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Hey guys, I made an appointment to see a derm next week and I'd really appreciate it if you guys can tell me your thoughts on my acne so that I don't go in there, exaggerate things, and make a fool out of myself. The pictures below were taken ~1.5 weeks after the breakout when my acne was calming down a bit.
- What kind and severity of acne do you think I have?
- A lot of them are about 1cm+ red, swollen bumps that aren't really at the "top" of my skin but kind of sits underneath. I can feel them coming before they're visible because that spot gets tender and when I press into the spot, it feels like there's a bead in there. Sometimes they start to shrink and then get a whitehead in the middle? Sometimes they just kind of start deflating and go away. All my acne leave behind just pigmented spots (I never ever pick at them).
- My mom had acne well into her 30s and has a couple of ice-pick scars on her face; is it possible that I could be in the same boat?
- I'm 23 and still dealing with these stupid breakouts with no end in sight. I have 2-3 tiny scars on my face from when I picked at them when I was 12yo, but now my acne just leaves behind hyperpgimented spots (maybe because I don't pick at them anymore?
- I wanted to talk to the dermatologist about Accutane, but I don't know if my acne is even bad enough. This past breakout seems to be calming down and my most recent breakout is not even a breakout (just 2-3 of those tender bumps under my chin). I might just have dark spots when I go in and she's going to laugh at me =/
Before you ask “ I don™t consume any dairy, I don™t like sweet things so no worries there, and the only grain I eat is brown rice (no bread, pasta, cereal, etc.). I also cook from scratch a lot so my diet isn™t high in salt, additives, MSG, oil, fried stuff, etc.
Things I have tried over the past 10+ years: every OTC product you can think of, prescription face washes, topicals/antibiotics “ alone and in combinations, some of them twice years apart. At one point, I was put on Accutane but I only took it for about 2 weeks because my mom read all those horror stories online and made me stop (this was back in high school when I was still living at home).
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First off, you shouldn't be worried of exaggerating things when you talk to your dermatologist. They won't just take your word for it, but rather will look at your skin from their perspective and derive an analysis & a form of treatment that way. If you feel a certain way about your skin, I don't see why you shouldn't bring it up.
As for accutane, only few doctors actually prescribe it straight away. It is more than likely you will be prescribed a topical retinoid or antibiotics first, and if they don't work, accutane would be next. To be honest, you probably should have stuck with the accutane. Accutane has side effects but majority are minimal, and the scary ones you read of are few and far between/extremely rare. I suggest you read up on it thoroughly and not just focus on the rare, severe side effects. Best of luck 
Thanks for the reply 
I guess I'm just a little cynical after the last two doctors dismissed with prescriptions for topicals that I told them didn't work me.
With my old derm, I've tried Retin A, BP w/ and w/o antibiotics, Differin, a sulfur face wash, another topical that I can't remember the name of, 2 different antibiotics that I can't remember the names of. I'm also on BC pills but that's obviously doing nothing for me. I've recently gave Retin A, BP w. antibiotic, and Differin a second go hoping they'd work this time but they didn't. The doctors I saw wouldn't weren't taking me seriously so that's why I'm seeing a dermatologist again + I'm hoping she'll have mercy on me and not make me go through a 3rd round of topicals and antibiotics...though I'd understand why she would be hesitant to prescribe Accutane to a random person.
I personally was very willing to try Accutane - it was my mom who freaked out. And it's hard to continue on prescription meds that your mom won't pay for when you're a minor...
I would say the mild side of moderate. I understand where you're coming from, too. Every time without fail, my skin would calm down before I had a dermatologist appointment. I know I should have been happy but I wanted the derm to take my acne seriously and not think it wasn't as bad as it really was. What I started doing was taking pictures every time my face looked especially bad and I would bring that in to reference. If you feel like the doctors are "dismissing" you, I would really focus on the emotional aspect of how acne makes you feel, too. They will take you more seriously if you bring that up. How old are you? I was on Accutane and it helped a lot so I can understand why you want to be on it. It didn't clear everything up though. Ifyou want, you can message me and I can give you some tips on how I cleared my acne up. I still get 1 or 2 pimples here and there, but overall I'm happy with my complexion now. Try to stay positive, stress will only make things worse.