...how long did they take to heal?

I posted about a week and a half ago about our struggles with BFing on account of pain/cracked nipples. I've since met twice with an AMAZING LC (the third one I've seen since DD was born three weeks ago), and we made some small positioning and latch changes that have made a huge difference in BFing.

The problem is that I'm not sure if the cracks (which were described by the LC as "deep trauma") are healing. BFing only hurts for the first couple seconds now, but the cracks are definitely still there.

I'm using APNO (although not so much now, because it can thin skin after extended use and I've been using it for two weeks now), Motherlove ointment, and sometimes just coconut oil. During the day I wear breast shells to keep my clothes from rubbing on my nipples. I try to let them air dry after BFing.

I feel like I'm doing all the right things, but am starting to really worry that so long as I'm BFing they may never heal.

What was your experience with healing time?