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UPDATE
Today marked a monumental occasion because for the first time in a very, very, very long time, I went out in public without a stitch of makeup on my face. Normally I wear powder to cover spots and acne marks, but today I went to the grocery store without a single thing on. And you know what? It felt wonderful. My complexion is fantastic, my acne marks have nearly faded (even car mirrors don't put me in tears anymore) and I can leave my house without being self conscious.
Furthermore, I can now spend the night at my best friend's house and not be ashamed of washing makeup off of my face. In fact, my face looks better without it. I love taking it off at night. I will continue to use it outdoors since it has a broad spectrum sunscreen in it, however.
So far the positive results have continued. And though I do like the retinoid, I know that most of the credit actually goes to Spironolactone. The retinoid helped with the tiny bumps that had been on my chin and nose creases, but spironolactone did the brunt of the work with everything else. I know without a doubt that I would still have acne if it weren't for that medication. Vanoxide HC is also a great medication and if I feel a little pimple coming, I put some of that on, and it's gone in a day.
Now for the photos. The first was taken around July/August when I had first begun toying with medications. My acne has been much worse than that, but that photo was taken when it was only mild in severity. I never had cystic acne, they were primarily papules and pustules. I normally had between 10 and 15 inflamed pimples at any given time. Nearly all of them would leave marks.
This second photo was taken on a laptop (sorry about the quality) two weeks ago.
I hope both of you are starting to see positive results as well!
A minor but distressing setback: earlier this evening I noticed a papule forming on my cheek. I could easily tolerate a small whitehead, but these red inflamed devils ALWAYS leaved post inflammatory hyperpigmentation that takes months to go away. I decided to try icing the bump for 7 minutes and applying BP two minutes after. I also took 800mg of ibuprofen.
I feel that at 26 I should have no acne. None. Is this a realistic and attainable expectation? Is it normal for a person to get a papule every now and again? Should I consider increasing my 150mg dosage of spironolactone to 200? The pimple itself I can tolerate, it's the marks that they leave behind that get to me the most. Should I continue icing this pimple, or is there another approach? Should I keep taking the ibuprofen to reduce inflammation?
UPDATE:
The pimple never formed. Why? Because I iced it. The second I felt the little sucker forming, I washed my face, grabbed an ice cube, and set it on the bump for a good five minutes. After that, I put some benzoyl peroxide on it and went to bed. And the next morning? It had all but vanished. I used the ice and BP again and then lo and behold, the bump was gone. From now on I will ice my spots if I ever feel one forming. I'd highly suggest that everyone else does the same!
My fight with acne is on again. I have 5 tiny pink pimples on my cheeks. None are inflamed, but they just keep coming. I'm going to stop using Retin A Micro, because I had been clear before I began using this treatment again. I have never heard of this happening, has it happened to anyone else? Is it possible for Retin A Micro to just keep breaking you out?