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My acne is now coming back worse than ever after about 7 months of minocycline (i was pretty much 99% clear for about 4 of those months). I have tried many topicals and while they keep large pus filled zits from forming i still clearly have small white bumps all over my forehead. I have pretty oily skin and get acne on my temples and center of forehead for the most part as well as the sides of my nose and a little on my chin. I have never had acne on my cheeks before but have noticed some pimples starting to form. I am also experiencing acne in places i have never had them before (such as my cheeks) and want to start accutane NOW before things start to get really bad. At first I thought it was just an ordinary breakout but its been about a month of getting slightly worse each day. I would consider my acne moderate but only cuz my creams keep the big stuff from forming. If i ever stop them for a week hell breaks loose. I am 16 and have been struggling with acne since 8th grade and really wanna just clear my skin as I don't see anything else working for me. However I am very nervous about the initial breakout and its hard to judge just how bad it will be based on what people say. My acne is really hurting my self esteem and I am scared to death of it getting much worse as I'm already constantly checking my appearance in mirrors and my phone camera. It seems like a lot of people don't just get acne in the places that I do and get a lot on their cheeks I was wondering if this could make me any less likely for an initial breakout as accutane stops oil production and my acne is clearly suffering from my oily T zone (my cheek skin is not oily at all) I also get very red skin where my acne comes up but i can't tell if its marks or not cuz they are where all my current acne is.
I am most scared of having to start accutane, getting the initial breakout, and then having my bloodwork come back showing i need to stop taking accutane and then I'm stuck with extremely gross skin. If this is the case I was wondering if the breakout would start to improve after I stop the treatment?I also can't tell how bad the breakout will be from what people say.
I do not have cystic acne either, just persistent, I do not know if this changes the timetable for clearing my skin. I know most people say it takes 6 months but when does improvement start?I have junior prom in 6 months so I'm hoping my skin will be clear for that but I also don't want my skin to be so bad from the initial breakouts still that I can't get someone to go (ik this sounds stupid me and my teenage drama). I know thats a lot and i had many scattered thoughts and questions but any input is appreciated.
Update: by the time I start accutane one week from now I will have been on erythromycin for two and a half weeks. Dunno if this minimizes chance of initial breakout or not but it seems like its safe to take with accutane
My acne is now coming back worse than ever after about 7 months of minocycline (i was pretty much 99% clear for about 4 of those months). I have tried many topicals and while they keep large pus filled zits from forming i still clearly have small white bumps all over my forehead. I have pretty oily skin and get acne on my temples and center of forehead for the most part as well as the sides of my nose and a little on my chin. I have never had acne on my cheeks before but have noticed some pimples starting to form. I am also experiencing acne in places i have never had them before (such as my cheeks) and want to start accutane NOW before things start to get really bad. At first I thought it was just an ordinary breakout but its been about a month of getting slightly worse each day. I would consider my acne moderate but only cuz my creams keep the big stuff from forming. If i ever stop them for a week hell breaks loose. I am 16 and have been struggling with acne since 8th grade and really wanna just clear my skin as I don't see anything else working for me. However I am very nervous about the initial breakout and its hard to judge just how bad it will be based on what people say. My acne is really hurting my self esteem and I am scared to death of it getting much worse as I'm already constantly checking my appearance in mirrors and my phone camera. It seems like a lot of people don't just get acne in the places that I do and get a lot on their cheeks I was wondering if this could make me any less likely for an initial breakout as accutane stops oil production and my acne is clearly suffering from my oily T zone (my cheek skin is not oily at all) I also get very red skin where my acne comes up but i can't tell if its marks or not cuz they are where all my current acne is.
I am most scared of having to start accutane, getting the initial breakout, and then having my bloodwork come back showing i need to stop taking accutane and then I'm stuck with extremely gross skin. If this is the case I was wondering if the breakout would start to improve after I stop the treatment?I also can't tell how bad the breakout will be from what people say.
I do not have cystic acne either, just persistent, I do not know if this changes the timetable for clearing my skin. I know most people say it takes 6 months but when does improvement start?I have junior prom in 6 months so I'm hoping my skin will be clear for that but I also don't want my skin to be so bad from the initial breakouts still that I can't get someone to go (ik this sounds stupid me and my teenage drama). I know thats a lot and i had many scattered thoughts and questions but any input is appreciated.
Update: by the time I start accutane one week from now I will have been on erythromycin for two and a half weeks. Dunno if this minimizes chance of initial breakout or not but it seems like its safe to take with accutane
Hi, I used alot of antibiotics for my acne over the years but found after ashort while that my skin would build up a resistance and they would stop working....Just from my personal experience, antibiotics are ok for a temp fix but wouldnt want to keep using them long term. The good thing about accutane is that it isnt an antibiotic so the body doesnt build up that same resistance to the treatment.
The initial breakout is different for everyone and some dont even get one....it really isnt one rule for everyone. Everyone is different and the strength of dosage(mg) can also have an impact on any side effects at start of treatment. I think its a good idea to keep using your normalregimen for the first month of starting the accutane treatment. Sometimes people stop completely their normal daily routine when they start treatmentand I think its too much change for the skin all at once and that doesnt help with any initial breakouts......I think using erythromycin for a few weeks at start of treatment would be a good idea and can only help and give you peace of mind. I'm nearly a month into taking accutane (20mg) a day (I wanted to stay on a low dosage to keep side effects as mild as possible)and have stayed with my normal routine(Panoxyl 10% Benzoyl peroxide cream/gel)until the accutane starts to work and then will slowly start using it less over the next few weeks as both accutane and Benzoyl Peroxide are very drying to the skin.I'm using accutane to control veryoily skin/overactive oil glands and have noticedmy skin is already alot drier and can see I'vestarted producing less oil.....I used accutane 7 years ago and improved my skin greatly but my oily skin came back and had enough of using creams etc every day for the last20years so using Accutane to break the cycle (if you know what I mean)
Bloodwork? Yes, most people need a blood test once a month to make sure everything is fine but if you did need/want to stop treatment after a couple of months, you can and the accutane would stay in your system for a month or two after (not an expert so someone else could confirm that for you) and your skin would just return to normal...try not to worry or get stressed about it as this again wont help.......
It seems the side effect most people get is chapped lips, so make sure you get a great lip balm...which should help and also drink lots of water.....
Best wishes with treatment
Hello, I just want to say good luck with whatever treatment you do decide to choose. I think accutane could be a good choice for you. I'm not going to sugar coat it but the IB is bad. Because its bringing everything to the surface. I know quite a few people who didn't even get an IB, so you could be one of the lucky ones! My IB was pretty bad but I'm on my second last month of accutane and I couldn't praise it enough! If your ever worried about the side effects always speak to your doctor and always let them know your side effects if you feel that your getting more serious side effects let them know! The doctors aren't going to keep you on something when your telling them that your getting odd side effects. Also do some research on it. All drugs have side effects so just remember this.. All the antibiotics that you could take trying to get your acne away can cause your body and mind a lot of damage. Where a short 4-6 months of accutane could actually change your skin forever. But always be aware of the chances that it could come back. If my acne ever did come back.. I wouldn't even question about doing a second course. There's so many horror stories about the drug and not enough evidence. As I said good luck to you! I hope you get some ease and help with this dreadful skin disease!
Also I wanted to add..erythromycin has left me with a few side effects and this is me off it for a year. I've got rashes and get regular sore stomach. These where less common side effects. So like I said every drug has it's pros and cons.