267 replies to this topic

[TheMommy]

hi TheMommy,
so hows it goin wid metrogel did u notice any improvement in ur skin...

ALMOST 100% GONE!
My routine of faithfully using Metrogel + Minocin (and nothing else but sunscreen) has almost killed the S. Dermatitis completely. I'm going to start to ease off the Minocin this week...
!!!!

[seb_derm]

congrats!
happy to hear tht the med worked for u, uve made me curious to try it coz 1 of the derm has prescribed me the same...

[seb_derm]

thanks for the advice Ihsahn im using elidel but i dnt see much diff...
yup i always wash my face with a mild soap after my workouts...
mino makes ur skin sun sensitive if overexposure it may even lead to sunburns i dnt think so it would coz skin flushing as it is widely prescribed to rosacea sufferers too...
well might as well i try it...
so howz ur skin doin???

[Ihsahn]

I'm totally clear for the past few weeks.Elidel is the logical and prob the best treatment if it doesn't work you may ask your doctor about protopic but try elidel for 7-14 days ( by then if it doesn't clear then it prob wont work for you) just make sure u dont use anything else along with like a moisturizer etc,you can also use it twice a day (for 7 days) if you don't go in the sun you'll have better results.I hope you're not getting anymore rashes from it?.Antibiotics i don't think can cause problems unless you go in the sun while using elidel.

Antibiotics make you sensitive even if you don't go in the sun specially in high dose and longer period you can watch your tv or play games and you may flush,if you concentrate on anything a little more than usual you can flush.

It's a flawed way of treatment in my opinion ,as far as i know A-B blocks the proteins which bacteria multiplies on,so whenever you will stop your antibiotics you;ll start having problems again unless you take it for lfetime but it is the best way to treat when moderate or severe cases i guess.The main problem is sebum ,as long as excess sebum is there chances are v high you'll have skin problems.People with SD seem to have an abnormal immune system anyway so i feel the best treatment is elidel or protopic after a short dose of steroids,its not a sure shot treatment (there isnt any) but it can keep you clear for a long time if the meds are used prop and for a proper peroid.

I'm trying to reduce the sebum on my face so im planning on overdosing on pantothenic acid,im trying to get some more info on it in the nutrition forum,i've heard more positives about this treatment than negatives,lets see what happens.Goodluck with your regimen.

[seb_derm]

ya the main problem is the excess sebum elidel doesnt help with reduction in sebum production i want to know is there sumthin which we can do to control our abnormal sebum production.
pantothenic acid is found in egg whites i havent seen any improvement i have abt 4-5 eggs (egg whites) off and on the whole yr.
i jus want to get rid of this excess sebum do u think accutane will help wht abt vilantae is it good...

[Ihsahn]

Elidel may help with oilyness where you apply it ,it did for me but once you stop it will come back.All dermatitis problems are due to improper immune system functioning,you would not have any kind of redness or flaking if your immune system works fine,thats why med like elidel and potent steroids help alot.Anyway now doctors recommend elidel protopic for rosacea as well infact most skin problems happen due to the trigger which makes the immmune system respond abnormally.Infact it is also seen to help people with vitiligo,prob the most devastating commnon disease which is also the hardest to treat since its an auto immune attack on their skin,they have seen some positive results on it as well.

I would say oc8 is the best but since you have dermatits issue you prob will have contact dermatits as well so maybe within a month or even earlier of application you might get an abnormal response by your immune system and have flare ups.

Pantothenic Acid is vitamin b5 (also known as vilantae which i think is just a company name which sells b5 in their name ).The one you get in food is extremely less,you have to take it in supplements about 10grms which is about 100000 % of your daily value.Since its water soluble there is v less to no chance of it being toxic.I have started my course 2 days back slowly i will hit 10 grams which means i will have to take 20 tablets a day.B5 is the second best treatment to reduce oil after accutane,Just do a little search on it in google ,the response is amazing for oil reduction and acne,so it should help Sd as well.There is also a sticky in nutrition forum all about b5 so you can check there for more info ,im also new to this treatment but lets hope this works.

