Dr. Pimple Popper - General Discussion

[connieinnc]

On 4/10/2021 at 2:01 PM, PrincessPurrsALot said:

Folks, With Dr. Pimple Poppers move to Discovery+ we seem to have stopped discussing the show.  So, um, points to Discovery for figuring out how to most quickly lose their audience?  Anyway, the thread is to discuss the show. Her videos are also open for discussion.  We'll see if she makes it back to prime time. 

It *seems*the show is back with its tail between its legs. The promos for the new season mention it on both Discovery+ and TLC😁

[parrotfeathers]

On 7/11/2021 at 5:07 PM, connieinnc said:

It *seems*the show is back with its tail between its legs. The promos for the new season mention it on both Discovery+ and TLC😁

That's good.  I would not pay for another streaming service.  One can only watch so much TV!!!

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Season premiere is tonight at 9:00 PM on TLC. 

[SunnyBeBe]

8 hours ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

Season premiere is tonight at 9:00 PM on TLC. 

I was pretty speechless.  Medical professionals and adult protective services in that man’s home county in TX should be ashamed that they allowed that degree of suffering and did nothing.....were there no churches, charity organizations, etc. who could help?  This is just crazy!  Can’t wait until they get him some help.  

Edited July 15, 2021 by SunnyBeBe

[GaT]

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I was pretty speechless.  Medical professionals and adult protective services in that man’s home county in TX should be ashamed that they allowed that degree of suffering and did nothing.....were there no churches, charity organizations, etc. who could help?  This is just crazy!  Can’t wait until they get him some help.  

I know, when he said he went to the hospital but they wouldn't help him because he didn't have insurance, I was astounded. How could they let that growth just keep getting bigger without helping him? It looks like he'll be in at least one more episode, I can't wait to see how he looks when they're done, he was a good looking guy. 

9 hours ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

Season premiere is tonight at 9:00 PM on TLC. 

Wasn't last week the season premiere?

[Rickster]

1 hour ago, GaT said:

 

Wasn't last week the season premiere?

We watched the rerun at 8pm, and they promoted the 9pm show as the upcoming season premiere. Plus at the end of the 9pm show they showed a montage of some upcoming cases, like they would on a season premiere.

 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

According to TLC last night was the season premiere.  Not that they've ever been wrong on their own site. 🙄 😳. TLC is the worst.

[AZChristian]

8 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I was pretty speechless.  Medical professionals and adult protective services in that man’s home county in TX should be ashamed that they allowed that degree of suffering and did nothing.....were there no churches, charity organizations, etc. who could help?  This is just crazy!  Can’t wait until they get him some help.  

It's the first time I've had to turn away from the TV.  Seeing those flies buzzing around and the drainage just about did me in.

I commented to Mr. AZC that if he were someone we knew, we'd have happily donated to a fund to pay for surgery.  But there is NO WAY ON EARTH that his situation should have been allowed to become so dire.  Maybe they should have done a TV interview or something, mentioning that they had not been able to find doctors or hospitals to help.

I don't expect doctors to work for free, but if we have doctors who will go to foreign countries to provide free medical care, can we not find ONE doctor who will help someone here in this country like this gentleman?  I even commented that if he lived in another country, he'd be much more likely to find an American doctor to help him.  It's sad.

[Emkat]

On 7/8/2021 at 1:28 AM, GaT said:

The guy with the whatever on his upper arm was just ridiculous, I can't believe she let him take a cigarette break, & then they couldn't reach with him a few months later. Why did they even bother putting him on the show?

Not ridiculous; it's sad. Obviously he was not quite right mentally.  I hope he is doing OK. 

[SunnyBeBe]

One thing this show reveals is the cruelty that exist in this country towards people who have disfigurements.  Cruelty is something that I cannot tolerate.  I feel very strongly about it.  I’m not sure where it comes from.  I was taught compassion, fairness and respect from an early age.  It’s difficult to fathom being cruel to a person because they have a facial deformity.  It hurts my heart and makes me angry.  

