Today is my 6th week on the regimen. I balled my eyes out this morning while looking at myself in the mirror. It's so bad it looks like my face was burned, but it's just acne. I'm an already self concious person and this just adds to the pain. With warm weather here, I want to go out and enjoy my summer, but I really don't want to be out around people like this. I'm starting to cry as I'm writing this. It's depressing, please pray for me! I don't see any scars, it's just hyperpigmentation, redness and big cystic painful acne, I never pick at my face. I'm doing the regimen precisely. I can't wait to be normal again.
not sure how old you are but have you thought about spiro or accutane at all? i dont think the regimen will work for you since you seem to have cystic acne. i would go to the derm and get on antibiotics for now to clear you until you figure out if you want to try spiro or accutane. just a note for myself i tried every single natural thing and none of it worked at all. i gave up everything and was miserable and then it led to scarring which i am dealing with now. the only thing that has kept me clear was antibiotics and spiro. my only wish was that i went on the spiro first or i probably wouldnt have got scarring in the first place. i am no longer on the antibiotics which is so nice but i know some derms prescribe accutane and spiro at the same time but its something you gotta decide for yourself if you want to go down that road.
you are very beautiful though that is for sure!!
Have you seen any improvement since starting the regimen? It's very difficult the first few months and many people don't seem to clear up til 3-4 months, however you should be seeing some improvement by now. If not, you may want to consider something stronger like antibiotics or Accutane.
Im not one to promote accutane, but i think it would be best here for your acne. Ive heard BP is actually one of the better things for cystic acne, so i would suggest that first. 6 weeks is actually not enough time to see results with severe acne, especially with tougher cystic acne. I know how difficult it can be to be so dedicated to something like the regimen and not see improvement, but i am finally getting clear after 10 weeks. You just need to keep your eyes on the prize and keep trudging through. If after 3 months you dont see improvement, itll be time to go to the derm. Good luck!
I am 24 years old. I have done my research on spiro and accutane. I don't think accutane would be a good choice for me, because I have some emotional problems along with anxiety. That alone makes me too scared to try accutane. I've been to the dermatologist several times. I was prescribed retinal cream and the antibiotic doxycycline for a month, neither worked. I may go see a derm again and ask for another round of antibiotics while doing the regimen and maybe the spiro. I'm a lil scared to try the spiro too, but not as bad as accutane. I've seen on here that the regimen has worked for others with cystic acne. I'm gonna give it some more time and pray for a healing, a miracle it seems to me. I feel so hopeless. Thank you for the compliment Tracy, I don't feel like I am. I feel like a monster. My husband tells me all the time I'm beautiful, and that it's not me, it's the acne. I don't think any compliments could stop the depressing state I'm in tho until it's gone. Improvement? Does scaly skin and drying out count? Honestly it seems to be drying the pimples out. But I can wake up and see a bunch of new ones coming in. I see a lot of people saying 10-12 week mark is when theirs started to improve greatly. I hope this will be the case for me. I'm gonna keep on keeping on.
Hi hun. First of all, you're beautiful. 6 weeks is not even enough time so give it till the 4th month and if you still don't see an improvement, a derm may be a better bet. Have you thought to give diet changes a go? Dairy and gluten free can be a safe bet or better yet, try Paleo. It's not that hard to follow once you get into the swing of things. If you give it an honest go for 3-4 months, you'll get to see if it works. I know that accutane can be super scary and it does have side effects but its worth looking into. You can monitor your moods and discontinue if you feel it is affecting you.
Having acne is super tough but theres always hope. Good Luck and if you have any questions about accutane, feel free to PM as i have used it a few times
PS:I am on the regimen for almost a year and it has helped me control my acne so much but i still have acne.
