Update

Hello all,
I stopped Nizoral a couple of weeks ago because it was starting to
lose effectiveness after 5 months of being pretty good. Now I’ve
switched to selenium sulfide, which has worked very well for me in
the past. First I tried the 1% strength in the Head and Shoulders
Intensive Treatment shampoo on my face. That didn’t seem to make much
of a difference, so this week I upgraded to 2.5% strength which is
found in Exsel shampoo. I haven’t seen much improvement and it is
very drying. I’m having to use a lot of moisturizer. I use Purpose,
and it seems okay. It’s a hard time for me because as much as I try
to be hopeful about the selenium sulfide and patient for it to start
working, I fall back into the routine of worrying that it won’t work,
that it’ll just get worse, etc. Very depressing stuff. So, I’m
thinking I’ll give the selenium sulfide another couple of weeks then
maybe try Protopic. I guess I haven’t tried it yet because it’s so

new and it doesn’t seem to work that well for everyone. Still, I
suppose nothing works perfectly for everyone and it’s worth a try.
I’ve also thought about switching back to Klaron, a rosacea treatment
that worked okay for me a few years ago. Does anyone out there have
any advice or tips or updates on their own condition? Any posts are
greatly appreciated. It’s very comforting to be able to write a note
like this to 60 or 70 people who understand exactly what I’m talking
about. Thank you.
Tim

27 Responses to “Update”

  1. gerald_15 Says:

    To Tim and the Group:

    I know I’m a little late on the one-week update I promised on my experience
    with Protopic. I’m happy to report that things couldn’t be going better. My
    skin has improved so dramatically that several people have commented that my
    skin actually looks "beautiful." I don’t remember ever looking this clear
    and even skin-toned in 15 to 20 years since I first started to have this
    problem. Swelling of my skin has gone down to reveal a few wrinkles I never
    saw before but at 40, I’ll GLADLY take them in exchange.

    I should also point out that I am on a low carb diet and I can’t overlook the
    affect this also has on my skin. I have experimented with a few foods since
    using Protopic that I always knew caused me problems and a little "pinkness"
    came back but I believe this is my rosacea and not sebderm. I haven’t been
    able to drink alcohol in several years and I was recently able to tolerate

    two pints of stout — I swear the best I ever tasted — with very little
    effect. I don’t expect to be able to go off this diet — or that I’ll be
    able to drink on any regular basis — but it’s nice to know I can cheat on
    special occasions and not have devastating result.

    Being down 30 pounds from my low carb diet combined with my new clear skin,
    as you can imagine, I’m pretty full of myself. If I continue to see the same
    results, Protopic will change my life dramatically. I would strongly
    recommend everyone giving it a try.

    I’ll update everyone again in a month or so.

    Regards,
    steve

  2. Blair Blair Says:

    Tim,
    I know exactly what you are dealing with as I have had recent success with
    Neutrogena T-gel shampoo on my face–it worked incredible for about three
    weeks and I got to the point where I said I could handle looking like this
    for the rest of my life.

    Now, as is expected, it has stopped working and I am very bummed–the
    symptoms actually seem to be getting slightly worse and more persistent–I
    have even resorted to going back to using the steroids to help but I know
    that this is not a good strategy but at least they work better than anything
    else even the rebounds are even more traumatic–I really feel like I am
    between a rock and a hard place–I used to get outbreaks maybe once every
    two weeks and it would clear up in 2-3 days–now the symptoms are an every
    single day thing, it is just trying to control how bad it gets rather than
    trying to clear it up.

    I have not tried Protopic either but Novartis has just released a new drug
    in the same class (TIM) which is supposed to be more tolerable than
    Protopic–it is called Elidel by Novartis and I beleive it is availalbe by
    presription in the US. I am going to try this next week when I go to the
    derm–hopefully he will give it me because it is prescribed mostly for
    atopic dermatitis not seb derm but it does not look like there are are
    really any side effects as they are using it on babies as well.

    Below you will see info on this topical and maybe there is some hope for
    us–I have a moderate case of rosacea as well which does not really bother
    me as much as the seb derm because the seb derm is all in my eyebrows and
    looks absolutely horrible especially as many of my eyebrow hairs have been
    falling out everytime I get a flare of seb derm-at least when I had a full
    set of bros the seb derm was not so apparent as the bros tended to hid it a
    bit but know it is way out there in the open and I am feeling quite
    disfigured by this–

    anyone else losing brow hairs because of this?–this is really the worst
    part for me because as uncommon as seb derm may be, losing your brows is
    absoluteley freaky!

