After yet another bad breakout, I was scrolling endlessly through the internet looking for any sort of answer for what could possibly be wrong with my face. Struggling with this issue for more than 10 years now, I thought I read every source on the internet that contained even the slightest similarity to my symptoms. On page 3 or 4 on Google, I found a forum in Germany (I am also from Germany) where a guy was discussing a similar issue. He shared a link to this forum. For the first time in my life, I feel like I have found people that share the same mystery disease.
You probably know this so well. Countless vists at different Derms, diagnosis ranging from Impetigo to Staph to Eczema. Realising that no general medication really cured me, I wanted to share what has helped me in the past for the people, who have not yet tried Soolantra.
For me, most effective has been a mix of topical azelaic acid (15% and up) two times a day. Azelaic Acid is anti inflammatory, calms the skin and reduces redness. Perfect for our condition and results came after approx. 4 weeks. Count of lesions went down (while of course not completly) when staying consistent. Also, applying a thick zinc oxide paste before bed. Looks ridiculous but it did help for me. I have seen, that some users here reported similar! Also, barrier repair products with 3% Ceramides seem to have helped although they are a little on the pricier side. Of course, this all only reduced the symptoms, I still had oozing crusts, just a little less often than before.
After coming here, I instantly talked to my derm to get Soolantra. I will probably start my journey next week and I am excited to report back with the coming progress.
Thanks again to all for sharing your experiences and for creating this forum!
They compare several treatments and say in comparison to Finacea that “Soolantra is likely to be more effective at treating rosacea with papules and pustules”. It certainly works for me.
I stopped using Soolantra and just wash my face with water since beginning of August 2023. I’m beginning to see a return of some small lesions. They are not oozing or crusting. My skin is also becoming a bit more dry. I suspect that the demodex mites are returning. It’s been over 6 months since I used soolantra so may decide to start using it again if things get any worse.
I’m really glad that you found this site. All the best with your journey and please let us know how you get on. You may need to use the soolantra for 6 weeks or so to see results so stick with it.
Quick update. I finally got the soolantra! My derm also prescribed me a low dose of doxy (Oracea) to help with the eventual die-off phase. She did however mention that, similar to starting a retinol, a purge only happens in about ¼ of patients. I am unsure whether that applies to our condition as well, though as many here have reported to worsen at the start. If things get really bad, she also prescribed a steroid crème just in case. Hopefully I wont need it. Anyway, I have seen Tso’s advice not to start the treatment before an important event. Since I do have one upcoming unfortunately, I decided to not start for another two weeks as I am quite anxious about it and my skin looks okayish right now with just two little lesions. I will report back after starting!
Just wanted to give a quick update on my journey. After another delay due to a personal event and me being a bit scared because of the bad first reaction thread, I finally started Soolantra at the beginning of this month. Important info first: Surprisingly, I have not had any oozing lesions since starting. I noticed a few forming, but somehow they never really developed and died down after a day or so. Also, the complexity of my skin became much smoother only after a few days. I don’t think my skin has ever been so even? I am still a little sceptical as to whether the Soolantra is working or just a bit of a lucky streak. I dont want to celebrate and jinx it yet, but all in all, no bad reactions whatsoever, no oozing lesions, less redness and smoother skin. I am very excited to see what the next few weeks will bring. I’ll be sure to update and thanks again for this forum!
Edit: Also, I am still taking Oracea (low dose Doxy) daily that my Derm prescribed me. I noticed that it already helped a bit before I started Soolantra but not entirely eradicated the lesions. So the current condition of my skin could also be partly due to that. I plan to stop the Doxy after maybe a month of Soolantra and see where that takes me
I have been on Soolantra for about six weeks now. And it’s safe to say that I have seen massive improvements. While I still had two or three lesions since my last update that did develop past the oozing stage, i have been clear again for the last two weeks. Considering the baseline I started at, its literally life changing. Its really a strange feeling, not waking up in the morning being scared that I have developed another crust. I dont think, that the fear is going to subside completely in the near future, but it has gone down drastically. Not only that, but overall my skin just looks way healthier and clearer. I am really sure that Soolantra is working for our condition in some capacity and I encourage everyone that is unsure to give it a try for a few weeks.
Regarding the initial die off phase, I luckily did not experience any worsening. What I did notice though was that I had several itchy spots down my neck. They did not ooze but were very similar to the lesions before they pop open. In the Rosacea Forum, people talk about mite migration. Maybe it could have somehting to do with it. This only lasted for less than two weeks and started maybe around week three~. All clear since then!
Also, barrier repair products with 3% Ceramides seem to have helped although they are a little on the pricier side. Of course, this all only reduced the symptoms, I still had oozing crusts, just a little less often than before.
