2 replies to this topic

[somehope]

I had my first ALA w/ Vbeam treatment done today and was wondering if anyone can verify the steps for this treatment..


1. clean face with toner
2. apply Levulan
3. wait 1 hour
4. apply numbing gel
5. wait 30 minutes
6. gently scrape off the excess numbing gel
7. WASH off numbing gel + Levulan with a gentle cleanser (Cetaphil)
8. start vbeam on entire face, then use bluelight for 1 minute.

My biggest question is.. was I supposed to wash off the numbing gel and levulan with a cleanser (step 7) like the nurse told me to?? I thought the levulan was good for you, so why wash it off? After the vbeam treatment, I did a bluelight for 1 minute where the nurse was suprised that I didn't feel a burning sensation or see my face getting red from the bluelight. She said that most patients usually turn red after bluelight but I'm wondering if washing off the levulan with the cleanser had anything to do with this...

-I wasn't red until I got home until 2 hours later after a long long drive home (had ac on the whole time and there was no sun shining my way)..

[livluvlaf]

Try to stay out of any UV light at all ... this includes away from bright rooms with windows (which I realize is impossible in the car. Alternative is to schedule evening appointment or wear a veil to get home). Im not certain if your treatment is identical to what I underwent (Bluelight with leluvan) but my face was burning for days afterwards, and peeling & crusty for another 5 days. I didnt realize UV avoidance was so crucial, but for the afternoon after my treatment I did paperwork at my office (no windows) waiting for the redness to arrive. 5hrs later still no redness, so I figured it was safe to drive home .... and that 20 minutes cost me a week of hell. If only I had stayed inside til it was dark!

no, I only washed the leluvan off after the treatment .... but the stuff had 1.5hrs to soak into your skin, so it might not make a tremendous difference.

[somehope]

Try to stay out of any UV light at all ... this includes away from bright rooms with windows (which I realize is impossible in the car. Alternative is to schedule evening appointment or wear a veil to get home). Im not certain if your treatment is identical to what I underwent (Bluelight with leluvan) but my face was burning for days afterwards, and peeling & crusty for another 5 days. I didnt realize UV avoidance was so crucial, but for the afternoon after my treatment I did paperwork at my office (no windows) waiting for the redness to arrive. 5hrs later still no redness, so I figured it was safe to drive home .... and that 20 minutes cost me a week of hell. If only I had stayed inside til it was dark!

no, I only washed the leluvan off after the treatment .... but the stuff had 1.5hrs to soak into your skin, so it might not make a tremendous difference.

Thanks for the reply


I had my 2nd ALA w/ VBeam treatment done on Oct 4th (first one was Sept 7th) and I'm currently in the stages of peeling. Although I didn't notice any improvements from my 1st treamtment, my dermatologist assured me that I should start seeing improvements after my 2nd. So lets wait and see what happens

What's strange is that I had a conversation with the nurse during my 2nd treament about her thoughts on Doxicycline + Tetrinoid. She said it was good and all and seemed suprised that the doctor didn't prescribe those to me (or any medication for that matter). When I was ready for the vbeam, the doctor came in with a big simle and a prescription for 100mg Doryx + Ziana cream. He told me to take 2 100mg Doryx pills in the morning asap and apply the Ziana acne cream @night after the 10th day of the treatment. I was to take the pills and use the cream for the duration of my PDT treatment until my 3rd and final treatment.

My dermatologist said that the medications will bring the acne to the surface so that the PDT/ALA can kill it off easier. Is this true? Why wasn't I prescribed those before my 1st treatment? If it's true, then I basically wasted 2 PDT treatments since ALA w/ VBeam wouldve been more effective if I had been on those medications. Not to mention that new medications will most likely make me break out for the first few weeks... On the other hand, I'm wondering if he prescribed those to make me "happy" because I asked about it... By the way, the nurse mentioned the medicaiton to my dermatologist, not me.

In anycase, I'll give the Doryx a try, but I'm not sure about Ziana.. It just bothers me that during my consultation I was told that acne medications aren't necessary during the course of ALA w/ Vbeam. But now, he's endorsing the use of medications and claims it'll be more effective. I'll ask him those q's myself once I'm done with my 3rd treatment. For now, I just want to play along and hope for the best.

I'll keep you guys updated on how this medication + ALA /w Vbeam works out.



2nd treatment:
Clean face with acetone
50 min Levulan
30 min numbing Gel
Wash numbing Gel off
Clean face with acetone (this time she scrubs harder)
Vbeam entire face (immediatley parts of my face was red, -my 1st vbeam didn't didn't make me red)
Blue Light for 2 minutes (I didn't feel any burning sensation during my 1st treatment, but NOW on my 2nd treatment I actually felt the burn)