6 weeks, 2 days

im still clear, and my red marks are fading big time. this is the best my skin has been in such a long time. i still have the corner of the mouth zit..but its way less red and inflamed, its definitely one of those suckers that will hang for awhile, its a hard lump..but each day it gets less noticeable. it has been 3 weeks and 2 days since i got my last cortisone shot, i just cant believe it, its truly a record for me. i always have my derm appts scheduled every 4 weeks, but i always end up having to go in between appts. my last appt we made for 6 weeks, i am so hoping i make it till then without going in, it wld be amazing! its such a thrill to wake up in the morning and not feel anything growing...im terrified of getting a new cyst, it will be so heartbreaking, it stinks worrying about it when i dont even have any, but ive been living with this for so long. its like i cant believe something is working, but i also want to be realistic too..most likely i will form a cyst again..but jeez its nice to have this time of clear skin..its so truly enjoyable!

so i have to say i think taz is just wonderful..had a couple of weeks where it was truly horrible, but now i cldnt ask for anything more..also my skin looks so much smoother...the only downside is..i have small scar on my cheek from a horrendous cyst cpl of years ago, taz seems to make it more noticeable than it was..i see tons of posts where people say this doesnt happen, but i dont know..since starting taz it looks more noticeable to me..but i dont care..it is sooo worth it not to have new cysts

6 weeks 6 days

abt 3 days ago i formed 2 underskin bumps on my right cheek..you want to talk abt panic and anxiety..i thought for sure they were going to turn into my usual cysts..got such anxiety ..well days later they never formed into cysts, i cant tell you how happy i am. they are still underskin bumps but they are smaller and they never turned red..i can not tell you how happy i am..tomorrow will be 4 weeks of no cortisone shots, its just amazing to me! my skin is getting very dry, but i still dont use moisturizer..i find after applying my topicals, if i'm just patient, my skin stops flaking on its own..i really hate moisturizer..i'm still absolutely in love with taz, its truly made such a difference in my skin..i do get tiny pimples, but they are literally gone in 2 days..my love affair continues with taz!

7 weeks 6 days

ok lets start off with the bad...my face got realllly red abt 4 days ago, and i skipped a night of using taz..my face was just so flushed, it was a little scary..the problem with me tho is, i feel like if i mess up my regimen in anyway, its almost like panic mode..i automatically think i will get a cyst...

the so so...well i still have those underskin lumps..they have not changed at all..they are not red, you cant see them, but i surely can feel them..they kind of freak me out only bc i'm so terrified they are going to flare..i'm happy they aren't cysts, and nobody can see them...only problem is, they do give me slight anxiety..i just wish they wld do something, just so i can deal with it....if that makes any sense.. i also now formed a lump on my chin..i think its going to be exact same thing, but not sure..it feels like it has potential to become cyst, i just felt it this morning, but its not red at all..but i can kind of see it ..all 3 of these annoying things dont hurt, which i think is such a huge plus...i hate when they hurt even if they cant be seen..bc i tend to mess with them when they hurt..

ok..finalllly the good lol...well the good is..it is that time of the month..and no cysts so far..tomorrow will be 5 weeks of no cortisone shots..it has been so great..these bumps that are coming up do freak me out, but its so great that they arent the big red angry cysts i used to get...i also have derm appt on friday that i might actually cancel for once, lol..only bc i have all the refills i need so seems kind of pointless...also i have gone in so often for shots, its like why not wait til i need a shot or refills..

so im still loving taz, i just wish these lumps wldnt form..im such a paranoid freak that im so scared that slowly i'll keep forming underskin lumps that will never go away..i'm so happy they arent cysts..but these lumps just seem to be here to stay

i sympathise with you shadylee. Never knowing when the next breakout will be here is both frustrating and terrifying. It's something that people without acne will NEVER understand. I am gad though that taz seems to be keeping things at bay. Cysts might be something that you have to live with for a while but if this helps makes it manageable, then good for you!

