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Advice For Isotrexin- Help Please!

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(@vero93)

Posted : 12/19/2012 3:18 pm

Hello Everyone,

 

I am new to acne.org. I took a tour of the site and most people if not everyone seems soo helpful and knowledgeable in regards to acne and all the issues that come with it!

 

I am a young woman in my early 20s and i have never had acne problems untill 5months ago. The spots/bumps are mostly congested around my chin, lower cheek and jaw line area. They are tiny bumps and if i squeeze them a white substance comes out. I went to the harley medical group and London dermertologist to seek advice. Both dermotolgist said i had mild to moderate acne however they both provided diffrent treatments which left me confused. Harley medical group advised me to do a series of Obagi skin peels and London dermotogist gave me Isotrexin gel. I choose the Isotrexin gel because i was skeptical about the Obagi skin peels.

 

Its been my 5week on Isotrexin gel and my acne situation has gotten alot worse. Isotrexin gave me a terrible flare up and when the spots/bumps go they leave a horrible dark scar. I have read the reviews on Isotrexin and im aware that some people swore by it and said it takes time to work however its soo depressing and im not sure if its working for me.

 

I have not looked at myself in mirror properly for a while and whenever i do, i know i sould like a baby, but i just start to cry. My confidence is increadibly low and i feel life finding the biggest rock and hiding behind it. Putting on make up has become a pain as when i do, it just makes the spots/bumps look a 100x worse and i have people coming up to me asking me whats going on with my face. Just writing about it has bought tears to my eyes.

 

I have changed my diet, drink a lot of water, take vitimin c and a supplements but still no change. I am giving up hope and i just feel so miserable because not only do i have to deal with the spots/bumps i also have to deal with scarring.

 

Please someone if you have been through this or used this gel, are my symptoms normal? Should i exfoliate? what eles can i use to help the nightmare that has become my face???

 

I thank you in advance for just offering advice and support.

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(@splashberri)

Posted : 12/20/2012 2:05 am

Hello! I completely understand what you are going through because I am currently going through something very similar! In the last 5-6 months, my face went from mild (one-two pustule before a period) to having TONS of clogged pores. Then in September, it covered my cheeks, chin, and jawline. I thought it was due to environmental changes (I was backpacking all over), but it stayed after I came back home. I visited a derm finally and they gave me something similar to what you were given, essentially a retinoid. Many of the clogged pores went away, but many turned into pustules/nodules. I'm almost 6 weeks into my retinoid and I break out almost everyday still. I know it's really hard... I dread looking at my skin and wonder how it got to be so bad so quickly! Your case could be more mild and maybe a strong exfoliant would get rid of it. For me, I tried exfoliating for almost a month and the clogged pores would not budge.

 

Do you notice any other changes in your skin like increased oil production when these clogged pores began? My skin became a lot more oily when this all began, so I got a hormones test and found out I had high levels of free testosterone. I'm almost 6 weeks into my retinoid and I realize I also need to treat the hormonal aspect which most likely caused all this in the first place!

 

Try to give it 12 weeks... any other treatment takes that long anyway it seems. BP (Dan's regimen) was an exception and worked wonders for me so quickly in the past, but now I'm super hypersensitive to it and can't use it. You might try using it during the day time. I'm super sad with the holidays and all, but this site is really helpful and supporting me through this horrendous time... hang in there!!!

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(@vero93)

Posted : 12/21/2012 9:59 am

Thanks sooo much Splashberri for your response.

 

In my case, my face went from something that was literally very mild to something that has disfigured my face and has left me with a lot of hyper pigmentation and discoloration. I am a black girl and usually when i get spots they rarely leave a mark but now literally any bump i get leaves me with a horrible scar. Its looks like i have been burnt.

The skin where i have put the gel is a little on the oily side. But the area has become super sensitive to light and i have to use sunscreen even when at home. I think i am going to make the decision to stop using this gel. After 6weeks of using it and taking every Thursday off so it can work, i don't think i can take anymore. I have no idea what happens when you stop but i am sure its not as bad as using it. Ill try exfoliating with a tooth brush and steaming my face. Do You know any treatments to fade scars?? Do you know what happens when you stop this god forsaken gel???

Hearing a response from you Splashberri has literally helped me because i was just leading further and further into complete depression !

