I think your derm has his own interests at heart. I spent thousands of dollars on a derm when I was younger (more than one, actually) and NOTHING they prescribed came even close to doing what the regimen did for me at half the price. Hell, WAY LESS than half the price. My acne was very cystic, painful and severe and I have crystal clear skin right now. Everyone is different, but I recommend the regimen to everyone. But it does take a long while for it to work and you have to make sure you aren't breaking yourself out in some other way (for example, I get zits when I eat too many potatoes and I have to stay away from gluten and soy--you just have to find what works for you). Good luck!

Speaking from experience I've found that no amount of topicals would work for my acne. I suffer(ed) with deep painful cystic acne which had become resistant to antibiotics and other treatments.

If acne runs in your family (especially adult acne) I would really strongly recommend a prescribed treatment. I do recommend Roaccutane. It will completely change your skin.

I spent hours pouring over this website researching, frightening myself about the possible side effects. I was very ill and severely depressed at the time and I was convinced accutane would make me burst into flames or I'd be struck down my lightening from the side effects etc but honestly, people overplay the side effects and for the vast majority of people only suffer the most common (which are totally manageable).

I know that it is a hard decision but I found that Roaccutane has given me my life back. I feel really healthy, happy and much more positive.

People even comment on how beautiful and soft my skin feels, it's almost unthinkable as an acne sufferer!

Good luck to you x

I dunno if it's just me, but I see like a 40% improvement in your acne... a lot of the spots that were active in the first picture are simply red marks in the 90 day picture... also everything else seems a lot more "flat" and less inflamed then in the first picture. I think you should give it another couple months! ... say if you don't see a significant improvement in 2 more months, then you could try whatever your Derm suggests for you next.. from my experience most Doctors in general aren't to keen on suggesting you go for alternative non-prescription methods like the one here.. I'm not sure he's aware of the amount of success people have had on this system.

I really think you should try and stick it out! but if not, you have plenty of prescription options!

Good luck, and feel free to message me if you have any questions (:

Have you tried using AHA+ to fade the red marks away?

I see tons of improvement and what redness you have seems like hyperpigmentation. It is wrong of your derm to say that a specific treatment won't work for you as different treatments react differently with peoples skin. I would take the prescription he is giving you and continue using the regimen at least till the 5 month mark (if you feel that there has not been Consistent improvement, by all means try accutane).

It's a hard choice but it seems such a waste to throw in the towel 1/2 way in.

Just wanted to share a little bit of my story with you regarding this post. I went to one dermatologist for years when my acne got severe and to a point where I needed some serious meds to treat it...and it became one of the most depressing/useless cycles of my life. I'd got to this derm, he'd prescribe me a new oral antibiotics and a new topical, three or four months would go by and I'd see either NO improvement or very minimal improvement, I'd go back for another scheduled appointment with this derm and he'd prescribe me another oral antibiotic and another topical. His manner was cold, he seemed to have no understanding of how acne can make a person feel...and I always felt like he would just write out some new bogus prescriptions for me just to get me out of his office for another three months so he wouldn't have to deal with me. He was impersonal and I got the distinct vibe that as a dermatologist he didn't CARE much about acne because of all the "important" skin issues out there like skin cancer and other stuff. Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are some good/caring derms out there...but for every one of those there is a dermatologist that will tell you all the right things just to keep you coming to that office and shelling out cash for treatments that don't work.

I've used EVERYTHING aside from Accutane, I'd been on Retin-A, Epiduo, BP washes, new topicals fresh on the skin care market, almost every single oral antibiotic a person can take for acne...I've wasted literally hundreds of dollars on these meds when I didn't have adequate health insurance.

Out of all that headache and all those products, know what the one thing is that is giving me REAL results and clearing my skin? Dan's Regimen. A less than 20$ tube of BP and following his instructions to the letter has saved my skin, and I'm telling you, just be wary of the whole derm culture because it can sometimes hurt you more than it helps you.

Whatever you decide to do I hope you find something that works for you specifically, because we all deserve that much relief in life!

Well there certainly is an improvement but you are not yet clear but on your way to being clear. It's always difficult to go against the advice of a medical practitioner but like a few posters have said above, it would be a shame to pack it in half way through. You are up to month 3 and many people with severe acne see improvement in month 5 (if consistent with applying the regimen). Why not stick it out for another couple of months and see where it gets you.

My skin doctor had a really good look at the regimen and was really impressed with it. He had a small concern over a couple of the preservatives used in the BP but overall he said that he thought it was a pretty good option for acne sufferers. My doctor though takes a lot of interest in acne and he is dead against accutane. He feels the risks for long term health problems are very real and he likes to exhaust all topical treatments before considering accutane or even antibiotics.

I've become completely clear using the regimen and have remained clear for over a year now. I really hope you would at least stick it out for another couple of months and see where it gets you. Even if you did decide to switch over to using accutane its a slow process, taking 3-6 months before people start to see results.

Good luck with whatever you decide. We are all suffering from or have suffered from acne and know how frustrating it all is.