Personal success stories

[Melissa W]

This thread is for any type of success regarding your rosacea treatments. Small or big successes. What has lessened your rosacea symptoms and helped your quality of life. Any benefits you would like to share.

[Melissa W]

I'll start.
My main symptoms are flushing and burning. I also had papules though.

For me what treatments have worked best so far includes the following:

1.Oracea basically keeps the papules away
I have been taking this for over a year.

2. VBeam has helped lessen the severity of my flushing and burning and I am currently only doing maintenance treatments. My last VBeam was Dec 2008. I have had a total of 7 or 8 since I was diagnosed in Oct 2006.

3. Red light therapy has also helped raise the threshold of my flushing and burning. It also calms down my flushing/burning and helps a flare dissipate more quickly. I have not been doing this lately as life is very hectic at the moment but my goal is 10 min per day. My unit is homemade based on IowaDavid's instructions.

http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?t=16347

4. I treat my face very gently and use a minimum of products. Right now I am using CeraVe lotion and cream and Eucerin original lotion and cream and Eucerin redness relief cleansing gel.

5. I am taking grapeseed extract which I believe does help with visible capillaries and strengthening the blood vessels. Not sure if it helps at all with the flushing and burning.

I am also taking vitamin D3 which I believe is important for overall health.

http://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?t=17085

Best wishes,
Melissa

[Yvette]

Thanks Melissa for starting this thread - very good to reference and share.

1. I second Oracea, it's been helpful to me in reducting papules and lessening inflammation. On the flip side, I have to take pro-biotics and a few anti-candida supplements daily or I will have yeast issues.

2. Vbeams/IPL's. I just finished a course of IPL's which have helped even my skin tone some and stop some of the itching/pinching I was having on my face last Fall.

3. Clindamycin solution on problem areas in the morning. I can tolerate mild retinoids, and use Ziana 2-3 nights a week and on alternating nights Metrogel or a light serum. I've found through reading that acne prone skin should forgo moisterisers even oil free ones as they can clog pores over time. Opt for serums if you need light hydration - especially in Summer. Less ingredients is best!

4. Non-SLS based cleansers - SkinMedica or Fresh are my favorites.

5. HCL and digestive enzymes - I take one of each with meals.

6. Supplements. I take a slew, but my favorites are Tumeric, Grape Seed, Pycengenol, Zinc, Milk Thistle, Calcium, and Lysine. I also take a spoonful of fresh cold pressed Omega 3 fish oil each day with a meal.

7. Well balanced diet - lots of fruits and veggies. Not a lot of carbs. I do have a sweet tooth though - indulge sometimes.

Yvette

[TheMediumDog]

1. Antibiotics were the biggest help initially in stopping papules/pustules. I began on Oxytetracycline, then Minocycline, and now Lymecycline, which all do the same thing. They keep the p&p's at bay. I have now been taking them for about 4 years.

2. 6 IPL's were great in erasing much of the redness and broken capillaries, which had grown up as a result of my initial rosacea.

3. Treating my skin extremely gently has had a very big effect. I've gone from the normal showers-with-cleanser, to just a very light wipe each day with water. So there is no heat, no irritating or harsh cleanser.

4. Applying metrogel once a day helps a tiny bit with redness.

5. I have taken grapeseed extract (100mg) for about a year, which may help strengthen capillaries, although there is no detectable effect.

6. I gave up smoking, which seemed to inflame the skin and especially the rosacea.

7. I avoid all the usual triggers, and have made all the usual lifestyle changes.

Together, these have taken me from really pretty bad rosacea (probably close to some of the severe pictures on the internet) to a case where much of the time you wouldn't be able to tell I have it. I still get flushing to the slightest trigger, and have exquisitely sensitive skin that will bring back all the symptoms - redness, papules, heaver flushing, broken veins - if, for example, I use a cleanser for a couple of days in a row.

