267 replies to this topic

[WantToBeFree]

WantToBeFree - i guess u shouldnt be shaving off ur flakes u makin ur skin prone to get more flakes than before anyways ask ur doc i feel ur damaging ur skin by doin this...

I know it may sound like you're damaging your skin but I'm really not, my skin feels so soft and smooth, the redness has gone down a lot and over all it looks so much healthier, my pores are tighter and everything, and I'm honestly starting to think this is a cure to my SD =O

Oh and not to mention that I haven't had a single flake on my face I started. Also you saythat they will be prone to come back faster, well that's definatly not the case. First time I did it they were somewhat back after 1 day, then each time I repeated it took them longer to come back.

Really guys, it may sound stupid but as long as you're gentle and use shaving cream/moisturizer it works, atleast for me it did.

Try it guys, honestly, it may be far fetched but in my case it has really helped.

[chaseryder]

dear Ihsahn,

I am strongly considering using protopic. I know that by doing nothing, I am only making my SD get worse, and i do not want that. I am very wary of putting anything on my skin since it is very sensitive, and has reacted very badly, due to the flushing. So would you still think it is worth considering even with my current conditions. I guess only trying it out will tell. You think maybe using it on a certain area to test it out would be smart?

Also, as unfortunate as it is, I believe I do have SD on mainly my entire face. My whole face has always been very oily, and I have a pinkish hue around my face at different times. It does seem to come and go, which I dont fully understand why. Should I consider using it all over my face or just some areas?

[Ihsahn]

Hi,just use it slightly before you sleep in the areas where its red and flaky.Spot treatment won't do anything apply everywhere you feel you have SD,use it only once a day before you sleep.The reason why i wouldn't recommend spot treatment is your bound to have some kind of reaction like itching/redness at least 80% of the people get it which is high.Unless you're allergic to protopic ingredients it should be fine and any initial reaction will go away soon but you have to be strong,everyone here seems to give up on meds too quickly.For me it works like magic but diff people need more time.If you use it make sure you don't use any harsh cleanser or anything else it may really irritate you,even a moisturizer or sun block (unless you've never had any reaction from sun block it may be fine to use it very lightly but i personally wouldn't ).Good luck,keep us updated.

[WantToBeFree]

Are you guys trying the shaving method?

I haven't seen a single flake for 2 weeks since I started it and the redness has gone down like 30%

I challenge you to try it

[chaseryder]

hey ihsahn,

can SD affect the entire face? As unfortunate it is to believe, I do think that my entire face is affected. My redness is basically throughout my entire face, but at times, especially after shower, the redness dissipates for a little while, where I can see some areas that are redder and in patches over my face...I am really hesitant on just applying protopic to my entire face...it just seems too much and not right to do...

its very hard to determine what is SD and what is redness from flushing...since i have developed pretty bad tangelgesia from the flushing, a good part of my redness is from broken blood vessels...

I am aware that my SD is not genetic, but isn't all cases chronic if they are not genetic. You wrote in an earlier post saying people with genetic/chronic SD, isn't that all SD sufferers. They are either one of those two.

If I continue to do nothing, except be gentle, will my case just continue to get worse and worse? I have noticed that I do get a few flakes inside my ear. I know you mentinoed that it usually only for genetic cases, but obviously that isn't the case for me. It just seems I mainly get them in my beard line, and I grow facial hair quite fast. Especially in my moustache and chin/side of face...the redness just spreads all throughout though..

I am sorry to bombard you with questions but I am also wondering about this itching. Accutane somehow managed to cause Urticaria for me as well. I get these bouts of itching during exercise only for a brief amount of time, usually in the beginning, but the itching can occur almost everywhere...so I am not sure if that itching is the SD, i am pretty sure it isn't since I know that when I scratch myself, I get a red blotchy mark from where I scratched and it can be raised, and last for minutes at a time...

It does have me wonder, why all this happend. My guess is that my immune system must have just gone haywire...it wasn't expecting it, and my body reacted the way it did. I just wish there could be some hope, cause as you know it can be very difficult coping...its amazing though how 3 days could do so much. I am not surprised since I know that accutane is a powerful drug, but to have such a detrimental effect on my immune system to cause all these problems, is what boggles my mind...

This photo isn't flattering, but I thought id give you an idea of what it looks like...
 ye.JPG   77.82K   77 downloads

[Ihsahn]

After looking at your pic i really can't make out anything you look pretty much normal to me.