Read, for troubleshooting:

I've been using Tazorac for a year, and it works! I've had great success with it, and the tips in the post above are what have worked really well for me. Are you using a moisturizer, because you didn't mention one? Moisturizing and using a small amount of tazorac 20 minutes after you wash and moisturize your face is REALLY important. That will help prevent initial breakouts! Also, stick with it! It takes a few months for results to be optimal! I started really seeing results around 2.5 - 3 months in.

Read, for troubleshooting: http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/316648-using-tazorac-limiting-purging/#entry3253334

I've been using Tazorac for a year, and it works! I've had great success with it, and the tips in the post above are what have worked really well for me. Are you using a moisturizer, because you didn't mention one? Moisturizing and using a small amount of tazorac 20 minutes after you wash and moisturize your face is REALLY important. That will help prevent initial breakouts! Also, stick with it! It takes a few months for results to be optimal! I started really seeing results around 2.5 - 3 months in.

Hi skinnie! i'm 10 1/2 weeks in and i cant be happier! i do not use moisturizer, i have never found one that doesnt break me out..i do always wait the 20 min. and i do only use very small amount...i am almost 8 weeks without a cortisone shot which is truly an all time record for me..i am just so happy! i do get underskin bumps that never pop out but they do freak me out, i keep thinking they will turn into a cyst, but they havent, they arent red thank goodness, but they do take awhile to go away...the last lump i got was on my chin abt 10 days ago, and its finally starting to go away, as it started to go away it actually kind of turned a grayish color which i'm still dealing with now, and its hard little lump..hopefully it will just continue to get smaller...besides that my face has basically been clear..

i am still taking antibiotic (solodyn) and i'd like to start weening myself off of it soon, its just im sooo nervous abt doing it..my face has been the best its ever been. I also been thinking about upping to the .1% taz, i am going to talk to my derm abt it next appt...was thinking maybe it wld be good if i'm coming off the solodyn..

so to sum it all up..i LOVE taz...LOVE it..its truly the only thing that has stopped the cysts coming..i wish i wldnt run straight to mirror every morning i wake up, but i still do..and i still get the anxiety even if the smallest pimple forms..i still think they will form into a cyst..but they havent and i cldnt be happier!

Read, for troubleshooting: http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/316648-using-tazorac-limiting-purging/#entry3253334

I've been using Tazorac for a year, and it works! I've had great success with it, and the tips in the post above are what have worked really well for me. Are you using a moisturizer, because you didn't mention one? Moisturizing and using a small amount of tazorac 20 minutes after you wash and moisturize your face is REALLY important. That will help prevent initial breakouts! Also, stick with it! It takes a few months for results to be optimal! I started really seeing results around 2.5 - 3 months in.

Hi skinnie! i'm 10 1/2 weeks in and i cant be happier! i do not use moisturizer, i have never found one that doesnt break me out..i do always wait the 20 min. and i do only use very small amount...i am almost 8 weeks without a cortisone shot which is truly an all time record for me..i am just so happy! i do get underskin bumps that never pop out but they do freak me out, i keep thinking they will turn into a cyst, but they havent, they arent red thank goodness, but they do take awhile to go away...the last lump i got was on my chin abt 10 days ago, and its finally starting to go away, as it started to go away it actually kind of turned a grayish color which i'm still dealing with now, and its hard little lump..hopefully it will just continue to get smaller...besides that my face has basically been clear..

i am still taking antibiotic (solodyn) and i'd like to start weening myself off of it soon, its just im sooo nervous abt doing it..my face has been the best its ever been. I also been thinking about upping to the .1% taz, i am going to talk to my derm abt it next appt...was thinking maybe it wld be good if i'm coming off the solodyn..

so to sum it all up..i LOVE taz...LOVE it..its truly the only thing that has stopped the cysts coming..i wish i wldnt run straight to mirror every morning i wake up, but i still do..and i still get the anxiety even if the smallest pimple forms..i still think they will form into a cyst..but they havent and i cldnt be happier!

