29 replies to this topic

[xpaperbackwriterx]

On a slightly related note, I'm getting married young to the love of my life. The only problem is, I'll probably still have acne because I'll be barely 19. Nightmare just waiting to happen. I've actually thought about asking to wait simply to see if my skin will clear up more (which is funny because that's my only reason! )

[tmueller]

I completely understand. I feel the exact same way. My biggest dream is to wake up with no makeup on and feel confident that my skin looks good. It's natural to want your fiance to think you are beautiful, in and out. I hope the Spiro works for you! I'm trying it again after using it on and off for the last year...

 

Did it work for you before? Why haven't/didn't you stay on it??

In regards to your confession...I think a lot of us can relate. I've been with my husband for 13 years and when my skin is bad, I dread for him to see me without my makeup. But he reminds me that my skin needs a break from the makeup and it needs to breathe, especially when it's bad. So we usually compromise...I wash my face, but keep the lights dim

 

I guess that's true... our skin does need to breathe, if only it wasn't so embarrassing! How is your skin now? Are you on spiro?
 

[Jessie09]

I've had an interesting experience with Spiro and quite different from what most people seem to go through. When I first started taking Spiro, my skin cleared up right away. I had suffered from mild/moderate acne around my cheeks and chin. In the past I had used Minocycline, which worked quite well for awhile and then would stop working after 3-6 months. After being on Spiro for 6-8 weeks, I began to break-out on my chin and jawline- areas that I never had acne before. However, the rest of my face was pretty clear. It seemed like a trade-off and the Spiro would not stop my break-outs, but just change where on my face it happened. When I tried to stop the Spiro all together, I had really bad break-outs on the rest of my face and would start taking it again.

 

Recently, I've gotten my hormones tested and found out I have very low levels estrogen and progesterone. Since then I've begun taking oral estrogen and progesterone. I hope that this in combination with a low dose of Spiro will help to balance out my hormones. I believe that the Spiro did not work for me because of my low estrogen. It's different for every person- I hope it works for you!

[tmueller]

About to hit the 7  week mark and I have about 2-3 cysts and a bunch of mini pimples/white heads along my chin and cheeks(I think thats what they are). Getting frustrated..wishing my skin texture was smoother. Still fairly oily too... I'm already on 100mg... maybe I need to up my dosage?? Not sure if the doctor will let me until I've been on it at least 12 weeks... any thoughts?

[Green Gables]

About to hit the 7  week mark and I have about 2-3 cysts and a bunch of mini pimples/white heads along my chin and cheeks(I think thats what they are). Getting frustrated..wishing my skin texture was smoother. Still fairly oily too... I'm already on 100mg... maybe I need to up my dosage?? Not sure if the doctor will let me until I've been on it at least 12 weeks... any thoughts?

 

I wish I had better news for you, but there really isn't much you can do with spiro alone at this point. Spiro is a SLOW medication. Always has been. 7 weeks just isn't enough time to see real improvement. A smart derm would not up your dosage past 100mg that fast, unless you weigh 180+lbs, because a higher dose would then be appropriate for your weight.

 

If you are impatient you can always add topicals. I wouldn't recommend Retin As before a wedding because they have a purging period, but perhaps some potent salicylic acid peels or AHA peels could help both the texture and the acne. 

 

I may have said this already, but please cut out dairy, sugar, and go low carb if you are trying to clear your skin up. These three things (dairy, sugar, even high "good" carbs) stimulate hormonal imbalances that cause acne. See Dr. Hyman's article

Edited by Green Gables, 25 February 2013 - 01:33 PM.

[tmueller]

About to hit the 7  week mark and I have about 2-3 cysts and a bunch of mini pimples/white heads along my chin and cheeks(I think thats what they are). Getting frustrated..wishing my skin texture was smoother. Still fairly oily too... I'm already on 100mg... maybe I need to up my dosage?? Not sure if the doctor will let me until I've been on it at least 12 weeks... any thoughts?

 

I wish I had better news for you, but there really isn't much you can do with spiro alone at this point. Spiro is a SLOW medication. Always has been. 7 weeks just isn't enough time to see real improvement. A smart derm would not up your dosage past 100mg that fast, unless you weigh 180+lbs, because a higher dose would then be appropriate for your weight.

 

If you are impatient you can always add topicals. I wouldn't recommend Retin As before a wedding because they have a purging period, but perhaps some potent salicylic acid peels or AHA peels could help both the texture and the acne. 

 

I may have said this already, but please cut out dairy, sugar, and go low carb if you are trying to clear your skin up. These three things (dairy, sugar, even high "good" carbs) stimulate hormonal imbalances that cause acne. See Dr. Hyman's article

When you say spiro is slow do you think it's even slower than the 3-4 months I've heard from other people?? I don't weigh 180+ so upping is obviously not an option. Also I'm really scared of pretty much all topicals because I feel like every one of them has that purging effect like you say.

 

Do you have more info about the peels? I can't really take time off of work so do you need major down time when you do them?

[Green Gables]

a 10% salicylic acid peel, or even a 20% isn't bad at all. some redness.

 

sure, 3-4 months or longer is totally normal for a hormonal treatment to start kicking in

[tmueller]

I've woken up with new cysts every day this week..this initial breakout is a pain in my arse!! Hitting the gym hard tonight to let out some frustration.

[tmueller]

Well I'm 8 weeks in and my skin is OK. The right side of my face has mostly cleared, but the left side of my face still has some active cysts and lots of healing ones. womp womp. I'm hoping I'm past the worst of it, but I guess time will tell. I just keep counting down the weeks hoping that in another month or so I will look back and know this was all worth it!

 

Also on my period this week which is making me more irritated and emotional (not a great combo with bad skin)....

[tmueller]

Reaching the 9 week mark and I think I may have rounded a corner! This weekend I did get two really small cysts on my left cheek, but they came to ahead within like 12 hours.(record time!) The right side of my face has had NO cysts in about a week!! Now I'm just battling the lovely bright red scarring, but I'm feeling like I'm headed in the right direction... fingers and toes crossed.

 

I'd love to hear from other people... hows it going for everyone?