.

[rhys]

Did they say how much time elapsed between the 2 visits for the vet? There was a lot of improvement. I'm excited for him. His arms were about 95% better. Wow.

Pole dancer? Hmmm. Seems like she would have chosen a job that didn't draw attention to her neck area both by having people look at it & having pole rub it.

[bilgistic]

On 1/18/2019 at 10:03 AM, Jadzia said:

I was surprised that guy was 70 years old and was in Desert Storm? He must have been an old soldier. I'm 48 and I have classmates who were in that.

He was a Vietnam vet. I think he said he was in the Army Reserves when he was called to serve in Desert Storm. Desert Storm was 1990-91. He would've been 18 in ~1966, right in the middle of the Vietnam War. That puts him at his early-to-mid 40s during Desert Storm.

Edited January 20, 2019 by bilgistic
Remembered he was in the Army Reserves.

[Monie]

On 1/17/2019 at 7:26 PM, Granny58 said:

10 years and no English?

Oh wow!! I thought the same thing!

[PityFree]

2 hours ago, Monie said:

Oh wow!! I thought the same thing!

 I’d bet that she does speak a some English—but I have a feeling that she lacked confidence in her speaking skills. I’m sure the bump on her head has caused her to avoid a lot of interactions with people for at least the last few years—which may have put it damper on how much practice she got.

 Despite not having confidence in her ability to speak English she was holding down a job and raising her children.  I think that she will now have the confidence to interact with people and I would not be surprised if her English improved a lot after having that horrible bump removed.

[readheaded]

35 minutes ago, PityFree said:

 I’d bet that she does speak a some English—but I have a feeling that she lacked confidence in her speaking skills. I’m sure the bump on her head has caused her to avoid a lot of interactions with people for at least the last few years—which may have put it damper on how much practice she got.

 Despite not having confidence in her ability to speak English she was holding down a job and raising her children.  I think that she will now have the confidence to interact with people and I would not be surprised if her English improved a lot after having that horrible bump removed.

I'm a writer for the federal government and have done some work with medical literacy.   We translate materials into several languages because even well-educated people have a difficult time with medical literacy in their own language, so it's often very hard for people to understand medical content in their secondary language, especially if their general literacy isn't high (I mean no disrespect by that).    Even people who've been here for many years and can speak English well-enough to live and work need their medical information presented in their native language to really understand what's going on.  

[auntjess]

On 1/17/2019 at 9:26 PM, Granny58 said:

10 years and no English

It happens, my neighbor's mother had been in the US for 60 years probably, raised her children, and still spoke only Polish.  I think they probably know more but are afraid to use it and make a mistake, and if they live amid family, they get by.

[goldil]

On 1/18/2019 at 8:46 PM, Twopper said:

I wasn't sure if he meant he was in the military or was in some sort of civilian capacity such as working with Red Adair to put out the fires.  I am just glad he has learned how to treat himself.  I also found it silly that she had to consult to make a diagnosis unless it was such an extreme case she wanted to be completely sure.   It reminded me of the time she "consulted" her husband who was in the office;  surely the husband went and looked at the patient.  That just seems so unnecessary and fake to me.

She said she had never seen such an extreme case in real life, only in textbooks. It never hurts to get a second opinion.

[PityFree]

 If Dr. Lee didn’t end up removing more of those little tumors from that poor woman who had tumors all over her face, I will be very disappointed in her.  I am sure Dr. Lee has lasers and other things that can help her smooth out her face even more.  Dr. Lee got practically half of an episode out of her case and that poor woman was brave enough to go on TV to talk about it. 

[Jadzia]

Doesn’t it seem a little irresponsible to start carving and lasering someone before you even know what you’re dealing with? What if it had been some form of cancer? Couldn’t that spread it?

I’m not sure why this show suddenly has her doing these fake consulatations with her husband unless he just wanted the screen time.  

Dr. Lee: “Hey honey, this woman has bumps on her face. I think I’ll carve them.”

Mr. Dr. Lee: “Sounds good. Oh and she has them in her armpit too? That’s weird.”

Dr. Lee to camera “I’m so glad I have another doctor to talk to about these things!”

They didn’t even use medical terminology in their “consult”.

[Galloway Cave]

I had a lipoma the size of a plum removed from the crease between my arse cheek and top of my thigh yesterday. I can testify that numb is numb but the second the doc hit a spot that wasn't numb, I KNEW IT. Today I hurt, can't sit or even lay on my side comfortably. So for these folks getting a ginormous lipoma removed, they have my sympathy.

That cyst was yuck.

[bilgistic]

1 hour ago, Galloway Cave said:

I had a lipoma the size of a plum removed from the crease between my arse cheek and top of my thigh yesterday. I can testify that numb is numb but the second the doc hit a spot that wasn't numb, I KNEW IT. Today I hurt, can't sit or even lay on my side comfortably. So for these folks getting a ginormous lipoma removed, they have my sympathy.

