Beware of Sculptra! Side Effect That PS May Not Tell You About! Delayed Inflammation!

Let me start out by saying that I had 2 vials of Sculptra (1 vial, 6 weeks apart) 5 years ago at age 41. I had no complications and I loved it. Fast forward to this past December at age 46 , I decided to do 2 more vials because I felt the Sculptra was completely dissipated. I went for my first injection of 1 vial at the beginning of December. No complications. When I went back for my 2nd vial in mid January I did note to my PS that I had some minor redness on both sides of my cheeks. We both assumed that it was from the retin a I had resumed using and she advised me to cut back applying it to 2x a week and to use some over the counter cortisone cream. The 2nd vial was also uneventfull. I was always sure to massage the 5x5x5. Fast forward to about 6 weeks after the last injection my " rash" started to grow and was now stinging and burning! I would literally feel my face flush, sting and burn. It was horrible and I felt generally unwell. I saw my PS who had never heard of a delayed reaction to Sculptra like that. I had not switched any facial creams and had discontinued any retinol 3 weeks prior. She prescribed a steroid cream for me to use 2x a day for 10 days. By day 6 with no improvement I called and requested a 6 day Medrol steroid pack because I knew at this point it was systemic and my face was reacting to the Sculptra. By the 3rd day the horrible burning had subsided although my skin was quite sensitive. I just finished my last pill 2 days ago and it feels much better although the red "rash" look on my cheeks is still there.
I just saw an immunologist/allergist who confirmed it is most likely an immune reaction to the Sculptra. Unfortunately there is not much that can be done and I'm just going to have to wait for my body to process and absorb the Sculptra. If I flare again (which is a distinct possibility) he said he would give me another steroid boost and then we would have to talk about me going on a low dose steroid for as long as this product remains active in my face. I called the makers of Sculptra, but of course the woman I spoke to did not have any info on a delayed reaction like this, other than granulomas or nodules. I pray I don't develop those! She also could not tell me how long the product actually stays in your face before the crystals are completely absorbed by the body. I'm so angry with myself right now, I should have just left my face alone! I guess I figured it would just go like the first time, free of complications. Now I'm stuck buying all new makeup products to cover the rash ( whereas before I never even wore foundation) and skin creams that now won't irritate my skin. I'm also facing the possibility of having to go on a low dose steroid long term. I can't believe I paid someone to inject my face with this stuff! Lesson learned the hard way!!! This product can work very well for people, but you just don't know if you will be one of the ones to develop complications down the road! Stick to dissolavble fillers!!!
On a side note, I really like my ps. She injects a lot of Sculptra. I think PS should be made more aware of other possible complications aside from just the nodules and granulnomas. She did offer me free v beam to deal with the redness but there is no way I am touching my face again for a long time!

So I finished the 6 day Medrol pack about 10 days ago. The burning is gone, thank God! Some of the redness still remains on both cheeks, although it is lot less red. I am still careful at night to sleep on my back and try not to sleep on either side of my face as to create more pressure. I forgot to mention in my earlier post that about four weeks after my second injection I noticed when I pressed on my nasal labial fold on my left side it hurt a bit. That was strange because she did not directly inject those and it was weeks past the last injection. She just injected my upper cheeks a little bit and above each eyebrow and a bit in my chin. I became very aware if I woke up in the morning or in the middle of the night and I was sleeping on my side because it felt uncomfortable on my face. This was a new feeling as I never felt that five years ago when I had sculptra. I also had the sensation of a foreign substance in my cheeks. It's hard to explain, but it just felt like I could feel the product in my face. That was also a new sensation that I did not have five years ago. Two weeks later is when the rash ramped up. So obviously something was going on! I'm just glad that the rash has diminished very much and I hope it does not come back! I am still using all sensitive facial products. Overall my face has plumped up nicely from the sculptra, but I was hoping to get a little more lift in my jowl area. I got a small lift, but not a lot, and certainly not worth the side effects! I am also feeling a small nodule in my right NLF ( not the side that I was feeling a slight pain when pressing weeks ago though). can't tell whether it is a pimple forming or a nodule, so I'm keeping my eye on it. I am freaking out that I am developing a nodule! If it's still there in a few more days I'm going to make an appointment to see my PS to see if she can inject it with something. I don't feel that this certainly was worth all the hassle and worry I've gone through. Lesson learned!

I am now three months post the second injection of one vile and the redness has calmed down a bit and the burning has pretty much gone. So I decided to add some new moisturizers to my face. Big mistake! I had added a week ago Cetaphil night moisturizer for facial redness at night. A couple days ago I added EltaMD a.m. moisture therapy. I had previously been only using Clinique's redness solutions daily relief cream. But because my skin had seem to be getting better and that cream is very expensive, I decided to try new things. I'm not sure if it was the Cetaphil or the Elta MD skin therapy a.m., but I woke up two mornings ago with little tiny blisters on my left cheek, in the area that was very red and had had the rash. At first I thought they were pimples, but then I looked closer and realized they were more like blisters. I suspect it is the EltaMD AM moisturizer because I had been using the Cetaphil pm moisturizer for over a week. The funny thing is I had read reviews on the Elta MD moisturizer and all had said it was for sensitive skin! I have been using the Elta MD UV clear broad-spectrum SPF 45 for a few weeks with no issues . I immediately discontinued both products and went back to just using the Clinique redness moisturizer. Within a day, the blisters had dried up. In another week I will try the Cetaphil PM moisturizer again but I will not be using the Elta MD a.m. therapy moisturizer again! What I can't get over is how sensitive my skin has become now. I used to use retinols regularly, The ROC Night serum every other night and Retin-A the other nights. I also have been using Avon Reversalist night cream for years, but have not been using it since the redness started . I pray that eventually all this will pass, I just don't know how long it will take.