Sensitivity to Metrogel

[bondguy]

I am new to the forum and have plenty of questions. For the past four months I have been misdiagnosed with Eczema and have been using Protopic for itching. I wasn't until a biopsy was done five days ago that the doctor diagnosed me with Rosacea. He said to start out with Metrogel for a couple of days and see if I noticed any improvement until he came up with a plan of action. I am due to see him in two days, however I used the Metrogel after showers in the morning and night on my face on day 1 and day 2. I wash my face with Dove Sensitive Skin. On day three I woke up with itching, burning skin that is absolutely covered in pustules and the skin surrounding them is "beet red". I am disappointed / embarrassed and wonder if this is normal? My Derm said to discontinue the Metrogel and let me skin calm down. He also said he is leaning towards Oracea. Any help is appreciated.

[J-Mill]

I am new to the forum and have plenty of questions. For the past four months I have been misdiagnosed with Eczema and have been using Protopic for itching. I wasn't until a biopsy was done five days ago that the doctor diagnosed me with Rosacea. He said to start out with Metrogel for a couple of days and see if I noticed any improvement until he came up with a plan of action. I am due to see him in two days, however I used the Metrogel after showers in the morning and night on my face on day 1 and day 2. I wash my face with Dove Sensitive Skin. On day three I woke up with itching, burning skin that is absolutely covered in pustules and the skin surrounding them is "beet red". I am disappointed / embarrassed and wonder if this is normal? My Derm said to discontinue the Metrogel and let me skin calm down. He also said he is leaning towards Oracea. Any help is appreciated.

There is no way of diagnosing Rosacea from a biopsy, rather biopsies are used to rule out other conditions. Atopic (allergic) responses that caused eczema are also near impossible to diagnose with a biopsy. Not sure why your doctor went from eczema to Rosacea.

Besides itching what other symptoms did you have before starting any treatment, including the protopic?

Not unusual for a Rosacean to have intolerant skin that reacts porrly to the introduction of new topicals. I have yet to find one I can tolerate. Oracea, low dose doxycycline, is a common and usually effective treatment for Rosacea, especially the pustules and papules associated with it.

[bondguy]

My other conditions were redness plus pustules on both of my temples and forehead. These really itch / sting all the time. They are almost unbearable when I work out or am under a lot of stress. I also blush a lot when under duress...

[glamormom]

I found that when I discontinued it finally, and tried reintroducing it, my skin was burning. I never noticed it before. And there is an allergy to that active ingredient. If you are allergic to it, it's likely you will be allergic to Flagyl also (an oral anti-fungal agent). That's what I read anyway.

I don't tolerate any of the rosacea topicals, they don't work for me either (I have progressed in the past 2 years to papulo-pustular rosacea) and Oracea did nothing for me (I gave it a good try to, over a year). I finally discontinued it and found I was a lot less photosensitive when I stopped using it. It's low-dose doxy, specially formulated for rosacea, but it can make you photosensitive and I had that problem. Living in a sunny climate did not help. I use LED therapy now to control the inflammation and bumps. it does an exellent job, is not horribly expensive and is drug free.

HTH
;o) Bridget

[phlika29]

You may like to try an antihistamine tablet as this can reduce the itching and inflammation slightly.

I would say that for sensitive skin dove is too irritating. You may like to have a look in the topical section for alternative suggestions, perhaps something like eucerin (http:/www.eucerin.co.uk/)

Metrogel can be quite irritating. Metrocream is meant to be more gentle.

[bondguy]

I just returned from my Derm and he has requested that I start on Oracea once daily and wear a sunblock daily. He also gave me samples of Rosac Cream to try. He did say if I could tolerate the Rosac Cream, he would give me a prescription for that as well. My follow up is in 8 weeks and he will determine my progress, as well as discuss laser options. Has anyone tried Rosac and Oracea together? Thanks again for the comments.

[glamormom]

Hi bondguy
I got a sample of Rosac but couldn't tolerate it. It was too irritating. Klaron too. I was using Noritate with Oracea and neither helped me. They're both designed to deal with the bumps, nothing more, of rosacea, and honestly neither one worked for me at all, so discontinued them both and started using LED therapy, as I mentioned. You have to keep at it, but it works.

;o) Bridget