[Red Bridey]

My God, TLC, we don't need 10 minutes of exposition to look at that poor man and listen to his problems. Get right to Dr. Lee. I don't need to see his niece and have him go on about how hard it is to breathe! We get it! Get that thing treated asap!

[roughing it]

3 minutes ago, Red Bridey said:

we don't need 10 minutes of exposition to look at that poor man and listen to his problems

That's why I DVR this show, to fast forward through the lengthy story.

[mmecorday]

Quote

I don't expect doctors to work for free, but if we have doctors who will go to foreign countries to provide free medical care, can we not find ONE doctor who will help someone here in this country like this gentleman?  I even commented that if he lived in another country, he'd be much more likely to find an American doctor to help him.  It's sad.

So.Much.THIS! If a surgeon from the U.S. can fly halfway around the world to help out the Tree Man, someone should have stepped up to the plate to help this man. I had seen him in the promos for the new season, but I gasped when I saw him at the beginning of the show. I hope to God that Dr. Lee and her colleague can help him. No one should have to live like that!

 

[GaT]

5 hours ago, AZChristian said:

can we not find ONE doctor who will help someone here in this country like this gentleman?  I even commented that if he lived in another country, he'd be much more likely to find an American doctor to help him.  It's sad.

Well, he did find one doctor, Dr Lee. I bet if all the other doctors he saw had a shot at lots of publicity, they would have helped  him in a second.

[MissT]

I cannot imagine why Dr. Lee and the other doctor would think they could remove that in an office setting.  I'm no doctor, but that poor man needed to be put under sedation in order to remove that.  I can't imagine how much pain he would have been in.  Not enough numbing solution could have made him comfortable.   I have watched all her shows and youtube videos, but this was disturbing to me.  They should immediately made arrangements for a hospital operation.  The clips from next week show they did make that decision.

[CrazyMoon]

21 hours ago, MissT said:

I cannot imagine why Dr. Lee and the other doctor would think they could remove that in an office setting.  I'm no doctor, but that poor man needed to be put under sedation in order to remove that.  I can't imagine how much pain he would have been in.  Not enough numbing solution could have made him comfortable.   I have watched all her shows and youtube videos, but this was disturbing to me.  They should immediately made arrangements for a hospital operation.  The clips from next week show they did make that decision.

This could have been removed in the office had they not discovered the plexus of blood vessels feeding this thing. It's a secondary finding; they expected 1-2 larger vessels, not "a snake den". There was no guarantee they could control the bleeding, so off to the hospital they go. 

[Texasmom1970]

My word the Texas gentleman with the large nose growth. I hope they are able to help improve his quality of life. And as others have stated some people suck. They need to think how they would feel if they were treated so cruelly. It does also shine the light on the number of people here in the U.S. who have lack of health care.

[auntjess]

So Dr. Lee is (literally) swimming with the sharks, for shark week, on one of the Discovery channels.
Unless the shark had a cyst, I don't care.

[cynicat]

8 hours ago, auntjess said:

So Dr. Lee is (literally) swimming with the sharks, for shark week, on one of the Discovery channels.
Unless the shark had a cyst, I don't care.

 

[IvySpice]

I've gotten used to some pretty gross stuff on this show, but I was watching Roger through my fingers like it was Nightmare on Elm Street. I'm having all this psychosomatic scalp itching just writing about it. I desperately need to see those things come off his face before I can have peace. He needed his own Very Special Episode.

I think there's something else going on besides a lack of insurance. Maybe he had a bad experience with a doctor 10 years ago and was scared to go back. Maybe he's undocumented and feared arrest. Maybe he's just been too ashamed to leave his house since his face turned into a horror movie. Maybe he refused to go anywhere but his local area and the local doctor didn't have the capabilities. I suspect that a social worker could have found a public hospital or charitable private practice to treat this.

When the patients say "I went to the doctor and he didn't care at all," my guess is that it's often more complicated than that. The doctor or the practice put some kind of barriers in front of the patient, and they interpreted it as not caring. I'm not blaming the patients -- the system is the problem for putting the barriers up -- but I think most doctors and nurses care.

