I've been trying out Mirvaso, a new prescription cream that just became available last month.
It is the only topical that will actually visibly reduce redness immediately. It does this by constricting the blood vessels wherever it is applied.
It turned me white as a ghost about 30 minutes after application.
The effects are supposed to last 12 hours, but honestly it only lasts about 4-6.
Still, it is a breakthrough for redness. Mirvaso is designed to be temporary. It will do nothing to "cure" your redness, but it will make it disappear for a few hours.
I have tried both topicals and oral antibiotics, which are the standard treatments for rosacea, and they did not reduce my permanent redness. I have also had multiple laser treatments, which only gave me minor improvements. Mirvaso has worked the best by far.
Because it is a new drug, and billions have been spent researching it and creating it...Mirvaso is costly. The creators do have to recoup all that money spent. Out of pocket it is approximately $230 for a tube.
However, you can use the Mirvaso savings card, which will lower it to $50 or $80, depending. You can reuse the savings card for a certain number of refills.
This cream is only available in the U.S. (Sorry Europe...there are some downsides to "standardizing" your health care...).
What about rebound redness?
Do you know if it is available in Canada?
I don't have rebound redness currently using it.
I am a "flusher", meaning my redness gets worse from certain triggers, mostly exercise, stress, spicy foods, and touching the skin.
But I also have a "baseline redness" which means that, most of the time, my skin is just red. It looks like I have a permanent sunburn because of the dilated capillaries.
Mirvaso does not stop flushing when I exercise and such, but the flush goes down quicker than when I do not use it. When Mirvaso completely wears off (4-6 hours), I just go back to my "baseline" redness.
So Mirvaso so far is great for reducing that "permanent sunburn".
As far as I know it is ONLY available in the U.S.
Are you still using mirvaso? I hear the rebound is bad. In fact just as bad as with a steroid
Yes, and I don't get rebounds. I did get rebounds on hydrocortisone, so I know what it looks like. But no, nothing like that on Mirvaso.
A LOT of people on the rosacea forums only have mild rosacea, and some of them don't even have rosacea, just translucent skin. I see pics of them, and if I had skin like that, I wouldn't even be worried about it. My "baseline" redness, or how red my skin is 24/7, is as bad as what these mild people call "flares."
If you only have a bit of red tinge, Mirvaso will probably not work for you. But if you have a beet face like me, Mirvaso works beautifully.
It is the only topical that will actually visibly reduce redness immediately. It does this by constricting the blood vessels wherever it is applied.
It turned me white as a ghost about 30 minutes after application.
I just wanted to confirm this. This chemical is amazing. I don't have rosacea, but was suffering from prolonged redness for over a month due to applying retinoids that it turned out were too harsh for my face. I just applied the brimonidine a couple hours ago. My face had completely returned to normal (if not whiter than normal) 30 minutes past application. Let's see if it stays that way. I'll update tomorrow.
Because it is a new drug, and billions have been spent researching it and creating it...Mirvaso is costly. The creators do have to recoup all that money spent. Out of pocket it is approximately $230 for a tube.
There is a much cheaper way to get this. I live in Canada, and Mirvaso has only been approved in the US. It isn't available in any other country. Because it is so new, it isn't available from any online pharmacies either. I'm sure this will all change in the coming months/years, and that it will eventually be approved in other countries.
Anyways, to get around this in the meantime, and also to get the chemical for a much cheaper price, you can buy eye drops that also contain the same active ingredient. The brand-name for these eye drops is Alphagan, but they also come in generic, at least in Canada. The highest concentration I believe they come in is 0.2% (Mirvaso is 0.33%). But they still work excellently. I bought a 5 ml bottle of the generic for about ~$20.
The good folks over at rosaceagroup.org discovered all this over half a decade ago. Here is a good thread on how to use the eye drops, along with many people's experiences:
http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?22015-More-news-about-Brimonidine
Are you still using mirvaso? I hear the rebound is bad. In fact just as bad as with a steroid
Yes, and I don't get rebounds. I did get rebounds on hydrocortisone, so I know what it looks like. But no, nothing like that on Mirvaso.
A LOT of people on the rosacea forums only have mild rosacea, and some of them don't even have rosacea, just translucent skin. I see pics of them, and if I had skin like that, I wouldn't even be worried about it. My "baseline" redness, or how red my skin is 24/7, is as bad as what these mild people call "flares."
If you only have a bit of red tinge, Mirvaso will probably not work for you. But if you have a beet face like me, Mirvaso works beautifully.
Wow you've got nerves Green Gables. On The Rosacea Forum you are hyping Mirvaso, despite a huge % of rosacea patients suffering there bad rebound from Mirvaso, and now you are telling people here that a lot of patients there have no rosacea at all or some mild case? You just became a member there! And I can assure you that the majority there has a hundred times worse rosacea than you (who never even showed anyone a single picture of your skin). How rude.
Mirvaso has caused very bad rebound redness for the majority of rosacea patients trying it on our Rosacea Forum, so please people here be careful when you try Mirvaso and use it on a small patch of skin for a few good days first if you want to avoid full face rebound.
All the best
Wow you've got nerves Green Gables. On The Rosacea Forum you are hyping Mirvaso, despite a huge % of rosacea patients suffering there bad rebound from Mirvaso, and now you are telling people here that a lot of patients there have no rosacea at all or some mild case? You just became a member there! And I can assure you that the majority there has a hundred times worse rosacea than you (who never even showed anyone a single picture of your skin). How rude.