Recently i had my allergy test done and my doc was shocked to see i'm extremly allregic to house dust mites,even though im totally clear he told me to change everything in my room from curtains to sofa to bed,bed sheets etc,now i have to buy leather sofa and plastic curtains this is a big issue now.I have 2 more allergy tests left.

[seb_derm]

whts the difference btwn allergy test and a patch test if i want to get a allergy test done whts the 1st step i gotta do wht kind of allergy test are u undergoing???
As far as i know patch test is basically done inorder to find out wht chemicals/meds is suitable or not for the skin am i right...
ya i guess vitamin b5 will surely work even im thinking to give it a try im already taking sum multivitamin tab twice a day its been abt 3-4 mnths ive been takin it, it has vit b5 also in it abt 2.5 mg...
it was very difficult for me to find a brand name of co. manufacturing vit b5 in india well finally ive come across calcium pantothenate tabs i think this is vit b5 only wht do u feel???

[Ihsahn]

I'm not sure,patch test could be to diagnose what kind of skin problem it is,i actually don't know.For me its free so i'm not sure but its better i think you talk to a derm about it ,the test is expensive so its better if you have insurance.I have to give more blood for the other allergy tests,im not sure what they are about .Judging by your pics you have very mild case so i doubt you;ll need an allergy test.

Yeah calcium pantothenate is a form of pantothenic acid.I've been taking it for the past 4-5 days ,i will hit 10 grams by tommo.I haven't seen any results as of yet.I'll be trying 10 grms for 2-3 weeks and if i don't see any result ill stop,its too many pills to take im a bit worried even though they say it may take 6 week or more.I'm sure if you live in mumbai you should get some supplement shop ,specially gnc ,you may get it in big malls.

Have you been applying elidel without any other medications? you should be easily clear by now.Heres another nice article on Sd if you're interested in checking.

http://www.dermadoctor.com/pages/newsletter66.asp?AID=31

you can check this as well for some info even though by now you prob know all about it http://www.nationaleczema.org/home.html

[seb_derm]

ya il ask my derm abt allergy test.
no i tried to get these tabs everywhere but i got only 3 strips of 10 tabs each, frm a med shop they say co. has stopped the production of it and i did my research this was the only co. manufacturing calcium pantothenate. if ur fed up taking soo many tabs switch to the powdered form read this ( http://www.infomundo.tv/acne/approaches_to...e_treatment.php )
eeerrr... no ive stopped elidel after i got tht rash on my left cheek well the rash has gone already so il start again, i guess the main problem wid me is tht ive got soo many prescriptions and medications of diff docs arnd me its hard for me to keep my mind stable and follow only one doc until and unless i dnt develop trust and faith for the doc i wont be able to treat my problem.
thanks i appereciate these articles.

[chaseryder]

that article isahan, says that seb derm is genetically conditioned...there is no one in my family who has had it. I am not sure if accutane caused it or possibly instigated it, and made it more apparent.

Before my accutane trial last april, my skin was always irritated and oily. One day after using my medicated BP wash, my face went haywire...red and oily. And from then on, the oil never stopped. I tried gentle regimens. Then went abbrassive again, then gentle, but the oil never stopped...so I finally gaveup and went for accutane...3 days is all it took, and i developed rosacea like symptoms, so I guess it flared up rosacea...then months later, I am not certain why, but MY guess is from the lack of washing. But I tried being very "gentle" with my skin, by not washign my face for a few days. It seemed that was the cause of my SD. Until recently, about 3 months ago, my doc informed me that im also dealing w/ seb derm. I am not sure If i had it all along or my not washing probobly instigated stuff.

I am curious thogh. A while back, I noticed taht I had these little white things almost coming out of my pores from the creases in my nose...i didn't pay much attention to them, but i was wondering if that could have been the beginning.

And does SD just appear all at once. From what I read or thought, that it happens over time. You dont just get it once...it is usually triggered by something, which causes the flare. As you can tell I am not too knowledgable about this...any advice would be appreciated.

