Lamarr,

 

Hey! I've given in to all the evidence weeks ago, and I've concluded that I definitely do have rosacea. Yay!! Anyways, I'm post-accutane about 2 years and my skin doesn't seem to be getting any better redness-wise, though my acne continues to worsen. What I'm wondering is this: Should I attempt to get mepacrine subscribed if my main problem is bad baseline redness? I read about these patients who had success with mepacrine but their main problem was intense flushing. The only time I ever flush is when I'm embarrassed and it's not bad at all. I can live with that.

 

From reading about the different subtypes, subtype 2 sounds exactly like me. I'm thinking about trying to get Oracea prescribed, but I hate the idea of it working for a while and then halting in its effectiveness. Do you believe I should try mepacrine?

 

It'd be great if you could reply soon. Thanks a ton

 

If all you have is flushing I would try oracea 1st. Most of us on plaquenil/mepacrine have joint or autoimmune type symptoms along w/ flushing. However, if you have tried many things w/ no sucess and your derm or a rhuem will prescribe it, you will have sucess.

 

My main problem is erythema- baseline redness. Maybe it was poorly phrased earlier, but flushing isn't really a big problem with me.

I stopped accutane about 4 months ago, especially near the end I would flush extremely red if I was happy, nervous, unsure etc. It was so embarassing. It was extremely rare for me to blush ever before this. Now that I'm off accutane everyone says it's alot better, but I still feel my pulse in my face etc alot and think I'm bright red, but am really not. Then there are times when I'm blushing and don't even know it. Heat makes me feel like i'm blushing alot, but people say I'm not so going off of accutane must have helped. I hope it goes away completely though.

Heya

I think if you/friends are already seeing signs that flushing and redness are receeding over time, then there is a good chance it will go away by itself. Best wishes, keep us updated... shantelle

So today is my one-year-off-accutane-anniversary... I don't get those really hot flushes anymore. I do however get a tiny burning and go red in the mall, at school, on the buss, at the gym, well pretty much everywhere. It is, no matter how much I wish it wasn't, still a every day problem. I think however it really is improving, and to me it now seems much more like blushing rather than flushing. The thing is, before when I was lying in bed and it was hot in the room, I would flush, now I don't. I only blush/flush when I think oh please don't.. Of curse there is a heat element involved, meaning I blush easier in hot environments, but does that automatically imply that its flushing?

My family and I are going to a really hot place this Christmas and normally I would be so excited.. Now I'm just worried as hell.

Edit: And yeah, those bumps on my arms, Keratosis Pilaris?, are almost gone.. The constant redness on my face comes and goes, and I imagine its because of the blushing. When the blushing fades, the permanent redness also fades( Imagine that , maybe in another life ) ..

I am a 150 lb (69 kg) male that took accutane for 20 weeks at a dose of 80 mg daily (40 mg daily for the first month). I developed intense flushing and facial redness towards the end of the third month and it got progressively worse through the treatment.

A year has passed since finishing treatment and my skin is clear. However, I had intense random no-trigger flushing, heat flushing, emotion based flushing, and plenty other types after finishing accutane. I also have pink to rosy cheeks most of the time though not really that bad. After about 8 months after finishing accutane, my flushing saw a huge improvement. Currently I have no random flushing anymore and it is not nearly as sensitive to heat anymore (I can take hot showers with no problem as opposed to during treatment when luke warm water hitting my face could cause a several hour flush). Stuffy heat with bad air circulation will still flush me as will powerful summer direct sunlight. The flushes go away much quicker though instead of hanging around.

