Hi there, I feel your pain same thing happened to me. I was stupid enough to have done this twice over a 3 year period, hoping the second time I "did it right". Left me with severe acne and impetigo. awful, just awful.
January 22, 2017
Cw14, just saw your post on sea salt and water. doing that now actually it makes sense thanks for suggesting it
Isotretinoin (Accutane®)
3.9
Comments:
December 20, 2016
I am so sorry to hear about your wife and son. I wish them strong health in the coming months. Thank you so much for posting this I think poeple need to hear the risks taken when deciding whether or not to go on accutane. I almost took it but decided against it based on the possibiliy of long term side versus a superficial issue. I don't think the seriousness of this drug is discussed enough
January 1, 2015
I feel stupid for even considering a drug with such horrific "potential effects". As most accutane users can admit however, the depression and social withdrawal that acne causes can lead a person to consider drastic measures. I'm 21 and I got tired of seeing everyone else in college enjoy youth with clear skin so after trying everything (over an 8 year battle) I decided to take the plunge and give accutane a shot. I'm only 100 pounds so the doc put me on 20 MG (10 twice daily). Took one the first night, next day took two. Within an hour of taking my second pill I felt extreme fatigue. The third day I once again took 20 MG in total and my body reacted instantly. Within an hour I had a wicked headache and crazy fatigue. This continued throughout the night with insane chills... Felt just like battling a bad flu. I knew the next morning I was done with accutane. Our bodies are so wise and only react like that if it's got POISON in it. Stop now, I am so thankful I got bad enough side effects early. I've read hundreds of reviews on "ask a patient" and I can't believe the stories I'm hearing. Most of the people giving accutane top ratings are people who have just finished treatment. The rest are people 10, 20 years after (and had only take a couple months of accutane) describing the horrendous effects it's caused them and how painful it's made their lives. If you'd rather trade your health for clear skin than that's your choice. If you think acne sucks, just remember bad health within will only multiply your problems. I'd rather enjoy fantastic sex with a face full of pimples than have clear skin and terrible sexual health for the rest of my life (yes, erectile dysfunction, lack of libido, impotency and lack of natural lubrication in females are all patient reported outcomes from accutane). That's not all either. Some have needed colon surgery and some females have lost so much hair they need wigs now. So tragic. Read some of the reviews on that site and hopefully it'll change your mind. Way more people seem to be affected than the assured "minimal chances". Of course, is it hard for any of them to "prove" so many years later that it was directly caused by accutane. But seriously, is it worth the chance? Natural is the way to go. It can be a long process figuring out what works but the earth provides us with all we need. There's always new things to try so hang in there and forget this drug! I know a lot of people will read this and take it none the less, like I did, but spend the time reading how it's affected people's lives. You will be soo grateful down the road. (Sorry for the rant: I am not a doctor and don't claim to be. Just an honest opinion formed from others' testimonies)
Not Washing or Water Only
4.0
Comments:
January 16, 2017
Hey Snowydayyyy, thanks for the feedback. It's always good to hear pros and cons to a regimen... about your face being red and hurting... are the pimples themselves hurting or rather the face in general? Just asking cause you may want to seek medical advice, people can develop infections in cases of severe acne and it's a scary situation to be in if it goes untreated. I've been in the boat before and trying to spread the word. Wishing you all the best!
