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delhiski
2 Posts |
 Posted - 11/03/2007 : 17:31:07
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I completed my treatment of actinic cheilitis late July using Aldara cream, 3 times per week for 8 weeks. Very difficult treatment. Eats your lips off. My lips bled, large areas of skin came off and eating anything became a chore as you could not bite anything. Wow, you sure get a rude awakening on how important your lips are. Well that brings me to now.....My AC is back, I just went to my Derm Monday with a noticeable spot on now my upper lip and he confirmed it to be AC returning and is concerned on why it is back with the dramatic treatment of the Aldara cream??? There is other wide spread of AC on other parts of my lips and dryness, tightness on both upper and lower lip.
Next move is seeing a specialist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester. I have read all of your folks postings and have found them to be very informative and interesting. I will admit I am concerned at what the next potential steps may be for me? Any of you think the Vinger / eggplant treatment can work on the lips? Is teh orange oil to harsh for the lips? Sounds like it but wanted to get the groups consensus!!
Any thoughts on what the specialist may do to rid me of the AC? What should I guard for against for Treatment?
Any help or thoughts from you all on the AC would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dan with Bum Lips!!
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dan
611 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2007 : 01:40:10
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Hey Dan, sorry to hear Aldara did not clear up your AC. Certainly a topical treatment is much preferred over surgery, but which one to choose? There are lots of possibilities. One is Solaraze Gel, a new prescription product containing diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that reduces inflammation and acts as an analgesic to reduce pain. Diclofenac is also marketed separately as Voltaren, Voltarol, Diclon, Dicloflex Difen, Difene, Cataflam, Pennsaid, Rhumalgan, Modifenac, Abitren, Arthrotec and Zolterol. Solaraze Gel would be expected to be fairly gentle.
An interesting untried home remedy possibility along the same lines as Solaraze Gel is topical cimetidine (Tagamet). Cimetidine is an over-the-counter, acid-blocking drug originally developed to treat heartburn, upset stomach, ulcers, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Used in conjunction with other cancer therapies, cimetidine has been found to significantly enhance cancer survival rates. Cimetidine works through several mechanisms of action, preventing immune suppression caused by tumor secretion of histamine, halting cancer growth, preventing angiogenesis, promoting cancer cell death, and averting cancer metastasis. I'm not sure if there is a Liquid Tagamet product that could be tried topically. You may have to ask a pharmacist to make a cimetidine suspension batch or make one yourself. The May 2007 Life Extension Foundation magazine has an article at http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2007/may2007_report_cimetidine_01.htm
Curaderm or Sunspot ES or an eggplant & vinegar remedy seem like good choices. If it were me, I would probably give orange oil a try even though it can be very painful for twenty minutes or so. And then there is Carac which one reader here combined with DMSO.
Good luck Dan. Let us know what you choose and how it goes if you can.
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BasketsByJill
Afghanistan
3 Posts |
Posted - 12/26/2007 : 15:01:05
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I TOTALLY FEEL FOR YOU!!! As I very much so understand! I have lived the hell myslef - not only on my lips but face, chest, shoulders, and ears. I am almost done with my second round on my face but have to start chest and shoulders again. Really dont want to but I have come this far. Have you tried what I have been reading a lot on - the Vinegar and Eggplant? Know anyone who has? How would you do it? I have posted new pics for you on my page of the lips - please share with me if this is what happened to you.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Jill
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quote:
Originally posted by delhiski
I completed my treatment of actinic cheilitis late July using Aldara cream, 3 times per week for 8 weeks. Very difficult treatment. Eats your lips off. My lips bled, large areas of skin came off and eating anything became a chore as you could not bite anything. Wow, you sure get a rude awakening on how important your lips are. Well that brings me to now.....My AC is back, I just went to my Derm Monday with a noticeable spot on now my upper lip and he confirmed it to be AC returning and is concerned on why it is back with the dramatic treatment of the Aldara cream??? There is other wide spread of AC on other parts of my lips and dryness, tightness on both upper and lower lip.
Next move is seeing a specialist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester. I have read all of your folks postings and have found them to be very informative and interesting. I will admit I am concerned at what the next potential steps may be for me? Any of you think the Vinger / eggplant treatment can work on the lips? Is teh orange oil to harsh for the lips? Sounds like it but wanted to get the groups consensus!!
Any thoughts on what the specialist may do to rid me of the AC? What should I guard for against for Treatment?
Any help or thoughts from you all on the AC would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dan with Bum Lips!!
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janislivi
2 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2008 : 22:12:05
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| What is your current condition. Did you try Carac? Did you try Solaraze? Will be going into doctor tomorrow. Expecting harsh news. |
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Ana
6 Posts |
Posted - 08/22/2008 : 10:39:34
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Hi,
I was treated w/ carac 21 days for lip AC in Feb 2008. My lips looked like yours, Jill. They healed up nicely, so I thought. But now 6 months later (August 2008), the AC has returned. So I am now using carac on just one rough spot and getting the same red, scaly, scabby reaction. Delhiski, did you treat your AC a second time, if so, how have your results been? I probably need to do my entire lower lip again, but I am waiting on that for now. I didn't realize that actinic cheilitis is something that keeps needing re-treating. And so soon. Has anyone else had to treat their lips more than once? Thanks, everyone, for sharing your personal experiences (and photos) so that others know they are having a "normal" reaction. |
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thanks01
USA
170 Posts |
Posted - 09/02/2008 : 17:26:10
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Suggestion:
There are a number of people on this board working on problems with their LIPS. What Dan is showing here about moisturizers probably applies also to various commercial LIP BALMS. Try reading the ingredients for any you are using and compare to Dan's list above. Maybe we are better off suffering from dry lips than putting on lip-balm.
