wow... I feel a little better knowing that there are so many people that deal with this too. I have done some lab work and it all came back normal.

What really gets me though is that my dermatologist told me this severe flushing has nothing to do with the acne medications...

I told her I don't understand... what else could it possible be from? Expecially since I never had this problem until right after starting SOLODYN (5 months ago). I was only on it for a month... but I jumped right into another drug (bactrim) then I started on SPIRO soon after that.

Now I am finally off of everything... for a while I felt like it was getting better but... the past two days have been sooooooo bad. If I don't take a cool shower and sit infront of a fan the entire day my face will flush with in 5 mins. It is a constant battle. And it is sooo hard to sleep at night. Even when I'm not flushed my cheeks are usually still rosy.

So far it has been 25 hours that my face has yet to turn back to normal. It's really scary. Normally over night my face mostly goes back to my normal color. but last night I barely slept too... maybe thats why...

Sigh. I hope in time this will stop. I can't believe my dermatologist said it has nothing to do with the acne medications I've been on. What else could it be????????

ANY ADVICE???? I need some kind of support system. My doctor said there is nothing he can do. My derm. just keeps giving me lab work... which so far keeps coming back normal.

I feel so afraid this will never go away.

Hey everybody,

I‚„m in the same boat. When I got bad acne last year (after stopping birth control pills) the doctor first prescribed me Minocycline/Tetracycline, but both didn‚„t do its job. So I went to the derm and got Accutane, building it up to 40 mg a day for a bit over 6 months. I think in the last 2-3 months I got the terrible flushing. My face was red on Accutane anyway and I didn‚„t mind that too much, but the flushing got really bad. Just before Christmas I stopped Tane and it sure did its job, I haven‚„t had a pimple since. But the flushing remains. The redness also remained by the way but I am seeing huge improvements in that so I am not too worried about it.

My biggest trigger seems to be HEAT. I can‚„t really judge if hot weather will also be a trigger considering winter has just finished and outside temperatures are still low. But being inside a hot room will make my face tomato red in no time. I do notice slight improvements though; during Tane my triggers used to be just about anything: showers, hot drinks, spicy food, alcohol‚¦ now it ‚Å“just‚ seems to be temperatures that are apparently comfortable to others but will set my face on fire before I know it.

Also - it dies down quicker. I used to want to stick my head into the freezer and then it would still be red and burning for an hour or something, now it seems to die down in about 20 minutes if I just leave the room and go to a room where the central heating is low/off. Also the burning sensation is less intense.

Ofcourse, I went back to the derm ‚œcause this really is a big problem to me. Not only does it hurt but I also look utterly silly and ugly during a flush in my honest opinion. Which is really frustrating because in normal state my skin looks SO beautiful post-tane. I avoid going out etcetera, because I feel so bad about it and ofcourse people mention it. If I would get a dollar for every ‚Å“OMG your face looks so red!!‚, I tell you, I could‚„ve bought a mansion in a far off tropical place by now. My derm didn‚„t deny the problem, though she claims never having had a patient with that side effect before (which I find hard to imagine), but it ‚Å“could be the Accutane‚ and ‚Å“I just have to be patient‚, because it could take another 6 months from now to settle down. It seems to me by the way that my skin isn‚„t producing any oil on its own at this moment so I hope it will regain its moisture again in time making my skin less dry and hopefully stopping the flushing.

I wish you all the best, I know what a big problem this is and how bad it can make you feel. Let‚„s just hope we just need some time for our skins to go back to normal.

Sorry to Hear so many people r having this Flushing Problem ~__~!!

Just want to ask do u all have really dry skin??

coz dry skin can make redness worse and skin can not actually recover itself if its too dry.

All this had to do with PH level alot.

I read an article few days bak.. it said

"If you have a health problem, most likely you are acidic. Research shows that unless the body's pH level is slightly alkaline, the body cannot heal itself."

what im trying to do now is to keep applying moisturing cream on my face and eat alot of fruit and vege, hope that would balance my skin ph level from acidic to more alkaline. This would hopefully speed the skin's recovery process.

il let u guys know my result in a few weeks.. 😀

ALL THE BESTT for all of U!!