First off you are really pretty! But like other have said 6 weeks is pretty early for any type of treatment. I personally wouldnt rule Accutane out of the picture its a great treatment in my opinion if used correctly. I know you said youve struggled with emotional problems but what was the cause of that? Probably acne right? Going on Accutane was a relief for me because I knew Id have clear skin. Anyway I wish you the best of luck, keep your head up!
if you havent had any success with doxy then i would suggest you try a different antibiotic such as minocycline or even keflex. i had bad cystic/nodular acne last year that was just awful and i was so down about it but then after trying every antibiotic out there i tried the keflex and then spiro. keflex stopped the acne in its tracks in 5 days and then spiro keeps me clear for good now. its amazing stuff and i have like no side effects except for sometimes i dont get my periods on time but thats about it. i feel great on it and only wish i did it 4 years ago when my derm suggested it. it might have stopped me from having the scarring i have now. that is what you want to avoid is because once you get scars its almost impossible to get rid of them. i know how you feel though i felt so gross in front of my husband and just cried every single day. keflex saved my life but talk to your derm and see what they say about it. sometimes they will even give you prednisone to calm everything down.
one more thing for myself when i have cystic acne bp wont touch it at all because its just too deep. aha usually does work pretty well but i think its more of a preventative thing and wont do much for the cysts you have on your face now. anyway that is just my two cents but i would go back to the derm like stat. i would either go the antibiotic/spiro route or just go right on the tane but whatever you dont wait around too long to do it.
Thank you guys for the sweet compliments and prayers. I just can't wait to be normal again. I am currently doing a dairy free diet, so we'll see. No, acne isn't the cause of my emotional problems, even tho having acne is causing more of it. I'm learning to deal with my anxiety one day at a time. I really hope the regimen works for me so I don't have to put myself through those drugs. I'm definitely calling the dermatologist Monday morning for an appointment to try a different antibiotic. I think continuing the regimen and that will give me success, I hope anyways. I'm also gonna talk about the spiro. I can't really see any scars on my face, which is surprising, but I never pick at my face at all. I do have bad hyper pigmentation tho. I think makeup makes it look worse. BTW should I stay away from makeup, even bare minerals? What is prednisone? I'm gonna give the regimen more time to work. Hopefully by the beginning of June I can say my acne is finally healing 
I hope you understand that week 6 is still pretty early into the regimen. On my week 5 and 6 I broke out so much I wanted to stop doing the whole regimen. But then I realized I had already put in so much time and effort into it that I might as well see it all the way through. Trust me when I saw it was the best decision I have ever made for my skin. All my cysts flattened out and the acne didn't come anymore and eventually after about 4 months, the red marks went away too. It is different for everybody so give it a bit more time.
so were you able to get antibiotics at all? also what did the derm think about spiro? prednisone is a steroid and it works pretty well for calming down the skin when having a bad breakout. dont worry about makeup you should be fine with bare minerals i used to use that stuff all the time and it never broke me out. not to be negative i really dont see the regimen helping your type of acne. i tried everything and when i tell you everything i mean over16 years i tried every single over the counter product, prescription product, medication, treatments from medical spa's, diet etc except for accutane so when i tell you these things i am telling you this so that you avoid being 35 like i was last year still dealing with this crap and then dealing with scars too. i spent probably 50 thousand or more and the only thing that ever worked for me were antibiotics and spiro and an AHA nightly. cysts are way too deep in the skin for topical products to work unless you want to go the retinoid route and try that but it will just make your face even more angry and red at least until your skin gets used to it. anyway if you ever want to pm me for more info i am always here for you.
Hey guys! Well it's been another week (7 total) now on the regimen and guess what? I am seeing improvement I am so excited. My acne is drying out & even tho I still have quite a few cysts, I can see my face smoothing out. I hope I'm not jinxing myself since I'm in the very beginning stages of seeing improvement, hopefully it will continue to improve. I made an appointment with my dermatologist. The earliest they can get me in is May 7th, you know how that goes. I'm gonna ask for a different type of antibiotic. Maybe it will help speed up the process while continuing the regimen. Is acne an infection, because my neck glands have been a lil swollen lately? Tracy you went thru the regimen? I have read a lot of stories on here of how the regimen cleared peoples cystic acne. This past few weeks has been the worst my face has broken out in my life, maybe it was a purge & everything surfacing? I tried retinal for a year & nothing. My skin has been very red, especially after I get done doing the regimen. One side of my cheek is worse than the other. I think it's because I sleep on that side and it irritates it, and it itches terribly at night. I wished I could learn to sleep on my back, lol. Nicmic62 I have seen your log and I'm amazed. I'm so happy for you too. You stuck with the regimen and that's what I'm gonna do. I feel a lil more hopeful now seeing some slight improvement. I know I still have a long ways to go. I'm gonna buy the AHA soon to help the red marks. I'm pretty blessed to go thru this severe acne with just hyper pigmentation so far. Thank you enirak132 for that sweet comment, that makes me feel good. Sorry for such a long post, but I had a lot to say, lol. I'm going to bed now, gotta be up in 5.
