I take Ortho-Tri-cyclen for acne. I also take spironolactone for acne. I chose Ortho-Tri-cyclen because it has high levels of estrogen that run interference against male hormones that cause acne in women. Spiro also targets the male-ish hormones. It blocks reception of testosterone (a hormone present in all women but at miniscule levels when compared to that in males).I recommend an antibiotic also for the swelling and simply to reduce infections. Amoxicillin and Cephalexin are the best as they cause no nausea and can be therefore taken at higher doses like 1,500mg per day. Minocycline seems to be popular among dermatologists. It comes up in blogland over and over again but I found it to be useless and nauseating. If your doctor offers it to you, ask for something else like amoxicillin, cephalexin or tetracycline. Don't be afraid to ask for drugs that you want to try. Most doctors will prescribe what you ask for. I designed my own treatment plan.:)

Ortho-tric-yclen

Spironolactone

Cephalexin

Benzaclin

Tretinoin

My doctor ended up switching me to ortho tri cyclen (generic version actually: tri previfem) and giving me bactrim to take daily. I really hope this works! How long until you saw improvements with the birth control?

I keep hearing that it may cause an initial breakout in the first 2 months, so I'm nervous. I asked my doctor about this and she said that if you experience an initial break out then it was probably zits that were already on thier way to surfacing and not due to the pill. Not sure if that makes sense to me, since somehow the NuvaRing broke me out (probably because of the high androgens...not sure)

I feel funny commenting on peoples blog with my recommendation lol.

For itchiness and dry skin I would be using a gentle soothing cream like Goats Milk Cream, (this is what I use) found in chemists. Read my blog if you like.. Hope it gets better! Xx

I feel funny commenting on peoples blog with my recommendation lol.

For itchiness and dry skin I would be using a gentle soothing cream like Goats Milk Cream, (this is what I use) found in chemists. Read my blog if you like.. Hope it gets better! Xx

Those things sound great, and I just checked out your blog. It sounds like we have similar skin (definetely combination skin type and sensitive), but I looked up the products and unfortunately I don't think I can get them in the US. :/ I would have to get them shipped in from AU. Hopefully I can find something similar here, and hope that works as well. Thanks for the comment though! I really like knowing that people are reading the stuff I am writing because the acne life gets lonely sometimes!