Yeah, I have really dry skin too. Used to be quite oily before I took accutane. (Though I guess we really need to take 6-12 months for it to recover.) What I do now is moisturize my skin with pure emu oil at night and emu oil day cream during the day ('cause it's less shiny than the oil). I think that helped a great deal with the overall redness. Apart from that I drink lots of water and try to maintain a healthy diet. Not sure if that's working though but hey at least it won't make things worse...!

I have some what oily skin. Def. not dry.

I'm gonna be eating super healthy, lots of water, lots of green tea, and exercising. I think exercising may help since it gets your blood flowing and makes you sweat. I am basically gonna try and flush out my system.

Though my derm. told me that she thinks it has nothing to do with the acne medications i've been on... I just don't see how it could be from anything else. Especially since there are so many people here that are dealing with it too... that have been on acne meds.

So either way I think it def. couldn't hurt to flush out my system. And stay off of all medications including chemical topicals.

I pray this goes away as soon as possible. Best wishes to every one else too!

Here is some interesting info on Paxil and how it helps with flushing...

http://www.keratosispilaris.org/kprf-rubra...ac-lexapro.html

I have some what oily skin. Def. not dry.

 

I'm gonna be eating super healthy, lots of water, lots of green tea, and exercising. I think exercising may help since it gets your blood flowing and makes you sweat. I am basically gonna try and flush out my system.

 

Though my derm. told me that she thinks it has nothing to do with the acne medications i've been on... I just don't see how it could be from anything else. Especially since there are so many people here that are dealing with it too... that have been on acne meds.

 

So either way I think it def. couldn't hurt to flush out my system. And stay off of all medications including chemical topicals.

 

I pray this goes away as soon as possible. Best wishes to every one else too!

Well I know with Accutane that the actual drug is out of your system after around 1 month so it is just a matter of your skin and body recovering and reproducing oil and what not. So I don't know if trying to flush Accutane out will help but surely healthy diet and exercise will be beneficial no matter the cause. cheers.

Hey soul. I never was on Accutane. I have been on other medications. It started when I went on SOLODYN. I jumped right into bactrim and then to spiro after that. Since I was on spiro the flushing has gotten so extremly bad.

I hope this flushing goes away soon. Sometimes I think I am noticing improvement... but I can't really be sure I guess.

hey soul are you going to try paxil?

Hey soul. I never was on Accutane. I have been on other medications. It started when I went on SOLODYN. I jumped right into bactrim and then to spiro after that. Since I was on spiro the flushing has gotten so extremly bad.

 

I hope this flushing goes away soon. Sometimes I think I am noticing improvement... but I can't really be sure I guess.

oh I see - sorry to hear about that. I am sure once the drug is out of your system your skin will eventually return to normal in time (same as us Accutane sufferers).

hey soul are you going to try paxil?

I am really considering it. It may help with the chemical balance that causes flushing because from what I understand, flushing is caused by a response in the brain whether it be anxiety, exercise/sex, stress or heat/climate, the same part/chemical balance of the brain is what will cause a flush. I also find that I am more anxious about it now, as in if I go somewhere I think I will flush, I end up flushing - likely due to the worry/anxiety of it as much as just the physical...I am not totally decided but that thread I found had more then a few people with positive results.

Once under control for some time (that is if I was fortunate enough for it to work), I would try to then go off of the Paxil.

yeah it seems like since i came back to this site to tell people im not flushing...i'm flushing again....it's so crazy =[...i think im gonna try that stuff out though

the only thing thats me think about not taking it is side effects...

yeah it seems like since i came back to this site to tell people im not flushing...i'm flushing again....it's so crazy =[...i think im gonna try that stuff out though

 

the only thing thats me think about not taking it is side effects...

ditto...except that sides should go away when you stop taking it. I think the flushing becomes a lot more psychological at a point.

i doubt my doctor will give me it...last time i talked to hima bout my flushing he told me tot ake claratin lol

Do you really think that it is psychological???? I was told that sometimes it just takes a long time for your body to recover even after the medicine is out of your system. And it even happens to me when I'm sleeping... I'm not stressed or thinking about it while i'm asleep...

This kinda scares me though... because I really had faith in it going away in it's own time... as long as I stayed of the medications.

I mean I do think when you get upset or emotional about it... it can make it worse... but still... I always got stressed about my break outs... and how I looked in front of people... but never flushed because of anxiety then...?????

I donno... I just think when you are thinking about it constantly... that you just notice it happening more often.