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(@splashberri)

Posted : 12/21/2012 9:22 pm

Of course, I'm glad I can offer you some comfort :). Your skin will recover after you get off the gel :). I've done this retinoid before like 2 years ago when my skin went from mild to moderate (not as bad as this time). I used it for 8 weeks and had tons of pustules covering my cheeks. I stopped it, and just used a glycolic acid face wash. Within say 4 months my skin went back to mild acne. The hyperpigmentation will go away with time really, but glycolic acid helps a lot or if you are able to use benzoyl peroxide (it's a bleaching agent). I'm where you are at, my hyperpigmentation and red marks are all over my cheeks and jawline. They occur after EVERY pimple with this retinoid. I have to wear bare minerals in my own house to not feel self-concious :(. Your skin is just thinner than what it once was and in your case very sensitive due to the topical gel, so that in combination will make your scars a lot more apparent and red. The idea of the retinoid is to help increase collagen production/etc. so your skin will eventually become a lot healthier and stronger even with a few less dead skin layers. Take care!

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(@vero93)

Posted : 01/08/2013 7:37 am

UPDATE!!!!! So i have stopped using the god forskaen gel Isotrexin and Boy oh Boy has it made me a happy Girl. BEST DECSION OF MY LIFE! When i first stopped stopped using the gel. the horrible flare up i had on my face had decreased. My face was no longer sore and swallon. I decided to steam my face, exfoliate with an electric tooth brush, wash my face with tea tree Soap and a French Soap my mum gave me. I also used a Manuka Honey mask once a week and took Clear complexion tablets and vitiminc c. Just after 1 week of doing this i saw a huge improvement in the horrible bumps/spots on my face. They dramatically decreased. After 2 weeks. all the bumps/spots were completely gone. When i touched my face it felt smooth. The dark scars that were on my face have lighten and dramatically faded. They are still there but are no longer stubborn or as dark as before. This is all within 2 weeks and a bit since i have been using These products and i literally can not believe the improvements i am seeing. I have come to the conclusion, that Isotrexin gel was really not good for my Skin. I also dont think the dermatologist i was dealing with had any clue in how to deal with a black persons Skin, which is ok, but he should have just said and i would have not gone through the process of Skin hell. Splashberri i wanted to share this with you because you really did make me feel hopfull in your replies, since you were the only one who replied lol. I have before Pictures and will take after Pictures and post them so you or anyone who is experiencing Skin hell from Isotrexin will see the possiblities after the god forsaken gel lol....

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(@xxyy)

Posted : 01/08/2013 10:11 am

I used retin-a which is the next best thing to this and the same thing happened to me, i just couldnt get though the initial breakout and maybe if i left it longer I would have but my acne just kept getting worse so I had to stop. Everyone always says "it gets worse before it gets better" and thats often the case but sometimes its just not worth the scarring and emotional trauma it causes (knowing you are putting something on your skin that is breaking you out is just horrible).

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(@mariaelena)

Posted : 07/30/2015 5:28 pm

Hi vero93!

 

I have had the exact same experience with you regarding the growing acne over a few months.. I just came back from my doctor today with the Isotrexin gel. After reading your post I'm really worried about using it however I'm going to give it a go in case of a miracle and it ends up helping me!

 

I wanted to ask you about the other method you used after you stopped the Isotrexin gel. I really want to try it if the gel doesn't work but wanted to ask which exact French face soap you used and which exact Clear Complexion pills you took?

 

Thank you so so much if you have the time to reply! Glad to hear that your skin is better!

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(@twentysixyearoldwoman)

Posted : 03/15/2016 3:59 pm

So I literally have never reviewed anything ever before online but I have to to here. I've been using Duac gel in the morning and Isotrexin at night for 6 months now. My acne and GONE and please note I have been dealing with mild acne since I was 13 and I am now 26. This combination was prescribed to me by my deem and I was also told to start slow and initially alternated days and weeks etc of using it so I started out very slow which minimized the negative effect at the beginning, therefore it was easier to deal with going to work and being out in public with initial breakout and super dry skin. I stared seeing positive results at around the 3 month mark and now 6 months later I have no pimples. I would usual ally in the past have tones of small pimples on my forehead and some around my nose and chin and although individually the pimples were not that bad, there were so many of them at once and always. Every morning I was scared to look on the mirror to see how many news ones had cropped up overnight. I did go through redness, burning, itching, stinging but in the end and with a good moisturizer (I use OBAGI facial hydrate) it's so worth it!!!!!

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