Now back to when I mentioned "emotion based" flushing which I am defining as flushing due to social uncomfortability, anxiety, embarassement, nervousness, anything, etc. That has become my main problem. Since I can feel these hot flushes coming up I have begun to dread them so much that they happen all the time! I do not even have to be experiencing something like nervousness or anxiousness; it can be a minor surprise or unexpected event or anything and boom. As soon as any emotion fluctuates slightly above normal I can have a flush. Emotions I didn't even notice before. And the more it happens in a day the easier it is to happen again that day until after enough like any conversation could spark it. When I take a tough test that I concentrated hard on I leave the room with a milder but longer lasting flush. The accutane made me prone to flushing and all this but I feel like had I not been exposed to this fear of flushing for so long I could block it out of my head. So basically for now I just practice being really stoic with little emotion and this works often times but not consistently haha. It is just so embarassing to flush because people think your just really blushing and really embarassed but your actually only embarassed by the flushing itself making you flush more! And it is such an unnatural looking blush, since my entire face turns into a tomato. This can spread to my upper chest, back, and shoulders in blotchy red spots although rarely now.Once I feel the heat coming on I have like 2-3 seconds of even having a chance at stopping it but that is near impossible since it gets so hot. My flushing has not noticeably improved in the past 5 months.

I honestly think a large part of it at this point is in my head and this sucks because I feel like I have almost no control over it. Obviously my skin shouldn't even be able to turn so red so fast so it's certainly not all in my head. Also before accutane I never had any of these problems. I could present a presentation to a room of 100 people with no problem. Now a room of like 10 could make me flush easy.

An interesting note on alcohol: I am in college and binge drink twice a week. Having 1-2 beers makes me a little more prone to flushing. Having about 4+ has the opposite effect. The more I drink the less I flush because it blocks the emotional aspect of flushing (flushing is the last thing on my mind). There have been a few exceptions where I remember flushing for no apparent reason for a little while. Probably alcohol plus the heat of a crowded bar caused it. If it is really hot and stuffy I usually will flush no matter how intoxicated I am. But we are talking situations that even normal people are sweaty and uncomfortable in.

So that is my accutane situation. I have never posted on a site before but I figure I have waited a year so it may be time to try something to help. Any recommendations on treatments?

Hi healthyskin122-

Good news that the flushing has lessened slowely since being on treatment. Maybe give this thread a good read; it'll take a few hours but you'll learn heaps about what others have tried and succeeded with. There are multiple treatments you could look into if the flushing gets bothersome. Propranolol might actually be best option to try first - apparently pretty good for the 'fight and flight' flushing.

A New Start-

Great to hear less flushing and redness now! Wish I could say the same but mine has revved up again since temps are rising in NZ.

Update: I am now 3.5 months into Plaqueil treatment 200mg day, and unfortunetly it has been really hot over the last few days (Mid-Spring here). 3 Out of the past 4 days I have had bad afternoon flushing for a couple hours per day, and even diclofenac has not been making a dent . This is not good news as Plaquenil had been working well for me so far up until this point, though heat and warm temps have always been the biggest trigger for me. I have been gauging temperature lately and it looks like anything over 23 degrees celsius sends me backwards. As I have lupus offically and the induced Rosacea (probably why i'm extra heat sensitive) i'll be staying on Plaquenil regardless, but it looks like i'll need to add Clonidine to the treatment plan to hopefully tackle this renewed intolerable flushing, as NZ is fast approaching Summer. I'll have to see what the Derm says... not really good news.

hello everyone.... I have been suffering with facial blushing and burning ever since coming off tane for 15 years now, with pretty much all the same triggers as everyone else but heat being the worst!! I still have exceptionally oily skin tho... now I have come to terms with the fact my face may never return to normal as far as the redness etc but was wondering if a low dose of tane say 5mg a day will help with the oil??? do you think this would make the blushing worse??

I noticed that most tane uses only experienced the facial blushing sides after discontinuation of tane as was for me, so maybe going back on a small dose would help??? I maybe totally wrong guys but desperate times......

