I'm 27 now I started getting acne when I was around 12 I think so that's 15 years. It was mostly moderate. I never really cared to much how I look but my acne was painful - mostly around mouth and nose. Sometimes big cysts formed there so I couldn't properly eat or speak.
I've tried many things to no avail.
When I was in uni I had friend that had severe acne. I say severe because that was only dude I know that had worse that mine. He went on accutane and after half year he was clear! I mean he had scars but I wondered about going to derm once more(before uni I lived in small town and only one derm was there). Even if I had scars to - like I said I didn't care about look. If my acne wouldn't be painful then I wouldn't even notice it!
So I visit new derm. I checked internet to find a good one. And she looked like a good derm, experienced but still nice. She prescribe me tetracyclines. My intuition told me NOT to take it because I was on them when I was a teen and they helped only when I was on them. But come one I am only an average 21 years old, and she is an experienced derm, clearly she knows better than me right?
Well no. I should have listened to my intuition. because I wouldn't destroy my life ten. After 3-months on antibiotics my stomach started to hurt. Derm told me to get off antibiotics because she planned 3-month antibiotics course before accutane so I was done with them anyway. After two more weeks my teeth started to hurt. And here I am 5 years later. Spend thousands of dollars(well zlotych ) to doctors visits, tests, medicines, dentists. Nothing works. I am in constant agony, I am tired all the time and depressed. My bod is uterly destroyed. I am 27 living with parents with no job because I hardly can take care of myself. I was always best in class but now I see my friends(well, they are not my friends anymore) having carreers and families while I just deteriotate. Life is over for me.
But if you considere taking oral antibiotics - there still hope for you. REFUSE THEM. I mean, I know that not everybody will have it's life destroyed because of them but let me ask you this - how many people have lasting success after them? Acne is always coming back! And in meantime you are destroying your good bacteria, you stomach your liver. What's that, you are safe because you take probiotics? They are joke. It's like putting of fire of forest with one litre bottels. We have many different bacteria in our bodies, and probiotics have two, four or sometimes ten different types. It's just not enough.
I regret that day I took those dreaded antibiotics every moment. I think about it all day every day for the past 5 years. Of course on beginning I trusted doctors to help me with this but they only know how to prescribe another "medicine". I was foolish, but at the other hand I was just young. But what those derms are doing... It's just immoral, or they are stupid. They are destroying young people bodies.
Of course before all that I was desperate to cure my acne - to get girlfriend to socialize with others. That's all gone of course but you might ask what to try if not antibiotics? Well first thing is if your acne is mild then just get over it. Try topicals, different diets(they never really worked for me but maybe for people with mild acne can), etc. Moderate acne? That's a tougher situation. I would rekomend natural doctor. Or maybe leeches? I saw AWESOME effects of leeches. I badly wanted to use them on me when I still believe I can repair myself but I couldn't because my liver is destroyed and you can't try leeches with liver like I have. Severe? I would sugest leeches right the way. If everything don't work then okey go for antibiotics or accutane because severe acne is no joke.
Take care people. Health is really preacious. It's to late for me, but not for you. I don't know how long I'm gonna stay on this planet, but if you have question then ask I will try to help anybody concerned with antibiotics or acne in general
Good idea is also to find not-crazy derm. My brother find one. She very rarely prescribe antibiotics, almost to anybody. What's she does is compose mixture that is made in drugstore from various things. My brother use in on his face, and he is almost clear. It smells awful, but my brother after witnessing what antibiotics done to me refuse to take them, and rather use something that smells bad than something that destroy body.
I agree! I took them on and off for years, recently took them a month ago and just did not feel right. I freaked myself out reading about some horrible rare side effects...but I certainly got the common ones like yeast infections, anxiety and messed up tummy.
Anyway, I wouldn't give up yet...try taking a lot of different probiotics, good things for gut permeability like gelatin, bone broth and avoid inflammatory foods.
I often wonder that myself...do doctors realize or even care about us? Or are we just money bags to them? I've had psychiatrists put me on antidepressants which are addicting and have bad side effects and are nearly impossible to get off. But what do they care?
Accutsne is a perfect example of a known dangerous drug that detms continue to prescribe despite knowing the horrible, long term and sometimes permanent side effects. Some people are lucky and escape with minor problems. But many will suffer long term.
There are good doctors just not many and far between. It's even not about prescribing but HONESTY. If my derm told me that there is basically not chance for antibiotics to work long-term and good chance to mess up with my health then I wouldn't take them. And if I would, then I couldn't blame her because she was honest. But I was just a young guy without medical experience - she had I don't kno 30 years of derm experience under her belt? And I am sure that in those 30 years she witness some people with serious side effects and pretty much all people who had relapse of acne after antibiotics. With Accutane at least you have a trade off - maybe you will have clear skin and maybe you wil lost your health. With antibiotics there is no chance for clear skin(well not long term) and maybe yo ill lost your heath(although they SEEMS to be less dangerous than accutane because at least with antibiotics we know what is mess uped - good bacteria and gut balance co e kno in theory what to do to help but with accutane is like shooting in the dark). I'm not saying that accutane is good. But if you have severe acne then maybe it is for you, but your doctor should ALWAYS BE HONEST WITH YOU. And they are not, but in nowadays at least we have internet when people share their experiences. Of course that didn't helped me because I thought what people in Internet can know better than an experienced derm? Well, it doesn't matter now anyway. Just stay away from long-term antibiotics. I am not against them in general because they are a wonderful drugs I mean there are not many drugs that cure anything really most just help for symptomps but antibiotics eliminate cause - infections so when you hjave eadly infection that your immune system can't fight those are lifesavers. But using them longterm for acne is just pure madness I know that now.
Snarkygirl, you are right I can't give up. My plan is to spread the word about this antibiotics madness, and I can't do that without health and energy. I strongly believe that our bodies given good nutritions and with good attitude(With that I have obisly problem recently haha) can heal many things. I just want to spare other many people misery I was experienced. There is no magic pill, certainly not for acne.