Acne.org Products
I'm a newbie! A month ago I had a cystic pimple injected with kenalog twice. About a week later I noticed a deep indentation. I had it filled with a dermal filler a week ago and it looks better but now I'm noticing an area below it now looking slightly indented. I'm worried the atrophy is continuing.
For those that have had atrophy, how long did it continue to worsen? At just over 4 weeks do you think it should stop? Any encouragement would be so appreciated!
Thanks!
A month ago I had a cystic pimple injected twice with kenalog. A week later there was an indent. I had it filled last week with Belotero hyalorinic acid filler. A few days ago I noticed the area below that is now indented. Not as bad as the one I had filled, though.
So I'm just wondering from others experience/knowledge:
How long will the atrophy continue to get worse? At 4 weeks should I stop stressing that it will get worse? I'm really hoping by this point (4weeks) the atrophy is done and it won't get worse.
I would really love any reassurance or support from others. Thanks so much.
Lisa
I may be totally wrong here, but I don't think it will get 'worse' per se. As long as the inflammation is calming down, and you don't get another say cyst pop up in the same area, it will prob not get worse. It may appear worse because any micro swelling will have gone down showing you the true depth, but at four weeks, I think most micro swelling will have abated.
I had a very bad cystic pimple about 2-3 months ago, and it left an ident in my skin. It looked worse when the micro swelling went down, but it doesn't see to have gotten worse. It still looks bad though. I hate scars and acne, 
Thank you. The cyst is gone there is just an indentation in the area now. I don't think it's getting worse (it's been 5 weeks now since the kenalog injections) so I hope it's at least done sinking in.
Anyone else who has had this experience? I would really love the support and reassurance.
Thanks!
My last indentation took 3 months to fill in. I used these scar patches nightly. I believe that they helped a lot because the indentation I had before that was not as bad, but I didn't use the patches, and that one took about 6-7 months to fill in.
Hello everyone! It's been months since I was on this board but I just wanted to provide an update and offer some hope to those still suffering from atrophy or acne. Last summer, I had atrophy in 4 areas on my face resulting from cortisone injections. The atrophy and ongoing cystic acne caused me to become severely clinically depressed. I was later diagnosed with Body Dysmorphia (BDD). I was hiding my face from people, having breakdowns regularly, I wasn't eating or sleeping--i was completely consumed by my skin issues. I was on the brink of quitting my job and losing everything. I was convinced things would never get better. Every moment of every day was painful.
In sheer desperation, I sought help. I got on medication and started to see a psychiatrist regularly and also a counselor who specializes in BDD. I also got on Accutane for 5 months and my skin cleared up almost immediately. I didn't have an initial breakout or any of the scary side effects you hear about. Now, I am happy and healthy and my skin has been clear for months. The atrophy went away (with the help of fillers and TIME) and the thinner/scarred skin became completely normal again.
I'm sharing this because when I was depressed and obsessed over my skin, I would troll these boards for hours trying to find advice for an effective acne remedy and hope that my atrophy would go away. I hope this offers some comfort knowing things can get better no matter how miserable you are and how hopeless things may seem.
Hello everyone! It's been months since I was on this board but I just wanted to provide an update and offer some hope to those still suffering from atrophy or acne. Last summer, I had atrophy in 4 areas on my face resulting from cortisone injections. The atrophy and ongoing cystic acne caused me to become severely clinically depressed. I was later diagnosed with Body Dysmorphia (BDD). I was hiding my face from people, having breakdowns regularly, I wasn't eating or sleeping--i was completely consumed by my skin issues. I was on the brink of quitting my job and losing everything. I was convinced things would never get better. Every moment of every day was painful. In sheer desperation, I sought help. I got on medication and started to see a psychiatrist regularly and also a counselor who specializes in BDD. I also got on Accutane for 5 months and my skin cleared up almost immediately. I didn't have an initial breakout or any of the scary side effects you hear about. Now, I am happy and healthy and my skin has been clear for months. The atrophy went away (with the help of fillers and TIME) and the thinner/scarred skin became completely normal again.I'm sharing this because when I was depressed and obsessed over my skin, I would troll these boards for hours trying to find advice for an effective acne remedy and hope that my atrophy would go away. I hope this offers some comfort knowing things can get better no matter how miserable you are and how hopeless things may seem.
