acne is ruining everything and making me incredibly depressed

[Artiste19]

I feel so, so bad for you! Especially because I've been there too. This summer for no apparent reason my skin broke out like crazy (I was on vacation & I think it was sun exposure). Like you say when you fall asleep, my whole face hurt because it was under the skin, like an infection coming from underneath. It was different from the smaller, milder acne blemishes that appear and go away fairly quickly.

 

If this is what you have - i.e. large areas of acne (nodules/cysts I think they are called) deeper underneath, which causes pain and there often seem to be a few almost on top of one another - then I have to say don't expect quick results from topical treatments. Yes, it helps, but if it is deep it probably won't solve the root problem. I have used proactiv a lot in the past, and it does help clear things up and prevent more (for some people), but when I started using it this summer when my skin was like I said, it honestly made things worse. My skin was way too sensitive, and the proactiv was too harsh.

 

Definitely try it, but stop if it starts to hurt your skin, don't wash your face through the pain, because that won't help anything. (Are there malls in your area? Because if you want it quicker, I know here in Canada they have proactiv kiosks in many malls.)

 

I'm no dermatologist, I can only give advice on what has happened to me in the past. I was always against accutane because of the potential side effects, but when it got out of control this summer I had to give in. I went on accutane - a very low dose for four months - and my skin is now completely clear. It did take aprx. two months to go away even with accutane. I am not advocating it, because it can have side effects and it's a choice you have to make for yourself. But, if nothing else works it is one potential solution.

 

Definitely go to the dermatologist through your school and see what he/she says, because sometimes you just can't handle it all by yourself. I feel like I've written you a book here, lol, but I had to share my experience because parts of it sound similar to yours. Good luck with getting it under control, and try not to let other people get to you (easier said than done, I know . . . ).

 

take care!

[shep88ner]

thank all of you who have commented on this. and i apologize if i said anything offending earlier. its just i was so excited to get to college and make a new name for myself and be a new me, that when this happened it more than disapointed me. and since it hasnt gone away and things have gone the way they have i have just felt really low the past few weeks. i know if my face clears i will be so much more confident about myself. i have done a lot of maturing and some of my shyness has left me, so im ready to try new things and see where i can go being the new me. and this acne explosion has ruined any confidence in me and i just feel so left out since things have gone the complete oposite direction.

 

i again thank all of you who have posted in response to this matter. i recently found out today that the proactiv i have coming was shipped with a different service. so instead of 2-3 weeks it should be here tomorrow. i'll post back updates once i get it and try it for a few weeks or so.

 

im sure it'll be ok eventually, but until then i'll just have to make due the best i can and carry myself with as much confidence i have, no matter how little i have.

[astromantic]

shep, why won't u see a doctor on campus? isn't it usually covered in your fees? most universities have insurance in teh tuition for their students. I've been battling acne since I was 10. My face definitely exploded when I was around 12. It was awful as I was going through puberty and my face looked like a volcano and on top of that I'm a girl and when adults saw my skin they just had this "poor her" look written on their face. I know what the type of severe acne u're talking about, I still get them occasionally now but they're not all bunch together. I have medicine prescribed from my doctor and that stuff usually works for me. Plus washing ur face twice a day is a good habit to get into but do it gently, make sure ur hands are clean and I sometimes use cotton balls to message the cleanser in.

[zerohalo]

Shep, I also wanted to chime in here. I've had cystic acne since I was 16 and have been fighting it ever since. I didn't have the patches you talked about, but I had these giant cysts on my forehead and cheeks. Even recently I developed them around my eyes, and believe me that wasn't fun. I know precisely how you feel, and I know on more than one occasion I was with a small group of girls and I also was sure they were laughing at me.

 

Having acne does indeed suck. Everyone here has given you spectacular advice already, I'm not sure what else I could say. But I did want you to know that you aren't alone in this, not by a long shot. See a dermatologist as soon as you possibly can. Don't worry about what your mom will say, you're an adult now and you have to start taking care yourself.