Im not for Accutane..it was a terrible experience for me. But your acne situation sounds serious. I would try taking low dose Accutane at this point

Hi all,

 

I've found myself recently reading through posts on this board and figured I would register.

 

First off sorry for the huge post, but I thought I would give some info about my acne / me.

 

I've been fighting with acne nearly all of my life since teenage years at school. My back, shoulders, chest is pretty much covered in scars of all types imaginable and although i have some small scars on my face and odd shaped pores my face actually has faired pretty well.

 

I took a course of accutane at 17, and it didn't do anything for me other than dry my skin so bad that all of my cystic acne on my back just bled over my clothes :/ After that I went back on to antibiotics and topical treatments, BP seemed to work best on my face (although always caused peeling for a while). Anyhow, is settled down somewhat more in my late 20's, but I still have quite large breakouts from time to time, and it was always active on my back and chest / chin. I ended up having a second course of accutane, this time for around four months, and my skin totally cleared.

 

This was five years ago now, and my face and back / chest have been pretty clear since. My face especially, I had the odd breakout of three or four small pimple on my chin when the summer came or the change to the winter but other than that I was so happy that my face was clear. And on top of that the prolonged time without spots and using my daily routine actually helped to reduce any visible scars. I'd often look in the mirror and actually be so thankful for having a clear face, I figured I had finally won.

 

Anyhow, going back to three months ago now, I had no spots at all, but I had this one small red lump come up on my cheek. It didn't come to a head and over the following week just got bigger and bigger. Eventually it was the size and shape of a grape and my whole face was throbbing, especially when moving or leaning forward. I never even thought it was acne returning, I thought it was some sort of bite that had got infected. I was on strong antibiotics (high dose of clarithramycin) six weeks (which was horrible as it always gave me a toxic tast in my mouth as a side effect). It didn't seem to do much in honesty, over the course of the month where the lump was seemed to irritate my entire left cheek, and more bumps came up, one after the other literally taking over my left cheek in a large triangle shape of inflamed painful red bumps with no head. After fighting with that and differing treatments and antibiotics it finally subsided (there is still one small bump which is healing).

 

Anyhow, around four weeks ago another bump started to come up in the middle of my forehead, I was a bit worried but thought it could just be a regular spot coming up. Over the course of a week it came up too in a large bump, then the same pattern followed, more smaller bumps all around it, I had the same triangle shape pattern of messy red bumps on my forehead!

 

I went back to the doctors and they put me on oxytetracycline and Treclin topical treatment. The treclin made my face look and feel very greasy and made the bumps even more read. So I went back, and I got Epiduo, although it only has 2.5% bp in it. I started to use the Epiduo and I am now on my third week of oxytetracycline, the bumps on the middle of my forehead went down and now I have the redness which is still on the skin and needs to fade, so I thought I had it under control. However, aprox one week ago when the other bumps on my forehead were going down, right near my hairline I felt yet another bump coming up under the surface.

 

Now at this point I am terrified of feeling any bumps coming up as I think I am going to end up with a huge painful lump for ages and scaring on my face I searched all over the internet and tried Icing it, and aspirin, it seemed to stop the swelling on day one, but from day 2 onwards it made no difference, the swelling on my forehead over the days that followed came to the size of a 2p piece. It was so large that from my nose and above was painful and felt sensiive, even adjusing my glasses sent a pain all over the top of my head. I went back to the doctors, they refused to refer me to the dermatologist, as they said I had not been on oxytetracycline for long enough and sent me away to continue for another month.

 

The bump on my head continued to grow, to the point that I was in constant pain. One morning I woke up and it had a head on it, and I know this shouldn't be done but I steralised a new needle with boiling water and antisceptic spray then just popped the surface, oh wow, I won't tell you how much goo came out but it was the most I have ever seen :/

 

Over the next few days it just kept opening up itself under the pressure when I moved my face or talked, so I just worked at home for a week. It eventually scabbed over and I caught it with my wedding ring in the shower, oops, now I had a big hole in my head and something else to take forever to heal and give me a big scar.

 

So, I was hoping yesterday that my woes were over, perhaps the epiduo and oxyteracycline were starting to work, as the rest of my face is looking very clear, and the redness is fading (and this large bump is starting to heal). But then last night, when cleansing I felt another bump on my as of yet untouched right cheek - it's the only part of my face that has remained clear and given me some comfort. The small bump can be found under the skin near my nose, but there is nothing at all visible, I am worried sick that it is yet again going to come up in a huge red lump and cause no end of issues and irritation on the side of my face.

 

I've iced it immediatly today and put some epiduo on it, but I am at the point now where I am just scared to death of these bumps coming up and wreaking havoc, and I was led awake last night feeling really down about it all. It's really effecting my mood and life, to the point I don't even want to go out.