December 17, 2016
Hey guys, TOO EARLY TO REVIEW yet, I've actually just started doing this about 6 days ago now for my acne. I will update in future when I have a good review of how it treated my skin. I just want to mention something though, I notice a few people saying this "broke me out", "doesn't work" etc... and that may be true however PLEASE keep in mind you cannot judge how your skin is reacting to something until at least 6 weeks into something. Reason being is the natural length of average cell cycle from what I've been told is 4-5 weeks... so technically, it is expected to see some sort of a "purging" as dead skin sheds and clogged pores from underneath finally come to a head. So far, this regimen is working so well for me. PROS: facial redness is better by at least 85 percent if not 90, no new breakouts.... only thing I am noticing is some really tiny hard bumps in certain areas and I'm 100 percent sure this is the skin pushing blackheads out. I also notice how GREATLY reduced my oiliness is. like wow. my forehead used to be shiny within the hour after washing with cleansers, now its maintains itself with hardly any oil for the whole day, and my face doesn't feel tight either. CONS: I won't lie, it will seriously feel like your face is unclean when you wash once a day with water. here's the key though... It might feel incredibly dirty or oily but keep the water splash to a minimum. I made the mistake of rinsing my face with water more than a couple times when i was in the shower last night with really warm water. Total mistake, you get out and as soon as you pat your face dry you suddenly realize how much oil came off and its too dry. SUCH a delicate balance as your skin adjusts to running its own show. So if your skin is dry- stick to cold water splashed a couple times. if you are noticing its really oily, slightly warmer will wash away most of the oil but again it doesn't need to be more than 5 secs worth of splashing. Sorry i know this is specific, its really about feeling your skin out. One last thing, I have a lot of tiny tiny clogged bumps on the left hand side of my mouth. They are only noticeable if I press my tongue in this area and look in dim lighting (so seriously not at all noticeable to ppl) but they've been there forever and annoy the heck out of me. I'm obviously expecting to see a big breakout by the 4th week mark when they finally cycle through to a head so like I said best not to judge until 1.5-2 months in. I know its a while but rome wasn't built in a day: your skin needs the time to balance itself, shed off its layers naturally and push whatever is in the skin out on its own. I am washing with cool water every evening once a day, and using a konjac sponge (natural very soft plant material, packed with vitamins) every 4-5 days to **lightly** aid the shedding. Ill be decreasing this to once a week soon and eventually working off to nothing. I'm only doing this because i used to exfoliate everyday with chemical exfoliants so my skin is seriously dependent on exfoliation. It would be a Freddy Kuger mess if I didn't slowly tapper off 😛 **Update day 14! Skin tone has returned to how it was pre acne, breakouts are only in area of my face that had clogged pores, everything else is clear and no new acne has formed in other areas since this regimen. Only complaint is that dead skin does build up fast so I'm still exfoliating lightly with Konjac every 3 days, 4 if I can push it. Due to dead skin skin does feel rougher but I'm anticipating this will disipate with time. Starting a blog on my journey so check it out if you want more daily type details of skin changes and stages
Spironolactone
4.1
Comments:
November 5, 2020
I am so pleased with the results of this medication. I was actually prescribed this about two years ago but stopped after two weeks because I found the medication made me super lethargic the first time (100 mg). I think the issue is it was too high to start out on.
I recently went back on this in September because my jaw acne was getting bad again. I have tried everything under the sun over the years (been dealing with acne on and off for 14+ years), and I had never given this a good go. I've tried diet changes (cutting dairy did NOTHING for me; cutting sugar didn't help much, I've tried retin a which works awesome for surface whiteheads! and I still use it 2x a week; I've tried antibiotics, creams, birth control etc....). My friend was on spiro and raved about it, so I tried it. I'm nearing two months and I am so pleased with my skin. I used to have OILY OILY skin, like blotting 4x a day type, and always shiny. Hated it. Since taking this, I blot about 1x a day which is amazing. My skin is smooth and very soft. I have 1 active bump right now, the rest of my skin is clear. Working on clearing the hyperpigmentation up after the last breakout in August/September. Wow, this stuffs amazing for those of us who have acne along the jaw/cheek area. I never thought I had hormonal acne because I never broke out around that "time" of month, I just broke out consistently. However, it was in the area of the beard. I've always suspected I may have PCOS though because I do have some dark hairs that pop out on my chin and around my nipples actually, and occasionally I can feel pain during ovulation. Anyways, I'm still not diagnosed, but the fact that this medication is really helping says something about acne being related to my hormones. I was very hesitant to go on this because it does make me nervous to "play" with hormones. But for crying out loud, I'm so tired of feeling uncomfortable in my own skin. Acne has really affected my confidence over the years and more importantly, its caused scarring that I will never ben able to fully treat. For this reason alone, I think it's import to have it under control because scarring is not easily fixed.
I started at 50mg for the first week, and I've been on 75mg since September. Next week is 2 months on this stuff. I would say I cleared up by week 5/6. My acne didn't get "worse"/ no purge, but it kind of stayed the same for the first month. I am so happy with this. I still get tiny pimples on my upper neck sometimes, so I have been thinking about going up to 100mg. This makes me pee more, but 75mg is not super high. When I originally went on 100mg the headaches were pretty bad and I felt tired all the time. This dose, I feel pretty normal, occasional headaches I guess. I was tired for the first 3 weeks but its gotten much better over time.