Also not only does my face and ears flush... but sometimes my hands ans feet do too... if this flushing was caused by anxiety... it would happen it the face... like blushing... not your feet and hands??????

Do you really think that it is psychological???? I was told that sometimes it just takes a long time for your body to recover even after the medicine is out of your system. And it even happens to me when I'm sleeping... I'm not stressed or thinking about it while i'm asleep...

 

This kinda scares me though... because I really had faith in it going away in it's own time... as long as I stayed of the medications.

 

I mean I do think when you get upset or emotional about it... it can make it worse... but still... I always got stressed about my break outs... and how I looked in front of people... but never flushed because of anxiety then...?????

 

I donno... I just think when you are thinking about it constantly... that you just notice it happening more often.

 

Also not only does my face and ears flush... but sometimes my hands ans feet do too... if this flushing was caused by anxiety... it would happen it the face... like blushing... not your feet and hands??????

Well I know for a fact that when I am upset or angry or stressed now I flush and I never used to...and I know when I go somewhere and think about flushing I usually end up flushing partly because I am so worried or stressed about flushing to begin with. I think the psychological factor plays a role and its size varies on the person and their anxiety levels. And you can be very stressed when you sleep...why do you think people have nightmares and vivd dreams, because of their stress levels and emotions within their sub-conscious thoughts. Not to say that is the definite cause for why you are flushing while you sleep but it is a real possibility. We cannot control what we dream or think about while we are sleeping, nor can we control our anxiety while we sleep.

I think an anxiety medication could help a lot if you are flushing when you are upset/anxious/nervous/stressed out or constantly worrying about your flushing etc.

Regarding the feet and hands they can also become flush due to anxiety. I had a ex girlfriend who used to get a "stress" rash, which was a pink/red rash of little bumps on her cheeks and also up and down her arms when she was really stressed or upset, so it is possible to affect various body parts.

My flushing seems to be more temperature based but I also find myself constantly worrying about it and I think (like you mentioned) that it is just causing it to happen more or make the problem worse.

Everytime you flush, just take notice of the variables around you, warmer temp, exercise, foods, certian feelings, emotions etc. and then try and draw some conclusions on what your catalysts are.

I will let you all know if I end up trying the Paxil and if it makes any difference.

Here is that link again for those who missed it.

http://www.keratosispilaris.org/kprf-rubra...ac-lexapro.html

I mean... I def. flush worse when I'm upset, stressed out, or angry. But more than anything else it's just the heat that makes me flush.

I guess you could be right. I just was so comforted with thinking that eventually It would just go away after being off acne medications. I don't want it to be something else. But... I asked my mom what she thought about it... and she said I bet if you just stop thinking about it all the time... you would be better before you know it.

But that is easier said then done. I'm almost always worried about it.

Are you going to the doctor to ask about getting on Paxil???? If so let me know what your doctor has to say.

I really hope it works for you too, if you do try it. If it works for you... maybe I'll ask my doctor about getting on it. I just don't like the idea about being dependent on medications all the time. I just want my body to be normal. I feel really stupid sometimes... that I ever went on acne medications... My acne really wasn't even that bad.

Sigh.

I mean... I def. flush worse when I'm upset, stressed out, or angry. But more than anything else it's just the heat that makes me flush.

 

I guess you could be right. I just was so comforted with thinking that eventually It would just go away after being off acne medications. I don't want it to be something else. But... I asked my mom what she thought about it... and she said I bet if you just stop thinking about it all the time... you would be better before you know it.

 

But that is easier said then done. I'm almost always worried about it.

 

Are you going to the doctor to ask about getting on Paxil???? If so let me know what your doctor has to say.

 

I really hope it works for you too, if you do try it. If it works for you... maybe I'll ask my doctor about getting on it. I just don't like the idea about being dependent on medications all the time. I just want my body to be normal. I feel really stupid sometimes... that I ever went on acne medications... My acne really wasn't even that bad.

 

Sigh.

Yes, I too hope that it will just eventually go back to normal and it just may - but I agree with you and your mom as well as others in that the anxiety/stress of it happening could be making it worse or prolonging it etc. It's like the chicken or the egg, we worry about flushing which causes us to flush which just causes more worry and its just a big circle. But on top of that I along with you and others am extremely heat sensitive as well but from that thread I posted some have said that Paxil can help regardless because there is a certain chemical in the brain which sets off flushing no matter the cause and Paxil can help to regulate this balance (from what I understand). I know if we were all able to not even think about it nearly as much that it would get a lot better. It's just complicated because the more we stress over it the worse it likely makes it.

