Hi everyone -
I vowed that if I ever find a 'cure' to this awful curse of acne rosacea then I would do everything I can to try and help others too. Firstly, I am not sure how, at the age of 38 I ended up getting this AR but I do feel that it was partly due to a diet lacking in great nutrition (I was doing a weight loss program which encouraged eating lots and lots of carbs everyday - which in turn I believe caused me to get candida (over-production of yeast) as well as a poor immune system due to having a bit of a 'partier-lifestyle' in my 20s. So I decided to go and see a Naturopathic Doctor and she has been a true God send... she is trying to sort out my liver and 'gut-flora' issues with various supplements and amongst those I take Boswellia, zinc picolinate and Vit B-Complex - all of which I have seen mentioned on these boards and all of which seem to help. In the 3 months I had been following her instructions and eating a (much) healthier diet (also in part to control my blood sugar levels) I was starting to notice a difference, but I definitely started itching my face and scalp more... and it was usually in the evenings but then it started to itch during the day which I felt looked terrible... especially at work... I'd look around the office and not notice anyone else scratching their face and scalp and I had to do it every 2-3 minutes or so, so I decided to start looking into the Demodex mites issue more closely. (I had ordered Rosacea 101 - the big text book by Brady Burrows and read it in one weekend and he says ZZ cream and the acarid soap worked well and has a whole chapter on the Demodex mites and having read that I concluded that this is what I must have). I also did a test with a microscope but to be honest I saw lots of 'critters' in the test and I am not sure what they were but I think they looked like mites. ANYWAY - one thing that concerns me is that the whole Demodex mites theory isn't very well known or believed for some reason and because of that, despite about 4 months of researching rosacea online e.v.e.r.y.d.a.y. to try and 'solve' it I never came across anything substantial until I read BB's book and then started my research on DMs only... and found this site! I think I will start to post some things on acne.org about this site because I do think it is the answer I have been looking for.
Anyway - I basically got the creams last weekend and started the ZZ at night before bed and in the morning (spread around with a bit of water from washing my face) and cleaning with the facial acarid soap and I have to say that my initial reaction is one of amazement! I was still seeing lots of cysts, whiteheads and red pustules (gross, I know!) coming up on my face in all these places I never used to get pimples - along my jaw line, on my eye socket, on the pores around my nose, etc and on the day after the first application of ZZ I can honestly say that the existing blemishes were either reduced or gone and no new ones have started. It's day 5 today and I haven't had any of the dryness or 'getting worse' symptoms yet, but I have a feeling that this is the 'quiet before the storm'. I notice a more refined look in my pores which I am so excited about because it was almost like it was overnight that my skin went from being all refined and nice to having big pores so I am now 'hoping' in a way that the larger size of the pores is due to having lots of DM eggs inside each of them and that once they have all hatched and died then my pores will shrink back to normal. Anyway - I need to get ready for work now but I will post my progress at least every week to let you know how it's all working... all your postings helped me so much that I hope mine help you. I also have photos that I will post IF I get a good result... Ok that's it for now... if anyone has any insight on the large pore issue please let me know if these creams helped you with that... thanks! Take care, 'Clearingup'.
Tracking my progress week by week
Moderators: Julia, Walter, Administrator
Re: Tracking my progress week by week
Hello
Thank you for your post, looking forward to read how it continuous.
Regarding widened pores, yes, they should shrink again in time
Walter
Thank you for your post, looking forward to read how it continuous.
Regarding widened pores, yes, they should shrink again in time
Walter
-
clearingup
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Wed May 27, 2009 7:40 am
Re: Tracking my progress week by week
Hi again -
That's great news re the pore size Walter - thanks for letting me know. Sorry - I haven't been 'reporting' on a weekly basis because I've been quite busy but I will try to report on my progress each month at least. So... it's been one month now and I have to say that I am astonished at the progress. All the big pustules that I'd been getting have cleared up and the little blackheads that were pretty much covering my face (even on my earlobes where there's no oil glands!) have pretty much all gone too. I have pretty much cleared up 80% I'd say. What is of note though was that last week my skin was really clear but then on the Friday I was sitting in a meeting and I started to feel my whole cheek throbbing. My cheek had been a massive problem area when I had the pustules - it was like a big network had formed and they kept setting each other off and would never heal). So, yes, my cheek was throbbing and then it got quite itchy and by the time I went to the washroom to look at it it was really red. By the time I got home that evening it was bright red and my whole cheek had gone hard! I applied the ZZ that night (as I do every night) and the next day it had gone down considerably but was still there... but by the Monday it had pretty much all cleared up and now - at the end of the week it is gone. I have read that apparently when the mites die your skin can become temporarily worse due to their bodies decomposing... oooh lovely... and I really think that's what it must have been because I would have thought I had an awful lot of mites hiding in that area because of all the acne I had had there. So yeah - the 'network' appears to be gone and now the only area with blackheads really is my nose where I suspect a lot of mites hang out due to the oil around the T-zone. Anyway - yep - on a positive note (and to me it's all positive as I'm getting rid of these critters) my skin is clearer and getting better every day, my pores are already shrinking and the itching has stopped. My skin is also less dry than it was in the first two weeks but it is still quite taut and a bit flaky. I look forward to, say, month 3 or 4 when I can start to wear moisturiser again. Anyway - good luck to everyone... I will post again in a month! Clearing up