Thanks for all replies

Heya JT77

No definetly do not go back on isotretinoin; it's what induced the facial flushing issue in the first place. Going back on Accutane may help with the oil but look how much damage it's done to you system- side effects still persisting 15yrs later you say?? Accutane builds up in the system and its effects continue even after stopping treatment- hence this is why sometimes some long-term issues don't surface until post treatment, and there is no way to get it out of your system once damage has already begun. Reading through this thread may provide you with possible solutions to find some relief. Hope this info helps, Shantelle

I am a 150 lb (69 kg) male that took accutane for 20 weeks at a dose of 80 mg daily (40 mg daily for the first month). I developed intense flushing and facial redness towards the end of the third month and it got progressively worse through the treatment.

 

A year has passed since finishing treatment and my skin is clear. However, I had intense random no-trigger flushing, heat flushing, emotion based flushing, and plenty other types after finishing accutane. I also have pink to rosy cheeks most of the time though not really that bad. After about 8 months after finishing accutane, my flushing saw a huge improvement. Currently I have no random flushing anymore and it is not nearly as sensitive to heat anymore (I can take hot showers with no problem as opposed to during treatment when luke warm water hitting my face could cause a several hour flush). Stuffy heat with bad air circulation will still flush me as will powerful summer direct sunlight. The flushes go away much quicker though instead of hanging around.

 

Now back to when I mentioned "emotion based" flushing which I am defining as flushing due to social uncomfortability, anxiety, embarassement, nervousness, anything, etc. That has become my main problem. Since I can feel these hot flushes coming up I have begun to dread them so much that they happen all the time! I do not even have to be experiencing something like nervousness or anxiousness; it can be a minor surprise or unexpected event or anything and boom. As soon as any emotion fluctuates slightly above normal I can have a flush. Emotions I didn't even notice before. And the more it happens in a day the easier it is to happen again that day until after enough like any conversation could spark it. When I take a tough test that I concentrated hard on I leave the room with a milder but longer lasting flush. The accutane made me prone to flushing and all this but I feel like had I not been exposed to this fear of flushing for so long I could block it out of my head. So basically for now I just practice being really stoic with little emotion and this works often times but not consistently haha. It is just so embarassing to flush because people think your just really blushing and really embarassed but your actually only embarassed by the flushing itself making you flush more! And it is such an unnatural looking blush, since my entire face turns into a tomato. This can spread to my upper chest, back, and shoulders in blotchy red spots although rarely now.Once I feel the heat coming on I have like 2-3 seconds of even having a chance at stopping it but that is near impossible since it gets so hot. My flushing has not noticeably improved in the past 5 months.

I honestly think a large part of it at this point is in my head and this sucks because I feel like I have almost no control over it. Obviously my skin shouldn't even be able to turn so red so fast so it's certainly not all in my head. Also before accutane I never had any of these problems. I could present a presentation to a room of 100 people with no problem. Now a room of like 10 could make me flush easy.

 

An interesting note on alcohol: I am in college and binge drink twice a week. Having 1-2 beers makes me a little more prone to flushing. Having about 4+ has the opposite effect. The more I drink the less I flush because it blocks the emotional aspect of flushing (flushing is the last thing on my mind). There have been a few exceptions where I remember flushing for no apparent reason for a little while. Probably alcohol plus the heat of a crowded bar caused it. If it is really hot and stuffy I usually will flush no matter how intoxicated I am. But we are talking situations that even normal people are sweaty and uncomfortable in.

 

So that is my accutane situation. I have never posted on a site before but I figure I have waited a year so it may be time to try something to help. Any recommendations on treatments?

Wow!!! I feel like I wrote this!! every single thing you have put I have suffered with for 15 years. I really hope it subsides for you. good luck

jt77,

Yeah it's crazy has a doctor ever acknowledged that this is from accutane? I have only been to just my one derm and he refuses to admit it has any connection to accutane. He says it could just have happened. He has seen my flushing in person when it was real bad. I said I've lived 19 years before accutane no problem and then during it this starts and your gonna deny that after you saw with your own eyes? I complained to him after 3rd and 4th months about flushing getting worse and he convinced me it would go away so I assume he just wants no liability or anything for a bad decision.

