2nd Photoderm Session/Austrialia

[Guest guest]

Hi all

As promised I am reporting on my 2nd Photoderm treatment. Before

beginning I would like to reiterate a few points made in my first post

concerning Photoderm that may help those of you who are considering

undertaking photoderm. I apologise for the length! – but I think this

is important.

I live in Brisbane, Queensland Australia. My Photoderm Dr is Dr

Arbuckle of the Highlands health centre located on the Gold Coast,

Queensland. He is the most incredible Dr and I hope you all find one

that is as wonderful and caring – that is why I have put this long post

together.

My Case

Mild – Moderate rosacea depending on the day. Constant pinkness of

cheeks and chin. No visible broken vessels. At times a few small

pimples on the chin. Mild blusher all my life. Triggers – blushing,

strenuous exercise, heat (mostly just blushing).

How to find a good Photoderm Doctor

1. Do thorough research into Photoderm and its application to cea –

you can get the latest clinical trials from a number of sources

including PubMed on-line and by visiting your local medical library –

usually in a local hospital or university. Read the posts here about

photoderm – particularly those by Dr Nase. Make yourself as

knowledgeable as possible about all facets of photoderm. This way you

will know very quickly which Dr's are current with their treatment

protocols.

2. Compile a list of photoderm Dr's and phone as many as possible to

discuss their procedures – have a list of questions ready to ask.

3. Your goal is to find a Dr who has been treating FACIAL vessels with

Photoderm for at least 1yr. Ask how many patients they have treated in

the past 12mths to gauge how much experienced they have had. Ask about

their knowledge of ROSACEA in general and with using Photoderm to treat

cea. From my visits with a number of Dr's I cannot express

strongly enough how important it is that your Dr be knowledgeable and

highly experienced in treating rosacea with photoderm. Many Dr's are

very experienced with photoderm but not for treating rosacea and thus

may not be able to give you optimum results. EG. I had one photoderm

Dr (who is a great physician) tell me that I would only need 2 sessions

at the most – however we all know that this would only treat the

superficial damage, so very quickly I realised this Dr was not

proficient in treating rosacea – only in doing cosmetic work with the

photoderm machine.

4. Visit those Dr's that seemed knowledgeable and understanding. In

total I called 10 Dr's (some interstate) and visited 3. I was looking

for a Dr who was interested and experienced in treating rosacea, who

was understanding and attentive, who would let me see patients

before/in-progress/after photo's, who would let me speak to past or

current patients (bearing in mind patient confidentiality etc), who was

current with the literature (photoderm sessions 2 weeks apart, no

bruising/blistering/swelling etc) and who proposed a logical and

detailed treatment plan explaining how photoderm worked and what we

would have to achieve to get rid of my flushed look. Of the 3 Dr's

visited only one stood out – he was highly experienced, very current on

procedures (attending laser conferences and doing extra training with

experts in the USA (I`m in Australia) every year etc). You will pick

up on all this very quickly – just don't be afraid to ask. I turned up

to each of these Dr's with a 1pg typed question list that I worked from

(needless to say the Dr I choose was very willing to answer all these

questions while the others were a little daunted by the fact that I

knew so much about Photoderm and its use).

The Treatment

The 1st Treatment (550/35) went really well. The sensation is

uncomfortable but definitely not painful. Immediately after the 1st

treatment I went bright red and stayed that way for approx 3-5 hrs – by

the next morning I was very pale. No blistering, flares, breakouts,

bruising or swelling. I would say there was a mild to moderate

reduction in redness – perhaps 25% (although for the few days after

treatment it was more like 50%). My face didn't flush as easily from

most triggers after this first treatment. I was VERY happy and

excited by these results

The 2nd Treatment was yesterday, we increased the settings slightly and

went for some of the deeper vessels. Surprisingly, it was actually

more comfortable than the first treatment (perhaps I was less

nervous!!!!). The session lasted about 30min. My face was bright red

after the treatment but settled within 3/4 hrs. This morning my face

looks almost normal. Hardly any pinkness at all. No blistering,

bruising, flares, swelling. The redness is down by about 80% today. I

am hoping it will settle to about a 40-50% constant improvement from

treatment 1. I am booked in for another treatment in 2 weeks time. My

Dr's plan is to go slowly and make sure we do the treatment plan

properly. He continually reiterates the point that we should not have

to suffer any side effects if the treatment is done well. The results

I am achieving without any adverse effects are testimony to this

perception.

Photoderm is a fabulous option for rosaceans, I have seen some of the

work Dr Arbuckle has done on other patients who have much more

noticeable, florid rosacea with many broken vessels and he has achieved

almost 100% clearance in these patients without adverse side effects.

I would be very careful and weary of any Dr who claims that to get

optimum results he must visibly damage your skin to a great degree.

My other cea Treatments

Hypnosis

I commented once before that I have a mild blushing problem, well with

the help of hypnotherapy – 4 sessions in total between Dec and Jan

(2week intervals) I have over come this problem –which was my main

rosacea trigger. I felt that photoderm would rid me of the outward

signs of rosacea but I needed to focus on its primary cause – my

blushing. I worked really hard at this, and with the help of the

hypnotism I have had excellent results (mainly because my blushing was

centred in my mind – I would pre-empt my blush and actually cause

myself to blush). The hypnotism rid me of the emotion attached to the

blush. We would tape my sessions each week and I would listen to these

tapes as I fell asleep at night. If blushing is a major trigger for

you I would strongly recommend trying this mode of treatment.

Beauty Routine

I use a line of produces from Dermalogica (www.dermalogica.com) are

designed by the dermal institute and are fantastic. My skin really

loves these products. They have special boosters that you add to the

moisturisors that calm red and irritated skins. Their exfoliators etc

are also great. There products are extremely sensitive and made from

natural herbal combinations. When I get a few pimples (I actually

think these aren't rosacea related) I dab a product called Azulen Paste

by Dr Eckstein ( I get this from the beautician) and it takes down any

inflamination and clears the spot very quickly without leaving any

scaring. It is primarily a zinc oxide compound that is tinted green –

This stuff is really really fantastic.

Well I know this is very long but I hope it helps some of you. Good

luck all and I will post the results of my 3rd treatment (I promise it

will be short) in 2 weeks time.

Warm Regards

Tracey Sara

[Guest guest]

How many Photoderm treatments will you need altogether?