[CrazyMoon]

2 minutes ago, IvySpice said:

I've gotten used to some pretty gross stuff on this show, but I was watching Roger through my fingers like it was Nightmare on Elm Street. I'm having all this psychosomatic scalp itching just writing about it. I desperately need to see those things come off his face before I can have peace. He needed his own Very Special Episode.

I think there's something else going on besides a lack of insurance. Maybe he had a bad experience with a doctor 10 years ago and was scared to go back. Maybe he's undocumented and feared arrest. Maybe he's just been too ashamed to leave his house since his face turned into a horror movie. Maybe he refused to go anywhere but his local area and the local doctor didn't have the capabilities. I suspect that a social worker could have found a public hospital or charitable private practice to treat this.

When the patients say "I went to the doctor and he didn't care at all," my guess is that it's often more complicated than that. The doctor or the practice put some kind of barriers in front of the patient, and they interpreted it as not caring. I'm not blaming the patients -- the system is the problem for putting the barriers up -- but I think most doctors and nurses care.

I agree on several points. I'm currently trying to help a niece with some significant medical problems. Her mom has talked to her doctors then says "they can't do anything for her"...but when I talk to her doctors (with her permission), we can lay out a plan to move forward, yet niece is often noncompliant. She says she's too scared. The mom is very hard of hearing, so doesn't hear most of what's said and what she does hear she doesn't understand yet wants total control...keep in mind this is a 69yo woman and her 87yo mother.

[Back Atcha]

16 hours ago, Texasmom1970 said:

My word the Texas gentleman with the large nose growth. I hope they are able to help improve his quality of life. And as others have stated some people suck. They need to think how they would feel if they were treated so cruelly. It does also shine the light on the number of people here in the U.S. who have lack of health care.

I was in a medical waiting room when someone called in threatening suicide.  The woman handling the phone didn't bother to close her little "glass" window, so we all heard everything--a call badly handled. After she got off the phone, the woman joked about that patient with other women in the back office.  I did tell the doctor when I got in to see him; he just shrugged his shoulders.  (This was an internist)

[deirdra]

10 hours ago, IvySpice said:

When the patients say "I went to the doctor and he didn't care at all," my guess is that it's often more complicated than that. The doctor or the practice put some kind of barriers in front of the patient, and they interpreted it as not caring. I'm not blaming the patients -- the system is the problem for putting the barriers up -- but I think most doctors and nurses care.

Yet even Dr.  Lee seems to write off all itching related to guttate psoriasis as being "in the heads" of sufferers because she (and most doctors) have no treatments that work. Attributing scratching to "stress" or "OCD" is a cop out when patients refrain from scratching every waking hour but do it in their sleep.  Yes, people scratch areas they can reach, but the even spacing of spots and no spots in many areas that are reachable suggests there is something systemic going on that is not "in their heads".  And many spots blister & erupt even if nobody touches them. 

The only things that do help are vitamins, minerals & avoidance of trigger foods, but I have never heard her mention such things.  She does have a drug that helps control plaque psoriasis and eczema, so she never tells them the itching is all in their heads.

Edited July 18, 2021 by deirdra

[IvySpice]

I agree that Dr. Lee could do a much better job communicating with people whose conditions have a psychiatric component. Problems "in your head" are REAL. Psychosomatic stomach cramps or heart palpitations or hives are real. Minimizing or dismissing these problems is a very common issue across medical specialties. That said, I don't think Dr. Lee is doing this because she doesn't care. It looks to me like a failure of understanding rather than a failure of caring.

IMHO, letting an open lipoma fester on your shoulder for decades is a much worse psychiatric symptom than psychogenic pruritus, but Dr. Lee has been remarkably non-judgmental of those patients.