[Ihsahn]

I guess then you may have to order online.Yeah I'm taking 20 tablets a day I'm getting used to it ,unfor. the liquid form is not available where I live and I don't want to order online so i guess i'll have to stick with this.

Any kind of dermatitis is also known as eczema and all eczema is due to an abnormal/over the top reaction of the immune system from a trigger which the immune system thinks is an attack in our skin.A rash happens due to this with inflammation and itching.

Really all you need is a tube of elidel to clear it , I think you are confused with so many treatments.Antifungals and antibiotics are poor treatments compared to immunosuppressant and steroids.

Antifungals are not even made for dermatitis ,they only help a very small section of people with sd,plus even if it kills the yeast it will not totally eliminate it -the yeast will multiply again and feed on the skin making the immune system respond abnormally-since our immune system over-reacts .The same goes for antibiotics as soon as you will stop it will come back ,atleast much higher chance than immuno. or steroids,but if the case is moderate to severe it is necc to break down the protein through antibiotics.

If you want to read a bit more on immune system and elidel heres a link http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/skin_hair/skin_...stem_003741.htm

So really you shouldn't worry about it ,the rash you are talking about usually wont be there when you wake up in the morning.These meds are gods gift to people with eczema ,if you are not taking due to reactions you are missing out every med has a little reaction don't worry about it unless its severe.The only prob with this med is it may cause cancer in long run,cancer related with immune system-very smallnumber compared to the millions who used it and plus those who got cancer used it for a year or more.

So if you use this med and calm and make your immune system react normally,even if yesats and bacteria feed on your sebum there will be no reaction at all,so this is the best and logical treatment along with trying to reduce your sebum.Despite that there is no cure for this ,if itsa genetic,your body is automatically progrmmed to create problems,but i doubt yours is genetic.But immuno when used for the rite amount of time is the most effective current treatment.Hope everytihng goes well.

Chaseryder-It is not necc a genetic condition it is just an assumption.Nothing has been proven but that due to a trigger an abnormal response happens in the immune system.For sd this usually happens in places where there is extra sebum like eyebrows ,chin,scalp.

My parents have it but they only have it in their scalp as dandruff for me its also on face.Anyway genetic could not mean just from your parents i think even if your grandparents or uncle aunt had it there might be a chance it may be passed to you,i'm not sure about this just assuming.

One of the biggest probs i feel is using exfoliating agents,i think 90% ppl who have used Bp in the long run have got either sd,rosacea or symptoms like those.I think using things like that creates contact dermatitis and weaken immune system.Acne when not severe i feel should only be done as spot treatment. Roaccutane usually should help SD ,infact doc give 20 mg a week as a last resort for ppl with sd to reduce sebum.I think the redness is just prolonged erythema ,it should go away within time.You prob used harsh medications along with accutane,or went out frequently in the sun ? maybe very high dose or super sensitive skin.Hope everything gets well.

[chaseryder]

thanks isahan

[madspa]

Good day, mates.

So I've been using Elidel for about two weeks now but I'm sorry to say that my persistent SD, with its redness and flaking, is still present. (But it has helped some with the flaking though, so people planning to/using it should not despair - Elidel may work for you.)

So here's my story:
I've been struggling with SD since I was about ~16 y.o. (20 now). My whole face & scalp is flaking, and thus my face is always red like a tomato. I've tried everything. I've even tried a low dose roaccutane (10mg/day) for a couple of months but it didn't help.

So I was thinking, since my SD is so unresponsive to treatment, maybe the SD is just a symptom of a much larger issue here? Maybe I'm just being hypochondric, but one must ask why it's so persistent.

You guys have any thoughts?

[Ihsahn]

Np-chasryder

elidel has an 80% success rate and so does protopic when used individually but when elidel doesn't work and the doc shifts you to protopic there is a 90 % success rate for some reason this is what my doc says .Anyway i find protopic the best med out there,i can compare the effectiveness on the level of a class 1 steroid-atleast in my case ,its prob a bit stronger than elidel.It takes me 3-4 applications for complete clearance which means a day and half to 2 days , ofcourse if its severe then it will prob take few more days.

