Hey, my name is Evert! i turned 16 in November.
i've never had bad acne, but less than a half a year ago i started to get these blemishes on my cheeks. no bumps. about 2 months ago it started to get a bit more noticeable specially on my right cheek, but still nothing bad. even when i talked about it with my friends they told me that i'm stupid and it's not even close to bad. But i still thought it was horrible so i started using face-wash every morning and evening that was it. later on it got a bit more noticeable, still nothing bad. so i talked about it with my classmate and she told me that she used to use this duac gel and it worked, so i called up my family doctor and asked her to prescribe it to me.(this was the same day i heard about it, so i hadn't done any research or anything..) and the same day i booked a consultation with a dermatologist. i used the duac gel and i wasn't hoping for anything magical to happen because i didn't have bad acne to begin with, so i used it every time before bed. about a month later, so about 15 days ago or 20 or something i had the appointment, she prescribed me doxycycline and differin. so i started to take the pills, once a day continuing with the duac every night. now it was the 24th December. Surprise bitch! out of nowhere i had a zit on my cheek.(i usually didn't get zits i got kind of bump-less underneath kind of ball things that came out easily.. it's hard to explain.) i didn't worry about it too much as i was already used to acne. about a week later it got worse, i had more pimples and my cheeks were red. again i didn't turn much attention to it because i just thought my skin was having a bad phase which usually goes away. finally it got to a point when people started noticing my skin and telling me i never had skin as bad as this! this was all in a 15-20 day period. i called my dermatologist and she said she doesn't know what it was and the tablets shouldn't be an issue (tablets were the only new thin i was using) so i cut everything out my routine and i bought a soap free non comedogenic cleanser and differin. I kind of made up my own routine:
mornings:
Bioderma sebium foaming gel
duac gel
evenings:
bioderma sebium foaming gel
differin
while still taking the pills!
i've been on this routine for about a week and i think it's working. i'm thinking of incorporating some kind of moisturizer, does someone have any suggestions?
Or try just cetaphil or QV moisturisers. They are non-comodergenic, so won't hurt ur skin, or clog pores etc.., just hydrate.
I was on that deoxycycline for acne and found it had no effect. I think it actually made me break out too! It was ages ago, and Ive tried heaps of medications, but I think that was the one.
Hey considering you have never really had acne, and your marks on your face have only been around for a while, you should try some natural stuff and leAve the meds behind. Look into it and see what you think.
You could start by drinking some lemon juice in a glass of water everyday, which can help flush a lot of bad stuff from your body, including from your skin! But totally up to you if u want to go down that path.
Let us know how your treatment progresses!
Hey,
So it's been a month or so since i wrote my last post, i stopped the doxy and duac and i'm using differin every night. My skin is the worst it has ever been.. Before i wasn't scered of scarring (i'm not talking about hyperpigmentation) but now i'm terrified. I gave in on popping my zits.. I felt like they kind of went away, but were back in no time, so i decided to pop them.. I think i might actually be depressed.. My skin isn't getting better and it's spreading.. i live in Estonia and i have really good healtcare, so i'll try everything. Friday is my next derm appointment and i might ask her for accutane. But before accutane i'm gonna try the regimen.. Sorry for rambeling. Here's my skin now.
Differin contains synthetic tretinoin, which can be very drying on your skin. I am using retirides (similar to renova cream) and my face looks like a hot potato after using it for 6 days. I was acne free (used accutane before) except for neck area, so purging has been only occuring in the neck area. I personally do not think taking accutane with differin or retin a is a good idea b/c it will be extremely drying for your skin. You might not be able to sleep very well at night, which would worsen the skin condition.