acne, nothing works

[Youth]

Hi, everyone.

I have had acne since I was about 12, (17 now) and nothing ever helped, I tried everything, things that doctors subscribed made me so ugly that I just stopped using them. Proactiv dries my skin too much and gives me more acne. I can't use anything on my skin. It is really bad before my period ant takes like three weks to go away, so I rarely have one week of almost clear skin. But my blackheads on my cheeks and nose never go away, they're really bad, scrabs don't help. I don't want to use make up because it feels disguiting that something's on my skin, I use Neutrogena make up when I have to but I hate it.

My dermotologos says that I don't have very bad acne for Accutaine, but I think I do, she just haven't seen me when my face is really bad like NOW. She also can't see that I have lots and lots of under-skin ones that come out before my preiod or sit there forever. I hate the feeling of my skin, it's all bumpy. I don't care what side effects Accutaine has. One of them is depression.......well whatever, I'm depressed about my face anyway so why does it matter. I have a feeling that my acne will never go away like everyone says.

Does anybody know how to get rid of them? Or better, how to get my dermatologost to prescribe Accutaine for me?

 

Thanks

[Stefi]

My best friend has had to deal with acne through most of her life and I understand how frustrating and depressing it can be. She also has very sensitive skin and can hardly use any kind of over-the-counter medicine.

 

Unfortunately, you can't get your dermatologist to prescribe Accutane for you. It is only prescribed for cases of severe acne (usually cystic or nodular/inflammatory-and only then when nothing else works) because of the very serious side-effects.

You are right about one of them being depression/ suicidal thoughts, but it doesn't stop there. When taking accutane you should not get pregnant since the risk for birth defects is very high. If you are sexually active and are on the pill, accutane can reduce the pill's effectiveness (depending on which one you take). Accutane raises intercranial pressure (pressure in your brain), which can lead to permanent loss of sight or death. So if you have a family history of hypertension (high blood pressure) you might not want to go anywhere near Accutane. If you are still growing, accutane could stunt your growth. And the list goes on and on. So in a sense it's good that your dermatologist is not prescribing this for you. Because of these side-effects, my friend won't take it either eventhough for her it has been suggested.

 

Ask your dermatologist if you may be able to take antibiotics (tetracycline is very common for acne). Try Benzacline if you haven't yet. There's also this gel called "Duac" that may be more suitable for sensitive skin, 'cause it's non-drying. Also, if those don't work, you can ask your doctor for a sample of Retin-A cream which seems to work really well. (I suggest a sample, because one of those Retin-A tubes can cost over $100 !)

 

But most importantly, try not to get too discouraged, sometimes it takes finding the right combination of oral and topical prescription medicine to start seeing results. Also, keep in mind that for a lot of prescription acne medicine there'll be a worsening of the acne when you first start using the medicine and after that it'll get better.

 

Hope you find something that works!

[RandyB]

Doctors know best..usually. I always heard you should cut chocolate and soft drinks out of your diet...and don't pick at your skin!

I had an average amount of acne when I was your age, which started about the time yours did, and it faded completely once I got into college. Acne is no big deal. It's not a deal at all, really. I've been very attracted to girls who happened to have acne. I don't know how girls feel about guys with acne.

 

RandyB

[Stefi]

oops, double post!

[CheeseCake]

My son had a same problem with you since when his 12.. his now 16 years old.. my daughter too.. she suffered that acne prob.. my daughter tried the laser system too, to remove her acnes, it worked at first.. but came back.. it didn't work. My friend adviced me to the dermatologist in the Philippines.. she's a chinese doctor. She sent us here 8 different stuffs to apply morning and nite.. IT WORKED! My son and daughter's face is very fine now! it cost us $250 + shipment/each. WORTH IT! if you're interested, please contact me email removed or email removed

[JonnyG]

I also had bad acne since I was about 12/13.

 

The doctors gave me Minocin MR and som special cream, which i used for 2 years, but to no avail. So I went bac to him when I was 17 saying I want something stronger as my acne was just awful during 15-17. They then gave me (Ro-?)Accutine and after 6 months I was much better. But I did have it real bad.

 

Doctors don't want to hand it out unless its severe cases.

[fantasia2004]

Doctors know best..usually. I always heard you should cut chocolate and soft drinks out of your diet...and don't pick at your skin!

I had an average amount of acne when I was your age, which started about the time yours did, and it faded completely once I got into college. Acne is no big deal. It's not a deal at all, really. I've been very attracted to girls who happened to have acne. I don't know how girls feel about guys with acne.

 

RandyB

 

How true is that? I heard chocolate has no effect on allergies. And how severe were the acne conditions on the women you have dated and did it effect them psychologically or socially?