Hopeful,
I am so happy for you that you sought out help. That is a huge step. I also was seeing a psychologist for a few months when I became severely depressed.
And I'm so happy that your acne is under control from the Accutane. It's always nice to hear success stories.
I'm going to my Derm on Monday to add a little more filler to the area. My husband and I will be trying for a baby soon and I want the area to look decent before I get pregnant since I can't do any treatments while pregnant. I also want to take accutane after pregnancy.
I'm so ready for my skin to no longer be an issue.
Thank you for sharing your story with us. I'm so happy that it had a happy ending. 
)
Hello everyone! It's been months since I was on this board but I just wanted to provide an update and offer some hope to those still suffering from atrophy or acne. Last summer, I had atrophy in 4 areas on my face resulting from cortisone injections. The atrophy and ongoing cystic acne caused me to become severely clinically depressed. I was later diagnosed with Body Dysmorphia (BDD). I was hiding my face from people, having breakdowns regularly, I wasn't eating or sleeping--i was completely consumed by my skin issues. I was on the brink of quitting my job and losing everything. I was convinced things would never get better. Every moment of every day was painful. In sheer desperation, I sought help. I got on medication and started to see a psychiatrist regularly and also a counselor who specializes in BDD. I also got on Accutane for 5 months and my skin cleared up almost immediately. I didn't have an initial breakout or any of the scary side effects you hear about. Now, I am happy and healthy and my skin has been clear for months. The atrophy went away (with the help of fillers and TIME) and the thinner/scarred skin became completely normal again.I'm sharing this because when I was depressed and obsessed over my skin, I would troll these boards for hours trying to find advice for an effective acne remedy and hope that my atrophy would go away. I hope this offers some comfort knowing things can get better no matter how miserable you are and how hopeless things may seem.
Hopeful,
I am so happy for you that you sought out help. That is a huge step. I also was seeing a psychologist for a few months when I became severely depressed.
And I'm so happy that your acne is under control from the Accutane. It's always nice to hear success stories.
I'm going to my Derm on Monday to add a little more filler to the area. My husband and I will be trying for a baby soon and I want the area to look decent before I get pregnant since I can't do any treatments while pregnant. I also want to take accutane after pregnancy.
I'm so ready for my skin to no longer be an issue.
Thank you for sharing your story with us. I'm so happy that it had a happy ending. )
Thank you JennaBean! There is also another great ending to this story. After two years of trying/waiting---I am finally pregnant!!!! I bring this up because as I was going through my horrific depression over my skin last year, I had also been trying to get pregnant (for over a year). But the fertility medication (clomid) I was taking actually caused cystic acne, which lead to cortisone shots, atrophy, scarring, paying thousands on fillers, etc. So I made the painful decision to put off trying to conceive in order to get on accutane for 5 months. I wanted a baby SO BADLY and was completely torn. I would cry about it not knowing if I should bite the bullet with the hormonal acne and continue to try to conceive (TTC) or stop trying and deal with the acne problem once and for all. In the end, I knew I had to get healthy mentally and eliminate my acne problem long term, so when I would get back on the fertility meds, I wouldn't break out. As hard as it was, I put the pregnancy plans on hold. Well, after my accutane course was over and it was safe to TTC, i did not break out ONCE from the fertility meds after accutane. Before accutane, these same meds would cause 4-5 giant underground cysts to form at a time. After accutane, clomid caused me ZERO breakouts. After two months of trying after accutane, I got pregnant and we are over the moon! Basically everything went as planned. For anyone dealing with hormonal acne and trying to get pregnant, i highly recommend a course of accutane to nip that problem in the bud so you can freely take fertility medication if needed.