It isn't even listed as a side effect on the medication. There is probably a lot of potential for a group lawsuit since it may be difficult alone against Roche attorneys. Or Barr or whatever you took, I took claravis so Barr for me. Just a thought since this does impact quality of life significantly.

Going on low dose accutane like you suggested seems risky but does help rosacea in many so idk. It seems too risky though as you could worsen your flushing by adding ANY more accutane to your body.

For now I am going to get a prescription for propranolol as suggested by Shantelle for important events such as interviews, etc. I am also going to try valium from a friend and see if that helps. I am only going to use these for important events though.

So glad i found this thread i taught i was the only one with this problem.

My doctor put me on minocycline and i used 100mg for a couple of months near the end of the treatment i noticed very bad flushing and excessive sweating ( one that has not been mentioned. watch out for it )

I used to not flush at all or sweat bad. I was referred to a derm who did nothing bascially.

Is there anything to help the flushing? My cheeks are constanly red now yet this was never the case before taking the drug. Also even going somewhere like the shop can make me flush extremely bad and i sweat like crazy. My doctor and derm have brushed it off as not a side effect of minocycline.

So along with the acne that minocyline did nothing for. i have developed very bad flushing and hyperhidrosis ( excessive sweating )

Its ruining my life.

So glad i found this thread i taught i was the only one with this problem.

 

My doctor put me on minocycline and i used 100mg for a couple of months near the end of the treatment i noticed very bad flushing and excessive sweating ( one that has not been mentioned. watch out for it )

 

I used to not flush at all or sweat bad. I was referred to a derm who did nothing bascially.

 

Is there anything to help the flushing? My cheeks are constanly red now yet this was never the case before taking the drug. Also even going somewhere like the shop can make me flush extremely bad and i sweat like crazy. My doctor and derm have brushed it off as not a side effect of minocycline.

 

So along with the acne that minocyline did nothing for. i have developed very bad flushing and hyperhidrosis ( excessive sweating )

 

Its ruining my life.

Heya

You could try giving it a litle more time, but if it becomes realbothersome you could ask your Derma about either propranolol, and/or dixarit (clonidine) every 8 hrs. You can read old posts on these meds in this thread.

Oli Girl-

Hope things all well with you.

I have tried bumping Plaquenil up to 400mg again, one in the am and one in the pm - no morning burning this time so happy at that. Must have someting to do with spreading dosages out. Wierd. Feel far more energetic, even waking at 5am some mornings and going to bed around 11pm now- crazy considering i've needed at least 10hrs sleep a night for over a yr.

Shantelle

Shantelle- Good to here how things are going. I know my energy has been out of this world, I also though started taking b12/folate and rx iron pills about a yr ago so I think that has helped to. I still have fatigued days though, but not as bad as in the begining.

I am glad taking splitting it up in 2 doses help, I may even try that. My flushing from that crazy mask is better, just now that it is cold here the broken capillaries burn some, but hopefully that will die down, Joints still a battle, though I have better days then not, just would like 1 day pain free. lol

Will update over in accutane posts in about a 1 or 2, will be having retesting on certian things will see if the bones have gotten better.

Hope everyone elese is doing good.

Hi OliGirl

I hope the tests show there is definite improvement to your bones. That would be really great news. I will look out for your posts. Is there any test they can do to check if your joints have improved a little bit aswell?

Yeah i can't believe how less sleep I need... again i woke up at 5am this morning. Still, it's a good sign that Plaqueil is clearly working for us both since our energy level has increased with time.

So glad the flushing from that mask has improved. Still no probs here since upped the Plaquenil to having one 200mg every morning, and night. Also, my GP has got me on low-dose clonidine 25mcg 3xday and this was the final kick in the butt to my flushing. The Plaquenil over 4 months had helped about 60-70% but was still battling horrid nose flushing whenever temps were warmer and i had to use a fan a few times which was not ideal seeing it is only mid-Spring, and i decided that I refuse to go through another Summer like the last one which was unbearable. I have had no flushing or burning sensations at all since commencing the Clonidine this Monday gone, and sticking to 400mg Plaq day. As you will know, Clonidine isn't anti-inflammatory like Plaquneil, but it will get me through the Summer whilst Plaq is still accumulating in my system.