I have been using Mirvaso daily for a couple of months now without any rebound flushing. I am sorry your experience has been different.
Many of the people on the rosacea forum who have posted pictures do have mild rosacea or just a light pink tinge. Of course I cannot speak for those who have not posted pictures, as their opinions are just more text floating on the internet.
Oh, and I've been reading the rosacea forum since 2008. My most recent member account has a join date of 2011 or 2012, so I did not "just become a member there." I became a member when I actually had something to post, which still was over a year ago.
I don't really feel the need to defend myself to you anymore, honestly, I stand by my opinions. I am sorry you took such offense to them, but I have had an overwhelmingly positive experience with Mirvaso. Why don't you spend more time solving your severe rosacea instead of stalking me on the acne boards? 
I see what you're saying Green just this product has caused a lot of devastation to 90% of the people who tried it on a different forum.
Some to the point where they needed medical attention because of the severity of the flush.
Glad it works for you just people need to know to be really careful because it seems to only be working for a very small percentage. When it works it works good but when it doesn't the side effects are very serious.
Some have discontinued use and after a month still not back to their baseline redness. Very scary.
I have been using some samples for the past week and been working great. Amazing really.
Problem is at $230.00 a tube, I cant afford it. I have a feeling this would be considered cosmetic and not covered by insurance. Someone mentioned the pharmaceutical co. recouping their R&D costs and I know it doesn't work this way but it seems they would be able to recoup their investment faster if more people were actually able to purchase the product. But that's just from a laymen's business perspective. I'm sure they know exactly what they are doing in that department.
I have been using some samples for the past week and been working great. Amazing really.
Problem is at $230.00 a tube, I cant afford it. I have a feeling this would be considered cosmetic and not covered by insurance. Someone mentioned the pharmaceutical co. recouping their R&D costs and I know it doesn't work this way but it seems they would be able to recoup their investment faster if more people were actually able to purchase the product. But that's just from a laymen's business perspective. I'm sure they know exactly what they are doing in that department.
Nice to hear that mirvaso works for you, but what kind of redness do you have? Red cheeks like keratosis pilaris rubra faceii?
I have been using some samples for the past week and been working great. Amazing really.
Problem is at $230.00 a tube, I cant afford it. I have a feeling this would be considered cosmetic and not covered by insurance. Someone mentioned the pharmaceutical co. recouping their R&D costs and I know it doesn't work this way but it seems they would be able to recoup their investment faster if more people were actually able to purchase the product. But that's just from a laymen's business perspective. I'm sure they know exactly what they are doing in that department.
Nice to hear that mirvaso works for you, but what kind of redness do you have? Red cheeks like keratosis pilaris rubra faceii?
I'm sorry for not elaborating on my condition. I have rosacea and the redness is mainly on my nose. I apply a thin layer of Mirvosa in the morning after washing and in less than an hour the red skin becomes my natural skin tone which I haven't seen in decades. It does not become abnormally white as some people have reported and for me it remains a natural tone all day. Even at bedtime the redness still has not returned. Right now, im so happy with the results, I may actually be willing to pay a kings ransom for it when the samples run out. I can post an update after a few weeks of use to report any rebound effects or anything else not apparent yet. Thanks. 
I have been using some samples for the past week and been working great. Amazing really.
Problem is at $230.00 a tube, I cant afford it. I have a feeling this would be considered cosmetic and not covered by insurance. Someone mentioned the pharmaceutical co. recouping their R&D costs and I know it doesn't work this way but it seems they would be able to recoup their investment faster if more people were actually able to purchase the product. But that's just from a laymen's business perspective. I'm sure they know exactly what they are doing in that department.
Nice to hear that mirvaso works for you, but what kind of redness do you have? Red cheeks like keratosis pilaris rubra faceii?
I'm sorry for not elaborating on my condition. I have rosacea and the redness is mainly on my nose. I apply a thin layer of Mirvosa in the morning after washing and in less than an hour the red skin becomes my natural skin tone which I haven't seen in decades. It does not become abnormally white as some people have reported and for me it remains a natural tone all day. Even at bedtime the redness still has not returned. Right now, im so happy with the results, I may actually be willing to pay a kings ransom for it when the samples run out. I can post an update after a few weeks of use to report any rebound effects or anything else not apparent yet. Thanks.
No problem!
I am willing to try Mirvosa, but i live in Europe and it isn't on the market here yet
, i guess you live in US? where do you buy it? do you need a doctor prescribtion?
Im curious how it works for you long term! so please update in a few weeks 
Thanks for your reaction!
I am willing to try Mirvosa, but i live in Europe and it isn't on the market here yet
Yes, I am in NJ USA and you are correct, you need a prescription from a Dr.. You can then purchase the gel at a pharmacy.
I have some preliminary findings but don't want to jump the gun. I will post back.
I am willing to try Mirvosa, but i live in Europe and it isn't on the market here yet
Yes, I am in NJ USA and you are correct, you need a prescription from a Dr.. You can then purchase the gel at a pharmacy.
I have some preliminary findings but don't want to jump the gun. I will post back.
Oke, hopefully Mirvaso is soon on the market in Europe and i hope u will have nice long term results!
I tried it a few months back. Got a sample from my aunt, the derm. I was so happy to see that something finally stopped my flushing. A few days later, I was walking in the mall and I looked in a mirror only to discover that my face was extremely red and blotchy! I waited the worst of it out in a changing room. It was a horrible day. I wish it had worked, I would have liked not to talk with someone and feel my face beating with increasing redness, but such is life, I suppose. But yes, rebound redness was a problem for me