Along the way, there are quite a few treatments I've tried which haven't worked out. Chinese medicine (teas), acupuncture, and herbalism; various diets (anti-candida, high fibre, raw foods, low sugar, high sugar); various supplements (omega 3, high vitamin c, a mineral combination of zinc, magnesium and calcium); a few alternative oral treatments (anti-candida meds, HCL, psyllium and bentonite); red light therapy; anti-fungal meds - all these have had no effect.

Some treatments have made it worse: Finacea increased redness and papules, because of its harshness and my skin's sensitivity; low dose accutane led to greater inflammation, redness, and expression of p&p's; all over-the-counter cleansers, no matter how mild/supposedly good for rosacea, aggravate the skin; all moisturizers generally clog things up and cause spots.

[aimeep]

Hello,

My name Aimee,

I am 38 and suffered with what I thought was acne and irreparable sun damage for the last 10 years and 2 months ago after finally consulting a dermatologist low and behold it's Rosacea. My Dr. gave me little info. I am a red head of so I am predisposed to the condition although I never knew it until perusing this site.

My Dermatologist put me on 150MG of Doryx which caused an expected initial breakout but now my face is completely break out free with only a few small breakouts occurring on the left side of my neck.

In conjunction with the Doryx, I wash with Clenia daily and apply Metrogel at night. I treat any breakouts by dabbing a little Clenia on the affected area and it seems to do a good job healing the breakout quickly. My first wash with the Clenia had quite a sting to it but I also had a lot of open "pustules" and now that my skin is clear, I can't feel the Clenia at all and I have had no adverse affects.

I went in for my first "Foto Facial" 6/11/09 which is a quick and painless laser treatment to minimize the redness and brown spots from the sun and rosacea. So far the results are awesome, everyday I see improvement in the evenness of my skin tone and even though the Dr. said it would take 3 weeks to see the full affect, I am very happy with the results. The treatment was $400.00 but well worth it. The process involves some numbing gel and about 15 minutes with the laser but I barely felt a thing, had no adverse affects and I can't wait for my next treatment in July.

[MissD]

I think most people here probably know my story and what has worked for me already, but I'll post it here for reference for any new forum members/lurkers.

I'm one of those people with freakishly fair skin. Oddly enough though, I used to tan extremely well as a kid. I don't even try to anymore because of rosacea and because I think fair skin is beautiful.

I have had a pink nose for a very long time - some baby photos even show it. It was never consistent though until a couple years ago, and a year after that (November '08), when I used 10% glycolic acid to fade hyperpigmentation marks, I started to notice a small red area near my right jawline and a reddish rash under my left eye and near my nose. I thought nothing of it and continued using the AHA for about a week until I decided to order a skin lightening lotion which was 2% hydroquinone and 7% glycolic acid. The red area at my jawline grew bigger and another appeared on the left side. I started to flush at night. It was then I decided I needed to go to the dermatologist. The result is that I now:

1) Use 10% Sodium Sulfacetamide in the morning. I don't know if it helps with rosacea, but it does help with blemishes I get now and then.

2) Use Metrogel 1% in the evening. Does it help with my rosacea? I don't know, but it doesn't hurt either. I don't get the P&P's so I guess I use it as a preventive measure.

So what has truly, without a doubt helped my flushing? The flushing that used to come and go for no reason at all and that used to be triggered by something so small as picking something up off the floor?

Vbeam. I cannot praise it enough. I have gotten two treatments so far, on the entire face, my first treatment being back in May. After the first treatment I noticed results and as the days passed my face just kept improving. What really excited me though was that my nose was a normal color. I no longer flushed. I love science.

My next, and last appointment will be in a week or two (July). After that only touch-ups will follow.

I didn't mention that my nose would also flush in the afternoon or evening and quite intensely too. It would go bright red and would stay that way for more than an hour. After my first laser treatment I still experienced this but as my skin continued to heal the flushes became less intense and didn't last as long. A few weeks following the second laser treatment and it only flushes in the afternoon or evening every now and then and definitely not every day. When it does, it lasts about 5 minutes.