 

Fantasia

[1Adam12]

Ok i'm not a Doctor and I'm not claiming to be one but I read somewhere maybe on here I think that one way to get rid of acne problems is wash your face daily..i use clearasil..but another thing is letting steam get on your face like using a steamer similar to one you would hold your head over to clear sinus problems like those vicks steamers they said it helps the acne surface and won't cause scarring..it seems to work but also keep your hands away from your face if you've eaten greasy foods it can clog pores easily. Beware of Accutane it not only causes intercranial trouble it also can trigger a person to committ suicide. Hope that helps some.

 

Phil

[psycho_Jr]

The best way to overcome acne is to overcome its underlaying reasons(if it is not liver-oriented of course).i use a sulphur soap(it makes my oily skin dry for sometime) but if my stress goes up acnes start popping up again.you have to overcome your psychological problems(acnes are the main reason i am shy towards girls so its harder for me i think ) if you are have any.increasing your daily vitamin intake will also help.

Masturbation doesnt cause acnes by the way.when the hormonal activity is on the increase one usually must masturbate to "let it off".these two activities occour in similiar times and thats why there is a myth telling us that masturbation causes acne

[Eh Im Canadian]

Actually, masturbation does help acne a little bit for one reason. When you masturbate, you are stimulating more and mor hormones, which in turn make you grow more hairs. (note to Bald people, this only applies during teenage years). So it isn't the act of masturbation that helps acne, it is the fact that you become "aroused" . So anything that changes your level of hormones, and testosterone/estrogen, will help cause acne. Unfortunately, this includes a whole bunch of stuff, such as being stressed, looking at people who you like, living, etc.. I looked at this huge list of things that will give me acne, and I gave up on trying to prevent it. Instead I just get rid of it faster than it can appear. I drink 5 glasses of chinese tea a day, mostly because I really like it, but also because it helps you relax. Hope you find what you are looking for.

[iamme5]

one word.....

 

microdermabrasion (is that how u spell it?) lol

[User203]

yeah i know the feeling. I got one or two pimples at the end of 6th grade and i didnt pay to much attention to it, but then in 7th grade i started breaking out ALOT. I didnt do anything about it(BIG mistake) I tried several medications that didnt really help throughout this time. I ordered proactive solution 1 week before the end of 7th grade and i couldnt wait forit to come. Well, i used it during summer and through 8th grade. I stopped breaking out for about 6 months, but after that I started to break out again. it may have been beacuse i wasent applying the hwole proactive system everyday. My skin was drying out soooo much. My forhead was the main rpoblem and i worked on that. Sure it had clered but there was scarring and alot of dryness. The more it dried the more skin came off. Because i was using too much of each product my skin was healing but at the same time peeling so much that the healthy skin was was coming off and my scars wouldnt heal up. But for some reason at the end of 8th grade I started to brake out NOT only on forhead but also on cheeks and chin. It got me soo mad. For 1 year i was applying everyhting everywhere NOW for some reason i was breaking out in areas i had no past problems with. I think it was stress or something becasue when i entered 9th grade i started breaking out more and mroe. 9th grade is alomost over and my skin isnt that good. Proactive does cleaer skin but it also dries. It really helps but you need to make SURE you DON't over use or ur skin will dry even more. Im thinking of seing dermotoligist because i still have break outs and it's really gettin old.

Im gettign the skin lightening lotion to fade my scars, has anyone used it or what??

[Mister E]

Well I've had acne since I was 15. I am currently 26. I've been on everything out there except Accutaine. Nothing works. It's not facial acne it's trunkial acne. Which the dermatologist said is the hardest to get rid of. Boy no kidding. My back is full of acne and it makes going to the beach pretty much impossible. I like walking around with my shirt off but I can't due to the embarrassment of my back. I recently tried the B5 clearskin and saw results but once I stopped taking the 20 pills a day and went down to the 3 it all came back again. I guess I'll be forever doomed with acne.

[bebopman]

i've heard that if you put toothpaste on your acne, it's supposed to help it. I dont know if it really does or now, i think i tried it once or twice, but i dont know if it helped. You may want to give that a try. Rubbing it on your face, i mean.

[Artiste19]

Hi, I just wanted to say I know what that can feel like, as I went through the same a few years ago. I went through a lot of topical creams and everything, which never completely worked. The best thing I used, which really helped me, was actually a birth control pill called Diane, which I know sounds weird. It's prescribed for acne, and my doctor gave me a prescription. It worked, and now I use proactiv, which keeps everything away. Everyone's skin is different, but you might want to look into the pill 'Diane'. It won't last forever, but there are also some new cosmetics -- foundations -- that are really lightweight if you want to cosider make-up. I understand putting product on your skin can make you break out even more, but it's an option. Maybelline Wonder Finish is really good. One more thing you could look at is Tea Tree Oil, which I think has vitamin E and is really good for your skin. Anyway, this is from past experience, and I hope it helps . . .