I am in my late 30's and decided to come off the pill October 2013. After 5 months of what seemed like a volcanic eruption of blackheads and pimples on my face, I started taking the pill again. 3 months in and my face is worse that it ever was in my entire life. I wish I never came off the pill (I've been on it for many many years and thought I needed a break).

I've been doing facials to help calm my breakouts but they don't seem to be improving. I'm back on the pill and it doesn't seem to be kicking in with my hormones.

I am currently taking zinc and evening primrose (started a week ago) but it's too early to tell.

I guess I'm writing my post to tell you you are not alone!! I cried today watching my face thinking I am too old for this.

Like you I wish there was a miracle... I'm going to use the techniques from this site and see if it helps.

I was clear for many years after a course of Accutane. I was on the pill the whole time, and when I came off it, things went slowly went nuts. In the end I decided for another course of Accutane, and to go back on the pill. I am quite prone to scars, and at the age of 36, I just wasn't going through it again.

I wish I had some better advice, but just know that you are not alone. I feel your frustration.

I will say that my history with birth control in the past left me hooked on it for clear skin and even then after awhile I would get a cyst. I have been off of HBC for years now and battling cysts and scarring like none other on my chin, jawline and neck. Early last year I went on tretinoin cream .05 (I had in the past with success but got cocky and quit).

I flaked and peeled on the chin area mildly for about 2 weeks and I noticed my scarring and fine lines started disappearing, then about 3 weeks in a few cysts came up (painful and the kind that make you wanna avoid the world), but apparently this is run of the mill for flares in the beginning. A week later I was 100% clear for an ENTIRE YEAR.

I got cocky again this year and quit for a month, my skin got congested and dull, so I went back on the tretinoin and now 3 weeks in, pores are clear, fine lines are gone, tone is all one color but I have a cyst (again to be expected) and I'm stoked that I know now tretinoin is without a doubt my holy grail.

I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone with cystic acne and you can remain clear only applying it a few times a week and it will boost your collagen density as a bonus after you've been on it close to year. I'm excited to go another year clear and this time I'm definitely not stopping!

So I will try to condense down my skin history, which could probably rival one of the later harry potter books, into just a paragraph. It all started around the age of 14 and as I am rapidly approaching the grand old age of 24 that will be 10 years battling with my uninvited friends. I have tried most antibiotics, birth control, prescription and over the counter lotions and potions and have even had a course of accutane. The accutane did improve things massively and I was lucky enough to not have any major side effects. However I have recently stopped taking birth control as I had been on yasmin for nearly 8 years and this is when things started to go downhill somewhat. While my skin is definitely better than it was before accutane, it is much worse than when I was on the pill. It's really oily, I have loads of blackheads and have even been getting some cystic acne as well. I guess the timing suggests that my acne is probably hormonal.

Coming off the pill was actually a huge relief, I hadn't realised it was actually giving me the symptoms of IBS and making me lethargic and nauseous. Despite all this I was so desperate to go back to having clear skin I actually tried to go back on the pill but the nausea was so bad I couldn't make it past day two. Even a lower dose of the pill had me hugging the porcelain throne.

After some valuable nuggets of information from my GP such as "Your skin should get better by the time you are 30" and a handy demonstration about how to apply face cream in case I was struggling with this complex task, I came away with a 3 month prescription for tetrasyl. The idea being that my hormones might settle down in this time. I have been taking the pills for about a month and a half and I haven't seen a major difference (I miss when they used to just blast the bejesus out of acne with some minocycline, apparently they don't prescribe this for acne anymore).

I guess what I'm hoping for is that someone has discovered a miracle cure that doesn't involve eating placenta or something. Aside from this, has anyone else experienced acne after coming off birth control? How long does it usually last or is that it for me until I am 30? I have read some stuff about evening primrose oil/zinc supplements, has anyone found anything herbal that's actually effective?

Any other helpful tips, suggestions or remedies will also be perused.

I was in your place a few years ago. Check the Hormonal & the Diet forums on this site for useful herbs and vitamins that have helped many women including myself get back on track after birth control and antibiotics. Unfortunately, I have IBS/ leaky gut symptoms too from years of antibiotics, so now I'm working on fixing my digestive issues as well. What got my periods back on track and cleared my skin when I got off birth control was this: agnus castus/vitex, evening primrose oil, acidophilus probiotics (for digestion, taken on an empty stomach in the morning), and a low sugar/low carb diet. Also a good multivitamin. Within a few months, my skin was clear and my periods were normal and have been normal to this day.

Just my 2 cents. As always, do your own research before you decide what works for you, and commit to a consistent regimen for at least 2-3 months before making up your mind if it's working or not. nothing will work overnight.

Thanks for all your replies, it's nice to be reminded that I'm not going through this alone.

I think that I'm going to try a supplement called Saw Palmetto. There are so many supplements out there that are recommended for acne, I guess I'll just have to try one at a time and see how I get on.

I was interested in trying tretinoin and was planning to go to the GP but I have seen that it's actually discontinued in the UK. Does anyone know why? Are there any other products aside from Retin A that contain tretinoin and are available in the UK?

I've also seen other people taking minocycline but I was told by my GP that this is no longer recommended for acne treatment due to the side effects. Does anyone know if this is the case? I'm finding tetrasyl pretty useless.

Thanks for all your replies, it's nice to be reminded that I'm not going through this alone.

 

I think that I'm going to try a supplement called Saw Palmetto. There are so many supplements out there that are recommended for acne, I guess I'll just have to try one at a time and see how I get on.

 

I was interested in trying tretinoin and was planning to go to the GP but I have seen that it's actually discontinued in the UK. Does anyone know why? Are there any other products aside from Retin A that contain tretinoin and are available in the UK?

 

I've also seen other people taking minocycline but I was told by my GP that this is no longer recommended for acne treatment due to the side effects. Does anyone know if this is the case? I'm finding tetrasyl pretty useless.

While saw palmetto helped me a bit with some symptoms, it didn't really help my acne when I tried it for 2 months. I would recommend the things I list in my signature first, which are better suited to women. But there are people who cleared their skin with just saw palmetto....I would just be careful with anything that suppresses androgens too much (including pills) because it also tends to raise estrogen.