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Hey,
I'm 26 years old and have had moderate acne for most of my life. It got really bad when I was 20 and so I went on a series of antiobitics/topicals which mostly cleared it up. Since then, I've continued to have somewhat mild to moderate acne. It's never gotten so bad that I've thought about Accutane but it's never completely cleared up like I feel it should for most people. For the last few years, I've been using Tazorac cream and a clindamycin/BP wash as topicals as well as doxycycline every other day.
From about March to July of this year my acne was the best it had ever been. Almost no breakouts and I was feeling like things had possibly turned a corner for good. In June, I saw a dermatolgist in Washington DC (where I moved last year) and she basically said that things seemed to be working and we should stick with it.
Now, over the last month and half or so my acne has started to come back. It's not awful by any means but it's not great and is especially frustrating after a couple of months of really clear skin.
I'm thinking about trying the regimen to see if I can find something that finally works for an extended period of time but I had a few questions/hesitations and wanted to get some thoughts.
First, I'm a little hesitant to start a new regimen so soon after seeing my new derm. Do you think it makes sense to just go for it without consulting her first?
Second, I really do like the products I use even if they aren't perfect. Can I continue to use Tazorac cream while I do the regimen? It seems a little dangerous to give up something that's quite powerful and been at least reasonably effective.
Thanks for your feedback!
I think it would be a shame to stop what your derm has prescribed when you've had it work well for you in the recent past. I would suggest that you first look into what you're doing with your existing products and see if you have changed anything in your routine.
For example I started breaking out about 6 months ago after remaining successfully clear using epiduo. When I had a good look at what I was doing, I realised that I had become a bit rough with my skin, I had also started putting my face under the hot shower plus had been skipping some applications of moisturiser at night. Once I rectified all these slight changes of behaviour my skin cleared up again.
I'm not saying that The Regimen wont work for you, but with any change of regimen, it takes time to work, so it may be easier to see what has changed with your existing routine (if anything) and see if you can turn it around.
Good luck! 
Thanks so much for your helpful feedback! Your advice is well taken. I'm going to stick with dermatologist plan for now and also try and be more proactive about other things like changing my pillowcases regularly and not touching my face. Hopefully this works well and if not I can reevaluate with my derm when I see her again.