JennaBean, I wish you the best of luck with your plans to try and start a family. I think it's a great idea to get all the treatments you want done now so you can feel good about yourself before becoming pregnant. That was an issue with me as well. I know you too will have a happy ending. Thank you for the support!
It has been about 2 weeks since I got the cortisone shot (on two cysts) and here is a before and after picture. I really want to know if these uneven bumps that are leftover normal and if they will go away in time? What else can I do? And does this mean that they might not have flattened the cyst entirely?
Thanks guys
Unfortunately, when the doctor injects too much cortisone/higher concentration , an indentation may occur and it'll stay for a couple of months. I had the same thing happen to me, but it's more subtle.
Just give it time, if it doesn't go away then you'll have to treat it with a dermal filler.
Unfortunately, when the doctor injects too much cortisone/higher concentration , an indentation may occur and it'll stay for a couple of months. I had the same thing happen to me, but it's more subtle.
Just give it time, if it doesn't go away then you'll have to treat it with a dermal filler.
Thing is I don't think it looks like an indentation. It almost looks like the cortisone only shrunk sections of the cyst. Either way I noticed today that one of those sections got a little bigger so I have now made a conscious decision to go on the accutane they prescribed me. I can't deal with this anymore.
Unfortunately, when the doctor injects too much cortisone/higher concentration , an indentation may occur and it'll stay for a couple of months. I had the same thing happen to me, but it's more subtle.
Just give it time, if it doesn't go away then you'll have to treat it with a dermal filler.
Thing is I don't think it looks like an indentation. It almost looks like the cortisone only shrunk sections of the cyst. Either way I noticed today that one of those sections got a little bigger so I have now made a conscious decision to go on the accutane they prescribed me. I can't deal with this anymore.
Accutane is not that bad as people make it out to be and I wouldn't want to deal with cysts that size either. You'll be fine, trust me
Unfortunately, when the doctor injects too much cortisone/higher concentration , an indentation may occur and it'll stay for a couple of months. I had the same thing happen to me, but it's more subtle.
Just give it time, if it doesn't go away then you'll have to treat it with a dermal filler.
Thing is I don't think it looks like an indentation. It almost looks like the cortisone only shrunk sections of the cyst. Either way I noticed today that one of those sections got a little bigger so I have now made a conscious decision to go on the accutane they prescribed me. I can't deal with this anymore.
Accutane is not that bad as people make it out to be and I wouldn't want to deal with cysts that size either. You'll be fine, trust me
Thank you 
Hey Krissy,
I had some pretty bad cysts myself- almost the same size as yours but they were many!
I know how they stay on for weeks and how frustrating it is to deal (or not being able to do so) with them, but you can't always rely on the injections.
First you have to get an appointment. Then the pimple only gets smaller, but leaves redness. Then you get another pimple and off to the dermatologisy you go.
I was in the same boat relying on injections, but they're pretty painful and to be honest they don't solve the problem.
You can keep trying all kinds of acne remedies for as long as you want, but there will come a moment when you can't take it anymore. I took my first Accutane pill with tears in my eyes because I was so worried about my health- I didn't want to choose between clear skin and my health, but I just couldn't live like this anymore.
4 months later on a low dosage (I'm going almost twice as slow as the regular course.. I have 4 more months to go) my only complain is dry mouth, lips and occasional minor joint pain. I can deal with that. Will I develop arthritis earlier than the average person 20-30 years down the road? It's possible. But don't forget what acne took away from you, starting with some basic things like confidence, relationships and opportunities to more important things in the long term like memories. I'd take arthritis any time of the day in return.
Everyone has different threshold of tolerating acne and if you've dealt with it most of your life (you've gotten used to it) and only recently it's gotten worse I understand that you may want to keep exploring the non-Accutane options... Or if you are all about taking care of your health and don't want to make the "radical" decision to get on Accutane.
