I need help. My husband and I really want to have a baby, but my acne has been a problem for a while now - and we've been putting off having a baby for me to try and take care of my acne (because not many acne treatments are safe to use while pregnant or breastfeeding). Is there any sort of permanent solution? Here are some thoughts/situations I'm in:
- From my understanding, benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid are not safe to use while pregnant/breastfeeding.
- I'm kind of scared of Accutane -I worry what even the smallest dose would do to my body, and I've heard how anxious or depressed some people feel on it and I don't want that. Plus, I talked to a derm about this and they said they'd want to put me on the lowest dose possible for the longest amount of time - so we wouldn't be able to try to have a baby for another 9 months at the shortest.
- I can't go on hormonal birth control, because of my family's heart history/blood clotting history - and this wouldn't be a real solution anyway, since I'd have to go off of it to try to have a baby and then stay off of it while pregnant.
Any other solutions you know of that are permanent, or at least safe to use when pregnant/breastfeeding?
Thank you in advance. I've been so discouraged about all of this, and we keep putting off having a baby while I've tried every acne remedy under the sun (oral antibiotics, benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, clindamycin, chemical peels, etc etc.).
My derm put me on clindamycin during one of my pregnancies, she said in the standard amounts benzoyl peroxide (5%) is not harmful. Same goes for most topical concentrations of salicylic acid, the highest you'll find is about 2%, but higher concentrations aren't unheard of (in peels and weekly treatments for example) its really just the stuff that goes beyond 2% salicylic acid that you need to worry about, but below that is considered safe (at least by my derm)
If your goal is to get pregnant soon I wouldn't go on accutane, I don't know if its true but I've been told (along time ago mind you) that you should wait five years after going off accutane before conceiving because it stays in your system (liver for example) for at least that long. But you should ask your doc about that one, I was on accutane over ten years ago maybe things have changed.
Definitely DO NOT go on birth control, it can make acne much worse after you come off it.
Have you tried anything internal to help your acne? Like diet changes, vitamin or herb supplementation for example?
Cutting out dairy and refined sugar is immensely helpful for a lot of people. You should also cut back on processed foods, coffee and high carbohydrate foods like white bread and white pasta if you haven't already. Think lots of veggies, fruits , whole grains and herbal teas.
Adult acne, especially in women, is usually hormonal, have you tried some things like DIM, vitex, B6 , zinc, vitamin D, or magnesium? These are all helpful with fertility as well.
Antioxidants such as Silymarin (milk thistle) and N-Acetyl-Cysteine are associated with good reductions in acne in adults.
Topical application of Niacinamide also has promising results, and I believe its safe during pregnancy/bfing (Don't quote me on that though lol)
The list goes on and on, you'll have to play around and see what works for you.
Other then that I have to second what LikelyTempo said, my skin was never clearer than when I was pregnant with my daughters, and it stayed that way for 3-6 months afterwards too. I was only on the clindamycin for my first pregnancy (a boy) where it freaked out at first but was then very clear after the first trimester. But its not a sure cure, some friends of mine had very bad acne the whole time while pregnant (especially with sons?) and cleared up afterwards.
I think its a good idea you've got to get rid of the acne before you conceive at any rate.
Good luck and happy TTC'ing!