Okay so I'll start with a rundown of my experiene with acne. It started 5 years ago when I was 13, hit it's peak when I was 15 I'm now 18 and it hasn't calmed down too much, rarely it'll get a little better for a while (and it's so miniscule it's probably unoticable to others). Overall it has improved a littel over time, but,not much. I know it's hereditray acne, as my dad had it even worse.. I have tried (just like you probably) everything I could get my hands on and nothing worked obviously. Proactiv of course, neutogena, every vitamin on the planet, minocycline, doxycycline, witch hazel, hundred of salicycic acid formulas, tretinoin gel, tretenion cream, even green tea, aloe Vera plant, etc etc etc. I do exfoliate regularly with st ives, have a neutogena fash wash for sensitive faces, use witch hazel as a toner, and have a good moisturizer that does it's job pretty well. Now I was going to take the Accutane route but of course for the pledge program they have now you need to first take a minimum for 3 months of the antibiotic first. So I took minocycline for a while when I started to break out into hives. After a few hours, my body was completely swollen, head to toes, hard to breathe, with what felt like golf balls on the bottom of my feet. Aching joints and in my hands. But the worst was the insane itching of all the hives on every square inch of my body, true agony! Anyways, that lasted for two weeks, a few trips to the ER and it eventually stopped, guess Im allergic to minocycline. So that put the Accutane option out the window.. And I've been prescribed this after this after this since then but nothing has made any impact whatsoever... So I don't know, just take a look at my acne and marks and see if you have any ideas?
Thanks
Hey, I used to break out really bad even worse than what you have now. What worked for me was Retin A Micro 0.1% as well as Neostrata Oil Free Gel Cleanser (best face wash I've ever used). Retin A dried my skin out but I exfoliated like CRAZY but had to moisturize a ton. Try using Tactuo Gel. Its a new product with benzoyl peroxide mixed in with a retinoid and it doesn't try out skin out significantly, I love it. Tactuo Gel will help stop breakouts as well as help lighten up pigmentation issues. The gel cleanser I recommended will also help with hyper pigmentation and breakouts, it has glycolic acid.
One thing you haven't mentioned is diet changes. Some people see improvement from paleo (which is easy to follow). Also, there are other topicals that you may want to try such as epiduo, differin, atralin, tazorac.
As for antibiotics, i have never heard of needing to try antibiotics before being prescribed accutane. You may want to look into getting a new derm (i've done accutane 4 times and I never needed to try antibiotics or even use BC -i abstained).
Good Luck, acne can be a very frustrating thing if we let it.
People say acne is hereditary, but I think not. At most, you have similar diet or health issues which end up causing your acne.
Now the fact that you broke out in hives can mean that there is something wrong with your body. Like your gut or digestive system. I would suggest testing for Leaky gut, Food Sensitivities, digestive health, etc. It could have also been an allergic reaction to the medicine, but an allergic reaction can also point to digestive issues. Not saying this is definitely the cause. But from your history that you posted, it doesn't look like accutane can do you any good.
Many medicines and antibiotics given to people by docs actually wipe out the good bacteria in your digestive system, causing even more issues. Accutane has some awful side affects, so if you go on it be sure to take note of anything that happens so you will know if you need to get off it or not. Good luck!