The way you describe it you sound like you may have atopic dermatitis as well.Have you ever had a blood test and checked your white blood cells? you seem just like someone who is allergic to things.The things u mentioned are clear cases of food allergy and prob contact allergy the way you itch/ get inflammed and it calms down on its own rite later on?.

If you leave it you may have a seriously bad flare up,Sd is prob the most easiest chronic disease to control but from what ive seen in here no one did the rite thing for enough time.
In genetic cases what happens is the gene is passed to you where inside your body a program is set to automatically do these things the body doesn't realize its a problem.The same thing can happen when the skin barrier function is weak your immune system shifts to a different mode and sets itself to replicate the same thing over and over so its very imp to to keep suppressing your immune system till it realizes it has to stay that way.

I feel you just have a naturally flushing problem probably due to anxiety or panic you may need meds of those to keep the flushing in control.I don't think accutane even in 120 mg can cause problems in 3 days unless you are allergic or used other meds,antibiotics along with specially any exfoliating cleanser/creams.

It can happen to the entire face when there is a bad flare up but i don't really know about just having normal sd throughout the face,what you can do is try to apply lightly everywhere you feel but don't cover the entire face.See how it goes protopic will not do you any kind of permanent harm specially for short term so just give it a shot if you really can't stand the way you look now,its diff worth trying and the best med out there i feel safety wise/effective wise as long as you don't exceed many months of continuous use.

You can ask me as many questions as you want don't worry about that.

[WantToBeFree]

hey ihsahn,

can SD affect the entire face? As unfortunate it is to believe, I do think that my entire face is affected. My redness is basically throughout my entire face, but at times, especially after shower, the redness dissipates for a little while, where I can see some areas that are redder and in patches over my face...I am really hesitant on just applying protopic to my entire face...it just seems too much and not right to do...

its very hard to determine what is SD and what is redness from flushing...since i have developed pretty bad tangelgesia from the flushing, a good part of my redness is from broken blood vessels...

I am aware that my SD is not genetic, but isn't all cases chronic if they are not genetic. You wrote in an earlier post saying people with genetic/chronic SD, isn't that all SD sufferers. They are either one of those two.

If I continue to do nothing, except be gentle, will my case just continue to get worse and worse? I have noticed that I do get a few flakes inside my ear. I know you mentinoed that it usually only for genetic cases, but obviously that isn't the case for me. It just seems I mainly get them in my beard line, and I grow facial hair quite fast. Especially in my moustache and chin/side of face...the redness just spreads all throughout though..

I am sorry to bombard you with questions but I am also wondering about this itching. Accutane somehow managed to cause Urticaria for me as well. I get these bouts of itching during exercise only for a brief amount of time, usually in the beginning, but the itching can occur almost everywhere...so I am not sure if that itching is the SD, i am pretty sure it isn't since I know that when I scratch myself, I get a red blotchy mark from where I scratched and it can be raised, and last for minutes at a time...

It does have me wonder, why all this happend. My guess is that my immune system must have just gone haywire...it wasn't expecting it, and my body reacted the way it did. I just wish there could be some hope, cause as you know it can be very difficult coping...its amazing though how 3 days could do so much. I am not surprised since I know that accutane is a powerful drug, but to have such a detrimental effect on my immune system to cause all these problems, is what boggles my mind...

This photo isn't flattering, but I thought id give you an idea of what it looks like...
 ye.JPG   77.82K   77 downloads

Your skin is nice man!

It doesn't even look like you have SD, like Ihsahn said it's probably something else.

I have severe SD http://dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/img/sebderm5.jpg which looks something like this, only not as red but mine is more spread and is more flaky which sucks, but it's clear now thanks to my shaving method

GL

[chaseryder]

Ihsahn
well i am confident to say that it was caused my protective barrier being damaged overtime. There is no doubt in my mind. I am not sure I do have atopic dermatitis since I dont believe I am allergic to anything. This itching reaction I am pretty sure is urticaria, which is a possible SE of accutane. I get blotchy red skin when i itchy my body, and I get itchy all over my body at times. I just get these sudden pricks of itchiness over my entire body. It is usually only triggered by sweating when exercising, emotions, and sometimes randomly...so i am pretty sure it is urticaria. I am confident that the reason it only took 3 days for accutane to do this to me was becuase my skin was already very damaged from the BP cleanser I was using, and even when I gave it time, It still was very irritated. My skin has been very almost chronically irritated for a year now. Ever since my skin has a terrible reaction to the BP cleanser I was using in 11/06, my face was red and oily. So I am guessing it perhaps was the early stage of SD, I am not sure. I never did experience flaking until now, so thats why I am not sure if I had it before. None the less, my skin is very irritated at all times basically, no matter how gentle I am with it.

