20 replies to this topic

[Laurens92]

Hi all!

I'm starting this log to see how I'm progressing and maybe help other acne sufferers out. Also any advice is welcome!
This is also my first weblog ever but I guess there's a first time for everything.

Some personal information.

Well, I'm a male, 17 years old and I'm living in The Netherlands (so I will probably make some grammar mistakes haha ).
I've had acne from the age of 13 tough untill I hit 15 it was very mild, nothing to worry about. From age 15 to now I've had very persistent mild to moderate acne. When I just turned 16 I was pretty much at where I am now. I started using a topical antibiotic called Inderm which cleared me up within 2 months. After that I kept applying the antibiotic for 5 more months untill eventually I became immune and all my acne came back 2 times worse.
So I went back to my GP and he prescribed me Differin 0.1 and 3 weeks later oral Minocycline to help manage the initial breakout. I was on it for 3 months and it didn't do shit. So I guess it's back to topical antibiotics. The oral Clindamycin can be seen as an oral antibiotic solution when other oral antibiotics have failed.
I have high hopes for this treatment because topical antibiotics cleared me up before and I've red a lot of succes stories about oral Clindamycin. Should this treatment fail to work as well, my GP will send me to see a dermatologist. In The Netherlands it's pretty much certain Roaccutane is prescribed when this happens. So I guess if my antibiotics treatment fails, Roa is the next step.
I'm suposed to see my GP again in 2 weeks if it hasn't improved anything by then, Roa it is.
I will update this log every week and will add my 'before' pics soon. I will also post new pics every 2 weeks (if I can figure out how that is done ).

Current condition:

Well I haven't even popped a pill yet so no changes ofcourse. At the moment I'm still recovering from differin. My skin got really red and oily from it (I never had oily skin before ) so combine that with my acne and it looks like utter shit.
I've always had acne around my chin and mouth and since this year it also started growing on my temples and jawbones. I also get the occasional pimple on my cheeks. I have about 15 active zits on my face right now. About 3 on my temples, 2 on my cheeks, 5 on my jawbones and 10 spread around my mouth and chin. I also have a load of red marks but I will deal with those later.
All my pimples are pustules, whiteheads and maybe 2 papules. I only had about 3 cysts and no nodules during my acne carreer.
Mentally I'm a real wreck at the moment. I really hoped for the Differin/Minocycline treatment to work and be clear around now. I feel like I'm really trying to avoid being around people (even my friends), so please antibiotics clear me up fast so I can get back to my life! Also school is starting in 10 days, I wonder what people will say because most haven't seen me since spring break started and I was a lot more clearer back then.

I will update my log in a week but I will keep an eye out for any advice or qeustions.

I will add some 'before' pics within 2 days.

Thanks for reading,
L

Edited by Laurens92, 10 September 2009 - 08:45 AM.

[Laurens92]

*UPDATE*

Here are the 'before' pictures. As you can see the chin/mouth area really is the problem zone. I'm even developing a new zit on my chin right at this moment.

Front
Right
Left

Yeah I need to shave I know.. I'm just really afraid I'll irritate my skin and develop even more zits. Notice the redness and oilness the differin left behind.
Also I didn't know how to take the flash of so the lightening of the flash makes it look better than it truely is.
Oh and I just took my first pill, man these ones are way bigger than the Minocycline ones, I hope that also means these will work better.

[Laurens92]

End of week 1

I've been using this antibiotic combination for a week now and so far I've experienced no real changes. Not that I expected to see changes in just one week ofcourse.
So theres not much to report but the redness differin left behind is fading every day. Also the oilness is gone (thank god! ).
I should really stop touching my skin, I'm not really a skin picker but I woke up with this HUGE white head this morning which I really couldn't resist to pop. Now I'm left with a damn scab. Oh well, I hope I improve a bit in the second week, else way it's accutane for me. I will update again next week and if I notice any improvements I will add some pics.
By the way if anyone else used one of these antibiotics (oral Clindamycin and/or Eryacne) can you please share some experiences? Did it clear you up? If yes how long did it take?

Edited by Laurens92, 03 September 2009 - 09:11 AM.

[Romsia]

Hey there, I have used Clindamycin(Morning) before but I used it along with BP 2.5%(Night) and Doxy(100 mg once a day).. This combo was prescribed to me by Derm.. It worked very well for me.. I got clear in about 15 days.. Clindamycin is not as drying as BP so its good that ways.. Good luck with your regimen.. Hope you get clear soon..

[Laurens92]

Hi Romsia, glad to see my log is being red. Just one more qeustion.. did you use Clinda as a topical treatment or in pill form? And thank you, I hope I'll be clear soon!