    Novartis’ Eczema Treatment, Elidel® Cream (Pimecrolimus), Approved In The US
    First Non-Steroid Prescription Cream Approved For Mild To Moderate Eczema In
    Patients As Young As Two Years Old
    EAST HANOVER, NJ–(INTERNET WIRE)–Dec 13, 2001– Novartis Pharmaceuticals,
    an affiliate of Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS - news), announced today that the US
    Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing approval for
    Elidel(R) (pimecrolimus) Cream 1%, the first non-steroid prescription cream
    for mild to moderate atopic dermatitis in patients aged two years and older.
    Commonly known as eczema, atopic dermatitis is an itchy skin condition
    affecting up to 17 percent of the US population. Research shows that up to
    90 percent of all eczema-related visits to doctors in the US are for mild to
    moderate disease. Conventional therapies can be ineffective and/or
    inadvisable for many of these eczema patients. Elidel will soon be available
    as a treatment option for this patient population. With a US launch
    anticipated for early next year, Elidel will be one of the first new
    treatments for eczema since topical corticosteroids were introduced almost
    50 years ago.
    "More than 40 million Americans suffer from atopic dermatitis," said Thomas
    Ebeling, Chief Executive Officer of Novartis Pharma AG. "Ninety percent of
    patients show signs of the disease in early childhood, leading many patients
    and parents of young children to seek effective treatment, especially to
    relieve the night-time itching that causes sleep disturbances. Elidel will
    offer an important new alternative to steroids."

    Elidel is approved for the short-term and intermittent long-term treatment
    of mild to moderate eczema in patients who do not respond well to or may
    have side effects with conventional treatments. There is no cure for eczema,
    but Elidel can help control it.

    "Elidel is an important new eczema therapy. It is our tenth FDA approval
    this year, which is an exciting accomplishment for Novartis. Furthermore,
    Elidel has a safety and efficacy profile in the treatment of mild to
    moderate eczema that make it suitable for the largest segment of the eczema
    market," said Paulo Costa, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novartis
    Pharmaceuticals Corporation. "But we also are committed to further study
    Elidel in infants, where the need for new therapeutic alternatives is
    significant."

    The US approval was based on results of clinical trials in more than 1700
    pediatric and adult patients, where Elidel was shown to relieve itching and
    redness associated with eczema within eight days of starting treatment. The
    most common side effect on the skin was a mild to moderate, temporary
    feeling of warmth or burning (occurring in eight percent of children aged
    two-17 years and in 26 percent of adults). Other common side effects
    included headache and cold-like symptoms. These side effects were temporary
    and their occurrences were comparable to those experienced by patients on
    placebo cream. Elidel did not induce contact sensitization, phototoxicity or
    photoallergy, nor did it show any cumulative irritation. Elidel did not
    elicit skin atrophy like that from topical corticosteroid use.

    "This is a welcome new treatment option for the mild to moderate patient
    population, who make up the vast majority of eczema cases," said Lawrence
    Eichenfield, MD, Chief of Pediatric and Adolescent Dermatology at Children’s
    Hospital, San Diego. "Elidel is proven to be effective and safe in adults
    and children, with a low incidence of application site burning. This is
    important news for eczema patients already suffering from considerable skin
    discomfort."

    Eczema is a disease that primarily affects children and may last until the
    late teenage years or even for life. In fact, 90 percent of sufferers
    experience symptoms before they reach the age of five. In addition to the
    physical discomfort, eczema can cause severe psychological and emotional
    distress. Many patients, especially children, report that eczema makes them
    feel ‘different’ and/or isolated and can impact many aspects of day-to-day
    life.

