getting stretchmarks on my face

[SarahVaughter]

OK, but then my suspicion that you're on some kind of medicine that makes skin photosensitive is correct, and you have to look in that direction.

The Alimemazine you're taking is known for making the skin photo-sensitive so I would recommend stopping it immediately.

"Photosensitivity" is quite of an euphemism, really. "Photosensitivity" means that very harmful things occur in the skin when exposed to light, caused by the formation of highly toxic compounds.

The skin then reacts in various ways.

If you've been taking this drug for the past two years, then you may have developed increased sensitivity to its chronic exposure.

Alimemazine is know to be able to cause rashes and hypersensitivity reactions:

https://http://www.mims.com/USA/drug/info/alimemazine/

Agents that have photosensitivity as their main side effect are of course the prime suspect in your case.

The patient's leaflet for Alimemazine  says you should avoid direct sunlight:

Exposure to sunlight

"Alimemazine can make your skin more sensitive to sunlight. Keep out of direct sunlight while taking this medicine."

https://www.medicines.org.uk/EMC/pdfviewer.aspx?isAttachment=true&documentid=22488

I am near-100% certain that the skin symptoms you report have nothing to do with microneedling.

[Rollin]

Ok but why then did the symptoms come on just after dermarolling?

Also is there any sleeping-aid that I could take that wouldn't cause photosensitivity? Because I do think I need to take something at this point. I'll do my best to avoid it however! (perhaps I should just ask a gp about this instead but they didn't even mention this about alimemazine nor was it to be found on the side-effects label!)

And I'll stop the alimemazine immediately, I'm pretty darn pissed off this information wasn't to be found on the label! But why would that only cause a problem in the face? You got any ideas?

Also would taking desloratadin (areius) cause any problem of this kind? My derm wanted me to take it for two weeks to try, but I don't trust her anymore to be honest...

I'm planning on curbing the anxiety (which causes the sleeping-problems) with omega-3 and something called "inositol". This has worked well in the past and should work now too. Would either of those be a problem?

Again I really really appreciate you helping me out Mrs Vaughter. The information you give me is at least helpful, unlike what ive been given by a clueless derm.

[SarahVaughter]

I am not a doctor so I would have to do the same as you (Googling) to find sleeping aids that do not list photosensitivity amongst their side effects.

I can think of several reasons why microneedling could aggravate chemically-induced photosensitivity (before, during and after), all of which are rather technical and are beside the point, being that you are reporting what appears to be chemically-induced photosensitivity.

I know how terrible photosensitivity in the face is. I have been since 2001 on Doxycycline because it very slowly makes my Lyme disease better and even ten minutes in moderate sunshine makes my face very painful and red for days. The only way I can get a suntan or expose my face to the sun is when I stop the Doxycycline for at least 24 hours prior.

From your questions I gather you're sceptical that Alimemazine could be the cause. But what you described made me think of photosensitivity, and indeed, you say you've been taking something that causes photosensitivity for the past two years. Occam's Razor says that this is your prime suspect. You also mentioned that your problems already occured before dermarolling. So I think you should stop taking Alimemazine and see whether things improve.

[Rollin]

Ok fair enough. How long should it take you think before i know if alimemazine was either solely the problem or at least contributing to it?

And about the symptoms I did not have any prior to rolling. I just had two intendations on my face that I thought was new but it had just become a little more noticable; I looked at older photos and it was there at that time too only less visible.

As you probably realise I used to be pretty obsessive about my looks. Now I will never ever care about a scar here or there again, as long as I can get better!

I'm terribly sorry to hear about your Lyme disease, I've heard how very awful that can be. Glad you're getting better slowly at least!

Again I really really Appreciate you taking the time to help out. And I just want to stress to anyone reading this that dermarolling is indeed safe I've tried finding anyone with this kind of reaction and it has been impossible for me, unlike fraxel laser that has LOADS of horror-stories associated with it (and yet is probably safe for the vast majority). So don't be discouraged by my experience but perhaps try a smaller patch first just to see how you react if you're considering using longer needles on your face.

sincerely,

David

[lola]

Hello David,

your story is such unbelievable and I feel so sorry for you. I read the whole thread and did I get it right that you don't have visible marks on you face but you are photosensitive and in the sun you feel the burning sensation?

I am a pale skin type and i had tolerate the sun moderately in the past, since I used retinoid (only for 6 weeks) two years ago I am much more photosensitive. Within 5 min. without sunscreen I got a sunburn. So, I think for so many people retinoids are safe and they respond well to it, but in may case it was not worth the try and it triggered the photosenitivity . And this is why I am so cautious use the dermaroller since the scientist also doesn't know 100% how the whole procedure works. They are no long term studies.

