Bye for now. Here is my rosacea progess report.

[Guest guest]

Hey Guys:

I've learned a lot reading all the posts, and wanted to say THANK YOU to

all the folks who contribute their time/energy/expertise to keep this group

productive. cea sucks, but considering all of God's wonderful diseases he

has blessed mankind with, we could be stuck with something worse. Due to lack

of time and lots of posts to read through, I will be ending my participation in

this egroup for the time being.

Knowing that everyone's response to treatments is quite variable, and

remembering how much I've learned from y'all, I've listed below some of what

seems to be working (or not, as the case may be) for me;

- MY ROSACEA - I don't have acne, sometimes a bump on the face, mostly just the

typical redness pattern over most of the face, though I don't have the 'pink all

over' rosacea - my rosacea is more akin to Doc Nase's. I spent too many years

on the tennis courts and on the ski slopes with no protection, along with

actively seeking out my other triggers. Yeah, and my eyes started to have this

gritty feeling, so the ocular component of rosacea was coming to pay a visit as

well. I'm a 46 year old white male - you know the type, the one responsible for

all of society's problems and was diagnosed with rosacea maybe 15 years ago

or so.

- PHOTODERM - I have had 2 treatments so far, the visible blood vessels are

much reduced, and redness is starting to decrease (maybe15 - 20% thus far). But

what is really nice is that the facial tingling/pain is much reduced, especially

in the evening. I plan to complete the series of 5 tx's with Doc Bitter Sr.,

even though I routinely have to wait WAY past my appointment time to have him do

his photomagic (I know, take a deep breath)

- ZINCO - You know, I now wear this stuff daily (initially my male ego got in

the way and I said No Way would I wear what seemed to be Makeup), but I now

believe just having a protective barrier between my skin and the elements really

seems to reduce the frequency/severity of flare-ups. Woe to the person who

tries to take my Zinco away from me!

- DIET - My diet has usually been what I consider 'reasonable', I now eat

mostly oatmeal for breakfast, which is somewhat beneficial. I never drink

sodas/coffee/tea, but still have a glass of red wine with dinner. Whoever

suggested ice water was right on, I now drink ice water as much as possible. I

eat as little sugar as possible (but still love my creme caramel)

- EXERCISE - This is a tough one, as I try to work out 4 or 5 times per week

(moderate aerobics and weights), and am now starting to play competitive tennis

again, which especially is a trigger for a flare. But the good news is that the

flare mostly goes away by the next day. I ALWAYS wear a hat/sunscreen when

outside (and I mean a wide brim hat, not a cap - who cares about style - I've

worn wide brim hats for many years). Again, drinking ice water during exercise

helps, and whoever suggested spraying misted water on the face was right on -

that really helps, sometimes I can AVOID a flare by misting the heck out of my

face before I start strenous exercise, and then misting as I continue to

exercise. I keep a spray bottle in my office, in my car, in my house...I also

wear a kool-tie if playing tennis during the day, which helps a little.

- STRESS - I try not to let life's little and not-so-little annoyances get to

me (I said I try, not that I succeed), knowing that stress is a significant

trigger.

- CLEANSERS - I used to use cetaphil, which is MUCH better than regular ol'

soap, but now use Dr. Sy's superfatty soap, which I like because it doesn't dry

the skin so much, plus it cleans well and removes Zinco. I also tried Tolerin,

which someone suggested, and I like it mucho because it is VERY gentle, but it

doesn't remove zinco too well. If you read the label, you'll see no

surfactants, which are needed for good clensing properties.

- TOPICALS - I have stopped using Metrogel (it never did much, but I used it

for years for lack of a better tx). I am currently trying Dr. Sy's vita-oil,

and haven't decided if I like it or not, as it definitely causes redness when I

put it on.

- SUPPLEMENTS - Beyond the daily multi-vitamin, I am taking ester Vitamin C and

the grape seed extract, neither of which I can attribute any benefits to using,

but I'll probably continue taking them just in case (and you wondered why the

vitamin industry is a multi-billion dollar industry). Aspirin is the old

standby, which helps reduce a flare.

- OFF THE WALL TREATMENTS - Given the lack of success current medical

treatments have had in effectively treating rosacea, it is not surprising to see

suggestions posted which are a bit dubious, to say the least. Don't forget to

use a healthy dose of skepticism when reading some of these posts, you can save

yourself some aggravation and money.

- AND FINALLY A SUGGESTION - Sometimes a (very) few egroup members get a wee

bit carried away when someone disagrees with them. Then they go ballistic

(metaphorically speaking, of course), and in their self-righteous tirades they

remind me of how the Palestinians and Israelis (or just substitute your favorite

ethnic group, in-laws, my two teenage daughters, or...) can't seem to find any

common ground, and they seem to believe that screaming their insults louder will

somehow make things better. So, the next time someone gets their shorts

wrapped-up so tight they can't think straight and start using this egroup to

distribute their flame-mail, just ignore them. It isn't worth trying to get the

last word in, or trying to get them to understand that their frothing response

is a good indicator of their maturity. Give them time, they'll grow up [maybe],

and then can contribute to an informed, well-reasoned debate.

So, if anyone wants to send me e (hopefully not flame) mail, I'd be happy to

stay in touch. I'll check back in awhile, maybe Doc Nase will have his tome

ready for publication and our edification.

Dan

Dan

President

Responsible Metal Fab, Inc.

1256 N. Lawrence Station Road

Sunnyvale, CA 94089

fax