ACNE???!!!

S

sblordita

Cathlete
I would love to hear some input from any of you that have suffered from adult acne. My problem didn't start until I was 19/20 and it has become a nightmare. My face, back, and chest are constantly covered with pimples. Painfull, deep ones that leave scars and discoloration. I have been using ProActive for about a year now, and it only helps the areas of my face that hasn't fallen victim to this particular type of acne. I was given topical antibiotics as well as Differen and nothing is working. I made an appointment again for tomorrow, and was considering birth control to see if hormones are the culprit.
I was also wondering if any of you had this type of reaction due to food allergies? I heard a long time ago that wheat products may cause acne, but I haven't managed to cut all wheat out of my diet yet to find out:(

I'm getting kind of desperate now :(

Thanks
Sara
 
Hi Sara! I used to get adult acne, not as severe as you, mainly on the face. However, it has went away since I have been on the birth control pill these past 6 years. When I was ready to get pregnant and went off of the pill the acne did return. Don't let pharmaceutical companies trick you into believing that only a few kinds of birth control pills can possibly help with acne. I asked my OBGYN about that and she said that any birth control pill will help, that is if your acne is due to hormones. I can understand your frustration with adult acne. I thought we were supposed to grow out of it by now. Good luck in finding a solution!!
 
I may have had one pimple the entire time I was in high school. By the time I was midway through college, my skin was breaking out pretty bad. I went to a dermatologist, and found out that I did not have 'acne'. I had a skin infection. Yours actually sounds more like what I had than traditional acne. The medications you listed are acne medicine, and if that's not what you have, that may explain why the medicine (Differin) does not work. Try going back to the doctor, and see if they can prescribe an antibiotic. That was what worked for me.

Do you notice that your breakouts occur at the same time every month? If so, this could be hormonal. Also, what kind of hair products do you use? My skin goes crazy when I use too much mousse or hair spray.

An allergist can perform a skin test to determine any food or other allergies you have. I'd only recommend this if you have health insurance. The skin test is pretty expensive $$$.

Good Luck!

Lisa :)
 
Sara,

Like you, I never really had a problem with acne till I was a sophomore in college. I tried EVERYTHING but nothing really helped. I went on the Pill, but I didn't notice any differences till I started using a cream called Elicina. I mentioned it in another post, and here's their website:

www.bioskincare.com

It's totally natural and helps almost all types of skin conditions, not just acne. Check out the website - it's extremely informative and helpful. Good luck!

Sarah :)
 
Hi Lisa :)

Where did your breakouts occur with the skin infection? Mine problem area is primarily my chin. And your point about the hair products made me think... I have recently started having reactions to all moisturizers that I use for my eyes... I have used creams for years because my skin gets so dry in areas, but for about 4 or 5 months, all of it causes swelling and rashes (I've gone through several expensive kinds to test them out - so far, they all react). I just went to a new eye doctor to make sure it wasn't an actual eye infection, as my previous dr. was treating it as pink eye this whol e time. It could be possible I am becoming more sensitive to other things as well. I use a few products for hair (depending on what I feel like, really). The one I use right now is Herbal Essence Shampoo and Physique Conditioner.

BUT..... on the other hand, my breakouts are on a "cycle" it seems. There are about 3 or 4 days out of the month, right when I have my period, where my skin looks pretty good, and the rest of the time, I'm a mess.

Can you tell me what your doctor did to decide you had a skin infection. I'd like to bring up all points to mine tomorrow.

Thanks so much!
Sara
 
Sarah,

Checking it out now!! Thanks :) How long did it take for you to see improvements? I'm willing to try at this point.

Sara
 
Hi Sarah,
I started taking birth control and it has definitely improved my skin. I had the same kind of acne you do, but just on my face. Ortho-tricyclen works wonders for my skin. I hardly get any acne. And if I do, it's just a small one that heals up in a day. Yeah! I wish I had knew about this many years ago.

