Re: TX 9 Follow-up

[Guest guest]

Jim,

Congratulations on completing your ninth photoderm session. I'm so

glad you've been willing to share your experiences with us.

From your picture, I couldn't tell that you have rosacea. Was that

taken after a few photoderm sessions?

Continued good luck to you!

Matija

[Guest guest]

Hi Matija,

<<Congratulations on completing your ninth photoderm

session. I'm so glad you've been willing to share your

experiences with us.>>

Thanks! Can't wait until #10 is complete, and the

swelling is gone from that TX. I'm going to ask Dr.

Avery to hit me just as hard as he did in #9. As far

as I'm concerned, Dr. Avery is 'Da Man'. He is

certainly worth the trip from Dallas to Wichita Falls

TX.

<<From your picture, I couldn't tell that you have

rosacea. Was that taken after a few photoderm

sessions?>>

Yes, it was taken a couple of months after TX #5,

while I was " resting up " before TX's 6 thru 10.

Best wishes,

Jim

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Which # posting is his picture in?

[Guest guest]

Which # posting is his picture in?

[Guest guest]

Which # posting is his picture in?

[Guest guest]

<<Jim - You really do not look like you have rosacea

in that pic. I must admit there are days where I do

not look at all like I have rosacea either. Just

curious, is this the way you look every day now or is

this a good day.>>

Francesca,

Your questions are certainly valid. I am a flusher

with no acne component to speak of. My flushing has

always run a daily cycle; generally I have been much

more prone to flush in the evening. I generally have

not experienced day-to-day fluctuation of symptoms;

i.e. “good” vs “bad” days. This “daily cycle” rule of

thumb was of course mitigated by trigger exposure –

thermal heat and stress were MAJOR triggers for me.

The real question then is, how much did photoderm

reduce my flushing symptoms at critical times and/or

trigger exposure(s)? The answer is, very much. After

TX #5 I was improved enough to go back to work and

perform in a high-stress environment without

significant problems. Prior to TX #1, the flushing had

become so bad that I was unable to work for about one

year. Prior to TX #1, any emotional stress WHATSOEVER

would cause my face to become beet red, especially the

cheeks and ears. The pain was excruciating during

these episodes. Shortly before I quit working in June

1999, simply relating a problem to managers would

trigger a severe episode. The longer I spoke to them

the more it would burn. The more it burned, the more I

worried about my face looking like a STOP SIGN. The

more I worried, the hotter my face would burn. A

simple ‘progress report’ often resulted in a two-hour

episode, after which I would be forced to guzzle ice

water and take aspirin, clonidine and tranquilizers.

Now, let’s move the clock forward. After TX 5, I

finally took a contract, and believe me, it was a

hum-dinger. I accepted a six-month contract (software

developer) in Houston TX, 270 miles from my home in

the Dallas area. The situation I went into was a

virtual madhouse. A large system full of bugs had just

been turned over to the client, a credit card company.

The system was set up so that ANY data contentions

resulted in an immediate abend. We were transmitting

and receiving hundreds of files each day, via FTP. ANY

file transmission problems produced abends. ANY data

integrity problems from external files produced

abends. ANY abend resulted in an immediate page to my

team: there were four (4) of us supporting this

hideous mess, 24 hours per day. Some nights I did not

sleep at all. However I still had to work the

following day, 10 to 12 hours. In addition to the

support we were also under pressure to complete

development projects, of which there was an enormous

backlog. Good thing I work by the hour! My beleaguered

little group made lunch excursions every day into 105+

degree heat, to escape the madness for an hour or so.

Of course we had our pagers and cell phones, so I

frequently had the pleasure of riding in a super-hot

car, talking on a cell phone in an attempt to resolve

some situation back at the ranch. Add to all of this

the complications of being so far from home, having to

drive home and back every weekend or so, spend about

12 hours doing chores while home – I think you get the

picture. It was mighty tough. The only reason I did

it, of course, was that the compensation was far too

good to refuse.

Throughout this insanity, I did not have *any* major

flushing episodes. Sometimes my ears would burn a

little. I always drank plenty of ice water, and

sometimes took an aspirin, after coming back inside

from the Houston furnace. Several times I took .1mg

clonidine (down from .2mg which had been my dosage

prior to TX 1).

