Home
I'm a 22 year old female that struggled with acne since age 13. I've been to numerous dermatologists and have been prescribed everything from antibiotics, retin-a, aczone, tazorac, birth control, and finally Accutane.
The Accutane worked beautifully (I was also taking Aleese (BC) at the same time). Once I stopped my Accutane cycle (6 months 80mg I think?), my skin stayed clear. That is until exactly 1 year when it came back just as bad as it was before.
So, my dermatologist recommended a second trial of Accutane. I was all for it! Same situation, my skin stayed clear for exactly 1 year. But then my acne came back, again!
Wouldn't you know - I was put on it a third time. This time, within 3 months of my Accutane trial, I had to stop taking it. I was having such intense bladder pain and was diagnosed with something called, Interstitial Cystitis. Unfortunately, IC is somewhat of a mystery (they don't know what causes it). Since Accutane has such a bad reputation, I just knew that taking Accutane possibly a 4th time was out of the question due to the fact that it may make my situation worse.
When I had to stop my Accutane, the only thing I was taking was my Aleese (BC) and Acanya (Topical). Thankfully, my skin was still clear at this point because the Accutane was still lingering in my system.
June:
Unfortunately I knew my acne would be coming back soon, like it always had. Sure enough, a few months later my skin was breaking out. A few whiteheads, but a BUNCH of them felt deep and under the skin, especially around the jawline.
August:
So I searched and religiously read these forums in order to figure out what exactly would help me.
I found out a few things:
1. Birth Control - I was on Aleese but read that Ortho TriClycen was so much better for acne.
2. Spironolactone - It decreases androgen which can improve acne.
So with this information, I went to my dermatologist. She prescribed me 50mg Spironolactone and Ortho TriClycen (Tri-Spintec is the generic version which I take).
My regime then:
Spironolactone (50mg - once a day)
Tri-Sprintec (birth control - once a day)
Acanya (Topical - once a day before bed)
Cerave Foaming Cleanser (Twice a day)
Cerave Lotion (under makeup)
After 1.5 months of taking this combination, I saw 50% improvement but not 100% clear!
I continued to read acne.org and found out:
1. Vitamin D3 - I read multiple articles where women swore that Vitamin D3 cured their acne. If you google, you will find similar results.
2. Saw Palmetto Extract - Slightly decreases androgen (I figured it could boost my Spironolactone).
New regime:
Spironolactone (50mg - once a day)
Tri-Sprintec (birth control - once a day)
ADDED: Vitamin D3 (5000IU - once a day)
ADDED: Saw Palmetto Extract (320mg - once a day) [Automatically comes with Zinc in it as well - 30mg]
Acanya (Topical - once a day before bed)
Cerave Foaming Cleanser (Twice a day)
Cerave Lotion (under makeup)
And wouldn't you know it? It's like my skin got a BOOST! Weeks later, Clear skin!
Now, I know I literally have a cocktail of pills. Who knows - maybe it's just the Spiro/BC mix and the vitamins have nothing to do with it...But I finally found something that is working for me! I have no idea which pills are making the biggest difference in my skin, and I may eventually try weening some out and seeing what happens. But for now, I am working on healing my acne scars that you presently see in the above picture.
Even though I never had severe acne, I felt like I had moderate acne for most of my life and was never clear. I felt hopeless when I thought Accutane was the only cure.
That's basically it! Thanks for reading my long post
(TL;DR) Regime:
Spironolactone (50mg - once a day)
Tri-Sprintec (birth control - once a day)
Vitamin D3 (5000IU - once a day)
Saw Palmetto Extract (320mg - once a day) [Automatically comes with Zinc in it as well - 30mg]
Acanya (Topical - once a day before bed)
Cerave Foaming Cleanser (Twice a day)
Cerave Lotion (under makeup)
Edited by RightMeow, 07 November 2012 - 09:23 PM.
