Hi All,
Well - it's been quite a while since i've been on here. 2011 was the last time. I starting posting here around 2009 I think, but I can't find my original posts and to be frank, I don't have the energy to type my acne journey out again.
The short version of my story is - you name it, i've used it, in terms of creams, herbal remedies, topical everything's and;
you name them, i've seen them in terms of specialists, derms, naturopaths, beauty therapists, laser specialists, so on and so forth.
I have been on low dose accutane for the 4th time for the last TWO YEARS, have finally tried to stop and here I am not even two months out and here it all comes again. I am 35 years old, female and just OVER IT.
SO I guess I am here to say, there will be those here who have success through various regimen's and I wish them all the best. But for people like me, there is no solution for us and god only knows when it will end - probably just in time for me to lose my eyesight or my marbles and be too old to care any longer. I am so tired with it all. So sick of the hours lost in the bathroom covering up, so sick of the social occasions and experiences missed because my self esteem was so low, so sick of the whole darn lot.
Back here, because it is the only place where people know how I feel. I swear to god if I hear one more damned person with perfect skin or even semi perfect skin whine about how bad their skin is, I think I might go ballistic at them.
I know how do you feel. And I laugh when I read "if I hear one more damned person with perfect skin or even semi perfect skin whine about how bad their skin is, I think I might go ballistic at them", it's true and not funny at all.
Did you tried Isotretinoinum or another antibiotic? And what about scars? I know it could be painful to talk about it, but we're in one team. Like me, I still have acne but scars seems to be bigger problem for me.
I've tried and had success with doxycycline, but being female it just causes other problems downstairs if you know what i mean....
Tried spiro, didn't do anything noticeable for me. I've had hormones tested, levels are normal. According to my derm, my skin is allergic to the oil my own body produces. Funny that it is only allergic on my face, neck, chest and shoulders.
I look at my bathroom and it is CRAMMED full of stuff. I've got all of the following in there and when my skin is freaking out, I sit on this site trying to work out which option to choose. I never stick with one, in desperation I tend to bounce around hoping something will work. I'm confused, tired, fed up:
Tea tree, lavendar, citrus oils
Microdermabrasion scrubs
Mandelic acid treatments
Adapalene
Differen
Almost every pharmacy cleanser and topical you can think of
Oatmeal scrub
Goats milk
La Roche posay effaclar (I think that breaks me out worse)
Dead sea salt masks
Mud masks
AHA/BHA lotions
Apple cider vinegar
Castor oil
Coconut oil
Erythromycin gel
Salicylic acid topicals and washes
Neo Strata
Azaleic acid
Organic product samples
Rosehip oil
Aspirin
on and on it goes. That is just a sample. You name it, i've tried it. I've even washed my face with anti dandruff shampoo and used other kinds of products like Whitfields ointment on my face in desperation to see if something might work. I've done laser, light therapies, naturopathy, chinese medicine, oil pulling, supplements, contraceptive pills etc etc etc etc etc etc etc
My scars had faded back to nothing but pigmentation after 2 years of the last round of accutane. 6 weeks on and I thought about going to halloween with no makeup on and I could have just been a leper. Right now, I hate myself.
hey i mentioned this before to some people with acne that never relents.have your dermatoligist prescribe a broad spectrum antibiotic in cephalosporin class like duricef also great ones are cephalexin spectracef omnicef vantin ceftin cedax velosef ceclor.or you can use bactrim which is antimicrobial/sulfa but has by far most unwanted side effects.but most importantly. take 400mg of ibuprofen directly with the antibiotic youre prescribed twice a day for a total of 800mgthats 2 usualy twice a day.your acne will disappear for good until resistance develops down the road to the antibiotic I did this for over 10 years very successfully good luck to you
How high of a spirolactone dose did you go? You might not have taken it long enough to see results. I have been on spiro for too many years to count and am up to 2, 100mg pills a day. No side effects normal potassium. It has been a lifesaver. I still break out now and then, but nothing like I used to. I also use retin a daily and oil free clinique moisturizer. I have been where you are at. Multiple Accutane cycles with breakouts right after. Only time I would clear up was when I was pregnant. Try the spirolactone again and ask your dermo to slowly increase the dose until you start seeing results. Good luck!
I've tried and had success with doxycycline, but being female it just causes other problems downstairs if you know what i mean....
Tried spiro, didn't do anything noticeable for me. I've had hormones tested, levels are normal. According to my derm, my skin is allergic to the oil my own body produces. Funny that it is only allergic on my face, neck, chest and shoulders.
I look at my bathroom and it is CRAMMED full of stuff. I've got all of the following in there and when my skin is freaking out, I sit on this site trying to work out which option to choose. I never stick with one, in desperation I tend to bounce around hoping something will work. I'm confused, tired, fed up:
Tea tree, lavendar, citrus oils
Microdermabrasion scrubs
Mandelic acid treatments
Adapalene
Differen
Almost every pharmacy cleanser and topical you can think of
Oatmeal scrub
Goats milk
La Roche posay effaclar (I think that breaks me out worse)
Dead sea salt masks
Mud masks
AHA/BHA lotions
Apple cider vinegar
Castor oil
Coconut oil
Erythromycin gel
Salicylic acid topicals and washes
Neo Strata
Azaleic acid
Organic product samples
Rosehip oil
Aspirin
on and on it goes. That is just a sample. You name it, i've tried it. I've even washed my face with anti dandruff shampoo and used other kinds of products like Whitfields ointment on my face in desperation to see if something might work. I've done laser, light therapies, naturopathy, chinese medicine, oil pulling, supplements, contraceptive pills etc etc etc etc etc etc etc
My scars had faded back to nothing but pigmentation after 2 years of the last round of accutane. 6 weeks on and I thought about going to halloween with no makeup on and I could have just been a leper. Right now, I hate myself.
Choose one gentle cleanser and one gentle moisturizer and throw all of that stuff in the trash. Or put it in a box deep, deep in the attic. Your skin is probably stressed out from all the stuff you bounce around with all the time. It might not cure your acne but this will at least allow it to heal and balance.
I took two rounds of accutane and tons of antibiotics, birth control, and OTC stuff for face, back and chest acne. Now I am 35 and was csuffering from bad cystic acne on my bad and moderate acne on my face. Spiro has been the only thing that has helped - 75 mg since May 2014 - i am mostly acne-free (just blackheads and maybe 1 cyst a month). My hormonal levels were also normal. I feel for you. If you didn't use spiro for a good long while, I would suggest you try it again.