Look forward to your updates on those tests

Like OliGirl mentions, hope everyone else is doing well too. Do keep us updated!

I have a propranolol prescription now and have been using it for a couple weeks when needed. It has helped very very much. I have 40 mg pills. I had an intense interview among other things and it worked. Only a little flushing gets through sometimes and it goes away quickly. But that was about as stressful of a situation as can be so that's good news. Just letting people know that propranolol is effective for post accutane flushing- at least for me. There are no bad side effects I have experienced and I have measured blood pressure before and after and there is no change. The first few times I took it I was tired like 6 hours later and took a nice nap but that's it. It doesn't make me tired anymore. I only take it if there is a presentation or flushing situation I know of.

how can someone know if his/hers flushing is normal or accutane induced...? is there any difference?

how can someone know if his/hers flushing is normal or accutane induced...? is there any difference?

Heya ivmi

If you mean what is the difference between typical Rosacea flushing and Accutane-induced flushing - there isn't much of a difference in symptoms or levels of discomfort, except that if you developed it whilst on Accutane then yes it is Rosacea - but it's drug-induced Rosacea vs. non-drug-induced Rosacea. I.E. Some develop typical Rosacea because it's genetic and runs in their family. Accutane-induced flushing may also go away over time for some, but it doesn't always.

The only other difference is that while both Accutane induced Rosacea flushing and non-drug induced Rosacea flushing symptoms respond very well to traditional anti-flushing treatments like Clonidine and Propranolol, generally post-Accutane flushers also appear to have a higher success rate in controlling their flushing (and other long-term side effects) with off-label anti-malarial treatment (lupus meds). It is likely due to Accutane having a seemingly lupus-effect on the body. Hope this info helps.

Best, Shantelle

i'm probably just very scared due to other side effects from accutane(which I took for only 9 days - it has passed almost 4 months after i stopped i have body hair loss, and very sensitive skin that scares easily), but i sometimes get flushing...not very intense...i would say normal color flush, when it is warm in the room, and when i wake up from my bed...it just concentrated on my cheeks... i just feel hot, and i can feel that my cheeks are hot, but it always subside after at most 5 minutes...sometimes..even after few seconds...should i be worried? i never thought about it like some desiease...i thought it is normal...i dont have broken capilaries, or anything else... i just have pimples like always...only thing that has changed is that now they leave scars, and look very inflammed...

Thanks Shantelle I might make a appointment with my GP. Although propranolol seems to have a lot of side effects? Hairloss, low sex drive among them that's pretty scary.

Also you guys say you have flushing and then your skin goes normal? Minocycline has turned my cheeks and a bit up to my nose, it's like a straight line permanently red. Is this the case for any of you guys? When I went to the derm she said it was fixed redness and only solution is laser, but my skin was never like this before minocycline. I also developed hyperhidrosis any one else develop any increased sweating?

Oh and one more thing is your' acne gone? Mine isn't I went to the doctor with acne, now I have acne,permanent redness, flushing and excessive sweating. Very hard to keep positive in life atm.

i'm probably just very scared due to other side effects from accutane(which I took for only 9 days - it has passed almost 4 months after i stopped i have body hair loss, and very sensitive skin that scares easily), but i sometimes get flushing...not very intense...i would say normal color flush, when it is warm in the room, and when i wake up from my bed...it just concentrated on my cheeks... i just feel hot, and i can feel that my cheeks are hot, but it always subside after at most 5 minutes...sometimes..even after few seconds...should i be worried? i never thought about it like some desiease...i thought it is normal...i dont have broken capilaries, or anything else... i just have pimples like always...only thing that has changed is that now they leave scars, and look very inflammed...

