Hi, I'm a 16-year-old male, and I've been suffering with acne for as long as I can remember.
Here's my story:
My skin was mildly bad for ages, but in summer of 2016 I managed to clear my face, and I was clear for three months. however, I had eczema or whatever it's called/spelled and had to go to a dermatologist. BARE IN MIND MY SKIN WAS CLEAR (not very, but in the best state it's ever been.) my mom then decided to ask about acne, as I did have some acne on my back and shoulders, and he perscribed me with Adapalene 0.1 %. for three months. I started it in september, but after around one month of using it, i freaked out because my skin was so bad, so i stopped using it. Oh he also, put me on an antibiotic, which i followed through with. I started using all these different skin care products to clear my skin, but none of them worked. so in january i picked up the adapalene again. currently im in my 13th week , and while my skin has improved, it is still pretty bad. I've begun to think my skin has become immune to the adapalene, since i didnt continue to the treatment the first time. i've completely restricted my diet, but it isnt working either.
Now, the perscription will be over at the end of this week, so i've been wondering, what next? my skin is STill bad, and nothing seems to be working. should i continue with the adapalene, or should i go to the derm again, or should i just not use any medication and hope for the best?
Please help. thanks.
Hey marwan209,
My son is the same age and with moderate acne on face and shoulders. He also has adapalene presently which isn't doing a lot for him either. He did get clear on a course of doxycycline but once the course finished the acne started coming back to the same degree as before. What to do next is ultimately your choice. We all hope the acne will go away on its own as you get through the teen yearsand the wait and see option is fine if you're feeling ok dealing with it. To find out your treatment options getting back to your derm is a good idea and then you can discuss the options with your parents and derm. Oral antibiotics are probably your first option...sounds like you may have had a course of those so if it worked for you another course might be good. There's other topical treatments to try...have you been on the Regimen before?
17 hours ago, Jazzguy said:Hey marwan209,
My son is the same age and with moderate acne on face and shoulders. He also has adapalene presently which isn't doing a lot for him either. He did get clear on a course of doxycycline but once the course finished the acne started coming back to the same degree as before. What to do next is ultimately your choice. We all hope the acne will go away on its own as you get through the teen yearsand the wait and see option is fine if you're feeling ok dealing with it. To find out your treatment options getting back to your derm is a good idea and then you can discuss the options with your parents and derm. Oral antibiotics are probably your first option...sounds like you may have had a course of those so if it worked for you another course might be good. There's other topical treatments to try...have you been on the Regimen before?
thank you so much for responding.
What do you mean by Regimen? if you mean the acne.org regimen, then no i haven't. would you reccomend it?
And I will be going back to the derm soon. as for the wait and see option, thats completely out of sight, since i have probably the lowest self esteem ever, withoiut the acne lol. Also would you mind telling me if your son is on some sort of diet to help with the acne, and if it's working for him? bcecause i must be doing something wrong if it's working foer everyone else
No problem! Yes I mean the acne.org regimen....it's worth a try for most people but your derm knows your case and should be able to discuss all the options with you.Don't be afraid to ask your own questions.
My son isn't on any sort of diet...he's not motivated to try that at the moment...it's hard when you see other people eating whatever and not facing the same issues. We're going back to our doctor soon too to talk about next steps
Struggling with self-esteem is a normal thing so don't be too hard on yourself...it's good you realise that self esteem isn't only related to your acne. Find and do things that you enjoy and the rest will fall into place in time.