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Post Accutane/Minocycline Facial Flushing

 
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(@jordan123)

Posted : 03/07/2009 7:18 pm

Halfpipe all you need to do is go to any endocrinologist and ask for a complete workup including a growth hormone serum test. You can literally go to any endocrinologist because it is just a basic blood test they don't even have to be any good because your not asking them to treat you, it is just so you can receive the test results. Tell them your symptom and that you want to see if the cause is hormonal and again ask for a complete workup including growth hormone serum, you should be able to find someone within the week and the test usually takes a week to get back. Good luck man and I hope you actually do this because this is the answer.

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(@chaseryder)

Posted : 03/08/2009 7:45 pm

I find all of this very interesting...

 

First thing tomorrow, I am going to try to get myself an appointment with an endocrinologist. I do believe that the stress from the flushing situation lead me to attain other health issues. It wasn't until the summer ended, that Seborrheic dermatitis infested my face and scalp. Also at the same time, I developed a urticaria/demographism effect. (I get intense bouts of itchiness all over my body when exercising). I have also came the realization that I have candidas. Not really sure how or when that happend, but yet another dissapointing discovery. I really do hope that this might clear some things up. I want to thank you jordan, your wisdom and dedication to this is very much appreciated. I truly hope that this will pin the tail on the donkey.

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(@peterlpkoji69)

Posted : 03/09/2009 1:11 am

i was on accutane then minocycline 2 years ago. After i finished my treatment i developed a severe case of kp on my back, and in my upper arms.

I also stayed with persistant redness in my cheeks. -diagnosed to be rosacea.

 

I do believe it was caused by the accutane because no one in my family has rosacea or kp.

 

the kp has been fading away but i still have it. not severe though.

 

The redness in my cheeks is still there, and i am currently having ipl lasers. i had 1 last week with no results yet... (when are you suppose to see the results).

 

What i think is that all of this is caused by a vitamin A problem, or as you guys are arguing test levels.

I am having a vitamin defficiancy test on tuesday, then later on i wil have a test level done.

 

do you guys think this side effects will fade over time? or have any of you gotten better with anything? please help.

thank you very much

peter

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(@jordan123)

Posted : 03/09/2009 9:29 am

Chase man the vote of confidence is much appreciated definitely get that checked out I will let you guys know what happens with me over the next couple weeks. The team of docs that I am working with is 110% committed to not only alleviating the symptoms but also finding the route of the problem I have confidence that the end is near for all of us it has been a battle to say the least bro but we need to look beyond conventional medicine and think outside the box, I remember that one of your posts way back mentioned that hormones could be the cause and I think for some of us it definitely is. Another thing that is interesting is that my symptoms seem to get worse when I am laying down and they are slightly better sitting up and the best when standing. The newest doctor I am working with took my blood pressure in those three positions which has never been done before. She found the in contrast a healthy individual my blood pressure increases when I am laying down and actually goes down when I stand up, so there has obviously been some alterations to my system.

 

Peter, as far as the IPL, complete waist of time man I spent over fifteen hundred doing a bunch of IPL sessions in the city, my wallet got thinner and I feel like it just exacerbated the existing problem, it definitely did nothing to help.

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(@jordan123)

Posted : 03/09/2009 9:32 am

And Chase let me know asap man if your GH serum level is low. The next step in an arginine infusion test which will test the functionality of your pituitary.

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(@peterlpkoji69)

Posted : 03/09/2009 12:01 pm

so in other words.. what we have is not rosacea?

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(@jordan123)

Posted : 03/09/2009 1:45 pm

No what we have is definitely not rosacea

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(@stephen-t-colbert)

Posted : 03/09/2009 2:18 pm

Hey. I've been following this thread for a while, just wondering if anyone here is experiencing anything like I am. I took accutane for about five months two years ago; the redness is still here(though not as bad as when I took it), my lips are still dry every night, and if I get water on my face at any stage of the day then I have to put moisturiser on or my skin will feel incredibly tight, and start to flake. The redness would obviously seem to be associated with a lack of moisture on my skin but I've found that moisturzing every day makes the redness worse if anything, so I try and only use it after working out. And if definitely gets worse in hot rooms, but what's hilarious is that I was in Africa for two weeks a couple of months ago and it was pretty much fine, didn't get one "flush" out there, despite being hot 24/7. In fact, it was doing pretty ok until last week and now it seems to have gotten much worse again. The real problem for me isn't so much the flushing as it is the constant red hue. Another thing that happens is that I occasionally get these little itchy rashes, almost exclusively on my forehead, that go away after an hour or so if I don't itch them.

