How Long Before Face Stops Being Pink ?

I used Carac for 14 days, once a day, as prescribed by me dermatologist. About 4 days after my last treatment my face started to peel. This lasted for 5 days. After that, my face went from very red to slightly pink, (which it still is).  The date of my last treatment was Friday, Feb 29. So it's been about 4 weeks and my face is still pink in the areas where I applied the Carac.

For those who used Carac on your face, how long did it take before the pinkness completely faded ?

 Brian

Hi, Brian.

I am on day 12 of using carac on the face, so I can't personally answer, but from what I've read, 2 months (sometimes longer) is not unusual to remain pink.

I am not seeming to have a very strong reaction by day 12.  Just a little flakiness here and there, rosy cheeks, minimal splotchiness.  I was totally prepared to be hybernating by now, but I can still go out.  Do you remember how you were around day 12?  My dr's appointment is on day 21, and she will tell me then if I can stop treatment.

Carrieann

carrieann,

      By day 6 I had some redness/blotchiness (sp ?). Every day after that the redness increased. At about day 9 I was fully red. It looked pretty bad. Unfortunately for me I still had to go to work, but I got used to the strange looks I would sometimes get. About 3 or 4 days after I stopped treatment, I started to peel and it was pretty bad. About 1/2 hour after showering and applying moisturizer, the skin would just about drop off my face, and I would have to re-apply moisturizer again. This happend twice per day for around 5 days. The product I found most helpful was Eucerin Calming Creme. This stuff worked great at relieving the extreme dryness/flakiness. I would normally apply this 5 or 6 times a day. It really helped. Good luck with your treatment.

Brian 

"how long did it take before the pinkness completely faded ?"

Brian,  I did arms and hands with 5-FU, so used a stringer dose, but after 2 months (9 weeks now) since the last application my skin is still very pink in blotches.  I do have very fair skin, so doc said will take longer for me, but I am surprised that it has not faded sooner.  Sort of worried I may always have blotches of redness permanently.  But again, not the same as skin on face/forehead. 

Whitey 

Brian and Whitey,

Congratulations on finishing your treatment!  You are giving me hope....as I am feeling like this process will never end (I did my lower lip first, beginning Feb. 20th).  Today (day 14- carac at bedtime to the face) I am waking up to more itching (I am going to get some of that Eucerin Calming Creme, thank you for the tip, Brian!), more redness- just not all over, mostly the cheeks and one patch on my forehead, I am starting to get a few of the measle-like spots I have read about, on the sides of my face now. And the bridge of my nose (right between the eyes) is flaky red. So, I suppose I am coming along.  It just seems slow compared to the rather extreme reaction I got on the lip.  Whitey, will you have to do your face?   

Thank you for the encouragement.     ~ Carrieann

Brian,

 My last day of 5-FU was March 2, 2008, almost the same day as yours.  I was also worried about the pink look.  It has been a month and a week for me and I am still slightly pink, but seems to be going away now.

Here is a slideshow of the first 14 days of my Fluorouracil treatment.

http://www.slide.com/r/UOS38iRG0z_1PeL2Uf6edu7M91i06eJ3?prev

Post treatment slidshow photos, days 15 to 35:

http://www.slide.com/r/pOmkFem46z_jzpLKJMlRmWNzCCtwz3Xk?prev

aceace,

I am two days post 17 day efudex treatment and having terrible pain. You talk of your pain in your video. How did you deal with it? It's especially bad at night and I'm not getting any sleep.

It looks like the affected areas on my face are about the same as yours was, How long does the pain last?

Thanks for your help and also for posting the video. I helps a lot to know what to expect.

Cynthia

On 5/11/2008 puravida wrote:

aceace,

I am two days post 17 day efudex treatment and having terrible pain. You talk of your pain in your video. How did you deal with it? It's especially bad at night and I'm not getting any sleep.

It looks like the affected areas on my face are about the same as yours was, How long does the pain last?

Thanks for your help and also for posting the video. I helps a lot to know what to expect.

Cynthia

Cynthia,

Wow, I'm so sorry about the pain.  It was hard for me to sleep at night, I wouldn't go to bed till I was nodding off in a chair.  I was almost afraid to lay down on a pillow. I would prop my head up on my fist and go to sleep that way, with my face elevated off the pillow.  Of course I would wake up on my pillow in the middle of the night.  I would change pillowcases every other night, after I flipped them once per night. 

After tx ended I could coat my face with vasoline and that helped a lot. Or Biafine. Also I was prescribed Versafoam EF.  I would alternate between the three, but in the end just plain vasoline was the one I preferred.  I would put on a lot.  It didn't get rid of all the pain, but it got it down to manageable levels. It was rought for 5 days after the TX stopped.  Also, be preparred for some swelling. You can see that in my photos.  

I remember my TX ended on 3/2/2008 and I left for CA on 3/5/2008 and both days of the trip the pain was huge. Felt like pins and needles pricking my face all over randomly. The good news is that I think about 2 or 3 days after I got to CA it was way better, then it healed amazingly fast. It peeled for 10 days, but only the first 3 times hurt, then it wasn't so bad. I took Ibuprofen too, in moderation.  Call your dermotologist and ask what they can do for the pain.  Sounds like your pain was more than mine.

On 5/11/2008 aceace wrote:

 

On 5/11/2008 puravida wrote:

aceace,

I am two days post 17 day efudex treatment and having terrible pain. You talk of your pain in your video. How did you deal with it? It's especially bad at night and I'm not getting any sleep.

It looks like the affected areas on my face are about the same as yours was, How long does the pain last?

Thanks for your help and also for posting the video. I helps a lot to know what to expect.

Cynthia

Cynthia,

Wow, I'm so sorry about the pain.  It was hard for me to sleep at night, I wouldn't go to bed till I was nodding off in a chair.  I was almost afraid to lay down on a pillow. I would prop my head up on my fist and go to sleep that way, with my face elevated off the pillow.  Of course I would wake up on my pillow in the middle of the night.  I would change pillowcases every other night, after I flipped them once per night. 

After tx ended I could coat my face with vasoline and that helped a lot. Or Biafine. Also I was prescribed Versafoam EF.  I would alternate between the three, but in the end just plain vasoline was the one I preferred.  I would put on a lot.  It didn't get rid of all the pain, but it got it down to manageable levels. It was rought for 5 days after the TX stopped.  Also, be preparred for some swelling. You can see that in my photos.  

I remember my TX ended on 3/2/2008 and I left for CA on 3/5/2008 and both days of the trip the pain was huge. Felt like pins and needles pricking my face all over randomly. The good news is that I think about 2 or 3 days after I got to CA it was way better, then it healed amazingly fast. It peeled for 10 days, but only the first 3 times hurt, then it wasn't so bad. I took Ibuprofen too, in moderation.  Call your dermotologist and ask what they can do for the pain.  Sounds like your pain was more than mine.

ace, I finally called my doc and he prescribed some pain meds for me. I used them for two nights and then the pain got a lot better so I stopped. Now it is very itchy and peeling of course. Not to mention firey red. There is some swelling too. I was surprised to find my pillow was bloody on a couple of mornings when I woke up. In spite of this, I can see light at the end of the tunnel now that the pain is gone.

I am now six days post-treatment and most of the old skin is peeled off. I'm wondering if I will peel again. I haven't been out of the house for 12 days. I can't wait to get out.

 Thanks,

Cynthia