I am not crazy about going on a med either to combat this but I will def let you know if I do and how it works out with my doctor.

Good Luck.

Just gonna add my two cents quickly.

Yes soul taking clonidine in 3 smaller doses will help, all be it marginly. I decided to try clonidine three times daily for a while before adding the remeron. However it still isn't doing a good enough job. I don't agree with anxiety being the problem. I have had times when i am very relaxed and i still flush like mad. I am just extremely heat sensitive.

The problem is autonomic and altho paxil can help with this i would definently recomend the remoron over paxil. My derm is seen as the best in this country and he recommends it and i have read nothing but good things about it flushing wise.

Remrom is better due to the A2 atagonist aspect and the fact that it blocks both H1 and H2 (histamine) i don't know about you guys but certain food now triggers a flush, as does alcohol. This is due to histamine.

I have to wait till my parents are back from holiday before i can begin the remron i promised them that, they don't want it causing me any nasty side effects while they aren't around. Which isunderstandable after what accutane has done to me.

The dose i will be taking is not for the mental aspect of things, altho i am sure it will help to relieve my slightly elevated anxiety levels.

I know for a fact guys that the immune system, inflammation and in most cases an miss function autonomic nervous system is what plays a role in our flushing. The more we flush the more damage to the blood vessels, which causes them to become more inflammed and so on and so forth. Histamine also plays a role in chronic inflammation so the remoron will help with that too.

Just giving you a bit of my knowledge.

Take it easy guys.

Just gonna add my two cents quickly.

 

Yes soul taking clonidine in 3 smaller doses will help, all be it marginly. I decided to try clonidine three times daily for a while before adding the remeron. However it still isn't doing a good enough job. I don't agree with anxiety being the problem. I have had times when i am very relaxed and i still flush like mad. I am just extremely heat sensitive.

 

The problem is autonomic and altho paxil can help with this i would definently recomend the remoron over paxil. My derm is seen as the best in this country and he recommends it and i have read nothing but good things about it flushing wise.

 

Remrom is better due to the A2 atagonist aspect and the fact that it blocks both H1 and H2 (histamine) i don't know about you guys but certain food now triggers a flush, as does alcohol. This is due to histamine.

 

I have to wait till my parents are back from holiday before i can begin the remron i promised them that, they don't want it causing me any nasty side effects while they aren't around. Which isunderstandable after what accutane has done to me.

 

The dose i will be taking is not for the mental aspect of things, altho i am sure it will help to relieve my slightly elevated anxiety levels.

 

 

I know for a fact guys that the immune system, inflammation and in most cases an miss function autonomic nervous system is what plays a role in our flushing. The more we flush the more damage to the blood vessels, which causes them to become more inflammed and so on and so forth. Histamine also plays a role in chronic inflammation so the remoron will help with that too.

 

Just giving you a bit of my knowledge.

 

Take it easy guys.

Thanks for the info. I do find that I am personally a lot more anxious now (constantly worrying about the flushing) and I know that when my anxiety gets going I flush now where as before I did not, but I think you're right in that it just depends on the person and how anxious they are and how much their anxiety/stress/emotions effect their flushing. I too am ultra heat sensitive where I will also flush if I am not anxious and just in a warm room.

What does your Doctor conclude with all of this? Does he diagnose it as Rosecea? Does he think it will subside over time or eventually go away?

I may try the Paxil and see how it plays out and if it does not help after a month or so maybe try the Remeron...I would be interested in knowing your dose for flushing...thanks for the words.

My doctor and nearly every other derm i have visited has no clue whatsoever. If you mean my new derm Tony Chu then he has told me, in some people it goes away, in others it doesn't.... but it does generally take a while even when it does go.

He is starting me off on 15 mg remeron, becase at this does and up to about 30 mg you have the anti histamine effects aswell. When you go above 30 you begin to loose those aswell as the anti flushing mechanism.