 

Anyone have any suggestions for this? I'd go to my dermatologist, but the guy is an honest to God moron; I have keratosis pilaris on my arms and he hadn't the slightest idea what they were, and had no interest in finding out.

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(@lamarr1986)

Posted : 03/09/2009 2:46 pm

Jordan i just wanna say, the pins and needles, the burning etc. Can all be atributed to damage caused by inflammation. About the growth hormone stimulation from working out.... I now there is only a window of about an hour where growth hormone is increased post workout. But what you need to remember is that all the bodies organs function better if they are being worked and exercised. same goes for the pituitary gland.

 

I am not saying you are wrong, but i will tell you now. Even if the flushing has been caused by low growth hormone levels, correcting the GH levels won't get rid of the flushing.

 

When you have tried the Gh injections, if indeed you are low on GH. You will see the flushing won't change.

 

The reason why the flushing fluctuates during the day is cortisol levels and the synpathatic nervous system.

 

I don't like to dissregard your points and i hope that you are right. But i just know that the damage accutane causes follows a general consensus, and that is one of inflammation and auto immunity. Bare in mind these things usually CAN'T be tested for. There are no tests for alopecia areata, rosacea, chillitis etc etc.

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(@peterlpkoji69)

Posted : 03/09/2009 4:33 pm

i GUESS: what happened with us was that we flushed so much, and we were so dehydrated, that our blood vessels got damaged. With damaged blood vessels we will continue to have blushing and those heat feelings.

If you look in the mirror and press with your finger at the red areas then let go, you will see they turn to normal color then come back to red. That means the blood vessels in those areas are inflamed and are damaged..

 

If you take care of the damaged blood vessels i believe everything will be gone. And as you improve with the redness i am sure your stress will improve which is not helping.

As for the damage blood vessels (i am having ipl treatments)- i just had one 1 week ago and i see my cheeks a little lighter and i am not flushing that much. For instance i am not getting redder when i go and tie my shoes. I am having two other treatments- one every 30 days.

 

I believe this is what is happening since i took all the blood work tests and it all came well. After just one treatment i saw that my skin is a little bit oiler...

I dont know if all of you guys agree with me. i will see what happens.

It is better to try than not to try. And if it does not work in the long run, the ipl atleast made my skin smoother; and thats for sure.

I hope all of us in this forum are working to finding a solution toward our problem, and i am very happy to hear that this is not rosacea, meaning we do have a cure for this. But we need to stay in touch until one of us gets cured. We must become friends and do anything possible to finish this problem. And i am sure we are close to finding it.

Best of luck to all of us.

Peter....

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(@peterlpkoji69)

Posted : 03/09/2009 5:14 pm

who here also got a weird type of kp in arms and back after accutane?

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(@jay4444)

Posted : 03/09/2009 9:22 pm

7 months post accutane and having the exact same problem as you guys. I will say however that it has improved a small bit over the past several months. I still flush pretty frequently, but i would say they are only about 80% of the intensity they were 4 months ago. Hopefully this will continue to improve slowly for all of us and 2 or 3 years down the road it will be unnoticeable.

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(@peterlpkoji69)

Posted : 03/09/2009 10:03 pm

jay i dont think this is a matter of time. It has been two years and i stil flush, and have permanent cheeck redness from flushing too much. my blood vessels got damaged from flushing so much

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(@peterlpkoji69)

Posted : 03/09/2009 10:03 pm

jay i dont think this is a matter of time. It has been two years and i stil flush, and have permanent cheeck redness from flushing too much. my blood vessels got damaged from flushing so much

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(@halfpipe101)

Posted : 03/10/2009 12:16 am

So lemar you say exercising is good for us? and are flushing problems?

