My cystic acne is destroying me! I have never felt so bad. Lost my job, failed at university and don't even socialise any more all because of my awful skin. My neck and upper back is so bad and painful and scarred I just feel like giving up with trying to sort my skin out now. Fed up with it ruling my life. I am so desperate for a cure now, but nothing seems to be working. Just when I think I have sorted it I flare up again. Tried antibiotics. Diet changes, lifestyle changes, changing pillowcases everynight, showering twice a day, even lived off having three ibuprofen a day for a few weeks just in hopes of stopping the inflammation. nothing is working.
Attached a photo to show how badly the back of my neck and upper back have been affected. Cyst after Cyst just pops up and the PIH it is leaving is making me so depressed. Sick of living in shirts or wearing two hoodies just to cover my neck. I really don't understand why its only effecting the back of my neck and my upper back. Its such a strange place seem as most people get cysts on their jawline and face but I dont, I know that it seems selfish because I can cover mine up but it is not getting rid of the problem. Theres hardly anything I have found on the internet about cystic acne in this location. My upper back is full of clogged pores and blackheads but its the cysts that are making me feel so down all the time.
Booked in to see a derm next week and going to change my laundry detergent as well. Not holding my breath on either of these though.
I really really need some help with this. Any ideas? Anyone? Thank you.
Do you touch your neck and back with your fingers? Do you get pimples in or around your ears? Do you get ear infections or stuffy ears?
When you were on antibiotics, were they at all effective? I have found that antibiotics worked for me, but only when it was topically applied to my nostrils because that's where my cystic acne-causing bacteria lived.
Best of wishes, I am hopeful you will soon find the solution to your cystic acne 
Do you touch your neck and back with your fingers? Do you get pimples in or around your ears? Do you get ear infections or stuffy ears?
When you were on antibiotics, were they at all effective? I have found that antibiotics worked for me, but only when it was topically applied to my nostrils because that's where my cystic acne-causing bacteria lived.
Best of wishes, I am hopeful you will soon find the solution to your cystic acne
Thanks for the quick response. Yes I do touch back and neck quite a lot it's my way to find out how bad my current situation is. I don't get pimples on my ears no a few blackheads yes but no pimples.
The antibiotics helped slightly but nothing drastic still on them now and my acne is still quite bad
First of all, be happy that they are not on your face. Trust me. I've had both. Horrible cystic face acne when a teen to early 20s... cleared up finally after round 3 of accutane.... small break of say a couple years where I was mostly clear and then it was like it all shifted to the back of my neck and upper back.
Oddly, I didn't get nape/neck cysts until I was in my mid 20s many years after three rounds of accutane. I moved homes where the water was different (more chlorine from the city) and all cystic nape/neck acne disappeared. So even though it sounds crazy, I think the chlorine cleared it up. Do you have a pool nearby that you could try it out? You do have a lot of blackheads so I'd work on removing those also.
It is definitely bacteria that are causing those cysts. It's a question of where the bacteria is coming from.
It looks like you have done a good job eliminating some causes of your acne. The bacteria may be on your fingers when you are checking your back for acne, though.
A place where acne-causing bacteria can live and live well is right on your body. Do you find yourself rubbing your nose a lot with your fingers? How about scratching your ears? You could be picking up bacteria there and then transferring them to your back.
You could have had Candida before the antibiotics but definitely have destroyed all the good bacteria in your gut after taking them because that's what antibiotics do. You can google Candida and how to treat it or see a naturopath for it. You could start taking probiotics to help fix it and there is a Candida killing diet you can follow. A lot of people fix their cystic acne by treating Candida. There is also lots of stories here on acne.org about this too.
First of all, be happy that they are not on your face. Trust me. I've had both. Horrible cystic face acne when a teen to early 20s... cleared up finally after round 3 of accutane.... small break of say a couple years where I was mostly clear and then it was like it all shifted to the back of my neck and upper back.
Oddly, I didn't get nape/neck cysts until I was in my mid 20s many years after three rounds of accutane. I moved homes where the water was different (more chlorine from the city) and all cystic nape/neck acne disappeared. So even though it sounds crazy, I think the chlorine cleared it up. Do you have a pool nearby that you could try it out? You do have a lot of blackheads so I'd work on removing those also.
Ow right thats does sound strange but at least you got it sorted. Yer I have a pool nearby but I wouldn't even consider going in it with my skin like it is. :/ I know my blackheads are an issue but I want to sort my cystic acne out first as this is whats scarring my skin. Thank you
It is definitely bacteria that are causing those cysts. It's a question of where the bacteria is coming from.
It looks like you have done a good job eliminating some causes of your acne. The bacteria may be on your fingers when you are checking your back for acne, though.
A place where acne-causing bacteria can live and live well is right on your body. Do you find yourself rubbing your nose a lot with your fingers? How about scratching your ears? You could be picking up bacteria there and then transferring them to your back.
What makes you say this? I touch my back that much I'm not really sure if I am touching my nose / ears but just without realising. I wouldn't say i touch my ears a lot but more than likely my nose? Whats the best way to sort this?
You could have had Candida before the antibiotics but definitely have destroyed all the good bacteria in your gut after taking them because that's what antibiotics do. You can google Candida and how to treat it or see a naturopath for it. You could start taking probiotics to help fix it and there is a Candida killing diet you can follow. A lot of people fix their cystic acne by treating Candida. There is also lots of stories here on acne.org about this too.
Hello. thanks for the response. Done a google search. Theres not really any symptoms that I have that are calling out to me? What makes you believe it could be this?
The cystic acne. And since you've taken antibiotics you do have it now. Everyone who takes antibiotics gets it. Antibiotics are awful for the body. Candida isn't always caused by antibiotics but they will guarentee you get it. If nothing is working for you this would be an easy heathly fix. Like I said, search on acne.org for "Candida" and you'll find tons of people who tried everything and then got rid of cystic acne by treating Candida.
Good luck to you
If you can, try to avoid touching your back with your fingers. The bacteria that causes your cystic acne is probably coming from there.
Any time you are going to touch your back to treat your back acne, I'd suggest washing your hands first. Try to avoid touching your nose and ears too, unless you plan on washing your hands after. That may reduce the chances that any bacteria in your ears or nose would reach your back to cause your cysts.
With me, I had a lot of cystic acne-causing bacteria on my fingers when I would touch my nasal fluid. If I didn't wash my hands and scratched an itch on my face, I was MUCH more likely to develop breakouts because I brought the bacteria to the rest of my skin. I used Triple Antibiotic Ointment to kill the bad bacteria in my nostrils, but I know it is a prescription medication in the UK.
On the Candida front, get tested for it.
But be careful not to get caught up delving into said problems that perhaps stem from bad gut health, meanwhile letting the cystic acne permanently scar you.
Have you considered trying a long-term, low-dose of Accutane? It significantly reduces the side effects, whilst still providing the same results.