Yay! I love it too! Since you started in the winter, you won't really have much problem adjusting to the summer months! Please make sure you buy some sunscreen for the spring/summer, though. Your skin will be "thinner" so to speak and thus, you might burn more easily in the summer. Besides which, sunscreen is essential to protect against skin damage. I use Clear Face by Neutrogena, which my dermatologist recommended. I like it! You might break out a little more with sunscreen, but there's not really any way around the fact that you really just need to wear it almost everyday. :\ This is coming from someone who does not burn easily (I'm Indian).

Also, those under the skin bumps...do they leave scars when they go away? Be careful if they do. Also, I didn't think my skin was dry enough to warrant a heavier moisturizer, particularly on my cheeks. But, when I started using one (and the weather has only become colder...), I found that the under-the-skin bumps that started turning up in the colder weather, went away. I think it's because dry skin may trigger more holocrine cells to be released into the follicle by sebaceous glands. Just speculation - I don't really have research to back that claim up. If you decide you wanna give moisturizer another go, I recommend CeraVe lotion wholeheartedly (my derm recommended it) although I know some people on the boards don't like it. I think it works quite well with Tazorac. CeraVe also makes lighter facial moisturizers, but those don't work for me (they're not moisturizing enough for me), but you might wanna try one of those. I've been using CeraVe for 2 years now!

Yay Shadylee! I am so happy to hear taz is working for you. I had another 'last horah' breakout at about 2.5 months - but don't fret! It gets better and better! The anxiety will go away, eventually. Only a month left!

well i'm about 14 weeks in, and still loving taz!! still no cysts, no cortisone shots..hoooorrrraaayyy!! i am still getting regular pimples, but only abt one a week, and they're usually gone in a couple of days..I also do still have a couple of underskin bumps that are driving me crazy, especailly one on my left cheek. it just feels like it has the potential to pop out and be horrible, thank goodness it really cant be seen and its not red, but jeez its frustrating..besides that my face is perfectly clear. my mornings are getting a little better whereas im not running to the mirror..im walking lol..last cpl of weeks i've been weening myself off of the solodyn..i have been taking it ever 2 days, and im going to start to go to every 3rd day this week..im just so scared to stop bc things have been so great..i also am going to make a derm appt soon bc im going to ask his opinion abt bumping it upto the .1% taz, hoping it will stop the pimples completely..and that it will work its magic as i come off my antibiotic...

i think thats about it...on a side note, not sure if i like acne orgs new format..miss not having the retinoid personal logs..seems like everything is clumped together..oh well

16 weeks in and still loving it ..unfortunately i needed cortisone shot on saturday..first one in over 3 months ..i think i caused the cyst myself tho..i had fiddled with a raised blackhead, it looked like it wld just pop out, and it didnt, so of course im a moron and kept trying..the next day it got inflamed, and then proceeded to turn into a cyst..i got it shot and it has gone down nicely. i still am getting regular pimples but they are small and go away fast. The derm gave me scrip for the .1% taz but says i shldnt use that strength every night..i'm hoping it will put a stop to all my breakouts, fingers crossed. I was weening myself off of the solodyn, taking it every other day but when i formed the cyst last week i started to take it every day again, i just get so scared the cysts are going to come back full force.. I'm really nervous bc usually when i form a cyst, it has many friends that seem to come out after its gone, lol..so of course im a little freaked out..i'm really hoping it was the one and only..

so im alternating the .05% and .1% each night..i really feel no difference, my face really seems to tolerate it well..i do feel a little bump on my chin, i'm hoping it turns out to be nothing..i still use acanya in the morning..this is by far the best regimen i've ever used..im praying it continues to work...

