Hi all,
Looking for some advice. I'm a lady in my late 30s, have suffered bad acne from my early 20s and have tried everything under the sun. Took accutane twice, which cleared me up fabulously each time, but the acne would always return. Tried so many prescriptions I can't remember them all -- antibiotics, tazorac, retin-a, differin, aczone, spirolactone, etc etc etc. Have tried cutting things out of my diet which didn't seem to make a difference (sugar, gluten, dairy, fried foods, eggs, avocados, bananas.) I recently got tested for food allergies and found out I'm not not allergic to anything. Also I'm taking zinc, fish oil, and eating raw garlic!
The only thing that seemed to work for me (other than accutane) was yasmin (and had to be name brand, not generic). However I got off Yasmin several months ago because I'm getting married in May and we want to try and get pregnant. Unfortunately my skin has been a real mess since then. I started the regimen about 2 months ago, hoping for a miracle. My skin cleared up initially, but now it's as bad as ever. I'm extremely diligent about it, I don't miss applications and I've started working in AHA. But I'm still getting a lot of breakouts (big cysts) and my skin is dry and red, even with moisturizer and jojoba. I have been in my dermatologists office almost every week getting cortisone injections in the big ones to try and make them go away.
I keep coming to this site and reading "hang in there" but I'm wondering if I should cut my losses and go back to my old regimen (Rosula face wash, tazorac). I'd probably still be breaking out, but maybe the quality of my skin would be better. Or should I try cutting out the AHA? Could that be making things worse? I'm super depressed about having bad skin for the wedding, which is probably not helping either.
Any thoughts? Thanks. 
The AHA should work well for you but it sounds like your hormones are going crazy since you stopped the yasmin. Why dont you ask for either doxcycyline, minocycline or keflex to clear you up for now? I would cut out all supplements and get rid of the jojoba oil and see how your skin reacts. I use a toner with glycolic acid in it daily to help keep my pores clear so you could try that instead of the AHA lotion you are using now. Maybe its too strong for you or maybe the BP isnt reacting well with your skin. I used BP for years and I had to use a very thick cream to counter the dryness and redness.
Anyway go back to the derm and ask for the antibiotics for now and then figure out what your next move will be. If your hormones are going crazy then I dont see them just going back to normal unless you get back on the yasmin. Its something you will have to decide for yourself if having a baby is worth all of that because it could get even worse once you get pregnant.
I'm sorry you aren't seeing much progress yet. Let's see if we can figure out what's going on. Please see The Regimen Help page, take the quiz, and read through the biggest mistakes. http://www.acne.org/regimen-help.html
Let's also look at any cosmetics you may be using. Not all makeup is good for acne prone skin. Please look through our makeup advice.
http://www.acne.org/faq.html#cosmetics
and
http://www.acne.org/blog/2009/04/27/makeup-if-you-must/
and
Stress may be a factor in acne, and I remember how stressful planning a wedding can be. Please read here: http://www.acne.org/stress-and-acne.html
When followed strictly, most people are clearing up nicely by the third month. I'm hoping you will start seeing some progress soon. Be sure you are using enough benzoyl peroxide (two full pumps twice per day). And remember to be very gentle to your skin. It's up to you if you want to wait it out a little longer or return to your previous skincare regimen.
I would try to keep everything as simple as possible in your routine. Maybe just stick to BP and moisturizer for now. Aha and jojoba don't always work for everyone and they could be causing you more trouble than good. Same with fish oil and any other supplements your're taking. If you go with a less is more approach, you eliminate more things that could be causing breakouts. Also, maybe try switching your moisturizer. That seems to be one of the more problematic steps in the regimen as people react differently to different moisturizers.
I wanted to go on Birth Control, but because of my family history (and myself having had bloodprops), I can't go on either BC or Accutane.
My brothers girlfriend was on BC, I don't know if it was Yasmin, but it was design to get rid of acne. It worked for her in 2 years, before she wanted to get pregnant, and she broke out.
Her solution: She got back on BC, used it for two months until she cleared up. Then the next month she started cutting the pill in two, taking only half a dose, the next month she cut the pill in four, the month after that she took it every other day, and the last month she took the quarter of a pill every third day (she got pregnant this month), and now she has the most beautiful baby boy, and clear skin!
Anyway, she said it had something to do with balancing the hormones.
This might be a solution for you. It takes six months, but it can be a good compromise
If you have some questions I'll ask her for you!
Good luck with your skin, the wedding, and getting pregnant!
Thanks so much for all the thoughts!!! This has been extremely helpful. I think it's good advice to simplify -- I'm gonna stop all the supplements and raw garlic, and just go back to BP and moisturzier. Might experiment with different moisturizer. And I got a prescroption for antibiotics from my dermatologist, just till the wedding.
Thanks again. I was really in the dumps when I wrote that post, and am feeling a lot better. It's very heartening to have this supportive community!!!
If the redness is something bothering you as it is tome too I suggest you to make Aloe Vera masks. You go to a whole foods store and buy the real leaves, place it in the fridge and every other day or every day if you wish make a mask at night with the filling gel from the inside the leaf. It will help with the inflamation that is the cause of redness, but you only see a difference after a while.