Side Effects of Carac or Efudex

I am happy that I found this discussion. I had many uncertanties. I have been in the treatment stage for 11 days now and my face looks like I just finished 12 rounds with Mike Tyson. I visited my doc today to find out when I can stop. He took out one of his books and showed me a picture of a man with a blistered face. He said I could quit when my face looked like that. I have been applying the med for once a day and sometimes twice. I am in the Navy on a ship with a couple thousand people. I feel like people do not want to shake my hand or they are not sure what I have. Do I owe it to them to explain my condition?

Notso

Hey, don't worry and you owe no one any explanation except that you've been prescribed a medication that works "this way." You will be so happy when you're finished and several weeks have passed. Since you've read all the posts, you know to stick w/it through to the end. You can miss a single application w/no negative effects but, may as well not. I tried that one time and I applied my usual face cream and it burned like crazy. So, I rinsed my face and reapplied the carac..I know you'll reach a point where you feel it couldn't be any worse and that you'll never heal but, have faith; you will and you'll be free of potentially dangerous lesions. I'm so convinced that I plan to continue w/the treatment on my arms. This is a blessing in (don't we wish) disguise!!
Kathy

Hi Notso
I am glad Kathy replied to your letter. I have not been on the Internet for a couple of days, so I did not see your message. Talk about going 12 rounds with Mike Tyson, they were the very thoughts that went through my mind this morning. It is day 2 since I finished my treatment, I lasted 25 days could not do the last 3. I look worse since I have finished. My eyes are so puffed up (hence the Tyson thought). I keep thinking of what Kathy has said and I know it has to get better. I also found a website of a young man who posted photos as well as a diary of his treatment. That helped me a lot it is (www.topicalchemo.com) Good Luck.
Cazza

Hi Kathy, you mentioned in your response that you plan on using carac on your arms. I'm going to start it on my arms in Oct and have never used it before. I'm so glad on found this site. I haven't decided if I should do one arm or both. Have you given it any thought? I have to do from my elbow to my wrist. I've had 2 SCC, Bowen's and 1 BCC. I apprectiate any thoughts you have on using this on your arms. Thanks, Bonnie

Hi Cazza! I visited the link to the young man's chronology and I was amazed and so glad to see it. Yea...that's what I looked like, too. Now, my skin is drop dead gorgeous..who would have imagined. I'm sure that stopping the applications several days early is no big deal..actually, some prescriptions, I have since learned, can be for as little as two weeks. I've also found that there are varying strengths of the creams...from .05% to 2%. (something like that)Mine was the lowest strength, but it still FRIED my face. The pictures totally made it so clear to see the worsening and then subsiding of the effects of carac/efudex. I don't know though, I may not have done it had I seen those pics. I only saw one photo on a pamphlet given me by my DR. Well, how are you now? Healing? It seems to take a little while for the redness to go away after finishing the regimen. This site has been so helpful. Good luck and best wishes to everyone...Kathy

I'm 46 and in day 14 of my second round(arms first, now face). On my arms it took about a week to blister and looked like the measles/chicken pox. After the 28 days, it took 28 more to heal - just like the literature. It was well worth the side effects. As for my face, it only toook 4 days to begin to go to H@$% - lots of dryness, redness - the nightmare I expected. I just try and keep the "molting" down with moisturizers and a light buffing w/ something lightly abrasive enough to shed the skin w/o causing sores. For a positive approach, I remind my pre-teen sons (and anyone who asks) that this is what they get when they don't listen about sun damage (I'll need to take a picture of this to remind them in the future!!). When people first ask "What happened?", I first told them "I have diaper rash on my face" or "I work at the nuke plant and took the Homer Simpson approach to my job", but now at the worst stage I tell them that "My face caught on fire and I tried to put it out with a fork!. For as bad as it looks, people have been very understanding (and living in California, everyone hear needs this wake-up call to the effects of sun damage). Two weeks more of the applications and a month to heal - can't wait!!

Hi "Baseball Coach" (? am I right?). I am so glad to hear that the cream worked on your arms. My Dr. has instructed me to use Retin A to "soften" the skin prior to starting Carac. I am on day 6 of that. Did you do that, also? What strength of Carac are you using? I am so pleased w/my face and can't wait to start my arms...I figured around early/mid October will be a good time as I'll be automatically "dressed" for the Halloween season..Kathy

Hi Bonnie. I haven't started it on my arms yet but it appears that BbCoach has...I'm waiting to hear the results. I imagine both arms would be best otherwise, you'll be doing twice the time of application/healing. I plan to do both to get it over with. My dermatologist suggested using Retin A prior to soften the skin on my arms which is a little thicker than facial skin. I'm hoping that this won't be quite as painful or bothersome as when I did my face. Let's hope BbCoach lets us know how it worked for him.

I finished my arms in August. It went well and of course your arms are easier to cover up relative to your face. As I mentioned, my arms were mostly red spots (like measles/chicken pox) that kinda scabbed up and fell off once I completed the 1 month application. A little itchy - not really uncomfortable. The treatment didn't really seem to affect my sun sensitivity and there wasn't any hair loss. It did take a lot more of the Carac cream to do my arms (more surface area) but overall my arms were a cakewalk relative to my face (I started that application on 9/13). As for my face, I find that wearing red (shirt or hat) seems to lessen the shock value to people I encounter. The face treatment is definitely more painful and uncomfortable, like the worst sunburn you'd ever had on your face that never goes away (or like being slapped in the face a couple of dozen times). I've also tried sloughing off the excess skin lightly with a razor. It works well but stings like I'd just put about a gallon of alcohol on my face for about an hour (talk about razor burn!!). I'm counting the days and just try to stay positive with the thought, "60 days of discomfort for 35 years of stupidity."

BbCoach...did you do the 29 day regimine on your arms? Longer? and, do you know what the strength of the cream was? I'm hoping my dermatologist will do the max. strength. Thanks for your info. Kathy