4 replies to this topic

[loo999]

Hey guys, im 22yo, basically suffered from severe acne in the past and went 2 rounds of accutane to clear it up and spent about 3 years clear from acne. My acne was mainly concentrated around my cheeks, chinbone, and back.

I was diagnosed with BP 2 years ago and took various drugs but now im on Lithium, which works great but since i started 1.5 years ago and with the sudden dosage increases i suddenly started to get minor flares but now i basically broke out. Its not as bad as before but the acne is now concentrated on my temple area, sides of my face and underneath my face. My psych just droped the dose 2 weeks ago from 1800mg to 1200mg.

I been on Differin Gel 0.3% at bedtime, Duac in the daytime, and Doxycycline 250mg 2x Daily.

So Far after 25 Days into it, i broke out and as soon as it starts clearing up a bit i breakout again. My face is red til my neck and my face is dry. Although i got presciption coverage i pay out of pocket for the visits and i had to get injected twice already with coritisone for some cysts.

As far as Differin is concern i hear after 4 weeks it starts getting better, some say it takes from 8-12 weeks to see a overall improvement. I mean if this is the case i have no problem sticking it out but really this acne is not as bad as before i dont see any reason to get on accutane. I wash my face with cetaphil wash. Anybody with feedback on this would kindly appreciate it. Im tired of acne and now i know its cause of the medication im on im condemned to acne unlike the last time.

[didi78]

Hi! I'm really happy to hear you are taking care of your BP D/O, and too bad lithium has acne has a side effect. I've been using Differin 0.1% for 5 months now, and I had the worst initial breakout around 4-6 weeks, so be patient for the next two weeks or so. Good luck with your regimen!

[loo999]

Hi! I'm really happy to hear you are taking care of your BP D/O, and too bad lithium has acne has a side effect. I've been using Differin 0.1% for 5 months now, and I had the worst initial breakout around 4-6 weeks, so be patient for the next two weeks or so. Good luck with your regimen!

Day 27-I keep breaking out around the temple area and forehead on new places, some are inflammed. The acne thats underneath my cheekbone and underneath my ear has still not gone away and i been basically treating all the areas the same with the meds. Im being loyal to this, i have a appointment with the psychiatrist tommorow and im gonna talk to him about other options. Its fair to say i rather have a cleaner face then be stabile but its not like lithium has been extremley perfect and meds are not the real reason im stabile. Im stabile with the constant psychotherapy which has helped me cope with my condition.This is like taking a problem from the grave and bringing it back to life now. I feel like im reaching the amount of acne that i had when i went on accutane!!!! and im not exggerating

[loo999]

Well the good news is im off lithium, and its gonna take a few days for the lithium to leave my system! Bad news is im experiencing the nastiest breakout. I can rate this to the time i had acne that got me on accutane but the weird part is that i got acne where i usually didnt get it around thetemple forehead and under the cheeks and behind the ear, my acne was concentrated around the cheeks when i had acne. But i dont have whiteheads or blackheads and its no oil! which i had plenty last time. Im still continuing on the regimen, so i guess ill have to wait a month to see what im dealing with then

[Addie]

I hope the acne goes away for you now. My acne responds significantly to tiny changes in my lithium blood level, so hopefully not having a lithium blood level at all will completely eradicate yours.