Hi,
In the past 2 months or less my acne has been getting 100 times worse, and now it's at its worst in 6 years. I really can't understand what is going on, and I would really appreciate some advice.
A brief history of my acne: I'm 22 now (female). My acne started at at 13, it was severe during the teenage years. I tried many topical products and anti-biotics. It has always been localised to my jaw, chin and cheeks. I started taking yasmin a year ago, and it has removed all the acne that was on my jaw. I still had spots on my cheeks and chin, but it wasn't quite so bad.
Over the Summer I cut out sugar and dairy. This had a good effect on my skin. I went from having maybe one new spot a day to just a few spots around my period. I think part of the effect was also that I wasn't stressed at all during this time. I went back onto my normal diet in September (found no coffee or chocolate too difficult when trying to keep on top of college work). My skin got a little bit worse, but not too major. Last month, I developed three cystic spots in a row around my mouth that I attributed to hormones. They seemed different to the ones I usually get. They were deep under the skin and never reduced in size (they're still there 2 months later). After this, I've just been getting more and more spots around the sides of my mouth. They're very red and inflamed, and really deep under the skin. If I accidentally touch my face, I get bad pains in the area, which I have never had before. It gets worse and worse every day. It's starting to look like I might need to go on roaccutane (which I refuse to do because of side effects).
Does anyone have any past experience which is similar? Or have any idea what is causing this extreme change? I went from mildish acne to extremely severe, red and inflamed in a matter of weeks. I can't think of anything I have changed. I still take yasmin. I take my multivitamin. I drink coffee with milk and foods containing sugar, but I had been doing this for a while before without too much change, so I really don't know what's going on all of a sudden.
I worked so hard for the past year to reduce my scars, and I was finally getting confidence, and now I feel so freaked out. I would appreciate any advice or suggestions!!!
The fact that no dairy/sugar helped could mean you have an intolerance to those things. I have to ask if acne is worth indulging. To me, it would be no but you have to decide if you're willing to make those sacrifices.
Also, the fact that after you removed those foods you only got acne around your period points to it being hormonal. Try spiro or one of the natural alternatives. It is very frustrating (I myself am going through this now) but keep on keeping on
Thanks for the advice! I am going to cut out dairy and sugar for the next month to see if it has an effect. I'll try anything at this stage.
I would like to go on spiro, but I don't think it's widely used here in Ireland as an acne treatment. I don't have enough money to see a dermatologist, so I would have to get it prescribed by my GP, which I doubt they would do here unfortunately.