about to hit 4 month mark on Soolantra
I started Soolantra in the beginning of January. Before treatment I had dry, sandpaper like skin, white spikes of skin coming out of each pore with red, sensitive skin. I talked with my Dr about treating a potential demodex infestation and thankfully after going through the literature I brought him, he put me on Soolantra. I experienced a die off reaction after applying for 5 days which included small breakouts, hot itchy skin and peeling skin. After the die off, my skin continued to improve for about 2-3 months but it seems that topical ivermectin might not be strong enough to really reduce demodex numbers to a healthy level in my case. I'd say my skin has improved by about 50%-75%, it's not nearly as dry and sandpaper like, but there are still visible spots of scaling and follicular plugs.
I think the technical term for this condition is pityriasis folliculorum and i've read it can be difficult to manage. In medical literature Soolantra has been used in only a few number of cases for this condition. I'm not sure why I haven't completely responded to Soolantra, I have read that it does only treat adult demodex but not the eggs. There's a chance that it's just not an aggressive enough treatment for me or it could be that I have a proliferation of demodex in areas where i'm not applying the cream like perhaps my scalp or chest.
At my last Dr appointment we talked about the option of using oral ivermectin or a combination or oral ivermectin and oral metronidazole. Would oral ivermectin be a good option though if the topical didn't quite work as well as I hoped? I've come across literature discussing the use of permethrin and crotamiton. I'm wondering if anyone here found any of the treatments I discussed helpful after Soolantra has failed? Thanks!