 

I'm not really sure what to do tbh, I know I am not the only one, but I just can't understand why after years of having nothing, these huge red lumps are coming up from really deep under my skin. I have never had these on my face at all, they were always spots / pimples, and never on my forehead, I just don't get it. My diet, lifestyle, nothing I can think of has changed. I really just don't know what to do now. It feels like I am just watching my face be destroyed before my eyes every day I had a large group of scars on my left cheek now that look fresh, a hole in my forehead and other marks, plus this new one I think coming up which I am dreading.

 

I guess any help or advice would be appreciated.

 

I'm still using oxytetracycline and epiduo, I didn't know whether I should try and ice something when I catch it quickly or try tea tree oil, but I am a bit worried about doing to much to my face and irritating it even more or cause more problems.

 

 

 

Thanks.

Are you experiencing anything else uncomfortable, fatigue, joint pain, weight gain, or facial hair (I am assuming you are a woman)?

Also - icing it helps reduce inflammation temporarily, but applying a warm compress will actually bring the infections to a head faster so they can drain.

Additionally - it won't prevent new ones appearing - but cortisone injections will help with the pain.

I wouldn't use any topical as spot treatment, as it sounds like these lesions are nodular/cystic, which means the infection is too deep for topicals to be effective.

Hi,

Thanks for the replies, and no I am a man, so facial hair is fairly common

I stopped wet sharving many years ago as I couldn't with my acne and it would effect my skin, so I just clip it short with an electric trimmer.

I've been trying to think of what has changed recently, and other than the weather (as we had a hot spell in the UK, although now it is dull and raining ugh), the other things that have changed are the following:

- I have taken up running in the past two months (but I have always been active / healthy)

- I have been taking Lanzaprazole for excess stomach acid since about the time these lumps came up, although I stopped taking that five days ago in case it was not a co-incidence

- I have a few decaffe coffees a week (maybe three). I switched to skimmed milk from semi-skimmed / full fat about two months ago

- I've swtiched to white wine instead of the red I used to drink at weekends

Other than that, I can't think of anything that has changed, oh other than I have also started riding the motorbike every now and then with the nice weather, and I always cleanse when I come back as the dirt on my face from the air is very noticable.

I actually look better today than I have for weeks, still have the mess on my forehead and some remains of the last bump on my cheek and chin, but another is coming up under my clear cheek I can start to see and feel it coming up.

It's odd as I said, as it's not regular spots like I used to get, just these real deep rooted lumps that come up over time. Last week my face was really red, the epiduo seems to be evening out the look of my skin though and making the red marks less obvious.

OP, I feel your pain. I know the emotional struggle you describe and it is truly torture. People who don't get acne really have no clue how damaging this disease can be for self-image, self esteem, confidence, and just the ability to leave the house. What a gift they have to just look people straight in the eye without a concern in the world...

It sounds like you can safely conclude that medicine has failed you, yes? Science and doctors cannot, as of today, fix your acne. Let's not forget that they don't even really know what causes it. (overacting glands, bacteria, yeah but why...). So how can they possibly treat it? That's up to the individual. Why don't you attempt some extreme measures? Take the reins. I took the internal, diet path early in my life to cure my acne and haven't looked back. It took a lot of perseverance and tweaking. You can check out my site [removed] if you want to read about it.

I know you've said your lifestyle and diet haven't changed but maybe they've always been kinda bad? Either way, it's definitely time to reevaluate and re-examine how you live. I encourage you to try something new.

Good luck.

I feel you bro, I really do..

Oh man this must be hard for you.

its really strange that all of a sudden youre develloping those cysts/nodules. Im not a big fan of accutane cuz it give me long term side effects. But if you see that those noudules dont stop coming maybe you should try it.

Are you allergic to any kind of food? I heard some stories with people who dealing with really bad cysts and they found out that cutting for exemple citrus fruit it almost cured their acne.

Good luck I hope your skin gets better

Hey sorry your going through that right now. I am 36 and have dealt with acne since I was 13 and have been on accutane three times. It helped with keeping my cystic acne away, but bacne recently came back and my face is severely oily and tons of clogged pores every where. I don't know I am not a doctor but feel like for me maybe its hormonal. Your hormones change I believe something like every 7 years. Kinda off topic but had a friend who ate shell fish their whole life and then at 40 had to go to ER due to a allergic reaction to shell fish and the doctor told her your hormones change and your now allergic to shell fish.. So maybe its hormonal? I did go on spirolactine , sorry for misspelling and that did help but not as well as accutane. My current derm won't give it to me saying its only for PCOS, but a derm I had when living in a different state told me that my acne was hormonal and that accutane would never have long term affect on me. I am contemplating on going on a fourth round of accutane. I have to say I don't know why but I was very fortunate to not have all the horrible and some with the permanent side effects some people have had after going on accutane. I don't know I would go back to your derm or doctor and see what they say if they might know for the reason for recent cystic acne your experiencing. I honestly thought at 36 I would be worried about wrinkles and dry skin, but instead I am still battling acne and worried about my complexion. Hang in there. Your not alone.