    About Elidel

    Elidel, which was discovered by the Novartis Research Institute, may be used
    on all skin surfaces, including delicate areas such as the face, neck and
    skin folds. The active ingredient is pimecrolimus, which is derived from
    ascomycin, a natural substance produced by the fungus Streptomyces
    hygroscopicus var. ascomyceticus. Pimecrolimus selectively blocks the
    production and release of cytokines from T-cells. These cytokines in the
    skin cause the inflammation, redness and itching associated with eczema.
    Elidel will be available in tubes of 15 g, 30 g and 100 g. The product is
    currently undergoing regulatory review in Europe, where applications for
    marketing authorizations were filed earlier this year (in Denmark and
    Switzerland), and in Canada.

    This release contains certain forward-looking statements, relating to the
    Company’s business, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking
    terminology such as "may," "will," "new treatments" or similar expressions,
    or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. Such statements include
    descriptions of the potential benefit of Elidel (pimecrolimus) Cream 1% as
    evidenced by clinical trial results and FDA approval. Those statements
    reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and
    are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors
    could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company
    to be materially different from any future results, performances or
    achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking
    statements. There are no guarantees that the aforementioned events will
    result in the commercial success of Elidel (pimecrolimus) Cream 1% in any
    market. Any such success can be affected by, among other things,
    uncertainties relating to product development, adverse results in clinical
    trials regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally, the
    ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual
    property protection, competition in general and other risks and factors
    referred to in the Company’s current Form 20-F on file with the Securities
    and Exchange Commission of the United States.

    About Novartis

    Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation researches, develops, manufacturers and
    markets leading innovative prescription drugs used to treat a number of
    diseases and conditions, including central nervous system disorders, organ
    transplantation, cardiovascular diseases, dermatological diseases,
    respiratory disorders, cancer and arthritis. The company’s mission is to
    improve people’s lives by pioneering novel healthcare solutions.

    Located in East Hanover, New Jersey, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation is
    an affiliate of Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS - news), a world leader in healthcare
    with core businesses in pharmaceuticals, consumer health, generics,
    eye-care, and animal health. In 2000, the Novartis Group’s ongoing
    businesses achieved collective sales of CHF 29.1 billion (USD 17.2 billion)
    and a net income of CHF 6.5 billion (USD 3.9 billion). The Group invested
    approximately CHF 4.0 billion (USD 2.4 billion) in R&D. Novartis AG is
    headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis Group companies employ about
    70,000 people and operate in over 140 countries around the world. For
    further information please consult www.novartis.com

    ——————————————————————————–
    Contact:

    Megan Humphrey
    Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
    973-781-6724

    Kamran Tavangar
    Novartis Corporation
    212-830-2433

    Clare Crossley
    Chandler Chicco Agency
    212-229-8435

  3. Leanna Gracia Says:

    Hi,

    Does anyone here suffer from non-rosacea sebderm on the scalp? I’ve been
    having awful problems with what i think is seb derm on my scalp…a lot of
    oiliness, a lot of hair loss, and this near-constant buildup/residue on my
    scalp. I also suffer from an EXTREMELY oily t-zone, and sebderm on the folds
    on the outside of my nose. The sebderm in my hair causes me to suffer from
    very bad dandruff, and is accelerating my hair loss problem. A lot of hairs
    that fall out have a little chunks of scalp/oil/hardened substance on the
    end where the root is supposed to grow-I can only hypothesize that this
    probably has a factor in the hairloss.

    I have been prescribed Nizoral, and I have used that (2%) and regular 1%
    with no success. 1% makes my hair somewhat cosmetically pleasing, but doesnt
    clear up the problem. I’ve tried head & shoulders (zinc), selsun blue

    (selenium sulfide), and even tea tree oil shampoo (from body shop) to no
    avail. Periodic rubbing of olive oil in my hair sometimes can looosen up the
    buildup a little, but usually does not solve anything. The buildup on scalp
    doesnt go away unless I actively scrape at it, which results in more hair
    loss, which is why I do not like doing it. I’ve seen two dermatologists who
    I could see knew next to nothing. I was prescribed Olux foam (a steroid) and
    elocon lotion (another steroid), which I am averse to using because of the
    negative things Ive heard regarding it.

    If anyone has had a similar problem, or going through similar thing…please
    let me know. I’m at wits end, and its really tough to deal with. Has
    anything worked for any of you? Thanks.

    -Jay

  4. Shawna Allene Says:

    The shampoos you have tried are the ones everyone
    talks about, but:

    1. Another shampoo is Neutrogena T Gel (specifically
    made for seb derm - a tar based product).
    2. I have seen people refer to rotating the use of
    different shampoos (ie the ones you say, and ‘normal’
    non medical ones).

