Okay, here goes.

All my life, I've had great skin up until about the age of 20 and began having on again off again periods of hormonal acne.

Usually going on birth control would clear it up completely and I haven't had acne for about three years.

So around this time last year I developed an itchy bumpy red rash around my nose and was diagnosed with perioral dermatitis. Easy fix! Doctor gave me Finacea in the am and Elotone and night and the rash was gone in less than a week. Fast forward to about October last year, I started experiencing blemishes here and there and went to the dermatologist. He gave me Finacea and said "If this doesn't help within three months, see your gynocologist because I think you may have PCOS (Poly cystic ovarian syndrome) which causes this kind of acne." I thought he was crazy and began using the Finacea and slowly watched my face get progressively worse. Great.

I made an appt with my gyno who confirmed, yes, I do have PCOS. She just changed my birth control from Kariva to Ocella because the main ingredient helps acne sufferers and those with PCOS. I just started the new BC today and can't determine if it will actually help.

About a month ago, my derm put me on Doxycycline. It has erupted my face 10x worse since then but they keep reassuring me it gets better before it gets worse. Awesome! And they also said it could take 6-12 weeks to see improvement. Even better news! If I'm not mortified enough teaching high school students with giant lesions and bumps all over my face.

I'm crying constantly. The derm said only gentle soap and Finacea but nothing seems to be helping yet. I am having trouble figuring out if I have a majority of dermatitis or acne because I can't distinguish the two. I tried a greek yogurt and tea tree oil mask yesterday which stopped the itching (which is constant) but seemed to make the bumps bigger today. I have a wedding to go to this weekend and I am afraid to try anything new to upset it but at the same time I am desperate for some relief and assume everyone will be staring at my face.

What methods have worked for you guys with perioral dermatitis? PCOS? Should I try Apple Cider Vinegar toner? I ordered Calendula cream which is coming from Amazon. Aloe Vera gel I have not tried but keep seeing it helps.

But most of all, I am wondering if this is normal for the Doxycycline to take this long to work. I have been on it for almost 5 weeks and it is 10x worse than before I was on it. PLEASE HELP! This skin condition has sent me spiraling into a deep depression where I refuse to leave the house. I know that sounds so shallow and vain but I am truly embarassed any time I have to make eye contact with another human being.

First of all, calm down...stress makes things much worse.

Calendula can worsen things, it might be best to stick with tea tree, witch hazel, and aloe.

I have PCOS and antibiotics are not the answer. Trust me, I tried them all and some made my acne worse and no, it didn't get better until I stopped (to some I was allergic to). I was on kariva as well for 2 years and I still had acne unless I paid attention to my diet and got regular sunlight.

If you are feeling bad about your skin, try to get to the bottom of what could be causing your acne. Only then you will figure out the right things to do for it. I can guarantee you, antibiotics won't help with hormonal acne, they are only a crutch if even that.

I have never heard of antibiotics making it "worse before better". They have an immediate bacteria killing, anti-inflammation effect so I wouldn't understand the mechanism behind exacerbating acne. In any case, they are temporary and if you have PCOS you need to address the issue hormonally. As birth control isn't enough I really think you should go on Spiro. It kills me how many women suffer needlessly when Spiro is an option that works for so many.

when i had the dermatitis the only thing got rid of it nizoral shampoo that i was prescribed to use on my face. it cleared me up within a week and then i used it for a few more weeks and was done with it and the dermatitis never came back. i had it for almost 2 months and tried tons of other stuff including oral and topical steroids as well as sulfa wash and benadryl etc. it was awful though so i know how you feel. i was on doxy at the time too and it did nothing for it.

i did end up going on spiro shortly after because i started breaking out in really bad cystic nodular acne and then took a course of keflex with it to clear me up. i then weaned off the keflex and have only been on the spiro now with no issues. its great stuff and works really well!

best of luck to you know and i hope you know that things will get better it just takes time.

I totally forgot to mention that I began 25 mg of Spironolactone three weeks ago to regulate my slightly higher than normal testosterone levels. How much longer should I give these antibiotics to work? I am almost at 6 weeks and no improvements have been seen. It has made my skin 100x's worse. My doctor said she may want to switch me to a different antibiotic. She calmed down my flare up (slightly) with Locoid (hydrocortisone butyrate) lotion and AVAR-e green (sodium sulfacetamide 10%, sulfur 5%) color corrective emollient cream. I spoke with a friend who suffered from perioral dermatitis all over most of her face and has made significant progress getting hydrating facials every 10 days and using Dermalogica Ultra Calming line. Of course, I will be giving this a shot because I am desperate at this point. Also, I ordered an UltraViolet High Frequency Acne Spot Remover (its an infrared light) that my friend said significantly reduced and prevented the start of the white heads associated with the dermatitis. I keep spending money on more and more products and will give this regimen at least four weeks to test out. Any one have success with facials and the Ultra Calming line?

I would give up on that antibiotic. Also just FYI but two doctors told me that the majority of people need at least 100mg of Spiro to be effective. I know some people will tell you stories about less than that working, but I think 25mg is really, really low.

i agree with michi31 i would dump that antibiotic like today. antibiotics do not take that long to kick in. try keflex it should work for you pretty quick. for me it worked in 5 days and i no longer got any breakouts after that. also try to follow the less is more approach to your skin. when i had the dermatitis i was trying new things left and right and did facials and all the prescription washes and the only thing i did was piss it off even more. that sulfur wash was the worst it made my skin so red and just so freaking irritated but the nizoral stuff was like magic i couldnt believe how fast it worked.

also i would just jump right up to the 100mg of spiro and see where it gets you after you start the keflex or some other antibiotic. if you get a good one that actually works for you it should be prevent any future breakouts until the spiro really starts to kick in. 25mg wont do much at all.

