adult Acne?

Paprikat · Jan 16, 2004

I, at 33, still get the occasional "monster" zit. It bothers me tremendously! I used birth control with great effect (Tricyclen and Alesse). I now use tea tree oil and Clearasil.

My brother who suffered from cystic acne, tried Accutane. It literally peeled all of his skin off layer by layer (poor guy, he drank copious amounts of water and used lotion). But it is about 5 years later and his skin is still clear. He has no cysts anymore. Apparently, some need a second course of Accutane, but he didn't. I am not sure exactly the cost. He did need to get liver enzymes done frequently......

suzanne4, RN · Jan 16, 2004

Take a look at http://www.hsn.com. Go to Serious Skin Solutions. Have had great luck with their line and with clearing up the skin of quite a few friends that I recommended the products to. I still buy it and have one of my friends ship it to me in Bangkok. Haven't found anything better. They have this one liquid called Dry-Lo that I wouldn't be without. It is pink at the bottom and clear at the top, you do not shake the bottle but dip a Q-tip into it then apply it to your skin, and I swear in the morning whatever was there is gone.

I know that this can be frustrating but this is worth a try.

Good luck!

NursePru · Jan 16, 2004

My advice...don't use anything off the shelf or from TV. I had cystic acne and wasted time trying ProActive and other products. I had never had acne before, but all of the sudden at the age of 24 I had the worst case of acne ever. I finally went to the dermatologist and he put me on minocycline and Retin-A. My skin has been clear ever since. I have a little bit of scarring that would have been avoided had I just went to the Dr. sooner.

ProActive did work for me when I had redness or small break outs, but with cystic acne it may just make it worse. It did in my case. Nothing got rid of it until I was prescribed oral medicine.

Good luck, I know it sucks because it seems like it will never go away. It can also be painful. Take it from someone who has been there...I urge you to just go to the dermatologist.

ICURN92 · Jan 16, 2004

A friend of our family died from liver failure while using Accutane. She was only 32 and had no other circumstances that would have caused it.

I also ended up with adult acne , the Dr. put me on birth control and that has helped alot! I still get an occasional pimple but nothing like what I had before. :)

nursepearl · Jan 16, 2004

i had a DX of cycstic acne....and i tried everything.My skin was getting so bad and was at wits end! So, i sat down and thought about things and in the end I found it was the food I was eating and vitamins I was taking! I found that I have "allergic" reactions to certain nuts, soy and certain herbs. I found by eliminating these food my face is almost always clear. look at your diet....is there somthing you are eating everyday? or frequently? Also, look at the vitamins you are taking...it may just be somthing you are ingesting.

Hope this helps,

Pearl

Acey · Jan 16, 2004

Had problem skin most of my life and tried almost everything except the pill and Accutane. Anyway, what worked for me is changing my diet - drinking lots of H2O and eating lots of fruits and veggies. Never been a meat fan so it was easy to avoid it.

Also, :eek: I had a colonic. Contrary to what I expected, it wasn't gross or smelly at all. And it was good not just for my skin but for my whole body as well.

Funny, for a future nurse, I'm a bit averse to using meds. Guess I lean towards alternative medicine a bit.

Wish you well!

Nurse Ratched, RN · Jan 16, 2004

I agree that once you get into cystic stuff, most OTC products don't seem to do much. Get a medical opinion. Accutane has risks, but blood tests are done monthly to monitor the impact. It's worked wonders on some of our pt's with horrible cystic acne. It is expensive (I believe depending on dosage it can run about $500-600/month for the med), but Roche has a patient assistance program if you qualify.

colleen10 · Jan 16, 2004

I just wanted to say I really feel for what you are going through.

I have had bad skin ever since age 12. Despite going to a dermatologist and trying various therapies I was never "cured" and have always had serious breakouts. I think part of this was due to my dermatologist who only believed in trying the least invasive/harsh therapies first and then waiting months to see if it worked or not, and when it didn't work he would only try the next type of therapy up the scale, even though I had a serious acne condition.

As you know with acne it take months upon months to see any improvement and even years to see scars fade.

My advice is since this is something with a recent onset, go to a dermatologist first. It seems that a lot of research has been done on adult acne because there is more incidence of it. Considering my background I would also say that if you do not like the results you are getting with your dermatologist get another one. Don't wait for it to get any worse.

I gave up on dermatologists about 8 years ago and actually started using ProActive about 6 months ago and although it took a while for it to work, I can really see a huge improvement now. In the past I used BCP for acne which also made an improvement too. I currently also use Clean and Clear Persa-gel which was recommended by another dermatologist.

I have heard of excellent results from people that have used Acutane, however, most dermatologists will only use this if it is an extremely serious case of acne and they do not readily prescribe it because there have been some indications that it may lead to severe depression/suicidal tendencies, liver disease/failure and it is extremely teratogenic so they are hesitant to prescribe it to females and if they do so they will probably want you on a BCP also.

I truly hope you find something that works for you.

Col

WSM in FL · Jan 16, 2004

I am 29 and have had mild to moderate acne since being a teenager that only cleared up while I was pregnant (must of been the prenatals :) but then resurfaced. I too have tried it all. I went to another dermatologist last year who wanted to put me on a combination retinol & benzaclin regiment. Unfortunately the insurance co. said I was too old to have acne and refused the retinol. Gotta love the Insurance co telling doctors what's best

.

Anyway they prescribed differin & Benzaclin and although it took a few weeks & you cannot go in the sun (hard to do in Fl) w/out massive sunblock, the Benzaclin definitely worked. I can really tell a difference because I haven't refilled the rx for the last month, (it costs $80 w/ insurance) and my face is breaking out bad again. If you go to a dermatologist ask about benzaclin!! Good Luck!!

kyti · Jan 16, 2004

My sister works for a dermatologist. I took ammestem (new generic form of accutane) My insurance paid. It was the best thing I ever did. Minimal problems with dryness. Did all the labs and monthly preg tests. I have been totaly clear for 8 months. My insurance would not pay for any form of retin-A for prevention because I am 36 so I use duac gel only when I have pms just to be safe. Also vit B6 tabs daily work well for prevention of pms acne.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Jan 16, 2004

I've never had a problem with acne until this year, and now it's like it's making up for lost time. I have a nice zit garden working on my forehead. But the basic stuff in the stores is somewhat keeping it under control.

One key thing is when applying anything, wash your hands first, even if they were just washed, while you were cleaning your face. Eliminating as much bacteria entry as pissible is helping to control mine.