So Here's my story!
I am 28 years old and have always dealt with acne growing up. Doctors though I could have PCOS, but I never got diagnosed. I tried to stay away from taking birth control for that reason but in 2014 I met the love of my life and decided that I needed some sort of birth control because I didn't have any plans to have children at the time. after "sticking it out" for 6 months of hell with birth control ( Lo Estrin Fe) I stopped and looked like a Greg Nicotero creation. I had deep cystic acne all over my face, neck and chest. I hurt to eat, laugh (which I didn't do much of at the time) do anything. I hid in the house and hated going anywhere, I was the worst time possible since I had just started dating. good thing I found a keeper because he looked past the small puss city on my face. I also gained 15 pounds in that 6 months, whichwent a long way on my fit 120lb frame. I didn't look like myself, I hated the person looking back at me in the mirror.....I tried everything, lotions, washes, vitamins ect ect and theonly thing the help at the time was that I wound up pregnant....YEP. didn't plan it but I accepted it and with the belly came beautiful glowing skin. it was wonderful. I loved itbut Ihad acne ptsd and would check my face everyday for any sign that it would be coming back. I made sure that I made an appointment with a derm right after I had mydaughter and she prescribed me spironolactone 50mg 2X a day. it wasgreat! it wasso great that I didn't thinkwhen my primary doctor wanted to place the Mirena IUD in as a form of birth control. Fast Forward....its been a year that I have had the Mirena and I usually get a bad break out during my period, but recently they have gotten worse and worse, so much that the break out once a month last the entire month. my derm offered for me to take Accutane and to tell you the truth....I CRIED. I don't want to take accountant unless I have to. so I have considered switching up my birth control. I heard Yazor Yasmin would be a good option, but here's the thing, I don't want to have to suffer the initial outbreak and for my hormones to go crazy again. I cant do it! since I am still takingspironolactone could that help? should I even try the BC route orgo straight to Accutane?
any thoughts?
It sounds like to me you and hormones don't get on very well. I tried Dianne 35 4 years ago and it broke me out within days all in lower half of my face and I cried everyday for a month (because of BC). I stopped thepillanyways luckily I ended up clearning up in 6 weeks using salicylic acid benzoyl peroxide. I stupidly stopped using them and now have acne much worse. I'm starting Accutane tomorrow because I have acne on my neck (caused by products wrecking my skin) and back acne as well so I just want to sort out the lot. I'm supposed to be on Yasmin right now (Accutane rules) but I'm not taking it as I don't want to one day stop BC and this shit comes back. Accutane sounds scary and believe me I'm scared but I just want this nightmare to end and feel comfortable in my skin again - my opinion is Accutane but ultimately you have to weigh it up. x
Thanks for your input! I feel the same about BC, I would hate to start taking it and then if I end up stopping it comes back to haunt me!
I feel so anxious to get things rolling and trying something that works, but its not a fast fix for Accutane, either....I still have to wait an additional 30 days and take another pregnancy test.
URGE! I just want to have a normal face without makeup!
I am very sorry to hear your struggleswith acne! I had moderate hormonal acne from 17 to25. Usually just 3-4 huge zits on my face all the time and a handful of full blown nightmares 12-13 huge zits at a time. Birthcontrol pills, accutane, and antibotics nothing worked long term the acne always came back. Accutance was the most effective I only took it for 2 months and the acne came back 7-9 months later but not nearly as severe. If you find this really taking a toll on your well being I would do the acutane because it will at least decrease the breakouts to something that is actuallymanageable. Also naturally clear spray was extremelyeffective for me and a friend of mine who suffers from PCOS and acne. And you can get it on amazon for 14$. It actually preventednew cysts from forming after 2 weeks of use. I have wasted a lot of money on skin care products so I only recommendwhat gave me significant results. The Dr obagi vita scrub is also great it removes dead skin and unclear pores I also highly recommend this but its like 80$ so its really only worth it if you don't mind spending that much or your desperate like I was. It is important to use a scrub that also has chemical exfoliants like glycolic or hydroxy acid (this is what my estitician told me) and that scrub has done wonders! Also, I am sure there are many great ones out there to try. Again what is important is the STRONG chemical+exfoliant combo. Next I use salicylic acid toning pads that are AT LEAST 2% salicylic acid this is important leave on your skin (use day and night) so it can continuously kill acne causing bacteria. As a cleanser at night I use the mario badescu glycolic cleanser. Warning you are only suppose to use this cleanser a few times a week because it is VERY drying but for extremely oily skin types this is a god send. I use it once a day with minimal dryness. And Finaly I use the Naturaly clear topical spray (day and night). That and the mario badescu glycolic cleanser have been the most effective products for me! Two months in after starting the naturally clear spray my skin was beautifully clearer. I have also had good results with NERD acne topical its pricey as well but it has a really good successrate amount customers and is the best topical I have found for healing giant cysts. Another thing is making sure your getting enough fiber taking as this will support your liver in detoxifying your blood. A fiber supplementand probiotic helped me with this. Best of luck