Heya

Re Flushing: You should recover with time; flushing for 5 mins isn't too much to worry about.

Re: Acne/inflammation: Have you considered Doxycycline (or Oracea?) These do help with acne over time and help reduce redness a litle bit, but takes about 2-3 months to kick-in. These treatments are alot more safer than Accutane and have a little bit of an anti-inflammatory effect which is helpful. This why people with Rosacea often use there treatments.

Hope this info helps...

Best, Shantelle

Heya InDistress

Yeah Minocycline can cause horrible side effects. But i tried Doxy (another tetracycline) and never had any issues with it. You could always try Erythromycin (macrolide) for the acne if you want to avoid tetracycline antibiotics altogether. My severe acne is gone but i'm sill prone to a little bit of reg acne because my skin is natrually oily/combination.

No, laser is not the only option for redness but it may be an option if you want to go the more natural route in helping your symptoms. Give it some time if you have had side effects from Mino and want to go for laser. Better to be safe than sorry. Hopefully your skin might recover slowely over time.

But if it gets real bothersome and flushing, redness, sweating starts interfering in everyday life to the point you are at your wits end, you could potentially try Clonidine first rather than propranolol... as would have the likely best effect on all your symptoms redness/flushing/sweating, excl. acne. The only thing is that clonidine can make you more tired and can effect libido in some people (like propanolol may). You also have to take it every 8hrs as can cause rebound flushing otherwise. You can read about clonidine, propranolol etc and others experiences with these in past posts in this thread.

Best, Shantelle

Hi,

Here is my story...

My skin was crystal clear like three years ago and had no oil at all on my face. One day I must have got wood dust on my face and it irritated my face, it got red. After a week or so, my face suddenly became extremely oil and starting to get spots. I used benzo peroxide, it worked at first, but more spots would just develop and finally it started to burn my right cheek. Literally whenever I apply it on the right side, my skin would develop a rough bubbly skin texture. During that time I purchased a face stimulating system called 'cleo' and had been using it. One day all of a sudden when I was eating, my face turned all red like a tomato and it was extremely hot and stung.

I dropped benzo peroxide and tried apple cider vinegar, it helped to eliminate the existing spot, but wherever I apply it to, it will also develop spots. It also stung! I stopped this method.

I was desperate to get rid of the red and burning face, so I purchased ginale face peel which cost a lot and it did not help at all, scars remained the same.

I finally researched online and purchased accutane. At first I took 80mg for like 2 month or so then I dropped it to 40mg and finally to 20mg. The reason being it made me produce cold sweat very badly. So I dropped it to 40mg, this also made me have ankle joint problem/ back problem. On top of that it was very expensive, so I decided to drop it as low as possible. This drug is amazing, my face is dry and have no spots at all while on the drug. It eliminated my red burning face. Before I never knew about the serious side effects until months ago I read on the forum, so I decided to stop it.

While I was on accutane my only side effects were severe dry lips, rash on legs and palm and back/ ankle problem. Oh and one other side effect which bothered me was during the middle of the night when I'm sleeping, I would get woken up due to my tickily dry throat, which feels like I'm getting suffocated. However these problem didn't bother me as much, due to it not visible to others. However, when I stopped the drug 2 months ago, within two weeks my face became oily again and the redness started slowly showing up on my forehead and cheeks which was more pronounced. While I was on tane, I'd get the facial flushing like everyone else and leaves a pinky/red patch on my cheeks. Now I'm starting to develop all the symtons while post-tane, which are dry peeling face, irritated eyes (like itchy and heavy), blurred visions. Whatever I apply onto my face as moisturizer, it'd just irritate my face, make it red and spots come out. The only thing that I could apply is betnovate rd cream, which is for my rash, contains steroid. It help soothes my red skin and calms it down.

I discovered several things on this hell of a journey...

