I had IPL (or BBL, as some like to call it) for my subtype 1 rosacea at the Indiana Vein and Laser Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The practice is run by Dr. Marcus JImenez, (he has a med spa location that offers the same services in Fishers as well.) I visited another laser center in the Indy area, but of the two doctors I spoke with, Dr. Jimenez was by far the kindest and put me more at ease than the other doctor (who was actually a little condescending and rude, by the way). The staff at the Indiana Vein and Laser Center was very polite and always punctual. The woman who did my treatments was named Jennifer, and she was awesome. She did her absolute best to make sure I was comfortable throughout the procedure, and she was sure to start me off with conservative settings and gradually increased them with each treatment. I had a total of 6 treatments done there, and while I will say that I am certainly not cured, I have seen a significant decrease in my flushing episodes. Before I had IPL, I would flush at nearly anything and everything. There often appeared to be no rhyme or reason to it. Flushing episodes were typically very intense, and they would last for hours. I found this extremely frustrating; I was tired of feeling like my face was on fire, and constantly worrying about whether or not I looked red. (And I am only 27 years old.) I will digress for a moment to say that my rosacea became this bad due to a one time use of a prescription topical called Mirvaso. Rosacea patients...for the love of God, if any doctor ever tries to prescribe you Mirvaso, tell them NO. The active ingredient in this drug is called brimonidine, and it works by constricting the blood vessels in your face. It works as soon as you apply it, and while it is very good at taking redness away (I was pale as a ghost for over 24 hours) the after effects are often quite devastating. When this drug starts to wear off, the blood vessels in your face essentially freak out because they have been deprived of their regular blood flow for so long. They try to compensate for this by sending even MORE blood to the areas where you applied the topical. As a result, your face turns extremely red (or in my case, purple). This is referred to by doctors as "rebound flushing" (or as I prefer to call it, "suicide flushing"). The rebound flush is supposed to last no more than a few days, but a small number of people (myself included) have reported experiencing permanent vascular damage in the blood vessels in their face by applying this topical. In other words, for some, the rebound flush never went away. I was, unfortunately, one of those unlucky few. The takeaway message here is, if you have subtype 1 rosacea (flushing and redness) don't be tempted to try Mirvaso (or Rhofade, a similar drug that was recently approved by the FDA). I would avoid both of these drugs at all costs. The risk is far too great, and really, you're not doing yourself any favors by applying a vasoconstrictor to your face. You are not addressing the root of the problem, and you are only increasing the potential to make things worse for yourself. But don't take my word for it. Head on over to the rosacea forum and read some of the reviews for Mirvaso. I assure you, you will be hard pressed to find a positive one. Anyway, as I was saying, I found IPL to be a more effective treatment for my rosacea than anything else I have ever tried. My condition is now better than it was even before my Mirvaso mishap back in 2016, and for that I am extremely grateful. So if you are suffering from subtype 1 rosacea, I would definitely recommend giving IPL or laser a try. There are just a few very important things to keep in mind first... 1. You will need a lot of these. Don't be fooled by the "three treatments and you'll be good" spiel that doctors often give. If you have mild to moderate rosacea, I would say that you should still plan on doing a minimum of 5-6 IPLs. Consequently... 2. This is going to be expensive. Save your money and make sure you can afford to do a good number of these before you begin. It is important to not allow too much time to pass between treatments, as each treatment builds on the results of the ones before it. Lastly... 3. It takes time to see results. I didn't see a marked difference in my rosacea until several weeks after treatment 5. So don't get too discouraged if you don't see instant results--because, quite frankly, you won't. One final word. If you do decide to go for IPL, ask the clinic if they offer topical anesthetic before treatment. I had a 7th IPL done in Carmel about a month after my 6th one at the Indiana Vein and Laser Center. (This was not due to any issues I had with the Indiana Vein and Laser Center. I simply happened to be in the Indy area at the time and wanted to see what kind of results I might get with the use of a different IPL machine. The verdict: not much different.) At this clinic they offered topical anesthetic, but I said I wanted to try a treatment without it (mostly because I didn't want to wait an hour before undergoing the treatment). And I will say that the anesthetic makes a big difference. The pain wasn't unbearable, but...well, it certainly wasn't pleasant either. So if you can opt for anesthetic, definitely do that. I plan on having more laser treatments done in the future (particularly V Beam) so stay tuned for more info.
I always have a great experience at The Medical Spa/Indiana Vein & Laser Center. I love getting BBL treatments. They have changed my life! I highly recommend Dr. Jimenez and his team. They are caring, professional, and make it easy to ask questions.