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?

@WildBlueAndDitzy we keep our house cold, bedroom is a comfortable 15 degrees at the moment but maybe that's still too warm

@Borgonzola
I was the same - never had any issues with my facial skin when I was younger. I do get flares of eczema every now and then but it’s always localised to the insides of my elbows.
I’ve been using azelaic acid twice daily for a week now and my skin is feeling a bit smoother but some of the bumps are really sore to touch! Have you noticed with your bumps that if they come to a head and you pop them, that they just refill again? It’s totally gross I know but it’s what made me realise these are not normal spots.

So if antibiotics work (oral) does that mean it’s not the mites? I can persuade my gp to prescribe antibiotics every couple of years but they aren’t happy to do it. Does anyone know if soolantra/ivermectin is likely to work on skin that is improved with antibiotics? It would obviously be better to find an alternative to antibiotics and also save me having the ‘discussion’ with my gp each time…

How quickly do the antibiotics usually work for you?
Hopefully someone else will be able to sneer your question.
My GP won’t prescribe the Soolantra. He said I don’t have rosacea and I have acne (despite previously being diagnosed as type 2 rosacea).
Totally stuck now as I prestige the online places also won’t prescribe it.

6 weeks to really see that something is happening - it’s a long time and my skin usually appears a lot worse before it gets better. I can see why people stop using something before really giving it a chance to work.

How much information are you giving to the online dermatologist’s? I use tretinoin and I have to be careful as they all seem to think it will make my skin worse if I mention the rosacea. I had the redness/postules for years before trying vitamin A and I know it doesn’t make a difference to my rosacea (I’ve been on and off retinols/tret at various points and it’s never made the slightest difference). I use the vitamin A for skin pigmentation and lines, my skin looks amazing (aside from the rosacea) and it’s one of those ingredients I refuse to give up.

Obviously it does effect some people so the dermatologists need to be careful but I make a point of not mentioning past antibiotic use for the rosacea, or rosacea, when I have my skin + me referrals as they try to remove the tretinoin. But I need to find an alternative to oral antibiotics. I’ve been on azelaic acid with the tret but it’s not helping (although the rest of my skin looks great so I like it in general).

So Dermatica say I have acne be not rosacea. My GP is now saying it’s not rosacea after being diagnosed a type 2 almost two years ago!
So I’ve to be referred to dermatology. God knows how long that will take. He mentioned roaccutane.
I’ve tried the tretinoin for a good six months. My skin is in the worst state it’s ever been in.
I really wanted to try the Soolantra. I’m gutted.

I used this online pharmacy to get azaelic acid - they do Soolantra too:
www.theindependentpharmacy.co.uk/rosacea

One of my children went on antibiotics for acne, it helped but didn’t clear it - they have now been put on roaccutane. It is rapidly clearing everything up. I know that’s for acne but my dentist was saying that she was put on roaccutane for rosacea, as antibiotics didn’t help her at all. Her skin also completely cleared up. I hadn’t heard of that before but maybe go with the roaccutane for now?

Thanks I will try the website you mentioned @CiderWithLizzie
My GP can’t prescribe roaccutane - only a dermatologist. I’m thinking it will take a good while for a referral.

@Chanandlerbong1 once I worked out I had rosacea (no formal diagnosis it just fits my symptoms completely) I did wonder how an earth the doctor thought it was acne as it presents differently. What are their reasons for saying it's acne??? And I'm sure you'll do this but have you heard about roaccutane and the side effects? The my can be quite... severe

I think one of the main tells for me is that my skin isn't at all oily, not even really at the t-zone, and I'm actually very prone to dryness and flakiness despite the appearance of spots.

Also interesting what you said the other day about eczema. I get something on my inside elbow crease too but it's been diagnosed as contact dermatitis and goes away when I apply a steroidal cream.

