Hi Everybody,
I'm new to posting here and would just like to share my journey with others and hopefully hear from some other people! I am a 16 year old guy who has been struggling with moderate acne for about 2 years ago. Around 6 months ago my acne started to become severe and cystic. It has since improved slightly but is still pretty terrible. My acne is worst on my chin/mouth and nose but I have a few spots on my forehead and cheeks occasionally. My face is usually the worst during winter, which is freaking me out since its going to be really cold soon and my acne is all ready so (relatively) bad right now.
- I currently have been using Tretinoin Cream 0.05% for 1.5 weeks
- I also take Doxycycline 100mg twice a day (past 1.5 weeks)
- I shower/wash my face twice a day
- I use Benzoyl Peroxide (4%) about twice a week
- I use Cetaphil cleanser about 5 times a week
- I use Cetaphil moisturizer if my face gets too flaky
- I am extremely conscious of what I eat:
-All organic meat and fruit/veggies (nothing processed)
-No dairy
-No wheat/bread/gluten
-Extremely minimal sugar (only from natural fruits and such)
- I also take 2,000iu Vitamin D3 Daily, a Multivitamin, and a Cod Liver Oil pill
- 6 days per week I run 6-8 miles and weight train 3 of those days
- I also drink alcohol and smoke weed occasionally, but it never has significantly affected my acne
I feel like I have done so much and have received no results at all (I know the tretinoin takes awhile) but it really sucks having to do all this just to have moderate acne that still feels out of my control. My dermatologist suggested accutane, but that scares me a lot, although it would be nice to finally be done with all this! I'm looking forward to talking to everybody and updating my progress. Feel free to suggest anything or just share your own story and i'll reply (I really can't talk to anyone in real life about this so I have high hopes for this forum haha). Thanks guys and best of luck on your own goals.
10 Day Progress
It seemed to be getting better 4-5 days in but has since got worse, but not any worse than before I started treatment. The diet really sucks since I love food but it helps with cross country and my overall health so I have enough motivation for now even though it hasn't helped my acne yet. I felt really happy when my face was getting better, but I don't feel as happy now (my mood isn't exclusively based on acne but it does have a huge impact). Since there is so much going on right now in terms of treatment/solutions I really don't know what is causing what! I did go to a few parties 2 nights ago and got really drunk then my acne was slightly more inflamed the following day(s). I don't know if it was the alcohol or the fact that I didn't wash my face that night (or tretinoin initial breakout starting maybe?!?).
20 Day Progress
Alright Guys, its been about 3 weeks of treatment and my acne looks about the same. I've developed a more nasty whiteheads all over, but others have faded too so it pretty much balances out. Nothing significant changed, I just though I'd update you guys even though no one responded 
anyway, good luck to everyone else and hopefully we'll see some improvement soon!
I actually am on the same treatment as you with the Doxycycline & Tretinion cream & 2 other topical. my skin also breaks out bad in the winter too but I have since been using this stuff since April & I am still on it but all I can say it is that it works perfectly for me it just takes time trust me. my diet is also really shitty since wrestling season so I don't think diet affects too much but it's all about timing. what I can say it that I did have really bad cyst acne but it has since gone away from months of using this products. I now only get some break outs but nothing major since I started using this stuff. all I need to do now if fix my acne scars then my skin will be nice. trust it's all about timing.
26 Day Update
Horrible breakout two days ago, making me really depressed and just sad. Usually I would just be frustrated but this time I just feel depressed. I have huge whiteheads all over my chin and around my mouth, and some nasty ones on my back (I've never had more than 1-2 tiny spots on my back before). And homecoming is in a month so I'm probably gonna skip that this year . Anyways, I cut out all the vitamins because I don't really know if they're helping or not. If it gets much worse without them, I'll slowly add back a few. I'm trying to look at this long term but it just really sucks dealing with this after years. Life is pretty shitty right now, but if your in the same situation hang in there and try to stay positive. Also if you have anything to say don't hesitate to post it here because I want people to talk to about this lol, not really something I can talk about in person with people, ya know?
31 Day Update
1 month in!! All the really large whiteheads are much smaller but the red marks and little pimples appear to be worse. I can feel pimples forming under my skin all over my chin/mouth, which is pretty much completely red. I feel like this shouldn't be happening after 31 days. No improvement from starting treatment but it's better than last week.
35 Day Update
My acne might be slightly better than the last update but new whiteheads are forming in my chin/mouth area still, and they are somewhat inflamed. So much flakiness today it was terrible, not sure what caused it though, bp or tretinoin. I was really hoping to see results at this point but I guess I'll just have to wait a little more.
41 Day Update
A few days ago I got a horrible breakout with some cystic acne around my jaw, which is unusual for me. My face really doesn't look that different from the start, a couple whiteheads are still forming around my chin and one in between my eyebrows. If things don't get better by my derm appointment in a month I'm switching to accutane.
Alright everybody, its been 45 days and I'm completely psychologically drained from this entire experience. I know that I should give it more time but I'm switching to Accutane sometime in the middle of october. I'll have a new thread detailing my experiences with that when I start. I know that no one read this, and if you happen to be reading this, sorry if I discouraged you but I feel like I'm making the right decision.