[Back Atcha]

3 hours ago, IvySpice said:

I agree that Dr. Lee could do a much better job communicating with people whose conditions have a psychiatric component. Problems "in your head" are REAL. Psychosomatic stomach cramps or heart palpitations or hives are real. Minimizing or dismissing these problems is a very common issue across medical specialties. That said, I don't think Dr. Lee is doing this because she doesn't care. It looks to me like a failure of understanding rather than a failure of caring.

Maaybe she DOES communicate...so much more, but there are:

• Time constraints
• Editing
• Licensing guidelines
• They can't show everything

My mother was taken from her office by ambulance because of a "supposed" stroke.  Her sister would not call my mother's doctor because he once hinted to the sister "it's all in your head," so my mother stayed several unnecessary days. When the family doctor saw her name on a list of patients (early 1950s) he simply stopped in to see her. He knew the cause immediately...and it was NOT a stroke.

[seasons]

Why doesn't Dr lee wear gloves when first touching a bump or lesion on a patient?

Drives me crazy.😫

I'm sure there's stuff behind the scenes we don't see, but still...

Edited July 22, 2021 by seasons

[deirdra]

4 minutes ago, seasons said:

I'm sure there's stuff behind the scenes we don't see, but still...

I sure hope so.  Like thoroughly washing the surrounding skin and hair before cutting into anything.  Many of her clients look like they have poor hygiene. I think Dr. Lee touches lumps with her bare hands because that is the best way to feel the texture and also shows the patients that she is not scared or repulsed by what she sees, which most of the patients have encountered many times before.

[CrazyMoon]

She's very disciplined about where she puts her hands, so does wash after she touches anything. It's true that the only way to really assess the skin is to touch it barehanded. Any area being treated surgically is scrubbed, they just don't waste time filming it, and really, don't need to see it. 

[mmecorday]

I am so glad that Roger got the help that he needed! He looked great two months after surgery! The one nostril looked a little distended, but given what was there before, I'm sure he could live with one nostril being bigger than the other.

That being said, it's going to be a long time before I look at a portobello mushroom and a russet potato the same way. Thanks, Dr. Lee.

[Texasmom1970]

So happy to see Roger's results. To see him smiling and visiting his family was touching. Got a little dusty up in here while I watched.

[IvySpice]

Wow, Roger’s outcome looked amazing! Honestly, even without the plastic surgeon, when his nose was just raw edges with the tumors chopped off, that was still a huge improvement over where he was. He didn’t even have a human face before. Now he has a kind of ugly, asymmetrical nose that I wouldn’t give a second glance. Unbelievable improvement.

It wasn’t clear what made the bleeding issue in this surgery so difficult. I mean, doctors regularly amputate arms and legs, which have to have greater blood supply than a rhinophyma. The removal steps we saw looked well controlled and almost routine. When there’s a bleeder, they tie off or cauterize it. The show could have done a better job explaining the special expertise at work here.

Was anyone else surprised by the interior of the tumor? Other rhinophymas Dr. Lee has removed had all those gooey oil glands inside, etc. This was so solid and uniform. Weird.

[deirdra]

8 minutes ago, IvySpice said:

Was anyone else surprised by the interior of the tumor? Other rhinophymas Dr. Lee has removed had all those gooey oil glands inside, etc. This was so solid and uniform. Weird.

I suspect, since he often had leakage, that the shear weight of the tumors compressed the underlying glands to expel their goo, collapsing the chamber and just growing another layer on top.  What amazes me is after the rhinophymas are removed (like the recently repeated show of the guy with a double-sized nose that she scraped/lasered into shape), that the skin develops pores rather than just a mass of scar tissue.

[Maisiesmom]

So happy for Roger-they did a great job getting those tumors off his nose. It wasn't perfect but was a lot better than before. I'm surprised they didn't weigh the growths-they looked very heavy. I worried he was becoming very depressed about not being able to get them removed but it all came out great. The doctors and nurses were really great too.

[Kath94]

Agreed.  How do you let something like this get THAT bad?  Roger mentioned having a good job at one point that he lost because he wasn't able to do it anymore with his face growths.  I have to assume that his good job had insurance.  I just can't imagine letting this go on as long as he did.