well...last 3 weeks havent been the best..have gone in for cortisone shots 3 times ..very heartbreaking. the last one was yesterday, it truly broke my heart bc it was the biggest cyst i've had in such a long time, i kind of lost it, my poor hubby...i dont know if it was bc i was weening myself off of solodyn, or i had tried the .1% taz, which was really strong..but something happened...so back to taking solodyn everyday, and i'm just going to use the .05% taz for now, hopefully this will get my skin back on track. the cyst i got was on my chin and pretty big..it was weird ..not like a normal cyst i usually get..it actually swelled up a large area, i cld feel the cyst but the area around it was swelling with it, was weird...the shot worked ok, its still swollen, but has come down alot..my derm is very conservative with the strength of cortisone he uses which is sometimes annoying bc sometimes i will have to go back for 2nd shot..but i guess better safe than sorry..

I'm staying with the acanya, solodyn , taz .05% regimen bc it had worked wonders for me..im truly hoping it was just a glitch and my skin will get back on track..it was so heartbreaking developing cysts again, i had thought that maybe i had found my "miracle"..i truly hate the anxiety that comes with my cysts, i have it right now..havent had it in awhile now, i hate that its back...

ok..well skin is back on track, thank god..but jeez i am left with a pretty bad red mark on my chin from one of the cysts..it will def take a couple of months to fade ..havent had a mark like this in a long time..i'm using the .05% taz and taking the solodyn everyday..i dont want to change anything up again, what a disaster,lol..i was really hoping that by upping to the .1% taz i cld stop taking the solodyn, but that didnt work so well..i really want to come off the solodyn, i just dont know how to..as soon as i tried, the cysts reappeared..in a cpl of weeks im going to try to do every other day again and see what happens...

well complete and utter meltdown today, which im still in the midst of..large cyst on my chin which i went to get cortisone shot in..and while i was there i had a lump thats been sitting on my cheek for months, you couldnt notice it, but i cld feel it. every now and then it wld get puffy but never red and never big, it was really annoying me tho. so i asked my derm to shoot that too, i have no idea why i did bc you cldnt see the dam thing...well needless to say i'm sitting here crying my eyes out..the shots did not work and made both worse..i'm the biggest fan of cortisone shots, i love them and abt 89% of the time they are a godsend for me..but every once in awhile i have them go haywire..and just so happens it happened today..the bump which was nothing is now discolored black and puffy, and the gigantic cyst on my chin has turned twice as big, it travelled into area next to it...i'm so completely crushed..i cldnt leave a stupid almost nonexistent bump alone, i cant believe i did this to myself..i was doing so good a few weeks ago, and now im back to where i was, its so truly frustrating. i havent had a meltdown like this in months, i've been crying for hours..im so mad at myself for asking her to shoot the lump in my cheek, why cldnt i leave it alone?? i dont even know whats going to become of it ..its like nothing i had before..it turned puffy and black..ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

ok..kind of a disgusting update, but here goes...i couldnt sleep at all last night, had such anxiety over the black mark..and i would cry off and on. well i finally fell asleep for like 2 hours and i woke up. of course i ran to bathroom mirror..btw i have a 15x magnifying which kind of sucks bc u can see everything!! well anyways looked at the black mark and cld tell it was liquid..well took a pin and pricked it..let me tell u what came out of it was unbelievable..it was a red clear pus and it just kept coming and coming, i know totally gross but such a huge relief. it wasnt a large bump but jeez so much came out. after all said and done the black is gone and so is the bump..i just have a verrrrry faint gray mark which im positive only i can see...my chin is still a mess but i dont even care..that black mark freaked me out so bad, i was really scared it was a permanent discoloration of the skin, i never had anything like it before, so i just feel relief right now...some wld say the shot worked bc the lump is gone, but i got to say i dont think i will ever get an underskin lump shot ever again..it caused way too much anguish and anxiety. so besides my chin, skin is lookin pretty good but i am kind of splotchy from all of the crying..also my eyes are so swollen. i do also still feel some anxiety, im sure not sleeping hasnt helped anything..i wish i cld handle this better than i do, i feel so bad for my husband, he hates to see me like that..i'm going to be 46 soon, you would think i wld have learned how to emotionally handle this better by now, but i dont seem to...i seem to get worse which i hate..well hopefully im back on track for awhile, i surely hope so!

