What do I do!

[xo_melissa 0]

I don't know if it's because I'm pmsing, or because I changed my soap, or I'm using different lemon, or what, but I have atleast 4 cysts right now. One on my left cheek, one on my chin, two to the side of my lips, and various other very painful red crap going on all over my right cheek. My face is literally a mess and I have no idea what to do right now. I'm really sick of having this junk all over my face.

Anybody know how I can either bring these to a head & fast, or make them stop hurting so bad...? There's so many of them, I'm not sure how to deal with ALL of them at once.

[Missfig59 2]

I feel your pain! PMSing sure doesn't help the situation, that's for sure! I know I breakout a lot more when it's that time of the month.

First of all, what type of soap are you using? Changing it could be part of the problem because your face needs to adjust to something new.

[xo_melissa 0]

I've been using Dove for Sensitive Skin for as long as I can remember, and my parents know that I don't like using anything else. But when my bar got small and unusable, I looked in the cabinet for a new bar because I knew my dad keeps them in stock but he bought Dove Moisturizing this time. I didn't think it would make too big of a difference so I just went with it.

(I also switched to using the lemon in the plastic lemons because I ran out of fresh lemons. Could this be it too?)

[Missfig59 2]

It sounds like the soap might not be toooooo different...but you never know! Acne can be so annoying and fussy like that. I haven't tried the Dove soaps before so I'm not too positive.

As for the lemon, I would recommend trying to stick to the fresh stuff. Normally bottled lemon juice like that may contain preservatives or other chemicals that could irritate the skin.

Do you normally have good luck with the lemon juice? I tried it a few times and didn't see too much of a difference with my cysts.

[xo_melissa 0]

I don't seem to be seeing results with anything lately. Dx

But the lemon does make my pimples smaller overnight most of the time. It stings like a bitch but it smells nice

[Missfig59 2]

Haha I remember how badly it stings. x-X

God cystic acne is a pain in the butt. It hardly responds to anything. I've tried every product on the market and I'm going to force myself to go to accutane soon. Ugh.

Do you put any Benzoyl Peroxide on the zits? It does help to shrink them over time. Maybe you can also use some spot treatments for over night. Before I go to bed, I put a few dots of some face masks I have over some zits and it brings down the inflammation while I sleep.

Do you get plenty of rest, drink lots of water and take multivitamins? It might not get rid of acne entirely but I do see a difference if I lack any of that.

This might also sound like a strange question but have you recently had any orange juice or food that contains a lot of iodine, like kelp?

Edited November 27, 2009 by mercyunbound

[xo_melissa 0]

I used to use BP and all that other fun stuff but I found that it was only hurting my skin, so at the beginning of the schoolyear I started just washing my face in the morning, moisturizing, MAYBE some makeup, wash when I get home, moisturize, lemon, sleep. It's gotten better than before but it's just not clear ughhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I've been trying to get more sleep but it's very hard because I'm really stressed and I tend to have emotional phonecalls with my boyfriend every single night and he never lets me hang up until I stop crying. x-x

I drink a lot more water than I used to, but I still don't think it's enough. I really hate the taste of water so it's driving me crazy to force it down.

& My old derm used to tell me to never, ever, ever eat sushi, and I usually don't, but yes, last Sunday I had sushi with my boyfriend and I had some through the week. Does it really make cysts? I have sushi every once in a while and it never seems to do anything noticeable... Eck.

[Missfig59 2]

Haha I can agree with the late night boyfriend calls. It's so hard to say that you need to leave to get sleep. I'm a night person anyway so sleeping early is SUCH a hard task.

Maybe try some water with fresh lemon in it? Just make sure to stay the heck away from orange juice. It really ruins your PH balance due to the acid and high sugar content. I had the WORST cystic breakout thanks to orange juice. I've heard that this is pretty much the same with most fruit juice since it has so much added sugar.

I believe the sushi thing. Such a shame because I really love it. I think the only bad part about sushi would be the kelp. Maybe just peeling that off would help. I still enjoy plenty of asian food like sushi and miso soup...I just pick out the kelp. I once took kelp vitamins and it ruined my face for a few weeks. In about 2 days, my cheeks were covered in deep cysts.

[xo_melissa 0]

Aw man. The kelp is my favorite part. It's got this such unique taste to it.

I really wanted these to go down by tomorrow, because I'm babysitting with a friend at my cousin's house. And one of my younger cousins (who isn't really related to me - her dad got married to my aunt) is a little bitch I swear. She's 8 and evil. Even my aunt admitted it. She decided to name all of my pimples and scars once, and I know if I don't go there clear she's gonna have a field day with it. -___-;

[Missfig59 2]

God I know...I LOOOOVE kelp. It has so many health benefits too...stupid acne. I've done plenty of research on it and every single time they say that cystic acne can be a side effect if someone eats too much kelp. Not even normal zits...cystic ones. Gosh. >__>

Awww man that sucks. What an evil little girl hahaha. At 8 years old, I'm sure her skin is FLAWLESS. It's alright, just remind her of all the zits she's going to have when she gets older. I haven't seen a person yet go through their youth without a few zits here and there. Then YOU'LL get to name hers!

[xo_melissa 0]

HAH. I can't wait. I don't think I was ever like that when I was little - but then again I had pimples in 4th grade like what the heeeelll. I try to be understanding of other people's flaws.