1 reply to this topic

[jestangan]

Hi to all,

I am Jes. 22 and suffered from acne and oily skin all my life!!

I have spent so much money and time trying to figure out my skin. I have done proactive, been to dermatologists, chemical peels, acid peels, been on BP and the only thing that worked for me was when I was regularly going to my dermatologist back home. What a gift it was to find my dermatologist! However, I now live in LA and cant see my trusted dermatologist for regular cleanings so my skin's back to horrible. Last year, I had the worse breakout in my entire life. I always had bad skin (oily with pimples) but it never got as bad as it did last year. I got persuaded into using this product called Metrin. Do not use this if you have acne. I began producing red inflamed and painful cystic pimples all over my chin and jaw and even neck. Everyday I had about 6 new ones grow and it was devastating. It then spread all over my face and I was miserable for months. It even continued getting worse after I stopped using Metrin. My acne eventually slowed down when I started taking chinese herbal medicine. The herbal medicine tastes horrible but it works. Unfortunately, I stopped treatment as soon as my face started getting better!!

Three days ago I decided to take Acnetrex (aka Acutane) I was hesitant to take it because of all the side effects and I am not the type to take pills in general. I am only on day 3 and am dreading the side effects. S So far, I haven't observed anything out the ordinary. On day 1 my hands were extremely dry but I do not know if this was from the acnetrex or the cold weather!! Wish me luck guys! Any tips?? How much water should I drink and how much SPF should I use?? I have read some people saying not to exfoliate?? Is that true?

Glad to be part of this site.

Jes

[dom88]

Hi to all,

I am Jes. 22 and suffered from acne and oily skin all my life!!

I have spent so much money and time trying to figure out my skin. I have done proactive, been to dermatologists, chemical peels, acid peels, been on BP and the only thing that worked for me was when I was regularly going to my dermatologist back home. What a gift it was to find my dermatologist! However, I now live in LA and cant see my trusted dermatologist for regular cleanings so my skin's back to horrible. Last year, I had the worse breakout in my entire life. I always had bad skin (oily with pimples) but it never got as bad as it did last year. I got persuaded into using this product called Metrin. Do not use this if you have acne. I began producing red inflamed and painful cystic pimples all over my chin and jaw and even neck. Everyday I had about 6 new ones grow and it was devastating. It then spread all over my face and I was miserable for months. It even continued getting worse after I stopped using Metrin. My acne eventually slowed down when I started taking chinese herbal medicine. The herbal medicine tastes horrible but it works. Unfortunately, I stopped treatment as soon as my face started getting better!!

Three days ago I decided to take Acnetrex (aka Acutane) I was hesitant to take it because of all the side effects and I am not the type to take pills in general. I am only on day 3 and am dreading the side effects. S So far, I haven't observed anything out the ordinary. On day 1 my hands were extremely dry but I do not know if this was from the acnetrex or the cold weather!! Wish me luck guys! Any tips?? How much water should I drink and how much SPF should I use?? I have read some people saying not to exfoliate?? Is that true?

Glad to be part of this site.

Jes

Hey jestangan! and of coarse welcome to our lovely community! and i'm so sorry to hear about your bad experiences with different meds esp. metrin. gosh what a doozy that was!

and I was on accutane about 5 years ago and my personal tips to you is...

-expect an initial BO in the next couple weeks per say...and its going to be bad very very bad probably the worst you've ever experienced.

-Expect redness and peeling too.

-Your probably going to become very depressed with the initial BO and the experience itself so expect the blues as well maybe you can get a prescription for an anti- depression or at least anti-anxiety meds just my opinion though.

-For me It really affected my back and i had constant back aches.

-And the sun is the enemy! lol make sure when ever you step outside even if its for a second to apply sunscreen!!

-The blood tests are kinda an eye sore as well


BUT remember its only temporary It is going to help you its gonna be a battle but you can do it! ( i know you can ) and I'm sure there's a thread somewhere here that gives a complete accutane 101 and what to expect etc.

but again my best wishes good luck and if you'd like you can start a progress thread where you can post pics and show us how much progress your making as well! Since I'm a accutane vet lol feel free to message me or post threads asking for advice or support!!



Dom