Hi all
Ive just started having treatment in the UK with the vbeam perfecta and thought I'd keep some sort of journal about how it goes as there was very little around on here when I was looking from people in the UK.
I have redness and flushing with occasional outbreaks. I take clonidine and propanolol daily, under Dr Chu, and have had 4 or 5 ipls with Dr Crouch which unfortunately worsened my condition. My last treatment was in December so I've left it almost a year for things to settle down.
I have gone to the Fontmell Laser Clinic in Dorset and had a test patch with Dr Lewis a month ago, the settings were 10ms, 10mm and 6 joules. By the next morning you couldnt tell i'd had anything done. He is incredibly friendly and happy to have a real discussion about symptoms and expectation etc. He rates the perfecta highly and said there have been very few people he has seen who have not had at least some improvement.
I had my first full treatment yesterday, just on my cheeks and temples, at 10ms, 10mm and 6.5 joules. He starts conservatively which is fine with me. If there is no response the next treatment, which will be at 7 joules, is free of charge. Each full treatment is £175, so very reasonably priced. I guess thats one benefit of heading out of London and the larger cities.
I was red after but with a bit of aloe vera gel my skin did not feel hot. This is an entirely different experience I had to ipl, which left my skin burning red for some considerable time after. It has now been about 30 hours and whilst my skin is a shade redder than usual, it is not extreme, I have no bruises, no swelling, no outbreaks of spots which I also had with ipl. Obviously it is early days. I am flushier than usual, I was quite flushed during the night despite keeping the room cool and sleeping on extra pillows. It is easily cooled with cold compresses which I had been doing every hour and it doesnt hurt. To touch my skin is smooth, it generally doesnt feel irritated.
I'll keep this updated for anyone who is interested and considering having this in the UK