Ishahn, if I do decide to use it tonight, will I be red all day tommorrow, and this will last for up to a week perhaps? I am going to visit my gf and her family and then work this sunday, so I am alittle hesistant on starting this now...if you think it would be alright then I will, but I am pretty hesistant.

Wanttobefree
thanks for encouraging words man, but it does look like that at times...i am pretty nit picky about my flakes, but i get the flakes mainly on my inner cheeks and beard line...It is hard to tell what the redness is from since my face has a natural redness to it, since I have a lot of broken blood vessels all along my cheeks, nose and eye socket...

wanttobefree...you did say that you got SD/Flushing from Accutane right?

[WantToBeFree]

Ihsahn
well i am confident to say that it was caused my protective barrier being damaged overtime. There is no doubt in my mind. I am not sure I do have atopic dermatitis since I dont believe I am allergic to anything. This itching reaction I am pretty sure is urticaria, which is a possible SE of accutane. I get blotchy red skin when i itchy my body, and I get itchy all over my body at times. I just get these sudden pricks of itchiness over my entire body. It is usually only triggered by sweating when exercising, emotions, and sometimes randomly...so i am pretty sure it is urticaria. I am confident that the reason it only took 3 days for accutane to do this to me was becuase my skin was already very damaged from the BP cleanser I was using, and even when I gave it time, It still was very irritated. My skin has been very almost chronically irritated for a year now. Ever since my skin has a terrible reaction to the BP cleanser I was using in 11/06, my face was red and oily. So I am guessing it perhaps was the early stage of SD, I am not sure. I never did experience flaking until now, so thats why I am not sure if I had it before. None the less, my skin is very irritated at all times basically, no matter how gentle I am with it.

Ishahn, if I do decide to use it tonight, will I be red all day tommorrow, and this will last for up to a week perhaps? I am going to visit my gf and her family and then work this sunday, so I am alittle hesistant on starting this now...if you think it would be alright then I will, but I am pretty hesistant.

Wanttobefree
thanks for encouraging words man, but it does look like that at times...i am pretty nit picky about my flakes, but i get the flakes mainly on my inner cheeks and beard line...It is hard to tell what the redness is from since my face has a natural redness to it, since I have a lot of broken blood vessels all along my cheeks, nose and eye socket...

wanttobefree...you did say that you got SD/Flushing from Accutane right?

I had very minor SD and no redness before I went on accutane, the redness and flushing + severe SD came after accutane. How ever I'm 100% certain that it'll be gone with in 3-4 months. I haven't seen a flake for 2 weeks now and the redness is decreasing dramatically.

Those hydrocortisone topical steroids didn't do jackshit for me except make my face feel tight, thinner and glowing red. They reduced the flakes for a week or something and then they came back. I can't handle having that stuff on my face all the time. But I'd also like to mention that my SD was incredibly severe, for example if I'd take a dry washcloth or something and wipe it gently over my face it'd look like I used a cheese grader on my face, flakes every where and sort of red and wet skin below.. horrid

[Ihsahn]

Urticaria as far as i know is an allergic reaction and usually goes away easily within a few days with meds etc but if its chronic then i don't know whats the treatment,possibly you need to find out the trigger.I would suggest you take an allergy test to get your immunology.

BP is a horrible leave on product unless its spot treatment,I have a feeling that could be the problem.Do you take a lot of alcohol ?.The redness and peeling from accutane is not SD nor is it rosacea it is just a natural form of exfoliation with erythema,i think SD can only happen possibly in high doses 40 mg is too light to cause problems in such a short time but as you mentioned you have an extremely sensitive skin so you never know.

If itching is a problem i think antihistamines and protopic are the best treatment.Usually after applying protopic within 30 min-2 hrs u might feel itching or see it red thats why its best to sleep to avoid problems.ln the morning there is nothing,but ur skin can be sensitive to sunlight etc . Also you mentioned emotions.I think you need med for anxiety,stress,panic,nervousness,shyness this may help you immensely to stay calm and help you not flush at all.

Different people react differently so i can't really guarantee about the redness u may get nothing at all ,usually in the morning theres nothing but its a decision you have to make.Good luck.

