Thank you so much for your input. I read all of your past posts prior to writing, and it was from yours that I took the most advice! So how great to hear from you and for giving me hope.

I am writing now after going through 4 weeks of oral ivermectin, followed by 7 days of topical. It was a long, rough road but I am now free and clear from what I can see. My eyelashes are finally clear and my pain has subsided. I finally don’t feel any crawling ( good grief, that was such a horrible feeling), and the foreign body sensation has abated to almost zero. I am still VERY reluctant to let my guard down and check my eyes twice a day, as well as continue with showering daily, washing my hair every other day with a combination of Ovate Demodicosis shampoo and Malin & Goetz Peppermint shampoo, use salicylic and azelaic acid products on my face and body, Dr Bronner’s tea tree soap on my back, chest, and pubic hair ( not on vulvar area, of course, because it is too harsh for that area in my opinion). I change my pillowcase every time I wash my hair, change all bedding once a week, and my bedclothes every other day. I honestly don’t see a day yet where I won’t be doing this in the next year. It hurts that I feel like my entire life and routine have been upended by this plague, but I am so relieved to be in remission. I was prescribed Xdemvy half way into my oral ivermectin treatment, but I decided to listen to my own advice rather than the doctors’ and I think it was the right choice. I know that Xdemvy has worked for some, but it’s rates of success are about 1 in 2 and those were not odds I thought were good enough for my liking. Besides, after all of the other treatments I’ve subjected myself to have made my eyes so tender and sensitive that I couldn’t bear putting another thing into them. The medical literature out there regarding the oral/topical ivermectin route seemed strong enough for me to continue on that path. So, I’ve got a $1900 unopened bottle of Xdemvy in my arsenal if I change my mind…I urge everyone going through this process to do what feels right for them, to keep on it, and try to hold it together— that last part was the hardest for me. In complete transparency and honesty, there was one brutal night that I sat up at 2 in the morning and penned a last letter to my spouse and children, fell to my knees, cried out to the universe and my dead mother, asked to be struck dead to be taken out of my pain. I do not know how I made it through that night, and one of my only thoughts was that my beloved husband would be the one to find me and be ruined forever. This disease is no joke and I send my love and best thoughts to all who are braving this trial. May we all meet at the finish line. Peace.