Madspa-your Sd sounds like genetic,so no matter what you do your body is automatically programmed to create those problems,though usually protopic or a strong steroid can help if not you may have to try oral steroids which is quite dangerous but that is also last resort option.In genetic cases an eczema flare up can last upto 5 months and may calm down on its own.Anyway hopefully things get better.

[chaseryder]

Isahan, I had my derm fill a prescription of the ketazoncanzle (sp) tablets...I am very wary of this btu she believes it is worth trying. I am not sure where to go from here. My skin is a mess. I am still flushing and red from accutane, yet my skin is also very senstiive, flaking, oily and red. I believe I have a lot of redness due to the SD cause i seem to see a lot of random patches or trails that are redish/pink like on my nose, i have parts of it that are red, and some other parts that appear to be normal skin tone. I have no idea whats going on. I dont know if eidel will help me, or make things worse. Finaly I am at a stage, after having my skin so messed up from dermatologists orders, I have to make sure every decision i make is a wise one. I used to never really think of the possible SE, and now i am in hell w/ my skin.

Do you think taking the tablets would be a wise choice? To be honest, I am a little nervous about the liver problems. I ahve had a history of high tryglyceride levels while and after takinga ccutane. I am just so scared about what im putting in my body or on it. Its so crazy how things have changed so much for me. One year ago, I was battling extreme oil, clogged pores, now I have so much shit I am trying to come to terms with and at times I am lost. I have no idea how I am gonna get my skin in someone presentable condition.

Anyway, she started me off iwth a ketaconzale shampoo mix/ selenium i think. I used that for 2 weeks on my face, i never really noticed flaking then, but then out of no where once I stopped the flakes started coming back. She then tried me on a cream, and i didn't really like that stuff either. Then she gave me a lot of samples of somehting that starts with an E and almost sounds like eidel...its used for atopic dermatitis. That dind't do anything. So recently I decided to just use water, and 2x a week use the shampoo for my hair. Well obviously things are just getting worse.

I am not sure if I should go back to using a cleanser or not, since my skin is and always has been very sensitive due ot accutane. I dunno, ive made a lot of bad choices. I was hoping you might be able to supply with some good advice. It seems I finally have found a good dermatologist, but at times I think she doesn't even know how to deal w/ my skin. It can be very depressing at times.

Please help me.

[Ihsahn]

chaseryder- Are you still on accutane? can you tell me what dose are you taking and how long etc..whats your weight- I find accutane one of the best meds ever made for skin problems its a life saver but unfort. it is aggressively used without given much caution.But anyway let me know the details about that and ill try and help you.Let me know if you're still taking accutane or when you stopped and the meds you used after that.Roaccutane will naturally make you peel alot and quite red and sensitive ,its a package i hope thats not the thing your thinking is SD?

In my opinion anti-fungals are rubbish,ive tried all of them and ive talked to many ppl who have taken these.It works for ppl with v mild issues,basically rashes from a fungus and that even in low numb.Nizoral will help you more with the scalp problems but anyway after you stop taking it your problems will come back within a week. Nizoral may cause liver problems so you might do the liver test and make sure you have an acidic drink like half glass of pepsi with the tablets if you take it,this is v v imp for absorption otherwise you may get liver problems.

I've been saying this alot but any inflammation, premature flakes are due to immune system,every trigger that happens makes the immune system respond this way,to a normal person these triggers would not do anything to the immune system.So the proper treatment in my opinion is to control the sebum or supress the immune system by inhibiting cytikone from over-reacting.

Since the sebum is v difficult without roaccutane your best option is the next one.More than elidel i feel protopic is better.It will most likely clear you within few days but you have to keep taking it for maybe a month sometimes even a bit more.Dermatitis is hard to treat specially when you don't know which med will work for you,it keeps coming back after you stop any regimen,its how long you can control is the point,but using meds like protopic for a good period like a month or 6 weeks slowly slowly your immune system will adjust by itself and be normal again,there are chances this can happen alone byitself to.
Your immune sysetm almost becomes autoimmune for a while,it becomes automatically programmed to do these problems.