[chaseryder]

yea as for anxiety and flushing, i have been dealing with SAD/depression for quite some time before...it was the major reason of why I was so hesitant of taking accutane...

yet i have been on every medication for anxiety, and none of them helped...my flushing really isn't instigated by nervousness, it happens due to change in temperature, working out...blah blah, sounds exactly like the same symptoms of rosacea. But I am pretty sure that it isn't rosacea. I believe if it exists for a long enough time, then it can turn intorosacea. But I will admit that my flushing has dramatically been cut down. I am currently taking ALA's, zinc, fish oil, biotin, probiotics...whatever is good for me. I have been at this for quite some time. I have heard that ALA's can be very beneficial for post-accutane sufferers since it can cause problems w/ the immune system. I guess I will see hwo this goes.

I was foolish. And everyday it is a struggle for me to accept that though. To think, the whole time i never really NEEDED accutane. I did'nt have severe acne, I just had mild - moderate, oily skin, a lto of clogged pores, and thought since I can't tolerate any topicals than accutane was a good option for clear skin. Wasn't thinking. And neither was my dermatologist. The dermatologist I saw was a joke, and he is a terrible person. I can't see how someone can prescribe such a thing when he is aware of your skins condition, and knows that you really dont need it. I mean...it is sad that tere ar epeople out there who will put you on something so dangerous and serious when it truley isn't needed.... oh well

I am still very hesitant with protopic...i am worried since my skin is hypersensitive, that its only gonna make matters worse. I am also veryhesistant becaus ei think any irritation might make my flushing problem worse, and I know that I do need to be extremely gentle with my skin...I need it to heal...

appologize for the continuous bitching Ishahn, it is tough though when you realize that you made such afoolish mistake and are paying for it dearly...it truley is a nightmare.

[WantToBeFree]

i was wondering if any of you experience a warmness, kinda of hot sensation on your nose or any other part of your face? I am guessing this is probobly a "rosacea" symptom, but it does get rather annoying...

Yep, get that in my cheeks.. One time it was so hot that my eyes hurt and started to water

[chaseryder]

yea but does warmness...like the hot feeling ever exist in SD, I Have read that it does...

Wanttobefree, do you have many broken blood vessels at all? Like ones under your eye sockets or on your nose...?

[chaseryder]

I've had Seborrheic Dermatitis for close to 30yrs. I've tried some of everything, I've found a few things over the years, that helped, but nothing that would get rid of it for good, until now.
http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=870274#i

I ran across this post a few months ago, but just decided about a month ago to give it a try, and thank God I did, it's only been about 10days, and my Seborrheic is about 90% gone. I guess I'll know if I'm truly cured, once I stop taking these vitamins, but the best thing about this program, is I could take these vitamins for the rest of my life, and it wouldn't be a problem. I get my vitamins from vitacost online but I'm sure you could get them at any health food store. I take Jarrow Formulas Pepzin GI 75mg, NSI Biotin 10mg, and NSI MSM 8,000mg. By the way, the above post was written for people with eczema, but again it's working for my Seborrheic.

I really hope this post helps someone, if you decide to give this a try, please post back and let us know how it worked for you.

and also...

Could you give me the name and number for your doctor because the doctor refuses to give me the myco-triacet II cream you reccommended and I'd like to talk to your doctor. I also have some questions for you. Did it get rid of the redness completely? Did you experience this weird redness I notice too? And this stuff completely cured you? Sorry to be annoying about all this but I just want to cure this stupid disease so I can feel more confident again.
dear mike...
my mom heard a doctor talking on the radio who spoke about his own experience with seborrheic dermatitis. he said that he suffered from this disease for many many years and had gone to the dermatologist and was given various cortisone cremes...which helped but never cured. anyway..he said he was determined to find a cure for himself and began to experiment. he discovered thru being his own ginuea pig that seborheic dermatitis is really a type of fungus and he used the drug i told you about..which cured himself..and me..as i already told you:) he also said that the dermatologists don't really want to cure people..cuz they want their patients to keep coming back..and thus..make a living. he also said that while you are using the cream..to..change pillow cases every day til clears up. well..when my mom told me about this..i asked a friend of mine who knew a doctor ..to write me a prescription. so..i can't tell you the name and number of the doctor who figured all this out..cuz i don't know his name. all i can tell you is to ..find a doctor who will give you the prescription..cuz it cured me of all redness...scales..all that crap. if you need to ask me anything else..email me at..
balipage@aol.com take care and good luck..
elise

what is one to think of this?

