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I am a 50 year old woman who has suffered from mild to moderate acne since about 14. I have had some reprieve over the years, but the acne always seems to come back. I tend to get large painful chin cysts that always pop up when I have plans, a party or important business meetings. The dermatologist had suggested accutane to me before, but I scoffed at the thought. I continued to control my cysts with spirolactone, cortisone shots and vitamin D. I eat a very clean, healthy diet and I attend Pilates, spinning and yoga 5-6 days a week in addition to running. The straw that broke the camel's back was a recent, severe 3 month constant breakout that was mainly on my nose - of all places and on my usual spot - my chin. It was constant, painful and brutally embarrassing. I literally lived at the dermatologist getting cortisone injections for three straight months. I was mortified as I imagined the staff had to think I was nuts coming so often. I stopped adding up the co-pays because I knew I was spending exorbitant amounts of money per month on injections. I finally acquiesced and agreed to start accutane. My dermatologist is an advocate of low dose treatment so I am on 20mg every other day. I just started last week. I have only taken 4 pills so far. I am hoping to avoid a severe initial breakout. Did get one huge cyst (not painful yet) on my chin yesterday. Hoping this is all I will have to deal with. When I started the accutane, my skin was clear - so don't want to cause unnecessary breakouts.
I am so sick of never knowing when a huge painful spot will emerge. I worry before vacations and special events. Hoping to get a reprieve for even 6 worry free months. What a God send that would be. I did take accutane in my 20's and had excellent results with minimal side effects. I am hoping for a similar experience, except a cure this time around.
Would love to have some other "older" people who are taking accutane chime in.
I am 50 and still get whiteheads around my nose and chin sides,just under the bottom lip on the left or right.
i think i pretty much nailed it down to diet,i was not bothering to use clean towels,i was rubbing not patting,clean bedding and touching my skin.
now i been pretty much whitehead free fir a month.i am dealing with the scarring after suffering for 30yrs with it.
cutting out sugar,drinking water,hitting the veggies,stuff like sweet potato instead of white,drinking water regularly,using clean towel every time i dry,clean pillow case every 3 days or so,no fingering of face,seems to be working for me.
even changing white bread to brown and limiting the slices to 4 a day if eaten daily might have helped me.before all i did eat sweet stuff,yam bread every day or white potatos.
and stress can be bad,control your stress levels.
Hello lioness101,
You poor thing! I am 46 years old and still battle with crazy oily skin and blackheads across my nose and chin with the occasional breakout, but it sounds like yours is significantly worse!! I can't imagine how stressful that is. I hate that you had to resort to Accutane. I know your acne is worse than mine, and you have probably tried every topical treatment known to man. But, until I tried Dan's regimen, my skin looked awful. It has REALLY improved my skin a lot!! Even improved the texture. So, if you have not tried it yet, and you may have, but if not - you should.
Good luck to you!
Amy
The dermatologists in my area would not prescribe Accutane because of my age. I was told this when I was 31; I'm 36 now. How did you find a doctor who would do this? My acne came back a couple of years after 1 round of accutane when I was 21. I would love to try it again.
Sorry Jessica J just saw your reply. If I were you I would go to a different doc who is more progressive and up on the latest research regarding accutane. I am lucky to live in a major city with many dermatologist options. I wish you luck in your search!
To Robswife... my skin does not react well to BP. I tend towards dryness, so i have no desire to use so much BP on my face. I only get an occasional cyst, but at my age and in my career, one cyst is one too many. I am doing great on the accutane. Little to no side effects and my skin is doing much better.