2 replies to this topic

[djtoodles]

First off I know adult acne seems to affect mostly woman but i am a male and that is what prompts this. I have been to 3 different dermatologist and I have tried so many medications and my skin will be pretty clear for a few weeks then i will get acne to come back. I see a medical estitician every 14 days for a glycoloc acid treatment. I have asked my dermatologist to put me on accutane and she said my skin is not bad enough to permit it.

I never had acne trouble until i was 24 I am 29 now and I will be 30 in a few months. Thats not to say I did not have an occasional pimple or two in my teens but my skin was pretty much flawless. I got a physical last winter and had my blood tested and everything came back normal. My family doctor just said it was hormones and to go see a allergist (due to my question of the dark circles under my eyes which he said were allergic shiners). The allergist found no food allergies that he thought would cause acne. all i was allergic to was dust and outside elements.

That trail pretty much stopped and i just continued to try what the dermatologist said. Currently I am on differin gel at night with some glycolic 15% pads the dermatologist office i visit sells and I use sumaxin as a face wash both morning and at night.

within the past month my neck and shoulders seem to get red bumps which i havent had come to a head for the most part but they seem to be cystic and hurt. I never had any bacne before and nothing i use daily has changed. And it seems over the past month my facial skin has been acting up more where the previous month my skin on my face i thought i was seeing clear skin on the horizon for good.

My question is the end of the year is coming up so my deductible (if i am correct) is back at 0 so i would have to pay to my deductable again to start getting the glycolic treatments from the estitician and that means every 2 weeks going back again and again. I doubt my dermatologist will put me on accutane still. (she seems to be the best dermatologist of the 3 i went to and a new one is still a 6 month process to see how they see skin progressing on there new treatment before considering it).

Is there anything or any doctors i can see about other possible medical conditions that are causing this? I just feel it has to be something else inside me thats causing this than hormones. I dont see any other males dealing with acne at my age. Maybe an occasional pimple here or there every 6 months but not on a weekly basis with pustules. I am just sick of dealing with this acne fight and its embarrassing. Its bad enough being single at 29 let alone dealing with acne and now some bacne.

[Retrospect1]

Firstly, I would like to say that I really feel for you in your situation. Dealing with acne at 29, having limited success with treatments and finding little help or support from the medical professionals you have seen must be infuriating. I know I am not male (female, 20) but can relate to having long standing issues with acne (I have it on the face, shoulders, chest and even the upper arms would you believe, in varying degrees of severity). I took erythromycin for 6 months (been off it now for 4 months) and it improved my facial acne but left me with some small pustules on the chest which I have never experienced previously and greater shoulder acne. I am still in a better position than I was previously though I think.

In regards to other doctors all I can think of is perhaps getting the opinion of an endocrinologist, although that may not be what you are looking for as they specialise in hormones and you are wanting to come at this from a different angle.

What are the treatments that you have tried (apart from the ones already mentioned in your post)?

I currently do not take or use anything for my acne at the moment and I feel much less stressed than I have done for many, many months. It takes a long time to feel confident in your body again with acne but the conclusion that I came to was that why waste time, energy, and emotions into so many different treatments that fail to work. The people that actually are decent human beings on this earth will still be friends with you and everyone else, well.... I shall refrain from swearing on here. The most important thing is taking the time to try and find happiness within yourself in regards to acne. Now that is really difficult I know, but at least if you don't manage to find something that gets rid of your acne you will feel a bit better about yourself and conversely if you do manage to find something that works then you will be overjoyed!

I do agree though that it is quite unusual to not develop acne until the age of 24 (especially when male acne tends to peak at age 17) and then have it persist for all these years since.

[djtoodles]

Your last point is what worries me it is something other than just hormones causing acne. Has anyone had success finding things from an endocrinologist that helped?

Also the things i have tried is tazorac gel which i stopped because it hurt my face and made it extremely red even after using it for 6months. used epiduo but the bp in it made my skin red and was a bit harsh, had an allergic reaction to minocycline and erythromycin. I tried a few other oral meds which i cant recall but they made me break out with hives. I stopped taking erythromycin after using it for 6 months because i was afraid being on any oral medication for too long was a bad thing and after taking it my acne didnt get any worse. I have tried glytone as a cleaner and some green tea cleanser a derm suggested. I used aczone. And ziana. I think there might be a few other things i am forgetting. But as i said currently i use differin gel and sumaxin as a face wash and some glycolic 15% pads from my derm with glycolic treatments every 14 days.

part of the problem to me is for example my primary doctor i spoke to about his thoughts on accuatane and really he was under the mindset of just get some mild stuff and let life runs its course and it will go away. Maybe i am crazy but getting acne at 24 and still having it now just seems really suspect. It makes me think i do have something going on internally that is causing the issue. But i suppose if that were the case it would have reared its head by now 5 years later.