[bunnyface]

2 hours ago, Kath94 said:

Agreed.  How do you let something like this get THAT bad?  Roger mentioned having a good job at one point that he lost because he wasn't able to do it anymore with his face growths.  I have to assume that his good job had insurance.  I just can't imagine letting this go on as long as he did.

We watched this last night and I came here to see what everyone else thought.  In line with what someone said upthread, we wondered if he went to the doctor once (or twice) before it got so bad and at that time they couldn't/wouldn't help him, so he never went back and just lived with the thought "they won't help me."  I can't imagine anyone who saw it as it was at the end state "refused" to help.  Maybe couldn't, didn't have the expertise.  I can see that.  But surely they would have referred him somewhere.  But once he didn't have a job/insurance, I'm sure that was an extra layer of complication.  He would have to have someone like they found with a foundation to underwrite the costs.  So while it seems horrible he was left to suffer for so long (and it was) there were also a lot of complications on every side of it.  I'm just so glad he got some relief.  He was very good looking when he was younger.

[AnnaBaptist]

After seeing what Roger had to go through, I found Christine to be quite a drama queen by contrast. Yes, having a growth on your arm sucks, but all that talk of negative energy and how she could barely cope was a bit much. I am glad the procedure went well for her, though.

[CrazyMoon]

2 hours ago, deirdra said:

I suspect, since he often had leakage, that the shear weight of the tumors compressed the underlying glands to expel their goo, collapsing the chamber and just growing another layer on top.  What amazes me is after the rhinophymas are removed (like the recently repeated show of the guy with a double-sized nose that she scraped/lasered into shape), that the skin develops pores rather than just a mass of scar tissue.

Agreed. And the massive blood supply that fed that thing was mentioned along with possible blood loss during the procedure could prove fatal. The tumors were weighed & measured and sent to pathology...standard procedure (but they left that out). 

Russell's result was miraculous. So very impressed. Two months after a procedure like that the wounds aren't fully healed. All that redness will fade and the skin tones will even out considerably. The nostril will probably always be slightly asymmetrical, but improve. The nose itself may become straighter over time as well now that it's not being pressured out of place by the weight of the tumors..

 

[Rickster]

Bleeding aside (which actually didn’t seem like that big a deal in the end), it would have been crazy for Dr. Lee and the other dermatologist to try to remove this in the office. All I had to do was see the amount of reconstruction that had to be done on the nose once the tumors were removed to see that they needed a skilled plastic surgeon. I actually wondered if the earlier office visits and the initial incision scene last week were just a set-up for drama’s sake.
 

 

[seasons]

The goo leaking out as Dr lee consulted with him outside. The filthy rag he used to wipe the "pus". Happens to him all the time, leaks onto his pillow, he says. Must be some pillow.

And the flies. Buzzing around the growth and landing on it. No words.

I think he is obviously a poor soul in more ways than one.

[cynicat]

20 hours ago, IvySpice said:

It wasn’t clear what made the bleeding issue in this surgery so difficult. I mean, doctors regularly amputate arms and legs, which have to have greater blood supply than a rhinophyma.

It's not about the amount of blood, it was because there was a plexus of blood vessels.  That's a big old tangle of many, many small blood vessels, not just one or two that you can clearly cauterize.  Kind of like the mass of intertwined Christmas lights that people pull out of the attic when decorating the tree. 

[SunnyBeBe]

I thought Roger showed immense strength and courage.  I think Dr. Lee was touched by his case and was grateful she could help him.  There are multiple reasons a person may struggle to be their own health care advocate.  

[iluvobx]

The doctors that did the surgery did a good job in explaining how Roger fell through the cracks with the doctors.  How if he went to this type of Dr., it would not fall under their specialty, etc.  They also address what they would be doing to stop the bleeding.  They were using a specialized cauterizing machine that was actually doing the cutting and cauterizing at the same time.  Those doctors are special as they were willing to do the surgery and even managed to have their foundation pay for it all.  

I am glad that Dr. Lee was able to find someone that could help Roger, he deserved the help.