I am most certainly more anxious than i was before accutane, but the thing is i can be as calm as anything in a comfortable setting with friends and family and i may not even be thinking about the flushing and it will just kick in when i get to warm or if i even touch certain foods or alcohol. If i excert myself to much etc etc. My flushing has actually continued to get worse allbeit very gradually.... I had a period where i thought it was improving but for the last month or so it has just been getting worse!! we have had a hot spell here in the UK and that really doesn't help me.

I think the flushing has a physical and psychological cause, like Soul said. For me it started out as a physical problem but it has become a psychological thing over the months as well. I worry about flushing, I feel very embarrassed when I am flushed, and itas on my mind practically 24/7 avoiding flushing triggers as much as I can.

But I do think that when I am at home by myself and I turn up the central heating, I donat flush as fast and as bad as when other people would be around.

I am sure in my case Accutane started it because I never had this problem before. Looking at old pictures before Accutane (and having pretty much flawless skin thanks to the birth control pills), at parties or holidays etc. I NEVER look flushed, in fact I look quite pale. So whatever derms will tell you, I personally just donat believe Accutane isnat the cause.

Apart from that, which might be interesting to know for you all, is that my derm told me Accutane is out of your system (liver, blood) in one month, but can stay in your pores for up to a year. Thatas why the overall redness a lot of people (including me) experience on Accutane can take so long to go away. (Karyn Elise, I think this might be the case for other acne medications as well, not just Accutane.)

My skin has been pretty okay over the last few weeks, it seems that the number of triggers has gone down. Hot drinks, spicy food, exercise and so on donat make me flush that bad anymore. I think my biggest trigger is still heat, especially the nasty heat of a central heating. Because spring has started over here most central heatings are turned down and I think thatas why my skin has been doing rather well. But I dread the winter already.

Has anyone considered laser therapy in case time doesnat turn out to be the solution of the problem? I think I do have some broken vessels because of all the flushing (I used to flush badly at least once a day) so maybe thatas whatas now still causing my face to flush rather easily (or at least more easily than in my pre-accutane life).

I'm really hitting my flushing hard soon, it is taking the piss now i flush at everything. I am about 18 months post tane and it hasn't improved.

I totally agree it does have a psychological aspect to it. But that isn't the only thing, not by far. Atleast in my case....

It is on my mind alot aswell but i mean i'm walking round the house and only me and my bro are here atm and i start to flush even if i just sit in a room that doesn't have moving air lol. That is being on 75 mcg clonidine 3 times a day and taking propanalol when needed (which i have been needing recently). It just isn't cuting it.

When the problem first started i could even go out drinking just fine in a hot club and onyl flush slightly, now i pretty much flush at anything. I am starting IPL properly on tuesday and will be having about 6 sessions. I will have to have another test patch when i start the remeron as i like to be ultra safe and it is known to RARELY cause light sensitivity, that is a 1 in 2000 side effect but i'm not risking it i will demand another test patch.

I also agree with the above in that the damaged blood vessels is what is causing the problem to be more pronounced now. I think that is why early on the problem wasn't to bad....

Hi Lamarr,

I was just wondering about the expected results of IPL?

Can it somewhat cure the flushing or at least make it less?

I wish you luck!

Lamarr, sorry to hear that - that sucks, I thought you were doing pretty good these days. I am surprised and disappointed to hear that the dr. says it sometimes never goes away...from the various posts I have read I have always found that those who report back a year or two later always say it has resolved or at least resolved to the point where it does not bother them anymore (ie. they may flush for 10-15 mins a couple times a week). I really hope it does go away or improve for all of us. Sorry to hear that things seem to be getting worse as well, that is troubling. At least there are some options though with these meds your derm is prescribing and at least you have an experienced derm - most others just deny that Accutane causes it although mine did say that it is a side effect and should resolve in time but may take 6 months to a year.

If you remember, I would be interested to hear the percentages from your derm in terms of how many cases he has seen and how many did not get better? Or if everyone at least had some improvement etc. Not sure if you are able to ask that next time but something to keep in mind as it would be interesting to hear his take/experience.

I am also going to start taking some grape seed extract to hopefully prevent damage.

Regarding IPL - just be careful and make sure you have an experienced Dr. performing it and not a Nurse or Technician. I have heard of quite a few horror stories from IPL procedures with people having damage to their skin etc. I always understood IPL to help with existing redness not flushing, but if it can help with flushing that is good too. I'm not trying to scare just saying to be very careful but if you are using your top doc then I am sure things will be fine.