    Hope this helps

  5. Cleo Lai Says:

    ÿþ

  6. Blair Blair Says:

    Jay,
    What you are describing on your scalp is the same thing that is happening to
    my eyebrows–when the dead skin/dried oil comes off so do the hairs–it is
    maddening.

    It seems that you have tried everyhting that I have except for the coal tar
    products like Nuetrogena t-gel–it costs about $6 and worth an experiment as
    I did find some initial releif from this product.

    The only other suggestion that I have and something that I know will work at
    least short term is oral prednisone–I hurt my back a few years ago and was
    put on this for two weeks–my seb derm cleared like in two days and my skin
    never felt better–I later found out that oral prednisone is used to treat
    extreme cases of skin inflamation–it works but it is very dangerous stuff
    and you cannot take it long term or it will literally destroy your immune

    system–figures that the one thing that works will eventually kill you.

    Anyway, I don’t think there is too much risk in doing this for a very short
    time like a week or two weeks max at low dosage–the problem is getting a
    derm to prescribe it to you as 99% of them won’t give you prdenisone for
    skin conditions. However, several months a go I was so frustrated with this
    condition that I faked another back injury so that my neurologist would give
    me a RX for prednisone–he gave me a two week supply which I stretcted for a
    month and again it worked like a charm but I knew what i was doing was very
    risky and have not thought about going that route ever again–I would still
    rather deal with the seb derm than with possible side effects of prednisone.

  7. Lea Almeta Says:

    Hi Steve,
    Thanks for responding. It’s great to hear good news like this. I
    might just give Protopic a try. Can you tell me more about your low
    carb diet. What have you given up? What are some typical meals for
    you?
    Thanks, Tim

  8. Lea Almeta Says:

    Hi Ralph,
    Thanks for responding to my post. It really is comforting to know
    other people are battling with this stuff. I haven’t had any eyebrow
    loss because of my seb derm. That must be really tough to deal with.
    It’s just awful not being able to rely on your face looking normal.
    I’ve heard of Elidel. I’m thinking about giving Protopic or Elidel a
    shot. My shampoo on the face rotation has worked great the past
    couple of years, but maybe I’m at the end of that run and need to
    give it a rest for a while. Man, I wish I could just get some answers
    instead of experimenting on myself all the time. Anyway, thanks again
    for your reply. Hope things pick up for you. If you haven’t tried
    Nizoral or shampoos with selenium sulfide, give those a shot. Also, I
    know it’s a steroid and everything, but desowen lotion might be good
    for your brows. It’s not too strong a steroid and is quite soothing.
    Keep me updated.

    Take care, Tim

  9. Lea Almeta Says:

    I just saw a new dermatologist yesterday, Dr. Menard in Minneapolis,
    who was recommended by a group member. She seemed to know a lot about
    seb derm and rosacea so I think I’ll go back to her. I’ve been using
    Klaron (sodium sulfacetamide) with good results for the past 4
    months. She said it’s one of the few treatments that actually helps
    both seb derm and rosacea. I’ve been using Desowen occasionally to
    spot treat some small red, oily patches, but she said suggested
    trying Protopic for those, so that’s what I plan to do. If that
    doesn’t work for the patches, she wrote me a prescription for a 50/50
    combination of Nizoral and Desowen together. She also told me that
    she has seen some good results is reducing redness from long term (1
    to 2 years) use of Metrolotion. So, I might try that too. Is anybody
    else using any of the Metro products - gel, cream or lotion?
    That’s the latest.
    Tim