I have tried antibiotics, topical creams, etc . . . and they work okay, but the ortho really made a vast improvement. I didn't want to take accutane which is a very aggressive medicine. Glad that I found ortho. HTH
 
If anyone knows about acne it is me. I started getting acne at the age of 10. Since I reached my 30's the nightmare is over for me, except for a few pimples here and there before the monthly. Have you ever heard of Accutane? Ask your dermatologist if you are a candidate. It really works wonders, but you have to be very careful not to get pregnant as it can cause birth defects. Good Luck !
 
Today is actually the first day I've heard of Accutane, but I never really found out about what it is. What is it exactly? Is that what you used?

For those of you who are on birth control, how long did it take you to notice a difference in your skin? I'm assuming a month, but I don't really know.
 
:) Actually, I was one of the first experimental guinea pigs back when it first came out in 1982. My acne was very severe, cysts, blackheads, whiteheads. Accutane is a pill and the only side effect I had was drying of lips and sometimes skin. My son was on Accutane for severe acne and it cleared it up completely. But like I said, Accutane is not for everyone and you should speak with your dermatologist about it. I would like to see you try the birth control pills, other suggestions first. Let me know!:
 
Hi Sara..

I have acne like yours..cystic acne, by name. These pimples actually appear as big, hard, dime-nickel sized sacks under the skin and have a purple reddish color. Mine can be very painful, but don't end up like a whitehead or a regular pimple. They more or less fill up and look like some kind of freakish volcano on my face. Sound familiar??
One thing i do know is they are genetic. If your parents get them, you probably will. Currently I take Depo Provera, and actually posted a while back on this forum concerning discontinuing it because I thought it was what was causing my acne. I don't get alot of real "pimples" or "whiteheads" which I guess is really fortunate. My main complaint is that cystic stuff. They are horrible and usually don't "go down" for atleast 2-3 weeks. I have one on my chin and one on my neck currently!!

I will say Depo made it worse. Don't go on that. But honestly, I cannot tell you whether the PILL made it better. I don't think I had a major problem with Cystic Acne until I got on Depo. However, I did have regular acne as a youth, pretty bad. So I really don't know how I am hormone free. You are different though. Currently you don't take hormones. I would try to get your doctor to test your estrogen and testosterone levels and if they are really out of whack, well, then get on the Pill. For most people, the Pill helps acne. Accutane is scary stuff...majorly bad if you get pregnant..so much so that your doctor can make you sign something saying you will abort the fetus if you get pregnant. That makes it all too scary for me, thank you..Also, my husband was on it and says it does extrememly dry you out. Also, there is no gaurantee it will take your acne away forever and is EXTREMELY expensive. I would try to find a more natural way.
Sarah..thanks for the link..I am also checking it out!!

And as far as the wheat is concerned, I don't think that is possible. Really, I don't know why you would not have had acne all your life if it had to do with something you have been eating all your life. If you drink enough water, I just don't think foods can cause horrible acne. Hormones or genetics are the most likely culprits for bad acne. I also know not to let your skin get too dry, as that backfires on you and can cause more acne..

Hope you find something to help..please let us know if you do...
Janice
 
Also, Sara, why are you not on oral antibiotics?? I took Bactrim for a while and it helped some. The doctors don't like to keep you on that forever though, but it may help...
 
Sarah,
After reading your post a couple of weeks ago I ordered the Elicina cream. Just got it today. I used it tonight. I don't know how long it will take to see results but I'll keep you posted. The box says this is a safe process for snails (I wonder how they do it) after reading that I felt so guilty for eating escargot once.
By the way I thought it might smell funny or something but it doesn't.
Carolyn
 
I sympathize as I suffered for years. The thing that helped me was finding an acne forum on the internet. I can't remember which one in particular now, but I'm sure you could find one easily. There are a lot of people suffering the same thing, and many different remedies to try (as with many things, different things work for different people).

