My experience with IPL so far.........

[windycity]

I had my first IPL treatment yesterday morning. I'm in Chicago suburbs. I have seen many dermatologists and they all had different opinions on what would help my Rosacea. I have very white sensitive Irish skin. I am 42 years old. The last 2 years have been the worst. I have taken quite a few different antibiotics and used topical creams and gels. I now take 50mgs of Doxycycline and use Metrocream at night. This cleared up my papules a lot but the red is constant except worse with flushing. The red veins are pretty bad. My dermatologist said mine is a 3+ out of 4. He suggested IPL 2-3 times with his RN. I met her and she has been there for years and she's been doing IPL for over 20 years. I was able to see some before and after pictures.

I had another dermatologist that told me I needed 2-3 V-Beam laser set to bruise me very badly in order to help it. I asked him about IPL and he only had very negative things to say about it. They don't use IPL at his office and he told me he doesn't like these "spas" that do IPL on Rosacea sufferers. I had to go with who I trusted. I decided on the IPL once the papules were cleared up for the most part.

I asked the RN many questions. She used a Palomar Icon System Max 6 handpiece. 362/cm2 at 15ms, 1-2 passes. I was also able to hold a Zimmer chiller that blew very cold air on my face. It didn't feel like a snapping rubber band at all. It felt like hot grease splattered on my face.

My face was red when I left and I was sent with ice packs and had the whole day to put ice on. Unfortunately I was flushing for the next 11 hours straight. I just kept ice on it and then it blistered. By evening the blisters kind of turned into one big blister on each cheek. In the morning my left eye was shut. It has been getting better as the day has gone on.

I can't really tell how it looks. I kind of look like I got in a fight and LOST. I will write more in the next few days as to how it looks. I am also getting a second one done in 2 weeks.

I have found this RN to be incredible and she is really willing to answer any question I have. She makes me feel very comfortable and she really understands Rosacea. She has Rosacea and has had IPL for it.

[windycity]

This morning my face wasn't quite as swollen. It is splotchy and different shades of red. I think I see some of the veins are gone but can't tell too much yet. I think it's going to take some time to calm down enough to see if it helped or not so far. I have an appointment for my second IPL in a couple weeks.

[windycity]

Much less swelling today but still can't tell for sure if it looks much better. I have another one in a week and a half. It seems to look better in some light but not sure if it looked as good outside.

[windycity]

It looks much better today. The swelling is gone. It's still splotchy but it seems to be getting better each day. I'll write again if something changes or after my next IPL on the 9th.

[windycity]

I had my 2nd IPL this morning. The nurse was really impressed with how much the red/veins and pink went down. The tool with ice cold air blowing out of it was in the shop. She gave me another type of cooling thing that didn't work as well. She got under my nose today and it made my eyes water. It didn't seem to take as long. The dermatologist is about an hour away from my home so I brought at cooler bag and a bag of frozen peas. I put peas on my face on and off for about 5 hours. After that the burning sensation went away for the most part. It's red and swollen but not at all as swollen as the first time. I put my moisturizer in the fridge and I have put that on a few times.

[windycity]

I was so tired last night I fell asleep at 9pm. I woke up at 5 am and I am pretty swollen. Even my tear ducts are swollen. I don't feel any pain. It looks pretty weird but it should go down by tonight. It's not as red this time on day 2.

[windycity]

The swelling and bruising has gone down a lot. I do have a lot of p&ps. I can't remember having that right after my first IPL. Has anyone else had p&ps right after IPL? Did it still turn out okay after a couple weeks?

[Ghost]

The swelling and bruising has gone down a lot. I do have a lot of p&ps. I can't remember having that right after my first IPL. Has anyone else had p&ps right after IPL? Did it still turn out okay after a couple weeks?

Hi windy, for sure I got brand new Ps after laser. Laser Only Cleans Up Old Stuff. That said, see my signature:

[windycity]

Hi windy, for sure I got brand new Ps after laser. Laser Only Cleans Up Old Stuff. That said, see my signature:

Thanks Ghost. I also eat low carb, about 20-30 carbs per day at most. I haven't had any new p&ps because of that until I did the IPL. I imagine it should clear up with diet again.

[windycity]

The new p&ps seem to be going away. I have not taken any antibiotics in 3 weeks so I'm not sure how they are vanishing so quickly. The skin is splotchy on the cheeks. It's been about a week. I didn't see it look really good until almost 2 weeks post IPL. I'm getting my 3rd IPL in about 3-4 weeks. I will be out of town for the week of Thanksgiving so I am putting it off by a week or so. The swelling is down completely. My pores are looking better. My face is really, really smooth. I'm not sure if it has to do with my extremely low carb diet or the IPL or a combination of both.