  10. Neva Marjory Says:

    Hi,
    I wanted to give you an update on how things are going with my seb
    derm. For the past three weeks I’ve been using Rosanil face wash at
    night, then applying DRL - Oily Skin Formula. Plus, I’ve been taking
    5000 mg of Vitamin B5 per day. It worked great for those three weeks -
    much less oiliness and redness, but for the last two days it’s been
    back to the same old problem. I’m not sure what exactly was helping,
    but I think it was mostly the DRL. It’s still not as oily as before,
    though, so perhaps the B5 is having an effect. It’s really hard to
    say because I started all those things about the same time.
    I’m not sure what to try next. I think I’ll stick with the Rosanil
    because it’s a pretty refreshing facial wash and it can’t hurt to use
    it. Same with the B5. It’s not a big deal to take. I might switch
    from the DRL to Elidel because I haven’t tried that yet.
    My diet (no dairy, alcohol, wheat or sugar) is going fine. I’ve lost

    about 15 pounds and feel good. I still crave some of that food, but
    it’s really not too hard to stick with it, especially in summer with
    all the fresh vegetables and fruits around.
    One thing that is very helpful on my redness and oiliness is the
    Clean and Clear Oil Absorbing Powder. If you haven’t tried it, give
    it a shot. It’s easy to apply and doesn’t look like makeup. It really
    cuts down on the shininess of my face. It lasts about 3 or 4 hours,
    so you have to reapply it a couple of times. The best thing is that
    it allows me to go to work, go out, and have fun, even on days when
    my skin really looks bad. It’s reassuring to know that even if my
    skin continues to be red and oily, I still have this to fall back on.
    I do take comfort in that.
    Anyway, that’s the latest from me. Please let me know if you have any
    tips.
    Tim

  11. Adolph Trudie Says:

    See Tim,
    Just when you think its gone, it bends you over just one more time and fucks
    you in the ass. Excuse my language guys. But how frustrating it is!! I
    dont have the balls to look myself in the mirror. I shower without the
    light off, shave in the dark, and stand 6 ft away from the mirror when i
    look at myself. I constanly look at peoples eyes to see if they are looking
    at my redness and flakes. Im fucking going crazy here. But hey its a crazy
    world. So i think i fit perfectly.

    Tony the Baloney the one and only

    P.S. Vitamin "B" for bullet always works to

  12. Neva Marjory Says:

    Hi To All, It has been quite a while since I last wrote. I had
    purposed not to write until I could talk about sometin that is really
    workin for me, but it’s just not forthcomin. But then I thought I
    should still write cuz I want u all to know that I am still holdin
    on, I haven’t given up yet! Right now, my daily routine is cleansing
    with cetaphil bar & I’ve recently added cetaphil moisturizer (which I
    apply at nights only). There seems to be a 5-10% improvement on
    somedays (face a little bit smoother and enlarged pores just a little
    less noticeable), then on other days there is no improvement at all.
    Notin to really "wow" about but in this case a little is better than
    notin at all. So my search continues, I’m hopin for 100% imoprovement
    (gosh, I know I’m bein greedy, but I believe in miracles!) By the way
    Goldie, unfortunately, the salt water soaks didn’t work for me. So
    stay cool.
    Gayelle.

  13. Marianne Mirta Says:

    Hey everyone!

    Life goes on and this condition seems like a never ending battle and
    I’m always the underdog.

    I had three V-beam laser appointments a while back which really did
    help me a great deal, but things has slowly creeped back and things
    are more or less status quo right now. So I’ve decided to give IPL a
    chance and booked my first treatment in a couple of weeks. First of
    all it’s a lot cheaper than the V-beam, and I’ve learned a few things
    I may did wrong when I had my other appointments. According to Dr.
    Nase, whom I think most of you are familiar with, you should induce a
    really bad flush when having laser done to make it more effectively.
    And I’m willing to have IPL, or something similair, done once every 3
    och 6 months to keep things under control. It’s a small price to pay

    for such relif!

    During the past few months I’ve come across Rosacea Care’s product
    line and can highly recommend their ultra mild cleanser! I’ve just
    ordered a full sized bottle after trying one of their sample kits. I’m
    also using their strontium calming lotion. They also have a great
    moizturiser and other great stuff! Have a look at rosaceacare.com.

    And besides these two products I’ve been using Linda Sy’s ZincO for
    more than a year now, another great product I also would like to
    recommend to all you people out there!

    When it comes to seb derm, my favorite is still DRL. I had a minor
    "breakout" a few days ago which is alsmost gone now after a few
    applications.

    And finally, to those of you who are anything like me, get’s red just
    a little too easy sometimes, try a beta blocker. I got my hands on one
    and it works like a charm, keeps you calm and makes sure all the blood
    in your body doesn’t flow to your face in certain situations.

    I hope everyone’s doing well out there!

