Hello,
I am 20 years old and have been suffering with bad skin for almost two years now. When I was younger I had clear skin and then as soon as I turned 18 it went down hill from there. I have lots of spots that don't often come to heads, they seem more like little bumps and my skin is extremely red. Past spots have also left loads of horrible red scarring and it has got to the point where I feel like I have tried so much and nothing is making it better. If anything it seems to be getting worse!
From May 2013 I was on medication for my skin which did not work and was taken off of it. I was also put on Dianette (the pill) which has now been changed to Yasmin in hope it will help my skin. In May I also started N-Lite laser treatment and had 6 treatments. I was told that this would clear things up and I would see the full results by Christmas 2013. My skin has in fact got worse since I first started the treatment. I was given Jan Marini products alongside the treatment which also has not helped at all.
I have tried a number of products meant to help with acne, sensitive skin etc but nothing has worked at all. I am starting to lose faith now and will not leave the house without make up on. I only allow my boyfriend and family to see me without make up and I now no longer know what to do. Please can anyone offer any advice or solutions. My parents have spent so much money trying to help my skin and I feel awful for them that it hasn't.
Please help!
Your problem is mostly related to actual acne on your face. There is some redness, but you want to get rid of the bumps first and foremost. I think you need accutane. BE WARNED THOUGH (this is something I and many others were never told): accutane can cause rosacea. It looks like you already have a bit of rosacea/facial redness already, so I would be wary of it getting worse. The daily facial flushes and constant redness of the face are not fun, but I would say any day that red bumps all over your face is far worse. Just ALWAYS protect your face with sunscreen. Period. That will give you the best chances of success.
P.S. I don't want to scare you but get in the mindset of powering through life. That's what people like us, at least in the short term, are going to have to do. We don't live in a world where we can magically zap this shit off of us. Believe me, yes, yes, yes, a thousand times hell yes it sucks. It's god damn awful. But what can you do? When everything's all said and done and if it possibly happens that your face can't be 100% fixed (and I am living proof and millions of others are that acne is not the problem, that CAN be fixed, I'm talking about residual redness/scarring here), then you need to psychologically get yourself into a mindset that is going to need to get you through this whole thing. Some people were blessed with normalcy, and seriously it sucks that a small minority i.e. us weren't but that's just the way it goes. Everyone else is in the same boat. Me, the guy telling you this right now, I go through that exact panic attack mental shit you just went through on the original post every single day. God damn yeah it sucks, but things could be worse. I'm glad I've got my limbs, my health, my freedom, my family, and a few good friends. Just be thankful for what you do have, instead of harping on what you can't have. That's the best way to get through it, I think.
Your bumps and redness look remarkably like mine.. Have you given azelex a try?
I have been using azelaic acid 20% twice daily for two weeks now along with a triclosan based soap and have seen some major improvement with regard to the bumps. I've only got 3-4 new bumps all within the last 2 days or so and they're all quite small and nothing very major.