If there is anything else that has helped me I would have to say it was probably this, which details how being in a constant cool environment can set you up for rebound flushes later. Prior to my first laser treatment I always slept with my ceiling fan on. After reading about the warm-room flush, I decided to try to sleep without it but the flushing was just too unbearable. After the Vbeam I still kept the fan on until one day I decided I would try to wait out the flushing and I turned the fan off for good.

Now it's like I don't have rosacea at all. Sure, my cheeks will sometimes spontaneously go a bit rosy but I don't even notice unless I look in the mirror when it's occurring. Even just laying down used to be a flushing trigger and I used to have to wait it out, but not anymore.

And my general skincare routine?

1) I use Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser in the morning

2) As mentioned in the beginning of the post, I use Sodium Sulfacetamide in the morning. I wait for about 5-15 minutes for my skin to dry and apply it.

3) After 5-15 minutes I use Aveeno Baby sunscreen. This has alcohol in it which stings (but doesn't turn my face red thankfully) and it leaves a bit of a white residue that has to be blended in to death, so I'm still looking for that perfect sunscreen.

4) If I'm going out, I use Everyday Minerals makeup after waiting for the sunscreen to dry.

5) In the evening I wash my face with Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Cleanser, as Cetaphil is too gentle to take off sunscreen and makeup.

6) Last comes the Metrogel after I let my skin dry.

And there you have it. No gimmicks, no supplements, and no strict diets - just straight forward help from my dermatologist and gentle skincare.

[Gilly78]

Low dose accutane did wonders for me. It didn't get rid of my symptoms completely (About 905 clearence) as I wasn't on it long enough (2 months) but it was enough for my skin to heal naturally and eventually go into complete remission for a couple of years. It has returned recently but i'm very optimistic that if the derm puts me back on accutane and for longer then full remission should be the outcome. Fingers crossed!

I use Avene Extremely gentle cleanser and Cleanence oil control as well as their facial spritz. I use Clinique redness solutions daily relief cream which i thoroughly recommend if your skin can tolerate it.

[nat007]

Hi, I'm Natalja, I've had rosacea since 1999. I have been on this board since 2005 I think, or even 2004 perhaps. My rosacea started with sudden flushing and burning after I used a small amount of cortisone cream on my face for less then a week and at the same time stopped with my anticonception pill. Before my skin was completely normal and flawless. The first years I only got moderate/bad flushings from specific triggers: hot foods, spices, stress, hot rooms etc. After a while it got worse. IPL did not help me and made matter much worse for my rosacea in 2005. Only test patches with Dr. Crouch gave some visible effect, but only when I treated very small areas of skin. Full face treatments always were too much and never gave the same effect for me.

On January 2006 I got a dermatologist in London, Dr. Tony Chu and he has helped me enormously. He prescribed me
clonidine, propranolol and mirtazapine. At the time I already used moxonidine, but not to my content. I discontinued with it and started with the new drugs and they worked very well. Within some weeks I felt my flushings getting less in frequency and severity and with time this improved.
When I started with the meds I had almost constant dark red flushes that were debilitating and I could hardly cope with everyday life. (I wrote many desperate mails on this forum about it at the time). The rest of 2006 was been heavenly; I could go shopping again, get out of my house and into normal life and finish my studies. In 2007 I added diclofenac (low dose, just for my general inflammation, also in some joints and stuff), which helps also a bit with the base redness for me and Xyzal made a big difference for my histamine-related flushings. When I go out for dinner and eat something out of the ordinary, something not from my very healthy, gluten-, diary-, sugar- and additive free diet, I take an extra antihistamine and can cope pretty ok with normal foods (still some restrictions, but still). But I do still need to be careful with all the major trigger: never full in the sun, always big hats on when outside, very careful with my diet, not too much stress, no skin care products for me and my hormonal changes and the weather extremes also can still trigger my "angry skin", but overall the rosacea has calmed down significantly and my face is paler in general. It just takes much more for the blood vessels to get wide open again.

