Accutane vs. Rosacea (the eternal question)
Joined: 08 Feb 2008
| Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 8:38 pm Post subject: Accutane vs. Rosacea (the eternal question) | |
| Hello Everyone,
Im just new here and wanted to say hello to you all. I also have a question regarding my skin. Hopefully you guys can give me some insight. About 4 months ago I started using low dose accutane (20 mg.day) to treat my persistant acne and seb. dermatitis. Im 23 years old and my skin looked like hell. All bumby with pimples and some redness from the seb.derm. Accutane cured both my pimples and seb. dermatitis in under 3 weeks. I was absolutely amazed by the change. Unfortunatly a new problem presented itself. During week four my facial skin began turning red. My entire cheeks, nose and small portion of the chin. Also i experienced flushing after eating a hot meal and when i had to talk in public (something that never happened before). I cut down my accutane dose to 20 mg/ every other day. The flushing has disappeared, but my redness is still present. When i get up in the morning it isn't all that bad. But when i go to bed at night it's realy red. Protecting it with a basic cream seems to prevent my skin from turning realy red during the day (it's winter now, so a lot of chilly winds and heated rooms). I should also note allthough my entire face (except forehead) it red, my cheeks and nose are already red in the morning. Also I seem to have some red blotchyness near my jawline. I would realy appreciate any comments......is this pre-rosacea being triggered by accutane, or just accutane. My derm is realy busy and when i asked him he just said (without even looking) that i should wait and see. Thanks a lot for reading! |
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Joined: 28 Aug 2006
| Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 9:46 pm Post subject: | |
| why not cut down the accutane to 20mg once per week....I did that for a long time and had no ill effects....I couldn't have handled 20mg all at once, it is to high for most with rosacea...but 10mg once or twice per week was do able. Just a suggestion. _________________ Dx 1998 No meds Used low-dose accutane successfully |
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Forum Moderator
Joined: 12 Sep 2006
| Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 11:57 pm Post subject: | |
| Hi Rogue,
I understand your concerns about being on Tane and being a tad more pink/flushy. I was on Tane for 8 months (just finished a month ago) and the last two months of treatment I got a little more pink and flushed a little more also. I was on 20mg a day for most of my course. I already have mild-moderate Rosacea, but my Derm. said that since my dose was still low, it shouldn't worsen my Rosacea. She said the flushy/pinkness I was getting toward the end of treatment, should resolve after treatment, which it has. I think the lower the dose and the lesser the severity, the better chance for it to resolve. In my opinion, the higher dose treatments (and sensitive skin added to the mix) tend to cause more potential problems.... I'm not a Derm. but yes, lowering your dose to like 10mg day, will help reduce the side effects and will help you maintain the clear skin. Keep an eye on it and discuss issues with your Derm. Good luck and let us know how your treatment goes. By the way, I'm pleased with the results and hope they last... Yvette |
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Joined: 08 Feb 2008
| Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 1:55 pm Post subject: | |
Thanks yvette, we already had a conversation regarding this on acne.org  It's nice to see you are also helping people here. Let's hope the redness resolves then. Im also very pleased about my acne and seb.derm being gone. Those where absolutely awefull. Im curious though why you only did accutane 8 months. It was my understanding when taking low dose tane you should take it for about a year. |
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Forum Moderator
Joined: 12 Sep 2006
| Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 12:20 am Post subject: | |
| Hey Rogue,
Thanks for your note. I was on Accutane 8 1/2 months. Mostly, at 20mg a day. However, in months 5-8 my Derm. bumped it up to 30mg day, which I mostly took 20mg, but occassionally did a few days of 30mg. My Derm. was aware (said I could alternate or skip on occassion) and I did so. I didn't want to take more than I needed. In month 8, I took 20mg only, and didn't alternate the dose. Yes, most Rosacea studies are for 10mg a day (or less) for 5-12 months, depending on the symptoms and the study. Since I had mild acne, my dose was higher. I did get a little more pink/flushy across my cheeks toward the end of my course, but I wasn't too worried as it wasn't severe. I did have enough Accutane to continue 1-2 more months, but I wanted to stop. I was getting a bit run down and anxious (wanting to come off) and did so. I took about 5,000 mg total which is more than the standard Rosacea protocol, but a bit less than the acne protocol (for my weight about 6,000mg). The results were great and hope they last for awhile. Let me know how things are going for ya. Yvette |
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Joined: 08 Feb 2008
| Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:14 am Post subject: | |
| That's definetly the thing that worries me. You only got slightly pink at the end. Im a good shade of red and some people have also commented on it. During the day in daylight it isn't that bad. But in atrtificial light, or when eating dinner it goes redder.....weird
My derm wanted to prescribe me a topical antibiotic for rosacea....but it didn't want it. Another thing to irritate my skin and from what i read it doesn't help with redness at all. |
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