Side Effects of Carac or Efudex

Hi Michjms10,   Yes, I would say it is very normal to still be very pink,  I kept a dailey journal of treatment and of the healing stages,  On day 18 of healing I had written of my concern over not fading and how worried I was that I was still pink, like you my cheek area was a darker shade of pink, I too have very fair skin and sensitive, but I am happy to say that now day 32 I have faded quite a bit, I'm still slightly pink but it looks kind of normal, for me it is true that after exercising and showering I am a darker pink but it subsides later on,  It may seem to you that fading has stopped but it hasn't.   Give it some more time. 

Hey Jen,  Just want to say Hi, lots of info on this site, just keep reading and posting for support, we have all been through it.  Good Luck! 

Thanks for the support, Winter :)

Day 7 now.....A few sore, reddened areas on my face, but nothing too dramatic as yet.  The areas affected are those spots I suspected would react - small patches of flaky skin tht never quite went away.

I have had several severe headaches - is this a common reaction to efudix?

Jen

 

Help!  I am on day 9 of Carac and I have soooo many questions...

I went to the dermatologist because I had a shiny, flesh/silvery colored flat spot the size of a dime on my cheek (almost invisible).  The doctor said, "I think that's AK.  Use this cream on your cheek for 2-4 weeks, come back and see me in 2 weeks."  Then I showed her a similiar spot on my other cheek.  She said she couldn't see the second spot, but if I wanted to I could use the cream on my entire face, and it will turn damaged areas red and not affect the healthy skin.  She was almost out of my exam room before she even finished the sentence!

 I had noooo idea, nooooooooo idea what I was in for.  I only found this message board because I was looking for the answer to one specific question.  I was so horrified last night, completely blind-sided that I cried hysterically.  I cannot believe that b*tch didn't prepare me for any of this!  I will definitely be finding a new doctor!  So thank you in advance for answering my long list of questions, and thank you to everyone in the past that posted about your experiences, where else would I have ever gotten this information?  I am just dumb-founded.  Scared.  Horrified actually.  And my face hurts!  lol

I apologize for my long post and endless list of questions.  But here goes:

Around the time I started the cream I got five "pimples" around my lips.  One is right on the edge of my lip, two above my lips and two below.  I picked at them, and made them bleed.  Now that I have read this message board I'm wondering if the "pimples" were from the cream.  I do not know exactly when they appeared, but I'm almost positive it was right after I started the cream.  The directions say that you are not supposed to use the cream on open sores...

 Question #1:  Should I use the cream on these sores?  Or should I wait until they heal and start my treatment completely over?  I've read about how important it is to treat the area above your lip...

As of a few days ago, I look a bit like Raggedy Ann... The worst of my redness is on my cheeks.  Each day the redness gets more prominent and the area is growing larger.  For example, when I woke up today I had a bright red/brown spot the size of a silver dollar on one cheek, a smaller one on the other cheek but in the same place, and a horizontal red line across the bridge of my nose that is starting to peel.  12 hours later and now my face is looking more and more flushed.  My face is itchy and dry, and the larger red spot looks deep and is becoming painful.  I look sunburned.  The spots on each cheek are on the apple/round part of my cheeks, high up close to the circles under my eyes....  I look like I have circles under my eyes, but the circles are dark red!  (Adjacent to and part of part of the spot on each cheek.) 

 Question #2:  As I've put the cream on I've been careful to keep it away from my eyes, but obviously have rubbed it on the bottom edge of the bags under my eyes.  Am I applying the cream too close to my eyes? 

Question #3:  I'm getting the impression that other people start off with several small spots that eventually morph into one big spot or their whole entire face.  Is it normal that I am starting out with only a few, but very large spots?

Question #4:  The research I've done on AK's describes them as crusty, dry skin... Mine didn't look like that.  Has anyone else had lesions that looked like mine?

Question #5:  I'm reading a lot of posts about people who put this on their lips... should I be putting it on my lips?  (Especially given that I got a "pimple" on the edge of my lip once I started treatment?) 

Question #5b:  One corner of my husband's mouth is dry and very crusty, and it cracks.  It comes and it goes, but it's always just right in the corner.  The more I've read the more I'm convinced he needs to go to a dermatologist.  Your thoughts?

Question #6:  I am fair complected with freckles, and I had several horrible sunburns as a child... I will ask my doctor, but I also want input from the readers of this message board... should I eventually use this cream on other parts of my body?  Or for those of you who are using Carac on your arms, chest, shoulders, etc, are you doing so because you had visible lesions?  As one person posted, if you have damage on your face then you probably have damage on other parts of your skin.  I'm really confused about this issue also because I obviously have damage on areas of my face that looked perfectly healthy before.

