So let's see how this goes...Efudex/Efudix

This blog is to help others contemplating this treatment. Day 39 Final Post - Pink! This is my final post and the past week has just been about recovery.  My face is still very pink and I suppose that will slowly fade, but it's still disconcerting.  There is no itching or pain anymore. Shaving is back to normal too (thank God). I'm still applying Paw-Paw ointment as noted in the previous Blog post, hence the 'shine' in today's photos.  I'll be using it for some months yet. In summary: This was a tough gig for long periods; Staying indoors and out of the sun was difficult, that surprised me more than I thought it would. I may not be suited to living in Canada in the winter 😊;   I still have to get a blood test to check my Vitamin D levels as a result (yes, seriously); I'm glad I'm through it, that I made it, and I'm glad I had the sense to read other Blogs before starting, to get the lay of the land; The reason I'm glad,

This blog is to help others contemplating this treatment. Days 30-32 - A Tropical Fruit Well a couple of marvelous things have happened since the last post on Sunday.  On Tuesday I think I became itch free for the first time in about 20 days.  You don't know what a relief that has been.  In fact I say 'think' because when I returned to a more normal 'state' I didn't really notice - then it dawns on you...hey, I'm not itching anymore, yay! I've also switched up the lotion attack.  After some research on Paw Paw content I'm using the product below.  It has the highest Paw Paw extract by volume of any that I can find on the Australian market and is available in a couple of major pharmacy chains.  I think this was a good move.  Importantly it is petro-chemical free. I'm sure that Monty Python might have a song about exfoliation - if so - message me below and I'll link it.  Generally, very scaly, couple of open sores but I'm m

This blog is to help others contemplating this treatment. Days 28-29 Today's photos are taken on the 8th day of the healing phase, May 20, in the morning, pre-cream, so no glossy facial sheen. This is what I mean by spontaneous bleeding: these spots have opened up after a gentle wash down with a face washer, just warm water, no soap.  They bleed for a few moments and I just compress them with a dry face washer and they stop after a little while.  They can start whenever they want, the very definition of spontaneous!   The unfortunate thing is they can happen at night too.  Perhaps I'm scratching my face while sleeping, but I don't recall that obviously.  The pillowcase in the morning can look a bit tragic.  Call in the CSI Unit sort of situation. I'm feeling like there is progress - skin is very flaky today - it's peeling like a typical sunburn.  Very scaly around the chin.  I'm becoming blotchy. Next Blog will be on Wednesday, May 23.  

This blog is to help others contemplating this treatment. Days 26-27 Ok, another 48 hours and I'm stowing away the time (gratuitous Steely Dan reference 😀).  I'm thinking the wheels are starting to turn in a positive way.  There's a little bit of spontaneous bleeding from spots, but that's not new, and generally speaking I'm more pink than red.  Good thing!  Less itching also, which is a very good thing! In the morning, with the moisturizer gone overnight, my skin feels uncomfortably tight, but less uncomfortably tight than two days ago, so that's progress.  It feels like your skin is painted on and is drying and it's a laminated shiny surface (haven't explained that very well). The routine is: Advantan on the whole face once a day in the morning, leave that for twenty minutes then cover over with Aqueous Cream.  More Aqueous Cream at about 2.30pm and 6.00pm after shaving.  Shaving late in the day is working for me as it means no stubble

This blog is to help others contemplating this treatment. Day 25 - Close Ups. If you click "Read More" then things will get graphic.  The thumbnail picture is bad enough! Proceed with caution...  I've been feeling that the shots I've put up haven't been getting the detail.  So that I don't sound like an endless 'whiner' here is some creepy detail of my day to day existence this week. Scroll down...click the picture if you truly want the detail... Face full of tiny itchy blisters and other decay.... Pretty clear why you wouldn't want this to dry out and get crispy. Dragging a razor across that landscape is...'technical'.  Right side. Day 25 - both temples and cheeks awash with tiny, prickly blisters.

This blog is to help others contemplating this treatment. Days 24-25 - Days 4-5 on the Healing Phase It doesn't seem to be progressing very quickly to me.  It's hurting more, if you can believe that!  I'm slathering on moisturizer but the big problem is at night when I wake up and the cream seems to have been absorbed into the top pillowcase.  This leaves raw, dry skin, radiating heat and hurting to the point that you can't sleep and have to get up to put cream on.  It feels like your face has just come out of a toaster.   The past two nights have been stages of two hours of sleep - get up - reapply.  I thought that perhaps dampening the pillowcase might stop the leaching away of the cream.  Well the induced, evaporative coolness of the cotton, by the water, certainly helped with the 'sunburn' effect as anyone who has had sunburn will know the comfort of a cool compress to the affected area. So, TICK, good result.  However, the cream/moisture stil