Here is a pic I took tonight.
hey just wanted to say that i am glad you are doing better!! waiting for the derm appointments does suck but most times they do have a cancellation list so you can call and tell them to add you to that. yeah if you get a different antibiotic it will help just calm all that down and the redness will look a lot better too. like i said in my post before i have tried pretty much every combination of everything you can think of its insane. its way too long to post here but i just dont want you to end up like me so if the bp works then that is great but if you find that you keep getting new breakouts down the road you want to make sure you get a handle on this now before you are older and then have to deal with the scarring. i never thought anything could be worse than acne and then i got hit with scarring and its a whole different thing. its crazy though i never got any red marks until i was in my late 20's and then never got really any major scarring until a few years ago.
anyway AHA is great for preventative i use a toner daily that has it and i find that it doesn't dry me out too much but yet i still get great results from it. that is odd about the neck glands being swollen but i would ask the derm about that for sure it could be an infection which an antibiotic would take care of. if i were you i would call the derm back like today and mention that on the phone to see if they can get you in quicker.
i wish you the best of luck and like i said before if you ever need to talk or anything let me know.
Hey Amber:
Are you taking birth control pills? Did the emergence of your acne coincide with a pregnancy? You might want to discuss birth control pills with your dermatologist in addition to an antibiotic regimen.
Have you tried chemical peels? NeoStrata Ultra Smoothing Cream is a daily use 8% Glycolic Acid product that is very good.
Here are some lifestyle recommendations.
(1) Buy daily wash that contains Salicylic Acid with Green Tea. Use an antioxidant cream containing Superoxide Dimutase.
Adjust your diet to: Low Glycemic Index (low sugars, white breads, flour pasta or flour-based products. For pasta, eat Quinoa Pasta instead - tastes the same as Flour or Durham Wheat pasta. Low Dairy. Low Glutens (wheat). These all contribute to acne formation.
Acne Elixer: 1 Part Tomato Juice, 1 Part Carrot Juice, 1 Part Coconut Milk & 1 Tablespoon Sunflower Oil -- blend these ingredients to make a juice, drink twice daily.
Drink Green Tea 3 to 5 cups per day.
Daily Supplements: Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Zinc (30 mg), L-carnitine, Omega 3 fish oil.
This will help control from the "inside" by better controlling your sebum production.
Here are some good products:
RhondaAllison.com
http://www.rhondaall...ml?products=251
Intraceuticals.com
Clarity product line.
Good luck with your dermatologist, have faith, you'll clear up!
I suggest this smoothie, called magic juice by a user here on Acne.org. Ingredients are as follows:
In a juicer, combine:5-6 carrots1 medium beet2-3 stalks of celery1 small apple (Green is preferred. Omit if you are very sugar-sensitive)1 small (1inch) piece of ginger (optional, but good for digestion)This makes a variable amount of juice depending on the size of the vegetables you use.Drink this throughout the morning until it's gone. Store in the fridge not longer than one day.
Vitamin E: most people suffering from acne have 1/2 as much Vitamin E and 2X to 3X more Squalene in their sebum compared to those who do not suffer with acne. Taking Vitamin E orally help build up Vitamin E in the serum. Vitamin E and Squalene are normally in equal amounts and the Vit E protects Squalene from cleaving into free radicals when exposed to sun. Free radicals attack skin tissue causing inflammation which can result in pimple formation.
Vitamin E ... Take 60 IU per day. Recommended DV is 30 IU per day.
All i can find at the lowest is 400 IU softgels and the max being in the thousands?