Aquaous cream which on the label says it helps people with sun burn, which also was prescribed by my GP. I used it and it eliminated my facial redness on my cheeks to a point where you could hardly see it. However after three days of using it, it broke me out badly, with my face being more red than before. I think because it dried out my face too much.

During a period while I got dismissed from work, I was down and my face was red. However once I found out that I got a job interview, I was looking forward to that day. The day before the interview, I'd a shave, looked myself in the mirror and my cheeks were no longer red. Was it due to nervous system or something?

The main issue that I'm terrified on is that while I gone off tane, I think my skin is extremely thin, because now I could see blue veins across the both side of my forehead, which runs on the side of my eyes. I could see it as a line stretching across my eyes! I'm very very scared! I went to see my GP and the idiot told me that its because my skin tone is light, so that it's more visible and that my redness on my face is not rosacea, and it's also due to my skin tone!

I read on the forum that low tane could suppress redness (rosacea), so now I'm back on 20mg for three weeks now and my skin is dry again, but the symtons still there.

I'm considering taking those anti-malarinal drugs to combat flushing while on tane. Like take tane every other day while on it. Would this be dangerous?

Hey Oli Girl, Lamarr,

How have things been? I have been meaning to check in for awhile now.

Overall, I think things are getting worse now rather than better unfortunately. The flushing is still the same really. Its not that big of a deal. But I'm worried that my joint/muscle problems have increased over the last couple of years rather than decreased. Also, when I was on plaquenil for a couple of weeks in April I felt pretty dizzy and started to get headaches (which could be unrelated) so I stopped. But I still get daily headaches and I never used to get headaches. Like I NEVER used to get headaches at all haha so that's been pretty depressing.

Wish I had better news lol...

I am now 3 months off of accutane and my facial flushing still occurs.

I was on for a total of 9 months at doses exceding 100mg/day

I started experiencing it my 6 month into accutane, but my doc said it was nothing to worry about.

I flush 90% of the time due to feeling hot or having sun on me. Even at temperatures as low as 65 degrees i still feel hot and get the flushing. Other times i flush it is due to emotional things or foods i eat.

The flushing can last for a few hours or even just 10 minutes.

Its very embarrassing and frustrating.

Now 6 months later i still experience the flushing. There is a bit of good news though; i used to flush and my face would feel like it was on fire, but now i get the flushing with only a mild burning sensation. It doesnt really hurt, but it feels like i am in a very stuffy room as opposed to before where it felt like i was in hell itself.

The actual flushing hasnt really lessened at all. I still get beat red whenever i do flush.

Im not sure if this is an improvement or not?

What can i do to reduce this flushing?

Will it ever go away?

Do i have rosacea?

Hey Oli Girl, Lamarr,

 

How have things been? I have been meaning to check in for awhile now.

 

Overall, I think things are getting worse now rather than better unfortunately. The flushing is still the same really. Its not that big of a deal. But I'm worried that my joint/muscle problems have increased over the last couple of years rather than decreased. Also, when I was on plaquenil for a couple of weeks in April I felt pretty dizzy and started to get headaches (which could be unrelated) so I stopped. But I still get daily headaches and I never used to get headaches. Like I NEVER used to get headaches at all haha so that's been pretty depressing.

 

Wish I had better news lol...

Well Seattle I am in the same boat as you with joints and muscles. Medication wise nothing has really helped except steroids (but we all know I can't have them and why.)

I go in for a updated Dexa Scan soon, I am just hoping my bone loss hasn't gotten worse. I learned to live w/ being 2 inches shorter, and I am begining to accept that the arthritis I developed from this poison may or may not get worse as I age being so young.

As for the plaquenil, well it has helped my flushing it has been a yr now, I still have the broken capps, but no way my skin would heal from laser etc... so I deal w/it. I hoping that next yr I can try and stop plaquenil and hope the flushing is gone for good as it is not helping my joints as I was hoping.

I am sorry things aren't going as well, I"ll send you a pm on some things I did have at P.T. on my joints that has helped, but by all means the pain is still there.

Jen