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I just joined this website because I just can't deal with this alone anymore.
I'm a 16 male junior in high school, and back in sophomore year I was praying that it would be better than sophomore year. But now, it's worse. Not education wise, but acne wise. I have back, upper arms, and neck acne. I was never one to really break out on my face, and when I do it's one pimple, but my back is just a mess.
It all started at the end of freshman year. I saw one red bump on my back, and stupid me decides to pop it. Little did I know it wasn't even a whitehead, and I just made it worse. I guess doing that spread it around my back. I had maybe 1-5 big red bumps, however they weren't whiteheads. And again stupid me, decided to try and pop them with a needle. I was totally ignorant to acne, and it was so foreign to me. My parents have flawless skin, so I never thought I'd be affected. Just typing about this makes me feel so stupid. To think this all could've been prevented if I were to have common sense. Anyway, it got worse obviously. I decided to try Proactiv...oh god. Yeah, that didn't work. I used it for about a year and a half. And my back just looked a mess. I used it for my face as well, as I wanted to prevent acne. It didn't really change my face. Even today my face barely has any pimple...just some blackheads on my nose that I don't care about.
Anyway sophomore year started, and my confidence was not very high. I'm a popular kid, it's just that I distanced myself from people. I never went a day without wearing a sweatshirt. I live in L.A, so it can get hot. I was extremely self conscience of my arms. I was kind of a skinny kid, so I was always embarrassed of my arms because I always wanted them big and buff, but whatever I did it wouldn't work. In the middle of sophomore I started getting pimples from time to time on the back of my neck. I didn't care that much, as I could hide it with my hoodie, but it still bothered me. Towards the end of the year I started getting bumps on my chest and arms, they were small, but stupid me (sensing the theme here?) decided to squeeze them. I used Proactiv's body wash on the back of my neck sometimes as well as on my chest. Surprisingly it worked, but not for my arms.
Finally summer time came, and I decided that sweatshirts were off limits for me I was going to conquer my fears and I didn't care. I wore short sleeve shirts, but they covered my arm acne. I was feeling so great. My back was clearing up, my arms weren't really, but they weren't white heads they were red bumps. My neck was CLEAR. Then I took summer school and I notice a small pimple on the FRONT of my neck, something I thought wasn't possible. I didn't pop it, and left it alone. Then two more clustered around it. They were whiteheads, but I still didn't pop them I finished summer school and they went away, but left a little scarring (I don't know why). During this time I got off Proactiv, and decided to see a dermatologist. My dermatologist pre-scribed antibiotics (minocycline), and Retin A. My mom was not happy about the antibiotics as they can mess up your immune system. But I gave it a shot. I found the Retin A drew everything out, and was drying. The antibiotics made no difference. Then I saw a pimple on my neck again, and stupid me put Retin A on it. Biggest mistake I ever made. Not only did it spread my acne, but it dried my neck to the point where my neck was RED! It was so dried out my skin felt like leather. I totally admit that I broke down and cried, and rightfully so. I hid in my house for 2 weeks, flaked on my friends. Overall it was terrible. And guess what? School started two weeks later. I was so nervous because my acne was hidden before. Now going to school and people seeing acne on my neck?! Gross.
I'm in my second month of school, and I'm feeling hopeless. I've been to the dermatologist again, and this time she gave me Tazarac .1% for my neck, arms, and chest, and face (?). As well as continuing with the antibiotics and Retin A. Oh, and Cleocin (forgot to mention that in he beginning). My arms have kind of cleared. There's just marks now. My chest has cleared, just some faint scars. The only reason I'm taking these damn antibiotics is for my back (she claims). And she gave me Neutrogena as well for my back. But guess what? MY BACK IS THE WORST ITS EVER BEEN!! Right where my shoulder blades are, is where my bacne is. My neck acne has not gotten better. It's red bumps. I get disgusted every time I look in the mirror. Now to put the cherry on this disgusting cake, there acne/blackheads on the BACK of my neck? WTF??!! I shower twice a day, for the past 4 years!! I'm not a dirty person, I'm very clean. I wash my sheets once a week. Alternate pillows. Everything. I honestly give up. I want to go to prom, and formal. How can I do this looking like this?
I'm at an all time low. My self confidence is non-existent, I've been very depressed lately. I'll just wake up, and feel itchy and dirty, like a sensation where I just want to shed and rip my skin off. I feel so uncomfortable. My dermatologist says the next step in accutane. However I am so scared for that. My face, like I said, is not bad. There aren't many breakouts, and if there are it's like two very tiny dots. I'm afraid with accutane my face will look like a pizza from the IB, and I'm afraid my neck will look like a pizza from IB. I'm just scared in general that I'll have a terrible IB, and I'll look even worse. I think about suicide which ISN'T NORMAL! Thank god, I've never harmed myself, but it's like my skin wants me to.