    Take care,
    Andy

  14. Neva Marjory Says:

    good luck with the IPL, andy. Tell us( as always :) ) how it goes. I
    believe lasers are(and will be in the future) the biggest threat to
    skin conditions in general. I haven’t try out some of them, but I hear
    Lumenis lasers are pretty effective. BTW, nice beggining of your post.
    You said much with one sentence!

    Take care,
    Ice

  15. Marianne Mirta Says:

    Of course I will keep you guys updated!

    The thing is that I can’t afford keep running back and forth getting
    lasered every month. It sure did help, as I mentioned, but I’d hoped
    it would be a more long lasting effect. I have no problem getting some
    kind of laser maybe once every six months or something like that, but
    I ain’t exactly Donald Trump here and have other things to do with my
    money as well. I was thinking if IPL is as effective as V-beam, or
    hopefully even more effective, I could have it done once in a while.

  16. Marianne Mirta Says:

    I just checked out some info in the CoolTouch laser, and it’s a "YAG
    laser" (don’t ask), which is exactly what Dr Nase says you should
    combine with IPL to most effectively fight rosacea with. This
    CoolTouch laser suddenly became a whole lot more interesting…

  17. Neva Marjory Says:

    Hello there. I wanted to comment on what you said below - I have
    used steroid creams long term basically because that’s what my
    dermatologist always prescribed me and at the time I didn’t know any
    better (during one extremely bad flare, I was given 6 tubes to take
    away with me!!)

    However, I’m left with thinned skin as described below - on close
    inspection, it looks kind of plasticky, not sure how else to
    describe it… and yes, my cheeks and nose are a bit pink (but not
    always excessively), and in general my skin is hyper-sensitive - my
    face will redden after washing, after applying topicals, etc. though
    it does calm down after a few hrs. I’m not going to have anymore
    NLite treatments though. They’re too expensive, and each week that I
    recovered, I was miserable - I said to myself, that it just wasn’t
    worth it :-(

    I’m not too bothered about my skin these days - pyschologically, I’m
    in a much better place as it’s millions times better than when I
    still used the steroid cream and was suffering. I do tend to seek
    out the sun too - I wear factor 15 sun protection, which allows me
    enough protection from burning but still get the benefits of sun
    exposure, as my skin always looks great (i.e. completely sebderm-
    blemish free) after a period in the sun - though I know this isnt
    for everyone.

    Mike

  18. Ivan Juliann Says:

    sorry whats p&p’s ??

  19. Neva Marjory Says:

    P&Ps = papules and pustules, so basically large acne- type spots that
    aren’t necessarily acne - the Rosacea school of thought believes that
    they’re actually caused by immune cells leaking from damaged blood
    vessels, although I was never entirely convinced - all I knew was that
    I was suddently getting LARGE spots filled with pus all over my face
    which I’ve never had before (though I have had acne before, but
    nothing like this), and something had to be done :-) These have been
    arrested.

  20. Ivan Juliann Says:

    in my opinion from my case the acne is caused by
    inflamation clogging up oil glands . if u have pus
    then you have bacteria trapped as well.
    with my sebderm under control now i get no more acne.
    but one night earlier in treatment, areas of my face
    were very red from alcohol drinking and sure enough
    there were small acne bumps the next day in the red
    areas.
    Minocycline knocked them down

  21. Neva Marjory Says:

    Mike

  22. Neva Marjory Says:

    I was reluctant to take antibiotics in the first place but the spot
    problem had suddenly become quite severe. I’ve taken probiotics and
    supplements to boost my immune system throughout the duration of
    taking this antibiotic, and will continue to take the probiotics and
    supplements as a matter of course - there’s only 1 week or so left
    of the Clindamycin, so finishing it off isn’t going to do anymore
    harm :-) After then, apart from the Cutanix which I’m using at night
    only, no more chemicals for me - does anyone treat their sebderm
    effectively with any herbal topical creams that they can recommend?

    thanks, Mike

  23. Ivan Juliann Says:

    only took one or two pills.
    thanks for your concern

  24. Neva Marjory Says:

    Further to recent discussion on NLite to rebuild collagen in steroid-
    damaged skin, I came across this thread on the new Rosacea board
    that I thought might be of interest to some people.

