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Sorry if I mispelled some words (English is not my first language) and, since I am new here, I apologise if there are better threads/sections of the forum for this post.
I am a 33 yr old guy. My troubles started around 2005-2006 (I was around 20 years old at the time - I had no acne/pimple problems until then). A couple of pimples here, a couple of pimples there. I started using (at someone's recommendation) a topical steroid cream, and it worked pretty well at first. The problem was, without me realising, I was getting more and more pimples (I am calling them pimples at this time since I do not really remember how they looked - heh, at that time I was not as savvy as I am now).
In about 2 years time, the cream really managed to mess up my face: the skin looked really bad, a couple of pimples became hard and just wouldn't go away anymore and Ikept relying more and more on that cream.
I didn't use it THAT much (I only applied it on the pimples and only a little bit each time), but the point is that I did use and it did mess up my face. The skin was looking very thick, pustules started to appear and the pimplesalready there were startingto get very hard and not heal at all.
I went to a dermatologist around 2009 and everything went worse.
Actually I went to 2 or 3 dermatologists.
The first one prescribed 2 chemical face peels and another cream, but no proper diagnosis.
The face peels just caused me huge breakouts, but, in retrospect, I guess they were ok, since they were starting to rid my skin of the steroid cream i used for 2 years.
Another dermatologist prescribed skin laser treatment but that went the worst. It left my skin super-thin and caused erythema which took a loooot of years to go away (and still I am not sure if it has truly went away).
The last dermatologist I guess was the best. She diagnosed me withrosaceaand prescribed me metrogel cream and some antibiotics (doxycycline). It went better but the overall condition was so bad I decided to handle the problem myself.
So around 2012, I started reading everything I could find on the internet (forums especially).
I stopped using any kind of cream on my face (moisturisers including) which seem only to cause me breakouts. I have started a rosacea diet with some modifications (fish, turkey, chicken, salads, eggs, blueberries, apples, oranges, carrots, honey), I started exercising each day, I started drinking a lot of water, I have cut back on alcohol. I have changed my hygiene habits (slept as much as possible with my face up, changed face towel frequently, tried to touch my face as little as possible with my fingers during the course of the day). I have tried to avoid staying too long in the sun. I have switched to an electric razor.
After I read that some people with rosacea/acne had an increase in breakouts after sex/masturbation, I have started refraining more from those (obviously, still have to do it every now and then).
Little by little my skin started to get better. What did appear still were whiteheads. My skin was getting better, but - from the laser treatment - it was in the beggining very thin so, when a whitehead did appear, the reaction was looking pretty bad, and - even though the whiteheads were small - the redness around them was pretty bad looking.
I also have someseborrheic dermatitis and this got way better.I only get it now around my nose a little and under my eyebrows, but I clean myself pretty good so usually you can't see that.
So, in order to be able to function properly, I started using some makeup (put it on the morning - only on the spots with lesions - and washed it off in the evening).
It went pretty much ok over the years. Like I said, the skin was getting better during this time, getting healthier and thicker, and during 2014-2016 I felt ok overall.
I still had breakouts, the most during sudden weather changes (season changes were the worst), but my overall routine was handling it ok.
The breakouts were around my cheeks/cheek bones and that was about it.
The weird thing was and is that, when the breakouts did appear, they itch pretty bad sometimes. Not every whitehead itches, only a couple, and the itch can last up to an hour, so - since sometimes I am at work during those - I have to pop an antihistamine pill.
Overall, like I said, things were not that bad.
However, early 2017 my breakouts have gotten worse. Whiteheads that appear are small but they are a lot (around 20-30 on each cheek) and they happen more often then season changes. The itching is pretty much the same but itlooks like the whiteheads are extending to my jawline.
I have started to panic a little.
The only thing that has changed is, I admit, that my stress level has increased at work, but - at the moment - I have no solutions to change that. I AM trying and I most likely will succed at some point but at the moment I can't make the change (reason of context, not just personal incapacity).
I have seen a new dermatologist but she just recommended some creams and some facewash gels, but - like I said - I really do not want to use those, as they have only caused me breakouts in the past.
Funny enough, she said she doesnt think its rosacea, just regular acne.
I am also considering the possibility of the makeup causing me harm.
I have started reading stuff regarding ingredients that help cause acne and some ingredients are present in the makeup that I use.
It has served me pretty well for 3 years, but maybe it needs a change and I need to find something better.
The problem is that the discipline I had imposed on me (described above) was and is pretty taxing on me. It takes a lot of time and it is very draining for my energy levels. So my acne agravating (though I know that can happen) is pretty hard for my mental health. My self confidence and state of mind is already not that great, so if any of you can help with any advice, I would appreciate it.
Thank you.
I'm so sorry that you are going through this. Unlike some other medical conditions, treating acne is not cut and dry as what works for one person, may not work for another. Some suggestions I can make as someone who is still struggling with this beast include:
reducing your stress
consider cutting the top acne offenders for some (dairy and gluten)
Increasing the good stuff (veggies, healthy fats, good quality meats)
Exercise
The above is a good place to start. Definitely stick around and get familiar with the message boards. A lot of good advice to be had.