What can I do? Should I go on Accutane and just get this acne out of system? There's no way in hell I'm having acne senior year let alone college. I just can't let that happen. I'm beyond over this s*** at this point.
What should I do?
Hey there,
I have a few tips for the acne itself and some emotional/psychological tips. So it sounds like you're going to a dermatologist, which is good. I don't know why they would suggest a retinoid (Tazorac) for your body because it's so expensive for so little...but that's beyond the point.
The first thing I would suggest: stop showering twice a day, you're probably overdrying your body (could be why you're waking up feeling itchy). If possible, I'd limit it to once per day (after you wake up or after you work out). Try to be gentle with treating this - don't scrub and don't pick/pop anything (I know how hard that can be though).
I'll just tell you what I do - maybe you could try it if you're looking for a new routine before accutane (which really is no big deal either way). I'm 19 (male) and started getting moderate to severe body acne when I was 15 or 16 but I'm clear now. I'd suggest in the shower you use PanOxyl Foaming Wash 10% Benzoyl Peroxide. Leave it on for a minute or two before washing it off. When I get out, right after I dry off I spray my entire back with apple cider vinegar. It stinks but dries fast and doesn't smell when dry. At night, I spray my back with apple cider vinegar again. I sleep shirtless on a fresh towel every night. Occasionally I'll take a bath with epsom salt in it, which is also good for body acne. This is probably really drying for most people, but my body doesn't get dry from it at all. If it is too drying, you could cut out the first apple cider vinegar and/or dilute it with water. Also start taking a zinc supplement if you can. I've tried all kinds of other stuff and that's all that worked for me.
As far as the emotional aspect goes, I can completely relate. I had acne on my face too (still do a bit), which was really bad as well. I used to have very bad posture trying to hide my neck/upper back with my shirt collar. Take solace in knowing that this is completely hormonal/genetic and not your fault - I don't think popping your acne caused it to spread to the degree you say it has. More than likely you'll even grow out of it eventually - this is just a rough period of time that you'll get through. You could have depression it sounds like, especially if you're thinking about suicide. Is it possible to see a therapist? If you're not willing to do that, something that helped me was starting up exercising. It's amazing for your confidence and really helps with depression/pent up anger. Last thing - people don't notice it/care as much as you think they do. It shouldn't stop you from going to prom/formal, dating, or whatever. My dad has scars all over his back from severe body acne when he was a teen, but my mom never cared at all, even when they were dating (she even had a little herself). Hope that helps!
The first thing I always recommend to teenage boys is to
- Stop eating dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream)
- Go to sleep at 10pm or earlier each night
These changes will make huge improvements on your acne situation.
These sound like simple things, but they actually have huge effects on your whole endocrine system, which I could go into a lot of science about, but I won't, because I'm sure you wouldn't read the whole essay I could write anyway.
Thanks for the all the responses. I already eat like any other teenager. I'm healthy, and athletic. The thing is I don't feel that I should sacrifice good food, just so my skin can be semi clear.
I have an appointment with my dermatologist next Thursday. I've decided that Accutane will be my next step. The only thing that worries me is the IB, but all I can do is hope and pray it isn't bad. Wish me luck!
Alright well I started Accutane. My derm gave me 20 mg pill, and I'm supposed to take 1 pill/day for 2 weeks. Then once the third week begins I'm supposed to take 2 pills/day for another 2 weeks. Once the 4 weeks are over I have an appointment with her to check my blood as well as bump the dose up to 40 mg.
So far I haven't experienced any side effects but that's probably because I've only taken 3 pills (1 for every day), and I'm sure it isn't in my system yet.
I'll update my progress when I start feeling the side effects.
Just a quick update.
I finished my 2 weeks taking one pill/day and I've just taken two throughout the day. But I'll just talk about what happened during these two weeks taking one a day.
Well, side-effects wise, I feel pretty good. No depression/suicidal thoughts, and no IB (knock on wood none of those happen). But I have experience a little dryness. It's mostly around my nose by my nostrils and under my nostrils. I just put extra lotion on that area and I'm fine. Also, my skin seems a little tighter when coming out of the shower, which can be annoying. My lips have been normal/chapped. Kind of in between. Some days it'll be okay and other days it kind of burns, but I put Burt's Bees first and then Aquaphora and it works. But since it looks like I have lip gloss on so during school I use Eos which works.
I noticed I'm staring to get a little dry patch on my forearm so I'm putting Amlactin on it, and Amlacin does wonders for dryness. Too bad it's not non-comeogetic so I can't use it on my face.
Other than that everything's going okay. Oh and I dont have oily skin anymore! My forehead always had oil but now it's normal, but we'll see how this pans out. But so far so good!
Alright it's been two months. And I'm surprised. I think I dodged the IB because my skin hasn't gotten worse. In fact it's gotten better. My back is clearing up, however my shoulders/shoulder blades are red and bumpy but the rest of my back is CLEAR! The bottom of my neck/upper back is still ugly, but it's gotten better I suppose. Problem is, I'm noticing scarring which terrifies me because the last thing I want is acne free skin, but be left with never ending reminders of acne. But I'll worry about that later.
