Tetralysal for Rosacea!

Jo R

Monday 17 December, 2007

Posted in Acne

Hey again,So I have just come back from the dermatologist. I had hoped he would put me back on Roaccutane. It has been 6 months since I finished the first course and while eveything had been fine, a month ago I broke out in all sorts of horrible things.

He has told me though, that he feels it is a combination of Rosacea and eczema, rather than the acne Roaccutane is prescribed for, in the UK anyway. I really have no idea what to do.

He has put me on a Rosacea drug, Tetralysal, but says it is really an experiment as he is not sure. I have read that Rosacea and eczema can both be long term effects of Roaccutane.

However he swears not in this case. Has anyone on here got Rosacea? Has anyone heard of this sort of reaction 6 months after finishing Roaccutane? I feel pretty hopeless, as he is basically telling me he does not fully know what’s wrong, let alone how to fix it.

It makes me so sad to think that if these skin problems we have were on the inside of our bodies and not on the outside (and therefore seen as only an aesthetic problem for the sufferer,) there would be so much more exploration into, and concern about why these things happen.

One Response to “Tetralysal for Rosacea!”

#1 isabella1980 says...

My mum was one of the 1st to try Roaccutane as a ginea pig back in the early 80’s.

The acne was almost completely cleared with 1 course of it but she suffered bad side effects while taking it, such as a bleeding nose and very dry skin. She therefore discontinued the course after 6 weeks. She had little in the way of acne after that, although she did get an odd cyst-type bump every 6-12 months or so until recent years.

She is now 57. Although she doesn’t, ofcourse, have acne anymore, she does have bad dry skin and red patches on her face from time to time.

She has always led a saintly existence in terms of her health - she doesn’t drink, smoke or take any form of prescription / non prescription drugs. She also eats healthily and exercises regularly. I therefore know her skin problems are not caused by not taking care of herself. I therefore attribute the rosea to Roaccutane, as does she.

If you find yourself with excema and rosea type symptoms, like she has, I’d think it could well be a side effect of Roaccutane. Ask your consultant questions, don’t automatically assume anything from him / her!

I am, myself, taking tetralysal and have no rosea / excema type side effects. However the success of this drug seems, compared to my mum’s treatment, less effctive.

I can’t stress enough though that everyone is different, so this account shouldn’t be taken as relevant for everyone.

By the way my mum treats the excema-like problems with aqueous cream and E45. These are the only things she’s found mild enough, as well as effective for her.

Good luck x

October 24th, 2008 at 10:41 pm