The main reason I went for another 5 TX’s was that

exercise would tend to provoke a flush (although

nothing like before TX 1) and I LOVE working out. My

assumption was that 5 more would optimize the

treatment results and minimize problems during

workouts.

As for the photograph, it was taken around noon, I was

under no stress, and the location wasn't hot. However,

I can tell you that prior to TX 1, I had large

permanent blotches of redness on the cheeks and neck

(due to the daily vasodilation) which the photoderm

550 filter took out. All I was wearing during that

photo shot was a little moisturizer. If you look

closely at the right cheek, you might notice a small

red area which was still present after TX 5. Just for

good measure, Dr. Avery gave me an aggressive TX #6

using the 550 filter, which took out any and all

remaining superficial redness. Here's that link again:

http://profiles.yahoo.com/garland_falcon

Cheers,

Jim

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

<<Jim - You really do not look like you have rosacea

in that pic. I must admit there are days where I do

not look at all like I have rosacea either. Just

curious, is this the way you look every day now or is

this a good day.>>

Francesca,

Your questions are certainly valid. I am a flusher

with no acne component to speak of. My flushing has

always run a daily cycle; generally I have been much

more prone to flush in the evening. I generally have

not experienced day-to-day fluctuation of symptoms;

i.e. “good” vs “bad” days. This “daily cycle” rule of

thumb was of course mitigated by trigger exposure –

thermal heat and stress were MAJOR triggers for me.

The real question then is, how much did photoderm

reduce my flushing symptoms at critical times and/or

trigger exposure(s)? The answer is, very much. After

TX #5 I was improved enough to go back to work and

perform in a high-stress environment without

significant problems. Prior to TX #1, the flushing had

become so bad that I was unable to work for about one

year. Prior to TX #1, any emotional stress WHATSOEVER

would cause my face to become beet red, especially the

cheeks and ears. The pain was excruciating during

these episodes. Shortly before I quit working in June

1999, simply relating a problem to managers would

trigger a severe episode. The longer I spoke to them

the more it would burn. The more it burned, the more I

worried about my face looking like a STOP SIGN. The

more I worried, the hotter my face would burn. A

simple ‘progress report’ often resulted in a two-hour

episode, after which I would be forced to guzzle ice

water and take aspirin, clonidine and tranquilizers.

Now, let’s move the clock forward. After TX 5, I

finally took a contract, and believe me, it was a

hum-dinger. I accepted a six-month contract (software

developer) in Houston TX, 270 miles from my home in

the Dallas area. The situation I went into was a

virtual madhouse. A large system full of bugs had just

been turned over to the client, a credit card company.

The system was set up so that ANY data contentions

resulted in an immediate abend. We were transmitting

and receiving hundreds of files each day, via FTP. ANY

file transmission problems produced abends. ANY data

integrity problems from external files produced

abends. ANY abend resulted in an immediate page to my

team: there were four (4) of us supporting this

hideous mess, 24 hours per day. Some nights I did not

sleep at all. However I still had to work the

following day, 10 to 12 hours. In addition to the

support we were also under pressure to complete

development projects, of which there was an enormous

backlog. Good thing I work by the hour! My beleaguered

little group made lunch excursions every day into 105+

degree heat, to escape the madness for an hour or so.

Of course we had our pagers and cell phones, so I

frequently had the pleasure of riding in a super-hot

car, talking on a cell phone in an attempt to resolve

some situation back at the ranch. Add to all of this

the complications of being so far from home, having to

drive home and back every weekend or so, spend about

12 hours doing chores while home – I think you get the

picture. It was mighty tough. The only reason I did

it, of course, was that the compensation was far too

good to refuse.

Throughout this insanity, I did not have *any* major

flushing episodes. Sometimes my ears would burn a

little. I always drank plenty of ice water, and

sometimes took an aspirin, after coming back inside

from the Houston furnace. Several times I took .1mg

clonidine (down from .2mg which had been my dosage

prior to TX 1).

The main reason I went for another 5 TX’s was that

exercise would tend to provoke a flush (although

nothing like before TX 1) and I LOVE working out. My

assumption was that 5 more would optimize the

treatment results and minimize problems during

workouts.