 Question #7: I have a few little blood-red specks that look like the skin is paper thin right there.  Is that what you mean by "eruptions"?

Question #8: Does everyone ooze and bleed?

Thank you for your time and support.  I am completely bewildered that a doctor would prescribe this medicine and not say a single thing to prepare me for what I was about to go through.  Thank God I found this site before I got any further into my treatment.

Reecee

Hi Reecee,  I know it is a hard thing to go through, I think that is why you feel as if you didn't get enough info from your derm, she is a resourse but only the people who actually went through this know how grueling it can be.  First let me say I am not a physician and can only speak for myself.  As far as the eye area I only went as far as the bony area and never went to my lower eyes,  I did treat my lips but did that when I started my face.  The info that comes with the carac states to keep away from nasal and mouth area, but if you read past post people have and with good results,  If you are almost near completion of treatment you should just stay with what your doing now you can always go back and do at another time.  There are some photo's of some brave souls on this site somewhere,  I think one is called My Carac Diary  you will have to do a search but she has dailey pic's and advise as she is going through it,  I think another was Summer 2006 again try and search it was a big help to me and will for you.  Good Luck,  You'll get through.  

Hi,

Hang in there, Reecee.  You and I started treatment on the same day.  I have just finished applying the cream (my skin specialist told me BD for 14 days.)

I haven't had any bleeding as yet.  I have a lot of large red areas(especially around my nose and upper lip).  I have a lot of smaller red spots on my forehead and chest, but they havent "joined up" like a lot of the photos of others I have seen.  The reddened areas are starting to peel, but I have no real sore spots as yet.

I treated my lips, as I had dry peeling areas as you describe your husband has.  They havent been too painful at all - surprisingly!  In fact, I have been pleasantly surprised - I though my reaction would be a lot worse.  My doctor said everyone reacts differently (though I'm sure that's a general medical disclaimer for everything! ;) 

I started using a Vitamin A ointment this morning - It's very soothing and makes my face feel less like it's going to split in two when I smile!

I am trying to stay away from people - looking pretty scary!  I have another 10 days off work, so hopefully will able to use some makeup to conceal by then.

I am also fair, freckled and worshipped the sun as a teenager, so I am expecting to treat other areas of my body in the near future.  I'm hoping that by watching me go through this, my kids are learning a very vivid object lesson on sun safety!! 

Jen

Hi, thank you for your posts.  When it became too painful to take a shower I stopped using the cream for two days.  And then went back on it for two more days before stopping completely.  I didn't go back to my wacko doctor, I just stopped the cream once I started peeling. 

The areas under my eyes did peel, but I didn't have any bleeding.  Aquafore Healing Ointment stung just a little for a minute, but ultimately helped me tremendously and also made the raw areas look much better.

I think I'll wait till next fall and then find a new dermatologist.  I'll inquire then about my lips and chest.  I don't think I'll be afraid to go through this again, it really wasn't too terrible.  However, if my entire face would have reacted I don't know how I would have handled the pain and itching.

I might be wrong, but I figure if I didn't get all the precancerous cells this time, then I'll know it next fall when I try again.  And if I did get all the damaged cells then my face shouldn't react at all, right?

I am still interested to hear why other people decided to treat other parts of their bodies... did you each have obvious damage in those areas, or did your doctor tell you just to treat everything because if you have damage on your face you are also likely to have damage on other exposed areas as well?  Same question regarding treating your lips...

I shudder to think what my reaction would have been if I had not found this site!  Thank you again to all those brave souls who shared about their experiences.  And to those of you who are just starting treatment, just remember, not everyone has a severe reaction like some of the pictures on this site!  (The areas that did react on my face looked just like the pictures posted by other patients, but it was NOT my entire face.)  And use the Aquafore, even if it stings for a moment, it really helps!  I also used ice packs, that helped too.

Sincerely,

Reecee

I'm just past half way through the Efudix treatment and it feels like ants crawling over my scalp. My Doc (UK) told me that if its unbearable to stop for a few days and apply Hydrocortisone Cream to calm it down, which I did last week, then I restarted. I will try to hang out for the full term (month) without stopping now.

This is a good site if not seen before

              www.sannerud.com/people/efudex/index.html

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Hi to Essexeddie,  Hope things are coming along for you, remember you are doing a good thing for your self,  stay positive, it will be over before you know it.                           Winter

                                                  

 

 

Yep!! I finish the treatment tomorrow (4 wks). Haven't been out for four days now, it looks pretty bad at the moment and quite sore, but it has to be worth it. Its the best time of the year to carry out the treatment. I wouldn't like to do it in the summer.

Will post the results later.

 

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