That's great news re the pore size Walter - thanks for letting me know. Sorry - I haven't been 'reporting' on a weekly basis because I've been quite busy but I will try to report on my progress each month at least. So... it's been one month now and I have to say that I am astonished at the progress. All the big pustules that I'd been getting have cleared up and the little blackheads that were pretty much covering my face (even on my earlobes where there's no oil glands!) have pretty much all gone too. I have pretty much cleared up 80% I'd say. What is of note though was that last week my skin was really clear but then on the Friday I was sitting in a meeting and I started to feel my whole cheek throbbing. My cheek had been a massive problem area when I had the pustules - it was like a big network had formed and they kept setting each other off and would never heal). So, yes, my cheek was throbbing and then it got quite itchy and by the time I went to the washroom to look at it it was really red. By the time I got home that evening it was bright red and my whole cheek had gone hard! I applied the ZZ that night (as I do every night) and the next day it had gone down considerably but was still there... but by the Monday it had pretty much all cleared up and now - at the end of the week it is gone. I have read that apparently when the mites die your skin can become temporarily worse due to their bodies decomposing... oooh lovely... and I really think that's what it must have been because I would have thought I had an awful lot of mites hiding in that area because of all the acne I had had there. So yeah - the 'network' appears to be gone and now the only area with blackheads really is my nose where I suspect a lot of mites hang out due to the oil around the T-zone. Anyway - yep - on a positive note (and to me it's all positive as I'm getting rid of these critters) my skin is clearer and getting better every day, my pores are already shrinking and the itching has stopped. My skin is also less dry than it was in the first two weeks but it is still quite taut and a bit flaky. I look forward to, say, month 3 or 4 when I can start to wear moisturiser again. Anyway - good luck to everyone... I will post again in a month! Clearing up
Re: Tracking my progress week by week
Thanks again for your update
The first months it is normal some weird things occur like your skin becoming red, everybody gets different reactions,
this will gradually become less and less till your face stays clear again, one more time, don't stop to soon, even when all symptoms are gone continuo treating till at least 4 months, after that, do a maintenance treatment till one year, after that, just use once in a while when you think about it to prevent them from coming back, even one time in a month is already ok.
Walter
The first months it is normal some weird things occur like your skin becoming red, everybody gets different reactions,
this will gradually become less and less till your face stays clear again, one more time, don't stop to soon, even when all symptoms are gone continuo treating till at least 4 months, after that, do a maintenance treatment till one year, after that, just use once in a while when you think about it to prevent them from coming back, even one time in a month is already ok.
Walter
-
clearingup
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Wed May 27, 2009 7:40 am
Re: Tracking my progress week by week
Hi Walter,
Thanks for your response... I am just wondering if you can answer something else for me too please. Basically, I was getting a bit tired of having such tired and wrinkled skin (coming up to two months of treatment now) so I bought a gel-based moisturising mask which you leave on your face for 20 mins once a week. I know that the mites thrive in oil but because this wasn't an oil-based moisturiser I figured it would be okay for my skin... however I do seem to be getting more 'pustules' again and my skin isn't as clear as it was before I did the mask. Also, because of the wrinkles I started to use a non-oily moisturiser on my neck and just under my eyes (where I don't put the creams anyway - used to on neck, but not anymore). I do this during the day when I have the XMFL on... again, because it's not oil-based I figured that would be okay but perhaps it's not? Do you think it's interfering with the creams? Do you think it's slowing the healing process? And finally - I have all these tiny grey blackheads around my t-zone (nose, chin and cheeks) and I was hoping they would disappear with treatment but they haven't... I never used to have them until about 2 years ago (aged 35) and then all of a sudden they came and I can sometimes squeeze the stuff out of them but they never actually go away... when I started reading your site I thought they might be where all the mites have burrowed and that they will start to clear up eventually and then the pores will shrink back to their normal size... is this the case? What do you think? I would really appreciate a reply... thank you ever so much for all your help. Kind regards, Clearing up.
Thanks for your response... I am just wondering if you can answer something else for me too please. Basically, I was getting a bit tired of having such tired and wrinkled skin (coming up to two months of treatment now) so I bought a gel-based moisturising mask which you leave on your face for 20 mins once a week. I know that the mites thrive in oil but because this wasn't an oil-based moisturiser I figured it would be okay for my skin... however I do seem to be getting more 'pustules' again and my skin isn't as clear as it was before I did the mask. Also, because of the wrinkles I started to use a non-oily moisturiser on my neck and just under my eyes (where I don't put the creams anyway - used to on neck, but not anymore). I do this during the day when I have the XMFL on... again, because it's not oil-based I figured that would be okay but perhaps it's not? Do you think it's interfering with the creams? Do you think it's slowing the healing process? And finally - I have all these tiny grey blackheads around my t-zone (nose, chin and cheeks) and I was hoping they would disappear with treatment but they haven't... I never used to have them until about 2 years ago (aged 35) and then all of a sudden they came and I can sometimes squeeze the stuff out of them but they never actually go away... when I started reading your site I thought they might be where all the mites have burrowed and that they will start to clear up eventually and then the pores will shrink back to their normal size... is this the case? What do you think? I would really appreciate a reply... thank you ever so much for all your help. Kind regards, Clearing up.