@Borgonzola
He couldn’t give me an explanation as to why he thought it was acne. I questioned the fact that it just appeared in my 30s.
I also have very dry skin. Flaky, tight and reactive.
Yes I am absolutely not keen on roaccutane. I am hoping that a derm would give me a definitive rosacea diagnosis as I am fairly certain this is what I am dealing with and then go form there.
I have however, ordered on the website mentioned above. I had to upload photos so hopefully I can get my hands on some Soolantra.
How do you treat your rosacea?
Do you have permanent redness? I don’t really have much redness at all, more inflammation surrounding all the pustules.

If the Soolantra doesn’t work, I would highly recommend IPL. I’m having it for severe dry eye/ocular rosacea. It’s relatively new for dry eye but not for rosacea. Not cheap but amazing!

Is the IPL more for redness/flushing? I will look into every option.

I think that the IPL has many different functions that are beneficial for rosacea which they don’t fully understand. Apparently it kills demodex mites, seals off little blood vessels which helps the appearance of spider veins but also stops cytokines being released into the blood etc etc. there’s more but I can’t remember- will look for a link.

Could you ask for a private referral OP?

I would have been waiting years to see a derm on NHS but paid £200 to get a proper diagnosis (I'd been told heaps of different things too) and £140 for a few follow ups.

Couldn't really afford it but had to do something as was so miserable.

Yes - I would definitely consider it. Did you get your skin issue sorted?

@Randomuser9876

Could you ask for a private referral OP?

I would have been waiting years to see a derm on NHS but paid £200 to get a proper diagnosis (I'd been told heaps of different things too) and £140 for a few follow ups.

Couldn't really afford it but had to do something as was so miserable.

This is what I had to do too. I couldn't afford it either but it meant the issue was dealt with quickly.

Re: the time it takes for Soolantra to work, was about six to eight weeks before I saw an improvement. Also, my rosacea became much worse in the short term but I stuck with it and it improved.

I saw a big difference with dermatica. I used both metrogel and soolantra seperately with no success. Dermatica combines these with niamicide. The reduction in redness and soreness is fantastic. I tend to use a tube every 2-3 months, not every month like they recommend.

Probably not recommended, but happy to get my next tube sent out early and send on to you if you want to cover the cost + postage, but for that cost I suppose you may as well try soolantra first.

@anon2022anon
So do you have metrogel, ivermectin and niacinimde in your prescription?

Where is the best place to get IPL?

@Chanandlerbong1 hopefully you can see this screenshot, I think this is the standard rosacea mix they send- it's never changed for me, despite improvement

Roaccutane is actually a treatment for rosacea, I’ve taken it for cystic acne and I’ll soon be on it again as I have pcos and peri menopause so the oil is literally pouring out some days and dry others. The cystic acne hasn’t come back but once you’ve been on it once they refer you straight back to dermatology for more if you do start to break out.

It’s not that bad, it’ll make me tired and my hair might fall out a bit but it grows back after the course ends.

I'm getting there I think.

The problem with rosacea is that it's not the same thing for any 2 people so it needs different combinations of treatment. Some skincare, some prescription which also makes it hard to get straight answers out of Dr's and I've often found them really dismissive.

A lot of mine was caused by a misdiagnosis of seberohic dermatitis when my skin flared up suddenly 3 years ago after a lifetime of being lovely😭. I was prescribed steroid treatment (both topical and oral) which made my skin so much worse. Soolantra seemed to make it better for a while but it flared up again after a really stressful time.

So I went to see a top derm privately who prescribed doxycycline which I hated taking but did get it back to how it was pre steroids.... Now I'm waiting for a laser treatment which I'm hoping will get rid of any last bits.

There's lots of active ingredients in face products that really can help too... Tea tree kills demodex and sulphur and zinc based products have good results for rosacea,its just a matter of finding what works for you but a proper diagnosis is the best place to start as I found out to my cost!!

@anon2022anon
Thank you for your very kind offer but it is your prescription technically so I don’t think this would be permitted.

@Chanandlerbong1 oh it would absolutely be against their rules, but the offers there if you want it- like I say the ingredients work out to using metrogel, soolantra, and niamicide, which is available from the ordinary and helps with scarring/ brightening, so you could absolutely mix it up yoursef with what you've got in the cupboard.