Thanks for the replies, well some good news I think? But I am worried it won't last.

I iced the one on my cheek heavily, have carried on with the antibiotics and it hasn't yet come up, The lumps normally come up pretty fast, within two or three days when I feel them. I can still feel a small lump under the skin on my cheek but I am hoping it won't develop.

My forehead is healing still, and the redness is fading. I've been continuing with BP / epiduo as I want to try and kill any bacteria before it has chance to cause problems, whether it's doing any good or not I don't know. The hole top of my head for some reason even though the swelling has gone down loads is still sensitive, from the ridge of my nose upwards, I don't know why.

One thing I have noticed is my skin is super oily recently, I don't know why but if I wash my face or have a shower, then I look in the mirror (under light) a couple of hours later then I can see under the bathroom light that my skin is very shiny and has lots of oil all over it.

I just remembered one thing I also started doing recently, I switch to skimmed milk in coffee and such, although I only have a few decaffes a week like I mentioned. I read skimmed milk can cause issues with acne due to the hormones in it and the way it is processed? Surely a few cups of skimmed milk a week wouldn't cause this though?

I think maybe it could be hormones, I don't know though, I thought the same at 36 I would be worried about other things rather than spots!

My daily routine is gently washing my face morning and night, cleansing, then applying Epiduo and that is it. I don't use moisturiser, never have, I'm a bit worried about throwing too much on my skin as I don't want to irritate it even more.

If it comes back and carries on then I would consider a third dose of accutane, but I am not sure what the long term effects would be of repeating accutane over and over, and I do wonder if two doese haven't fixed it will a third?

I'm making sure I drink plenty of water too.

so fingers crossed- but I would ditch dairy all together if I were you- get an almond milk or coconut milk...but hey you know your body/skin best

some other advice from a long time cystic acne sufferer- when the bump starts, go get an injection of kenalog- find a good derm who is very skilled at this, trust me I've had a LOT of shots, when you find a good one you'll know it.....that for me takes it right out in 24-48 hours....now if you are getting 2 or 3 a week then we have to go another way

good luck, and let's hope it's on the way out!

I agree with mrsrobinson you should quit dairy. It can make a big difference.

Hope you skin still gets on the good way

You say you dont use mosturizer but isnt your skin slighy irritated for the daily use of epiduo? If yes its important to use a moisturiser. I know you say that your skin its oily but you can use a gel texture one those are meant to oily skin.

Good question accutane is like black or white. I for myself only took it for 3 months at 5/10 mg and 2 years later Im still dealing with the side effects. I think you need to think really seriously before taking it.

Porswis

Have you tried mixing some good ol baking soda with water and applying as a paste? I used to constantly have unending cystic acne and that is what has cured it to this day. What have you got to lose? It only will cost you less than a dollar. Here is what I did:

Mix baking soda and water to make paste-like consistency

apply to clean face/problem areas

(I usually leave on overnight or when I'm chillin at home by myself for as long as I feel, but some people only leave it on for 20 mins)

The paste will eventually harden and flake off, which is annoying to clean BUT it works, damnit! lol

The magic is that the baking soda evens the pH of your skin, land draws out impurities from deep inside the skin, leaving it looking refreshed.

And did I mention the results are (almost) immediate?

Oh yeah, try it out! and good luck

Hi All,

I've been on clarithrromycin for a little over a month now and using BP 2%.

My skin has cleared hugely, I am waiting for the redness to fade now from the irritation on my forehead, I have some new scars I'm not going to be putting anything on that though for a while until I know the acne has settled down.

I have a few bumps on my chin but looking much better now.

The problem is, I am concerned that when I stop the antibiotics and BP it will come back, not too sure how best to manage the situtaion as I need to come off of both at some point but we will see.

For now I feel much better

Hope your battles are going well.

ive had some really bad spot lumps like this in the past. sometimes appearing near my eyes like a wasp sting. i currently keep them at bay by taking vitamin c & zinc (30mg) - others have good results with vitamin D. i highly recommend reading up about vitamins & acne.

as a rule you should never touch these types of spots. they only grow bigger and take longer to go away. if you get one and don't harass it, it should go away in a few days. i normally just take something for the swelling and it calms down.

also you do know BP can prolong redness?