David, did you try emu-oil or do you search for something that would calm your burning sensation? Did you think about detoxing your body? In Germany, where I am from, we have alternative practitioner and they are more on the holistic approach and try to heal with natural resources. Maybe worth a try?

From what I read, you are a strong person and I am sure you find a way to fix your problem. Keep going and bothering the doctors and don't stop until you find the right person or method  that can help you.

I wish you all the best and keep us updated.

I hope, you could understand everything, since my English is in need of improvement

Best regards,

lola

[SarahVaughter]

David, the half time of that antihistamine is 5 hours so you should be OK after 48 hours, provided there are no tissue stores that can accumulate/release it beyond that time (I am not a doctor..)

[Rollin]

lola;1576 wrote: Hello David,

your story is such unbelievable and I feel so sorry for you. I read the whole thread and did I get it right that you don't have visible marks on you face but you are photosensitive and in the sun you feel the burning sensation?

I am a pale skin type and i had tolerate the sun moderately in the past, since I used retinoid (only for 6 weeks) two years ago I am much more photosensitive. Within 5 min. without sunscreen I got a sunburn. So, I think for so many people retinoids are safe and they respond well to it, but in may case it was not worth the try and it triggered the photosenitivity . And this is why I am so cautious use the dermaroller since the scientist also doesn't know 100% how the whole procedure works. They are no long term studies.

David, did you try emu-oil or do you search for something that would calm your burning sensation? Did you think about detoxing your body? In Germany, where I am from, we have alternative practitioner and they are more on the holistic approach and try to heal with natural resources. Maybe worth a try?

From what I read, you are a strong person and I am sure you find a way to fix your problem. Keep going and bothering the doctors and don't stop until you find the right person or method  that can help you.

I wish you all the best and keep us updated.

I hope, you could understand everything, since my English is in need of improvement

Best regards,

lola

 

I really appreciate your kind words lola. I am not the luckiest dude around that's for sure, this isn't my only healthproblem sadly which has made it all the more troublesome to deal with.

I do have visible marks on my face but they're not that big of a deal really, at least not at this point though I'm concerned about the skin deteriorating further if I can't get this under controll soon. I already have a lot of anxiety about the skin as it is. If I could get rid of this problem so that I could start applying some good and proper moisturizers and such I'm pretty sure my skin would look totally fine with some time, and though it may not look like it did before that's not the end of the world you know(?). I'm also male so I think I can get away with a little rougher skin than women, lucky me haha...

and your English is fine, I'm Swedish so mine's not native either

re: the alimemazine. I didn't take it for about 2-3 months and it made no difference so I doubt it's that. However I have noticed that many kinds of oral medications can make the skinproblem slightly worse including sleeping meds or anxietymeds (hence I take none). I took bee pollen for a while for an unrelated problem and it also caused the skin to feel a little worse so I stopped that too.

[SarahVaughter]

If you did not take it for such a long time and it really made no difference then it's a mystery :-(

[Rollin]

ok thanks I appreciate the suggestion nonetheless Mrs Vaughter. I remember you mentioning something about a plastic surgeon (that you know) who knows a lot about dermarolling. Perhaps you could ask him what his thoughts are?

I'm thinking for some reason my body didn't go through the normal process of inflammation -> healing -> more collagen, but something went wrong during that process and now it's kinda "stuck". Perhaps he would know more about this?

sincerely,

a very sad David

[Rollin]

I just have one last question: As I mentioned I didn't disinfect the dermaroller the last time I used it (that was on the face for the first time I think).

Is it possible that I have been having a very mild and somehow controlled infection all this time, ie doesn't show much and hasn't gotten worse. Or would it be clearly visible if it was an infection? I did eat heracillin for 5 days recently due to another unrelated problem and that at least had no impact on my face problem.

What about splinters breaking off from the roller and getting trapped in the skin causing irritation?

I promise I won't ask more stupid questions if these are answered

- David

[SarahVaughter]

You mean you've not disinfected the roller when you used it for the first time after unpackaging? That should not be a problem.

Also, I am quite sure that a skin infection does not manifest itself like that. We consider it impossible that anything breaks off the roller and ends up in the skin.

The needles certainly can't splinter, fragment, flake or break off. I have to say that you are a totally unique case so far, amongst our thousands of customers.

I just got a reply from my knowledgeable aquaintance and he says he  can't help with this, but that you would need to see a dermatologist..

If a dermaroller could cause such permanent skin problems then it should have been reported before.

 We sold perhaps twenty thousand  dermarollers over several years worldwide and you are the only one reporting this problem so I also think  there is something going on that needs a dermatologist's judgment.