 

even though when you exercise are flushing comes out? its better for us? and will help decrease are particular type of flushing (we were not born with it)

'

 

 

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(@peterlpkoji69)

Posted : 03/10/2009 1:00 am

exercise is good for anything.

but what we have is a long term side effect of accutane. We need to know how to solve this problem.

And the best way to solve this problem is by starting from were we started. Accutane. What in accutane causes flushing and redness?

 

How do we make our skin produce more oil, and less dry?

 

 

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(@chaseryder)

Posted : 03/10/2009 7:15 am

Chase man the vote of confidence is much appreciated definitely get that checked out I will let you guys know what happens with me over the next couple weeks. The team of docs that I am working with is 110% committed to not only alleviating the symptoms but also finding the route of the problem I have confidence that the end is near for all of us it has been a battle to say the least bro but we need to look beyond conventional medicine and think outside the box, I remember that one of your posts way back mentioned that hormones could be the cause and I think for some of us it definitely is. Another thing that is interesting is that my symptoms seem to get worse when I am laying down and they are slightly better sitting up and the best when standing. The newest doctor I am working with took my blood pressure in those three positions which has never been done before. She found the in contrast a healthy individual my blood pressure increases when I am laying down and actually goes down when I stand up, so there has obviously been some alterations to my system.

 

Peter, as far as the IPL, complete waist of time man I spent over fifteen hundred doing a bunch of IPL sessions in the city, my wallet got thinner and I feel like it just exacerbated the existing problem, it definitely did nothing to help.

 

Yeah...well I set up an appt. with an endo...doctors visit wasn't too promising. This was actually the first time where I aggressively stated my situation to a doctor and looked for some hopeful answers. I understand its tough for a doctor to help or provide an educated guess when discussing accutane, but still its funny these people get so much $ yet don't know all that much. They prescribed me some nyastatin for my thrush, and some shit called ampryptiline...sp is wrong...but anyway the doc suggested i take this med...its used for many things, such as depression, and pain...she suggested it might be helpful with the flushing and pain? that I experience...not really sure what she was aiming at. I don't really experience pain, so I didn't get it filled...just sounds like another medicine that doens't belong and will do me no good...

 

OH btw...Hello Lemmarr! :dry:

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(@chaseryder)

Posted : 03/10/2009 7:23 am

Hey. I've been following this thread for a while, just wondering if anyone here is experiencing anything like I am. I took accutane for about five months two years ago; the redness is still here(though not as bad as when I took it), my lips are still dry every night, and if I get water on my face at any stage of the day then I have to put moisturiser on or my skin will feel incredibly tight, and start to flake. The redness would obviously seem to be associated with a lack of moisture on my skin but I've found that moisturzing every day makes the redness worse if anything, so I try and only use it after working out. And if definitely gets worse in hot rooms, but what's hilarious is that I was in Africa for two weeks a couple of months ago and it was pretty much fine, didn't get one "flush" out there, despite being hot 24/7. In fact, it was doing pretty ok until last week and now it seems to have gotten much worse again. The real problem for me isn't so much the flushing as it is the constant red hue. Another thing that happens is that I occasionally get these little itchy rashes, almost exclusively on my forehead, that go away after an hour or so if I don't itch them.

 

Anyone have any suggestions for this? I'd go to my dermatologist, but the guy is an honest to God moron; I have keratosis pilaris on my arms and he hadn't the slightest idea what they were, and had no interest in finding out.

 

Hey Colbert,

 

Seems like we have a similar situation...my skin also has lost its lipid barrier...this is just my assumption, but it seems that the reason we get so dried out is because our skin obviously can't retain moisture. "I" have learned that I can't handle moisturizers since they make my SD worse, and leads me more prone to flushing. If you have oily skin, are red, and flaking, there may be a possibility that u have seb dermatitis as well...but then again you would only know.

