NYC derm for Propranalol and/or Clonidine? And a success story

[MP1985]

Hi all - I tried posting in the medication forum but no success, so I wanted to try here. I just saw my derm in NYC and she refused to let me try Propranalol and/or Clonidine. Even after I showed her several printed studies she declined. Does anyone know a derm in NYC who is willing to prescribe these for rosacea?

Thanks,
MP

P.S. Here is an additional positive data point on these medications. I recently discovered that my mother suffered from rosacea subtype 1 as a child and young adult. Apparently she was nicknamed "red" when she was in college. When she was in her late 20s she was diagnosed with high blood pressure and has been on Clonidine and Metoprolol (which is a beta-blocker, like Propranalol) for the past 30 years. She literally never had a flush during the past 30 years as a result! I was shocked to hear that she suffered from rosacea as a young adult because she has been quite pale as long as I can remember.

[hg24]

Hi MP, that's a drag about your derm. I ran into so many derms who had no knowledge of using clonidine and/or propanolol for flushing. It's disheartening. I don't know any derms in NYC. Hopefully someone will come along and have a name to provide. If not, I would think (hope?) that a derm at one of the university hospitals would have knowledge of the medications. Like NYU.

That's amazing about your mom. Do you know what her dose of clonidine and metoprolol was? I'm curious to know since she took it long term. I'm on clonidine. I have propanolol but I've yet to figure out how to take it. I don't seem to tolerate it well. But it works great for others.

[MP1985]

Thanks for the response. Yes I'm pretty bummed about it and have been scanning the web for any mention of docs who are receptive to it in my area. I am also just considering trying to call Dr. Tony Chu in the UK to see if he can make a referral for me somehow.

My mother's prescriptions have been increased over time, as the doc has gone stronger with her for blood pressure. But even from the beginning (at presumably low levels) they wiped out her rosacea symptoms. Currently she is on Metoprolol, Clonidine (0.1mg 2x daily), and Tribenzor. She also takes KlorCon, which is prescription level of Potassium because the meds wash the Potassium out of her system. I'm not sure the dosage of the other meds but I can check if you are interested.

Worth noting is that high blood pressure runs in my family. Both my mother's parents have it and my sister also has it (and most of us are not overweight). I am 30 years old and in good physical shape but have always had higher blood pressure when I had it checked.

[hg24]

Thanks, MP. I appreciate the dose info. I've been taking 50 mcgs of Clonidine 2-3x day. Last night I took 0.1 mg before bed. It helped me get through the night with no flushing. I flushed after I opened my eyes in the morning and was just laying in bed. But at least I was able to sleep better. I have been flushing a lot lately when trying to sleep.

I googled clonidine and derms in NYC and found Dr Hilary Baldwin in Brooklyn. Is that close to you? Here are some Yelp reviews: http://m.yelp.com/biz/hilary-e-baldwin-md-brooklyn And here's an article she wrote where she mentions clonidine. (About halfway down under "Vasoconstricting agents") http://www.skintherapyletter.com/fp/1.2/2.html

One of the members here, Arb161, is somewhere around the NYC/NJ area. She might know of some derms for you. I don't know if she's had derms prescribe clonidine or propanolol - but arb has had severe flushing, so she may have encountered derms who are better versed in flushing meds than most.

[MP1985]

Thanks so much for the help HG!! Really appreciate that. I will look into that doc and see if I can get an appointment.

Good luck with the Clonidine. If you haven't yet tried it, I just bought the Soothing Rain Light and am seeing an improvement in my flushing after only 1 week. I highly recommend it.

[AEB]

I saw Hilary Baldwin and she was quite nice and knowledgable about rosacea of all kinds. She seemed a little dubious about clonidine's usefulness for most rosacea flushing--I didn't ask her to prescribe it, so I don't know if she'd actually refuse. She just didn't seem super-enthusiastic about it (or other flushing meds). It might have been in my case specifically, where she thought I should focus on barrier repair primarily at first. Hope this helps!