You could have some rare skin issue. This problem needs the opinion of a medical specialist. Since you live in Norway/Sweden (I forgot which), you can see a dermatologist for a small fee, correct?

If one dermatologist doesn't know, perhaps another one will - you need a second opinion or an expert's opinion.

[SarahVaughter]

After having thought about this and having discussed it last night, all I can come up with is that somehow the long-term use of that antihistamine has caused a long-lasting histological photosensitivity-related change in your skin that has now become apparent, as it is getting sunnier.

This antihistamine causes photosensitivity and what I know of chemically-induced photosensitivity is that it abates a few days after the responsible agent has been metabolized, but that is perhaps not always the case with all such agents, as I only have experience with Doxycycline. There may be multiple ways that photosensitivity can occur. I can imagine the theoretical possibility that the Alimemazine has caused certain long-living chemicals that cause photosensitivity to accumulate into the skin. Some compounds never leave the skin - think of Argyria - so I'd permanently cease the use of anything with photosensitivity in their list of side effects. And wait a few years, see if it gets better with time.

I think it is rare to take this substance for such a long time so it would be very difficult to find anyone knowledgeable about this.

[Rollin]

I appreciate the thoughts. First I just want to say that I mean I didn't disinfect the roller prior to using it the last time. That time I used it on my face, and that's when the problem surfaced. I had used it twice on my neck before without getting this reaction (though it didn't help the "problem" on my neck). I had disinfected it both before and after usage both those times, but again I assume a derm would spot an infection pretty easily and my derm has not suggested that once. And I've shown her the device and she did not think it could cause this and neither did another dermatologist I asked through the web (payed a small fee).

I doubt alimemazine is responsible however, I know people who has taken this substance for over 6 years for sleepingissues without any kind of reaction whatsoever, in fact I only think photosensitivity is common in high dosages and I took lower than recommended dosages (didn't need it that much). Perhaps the combination of this medication with dermarolling could produce some kind of reaction but I rather think it's either something unrelated to the dermaroller itself though it may have been triggered by it OR that anxiety over all of this plays some part in this, or maybe both. The anxiety thing seems unlikely to me but I can't dismiss it entirely as I have been pretty damn depressed over this problem, and I had some medical issues before this too which I was sad about (a balancedisorder).

At any rate I really appreciate you taking the time to think about this. Especially considering this could be "bad" in terms of business. I must stress that I haven't found one single account of anyone else with  this problem from dermarolling, which makes it highly unlikely that this would be the cause of my problem (though it seems to have triggered it somehow).

I'll see another dermatologist but since the one I've been seeing is the only private one in my area it will take some time going through the "normal route" here.

Omega-3 is the only thing that has helped thus far. Certainly no cure but it takes away some of the burning sensations when they appear etc.

- Dave.

[SarahVaughter]

If you did not at least clean the roller before re-using it, then indeed you could now have some weird skin infection. Again, I am not a doctor but I do know that when you roll your face and then not at least clean the roller (like, moving it vigorously in a bucket of warm soapy water) then you'll likely end up with a lot of bacterial growth on the needles. If you merely placed the roller back in its case after rolling, without at least washing it, and later rolled again with it without thorough sterilization, then you can expect heavy bacterial/fungal contamination to be introduced into the skin.  However I am still sceptical that this would enter the deeper skin layers and result in anything else but some whiteheads, and only when using long-needled rollers such as 1.5 and 2 mm.

As I said, it's a mystery and it would be interesting if you were to decide to send me a picture of your affected skin after all.

Don't worry about this thread being bad for business. We sell a roller every ten minutes - we're one of the most popular dermarolling vendors out there - and I don't think an isolated case, of which it does not even seem dermarolling has anything/much to do with it, will deter many from dermarolling. I think this thread contains interesting info and I hope you'll be able to get your problem resolved or at least discover what it is that ails you.

[Rollin]

Nah I both cleaned and disinfected it AFTER prior usage and I cleaned it under hot water before using it the last time too (no soap though). It had been in its package in between usage so no contanimation there either.

I'm thinking more and more along the terms of somehow damamged skinbarrier + anxiety over all of this perhaps being at play, I haven't found one single skindisorder that matches my symptoms so I don't know. Going to buy some special creams for skin-repair. We'll see...

As I said it doesn't show that much, I've had some places where some intendations have appeared, some of them lineshaped, but they don't go that deep and aren't too visible so as long as I can get this problem under control now I wouldn't care about that one bit (well maybe a little but I would sure not try and do anything about them; I've learned my lesson).

I'll keep eating the omega-3 but I've started getting some pain in my extremities when I eat it, which is kinda odd (but I'm pretty certain it's the omega-3 because it dissapiates over a few days when I stop the omega-3, but that's not an option right now...)