Personally, I found out about vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), which in high doses, reduces the over production of oil by the skin and, therefore, prevents acne. It was the first thing to work for me (after seeing various doctors and a dermatologist, the only thing left to try was Accutane which is a harsh treatment). I have been using it for years now. I still need it. When I start forgetting to take it, my skin gets oily again.

Hope this helps.

Sharon.
 
I just re-read your post. The problem may well be hormones. Birth control pills can help, but I really would advise trying B5 first. Here is what I learnt from acne forums and my own research:

Vitamin B5 is needed by the body to make both sex hormones and stress hormones, and is also needed for the metabolism of fats. High levels of these hormones deplete the body of B5 over time. This means that the body cannot metabolize fats properly, and they get dumped onto the skin instead, causing big open blocked pores, and spots.

High-dose B5 very quickly allows your body to metabolize fats properly so that the skin gets less oily. When I started on B5, my skin got less oily in a few days. It took a few weeks for a noticable reduction in spots, as they take up to a month to form. After several months, my skin was (and has remained) about 95% clear.

A side effect that some people notice when taking B5 is a reduction in appetite, because the body becomes more efficient at metabolizing fats for energy. In fact, B5 has also being studied (and worked) in helping overweight people to reduce their appetite while dieting. If you want to look up the science, look for Dr Leung's work in China.

Sharon.
 
Also, my experience was that the dermatologist I saw advised against young women using Accutane because of the possibility of birth defects. It is only really okay for boys and for older women who have completed their families. Obviously you wouldn't want to get pregnant while taking it, but, he said that Accutane is stored in body fat, so you can never be 100% sure that your body has washed it all out. I think he was probably being over cautious, as I know that it is given to young women with severe acne. Anyway, my mum freaked out when I told her about this, and made me promise not to take it!

Sharon.
 
Sara,
I noticed an immediate difference in the softness of my skin (and so did my fiance!). I started using it last May/June, and my skin noticeably cleared up over the summer. Keep in mind, though, that I did spend a lot of time in the sun, and this usually always helps with my acne, too.

But my skin has stayed clear since then (without the extra sun!), so I'm crediting it to the Elicina. I don't know what type of skin you have (mine is oily), but I find that doing the following works the best for me: wash with Noxzema, apply astringent (for normal skin), put on some benzoyl peroxide cream on the super oily areas (I use Neutrogena 2.5%), wait a few minutes and then apply the Elicina. If my skin is a little dry in certain areas, I apply some moisturizer about 15 min after appying the Elicina - that way, you give it time to really soak into your skin.

I really think that using the right kind of facial cleansers, etc. also makes a major difference. Even though I have oily skin, I found that oil-free soaps and cleansing creams dried out my face, made it somewhat oilier, and increased the acne. HAve you changed your skin care routine since high school at all? I had used Noxzema during high school, but switched to some oil-free cleansers shortly before I started having skin problems, and I'm wondering if that was what caused the increased acne. Since switching back to Noxzema and using Elicina this past summer, I've noticed the best/quickest results. The nice thing about Elicina is that it eliminates/covers up the Noxzema scent, too.

I hope this helps. Good luck!
Sarah :)
 
I have adult acne too, only in my face, mostly pimples. I didn't have as much acne during high school as I have now. During my pregnancies my face stayed clear, but after them, I have had many pimples, especially in the jaw and the right cheek. I tried different products-nothing expensive, just the ones you see in the stores-.

Elicina sounds great. It is natural! But how long does a jar of Elicina last? 39 dollars for just an ounce sounds pretty expensive, unless it lasts at least a month. Please answer my question, as I am kind of desperate too, and willing to try this product as soon as possible.

Mariela
PS to everyone: Hi! God bless you all. I haven't been on the forums lately because I coudn't exercise lately :( But I'll come back to working out and forums as soon as I solve my situations.
 
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