Rosacea Type 2 - Soolantra/Ivermectin/Dermatica

[Chanandlerbong1]

Hello,
Not sure if I have posted this in the correct thread but I’ll go ahead anyway…
Diagnosed with Type 2 Rosacea almost two years ago. Had been self treating for a year or so prior to that also.
I was originally prescribed Rosex/Metrogel and oral antibiotic (Lymecycline). I didn’t get much relief so I then tried Finecea/Azelaic Acid gel. I think I had some relief from the bumps but I didn’t stick with it for long enough to get the full effects.
I was left with awful red marks from after the bumps healed so I used the prescription service ‘Skin and Me’ for around 7 months. This was a gradual increase of Tretinoin. My skin went through cycles of getting better then worse again.
I’ve done a fine of research online and I’ve been finding a lot of studies where patients are treated with Ivermectin cream as there is a belief that type 2 rosacea is caused by démodéx mites.
I’ve just been back to the GP who has prescribed me more Lymecycline and Finecea gel. He wants me to try this again first.
I’ve found that Dermatica will
Prescribe Ivermectin in a mixed cream. I’ve ordered it to try as I am really at my wits end with all of this. My skin is the worst it has ever looked. I am literally covered in pustules.
So… has anyone tried this cream for their rosacea? And what are your results?

Definitely push your GP for Soolantra if the other treatments haven't worked. I have Type 2 as well, tried Differin and Azelaic Acid at first but they only made my face redder and irritated. My GP then gave a prescription for Soolantra and it took a few weeks to kick in but cleared everything up. Good luck

That’s great I’m so glad for you that it worked.
Rosacea type 2 is horrendous isn’t it. I’m constantly waking up in the morning and checking my skin for new bumps. Make up really highlights the bumps but I need to wear something as I look even worse without it. It’s really knocked my confidence. I never had to worry about my skin when I was younger.
I think I will just phone tomorrow and see how I get on.

I started Dermatica late January for rosacea and it's the best thing I have ever done for my skin. I find it strange to look at my face and not have the redness I have had for as long as I can remember.
My latest tube arrived today, I have Ivermectin 1% Metronidazole 0.75% and Niacinamide 4%.
Over the years I have been on antibiotics, roaccutane and a few months of Rozex.

Another vote for soolantra here, I also buy mine through online Pharmacy2U

I've posted these before and after pics before, but soolantra was amazing for me.

I bought it online via private prescription to begin with but my go then agreed to prescribe. A tube lasts months.

Photos are 2 1/2 months apart, using Soolantra daily. Take photos each week to keep track of the progress (and don’t despair in week3). I’m now a year on and use Soolantra once every few months for flare ups.

Before and after photos are amazing. I take oxytetracycline low dose daily and every time I try and stop taking it my face burns and the lumps and spots like huge boils appear. I would be tempted to try Ivermectin but to upload photos I would have to stop my antibiotics and go through the pain of getting rosacea and I cant bear how it makes me feel when I look so awful.

@MayMorris

I may have this wrong but it sounds like you’re buying ivermectin over internet or something Do not do this Ivermectin is a veterinary products- for cows. You will not know what you are getting buying it on line. No company is legally allowed to sell prescription medication into uk without a prescription from an authorised prescriber eg Doctor . You therefore are buying a pirated drug that contains god knows what. If it is ivermectin it could be at strength needed for cows. The new licensing topical cream for rosacea is a specialist product and must be used under GP guidance. Go back to your GP if what they prescribe does not work.

It's not prescription. Ivermectin is a wormer and kills skin mites. For various animals. It's an OTC medicine which can be sold by suitably qualified people, including online.

I think soolantra (ivermectin) works if rosacea is caused by an overgrowth of dermodex mites.

I’ve just signed up to Dermatica and been prescribed Invermectin, Metronidazole and Niacinamide for Roscacea. Is yours the same ingredients?

I’ve only used it for 2 nights so far though and not really seen a difference. I plan on using it for at least a month to see what affect it has.

Like you I’ve heard good things about Soolantra but the price puts me off especially as it’s not guaranteed to work. I may get it though if the Dermatica cream doesn’t work.

@Adelais

I’ve just signed up to Dermatica and been prescribed Invermectin, Metronidazole and Niacinamide for Roscacea. Is yours the same ingredients?

I’ve only used it for 2 nights so far though and not really seen a difference. I plan on using it for at least a month to see what affect it has.

Like you I’ve heard good things about Soolantra but the price puts me off especially as it’s not guaranteed to work. I may get it though if the Dermatica cream doesn’t work.

I was able to get Soolantra on prescription. I just sent a photo to my GP and said I’d heard good things about Soolantra, I think it was an easy fix for him so he just prescribed it.

I know not every area does it, but worth checking with your GP.

@Adelais I am on the same prescription as you and I started at the end of January. I can't believe the difference in my skin, I don't look like me as no redness!

Wow the before and afters are amazing! Still not heard from Dermatica so I’m taking the plunge and ordering online… if it works I’ll ask GP to prescribe. Thanks so much everyone!