But don't forget that your emotional and psychological health can be neglected if you don't solve your problem.... I knew I had slim chances of improving my skin, because I've been changing derms for 10years, I've been to other doctors regarding hormones, I read studies on the latest acne treatments and I did a lot of things successful members on this site have done to naturally (and not so naturally) to achieve clear skin.
It simply doesn't happen for some of us, especially if bad skin runs in the family.
I don't think you should force yourself to go on Accutane; by any means, give everything else a try and use it only as a last resort.
Once you're clear you'll be able to deal with the acne scars, which is the final step with the skin obsession.
Hey Krissy,
I had some pretty bad cysts myself- almost the same size as yours but they were many!
I know how they stay on for weeks and how frustrating it is to deal (or not being able to do so) with them, but you can't always rely on the injections.
First you have to get an appointment. Then the pimple only gets smaller, but leaves redness. Then you get another pimple and off to the dermatologisy you go.
I was in the same boat relying on injections, but they're pretty painful and to be honest they don't solve the problem.
You can keep trying all kinds of acne remedies for as long as you want, but there will come a moment when you can't take it anymore. I took my first Accutane pill with tears in my eyes because I was so worried about my health- I didn't want to choose between clear skin and my health, but I just couldn't live like this anymore.
4 months later on a low dosage (I'm going almost twice as slow as the regular course.. I have 4 more months to go) my only complain is dry mouth, lips and occasional minor joint pain. I can deal with that. Will I develop arthritis earlier than the average person 20-30 years down the road? It's possible. But don't forget what acne took away from you, starting with some basic things like confidence, relationships and opportunities to more important things in the long term like memories. I'd take arthritis any time of the day in return.
Everyone has different threshold of tolerating acne and if you've dealt with it most of your life (you've gotten used to it) and only recently it's gotten worse I understand that you may want to keep exploring the non-Accutane options... Or if you are all about taking care of your health and don't want to make the "radical" decision to get on Accutane.
But don't forget that your emotional and psychological health can be neglected if you don't solve your problem.... I knew I had slim chances of improving my skin, because I've been changing derms for 10years, I've been to other doctors regarding hormones, I read studies on the latest acne treatments and I did a lot of things successful members on this site have done to naturally (and not so naturally) to achieve clear skin.
It simply doesn't happen for some of us, especially if bad skin runs in the family.
I don't think you should force yourself to go on Accutane; by any means, give everything else a try and use it only as a last resort.
Once you're clear you'll be able to deal with the acne scars, which is the final step with the skin obsession.
Thank you for those words, I realy appreciate them. I totally understand what you are saying about choosing your health over clear skin. On Christmas day I noticed the one cyst that got bigger a little after I got the cortisone shot 2 weeks ago and that's when I made the decision to go into my glove box and grab that prescription. I bought some lip balm, moisturizer and eye drops and I am ready for this. I'm on 20 mg a day and will move up to 30 in a month and then 40 I do believe after that. I just can't handle this anymore and hope this works
I'm glad that you have found success with accutane and I really appreciate your post! I will ride this out. I think my skin is purging right now on the 3rd day because I noticed a couple of more small pimples/cysts pop up, "here we go!"
Ahhhhhh
On a side note: Has your cysts dissappeared from the accutane?
I started on 20 for the first month and since then I've been on 40. I weigh 140lbs.
The cysts took 3 months to clear. During month 2 they were the worst, my doctor had to inject me. Now I'm in my 4th month and I get an occasional whitehead, but mostly I am just remaining clear and waiting for the redness to go away. The accutane journey sucks in the beginning, because of the high expectations, but once you're half-way done you will have clear skin. The only problems left will be the red spots and the scars. At least that was the case for me.
Most of my scars are from before I started accutane, but I didn't care about them because I knew there was nothing I could do unless I treat my acne first.
I wish I got on accutane years ago, it would have made my life much easier.
I started on 20 for the first month and since then I've been on 40. I weigh 140lbs.