[The Mighty Peanut]

Just "popping" in to confirm it is very difficult to get insurance to pay for these procedures due to the prejudice/excuse that it's cosmetic. I had a ganglion cyst on my wrist, it was nothing like what we see on Dr. PP but it did look like someone took one of those jawbreaker gumballs and shoved it on top of my hand. I got it drained a few times but it always came back. I was only able to get hand surgery after it begun to press on a nerve in such a way that I couldn't write. And even then it was a fight. My doctor asked me if it caught on clothing and I said no...then he goes "Are you SURE it doesn't CATCH ON CLOTHING" while nodding pointedly at his paperwork...so I changed my tune and he checked off whatever box he had to so insurance would take it (you would think being unable to write or make a fist was enough, but it wasn't).

[kwnyc]

Wow. So many of the folks on the show make "good TV" because they are too poor, uneducated or ill-informed to find someone who will talk to them like they need to be talked to, and walk them through the endless labyrinth of health care in America.

And it varies, state by state. In Texas, Roger might be eligible for Medicaid, but not know how to enroll in it. And he'd need someone on his side, a real advocate, who coul both talk to a doctor AND explain to him and his family what he needed.

Even here in New York, where I have a halfway decent COBRA plan, and my wife has a navigator to help her through Medicare, we still end up with some insurance company wrangling and high out-of-pocket costs.

I'm so glad that Dr. Lee realized that Roger's case was DEFINITELY not an office visit and that she was able to fin a head & neck surgeon (and team) who were willing to do the operation for free. The Ohni Foundation (which sponsored the surgery) has put up a "Donate" button with Roger's story on it. I'll send 'em a few bucks.

 

 

[CrazyMoon]

So many people don't have clear understanding of the medical system. As well, they have not been taught to be resourceful...then factor in insurance, personal finance, transportation and fear topped by fear of doctors...

[Back Atcha]

4 hours ago, kwnyc said:

Wow. So many of the folks on the show make "good TV" because they are too poor, uneducated or ill-informed to find someone who will talk to them like they need to be talked to, and walk them through the endless labyrinth of health care in America.

In addition, many of them had visited numerous doctors who told them "nothing can be done," or did something--and made things worse.  Some doctors are also uneducated ... or too busy to research the real help a difficult patient needs.

[Back Atcha]

10 hours ago, iluvobx said:

They were using a specialized cauterizing machine that was actually doing the cutting and cauterizing at the same time. 

Dr. Lee uses a similar piece of equipment--probably less powerful.

4 hours ago, kwnyc said:

The Ohni Foundation (which sponsored the surgery) has put up a "Donate" button with Roger's story on it. I'll send 'em a few bucks.

In the beginning the program seemed like an infomercial for The Osborne Head and Neck Foundation, the Ohni Foundation, Dr. Ryan Osborne, etc.  WHATEVER TLC and Dr. Lee had to do to obtain this wonderful help is fine with me.

[deirdra]

7 hours ago, kwnyc said:

Even here in New York, where I have a halfway decent COBRA plan, and my wife has a navigator to help her through Medicare, we still end up with some insurance company wrangling and high out-of-pocket costs.

My parents were living in NYState when Medicare changed ~2011 and they had to select a new plan and extended care coverage. My brother, sister & I spent hours reading through all the choices presented in ways that could not be easily compared.  When we moved our parents to Maryland to be closer to my siblings I was shocked how easy it was to understand & compare plans and costs for what you need.  I'm glad Roger got the help he needed! 

Edited July 24, 2021 by deirdra

[auntjess]

I was watching a recent rerun, and realized they didn't show an update for the woman with 3 different skin conditions, including a type of psoriasis, and something called Hailey-Hailey.
Hope she got some relief.

[Back Atcha]

5 hours ago, auntjess said:

I was watching a recent rerun, and realized they didn't show an update for the woman with 3 different skin conditions, including a type of psoriasis, and something called Hailey-Hailey.
Hope she got some relief.

I think that was the latest.  Maybe we'll see something soon.