First of all, thanks for taking the time to read this. It''s my first post here.
So, I've had acne since the age of 13. As the years went by, it became worse and worse. I am now 16 and I have acne all over my body. Face, neck, back, chest, belly and even some on my arms. They're are not as bad as they were a year ago. There are a few zits but MANY spots on my skin and red areas. I tried topical treatments but with little to no improvements. Back in 2014, my dermatologist told me to try some pills but they still did nothing. So in September I decided to start taking accutane. My doc prescribed me a small dosage, just 10mg. I started seeing improvements. My skin would no longer hurt in the morning and it would improve day by day. However, I had to do some blood tests a week ago and we found out that accutane was destroying my liver. Liver enzymes were 5 times higher over normal. He told me to continue for 5 more days and take another test, just in case the previous test was just a coincidence. Today we got the results and the test was even worse. 8 times over normal levels. My dermatologist immediately stopped the treatment.
So, here I am. Found the one and only effective treatment for my skin, only to find out that it was slowly killing me. I just don't even know what to do anymore. I have tried virtually everything. Acne has been ruining my life for the past 4 years. I'm afraid of approaching people, because I know how f**king disgusting I must look like to them. Every school year is the same. Kids asking me why my face has so many scars and zits. I'm desperate.
Please, is there any legitimate alternative to accutane? I need to get rid of acne.
Thanks for reading.
If I were you I would look into IPL laser. It helps with acne. There are several other treatments that you can use such as lasers, light therapy and peels that can help you. I also would try a cream called Biafine Emolsion, it is $$$ about 75.00 for a tube and it can heal your skin. People rave about it. It is worth trying. read about these things and see if you can find another solution. There are many peels and lasers out there that can help if Accutane is not an option for you. Hang in there you will be ok.
3 hours ago, jflo6096 said:If I were you I would look into IPL laser. It helps with acne. There are several other treatments that you can use such as lasers, light therapy and peels that can help you. I also would try a cream called Biafine Emolsion, it is $$$ about 75.00 for a tube and it can heal your skin. People rave about it. It is worth trying. read about these things and see if you can find another solution. There are many peels and lasers out there that can help if Accutane is not an option for you. Hang in there you will be ok.
Are laser therapies an option for me though? Like I said, I have acne all over my body. Isn't laser only intended for face treatments? I don't really know much about it.
Look into these two products. but everythng is like a band aid except accutane
childrens vitamins active health teen multivitamin
https://www.glossier.com/products/super-pure
My sister had bad acne at the age of 16 as well, it wasn't until she cut out gluten and dairy, she was able to clear up. Now she rarely ever breaks out, and she uses natural stuff on her face, like dr. bronners soap to wash with. It took some months to see improvement by the way.
I would eliminate dairy and caffeine from the diet and see if it makes a difference. Also, squeeze half a lemon into a glass, add warm water and drink every morning as soon as you wake up, it helps the liver and it's extremely important for the acne. I have also discovered that vitamin D and zinc supplements have improved my skin. Let us know how it goes!
I agree with a previous poster here...take all insights with a grain of salt. Look into testing, like a hormone panel, before you start Spiro if you want to try it. Just in case. It works great for a lot of people but for others (like me) it can end up causing more issues versus resolving anything. It sounds like you have androgen/testosterone related acne if you're getting severe body acne all over. The simplest solution is using birth control to raise your estrogen and progesterone levels, which helps suppress excess androgens. Ample progesterone also helps prevent the conversion of T into DHT, a more potent version of T that wreaks havoc on the skin and hair follicles (it also causes baldness in men...so many women with PCOS have body acne and hair loss due to high DHT levels).
Whether you're trying a derm's product or going all natural, keep a skin/symptoms diary every day and make sure to patch test first. What works great for someone might be a bad choice for you. Just proceed with caution. Generally, avoid methods with unpredictable results, like oil cleansing and bar soap - both can be bad choices for certain people, especially those who have sensitive skin. I'm shocked that so many people love Zinc since it's been linked to amplified Testosterone if you're even slightly deficient. https://www.anabolicmen.com/zinc-testosterone/
Hi there,
Taking from my 6 years experience with acne, I would suggest you try to diagnose the problem. It might be fungi not the usual bacteria caused acne. In this case using an acne treatment will only make things worse because they seem like they are disappearing but then they come back looking even worse. I finally feel and look better after this combination therapy with tea tree oil. Read more about this therapy here.
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