Pictures of my face.. FB? Flushing? Or Rosacea?

[princess_illusion]

Hi all,

I am currently on a waiting list in the uk for ETS surgery,

I was given this site from the people off an ETS discussion forum; I am very pleased to have found it as the horror story's I have heard about ETS put me off so much!! - But again, I hate my red face,

I think I have blushing, but someone said I have flushing and another said I have Rosacea! Any opinions would be greatly appreciated, if you think you know what I have!!

My face isn’t red ALL the time but is quite alot of the time (if that makes sense!!) – a ton of make up generally won’t cover it completely but I try my best lol,

Here are my photos... :(

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b209/livingitup/Picture009.jpg (without any make up on)

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b209/livingitup/Picture0021.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b209/livingitup/Picture008-1.jpg

My face genreally looks a very angry red, in this photo below I have fade out redness cream on & a very thick layer of foundation!!

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b209/livingitup/Picture004-1.jpg - Still pink but nothing like the above.

[phlika29]

Wow you are very pretty. It look very much like my skin when in full flush. It also looks slighly bumpy just like mine. I have a combination of rosacea and low level dermatitis and have found much relief from changes in diet, supplements and laser.

You are very right to be fearful of ETS and on this board I don't think you will find anyone who recommends it. There are many, many things you can do instead which should knock the redness back.

Anyway welcome to the board, as you can see there are lots of different sections and some very good achives.

Best wishes

Sarah :)

[princess_illusion]

Thanks Sarah :D

Yes my skin is pretty bumpy but I don't suffer with spots (Touch wood) - something I guess I should consider myself lucky for!

Confused at what I have,

Currently my ear & neck are really red & stinging (Totally at random) Sat at home, not embarrassed or anything!!

:oops: Will post some more photos of me red & not lol,

Mel xx

[Skywolf]

You look like Drew Berrymore! You are going to have all the males on this board PMing you, lol.
First, thank you for posting your pics, that takes a lot of guts, Before I posted my pic I sat there with my mouse clicker poised over submit for about an hour.
I am glad you came here before resorting to ETS, it is a very, very dangerous surgery that as Sarah pionted out, I dont think anyone here will reccomend. I will not argue that it may have helped some, but the side effects are so extreme. You are so young, I would hate to see the rest of your life ruined because of this. It takes a lot to get through this sometimes, but thats what we are all here for, to get eachother past those horrible times. Read, read, then read some more, and PLEASE, Dont jump into this surgery without trying another option first.

Best wishes to you,
Laura

[princess_illusion]

Aww thank you Laura,

I was sooooooo nervous about putting my photos up, as when I'm 'Red' or without my mask of make up on (Lol!!) I feel really, really ugly & don't want to face anyone!!! - & I'm sure some people will see my pics & think ... Urghh! As I know I don't look nice at all without make up on!

I use Green Cream 'Fade Out' and a thick layer of foundation to hide my redness - which doesn't actually work very well, If I'm going to go red, it finds a way of coming through worse then ever lol.

Here are some more pics of me, not at my worst, but again not the best!

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b209/livingitup/untitled.jpg

One is a night out & my face, neck & arm were very red - the other photo is me just starting to go red on the neck and quite pink on the face, but nothing major!

Mel xx

[countchocula]

hi princess =)

just wondered if you have read this forum

http://p069.ezboard.com/betsandreversals


i am disabled from ETS surgery. some complications can/will/may include heart rate problems, Raynauds,fatigue, emotional loss--as if you just dont care about anything in life. Sexual problems (such as things* not getting as erect as they should) :oops: or incontinence.

compensatory sweat is also a side effect. some of us POUR sweat when we get the least bit warm. we then freeze in the winter because thermo regulatory system is ruined by ETS.

and thats just a few. This surgery is still used for anxiety disorders. ETS drs will not tell you that. they prefer to have $$ and make you a zombie.

one poster in our forum had luck with something called a catapres (sp?) patch.

have you talked to dr about a routine set of bloodwork? blood pressure or diabetes? maybe there is a pill they can give you?

I know you must feel frustration and anger at having to deal with this...but i fear ETS will make you worse.and its NOT reversible. thats another lie to make you think ETS is safe.


http://p069.ezboard.com/fetsandreversalsfrm37.showMessage?topicID=1.topic


I think ive seen u post there, Im glad you are reading up on this instead of taking drs B.S.


hang in there, gotta be an answer somewhere

alex (alvinsduckie)

[phlika29]

Are you on any prescription drugs for your flushing? I have found much benefit from propanerol and others like moxonidne/clonidine.

I also take grape seed extract tablets from the healht food shop as this helps to strenghen bllod vessels agaisnt the damage done by flushing. Have you seen a gp or derm about it? I see Dr Chu at Hammersmith Hospital who is very knowledgable about rosacea.

What is your diet like?

Sarah :D

[princess_illusion]

I have been on beta-blockers for about a year now with no luck :cry:

I saw my GP who sent me to Ipswich Hospital where I met Mr A.Cameron, who said I could have ETS-Surgery. I have never seen a Derm about this.