    Basically, people are discussing blue/red light therapy (home units)
    and how they have converted their home units to all red (as the blue
    light is what kills the bacteria that causes acne, whereas red is
    purely anti-inflammatory). Red light does the following things to
    your skin (is pretty much along the same lines as the NLite
    treatment I had in that it is anti-inflammatory and promotes growth
    of collagen, except not as concentrated - by way, my skin is very
    clear and quite calm, so this is either the NLite kicking in - they
    said 12 weeks - or my recent exposure to sun!):

    -anti-inflammatory/calming effect on epidermis

    -increases circulation to replace damaged bv’s
    -stimulates collagen
    -stimulates ATP(energy of a cell, increases cells nutrient bsorption
    and waste removal)
    -increases lymphatic activity
    -increases DNA/RNA synthesis
    -*reduces excitabilty of nervous tissue
    -stimulates fibrolastic activity
    -increases phagocytosis(clean up of dead cells)
    -stimulates tissue granulation
    -stimulates acetylcholine release
    -Readily absorbed by the mitochondria and therefore potentially
    stimulatory
    -Excellent source of stimulation of a range of growth factors
    -(Visible)Red Light does not penetrate very effectively below the
    skin surface and into the tissue below so(Visible)Red light is the
    best for wound healing or superficial conditions but is not the most
    effective way to treat deeper injury

    Thought it might be interesting to some people anyway.

  25. Marianne Mirta Says:

    Hey group,

    I just wanted to share a positive experience, for once. I’ve been
    taking the full range of supplements which is supposed to be good for
    rosaceans, and being one myself, and sebdermian, I decided to try it
    for myself. What I take is Barlean’s Omega Twin oil, pycnogenol, grape
    seed extract, alpha lipoic acid, ester-C and saw palmetto (not sure
    about this last one, but I’ve heard good things about it and wanted to
    give it a try). All these things cost, but have actully had a very
    positive effect on my skin, and yesterday I got confirmation on this
    when my girlfriend said I don’t get as red as I could sometimes
    before, especially after doing some… eh, joint exercises perhaps..?
    :o) So that felt good to hear!

    And since rosacea and seb derm is evil cousins, and one often has a

    little of both, maybe this could be something for some of you out
    there as well, who up to this point has treated their skin from the
    seb derm angle only.

    There’s still a lot to do for me though, like trying to re-build my
    skin after Accutane-damage from a too high dose a few years back. But
    it’s always nice when something good happens, god knows that ain’t
    very common!

    Andy

  26. Neva Marjory Says:

    Hi Group,

    Can anyone who has used successfully salcura intensive please report
    their findings. I recently used another product in their line which is
    a shower gel which has buckthorn in it which really works well
    alongside the intensive spray. I spoke to the customer sevice manager
    last week due to a problem with my order and he works for the company
    because the products cured his roscea. I enquired why the products
    aren’t sold in the mainstream and he suggested that many people have a
    lot to lose from Salcura’s products being used particulaarly as they
    are inexpensive. He has had vets (the products are also used for
    animals) say they can’t use them because they are just ‘too good’
    which threatens the whole medical drug company relationship which is
    so profitable. I was one of the first people to use protopic in the uk
    because i forced a GP to perscribe it to me. Even then i couldn’t

    understand why a small tube of ointment cost me equivelent of $50-100.
    It seems there is a lot of money in eczema generally.

    Just thought i would share this.James

  27. Sydney Kami Says:

    While I’m making one of my not too frequent stops here these days,
    I’ll just take the opportunity to give you all an update of my own
    situation. All of you might not remember me, a lot of new members
    since I last posted anything, which is really great and I hope you’re
    all doing good.

    I have a mild rosacea thing going together with seb derm, which has
    now been under more or less total control for a few years. And during
    the past few months my skin has improved even more, and what I’m using
    is a combination of something called Zhongzhou ointment, which kills
    Demodex parasites in the skin, Green Tea cream and H&S Intensive
    Treatment for both scalp and the suds all over the face, plus 1000 mg
    Ester-C and 200 mg Grape Seed Extract. Zinc Gluconate can be good as well.

    Dr Syed recently made a new formula for seb derm available with his

    Green Tea cream. Expensive yes, but well worth a shot.

    Good luck everyone,
    Andy

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