On 6/4/2016 at 7:21 PM, Just Call Me OCD said:

Here's the deal. I was on Yaz from 2009 until 2014, and I decided to go off all meds. My skin flipped out, and I ended up on Retin-A 0.025%, 75 mg Spironolactone, and 200 mg Minocycline. In early 2015, I went back on Yaz, decreased my Spiro to 50 mg, and stopped the Mino. I was still using Retin-A every night. After I got a couple cysts in late August 2015, I went back on 100 mg Minocycline. I also developed a rash in November 2015, so I started using Elidel every night. I cut back the Retin-A to once a week because my skin was dry and rashy. And now to this year...

4/2: Started weaning Minocycline 100 mg to every other night.
4/21: Took my last Mino pill. Was using Retin-A once per week and started increasing to twice per week. Was on 50 mg Spiro and Yaz. Was using Elidel nightly. Was taking lots of outdoor walks in sweaty conditions.
May: Chin breakouts started. I thought it was part of the rash, so I started using Elidel in large amounts once or twice a day. Retin-A twice per week. Chin breakouts continued and seemed to get worse. I noticed lots of clogged pores. Constantly greasy and sweating. Washing face a million times every day. Sweating in any capacity caused me to get more of the rash, and it led to clogged pores. Elidel could've also led to clogged pores because I was wearing it a lot and sweating in it a lot. I had stopped wearing makeup entirely.
5/18: Dermatologist. She said it wasn't a rash. It was acne. Started me on 75 mg Spiro (increased from 50), Retin-A 3 times per week (increased from 2), and Solodyn 55 mg. Breakouts continued and got worse. Was still using Elidel every night.
5/28: Had called the derm in tears twice. She changed me to Minocycline 150 mg instead of Solodyn but told me to stick with the other changes because it was too early to tell. Meanwhile, clusters of clogged pores on chin continued to become large pimples and cysts.
6/4: I've been going to the pool out of hope that tanning a little and getting some chlorine on my face will help clear it. I have 1 active cyst in the corner of my mouth, and the whole area is bright red. I have clusters of whiteheads under the skin all over the chin and between the brows. My forehead gets occasional pimples. I have 3 or 4 or 5 healing (maybe, hopefully) pimples or cysts that still have a lump and redness, but they don't hurt anymore. So annoying, though. They've been there for 2 to 3 weeks now, and I think they're going to become active again since all of the pores around them are clogged and red. I'm still not using makeup unless I absolutely have to go somewhere. I'm homebound. I changed my toothpaste to fluoride-free and my shampoo to sulfate-free a week ago. Things continue to get worse. I'm going to increase my Retin-A to every other night (instead of 3 times per week) today. I got a little red at the pool today, so I'm taking tomorrow off. Don't worry. I usually wear a hat most of the time I'm at the pool. I've been taking Naproxen in addition to the Mino, Spiro, and Yaz every day just to kill the cyst pain. I can see (and feel) where more under-the-skin whiteheads will form cysts, but I'm powerless to stop any of it. The derm says to keep going with what I'm doing because it could take up to 3 months to see the full result, but I'm very fair-skinned, my skin doesn't heal well, and I end up with horrible hyperpigmentation. She said I could get extractions/injections, but again, I don't heal well. I scar terribly from both of those things. I speak from experience.

I feel so, so, so sad. It's my favorite time of the year. Instead of being out and about in the sunshine, I'm either in my house or hiding under an umbrella at the pool. I haven't seen my friends in 3 weeks. Just a little over a month ago, I was wearing no makeup and going everywhere. I always beat myself up for:

1) Going off Yaz in 2014. If I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have encountered any of these issues.

2) Stopping antibiotics in April. I think I'm dependent upon Minocycline now. And I can't even see that it's making any difference at all yet. Not this time around.

3) Decreasing my Retin-A use. Once you start Retin-A, you can never stop. I have nearly 6 months of clogged pore buildup because I dropped my Retin-A use from every night to once a week. I'm going to hold it at every other night for now since I'd like to have a little bit of a tanned face this summer, but I feel like I'm prolonging the purge.

To recap, I'm using Retin-A 0.025% every other night and Elidel every night, and I'm taking Yaz, Spironolactone 75 mg, Minocycline 150 mg, and Naproxen every day. My skin seems to be getting worse and worse. I don't know if it's the Spiro increase, or the Retin-A increase, or the humidity, or God knows what else. But this is painful as hell. Emotionally and physically. I wake up with something new (more like multiple things) every day, and the lingering cysts and pimples don't die. They stay red and bulbous. Support? Advice? What am I doing wrong?