Sorry to hear this shadylee. Acne is not fun - I don't think anyone who hasn't suffered with it can understand the sheer frustration. Don't feel guilty for being upset! It happens!

I am happy to hear your lump is under control now

Hang in there, we are all rooting for you!!!

PS> In the best possible way - Get rid of the mirror!!! No one sees your face that close and neither should you!!

hi northern gal! thanks for the encouragement! i know i shld get rid of that dang mirror, it shows way toooo much! happy to report that my skin is doing great, actually this is the best its been in long time. the stupid lump on my cheek is completely gone and my chin has done a nice job of healing fast..i feel such relief! it was not a fun weekend, but feeling great now..also have to say its kind of nice not feeling that dumb lump in my cheek anymore, it was there a long time..

so going to keep with this regimen even tho past few weeks havent been the greatest..the thing is tho is when my skin is doing good, it looks reallllly good, the texture and evenness is so much better than when i started taz. what i am going to try tho is only using it every other day, i'm thinking maybe my skin has been freaking out bc ive been using it everyday..i shall see.

Stick with it. I don't know how many months in you are, but a few suggestions.

1. Progress with retinoids is not linear. Understand this. You will get acne. Don't pick. i know it's hard, and I haven't completely mastered it yet, but just don't do it. Instead, find a treatment you can use during daytime. Like salicylic acid!!!

2. add a moisturizer with niacinamide. I recommend cerave pm. this will help you tolerate the Taz better. There is no reason to use it less!

3. are you using a gentle cleanser?

4. if your skin can tolerate it, add in an exfoliation product. DO NOT USE SA OR AHA AT THE SAME TIME AS TAZORAC. Use it in the morning. Use tazorac at night.

Paula's choice has some good products. There's a couple you can get at the drugstore too, like rapid clear, neutrogena stress control foaming face wash (even this - only in the morning!!!) and one by clean and clear. I just started doing this. I thought I was suffering from hormonal acne, but I just needed to exfoliate!

5. don't add all of the above at once. change one thing at a time. stick with it for one month, then add another in.

well havent updated in awhile bc unfortunately somehow i am suffering from tinnitus, and very unfortunately its not mild. it started may 16th..heard a tone in my ear in the morn and it progressively got worse thru the day..by that saturday i was in drs office where he referred me to an ENT..well after 3 ENTs later i'm still suffering..theres no cure for tinnitus..i am getting a series of cortisone shots in my ear, they say it sometimes help..i get my second one on thursday..its 3 shots altogether..i'm praying it they help..i cant tell you how brutal it is to always have an extremely high pitched tone in your ear..it really has been effecting my life, its absolutely horrible and terrifying.

onto my skin lol..when the tinnitus started of course i googled it to death, thats the way i am...they say antibiotics cld cause it..well with that i quit the solodyn right then..i have not been on it since may 18th and ironically my skin has never looked better. its actually funny bc i feel like i have never been so stressed in my life..i havent had one spot on my face since that mess a couple of weeks ago..thank god bc i'm not sure if i cld handle a cyst right now..

i'm trying to find positives of having tinnitus..and one i can say is..is i finally did come off the antibiotic..i've been taking it for 7 months straight..before that i was on accutane for a month and then before that i've basically been on antibiotics for 4 years off and on..but mostly on. when i started to research tinnitus i also really learned how bad antibiotics can be for you..and then of course i started to get all paranoid that i've messed up my whole body..but i'm feeling good now lol...google can be a scary thing lol. i've been concentrating on being healthy, changing my diet..etc...and besides this vicious tone in my ear, i really do feel better, and thank god my skin is looking great too.

so what i've been doing is washing face in morn..then applying acanya...at night wash my face and apply taz..

about every third night i'll take a break from taz and just use acanya at night