As for the photograph, it was taken around noon, I was

under no stress, and the location wasn't hot. However,

I can tell you that prior to TX 1, I had large

permanent blotches of redness on the cheeks and neck

(due to the daily vasodilation) which the photoderm

550 filter took out. All I was wearing during that

photo shot was a little moisturizer. If you look

closely at the right cheek, you might notice a small

red area which was still present after TX 5. Just for

good measure, Dr. Avery gave me an aggressive TX #6

using the 550 filter, which took out any and all

remaining superficial redness. Here's that link again:

http://profiles.yahoo.com/garland_falcon

Cheers,

Jim

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

<<Jim - You really do not look like you have rosacea

in that pic. I must admit there are days where I do

not look at all like I have rosacea either. Just

curious, is this the way you look every day now or is

this a good day.>>

Francesca,

Your questions are certainly valid. I am a flusher

with no acne component to speak of. My flushing has

always run a daily cycle; generally I have been much

more prone to flush in the evening. I generally have

not experienced day-to-day fluctuation of symptoms;

i.e. “good” vs “bad” days. This “daily cycle” rule of

thumb was of course mitigated by trigger exposure –

thermal heat and stress were MAJOR triggers for me.

The real question then is, how much did photoderm

reduce my flushing symptoms at critical times and/or

trigger exposure(s)? The answer is, very much. After

TX #5 I was improved enough to go back to work and

perform in a high-stress environment without

significant problems. Prior to TX #1, the flushing had

become so bad that I was unable to work for about one

year. Prior to TX #1, any emotional stress WHATSOEVER

would cause my face to become beet red, especially the

cheeks and ears. The pain was excruciating during

these episodes. Shortly before I quit working in June

1999, simply relating a problem to managers would

trigger a severe episode. The longer I spoke to them

the more it would burn. The more it burned, the more I

worried about my face looking like a STOP SIGN. The

more I worried, the hotter my face would burn. A

simple ‘progress report’ often resulted in a two-hour

episode, after which I would be forced to guzzle ice

water and take aspirin, clonidine and tranquilizers.

Now, let’s move the clock forward. After TX 5, I

finally took a contract, and believe me, it was a

hum-dinger. I accepted a six-month contract (software

developer) in Houston TX, 270 miles from my home in

the Dallas area. The situation I went into was a

virtual madhouse. A large system full of bugs had just

been turned over to the client, a credit card company.

The system was set up so that ANY data contentions

resulted in an immediate abend. We were transmitting

and receiving hundreds of files each day, via FTP. ANY

file transmission problems produced abends. ANY data

integrity problems from external files produced

abends. ANY abend resulted in an immediate page to my

team: there were four (4) of us supporting this

hideous mess, 24 hours per day. Some nights I did not

sleep at all. However I still had to work the

following day, 10 to 12 hours. In addition to the

support we were also under pressure to complete

development projects, of which there was an enormous

backlog. Good thing I work by the hour! My beleaguered

little group made lunch excursions every day into 105+

degree heat, to escape the madness for an hour or so.

Of course we had our pagers and cell phones, so I

frequently had the pleasure of riding in a super-hot

car, talking on a cell phone in an attempt to resolve

some situation back at the ranch. Add to all of this

the complications of being so far from home, having to

drive home and back every weekend or so, spend about

12 hours doing chores while home – I think you get the

picture. It was mighty tough. The only reason I did

it, of course, was that the compensation was far too

good to refuse.

Throughout this insanity, I did not have *any* major

flushing episodes. Sometimes my ears would burn a

little. I always drank plenty of ice water, and

sometimes took an aspirin, after coming back inside

from the Houston furnace. Several times I took .1mg

clonidine (down from .2mg which had been my dosage

prior to TX 1).

The main reason I went for another 5 TX’s was that

exercise would tend to provoke a flush (although

nothing like before TX 1) and I LOVE working out. My

assumption was that 5 more would optimize the

treatment results and minimize problems during

workouts.

As for the photograph, it was taken around noon, I was

under no stress, and the location wasn't hot. However,

I can tell you that prior to TX 1, I had large

permanent blotches of redness on the cheeks and neck

(due to the daily vasodilation) which the photoderm

550 filter took out. All I was wearing during that

photo shot was a little moisturizer. If you look

closely at the right cheek, you might notice a small

red area which was still present after TX 5. Just for

good measure, Dr. Avery gave me an aggressive TX #6

using the 550 filter, which took out any and all

remaining superficial redness. Here's that link again:

http://profiles.yahoo.com/garland_falcon

Cheers,

Jim

__________________________________________________