[Ihsahn]

have you been n xenex for anxiety?.I think accutane is an excellent med its unfort you had a reaction like that,maybe your doctor should have looked into your other problems and then decided if you need accutane.I always support any doctor that will give a low dose of accutane for mild moderate acne over topicals and antibiotics.I know someone who's on accutane for 9 years without any problems,i myself will start on 10 mg hopefully this week i was supposed to last week but my liver enzymes are high due to the antibiotics i took couple of weeks back for my cold and i gonna take 1 plus year if im going to have constant blood reports.

I don't believe any forums like that ,everyone has their own little way of curing.The medical way is the way i know and it works if done properly.People keep complaining about steroid how they only help in a temporary way-i really don't understand that,it is a common knowledge that SD is chronic disease any steroid you use which is not powerful enough the SD will come back specially cause they only use it for 7 days.Thats why protopic is like a steroid but you can use it much longer so its much more beneficial to suppress down the immune system to a point where your body realizes it has to stay that way.Sd is just like acne ,you can be clear for a while then it will come back unless you have a long term regimen ,the only diff is SD is much much more easier to control.

Diet is a very important factor to in SD,specially if you have poor diet for months and months continuous i have always noticed flareups.Its upto you as i mentioned earlier if you have the strength to face the minor side effects of thr initial treatment which may not even happen you can diff try it.IF you pass that i guarantee you within 1 month you will have no redness at all in your face if you are careful with other stuff as well.Good luck.

[chaseryder]

ihsahn I am willing to try it the only reason I am very hesistant is because my skin is already very sensitive and prone to flushing. I have talked with a doctor here, who also went through the flushing side effect of accutane, and said it is important to be very gentle with your skin during this period. The more you damage it, the longer it probobly will be until your skin returns back to normal...that is why I am hesitant. I am worried that the protopic is gonna just damage my skin more. I am just so worried of using anything now.

your right though. it is a decision I need to make. So If i continue to just use water for my skin, then my skin will just continue to get worse and worse?

[Ihsahn]

Protopic will not cause any serious side effects its not an exfoliant where you have to take care of other factors.But yeah it can make you more red the first few days though if you sleep rite after i highly doubt there will be any redness in the morning its just after application the next few hrs might be a problem.

Just using water won't help you,your body may heal but its not gonna really do anything like any meds can plus any trigger can really flare you up but maybe you need to just not apply anything for a while since your skin is extremely sensitive,though the pic you showed is nothing,you don't know how horrible sd and dermatitis people can look like,compared to that you look fine maybe cause its not a close up we can't see it.I would still say get an allergy test done if your insurance covers it,it tells you exactly how your immune system reacts to certain things though its not 100% accurate but close enough to know what to keep distance from.

[WantToBeFree]

Thanks for bringing that to our attention Chase!

I agree with Ihsahn, everyone has their way of dealing with it. If I were you I'd rather try the supplement thing suggested in that post rather than using topical hydrocortisone steroids, atleast from my experience they made my skin thinner, redder and in the end they were useless.

Although I am a little skeptical when said that SD is affected by diet. I'm a bodybuilder and I eat very clean. Lean meats, oatmeal/brown rice/sweet potatoes, veggies and healthy fats is the only thing that enters my stomach, no junk food ever and it has made no difference.

And to your question above, the answer is no, I don't have any broken capillaries at all.

And those supplements above, I might give it a go tbh, but do you know if all of them can be bought over the counter or do you need a prescription for any of it?

[Flying Dutchman]

Hello, I've just discovered I've been dealing with SD for more than 3 years now, but didn't know what it was..also because I focussed on controlling my heavy acne first.

Now my acne is pretty much under control, I'm gonna try and do something about this SD, cause it's pretty much ruining my life.

Ihsahn, all these drugs you talk about, do you have them on prescription, I presume? I think I'll have to go to a derm again then...didn't have a good experience with my last one, which I trusted blindly, but made me use all those creams that have made my face very red and flaky, and caused my SD.

But I'll find a better one then. Hopefully some of these drugs will work for me...what do you advice to start with? (will read all 10 pages but short on time now..)

And what about visiting the solarium now and then? It decreases the contrast between red and white skin...but is it harmful for people with SD?

Thanks

[chaseryder]

well i tried it last night round 2 at night went to sleep. Woke up aruond 3:30 with an immense burning sensation on my nose...couldn't fall asleep for quite some time...I woke up at 11 and still my nose mainly feels very hot...like its burning...whenever I breathe out, my nose gets a warming sensation...I dont know. I do start work tommorrow, and I really do not wanna go in there looking more red than I usually do...do you suggest I stay at it?