Is Moxonidne or Clonidine avaliable in the UK?

My diets not great .. lol .. but its not that bad :D

I just don't know if this is Rosacea or just a very high colour!! My mum & 2 brothers have quite red cheeks but nothing like me :?

Mel xx

[princess_illusion]

Thank you for your reply countchocula.. It's much appreciated, I am so wary of ETS now... I just don't no what to do!

[Peter]

Hello Mel

As others have advised avoid ETS surgery until you have at least done your homework on the procedure and understand the potential side effects. My advice would be to forget it all together.

It looks to me from your pictures that you have vascular rosacea but you need to get a proper diagnosis from a Dermatologist with a proven track record in treating this condition. I would recommend Tony Chu at Hammersmith Hospital in London but unfortunately he usually has at least a 4 month waiting list.

Yes Moxonidine and Clonidine (Dixarit) are available on prescription in the UK and they can help considerably with the flushing in combination with other drugs / treatments. So don't despair as there are treatment options to control the condition rather than have to resort to potentially dangerous surgery.

Good luck

Peter

[phlika29]

I would also recommend Dr Crouch at the Burghley Park Clinic. I go to him for laser and is a GP who is very knowlegable about rosacea that you can go to privately for treatment. I am sure that he would be able to tell you whether it was rosacea or just high colour as we had just such a conversation on my last visit.

If you want to see his protocols the link is below:

http://www.tawhillsurgery.com/videofiles/LaserVideos/LaserVideoLibraryIndex.htm

He has also done some Q & A's for this website.

If you could get a referel to Dr Chu he tends to treat with moxonidine and for persistent flushers he also gives Zispin (remeron) at a low level which acts as a antihistamine. I have just been prescribed this by him. I also use his n-light laser which calms the small bumps on my skin and therefore helps reduce flushing.

Besides laser, diet and prescription meds there are other treatments like red light therapy which has it own section on the board. So many options which are alot less drastic than ETS.

Sarah

[DukeCity]

A four month wait for Dr. Tony Chu is a whole lot better than a lifetime of potential problems from ETS.

[Bob Bear]

Mel,

You have very similar skin to my own actually, and your flushing looks just like mine.

I have had reasonable success using the following:

- botox worded wonders on my blushing. But as I dont really care to much about blushing, I didnt continue the treatments

- IPL knocked my flushing down probably 50%. Now it is far less severe. However, it seems that alot are getting hurt with IPL nowadays, so I guess it is a greater risk than I once gave it credit for.

- Currently Im a RLT device which is proving to have a calming affect on my skin. Its very good, well worth a try.

BB

[Maverick001]

Looks like your from my neck of the woods princess. I have been to ipswich hospital (both NHS & Nuffield) a few times with a similar flushing problem and just got given anti-histamines and now nearly 1 year down the line im still where i started lol :roll:

Think very carefully about ETS as what I have read it can turn what its in the whole scheme of things a minor cosmetic problem (well minor to the derms anyway) to things even worse! I had looked into it myself a little bit thinking it may be the answer to all my problems but then thought but what if it isnt and it creates more problems.... :? then again i never was the most decisive of people lol

Maybe its something in the water down here, then again the smell of the river orwell could give any1 a red face.

Good Luck :)

[princess_illusion]

Big BIG thankyou to all who replied, your support & advice is excellent & I appreciate it so much, it's so nice to have people who understand & don't laugh at me!!

Thanks to all who PM'd me aswell,

Love Mel xx

P.S I'll keep you all posted about my ETS surgery - I'm pretty sure I'm not going to have it done, but my boss today made me feel very small infront of everyone about my 'face' & made me want to go have ETS done right away!! he said really loudly 'STOP GOING RED MEL, ha ha' ...

:P

[princess_illusion]

Maybe its something in the water down here, then again the smell of the river orwell could give any1 a red face.

Good Luck :)


:D Lol!!

[Ajay]

Take no notice of your boss he's proberbly got a small p...k, :lol: these people make me sooo angry, please try some of the things the people on this site have suggested they have so much knowledge and all from the heart.Good luck

[redhotoz]

Hi Mel

I agree with eveyone who has replied. You are young and beautiful! Much prettier than Drew Barrymore! :) Please DON'T go down the ETS path! :evil:

Hey, I know it's hard to have the hot red face thing going on but ETS is NOT the solution. You will encounter people in your life who feel they need to make belittling comments about it. You need to be strong and deflect those comments. They are the ones with the problem! They see a beautiful young woman, who has a red face issue happening. Try not to let it get you down. Come back with a snappy reply...like..."Oh, I get much redder than this! Keep pointing it out and I am sure I will explode!". Well, something like that. Urgh! So many idiots out there!

Your pics look very much like what Natalja on this Forum suffers from. Yes, Rosacea but also other issues. If she hasn't already PMd you, you might like to PM her. She's a lovely gal.

Jen

[Gemini]

http://www.truthaboutets.com/Pages/FXBottom.html

I hope this helps you make your decision. Very informative website.

I think your life will be 10x worse. IPL,diet (big time helps).

Good luck