Hi there! So sorry you are dealing with this tough time right now. Just take a moment, breath and know this will not last forever. I promise. I am quite exp with Yaz, YAsmin, antibiotics and Spiro. It's been 2 1/2 years on Spiro. I don't want to stress you out saything this, but it did take me 3+ months to get clear on Yaz and Spiro together. I chose not to go the Retin A route as I was in complete fear of what it would do to my face. I am aware my skin is naturally oily, but something else about it is that the skin cells replicate sooo quickly. So what that means is I need to exfoliate to keep my pores open. I know some people chose Retin A, but I chose the gentle at home chemical peels that you could also use. Look into them on Makeup artists choice or Makeup Alley for their reviews. Mandelic and Salcylic peels are amazing for clearing up these problems. I too had tons of clogged pores that came about when I started Spiro and every time I increased it. But the peels saved me.

My question to you is did Retin A make you clear? Could your skin be having a crazy reaction to one of the topicals? We will help you get to the bottom of this. I know some people on here used Kelflex for their antibiotic and that worked.

Thank you so, so, so much for responding. I was pretty much clear on Retin-A before, even when I wasn't on antibiotics. I would get the occasional pimple here and there, but it was nothing. No major issues unless I was really stressed out or the seasons changed, and even then, I only had a maximum of 2 cysts at a time. I also wasn't using Retin-A properly back then. I would apply more than a pea-sized amount right after I washed my face, so I was constantly red in the face. I hope that's not a problem I encounter this time around since I'm definitely using Retin-A as directed now! Since I've been on Yaz for a long time, I don't think that's impacting anything. The only causes for this current mess that I can figure are:

a) Going off Minocycline in late April.
b)Going 6 months with minimal Retin-A use after my skin was used to having it every night, and now increasing to Retin-A every other night.
c) Sweating a lot with the weather change, as my skin has historically not liked season changes.
d) Increasing Spiro from 50 to 75 mg.

I keep seeing these clogged pores slowly make their way up, then they become cysts. I can't do anything to prevent it from happening, and the derm keeps saying to give it time. The more time I give it, the worse the hyperpigmentation/scarring will be. Stupid fair skin. The derm is not willing to change my antibiotic, even though I suggested Bactrim...

Right now, I'm in even more of a pickle! I got sunburned at the pool, so I'm peeling in addition to getting a new crop of zits every day. My hyperpigmentation is ridiculously prominent, and the burn has made the pimples even more noticeable since they're bright red. I have 5-10 burgeoning cysts scattered over my chin, and it's so depressing. The derm said a peel, injections, and/or extractions in the office may help, but I can't do any of that. My skin is just too sensitive. If I lightly scratch my cheek with my fingernail, I'll have a mark there for 48 hours. No kidding. I'm praying that the Minocycline kicks in ASAP and sucks these clogged pores back into the skin before they come out as even more cysts. I never had a problem with Elidel either, so I don't think this is related to the topicals I'm using.

Again, thank you for the support. I need it desperately right now. I just feel hopeless. Beach trip in a month, and I can't even feel excited about it.

Another cyst today. I can see where 2 or 3 more are forming. Going to the dermatologist on Wednesday. I give up.

This new cyst is the biggest and most painful one I've had yet, and now cysts are forming all around it. My entire chin is becoming one giant cyst. It's been almost a month since I increased the Retin-A and Spiro, and things have just gotten worse and worse.

Has anyone else experienced a cystic outbreak with increased Spiro or with increased Retin-A use?

Am I causing this by getting sunshine, swimming in chlorine, or taking hot showers? I am at a loss!

What should I tell or ask the derm on Wednesday? My skin is too sensitive. She will do extractions/injections, I'll scar horribly and not heal for a month, and I'll just end up with more and more cysts. I feel utterly hopeless.

This is happening everywhere. You can't see the clogged pores becoming zits either. I'll have more cysts by tomorrow.

Several hours later, it's even worse. Cysts coming on top of cysts.

And here's where we stand now. I can't wait to let the derm inject and extract the hell out of my skin. I want this to be over. My forehead, my cheeks, my smile lines, between my brows, and all over the chin. Disgusting.

Derm was unwilling to extract anything and only offered to inject the two major cysts with Kenalog. Didn't want to scar me or cause atrophy, although these other jerks will become cysts soon enough. Told me to use Tazorac 0.05% on the nights I'm not using Retin-A. Told me to schedule a light chemical peel in 2 weeks. Told me to continue the rest of the regimen (Mino 150, Spiro 75, Yaz, Retin-A 0.025% every other night, Elidel every night but titrate down). Told me to avoid the sunshine due to risk of burning and sweating (clogging pores). Won't be doing that since the pool makes me feel normal. Will just wear hat and stay cool by getting in the water a lot more. Will stop topicals next week to prepare for peel.

Top photo is pre-injection. Bottom photo is right after injection. Will continue to update!

It's now been over a week since I got the shots. The bumps have gone down a bit, but she diluted the Kenalog too much. The bumps are still very red and bulbous. Meanwhile, I'm breaking out with blood-red bumps between the brows, plus I'm getting two new MAJOR cysts on either side of my mouth. It's horrible to see them coming and to be powerless to stop them. It makes me feel so depressed. I can't get rid of a cyst before one or two pop up around it. I can't get rid of the clogged pores all over my chin either. I am calling the derm again tomorrow. Something isn't working here.