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The One Rosacea Treatment That Has Had a Massive Impact on my Life

ORIGINAL POST

I've lurked around on this board and I while I...

allengrj
WORTH IT
I've lurked around on this board and I while I have never really commented I have read many of your stories. I don't normally post on forums but in this case I though it was worth the time if it helps one person.

I was diagnosed with rosacea around four years ago. Runs in my family, I was thirty at the time. I am a white male, teacher living in the south of england. While I have not allowed rosacea to ruin my life it did a pretty good job. Whether that be being "told off" in a park for not wearing sun cream when I was wearing factor 50 or the kids at my school taking the [RS bleep], I always smiled (blushed horribly) and changed the subject. I have all over facial redness but two massive patches over my cheeks and by my ears which is there pretty much constantly.

It got so bad that last summer I went to my GP one last time. He had prescribed me metrogel in the past which has made skin scarlet and on this occasion told me to try mirvaso. I politely told him I'd rather take an iron to my face than use mirvaso and given the stories the result would be much the same. I asked him about IPL laser and told him how miserable I was to the point i was becoming depressed, wouldn't go out etc. He said try it but I can't refer you for it so it'll be expensive.

I found a derm who agreed to treat me. £1000 for four sessions. These made a big difference for me. They stopped me flushing as much and really helped my confidence and considering the state I was in, that is what i needed. She said possibly come back in three months. By the end of three months my face was starting to flush again and was ready to go back. Long story short, each time I have been I can go a bit longer without having to go back and my flushing has decreased. In the interim the derm has sold me about £200 worth of cream which is supposed to help but makes my face burn like the pits of hell.

Last treatment I had was the beginning of April. My girlfriend of four years and I split and I felt grim. Really bloody awful if im honest. The interesting thing i noticed was that normally within a few days my face would look good but not this time. My skin looked awful and the IPL seemingly had little affect. I always knew that normal flushes i experienced were related to diet. White bread; my face would be glowing in 3-4 hours. Dairy, little spots the next day. Anyway, as I had just become single i was eating crud. Pizza, microwave meals, enough preservatives to kill a small horse and didn't really care thinking maybe it was because I was stressed.

In an attempt to pull me out my funk my two sisters took me for dinner to cheer me up couple weeks back. Both have similar issues with their skin. I saw one of them and my reaction was "you look bloody marvellous, what've you done" she hit me and then told me about the diet she'd been on, the whole 30. No sugar, grains, dairy, google it. She looked great.

I started the next day and have been on it for two weeks and without a doubt this has had the biggest impact on my skin ever. I don't eat meat so I have strictly been on fruit, vegetables and fish. All natural, nothing processed or fake. My face always flushes around 4-5pm. I think it is possibly a natural hormone related thing but this is where I make my point of what I have found for me.

It's commonly recognised that rosacea and your diet, your gut, I directly related. I flushed right on schedule the first couple of days. The third day I didn't flush until 7pm but then it was bad. The fourth day normal time but mildly so. They have decreased in strength and frequency until the point where I didn't have one for 5 days. At this point I thought id try the last cream the derm gave me, it's supposed to help with blood vessel integrity on your face. That night beetroot face. NEVER AGAIN.

Over the last two weeks the permanent redness on my face has decreased massively and therefore this is my point. This won't work for everyone but it must work for some so if you are at the end of your wits try this diet. Cut all the processed muck out your diet completely. Give it 30 days. I've done two weeks and it has revolutionised my life. Big words i know but anything after the last four years is huge in my books. No booze. No cigarettes. Nothing. Meat (if you want), fish, fruit, vegetables, loads of water. The redness dissipating on my face has to be a reduction in inflammation. I can see clear bits of skin between the red bits, which were not visible before.

Final word. I have rosacea and that isnt going to stop. HOWEVER the food, creams, ointments I apply or consume are catalysts to make that rosacea act up. If I add something my body doesnt like I will blush and burn more so if I become embarrassed or encounter any of my natural triggers. By removing the catalyst I will still blush but it goes far quicker and doesn't stay half as long, it has been life changing for me. When my ex and I split she said one reason was because I was anti-social. It still amazes me that seem people, even the ones you love, can be absolute jerks in understanding this condition. The crippling damage to your self esteem is debilitating and I really really hope this helps at least one person out there. Please just try it.

Replies (7)

May 29, 2016
Thanks for sharing! I'll have to try this
July 12, 2016
I think this is a great suggestion and anyone could try. I know when I was drinking fizzy water, mixing it with fruit juice to create my own "punch", I realized my face got worse. I read that the fizzy water has some sort of sulfites in it, and so stopped drinking it. My face isn't perfect, I'm still searching, but I do think diet can play a part. Worth a try.
October 7, 2016
Dear allengrj - I was very moved by your post and am very thankful to you for sharing. I too have become much more anti-social in the last three years when my rosacea became very, very bad, I believe, in big part due to menopause. I am older than you at age 51. Yes, even my best friend of 35 years does not understand the impact of rosacea and sometimes becomes frustrated with me. I am however fortunate that my husband is wonderfully supportive. I am very sorry about the end of your relationship but I hope this will open you up to another who will love and accept you even with your challenges (which sounds like you are doing very well at controlling). I am absolutely thrilled to read about the Whole30 diet and I am going to start it on Monday after our long Thanksgiving weekend. I am from Canada. If you don't mind, I might private message you in the weeks to come with the results of the diet. All my sincerest best wishes to you. Wen
October 17, 2016
This comment was removed at the request of the user.
April 4, 2017
Thank you so much for your story, it is very inspiring. I have been on that kind of diet for just a week now. I ordered some cream off the internet promising to rid the face of the redness only to break out in an allergic reaction. My face has been inflamed from that cream for a week and seems like it's never going to go away and I thought my was bad. Dealing with this has been a nightmare. Heads up don't try Redness Redux.
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February 24, 2018
Try the Soolantra cream. (It is called Rosiver in Canada.) Some find that the delayed-release Doxycycline is also helpful. Easier on the GI system than traditional Doxycycline.)