[Romsia]

Hi Romsia, glad to see my log is being red. Just one more qeustion.. did you use Clinda as a topical treatment or in pill form? And thank you, I hope I'll be clear soon!

Hi Lauren, I didn't notice that you are taking clindamycin orally. Well I used clindamycin topically.. Its called Clindamycin Phosphate Gel.. I used to apply it once in the morning and BP 2.5% at night.. And I was taking Doxy (100 mg) once a day.. I don't have any experience with Clindamycin orally but I hope it works well for you.. Good luck!!

[Laurens92]

Oh I see, well I don't think there's a big difference between taking Clinda orally or applying it topical, so I expect to see some change soon haha.
Thanks again for the good luck wishes!

[Laurens92]

End of week 2

Okay so I just finished week 2. I can't say I'm happy with the results so far. I've noticed no changes in the problem area (chin/mouth) and maybe a slight change on the left and right side of my face. So posting new pics wouldn't make sense.
I went to my GP today and he didn't see much change either but he sugested I should keep this regimen up for atleast 2 more weeks. He also added Tretinoin 0.05% to my medication. I'm not very pleased with this outcome, I hoped he would send me to see a derm so I could get tane. Oh and Tretinoin is a retinoid so I'm not sure wether this log is still in the right section or not. Anyways I'm really afraid of another initial break out (Differins IB was hell). Does anyone know if the IB I will get soon will be less severe than usual because I've already had one not so long ago?
Oh well atleast there's one positive thing to add to my post: people at school didn't react as bad as I tought to my breakouts. So far no one has mentiond it unless I bring it up myself.
And for my last qeustion: does anyone have positive experiences with tretinoin? I need some motivation.

Edited by Laurens92, 10 September 2009 - 08:39 AM.

[TammyTrauma]

I'm sure you will start seeing results, mine were a bit quicker on the mino, but it's only been just recent. I have persistent acne and would get bumps everyday, and the past few days I have has maybe one tiny pimple.

Give it time, you should see results after a while, hopefuly our results will last though!

Good luck!

[Laurens92]

End of week 3

Bah, again no improvements. Also the Tretinoin is making me peel badly and has given me a red face again. I had really hoped to see at least some change by now but even the change I saw a week ago on the sides of my face broke out bad again.
I'm seriously thinking of just ordering accutane online. I'm sick and tired of acne and if my GP isn't going to prescribe it to me I might as well do it myself!
I know it takes time to see results with retonoids.. but antibiotics don't need that much time. So I think this antibiotic is just another antibiotic that won't work for me. Oh well atleast I haven't experienced any side effects.. Tough that damn redness the retonoid caused is freaking me out! I think my face even looked better 3 weeks ago.
I hope this post doesn't discourage anyone but I just wanted to let you know how I feel about yet another treatment that isn't doing what it's suposed to be doing.

I hate you acne!

@Tammy: Thanks for the goodluck wishes! I think I will give this treatment another week.

Oh and I have one more qeustion: can anything be done about this redness and peeling? I know moisturizers usualy help but I don't think these side effects are caused by dry skin because my skin simply isn't dry. Also the Tretinoin is a retonoid but not the kind that dries the skin out. My GP told me I dont need a moisturizer so I'm gonna trust him on that.

Edited by Laurens92, 18 September 2009 - 09:22 AM.

[TammyTrauma]

unfortunately, I don't think that this can be helped much as long as you keep taking the medicine causing it

Not much help huh?

I am also going through this, with clindoxyl gel with has benzoyl peroxide in it. I have noticed though, if I use a smaller layer on my skin, and wash my face for less time, it helps to an extent.

[Laurens92]

End of week 4 and month 1

I just came back from my GP's office and I think I'm starting to improve. I haven't seen any real changes but he he said he definatly saw some change and I guess something must have changed since I have been having some 'good' days and some 'bad' days skin-wise.
He told me to stay on my regimen for atleast 6 more weeks and then come back. I agreed and didn't ask for accutane as I planned because I have considerd the side effects and I don't think my acne is worth it. I was just really desperate when I wrote I was going to buy accutane online.
My face is still kind of red but I followed Tammy's advice and I've been applying less Eryacne so it went down a lot. So thank you for your advice Tammy, it helped me a lot.
Right now my face looks better than it usualy does. I hope it can keep up with this for atleast 3 more days because I'm throwing a party on Saturday to celebrate my birthday (thank god that I'm not using the kind of antibiotic that causes trouble when used with alcohol! ).
I'll keep my log updated, so far things are going good.

Edited by Laurens92, 24 September 2009 - 08:49 AM.