I take 40 mg twice a day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. All the other days I just take one 40 mg. my blackheads were completely gone, but I think I have big pores on my nose because more stuff keep coming out. My neck is clearer. It's just that when one pimple comes to a head it looks so nasty. Nothing worse than whiteheads. Yuck.
My chest is fine. Some red flat dots. Probably scarring? I don't know. However, my arms have have some dry patches...like as rough as sandpaper. I just keep moisturizing but I know that it'll pass after I finish Accutane, so I don't care. Plus take not very visible. But, my hand has tiny red dry dots. It's weird, but it goes away. I have little dry patches all over, but they're small, so I don't worry. Oh and chapped lips. Well, with this weather it's difficult, but my lips haven't cracked, or bled. It's just a little dry. So I just put Aquaphora and it's all good 
To be honest, I'm surprised I've been able to take 2 showers a day. Thought I would've been as dry as the desert by now lol.
2 months down!!
I really would like you to keep us updated, as I am also considering Accutane for my back ance. I'm also a junior in high school, feeling as though my bacne is holding me back from enjoying being a teenager. I'm athletic and eat very well. I go to a dermatologist but honestly I feel like she is no help. I was on proavtic before I was sent to see her and had no facial acne after a year of the proactive. I was put on an array on medicines and creams, none of which have worked, and only worsened the acne on my face. I'm desperate and seriously considering Accutane because it seems to be my last option.
I really would like you to keep us updated, as I am also considering Accutane for my back ance. I'm also a junior in high school, feeling as though my bacne is holding me back from enjoying being a teenager. I'm athletic and eat very well. I go to a dermatologist but honestly I feel like she is no help. I was on proavtic before I was sent to see her and had no facial acne after a year of the proactive. I was put on an array on medicines and creams, none of which have worked, and only worsened the acne on my face. I'm desperate and seriously considering Accutane because it seems to be my last option.
Well I just finished my 3rd month, and onto the 4th! It's been a bit rocky, honestly. The latter half of my 3rd month has been really odd. I started breaking out a little on one side of my neck, however the other side is pretty much clear. My back has been clearing, and the back of my neck has like one pimple.
Anyway, during the last week or two of my 3rd month, I started to get flaky skin around my mouth, and on a little patch on my neck. I just moisturized my face more, and I put CeraVe on the little patch on my neck. This was 5 days ago. Now on Friday the 17th, my neck patch was getting a little more red. When I got home, I saw that my neck looked red on the bottom. Kind of like a straight line that connected to the patch. Naturally, I put Amlactin on it (big mistake), as well as CeraVe. Now Amlactin made it burn like hell. I was super uncomfortable, and felt uncomfortable. Later that night, I got out of the shower and BAM it was so red. I then put more Amlactin on hoping it would not be so dry anymore. 
Well...that didn't work. I woke up the next morning with a huge red mark on my neck, and it looked as if I was burned. All day I moisterized it, but nothing. I woke up today, and it simmered down, but my skin is very frail so you can see a huge difference in pigmentation.
Luckily, today was my dermatologist check-up/appointment. She saw it and said it was a rash, or maybe even eczema!! My skin is a piece of work. Seriously if it isn't one thing it's another! Anyway, she gave me cream for it, and said it should go away in a couple days. Of course those couple days are school days. I already hate school enough, so this week will be hell 
But she did say that March would be my final month. Right in time for my birthday in April. To be honest, I don't feel like I'm ready to come off of Accutane. My skin doesn't look "complete" if that makes sense. It has helped a lot, but I just hope February really kicks my acne's ass!
Regardless, take Accutane. It's worth it, and you will see changes for sure. 
Well, I'm done with Accutane!
Actually I've been done for a couple weeks now, and I can honestly say that I'm clear. I have no pimples, no blackeads, and no issues with acne in general. The only thing that's annoying is my skin. It's still dry, and sometimes I'll get a rash or even red bumps that look like little bug bites, but aren't pimples. It's itchy, but I just put Aquaphor over it, and it goes away.
I heard that your skin gets even better post-Accutane, so I'm still waiting for that. There's some discoloration of my skin, and even some marks on my back from those pesky pimples. My neck is virtually clear, however, sometimes there will be some discoloration of skin. Hopefully my skin will go back to normal in time for summer, which is right around the corner. As for my acne, GONE!
I really recommend Accutane. It might sound scary (for women especially), but it truly saved my life. I had ZERO confidence, and I'm slowly gaining my confidence back. MY acne gave me anxiety and nervousness, and now that's my new obstacle to face because now I suffer from anxiety because of what my acne put me through. I'm hoping that that will soon fade away like my acne did. Anyway, if you've run out of options. Go with Accutane. You won't regret it!