Dr. Chu explained to me later that he prescribes these meds to more of his rosacea patients, especially the ones with the more difficult treatable vascular subtype. It works for more of his patients. He also let me try mepacrine at some point, but I reacted strongly to the first two doses and stopped. Now I know from several of his patients that mepacrine is helping them tremendously, so I still have it on my list to try again if necessary. Dr. Chu has a lot of patient experiences with both drugs and believes that rosacea is reversible and can in time "die out" again. I know this is not the common consensus here and on other forums, but now my blood vessels are not put under so much pressure anymore, I do notice them to normalize a little bit again. The rosacea is still there, but went from very severe to moderate I would say.

I now dread the moment I have to stop with my meds, for instance when trying for a baby. I need to discontinue all the meds then and just wished everything could stay as it is now. I still have rosacea, I still have some flushing, especially with hormonal changes or stress and extreme heat, but I would say my rosacea improved with 70% since 2006.

[MissD]

^ I also forgot to mention that I've been prescribed low dose Metoprolol (a beta blocker) by my psychiatrist to help me with the physical signs of anxiety, which includes jittering, shaking and flushing. Even my chest would flush in high-anxiety situations and it helps a lot.

[claudia]

I have the p&p kind of rosacea. I had teenage acne that never went away and eventually became rosacea in my 30's. I was using harsh acne treatments that inflamed the skin and caused dilation of the blood vessels so I ended up with very red skin plus breakouts.

Taking antibiotics always helped tremendously but you can only take those for so long. So I'd go in and out of flare-ups. I tried countless natural remedies. The only natural approach that helped was eating better...you know, more fruit-vegies-whole grains-less dairy-avoiding alcohol and sugary foods, etc. I was healthier overall but eating organically only helped so much, I still broke out and suffered from flaming red skin.

In my early 50's I was finally diagnosed with rosacea. For the past 4-5 years I have faithfully followed a rosacea treatment regime prescribed by my dermatologist. It took a long long long time to see results but now I have clear skin, the blood vessels have almost gone away and my skin is not red but is much much paler. I avoid the sun, used metrogel 1%, Bactrim (antibiotic), spironolactone (anti-androgen...helps reduce p&p's), a cleanser designed for sensitive skin, and recently Olay sunscreen for sensitive skin.

I am now phasing out Bactrim according to my derm's timetable. I have stopped the metrogel 1% and am now using Retin-A cream instead. Yes, I can hardly believe that I am able to tolerate it but this is a newer formulation that is very effective, yet also gentle when used correctly (very sparingly and only after the skin is dry). According to my derm, Retin-A is good for the skin, especially "acne rosacea" because an underlying problem is that the skin isn't functioning properly. Retin-A restores proper skin functioning. Plus, although Retin-A causes the skin to thin out, it also builds collegen from underneath. This supposedly causes the visible blood vessels to recede. I have already noticed this in the several months of using it. My skin is healing!

I still take the spironolactone...a very small dose that helps balance what may have been too much androgen in my system (I also had some problems with stubborn facial hair). Both my derm and regular doc say it is a mild drug that can be taken safely forever.

I hope this helps give others hope that roscea, especially the p&p kind, can be treated with good results. Personally, I am thrilled and only wish that I had been willing to follow a conventional treatment regime earlier and saved myself a lot of self-loathing. I was always trying "natural" treatment methods and hoping it to go away by itself. It never did...it only got worse!

Truth is that diligently following a conventional treatment approach did the trick.

[toboggan]

Goodbye rosacea

Hello there. My name's Katie and I live in the UK.

When I was 30, I started getting a red, hot, itchy, bumpy, oily face. I had had two children by then and put it down to hormonal changes. I tried giving up sugar and dairy but to no avail. I saw the dr who gave me metrogel, but this did very little. I avoided cosmetics, i avoided moisturisers, I washed my face in plain water, I tried tea tree oil - basically you name it i tried it. I spent many hours reading threads from other rosacea sufferers, despairing about mites and antibiotic treatments.The dr told me it was 'one of those things' and to avoid alcohol and spicy foods. Unfortunately it was 'one of those things' that destroys your confidence.

