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Long time lurker, first time posting.
Background
As a background, I have never really had bad acne at all. After reading this forum, I feel fortunate!
I had ONE issue before- a sebaceous cyst that happened when I was 21. I stupidly pushed on it hard to pop it, got worse, 2 cortisone injections later I had plastic surgery on it and it was removed. The scar was bad and my first experience with a plastic surgeon was lame.
Current Issue
Fast forward to now- I am 26, and about a month ago I felt another cyst coming on. No big, because since my 1st surgery, I knew not to touch it, put some BP on it, and it will subside. And they usually did, except this one.
Big and red and painful. And bright as day. It also has a core- a big pore is stuck in the middle of it! Not sure what this means!
I put BP on it, drank tons of water, changed diet, left it alone, never touched it, etc pretty much evverything I read about on this website. FML, a week and a half later, it was just getting bigger.
Went to my derm, and he injected it with cortisone. He also prescribed some clyndomyacin. It scabbed up over the next few days- great I thought, but after the scab went away, it was still there- smaller but still there. The clyndomyacin helped for a bit (mixed with some BP), but eventually it stopped reacting and it made what seemed like no difference.
Went again a couple of weeks later, and got it lanced this time, then injected with cortisone. The doc said it was actually looking like an acne cyst, not a sebaceous cyst, and that it could get better. The cyst almost went completely away, however today, a week later, it is still there and getting a little bit bigger. Not as big as it was, but still there.
Moving forward with alternative options
I made an appointment for surgery at the derm- AGAIN. Surgery = scars, and while I hate the option, I hate the cyst more. At least with a scar I can say I was injured or something.
Before I take the plunge, I wanted to ask you all (since the advice on here is amazing), is there anything I can try before I get a big old scar on my face?
Options I have identified:
-Another cortisone shot: this seems like a great option as it minimizes the cyst but it just doesnt go away.
-Mario Bascedu Buffering Lotion: long shot but worth a try
-Salycyclic Acid: using BP instead of this on derm's advice, but is it any different?
-Tea Tree Oil: Does this have any shot of working?
-CO2 Laser Treatment: Looks like a good option but seems to require a lot of visits and I am almost at my max on my insurance.
If surgery is a must, I am wondering about the following:
-It doesnt seem that deep- is there a possibility that the derm can just make a small cut and extract the core? My last surgery was really deep, so the core and cyst wall was tough to get out. Not so sure this is the same case.
-How can I minimize scarring? I had a bad experience with my plastic surgeon, and am hoping this derm can make a smaller incision and smaller scar.
Thanks again for all of your help and perspectives on this forum. I like my derm, and trust him, but it wold be great to hear from you all before I go under the knife.
Bump, both literally and figureatively
