Welcome.  Two things, have you ever applied for care credit? And have you looked into mineral makeup? I use Everyday Minerals. I find that their foundation actually HELPS my skin. They have a concealer too. 

6 hours ago, littleowl said:

hi everyone. i have been reading on here all last night and just joined tonight. i am just feeling really down about my skin atm, and feel the need to talk about it. this is my first post, guess i'm just gonna start a log of my battle with acne,,, in hopes to make some progress against it. i have been dealing with this since i was a teenager, and i am now 29 years old. i can't believe i'm STILL struggling so much with this. it just kills one's self esteem... i used to break out all over my back as a teen, and at least THAT part has gone away. i can thankfully say i no longer have issues with acne on my back! hated that when i was younger, especially when wearing a swimsuit. however, my face still breaks out just as much as it did back then! 
i have very sensitive skin on my face in the sense that it can be both dry and oily at the same time, and benzoyl peroxide/salicylic acid is SO irritating that i pretty much never use either. i've used it so many times and it never really helped, just made my skin super irritated and flaky. i've tried different strengths, cleansers/lotions/make up that contains it, and the spot treatments and they dry my skin out so bad, can't stand it. 
i seem to have better skin during the cold months of course, now that summer is getting here , i've seen my skin start getting worse with the increase in sweating. i have to be outside some at my job so sweating is unavoidable. i wish i didn't have to wear concealer cause it seems like the combination of sweating and wearing makeup makes me breakout, but i am too self conscious to go  out without covering my bumps/scars.
yep i started getting scars in my early twenties, i used to be very bad about picking at my skin. when i was a teen i never scarred but it seems the older i get, the more prone i am to scarring, which makes sense, my skin is getting thinner and less elastic with age. i try really, really hard not to  touch my face now. 
for the first time ever, just recently i got a scar from a bump that i never even touched. it was an under the skin cyst in the middle of my forehead. now there is a little indented scar there. right now i have one of those above my eyebrow and it's bugging the HECK out of me!! unfortunately i dont have insurance and cant afford to go to a derm. 
my computer is acting up.. i was gonna write more but guess i've rambled enough anyways. gonna try to cut down on dairy after reading many posts on here about that. i was prescribed bactrim a while back for a UTI, and it seemed to clear up my skin really well! but going to the doctor is something i really can't afford to do on a regular basis unfortunately. sigh... write more later, going to bed now. 
 

Hi! Thanks for the reply MonroeQT.
What is care credit? I've never heard of it.
And i like the mineral makeup idea. I think i got some powder that was mineral once but that was years ago. I was looking at all the mineral makeup at walmart not long ago and was seriously contemplating buying some, although it's kinda expensive. It would definitely be worth it though if it's as good as it sounds! I think i'll pick up some concealer i saw , since i'm getting low on it anyways. The kind i've been using is Rimmel, Stay Matte. I thought it was non-comedonegenic (however you spell that lol) but after looking at it again I realized it doesn't even say that anywhere... probly not good... but it does provide really excellent coverage and it's cheap.

after reading some more on here i came across a post that suggested constipation as a cause of acne. it said when you're constipated for so long those toxins come out through your skin (GROSS!) Well, i have been suffering from pretty serious, chronic constipation for about a year now, which is caused directly by an opioid medication that i take. i hate taking stimulant laxatives because i had a very bad, scary experience from them last year, i had severe stomach pains and became so dizzy and light-headed that i literally blacked out for a few seconds. it terrified me, i thought i was dying or something. i had eaten plenty, and had only taken like three pills, which is the recommended dosage (1-3 pills) . so, i still don't know what caused that!

since then i've been taking miralax powder in drinks, but it tastes shitty so i get tired of it and probably don't take it enough.
i was looking at allll the stuff in the laxative section at walmart tonight, there's so many different things. Fiber gummies/capsules... probiotics... metamusil... colon cleansers... to name a few. i kinda want to try the probiotics and the fiber gummies cause i really gotta get this under control.

my skin has been decent since the last time i posted... no new cysts or anything really... the one above my eyebrow is calming down, not as red but it's definitely still there... hope it doesn't leave a scar .

oh, forgot to mention, i totally FAILED on staying away from dairy. god, i love milkshakes way too much. i did however take a double dose of the miralax and i'm hoping maybe this constipation issue is the real culprit...
if i am ever able to solve my acne problem, i'll still have another issue to deal with and that's trying to get rid of my scarring caused by it.

23 hours ago, littleowl said:

Hi! Thanks for the reply MonroeQT.
What is care credit? I've never heard of it.
And i like the mineral makeup idea. I think i got some powder that was mineral once but that was years ago. I was looking at all the mineral makeup at walmart not long ago and was seriously contemplating buying some, although it's kinda expensive. It would definitely be worth it though if it's as good as it sounds! I think i'll pick up some concealer i saw , since i'm getting low on it anyways. The kind i've been using is Rimmel, Stay Matte. I thought it was non-comedonegenic (however you spell that lol) but after looking at it again I realized it doesn't even say that anywhere... probly not good... but it does provide really excellent coverage and it's cheap.

after reading some more on here i came across a post that suggested constipation as a cause of acne. it said when you're constipated for so long those toxins come out through your skin (GROSS!) Well, i have been suffering from pretty serious, chronic constipation for about a year now, which is caused directly by an opioid medication that i take. i hate taking stimulant laxatives because i had a very bad, scary experience from them last year, i had severe stomach pains and became so dizzy and light-headed that i literally blacked out for a few seconds. it terrified me, i thought i was dying or something. i had eaten plenty, and had only taken like three pills, which is the recommended dosage (1-3 pills) . so, i still don't know what caused that!

since then i've been taking miralax powder in drinks, but it tastes shitty so i get tired of it and probably don't take it enough.
i was looking at allll the stuff in the laxative section at walmart tonight, there's so many different things. Fiber gummies/capsules... probiotics... metamusil... colon cleansers... to name a few. i kinda want to try the probiotics and the fiber gummies cause i really gotta get this under control.

my skin has been decent since the last time i posted... no new cysts or anything really... the one above my eyebrow is calming down, not as red but it's definitely still there... hope it doesn't leave a scar .

oh, forgot to mention, i totally FAILED on staying away from dairy. god, i love milkshakes way too much. i did however take a double dose of the miralax and i'm hoping maybe this constipation issue is the real culprit...
if i am ever able to solve my acne problem, i'll still have another issue to deal with and that's trying to get rid of my scarring caused by it.

Care credit is like a credit card that is for healthcare expenses only. So if you go to the doctor you could use it for your bill. I believe you have 12-24 months to pay your balance back(without interest!). I can't post the link, but google it. You will find out instantly if you are approved or not when you apply on the website. It's been a godsend for us. I'm glad to hear your skin is doing better. I've been trying to stay away from sugar myself, but it's so hard sometimes!