[Laurens92]

End of week 5

Yet another update. I guess this was a rolercoaster week as well. Since last week everything was fine and I even managed to kiss a girl on saturday (which pumps up my self-esteem a lot because I never tryed to hit on a girl ever since I got acne and now I did and I didn't get rejected ).
Though I have to add I was really drunk last saturday and I think that is what caused my recent breakouts. I have had breakouts from monday until now. It's not all that bad it's just the right side of my chin that keeps breaking out on the same spots. So I'm planning to go easy on the liquor this weekend and see if it will help.
I'm still positive about this treatment and I'm keeping my hopes up!
Oh and the redness is still there but I don't really care anymore because it doesn't look good but it isn't that bad.

[Laurens92]

End of week 6 and 1 month of Tretinoin

Sooo things have been going good I guess. Or at least better than usual. Ofcourse I still broke out but the breakouts seem to be less and more in one area. I only had 3 zits on the sides of my face this week and nothing above my mouth. My chin area is still breaking out very persistent but I expect it to clear up sooner or later.
The redness and peeling is still there but I have accepted it, knowing it will go away when my acne is gone.
Oh and I'm changing my username and avatar for privacy reasons. I hope all my posts will be on the new name..
Well that's all folks, I'll update again next week.

[PinkBunny41]

Glad to see ur doing well on ur regimen best wishes for clear skin

[Laurens92]

Glad to see ur doing well on ur regimen best wishes for clear skin

Thank you very much!

[Laurens92]

End of week 7

Hey ya'll, sooo thing have been going kind of decent. I haven't really improved, I've had my good and my bad days again. I guess I'm gonna have to go through a few more weeks until I'll have more good days than bad ones. Though there is a lot of improvement going on and I think that I could very well be clear in 2 months or so.
Oh about the redness and peeling, I know I said I'm not gonna worry about it anymore but the peeling went really bad lately. I'm really a shamed of it at the moment and I do believe it has to do with the dehydration of my skin. My doc told me it doesn't but I can't figure out what else is causing it. So I will probably add a moisturizer to my regimen soon. It will probably be the one Clean&Clear made as I still have it at home and it didn't break me out in the past.
Okay that was about it!

[Laurens92]

Just to let you guys know, I have added a moisturizer and a cleanser to my regimen. As I said before I'm sick of peeling and thanks to the moisturizer it went down a lot. I started out with moisturizing once a day (in the morning) but that wasn't enough. So I'm gonna start using the moisturizer twice a day and with moisturizing this much I feel like (even though this moisturizer isn't suposed to) it's breaking me out when not washed of good. So that's why I added the cleanser. Also when a cleanser is used before applying the Tretinoin, the Tretinoin will get absorbed better by the skin. I'll start out using the cleanser once a day (evenings) and just keep rinsing my face in the morning. If my face takes this well I will start using the cleanser twice a day. Oh by the way the cleanser is from the Vichy Normaderm line and my moisturizer is an older version of the Clean&Clear moisturizer as I've said in my previous post. Okay, wish me goodluck!

[Laurens92]

Hi there, I'm sorry I didn't update last week, I was sort of lazy I guess. So last week things went great, I didn't break out for quite a while and had a great weekend. A bit too great I guess haha because I have been breaking out a lot this week (thanks to slacking on my regimen and a lot of alcohol consumption I guess). It's not all that bad but it's there I supose. Once again it's around my mouth, though the other areas of my face have been doing kind of good. I haven't broken out on the left side of my face for 3 weeks now!
Oh and the moisturizer is helping a lot, the redness is still there but the peeling has reduced tons. Though I hate applying the damn stuff! It makes my skin feel weird and I hate to touch my skin with my hands. I have been avoiding moisturizing and cleansing 2 times a day, and it's going good so far. My face was really dried out sunday and monday which I think was caused by the cleanser so I've cut that off again.
Okay I'm off now, see ya!

[PinkBunny41]

Hi there, I'm sorry I didn't update last week, I was sort of lazy I guess. So last week things went great, I didn't break out for quite a while and had a great weekend. A bit too great I guess haha because I have been breaking out a lot this week (thanks to slacking on my regimen and a lot of alcohol consumption I guess). It's not all that bad but it's there I supose. Once again it's around my mouth, though the other areas of my face have been doing kind of good. I haven't broken out on the left side of my face for 3 weeks now!
Oh and the moisturizer is helping a lot, the redness is still there but the peeling has reduced tons. Though I hate applying the damn stuff! It makes my skin feel weird and I hate to touch my skin with my hands. I have been avoiding moisturizing and cleansing 2 times a day, and it's going good so far. My face was really dried out sunday and monday which I think was caused by the cleanser so I've cut that off again.
Okay I'm off now, see ya!

Hope things keep getting better and better for you And no more slacking on your regimen ok? lol