6 weeks in-nightmare. pics! please read

[mysecretcurse]

These are the side views of my face..just when I thought I was getting well, a whole new wave of breakouts started.
I know, be patient. I just am the type to need reinforcement I guess.
I know, 6 weeks isnt that long. This just sucks. REALLY sucks.
When I look back at pics of my acne before, it didnt look anything as terrible as it looks now that Im killing these mites.
I guess I just wasnt prepared for how bad it would be, for how long.
It makes me scared I might be one of those ones that the breakouts never get better for. I dont want to think negative though.
It just is so hard. My face hurts. It hurts bad around my mouth, on the side with all the pustules its actually swelling out of my face to the point where I can SEE it on my face (I dont mean looking in the mirror, I mean I can see them on my face sticking out of the corner of my eye).

I think after seeing how many layers and layers of them Im killing, I must have absolutely had a METROPOLIS, hell, no, a WORLD of these things living on my face. LIke, billions. It disgusts me to think about it. But it makes sense and after doing the treatment this long there is no doubt that it is the mites.

Something else I realized recently is that this immune system reaction the the mites on my face has been there for years, because for years now Ive noticed that whenever I would get sick, my skin would clear up. Almost immediately. Its like my immune system was busy with the cold or flu or whatever and the reaction would stop. Isnt that strange?

Like I said, this is just so hard. I wish this forum were more active so that I would have more people to talk to about this.

A few questions for Walter..

Looking at my skin, do you think these scars will last? The only good thing is, while it looks terrible, most of what you see in the first pic is not actual breakouts anymore, but red ness and scarring left from the HORRIBLE pustules I had the last three weeks or so (those are finally getting better thank god, I hope it doesnt come back that bad).
If I know the redness and scarring will fade away eventually (even in a couple years, just eventually) it gives me hope to keep going.

[Tiffany]

hey dude the zcream is doing exactly what it's suppose to do. hey i started using the demodex october 2006.. so hey been using the demodex now for one year and three months..., let me explain. when i started heck i broke out like heck.. my daughter tried to count the zigs but she lost count at about one hundred. i was so embarress to go to work and let me tell you I am a nurse at a clinic and i work closely with providers say one on one so tell me about looking like shit. but i did not stop. my face was red, itchy like heck and lord knows what else. but, i continue.. eventually about four months or so later i had the most beautiful skin ever and people use to tell me wow your skin what do you use. truly a true miracle. back then i change pillow case ,, and towel every darn night a nd i mean every night i did this for four lousy months.

once my face was fine,,,i stop using the cream i started using the cream maybe once in a while when i remember to use it which was not very often and i started with that uncomftable feeling again. since then i been using the z cream maybe five nights a week. i wash my face i dry it then i wet a little and i apply the z cream. i been using the same jar now four eight or nine months and is still full. i use just a little. but until you get to where i am continue to use the z cream as you suppose to. back in the days when i was going through what you are going through i was using one jar a month.

hey,, i stop using make up almost four years ago,, everything bother me every darn thing. i was not able to use lipstick either. only vaseline and that is the honest truth. today i must say for the first time i use mac foundation and it looks and feels good and the make up do not bother me.
stick to demodex products they really work please continue and just do not give up.. walter use to tell me that and i have to say he was right.
i tried all kind of medications and cream my derm doc gave me and nothing work nothing.. thederm doc do not know s--t about the mites trust me on that.
six weeks and heck you are killing those nasty bugs. everytime they pop up just say hey another nasty bug is dead.. hope i was able to help.. by april or sooner you will see a great improvement. just coontinue you be glad you did. and thanks walter for bringing the demodex products to us. sincerely Maria

[mysecretcurse]

Hello! Thanks so much for your reply!
Its so good to hear from someone who has been in this program awhile.
It seems like most of the veterans are not around here anymore
and its so nice to hear from someone who has been there.
Makeup bothers me as well but I still wear it. It probably makes my infections worse. But I dont feel I can go to my customer service job without it. I still look horrible even with makeup though. I go without it on the weekends as much as I can.

I try to think "yay bugs are dying" whenever my face breaks out in new pustules. Its just hard to imagine how many bugs are on my face. Millions? BILLIONS? Seriously, it feels like trillions.

[strider1]

I am glad to hear such good news from a vet. Its good to know that it works. I mean if it works so well, how come there arent more people using this ZZ cream? Is it because there isn't instant gratification as most people want the "quick fix" and arent willing to stick it out?

[mysecretcurse]

I havent spoken to many people in real life who have done the zz cream. Those who have, have stuck it out, as long as 8 months to a year or more. I think it takes real patience to stick it out. God knows, if I hadnt talked to people about this, and the fact that killing mites MAKES pimples, I would have just thought this was the worst acne cream ever and gone off it long ago.
As horrible as it is, I have to consider the extreme level of infestation I had going on my face..and I owe it to myself and my health to give this at least a good year and see if I can really get these mites under control.
But considering its barely been 7 weeks and its already so unbearable all I can do is pray that it gets better soon!

I have heard a few people say "it didnt work for me" but it seemed they only used the cream for a short time and couldnt handle the horrible P&P breakouts. Ive so far only heard of one person who the cream did NOTHING for overall, and who knows what the details were in that case.

I wasnt ready for how absolutely determined and MEAN these mites were going to be. Sometimes it feels like they are literally biting me. They crawl, they itch, the get MAD and I can feel it. They also migrate away from the areas Im applying the cream out of desperation, which I was totally unprepared for. (Ive heard some say they dont migrate, but I dont believe this).

As for why there arent more people using the zz cream, it seems, that at least here, in the US, this stuff is totally unheard of. I was on acne.org forums for years and hadnt heard about it until someone over at the curezone forums brought it to my attention. Its completely word of mouth,, because this type of medicine seems to not be accepted as real in the US, at least by the doctors. I went to the dermatologists for years and spent thousands of dollars (which did NOTHING to cure me btw) and they never once mentioned mite infestation as even a possibility.

[Tiffany]

continue to use dude,, continue. if you have to apply foundation buy the MAC products they are made of only mineral stuff and they are excellent. you can purchase the make up line at the mall in certain major department store ask, if they do not have the MAC line there ask where and they will tell you. well try also using the eyelash stuff and the soap from demodex to. when i started i used demodex everything.. hang in there you started something now finish it and you will see. it will work for you. the derm in the states do not know anything about what we know.. they are getting there though. hang in there.. i come to this site now and then,, i will monitor just for you...

[mysecretcurse]

Thanks so much for responding. I will look into those cosmetics. RIght now I am using the physicians formula concealer and the covergirl TRUblend foundation, but honestly I dont like the foundation, it feels greasy and kinda weird on my skin so I only use it to cover the pores on my nose and use the concealer everywhere else...but I hate it! I hate using it, it really sucks and I just look like I have acne caked with makeup. It wouldnt be so bad if I just had the red marks or scars its just the huge lumps and whiteheads that look terrible under makeup.

I go out without makeup sometimes and people look at me and sometimes stare, its horrible!

But I wont quit! It will be two months soon! I have to have killed a lot of mites in 2 months.