girl24
27th June 2006, 12:41 AM
hi everyone, i just joined this site.
Where do I start.. I've had this condition for going on 8 years now. It is not rosacea but rosacea is by far the closest I've come to finding something with similar symptoms.
The difference with me is that I'm only affected on one side of the face - my left cheek. I dont have visible veins (although looking closely there are very thin light vessels), however the main problem is the redness.
I also have thickened facial tissue which was diagnosed some years ago. All dermatologists are baffled at my condition, and after years of seeing dermatologists, immunigolosts, neurologists and every other ologist you can think of, I'm still without a name for my condition. The best doctors here in Australia have no idea as they have never seen it before.
I do see a similarity to rosacea with things such as heat effects - that side of my face can not handle the sun on it. Also going from cold to hot flares it up. Its now winter here and Im not coping well at all, it seems to have flared up quite badly.
The skin is much thicker on that side, ie if you squeeze your cheeks usually you can life the skin easily, however the left cheek of mine is much thicker than the right. This was confirmed by a bioppsy years ago however the doctors do not know why the thickening has occured.
In a straight on, straight face photograph, you can definitely notice the facial assymetry not only in colour but in the swelling as well. I know the swelling is something that will never be cured, this causes me great distress.
There is also a rougher skin surface on that side.
I have gone a year or 2 at times with it being very mild, then without reason it flares up. The redness can be quite profuse for no reason, and being only one one side, its quite embarassing as you can imagine. The rest of my skin is quite clear and without this problem, I'd have a nice complexion.
I wont go into the social problems this has caused me as Im sure you all know what its like.
As of now, the doctors are putting it down simply to my genes.. thats little consolation for me though.
Im booked in for my first Candela V-Beam treatment in mid August although i'd love to get in earlier. I've lived with this for so long so its a huge step getting any sort of treatment on my face. I'm quite scared of what will happen after the treatment.
Being only on one side of the face, I cant imagine they will be able to ever match the complexion on my right side. I dont want a mismatched face forever.
I also seem to have some sort of nerve issue there too. Nothing dramatic, but I do feel some slight numbness in a small spot on the cheekbone, and pushing on the cheekbone can cause pain.
Im worried the laser will be more painful for me than for normal people due to this.
Well I just wanted to post here. I feel pretty alienated as you can imagine, so its nice to have somewhere to share this.
I'd love to post some photos but Im not into putting myself on the internet.
Im also hoping the doctors here might respond with some advice or anything really.
I'd even be willing to travel overseas if a doctor here had any clue as to what is wrong with me.
Im desperate enough to do anything.
Thanks everyone.
Where do I start.. I've had this condition for going on 8 years now. It is not rosacea but rosacea is by far the closest I've come to finding something with similar symptoms.
The difference with me is that I'm only affected on one side of the face - my left cheek. I dont have visible veins (although looking closely there are very thin light vessels), however the main problem is the redness.
I also have thickened facial tissue which was diagnosed some years ago. All dermatologists are baffled at my condition, and after years of seeing dermatologists, immunigolosts, neurologists and every other ologist you can think of, I'm still without a name for my condition. The best doctors here in Australia have no idea as they have never seen it before.
I do see a similarity to rosacea with things such as heat effects - that side of my face can not handle the sun on it. Also going from cold to hot flares it up. Its now winter here and Im not coping well at all, it seems to have flared up quite badly.
The skin is much thicker on that side, ie if you squeeze your cheeks usually you can life the skin easily, however the left cheek of mine is much thicker than the right. This was confirmed by a bioppsy years ago however the doctors do not know why the thickening has occured.
In a straight on, straight face photograph, you can definitely notice the facial assymetry not only in colour but in the swelling as well. I know the swelling is something that will never be cured, this causes me great distress.
There is also a rougher skin surface on that side.
I have gone a year or 2 at times with it being very mild, then without reason it flares up. The redness can be quite profuse for no reason, and being only one one side, its quite embarassing as you can imagine. The rest of my skin is quite clear and without this problem, I'd have a nice complexion.
I wont go into the social problems this has caused me as Im sure you all know what its like.
As of now, the doctors are putting it down simply to my genes.. thats little consolation for me though.
Im booked in for my first Candela V-Beam treatment in mid August although i'd love to get in earlier. I've lived with this for so long so its a huge step getting any sort of treatment on my face. I'm quite scared of what will happen after the treatment.
Being only on one side of the face, I cant imagine they will be able to ever match the complexion on my right side. I dont want a mismatched face forever.
I also seem to have some sort of nerve issue there too. Nothing dramatic, but I do feel some slight numbness in a small spot on the cheekbone, and pushing on the cheekbone can cause pain.
Im worried the laser will be more painful for me than for normal people due to this.
Well I just wanted to post here. I feel pretty alienated as you can imagine, so its nice to have somewhere to share this.
I'd love to post some photos but Im not into putting myself on the internet.
Im also hoping the doctors here might respond with some advice or anything really.
I'd even be willing to travel overseas if a doctor here had any clue as to what is wrong with me.
Im desperate enough to do anything.
Thanks everyone.