That cyst was yuck.

I hope you filmed the procedure and uploaded the video to YouTube so we can watch it!

[threebluestars]

I suspect the patient's diagnosis has already been made before they film, and a lot of it is reenactment for the camera. The show's formula is to give the answer for the most complicated case at the end on the return visit for drama's sake, but I'm sure she either suspects or knows way before that - otherwise how do you screen patients so you can put together interesting episodes. The "big case" is usually something a bit different, and I doubt they'd want to repeat the same major issues too much like they do with the common cyst/lipoma in each episode. It's just like on Botched where you can count on two real cases and one that never goes through to surgery.

[GaT]

4 hours ago, Jadzia said:

Doesn’t it seem a little irresponsible to start carving and lasering someone before you even know what you’re dealing with? What if it had been some form of cancer? Couldn’t that spread it?

 

I wondered about this also, but this below makes sense

1 hour ago, threebluestars said:

I suspect the patient's diagnosis has already been made before they film, and a lot of it is reenactment for the camera. 

I would think so, this isn't the kind of show to give someone a cancer diagnosis live.

[Josette]

11 hours ago, Jadzia said:

Doesn’t it seem a little irresponsible to start carving and lasering someone before you even know what you’re dealing with? What if it had been some form of cancer? Couldn’t that spread it?

She may have been uncertain about the armpit ones, but I think Dr. Lee knew what the facial tumors probably were. When I searched for Brooke-Spiegler Syndrome, an episode of The Doctors showed up.  In that episode a woman with the condition was sent to Dr. Lee for a diagnosis.  That was in 2015. 

Edited January 25, 2019 by Josette
grammar

[Jadzia]

9 hours ago, threebluestars said:

I suspect the patient's diagnosis has already been made before they film, and a lot of it is reenactment for the camera. 

That's probably the case. I guess I am just bothered by the way they present it: "I have no idea what this thing is but I am going to go ahead and treat you for it and we will just send it out and find out later what it is!" Treat first, ask questions later seems like a disaster waiting to happen.

I wish they had given this woman more resolution also, like a plan for follow-up treatments to reduce more of the bumps.

[Rickster]

I’m no expert on suturing, but I thought Dr. Lee could have done a better job stitching up the guy with the lipoma on his back. There didn't seem to be that many stitches and the incision didn’t seem to be that tightly closed. He ended up with a pretty noticeable scar.

[AdorkableWitch]

20 hours ago, Jadzia said:

Doesn’t it seem a little irresponsible to start carving and lasering someone before you even know what you’re dealing with? What if it had been some form of cancer? Couldn’t that spread it?

I’m not sure why this show suddenly has her doing these fake consulatations with her husband unless he just wanted the screen time.  

Dr. Lee: “Hey honey, this woman has bumps on her face. I think I’ll carve them.”

Mr. Dr. Lee: “Sounds good. Oh and she has them in her armpit too? That’s weird.”

Dr. Lee to camera “I’m so glad I have another doctor to talk to about these things!”

They didn’t even use medical terminology in their “consult”.

Given that Dr. Lee treated a woman with the exact condition on her YouTube channel in 2014, I assume she knew it was a type of overgrowth just not which one. 

 

Apparently retinol will make a significant difference in the smaller bumps so hopefully she got a prescription for that. 

[readheaded]

On 1/25/2019 at 3:22 PM, Rickster said:

I’m no expert on suturing, but I thought Dr. Lee could have done a better job stitching up the guy with the lipoma on his back. There didn't seem to be that many stitches and the incision didn’t seem to be that tightly closed. He ended up with a pretty noticeable scar.

I've noticed that about many of the people she sutures.  I'm a redhead with a family history of melanoma, so I get annual skin checks and have had several moles removed.  My GP suggested for those moles that are in conspicuous places, I have a plastic surgeon remove them. The mole has to be biopsied whether a dermatologist or a plastic surgeon removes it,  but it makes a huge difference in the scarring.  I had one large mole on the top of my foot and as thin as the skin is there, the scar is completely invisible because the plastic surgeon made the cuts along the vein lines in my foot, which I thought was really fascinating.  (I'm obviously a dork, lol.)  

On 1/25/2019 at 7:50 PM, AdorkableWitch said:

Given that Dr. Lee treated a woman with the exact condition on her YouTube channel in 2014, I assume she knew it was a type of overgrowth just not which one. 

 

Apparently retinol will make a significant difference in the smaller bumps so hopefully she got a prescription for that. 

For the bumps on her face, I was figuring that since they'd been there for so long that Dr. Lee could reasonably assume they weren't cancerous.