This blog is to help others contemplating this treatment. Days 22-23 - A Close Shave The pain has been worse over the past two days than at any other time, especially at night, which I find completely surprising probably because I thought the 'healing phase' would be, well, healing.  I talked it up in my head!   The reality is that I have very painful zones either side of my chin, shown below, which are challenging (read bloody painful) when chewing or talking.  This is made worse as whiskers push through the skin as the day progresses, and at night, the rubbing of whiskers on a pillow case lights up the hypersensitive zones which are pretty much everywhere.   As a solution I'm going to try shaving twice a day!  If you have read the Blog elsewhere you'll know my general view of shaving through this process is: a 'necessary evil'. To commit to twice a day indicates the level of the pain problem.  Resorted to Ibuprofen for only the second time on

This blog is to help others contemplating this treatment. Day 21 - First Day of the healing phase Today is the first day of healing.  I'm using Advantan once per day and Aqueous Cream. Advantan has an active ingredient called Methylprednisolone aceponate.  According to the blurb in the box it.... relieves the redness, swelling, itching and irritation of the skin in eczema and psoriasis. It goes on to say: The corticosteroid in Advantan® is suitable to put on the skin. It is therefore called a topical corticosteroid, which is sometimes shortened to topical steroid.  Glad that it is suitable to put on the skin: I have! Now before I go too far I have to say that it's not really doing that much on the itch front!  I suppose I should give it a chance, it has a fair acreage on which to do its work.  However, Aqueous Cream over the top of Advantan is feeling OK. Last night the temperature dropped to 5 degrees celcius and the humidity is relatively dry.  The hu

This blog is to help others contemplating this treatment. Days 19-20  All things Tenzing If Day 19 was base camp, then Day 20 is summit. What a road! As you'll see below I'm finally out of Efudix - didn't quite get to 21 days but the drug will be active in my skin for another 18 hours, so near enough. Day 17 to now have been very dark days for pain and itching.  Each night I'm only getting 3-4 hours sleep and I'm an 8-9 hours guy, always have been.  I've taken two Ibuprofen on the 18th night leading into Day 19 - it may have taken the edge off a little, while I was lying in bed, but not significantly. The tricky thing I find is the pressure of the pillow on your stubble - each little hair seems to catch and scrape and seems directly wired to an itch generator in your skin. But that's all the pain medication so far.  I'd advise anyone considering pain medication to discuss the matter with your Doctor as to what their recommendation is, an

This blog is to help others contemplating this treatment. Day 18 - Doctor, Doctor... I've just returned from the doctor this morning and the general opinion was that I have had a solid reaction to the drug and that everything seemed quite normal.  He did not expect to see me again but was happy to at my discretion. I'm almost out of Efudix and not sure I'll get to Day 21 before running out and this was OK with Doc - just use remaining and then go into repair. I have a prescribed cream for when repair starts: Advantin.  It contains some form of low level cortisone to get things moving. I went to the appointment with no cream on so Doc could see 'the real me'. Today's learning is that it was much worse with the cream off than on.  Things have completely switched around.  With the cream off, your skin dries out rapidly and tightens very painfully.  So I couldn't wait to get the cream back on!   I have bought some neutral Aqueous Cream

This blog is to help others contemplating this treatment. Day 17 - Erosion and the Sound of Rain Definitely entering the early stage of the Erosion Phase. Yes, it is called the 'Erosion Phase' which is better than 'Face Melting Phase', I guess.  Light blistering now becoming evident and growing, the most painful area is either side of my chin (see blistering below) and my forehead, because those parts move a fair bit, so you are constantly tweaking them. Sleep is a fitful, wiggly thing.  I just try to get my zen on and focus deeply away from the pain and itching.  It is a great mindfulness exercise. Last night it was the sound of rain on a tin roof. Not bad.  No drugs. Tomorrow morning I'm at the doctor for his take on where this is all at.  Bit worried about taking this face into the public domain.  I have the earliest possible doctor's appointment to help reduce the number of people I might freak out. Day 17 right Day 16 right

This blog is to help others contemplating this treatment. Days 15-16  Making Ripples Short and sharp: here it is. The light sensitivity only lasted about 18 hours and is gone again, so that's a big plus. Everything else is much the same but I'm at the end of my tether with shaving.  Sleep last night was Ok but disturbed.  That could be put down to age as much as anything. It burns. There's been a detectable shift in redness as you'll see in the images across this 48 hours. You don't want to move your facial muscles - chewing, for example, is exciting!  Sneezing has a radiating effect like making ripples on a pool of lava.  But it's OK generally speaking, it passes soon enough.  I don't have a headache yet, today - golden! All these shots are post application of the cream, taken in the morning: Day 15 left Day 16 left Day 15 right Day 16 right Learning: You certainly can't keep your eyes open whe