Anyway, ten years later and I don't have it anymore. The turn around was not slow and protracted but really pretty quick when I'd figured it out.

Number one - stop eating wheat in all it's forms. I was looking on the 'Gluten Free Girl' website when she described someone who looked like me. It's not really difficult, and it's nearly impossible to get fat if you don't eat any bread or cake. Brilliant bonus. I think it irritated my gut and that irritation manifested itself in my skin.

Number two - Clearasil ultra skin wipes, morning and evening until you have got the situation under control. The salycilic acid really helped, as did the continual exfoliation.

Number three -moisturise, but go for an oil free, comedogenic moisturiser like Olay's 7 x effects.

Now I use ordinary facial wipes in the morning and evening.

This was two years ago and it hasn't come back. No one ever says "wow your face is really red" anymore, and I don't feel like I need to hide behind my hair.

I really hopes this helps someone.It all feels so unfair, doesn't it? Don't give up though, because one day it will be gone. Trust me.

XX

[J-Mill]

Hey Everyone

Wow, feels like a long time since I posted last.

This summer has been so busy I have not had a ton of free time, and to be honest I have taken a break from posting here, but I have been continuing to respond to the pm's people send me requesting information/advice.

I have been meaning to do this "success story" post however, hopefully it helps others. My treatment progress is obviously my own and results will vary as with any Rosacea treatment, but, my treatment is relatively cheap and backed by scientific studies.

I have actually had Rosacea for well over a decade. It started with intense flushing and a definitive burning sensation during these flushes. Flushes were normally brought on during stressful times in the day. As I am a lawyer, it would frequently happen in court. I did not know what it was, and I just ignored it. At the time I lived a healthy lifestyle. No smoking, no drugs, casual drinker at best. I was a distance runner, ran marathons and during training would eat a vegan diet as I found it produced the best results in terms of my energy which manifested itself it better run times. About 5 years ago I had my first bad flare while I was training to run a marathon in Halifax (Canada). I woke up and my skin was red, irritated, scaling and I started getting daily break-outs of p&p's. The burning sensation was more frequent and I also itched...a lot. The burning became more intense, it was hard to just ignore. I was eventually diagnosed with Rosacea and seb derm.

The only real triggers I could identify for my skin flares were cold weather, wind, alcohol, exercise (even moderate) and spicy food. Some of these are easier to avoid than others. I spent a period of time not really exercising much, I had to give up running.

I tried a number of treatments both conventional and less so with varying degress of success. For my seb derm cycling hydrocortisone acetate (1%) lotion is all that worked, although I had some minor success with oral itraconazole. For Rosacea oral doxycycline worked well for a while, and then stopped working even at high doses. Diet, other than really spicy food and alcohol has had no impact on my Rosacea, I have tried eliminating all sorts of foods with no success. In any event, I have numerous posts here describing my treatment attempts, now on to what has worked for me and where I am now:

1. Skin Care - I found that I have to use as gentle a cleanser as possible and a good mositurizer to keep my skin in check. I used Spectoderm for sensitive skin to cleanse and Toleriane Skin Soothing Cream as a moisturizer. I have tried other cleansers and moisturizers over the years and these two work the best for me by far. I cleanse and moisturize twice daily. As for sunscreen, I am very sensitive to all of them. If I am going to be in the sun for an extended period of time I either use Vanicream for Sensitive Skin SPF30 or Anthelios SPF30 from La Roche Posay. Both don't appear to aggravate my skin much so long as I don't cake it on.

2. Positive Attitude - Even when my skin was at its worst, I never gave up on finding a solution and I never let it hold me back. I am a very social person and can't imagine hiding indoors because my skin is red and broken out. It makes no sense to me. No one who matters cares. My position on this is well known. I can't stress enough how this has helped me. Although I never gave up trying to improve things, I never got deperate. Also the lack of stress I am sure was positive for my skin and my health in general. Don't discount the importance of remaining positive in your treatment plan.