How is your perioral dermatitis now? One of the reasons antibiotics made it worse is because they destroyed your good bacteria in your gut. Try getting a probiotic (refrigerated) to get back all that good bacteria in your gut. Also, your perioral dermatitis could have a fungal factor to it so try something anti-fungal..maybe lotrimin ultra.

You have to make sure you are not eating something that is making it worse. Spicy food, ANYTHING WITH REFINED SUGAR eg - chocolates, sweets and candy or cinammon can make it really bad. Try cutting down on all of these for a couple of weeks. Make sure you are taking the probiotics everyday, get a really good one (40billion +).

Also, try a toner of Bragg's ACV+water. That worked for some people. Stop with the antibiotics!

Hey WishClean, how does calendula make things worse? I use it as a toner sometimes, wondering if I'm doing more harm than good now....

 

Okay, here goes.

All my life, I've had great skin up until about the age of 20 and began having on again off again periods of hormonal acne.

Usually going on birth control would clear it up completely and I haven't had acne for about three years.

So around this time last year I developed an itchy bumpy red rash around my nose and was diagnosed with perioral dermatitis. Easy fix! Doctor gave me Finacea in the am and Elotone and night and the rash was gone in less than a week. Fast forward to about October last year, I started experiencing blemishes here and there and went to the dermatologist. He gave me Finacea and said "If this doesn't help within three months, see your gynocologist because I think you may have PCOS (Poly cystic ovarian syndrome) which causes this kind of acne." I thought he was crazy and began using the Finacea and slowly watched my face get progressively worse. Great.

I made an appt with my gyno who confirmed, yes, I do have PCOS. She just changed my birth control from Kariva to Ocella because the main ingredient helps acne sufferers and those with PCOS. I just started the new BC today and can't determine if it will actually help.

About a month ago, my derm put me on Doxycycline. It has erupted my face 10x worse since then but they keep reassuring me it gets better before it gets worse. Awesome! And they also said it could take 6-12 weeks to see improvement. Even better news! If I'm not mortified enough teaching high school students with giant lesions and bumps all over my face.

I'm crying constantly. The derm said only gentle soap and Finacea but nothing seems to be helping yet. I am having trouble figuring out if I have a majority of dermatitis or acne because I can't distinguish the two. I tried a greek yogurt and tea tree oil mask yesterday which stopped the itching (which is constant) but seemed to make the bumps bigger today. I have a wedding to go to this weekend and I am afraid to try anything new to upset it but at the same time I am desperate for some relief and assume everyone will be staring at my face.

What methods have worked for you guys with perioral dermatitis? PCOS? Should I try Apple Cider Vinegar toner? I ordered Calendula cream which is coming from Amazon. Aloe Vera gel I have not tried but keep seeing it helps.

But most of all, I am wondering if this is normal for the Doxycycline to take this long to work. I have been on it for almost 5 weeks and it is 10x worse than before I was on it. PLEASE HELP! This skin condition has sent me spiraling into a deep depression where I refuse to leave the house. I know that sounds so shallow and vain but I am truly embarassed any time I have to make eye contact with another human being.

First of all, calm down...stress makes things much worse.

Calendula can worsen things, it might be best to stick with tea tree, witch hazel, and aloe.

I have PCOS and antibiotics are not the answer. Trust me, I tried them all and some made my acne worse and no, it didn't get better until I stopped (to some I was allergic to). I was on kariva as well for 2 years and I still had acne unless I paid attention to my diet and got regular sunlight.

If you are feeling bad about your skin, try to get to the bottom of what could be causing your acne. Only then you will figure out the right things to do for it. I can guarantee you, antibiotics won't help with hormonal acne, they are only a crutch if even that.

For me, I think calendula is similar (or the same?) to chamomile...it seems to have an adverse effect on me, internally and externally. A chinese acupuncturist once told me that if chamomile tea caused insomnia for me, then I could be allergic to it. Not sure...last time I tried something with calendula it made things worse, but to be fair my skin was already irritated. If you think it's helping you, then go for it! It's supposed to be anti-inflammatory but my skin is very temperamental.

Get off the antibiotics, it's junk. And never worked for me either. It doesn't fix the problem. I don't understand why doctors keep prescribing stuff that's no more than a band-aid instead of trying to fix the underlying problem.

Get off the antibiotics, it's junk. And never worked for me either. It doesn't fix the problem. I don't understand why doctors keep prescribing stuff that's no more than a band-aid instead of trying to fix the underlying problem.

How did you fix your acne?

Unfortunately I haven't found a fix yet, but DIM has helped a lot.

My skin is too, so I might pick up the witch hazel you mentioned in another post.

For me, I think calendula is similar (or the same?) to chamomile...it seems to have an adverse effect on me, internally and externally. A chinese acupuncturist once told me that if chamomile tea caused insomnia for me, then I could be allergic to it. Not sure...last time I tried something with calendula it made things worse, but to be fair my skin was already irritated. If you think it's helping you, then go for it! It's supposed to be anti-inflammatory but my skin is very temperamental.