See the thread for: Moisturizer use linked to increased skin cancer
http://www.topicalinfo.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=433 |
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Mandi
19 Posts |
Posted - 01/21/2009 : 13:52:33
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I've been through two treatments of Efudex for Actinic Cheilitis, once for 2 weeks and once for 4 1/2 weeks. Within 2 1/2 months after the second treatment, the AC returned. Also tried the Eggplant/Vinegar treatment as well as mixing Carac with DMSO. Neither of the latter two did anything significant.
I'm looking into the Solaraze treatment. It seems like it has a reasonably high success rate with a less painful approach.
Any input? |
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RidgebackDogs
USA
103 Posts |
Posted - 01/21/2009 : 23:01:32
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extra virgin coconut oil works well for my lips when they are dry - how it would work on AC???
might be safer than some of the lip balms out there - most of them contain sunscreen agents and well as petrochemicals. |
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MinneeL
2 Posts |
Posted - 11/24/2010 : 13:33:22
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quote:
Originally posted by thanks01
om dry lips than putting on lip-balm.
See the thread for: Moisturizer use linked to increased skin cancer
http://www.topicalinfo.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=433
I've found that the type of moisturizer you use can have a big impact on your lips and Actinic Cheilitis. I'd started using skin care products from the Body Shop for my face, and I got some of their lotion on my lips by accident. It BURNED! The next day, I was back to square 1 with my AC. Within a few days of using the products, the rest of my face was getting fried as well, so I'm sure that I was allergic to something in the products, making my lips react.
I'm working with a compound pharmacist, who's custom making lip balms for me while I recover. I just finished a round of imiquimod 2 weeks ago, and overall I'm much better, but still waiting for full results (I hope). The custom lip balms reduced a lot of pain, so I think much of my AC was exacerbated by allergies to commercial products. |
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hanyoksuse
1 Posts |
Posted - 03/04/2011 : 09:30:53
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| I'm going through a 2-week Efudex treatment and have been posting pictures to keep a log for other's reference on what to expect while going through an Actinic Cheilitis treatment. http://redleprosy.wordpress.com. During treatment I've been using a topical steroid that had been previously prescribed by my doctor to attempt to clear up the dry lip before she decided on Efudex. If your treatment is getting hairy, you may be able to get such a prescription, or I would recommend Aquaphor by Eucerin Advanced Therapy. That seems to help calm swelling and pain. Good luck to all!! |
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philget
2 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2011 : 15:25:06
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| FYI: I was researching treatments for my actinic cheilitis and found a nice 2010 article that discussed side effects and success rates. It was helpful. For instance, in addition to 5-FU's (Efudex, Carac) side effects, the article said it has only a mediocre success rate (40% in one study). I ended up choosing freezing (96% success rate in the study they cited). It's used for isolated spots, according to the article, but I got my whole lip done - one half at a time to minimize discomfort. It wasn't too bad while they were doing it. The whole procedure took under five minutes. The lip got swollen and peeled afterwards but there was only a little discomfort for which I used lidocaine cream. It was sort of like a cold sore. And I had 1/2 of my mouth to eat and drink with each time which was nice. It heals fast. The article lists the other options too along with their pros and cons. It's nice to have real side-by-side comparison data. The title is "Actinic Cheilitis: A Treatment Review" by Shah AY, Doherty SD, and Rosen T. I had to pay $ to download it. You can google it or find it at PubMed.gov. There's a 1997 article with the same title - don't get the wrong one. Hope this is useful to someone. |
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philget
2 Posts |
Posted - 04/12/2011 : 10:27:08
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| It's about a month since I posted about getting my lip frozen. I'm sorry to report that the cheilitis is back. I'm scheduled to get CO2 laser treatment or photodynamic therapy next, depending on what the dermatologist thinks is best. I notice that, in the articles I've read, CO2 laser treatment was the only one that had no recurrences. I hope I get rid of the problem this time but who really knows? |
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Rod
1 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2012 : 13:33:47
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Hi Folkes,
Hope you've had much luck, really do.
Would anyone care to do an update, please?
All the best to you all.
Rod |
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ronisrael
1 Posts |
Posted - 03/31/2012 : 19:32:50
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Question for those with severe lip irritation (blistering and bleeding).
from Aldara. How long did it take to heal? |
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pareeves
1 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2014 : 07:29:15
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| I have had actinic cheilitis for over one year...in costa rica was treated with liquid nitrogen...did not work. Went to a prestigious laser institute near Atlanta...received CO2 laser treatment...burned off entire lowr lip...very painful..long recovery. Returned to Cost Rica...AC came back again! Sooo had scalpel vermillionectomy in C osta rica at state-of-the art hospital in December 2013. This is February 26 and my AC is back with a vengeance. I'm scared confused and going back to the doc today...has anyone had any success with Solaraze..I'm afraid to try the harsher creams as I am already worn out from pain and disability with this disease. Seems like lip cancer easier to cure than this monster. |
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Aldara / actinic cheilitis now what?