3. Low Dose Accutane - A number of months ago, I started taking low dose accutane. I had tried this before but thought the dosage was too high (I tried previously at 10 mg/day and things went poorly, bad flare, etc.) I started by taking 10 mg/3x a week and increased to every other day after a month. After a couple months at this dosage I cut back to 3x a week and now I take 10 mg/2x a week. The results have been amazing. I no longer have deep flushes, and the burning and itching are almost non-existent. The breakouts are gone as well. My redness has diminished greatly. In addition, I have returned to exercising and eating spicy food with no adverse effects. 2 months ago I started distance running again, initially I had a minor flare but kept at it anyway and it has settled down. I even enjoy the odd glass of red wine now without a problem.

So to make a long story short, I treat my skin with gentle products, take a microdose of accutane weekly and just enjoy life and my Rosacea is so well controlled I don't even think about it. Eventually I will have to stop taking accutane, of course of the dose I am on it would take about 10 years to reach the maximum culmunative dosage for my weight. Still, after a year or so I will probably try to come off completely and see how things go.

Good luck to everyone and have a great summer. I will continue to do the pm thing. When I am less busy I will try and post a bit here and there.

[Yvette]

Hey J-Mill,

I believe too, Accutane at very low doses, is very helpful. It keeps both acne/papules and Rosacea in check. One of my Derm's takes Accutane as "maintenance" too. It's also an option for me, but I've not gone that route yet. I just may though!

Thanks for sharing.

Wishing you continued success!

Yvette

[MissD]

2. Positive Attitude - Even when my skin was at its worst, I never gave up on finding a solution and I never let it hold me back. I am a very social person and can't imagine hiding indoors because my skin is red and broken out. It makes no sense to me. No one who matters cares. My position on this is well known. I can't stress enough how this has helped me. Although I never gave up trying to improve things, I never got deperate. Also the lack of stress I am sure was positive for my skin and my health in general. Don't discount the importance of remaining positive in your treatment plan.

I didn't even think of adding this. Feeling bad about yourself is pointless, crying induces flushing, and you end up not getting anything done and life is too short for that. I've read articles about studies where a positive attitude can help increase recovery in anything from the common cold to the flu and even cancer because when you are positive you're more likely to find solutions to your problem(s), whereas if you feel sorry for yourself, it increases stress hormones (and therefor flushing).

I remember when I first got diagnosed with rosacea I was a wreck. I knew it was a great possibility that I had it long before I saw a doctor about it, but having it confirmed was just horrible to me. I would cry so much that sometimes even my whole body would flush and not just my face, and my face would remain red for an hour or more afterward. Now that I've decided to go ahead with laser and now that I have realized it isn't so bad after all I continue to have a positive outlook as far as rosacea is concerned. I am pretty bummed that I got it so young, but I look forward to the possibility of new and improved treatments in the future.

[ewist]

I didn't even think of adding this. Feeling bad about yourself is pointless, crying induces flushing, and you end up not getting anything done and life is too short for that. I've read articles about studies where a positive attitude can help increase recovery in anything from the common cold to the flu and even cancer because when you are positive you're more likely to find solutions to your problem(s), whereas if you feel sorry for yourself, it increases stress hormones (and therefor flushing).

I remember when I first got diagnosed with rosacea I was a wreck. I knew it was a great possibility that I had it long before I saw a doctor about it, but having it confirmed was just horrible to me. I would cry so much that sometimes even my whole body would flush and not just my face, and my face would remain red for an hour or more afterward. Now that I've decided to go ahead with laser and now that I have realized it isn't so bad after all I continue to have a positive outlook as far as rosacea is concerned. I am pretty bummed that I got it so young, but I look forward to the possibility of new and improved treatments in the future.

Would you happen to have before/afters with your laser treatment? After reading your posts I have become VERY interested in trying it out, I really never was before. Just to get a better idea of what kind of rosacea you suffer from. Thanks!