UPDATE 1 YEAR on SPIRO******
I wanted to do a quick update. This is still the best stuff I've taken for my acne. Anything topical never truly "treated" the issue, I find taken something internally does the trick. This has reduced my jaw and cheek acne by 90 percent. I still get a couple here or there when very stressed but that's life. far better than before. I take 50mg a day, enough to keep things under control but skin is still a bit oily. The higher you go the less oil you will get. Problem I found on this med, is if I go above 50mg my anxiety can be out of control. When I started taken this med I noticed increased anxiety, heart flutters and general butterflies for minor things. This definitely worsened which is why I have to remain at 50mg. It still aggravates my anxiety and depression but I am going on an anti depressant to counter those because I can't go back to having a full face of acne (that's a whole other depression in itself). I will say, this medication DRASTICALLY reduces my appetite due to increased anxiety, so I can go a whole day with only one meal sometimes. This isn't good as I am already underweight for an adult. hence keeping a low dose. would be awesome for someone looking to lose pounds though! I dont drink near enough water on this, not healthy, make sure you do and I think because its a diuretic not drinking enough water can really create an electrolyte imbalance. make sure you drink gatorades and stuff at the gym to keep those balanced while on this.
November 5, 2020
Yes, it made me a bit itchy but rarely. not extremely. If you are very itchy you may be allergic. Check with your doc
Acne.org Products
Comments:
Comments:
Comments:
Comments:
I am so pleased with the results of this medication. I was actually prescribed this about two years ago but stopped after two weeks because I found the medication made me super lethargic the first time (100 mg). I think the issue is it was too high to start out on.
I recently went back on this in September because my jaw acne was getting bad again. I have tried everything under the sun over the years (been dealing with acne on and off for 14+ years), and I had never given this a good go. I've tried diet changes (cutting dairy did NOTHING for me; cutting sugar didn't help much, I've tried retin a which works awesome for surface whiteheads! and I still use it 2x a week; I've tried antibiotics, creams, birth control etc....). My friend was on spiro and raved about it, so I tried it. I'm nearing two months and I am so pleased with my skin. I used to have OILY OILY skin, like blotting 4x a day type, and always shiny. Hated it. Since taking this, I blot about 1x a day which is amazing. My skin is smooth and very soft. I have 1 active bump right now, the rest of my skin is clear. Working on clearing the hyperpigmentation up after the last breakout in August/September. Wow, this stuffs amazing for those of us who have acne along the jaw/cheek area. I never thought I had hormonal acne because I never broke out around that "time" of month, I just broke out consistently. However, it was in the area of the beard. I've always suspected I may have PCOS though because I do have some dark hairs that pop out on my chin and around my nipples actually, and occasionally I can feel pain during ovulation. Anyways, I'm still not diagnosed, but the fact that this medication is really helping says something about acne being related to my hormones. I was very hesitant to go on this because it does make me nervous to "play" with hormones. But for crying out loud, I'm so tired of feeling uncomfortable in my own skin. Acne has really affected my confidence over the years and more importantly, its caused scarring that I will never ben able to fully treat. For this reason alone, I think it's import to have it under control because scarring is not easily fixed.
I started at 50mg for the first week, and I've been on 75mg since September. Next week is 2 months on this stuff. I would say I cleared up by week 5/6. My acne didn't get "worse"/ no purge, but it kind of stayed the same for the first month. I am so happy with this. I still get tiny pimples on my upper neck sometimes, so I have been thinking about going up to 100mg. This makes me pee more, but 75mg is not super high. When I originally went on 100mg the headaches were pretty bad and I felt tired all the time. This dose, I feel pretty normal, occasional headaches I guess. I was tired for the first 3 weeks but its gotten much better over time.
UPDATE 1 YEAR on SPIRO******
I wanted to do a quick update. This is still the best stuff I've taken for my acne. Anything topical never truly "treated" the issue, I find taken something internally does the trick. This has reduced my jaw and cheek acne by 90 percent. I still get a couple here or there when very stressed but that's life. far better than before. I take 50mg a day, enough to keep things under control but skin is still a bit oily. The higher you go the less oil you will get. Problem I found on this med, is if I go above 50mg my anxiety can be out of control. When I started taken this med I noticed increased anxiety, heart flutters and general butterflies for minor things. This definitely worsened which is why I have to remain at 50mg. It still aggravates my anxiety and depression but I am going on an anti depressant to counter those because I can't go back to having a full face of acne (that's a whole other depression in itself). I will say, this medication DRASTICALLY reduces my appetite due to increased anxiety, so I can go a whole day with only one meal sometimes. This isn't good as I am already underweight for an adult. hence keeping a low dose. would be awesome for someone looking to lose pounds though! I dont drink near enough water on this, not healthy, make sure you do and I think because its a diuretic not drinking enough water can really create an electrolyte imbalance. make sure you drink gatorades and stuff at the gym to keep those balanced while on this.
Yes, it made me a bit itchy but rarely. not extremely. If you are very itchy you may be allergic. Check with your doc