 

JORDAN:

Anyway I hope that visiting this endo will be promising. As Lemarr states, he is probably right. I really don't know all that much about the body and what accutane has done. Jordan you obviously have been busy, along with Lemarr, and have been working at trying to figure shit out. Like I said, I am ever so thankful for your dedication and speaking out on this board. It has revived my desire to try to do something. For the past year I have just come to terms with the cards I have been dealt, and that my options are limited. To be honest, the idea of going on some powerful anti-milarial drug does not sound appetizing one bit. Yet again, if it is the only solution to this problem, then obviously I will give it a go. I am just very hesitant of putting more poisonous man made substances in my body. But as Lemarr has clearly stated, it appears that this medication can and will save us much grief from our unfortunate situation.

 

I want to make a shout out to my boy Dr. Neal from the Acne practice, this guy is a smart man who has helped me immensely with my skin troubles. It has taken much time and patience, but it seems that I am finally getting "in the pocket". Anyway, enough blabber for now.

 

Jordan, you got aim? If you do, my sn is chaseryder. Would like to chat exclusively if you got some time

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(@lamarr1986)

Posted : 03/10/2009 8:02 am

Chase i replied to you on the rosaceea forum man. Hit me up if you have any questions that i didn't answer. I thought i replied!!

 

The mepacrin cleared my seb derm pretty quickly btw. Still get some on my scalp if i dont use the ocassional treatment of nizoral. My body is dependant on chemicals to stay 'normal' but at the moment i don't give a shit because i couldn't live like i was, i have my life back for the moment and it has been worth it even if i don't get much longer like this!!

 

I have lowered the dose of things and my liver function was perfect last time it was checked...

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(@halfpipe101)

Posted : 03/10/2009 3:43 pm

Lemar what dose are you taking for mepacrine

 

Going to my doctor tommorow to get it and need to ask for a specific dose.

 

and if I get another anti-millarial that is made in canada what dose would you recommend..

 

People with lupus take a very high dose so I was wondering what kind of dosage should I ask.

 

hope your reply is before then lol

 

I can't wait to start :)

 

hopefully this will make me a much stronger person

 

halfpipe.

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(@jordan123)

Posted : 03/10/2009 3:47 pm

Lamarr all that you have said is correct and I know you have a wealth of knowledge, however, while the systemic inflammation, auto immunities, and the fluctuation of cortisol levels can be an explanation why we flush, it is not necessarily the only option, GHD is another option that is worth pursuing for everyone because the test will not harm you and has no risk, if you do have a deficiency, your adrenal gland attempts to overcompensate for the lack of pituitary stimulation and can cause excessive flushing, the pituitary is also responsible for body temperature regulation which works separately on different parts of the body, which would explain why our faces feel hot while the rest of our body feels completely normal.

 

Also halfpipe Lamarr is right completely, but do not let that deter you from getting the Gh level test systemic inflammation and autoimmune disorders are not the only possibilities trust me.

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(@jordan123)

Posted : 03/10/2009 3:52 pm

Chase, I put your SN in AIM and ill be on all day man, so if you get this sign on and I'll hit you up asap

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(@jordan123)

Posted : 03/10/2009 3:58 pm

Lamarr my docs have also been giving me b12 injections to reverse the nerve damage with has worked some but the reason why it has not fully worked is because there is still some underlying endocrine or autoimmune issue, because of the nature of the beast so to speak we are starting with attempting to find out if it is an endocrine problem because all my doctors agree including the one who created this drug that we should start with endocrine.

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(@peterlpkoji69)

Posted : 03/10/2009 3:59 pm

check this out:

 

Hormones and dry skin

Another hormone we have is thyroxin, produced by the thyroid gland, which influences skin appearance. Too much thyroxin shows a warm, smooth, sweaty, flushed skin. Under-activity of thyroxin produces a dry, coarse thickening of skin with reduced ability to sweat.

 

 

between, what is mepacrine and what does it have to do with our redness, and flushing?

 

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(@halfpipe101)

Posted : 03/10/2009 4:00 pm

Another important thing guys for us anyways with are dry skin and redness/flushing is are skin care products that we use and how we take care of are skin

 

I just started to get into the osmotics line

 

 

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