Hello, my name is Lindsey and I've tried prescriptions before but as a lazy teenager I was really bad at it.
So I'm doing it again almost 4 years later because my acne has flared up pretty hardcore since starting college last fall. I've had acne since I was 10 or 11. It's continuous and really, really. really persistent.
Here's some basics things to get out of the way:
Gender: Female
Age: 19
Skin type: Oily
Acne areas: All over face, neck, chest, across shoulders and spreads to lower back. All moderate but worse in middle of my back
When I first went to the dermatologist 3 years ago, he gave me a benzoyl peroxide topical and a low dose (40 mg) of doxy. I was pretty good at taking the pill every day at first but it just went downhill after a couple months. There was definitely improvement, I just kind of gave up. Now I'm really determined since summer is coming and I'm completely sick of having to cover myself so much. It would be nice to focus less on feeling down about my skin and just be confident, so I'm making this log to force myself to keep up with the prescriptions.
What I've tried: proactiv, acayna, oracea, atralin, every over the counter thing imaginable
What I'm doing now: Doxycycline (100 mg) and Tretinoin .025%
Day 1: (2014-2-19) I've been taking doxy for 2 days now. I've heard it can make you feel nauseous but I haven't felt it until I read that. I used tretinoin tonight and used quite a lot since I've got a lot of surface area to cover. I will be using it twice a week for now.
Apparently the doxy starts helping within the first couple of days so I'll come back to tell if they're all bluffing. Have some really bad painful areas on my lower jaw and chin, have been getting them on my cheeks really bad too. almost like a beard. of zits. awesome. Hopefully this works. I'll be back
Day 7 (2014-2-25) - Huge improvements. Just got out of the shower and there's the least amount of black heads on my nose I've seen in literally years. Chin is mostly scars and nothing active. Between my eyes is the new place where the active acne likes to chill. My back is getting worse and wearing a backpack or my purse is painful, so I might go see the dermatologist again soon. I haven't even felt any nausea at all from the doxy. No idea what people are talking about. Also there was a turd in the shower. Dorms are great.
Routine for face: Wash every night using a generic bp wash. Put on weird gooey stuff called ZapZyt. Let it dry and moisturize. Twice a week I use the Biore charcoal face wash and put on tretinoin 30 minutes after. Also moisturize after that. Moisturize every morning that my skin is dry and flaky (often).
Jaw so far: ??? not much
Face kinda better, chest worse
