Posted by Saachi on April 21, 2015 at 5:17pm in Main
I started doing the excimer treatment on March 31. I go about twice a week every week. I know that it is radiation which is likely to cause fatigue, and I have been extremely tired. I would fall asleep in class (more than usual) and Ive been too tired to even go to the gym lately. I keep sleeping during the day, and I didnt wake up until like 4:30 am because of it yesterday and I had to skip school. I never get bags under my eyes and I have been these past few weeks, but maybe thats unrelated Im not sure. Anyways, the point is that I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this?
Also my parents feel that this treatment may do more harm to me than good, and they want me to stop. They mentioned not treating my vitiligo at all, and just the idea gives me more anxiety than I care to admit. Has anyone actually experienced side effects from this treatment? I dont want to stop, but Im afraid. Im going to research it in further depth, but any feedback is highly appreciated.
Thank you.
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What kind of excimer equipment is it? Xtrac? Which one?
In principle, this UVB-NB raditation doesn't cause any fatigue, but eventually burn.
Maybe the fact that you have to go to the clinic (traffic), waiting time, and so on is causing tiredness and anxiety.
Are you paying for that or it's covered by insurance?
It's usually bloody expensive, what makes people give up following.
So far, it's the best available UVB-NB technology (308nm), however, clinics take so long to adjust the right dosage, since they don't have rush. They just want to make money. But we do have rush, since we want to see results...
Yea it's Xtrac. You're right I spoke with my dermatologist and she said that my exhaustion is unrelated to treatment. My mom deduced that it must be my iron deficiency causing fatigue and migraines. We didn't think of that because I've never had a problem with my iron per se, so I never took supplements really. Also, she was already stressing about this treatment being bad for me. True, I do have a history of anxiety in general. I think I may have freaked out a bit too much last night while posting this tbh I was just so stressed haha.
The insurance company is not covering it, in fact, most do not anymore to my understanding. They believe that it is cosmetic and does not affect our health. This pisses me off so much, I won't even start. Fortunately, however, this clinic is only charging us $50 (USD) per session. I can imagine why that would be a problem, but my parents say that the expense is not a problem for them.
Yeah, that's true, as well. My dermatologist is trying to get me to 140, but I'm stuck on 130 cuz I get pink quickly. I'm seeing some hope for repigmentation which is great considering the fact that it hasn't even been a full month. I do feel like they're just trying to get money, and that's what I hate about most dermatologists I've seen, so I totally see where you're coming from.
I have never done this treatment and I don't know if you are getting improves, but anyway I think that you have to take into account your parents words. I know that you want to treat vitiligo (me too), but when the treatment is worst than our condition (vitiligo) I think it is much better to stop with the treatment. I am sure that there are much treatments and, besides, nowadays it isn't a definitive cure or treatment. So take it easy and don't overwhelm.
Saachi > Ainara Iturbe ZumetaApril 22, 2015 at 1:14pm
Hey Ainara,
I love your name, btw. You'r so right! haha I do freak out about having vitiligo too much, thinking of it as the worst thing, but when it comes down to it, it really isn't worth trading it for something worse. As I mentioned to flavio, I was probably freaking out too much when I posted this haha. My mom had me stressing about the worst things, but I cleared it up, and this is safer than most treatments. She was convinced, and I am very relieved. You're certainly right though, thank you for that.
Replies
What kind of excimer equipment is it? Xtrac? Which one?
In principle, this UVB-NB raditation doesn't cause any fatigue, but eventually burn.
Maybe the fact that you have to go to the clinic (traffic), waiting time, and so on is causing tiredness and anxiety.
Are you paying for that or it's covered by insurance?
It's usually bloody expensive, what makes people give up following.
So far, it's the best available UVB-NB technology (308nm), however, clinics take so long to adjust the right dosage, since they don't have rush. They just want to make money. But we do have rush, since we want to see results...
Yea it's Xtrac. You're right I spoke with my dermatologist and she said that my exhaustion is unrelated to treatment. My mom deduced that it must be my iron deficiency causing fatigue and migraines. We didn't think of that because I've never had a problem with my iron per se, so I never took supplements really. Also, she was already stressing about this treatment being bad for me. True, I do have a history of anxiety in general. I think I may have freaked out a bit too much last night while posting this tbh I was just so stressed haha.
The insurance company is not covering it, in fact, most do not anymore to my understanding. They believe that it is cosmetic and does not affect our health. This pisses me off so much, I won't even start. Fortunately, however, this clinic is only charging us $50 (USD) per session. I can imagine why that would be a problem, but my parents say that the expense is not a problem for them.
Yeah, that's true, as well. My dermatologist is trying to get me to 140, but I'm stuck on 130 cuz I get pink quickly. I'm seeing some hope for repigmentation which is great considering the fact that it hasn't even been a full month. I do feel like they're just trying to get money, and that's what I hate about most dermatologists I've seen, so I totally see where you're coming from.
Hi Saachi,
I have never done this treatment and I don't know if you are getting improves, but anyway I think that you have to take into account your parents words. I know that you want to treat vitiligo (me too), but when the treatment is worst than our condition (vitiligo) I think it is much better to stop with the treatment. I am sure that there are much treatments and, besides, nowadays it isn't a definitive cure or treatment. So take it easy and don't overwhelm.
Hey Ainara,
I love your name, btw. You'r so right! haha I do freak out about having vitiligo too much, thinking of it as the worst thing, but when it comes down to it, it really isn't worth trading it for something worse. As I mentioned to flavio, I was probably freaking out too much when I posted this haha. My mom had me stressing about the worst things, but I cleared it up, and this is safer than most treatments. She was convinced, and I am very relieved. You're certainly right though, thank you for that.