8 replies to this topic

[mmebana]

hi everyone,

quick background on my acne: i have had acne and extreme oily skin since I was 13 years old. When I was in high school, it got to the point where I was covered in cystic pimples. I asked my pediatrician if she can refer me to a derm and she said no, told me it would go away and she took the initiative to treat my skin and prescribed me clyndamicin gel (didnt work at all, I was on it for 1 year). I've tried all over the counter acne medicines, even expensive ones from sephora (wasted a lot of money in that store btw).
I go through a pack of blotting sheets in one week and always have to buy one (4$ per week) thats how oily I am.

When I went to college, my skin got better, what I mean by that is I never get any cystic pimples. I had a consistent regimen, but I guess the birth control also helped me my acne. I didnt go on birth control for acne, I was on it to prevent pregnancy. I got off birth control after I broke up with my boyfriend of 3 years and continued on my regular regimen. My normal regimen was doing okay for a while, then after a year...in the midst of finishing my college years, my acne suddenly went out of control.

At 22, I have a lot of cystic acne (big red and painful). My pediatrician finally referred me to a derm, btw i recently changed my pediatrician to an adult doctor. I am not satisfied with my current derm, he wanted me out the door in 5 minutes and did not tell me anything about the medicines he's prescribed.

Before I went to the derm, I woke up everyday with a new cystic pimple. I have scars everywhere because I was popping them.

My derm prescribed me Retin-A at night and Doxy in the morning.
Two weeks on Retin-a and I still see no improvement. It makes my face oily but its a night so its okay. I might stop it in 4 weeks if I see no improvements with Retin-A
4 days on doxy and I still no improvements.
I still wake up getting cystic pimples every morning. My face currently has 3 cystic painful red big pimples, and everywhere else is full of white heads and blackheads. I have plenty of scars from poppping all my cystic pimples.

Regimen:
Morning
Cleanser: Aveeno Ultra Calming Foaming Cleanser
Doxy
Spot treat with benzoyl 5%
Philosophy oil free moisturizer and dry areas clinique moisturizing gel

Evening
Same cleanser
Retin-A
Spot treat
Same moisturizer


Is anyone experiencing the same results as me?

Edited by mmebana, 16 May 2011 - 03:54 PM.

[mmebana]

hi again,

want to update my current condition with what the prescribed topical creams and oral antibiotics.

I kept breaking out with the retin-a so I stopped using it. So far, I have only have two big red cysts that I'm putting a lot of benzoyl peroxide 5% on. But I still have lots of whiteheads and blackheads.

I'm still taking doxycycline which is making my pee yellow (i think its normal that urine starts to have color, just drink lots of water). I also added vitamin b,c, and zinc to my daily supplements and considering adding vitamin a later on. I see no results yet...i'm going to stick to it because its not making me break out that much, and if i stop using the oral antibiotics I feel like im going to break out a lot more. Ive had no luck yet...i hope it gets better soon because these cystic acne are painful

Im suppose to go back to derm on monday, kinda hesitant because I think he just wants my money and wants to just keep prescribing me random medicines. He spends less than 5 minutes on me everytime im at his office. I want to change him but my insurance wont let me yet until the beginning of june. we'll see what my current derm will prescribe me now...i'll keep u updated

[datsnotmyname]

Mmebana, have you noticed any improvements in your cystic acne. Did you go back on Retin A?

[mmebana]

hi

the reason why i stopped posting was because i stopped using both medications. doxy hardly did anything and retin-a made my skin worse.

I am currently on ocella, a birth control pill because i think my acne is triggered by hormonal imbalance, i don't know if you're familiar with plan b pills, but i took 6 of them within the last 8 months. its messing me up really bad and i think birth control pills will help me balance out my hormones. but i'm really not sure, i'm just running out of way to fix the problem so i am going to try it out.

[unlovely2011]

you really need to stick with the regimen. i got the same prescriptions, atralin and doxycycline, plus aczone in the morning and night too (which is just a topical antibiotic). (fyi i'm in week 5 of treatment and my acne got much worse a few weeks ago, but it seems to be past the breakout phase and i actually have no pimples at the moment, just hyperpigmentation all over and closed comedones) if you look at the drug facts, you're supposed to give both doxy and tretinoin 12 weeks of consisent use to see results. in fact, an initial breakout is common from weeks 3-4 of using it so it makes sense that it got worse. i've read up on it a lot and most people who give it a chance see dramatic results. it's not a quick remedy, but you should do what your doc tells you, you haven't even given it a chance to work for you! best of luck.

[unlovely2011]

here maybe this will help you understand how the retinoids work, i found this when i first started using atralin: http://www.acne.org/messageboard/dreaded-i...kou-t98464.html

[mmebana]

my derm said it might not be best if u stick it out and its causing a lot of cystic acne. in two weeks i had like 15 cysts that hurt so bad, his concern was if it made my acne worse than it was before, then it might not be working out, his main concern was if i stuck it out for 4 weeks and i continuously broke out, my skin with be left with a lot of indented scars and discoloration.

btw, my rhuematologist suspects that doxycycline gave me induced lupus, induced lupus is when good cells attack ur body, and the antibiotic might've restructured my cells.

Edited by mmebana, 17 August 2011 - 03:52 PM.

[unlovely2011]

he's probably right. you definitely want to minimize scarring. have you talked to the doctor about accutane or spironolactone?

[mmebana]

he's probably right. you definitely want to minimize scarring. have you talked to the doctor about accutane or spironolactone?

i tried spiro but i have lupus and it might not be safe for use with lupus. i also tried the pill but estrogen triggers lupus symptoms, i had left arm weakness and chest pains.
so i am at a dead end with all the prescriptions. makes me depressed.

Edited by mmebana, 21 August 2011 - 06:28 PM.