Sorry this is so long.

Hey everyone. I came here quite some time ago desperate for some advice on my cystic acne. Fortunately I did find something that helps: chemical peels. Unfortunately they're extremely expensive, and my skin has started breaking out again just earlier this week. I started a new skincare routine months ago and I really thought my skin was getting better. The chemical peel did wonders for my skin, I don't regret it at all. My skin texture improved, all my regular non cystic acne was gone and it got rid of a lot of redness. I have two more peels coming up and I was so excited for them because my skin was nearly clear around two weeks ago for the first time in years. Of course this didn't last and my cystic acne returned worse than ever before. Earlier this week I developed two cystic spots on my forehead, and just yesterday alone I developed three more spots. Now I have three small spots and two bigger ones- one of them even the size of a quarter. It's gotten so extremely painful, I have a lot of pain behind my eyes and throughout my forehead. It's like an awful migraine and nothing helps. It's actually making me nauseous and it's hard to keep my eyes open because it's making me feel tired and it hurts. I feel like the benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid face wash that were working so well a few weeks ago have suddenly stopped working. Also, I think they're just damaging my skin at this point and it's erasing all the amazing results I got from the chemical peel.

I am absolutely d y i n g for any new advice on how to at least bring down the swelling and pain. I've received so much advice that was a complete waste of time (no offense to anyone who gave me the advice, I'm glad it worked for you at least and I gave it a try). One of the few pieces of advice I haven't tried are these shots people talk about getting. Everyone recommends getting these shots??? Okay first of all that sounds absolutely terrifying and painful. Also, I can't just run to the dermatologist every time I get a new cyst because that takes time and at this point I'm getting a new spot pretty much everyday, and also I've heard those shots have bad side effects. And they don't prevent new breakouts. I feel like I'm not getting to the root cause of my acne, just trying to treat the symptoms.

I have read a lot about gluten allergy and cystic acne though and I believe it is a strong possibility I may be allergic to it. I won't go into detail, but I have many of the symptoms and I didn't even know cystic acne can be a sign of a gluten allergy. I did notice my breakout started after I spent a day eating cookies and stuff full of gluten. I don't normally eat very much gluten, so maybe it's not just coincidence my skin got so bad after consuming a ton? So yeah I'm giving a gluten free diet a try. It's only been a few days now though.

Any advice for managing pain and swelling though would be so appreciated.Also I'm torn between applying hot or cold to cystic breakouts. Any feedback on that would be great too. Which do you prefer if you apply either of them?