Elidel and protpic have been tested for atopic dermatitis but in theory it works for any inflammation disorder even inflamamed acne-seborrheic derm,roasacea,psoriasis as they are all closely related- it will work for all without any harm to your skin if used for approp. period and be careful,the only prob is the first 2-3 days your face will become red ,or there is a chance but i assure you there is no reason to stop for this it will go away by the 4-5 day,for some ppl it never happens.

Anyway i suggest you ask your doc about protopic and what exact problems she thinks you are having. I'm currently taking vitamin b5 in excess dose to control my oil till now i havent seen any results but ive read many positives though the doctors laugh at me when i mention this hehe,if it works i will diff let you know but there have been many people who tried this with good success.If this doesnt work i myself will go on low dose of accutane.In any case when absolutely notihng works -stertiod pills or a pulse therapy through steroid vaccinations will surely help but they can be harmful to your body,ive never needed to take those as ive responded v well to steroid (topical) and immunosuppressents.

So for me its either if you can reduce your sebum or make your immune system stable just one of these can help you immensely.Good luck and hope things work out great for you.Don't feel too let down ,i know skin problems are extremely bothersome mentally i just hope we have the power to deal with this.Just be happy and pray that you never get a disease like vitiligo on your face,its as common as SD and its an autoimmune attack where v few treatments can even fix it 5%prop,i know and have seen people with this disease and my heart goes to them,its really unfair,even with us i guess,the point of these diseases i really don't get,i mean why do they even exist?.

[chaseryder]

isahan let me read this...please dont leave.

i am not on accutane anymore...i was on it for 3 days last april, and stopped immediately after flushing

[chaseryder]

im not really sure why we experience these troubles...but we dont really understand why we are here or how this was created...

I did unforuntaely breakdown before getting reply, and decided to take the K. tablets. My derm is a very good one, fortuantely I finally found one that I can trust. I talked to her about the tablets and she suggested me to take them for two days every month and see how that goes. I was and still am very wary of taking them.

I did stop taking the accutane. Thing is I have gone through 2 1/2 treatments before, so I guess that, along with my sensitivity, and the high dose that was prescribed to me, started these problems. I am uncertain how SD came about. I just started noticing the flakes about a month or so ago, never before did I notice anything like that. Could I have possibly exaccerbated the issue from the accutane? My guess too is since my face is/was flushing, doesn't the temperature make a good environment for SD to start. The oil, stress, and the infrequent washes, I believe could have been all a trigger to this.

I will call her tommorrow about the protopic. I just want to find some kind of treatment. I am very tired with all the flakes and loose dead skin. My skins texture all around looks terrible. I do have these pink areas which are along my nose, cheek, nasal folds...Its basically all around. I flake almost everywhere on my face.

As much as I hate thinking about this, I am considering possbily asking my derm for a LOW dose of tane...I really despise the medication, but I dontknow how else I can go at handling this now. I am guessing the flushing may act up. I dontknow. I am at a loss. My skin is in terrible condition, I just hope ot find some resolution soon.

Thanks for your help Isahan, you are a very wise individual with a good heart.

[Ihsahn]

Im sorry i gotto go now ill diff catch up with you in few hrs ,sorry hopefully things will get better,but leaving accutane in 3 days thats a bit insane,no med will work without a bit of side effects there is no magic med as of yet ,let me know if you used it only for 3 das or before you were on a 6 month course-anyway ill talk to you in few hrs,sorry i gotto leave.

[chaseryder]

I have tried B5. tried it for about 3-4 weeks. I couldn't stand swallowing all those pills. I did notice a slight decrease in oil, but again, once you stop it comes all bad. Its a temporary solution, but a very expensive regimen, plus from what I read it can cause nerve damage, and anything in excess obviously isn't good for us. you can try, but coming from another oily person, I can tell you it wont be worth it.

I did mess with Oc8...its actually created from the dermatologists office that prescribed me that wonderful accutane...it was my initial approach to my oil problem. Unfortuatley it made me oil free for about 2 hours...eh my gf is gettin mad cause im keeping her awake from all the typing...ill respond back once I get ot the library.