The cysts took 3 months to clear. During month 2 they were the worst, my doctor had to inject me. Now I'm in my 4th month and I get an occasional whitehead, but mostly I am just remaining clear and waiting for the redness to go away. The accutane journey sucks in the beginning, because of the high expectations, but once you're half-way done you will have clear skin. The only problems left will be the red spots and the scars. At least that was the case for me.
Most of my scars are from before I started accutane, but I didn't care about them because I knew there was nothing I could do unless I treat my acne first.
I wish I got on accutane years ago, it would have made my life much easier.
Now that's a little scary.. That they had to inject on the second month. I hope mine don't get bigger enough to have them injected again Mind you I think in a week or two I might have to because the one on my right seems to be getting just as big as it did before. I don't mind getting new breakouts elsewhere but not on my existing cysts. I can't believe its been like 2 months that they have been on my face.
I'm glad to hear that your havng success
It's unbelievable how clear my skin is, when I put makeup it looks like I've never had acne. Only problem are the stupid scars that I need to eradicate with some needling in a year.
The gains cannot be compared to the minor losses, such as a month or two of worsening in the acne.
You'll feel so happy and normal, I promise.
It's unbelievable how clear my skin is, when I put makeup it looks like I've never had acne. Only problem are the stupid scars that I need to eradicate with some needling in a year.
The gains cannot be compared to the minor losses, such as a month or two of worsening in the acne.
You'll feel so happy and normal, I promise.
I freaking hope so because I'm aready dreading to go to work tomorrow. Only because this stubborn one is so hard to cover :/ in a funk mood today I tell yah. On day 4 and my skin is starting to dry up. Which is to be expected and I'm not complaining. I have a good moisturizer from the clinic section at shoppers. Thanks for your reply:) it's nice to talk to someone who was in the same shoes.
And yah the scars will eventually go especially since your on accutane. At least scar redness you can cover more easily 
Happened to me too but I knew better. The derm asked me if i wanted to Cortisone and I said I was afraid of fatty atrophy. I had read about it, I had read about everything. He then said if there's any denting it would should go away in two or three weeks. I told him if my face was dented I would be suicidal. There was a long pause and he said Well, do you want it(my pimple) gone. And I said okay. Mind you I was mourning the loss of my mother and was in a weak state.
Any the problem is not just the amount of cortisone/steroid but how deep it is injected. He injected me twice in my subcutaneous tissue, way too deep. Over two years later and I'm still dented.
Really can't put into words how depressing it is because every time I look in the mirror I think about the dent and that day.
In other countries I think cortisone is used with more care than in the US. Anyway, it wasn't really my fault. He brought it up on the day I wasn't as firm as usual. It feels kinda like a violation really that ruined part of my face.
So you became happy again after you dents filled in? Mine haven't filled in & it has been over 2 years.
It's so messed up. The doctor's dented us than theyn they tell us we have BDD. Well, if they didn't dent us in the first place there would be no BDD.
Hello everyone! It's been months since I was on this board but I just wanted to provide an update and offer some hope to those still suffering from atrophy or acne. Last summer, I had atrophy in 4 areas on my face resulting from cortisone injections. The atrophy and ongoing cystic acne caused me to become severely clinically depressed. I was later diagnosed with Body Dysmorphia (BDD). I was hiding my face from people, having breakdowns regularly, I wasn't eating or sleeping--i was completely consumed by my skin issues. I was on the brink of quitting my job and losing everything. I was convinced things would never get better. Every moment of every day was painful.
In sheer desperation, I sought help. I got on medication and started to see a psychiatrist regularly and also a counselor who specializes in BDD. I also got on Accutane for 5 months and my skin cleared up almost immediately. I didn't have an initial breakout or any of the scary side effects you hear about. Now, I am happy and healthy and my skin has been clear for months. The atrophy went away (with the help of fillers and TIME) and the thinner/scarred skin became completely normal again.
I'm sharing this because when I was depressed and obsessed over my skin, I would troll these boards for hours trying to find advice for an effective acne remedy and hope that my atrophy would go away. I hope this offers some comfort knowing things can get better no matter how miserable you are and how hopeless things may seem.