So I thought I’ll try the GP and see what they say before I order online. He had never heard of it before. Wouldn’t listen when I told him that GPs can prescribe it and doesn’t have to be a dermatologist. I even said you can buy it from Superdrug! He wants to speak to a pharmacist about it first. Also mentioned dermatology referral but that will take months. So frustrating when it is clearly the next line of treatment but he just didn’t want to listen to me.
He was also going on about it being unsafe for child bearing women. I had to suggest this was probably for oral ivermectin!

Watching with interest as I only just worked out that what I have is rosacea, after my optician pointed out that I have eye crust / blepharitis.

I had months of lymocycline, which destroyed my gut and then also used some prescribed creams including Duac, which made my facial skin crack like an egg . The pill seems to keep it at bay somehow, I don't know how as it's not hormonal, but I'm now pregnant and it's the worst it's ever been - my forehead, chin and cheeks are just covered in tiny pink pustules which don't feel bumpy but look awful

I'd like to try the Soolantra but I've been told it's not appropriate if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, so I guess it'll have to wait. Until then I've just bought some dermatologist-approved (from an article, I don't have a dermatologist) skincare stuff including a Cerave cleanser and some special moisturiser.

Fingers crossed...

My skin texture is awful. Some of the bumps are huge. Some come to a head, others don’t. I’m so dry aswell so putting makeup on doesn’t look great but I can’t face going out without it!
Wondering about tea tree oil for you? Unsure if safe in pregnancy but apparantly it’s helpful for blepharitis if caused by demodex…

@Borgonzola smells gross but sulphur soap does a similar thing, although it needs to be used more frequently than soolantra to have an impact. Tea tree oil also kills the demodex that cause the pustules - although I’m not sure tea tree is ok in pregnancy and it would need to be used with a base oil.

For blepharitis the small blue wet ones (dark blue) are just brilliant and much much cheaper than the blepharitis wipes.

@Chanandlerbong1 your GP is not keeping up to date, I've just checked the NICE guidelines for managing Rosacea and Ivermectin is mentioned FIRST before the other treatments which should be offered if there's a reason you can't use Ivermectin.
Gps are wasting time and resources not letting people try it first, see if you can get him to read the NICE guidelines.

I am really wondering about these dermodex and where they might have come from!!!

I haven't tried tea tree for a few years - might have another look.

My skin feels gritty if I leave it alone for a few days (I have tried this in the past because sometimes I wonder if using chemicals helps at all ) but if I keep it scrubbed and moisturised it does seem to help the texture. As a PP said, it does also get very dry and especially in late winter. I find using a simple BB cream as a cover up helps with the dryness issue and is a bit less cakey than foundation.

For context, this is what I'm dealing with - pregnancy facial bloat and eyebags on top

@Wbeezer
Absolutely, I agree. It’s really frustrating that he wouldn’t listen to me. He said he wanted to speak to a pharmacist first before prescribing.
Still waiting on my Dermatica consultation being reviewed! I suppose I have waited this long I can wait a little longer. Was almost taking the plunge and buying online but had second thoughts due to the amount of money I have spent on this horrible condition.
@Borgonzola you poor thing. Skin issues are a nightmare to deal with.

I think he thought I was talking about oral Ivermectin… even though I said a good few times it was the cream. It was pretty obvious he wasn’t listening to me. I know GPs can’t know everything - but I quoted a few different things to show I had researched. He still wasn’t interested.

If this definitely is bugs have any of you tried benzyl benzoate? You can buy it OTC, usually for crabs or scabies (and horses with sweet-itch)

Oral ivermectin paste wormer (cream in a massive plastic syringe without needle) might be what was confusing your GP if they've never heard of it in a facial cream OP.

Ivermectin is also used for horse mites. For horse mites ivermectin isn't given orally it's injected. Other things used for horse mites is pig oil and sulphur (oil put on pigs, not made from pigs), frontline spray for dog fleas, and diatomaceous earth.

I am really wondering about these dermodex and where they might have come from!!!

Me too. I'm wondering if it's got anything to do with the recent drive for "gentle" and "mild" everything. Sulfate free cleansers and washing everything at 30°c with environmentally friendly soap etc. Maybe y'all should go back to washing your faces with bog standard tea tree showel gel or old fashioned soap bars and boiling your sheets with biological washing powder. Or maybe it's global warming, lots more micro organisms around, I believe, without the long hard frosts of winter to kill them off each year, and almost everyone's house central heated and draught free now.

To the poster claiming her skin problems isn't hormonal...yet the pill keeps it at bay and pregnancy makes it worse. I'm struggling to think of stronger argument that it is affected by hormones. Another random fact, horses can get a thing called Cushing's disease which is to do with the pituitary gland and affects hormones, one of the symptoms is developing skin conditions. Are you all menopausal age? That's hormonal stuff. Maybe hormonal changes are making you susceptible to the mites?

That was me. I'm not menopausal, I'm 33 and preggo and thank you, that's an interesting perspective.

I had absolutely 0 spots as a teenager. None. The occasional pimple, but tiny and left no makes. Then I got Implanon when I was 21 and that gave me what I think was cystic acne, the sort of 'beard of spots' and I had the lymocycline and horrible creams until I got on a pill that calmed it all down.

I realise I've had the rosacea-like symptoms for... I don't know how long, at least 5 years? But then I realise my mum has rosacea in all likelihood - very red cheeks that appear like broken veins, and she had bad acne as a teenager.

It's all very confusing!