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This is my first post in this community, and I do it because I want to help out everybody in the community. I've had acne since i was 10 years old. Now i'm 22 and I'm clear (relatively). I want to share my story with you guys, so you can learn from my mistakes.
My acne resembled this guy's acne:
http://4.bp.blogspot...ta_1_050322.jpg
Back when i was 10-14, the severity of the acne was not so big. It was more like mild to moderate acne. I went to a dermatologist, who told me to do benzoil peroxide and some antibiotics (doxycycline ). Those would get me clear, but the cost was high bilirrubin. Eventually the dermatologist told me "You should do Roaccutane. The only problem is that you won't be able to do sports for a year".
You know what I said? "Nah, i want to do sports. I'll pass".
I've regretted that decision all my life.
From years 15 to 19 the acne just got worse, and became cystic. I used antibiotics on my own to clear my face from time to time. There was a moment when i absolutely abandoned myself (stopped treating my skin in any way). I thought "This will be gone eventually. Acne is a normal thing, and every adult that i see has a really nice skin".
At 19 i was absolutely desperate. I used to cry and pity myself a lot. I hated my life. I hated the fact that everybody had a perfect face and I didn't. I hated the fact that I had never had a girlfriend in my life, and that I had to "shield" myself under my studies. So i went to the doctor (social security, because we didn't have any money to afford a private dermatologist), who sent me antibiotics again while she performed some blood tests to see if i was capable of undertaking roaccutane. I was taking antibiotics for 7 months. When the tests arrived, my bilirrubin was off the roof (also because I have Gilbert's Syndrom. High bilirrubin by nature). She was so scared, she took away all medication from me, and even said "I can't give you roaccutane".
She tried to make me go see another dermatologist in another hospital, some months later. I was scared about roaccutane, and it's side effects. In the end, I didn't do roaccutane. However, I'd be "clear" in the following 4 months. A roaccutane treatment on that moment wouldn't have been worth it.
At that moment, my life was falling apart. I couldn't figure out why i still was the only idiot who had acne. What did I do to deserve this? So i decided to change things myself. Change my diet, and do a treatment on my own. I discovered the acne.org regime, and i selectively removed food from my diet that generated acne (milk turned to generate huge cysts, and I was an avid milk consumer). I could eventually get clear when i was 20.
But I discover that i wasn't really "clear". My face was full of scars. Pretty much like this http://3.bp.blogspot.../s1600/Scar.jpg .
At first, it was allright by me, because I was used to cystic acne, and scars are so much better. But now, I'm not. I don't look anything like people of my age. It makes me feel down and depressed. From many surgeons and doctors, the only phrase i hear consistently is "Scars are permanent, you can only improve on their appearance".
Acne scar treatments are expensive. The laser treatment 've seen that might actually work for my type of scars (Fraxel re:pair) costs 3500 pounds (full treatment with a qualified doctor, in London). That's so much money. And the expected improvement is 20-30%. Quite dissapointingg. Another treatment to consider is subcision, which provides good results to my type of scarring. But yet again, that procedure is intended just for a particular type of scars. People usually develop many types of scarring, so it's usual that you'd have to go through a series of different treatments.
If you have cystic acne and you are offered roaccutane, don't decline. Cystic acne will leave PERMANENT MARKS ON YOUR SKIN, and those are FOR ALL YOUR LIFE (Why do you think Edward James Olmos or Danny Trejo don't "fix" their faces?).Of course, you can improve on them, but it takes a lot of TIME and MONEY.
If you can't do roaccutane, AT LEAST DO SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR ACNE. Follow the regime, and don't expect to get clear, (because you might not, due to the severity of your acne). However, you will significantly LESSEN the effect of the acne, and therefore have less scars in the future.
I wish somebody had told me this when i was a teen. Now somebody has told YOU. I hope i can make a difference in the life of somebody.
Edited by Jrevor, 06 January 2012 - 11:21 AM.
