AIBU... to cry about my skin?

[minipilling]

I have had acne my whole teen/adult life. Throughout my twenties I had it pretty badly on my face, chest and back. I couldn't wear anything that wasn't high necked.

I was diagnosed with endometriosis a few years ago and put on a low dose combined pill for treatment. It was great for me symptoms wise, but an amazing side effect was also the fact it cleared my acne after a month or so. I had spent years using topical treatments to no avail, and suddenly it was fixed. Not perfect, but the best it had ever been. My confidence skyrocketed, it changed my life.

Fast forward to a few months ago, I was getting migraines with aura, and I was taken off my pill. I had a break for a while and my spots started to return almost immediately. Plus my endometriosis symptoms were worse again. The doctor put me on the mini pill. This has been OK for the endometriosis (up and down) but my acne has increased hugely and is worse than it ever was. I hoped it would settle but it's been over three months. It's all over my face, neck, chest and back, causing scars, deep and cystic. The skin is rough and uneven. I feel like I'm in a nightmare whenever I look into the mirror. Pictures I took during my clear skin phase make me want to be sick, if would give anything to go back on my old pill but I know I can't. I don't know what to do.

I have been trying everything, salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, tea tree, charcoal. I am terrified I will look like this forever. I know it sounds vain but I have depression and anxiety and the acne makes everything feel so much worse. I have to keep taking the mini pill because my endometriosis is awful if I don't take anything. I am in my mid thirties and I feel so ugly and worthless. When the acne first came back I told my consultant because I wanted to be sure I could not go back on the old pill. He said my health was worth 'a few spots.' It made me so angry, I would kill to only have 'a few spots.'

I don't know if anyone has been in a similar situation or can give advice on what to do... I just feel so wretched now, I have a painful condition and I look a mess.

Thank you for reading if you got this far.

My DD had terrible cystic acne for years. We paid for an initial appointment for a dermatologist, then all subsequent treatment was done through the NHS. After a variety of antibiotics and creams, which had little success, we pushed for her to try Isotretinoin or Roaccutane. What an improvement! It’s not without problems, though: her skin got slightly worse before it got better; it became VERY dry; her eyes became dry and she was prone to conjunctivitis, although this was alleviated by eye drops. I would definitely recommend it, however, it’s life changing. The impact on her self esteem and confidence has been incredible. Two years later, she still gets occasional hormonal outbreaks, but these are controlled by a low dose of Doxycycline and using La Roche Posay Toleriane moisturiser. Anyone who would think you vain for worrying about this hasn’t suffered themselves. It is absolutely miserable and I would advise anyone not to be fobbed off by creams that don’t work. Really hope you can beat it

Hi OP,

I really feel for you. You are not vain in the slightest and your GP is entirely wrong to dismiss this as just a few spots. I have had long bouts of acne on my face from teenage years into adulthood. It is demoralising and depressing.
As you suggest request a referral to a dermatologist, call the surgery tomorrow and speak to another GP. Ask if they have a GP who specialises in dermatology first because they might be able to start you on a different treatment in the meantime. I've tried lots of things over the years. Have you tried any antibiotics?
You should not have to suffer this endlessly, it is impacting your life greatly and it is not fair to be left suffering like this.
I wish you luck OP and I really hope your skin improves very soon.

Do you have a lot of dairy? I got bad hormonal spots that got a lot better after I stopped having dairy, there’s hormones in it.

I get this coming off the pill. It took me 6 months to get through the worst and a year to have better skin again. Still get the odd spot With periods but it’s manageable and I don’t give it too much thought

OP I have a very similar medical history to you. Acne, endometriosis and migraines.

After messing round and spending thousands went to a dermatologist. Acne was hormonal - prescribed spironolactone. It blocks androgens.

Skin never looked better.

Another vote for roaccutane. My husband had it ~10 years ago and has never had any acne since

You need to go back to your gap again and again and insist on your acne being treated. It is not normal to have acne it is a condition and needs to be treated like any other condition. If you had other skin conditions like verrucas or athletes foot the doctor would say they needed treating, not just shrug and say it’s normal.
Tell the go your mental health is being affected, it’s affected your confidence and ability to live life as you would like. Insist on a referral to a dermatologist.

Think about changing your gp if necessary.

Do ask for a referral to a dermatologist.

Clearly this is a problem that can be resolved - you just need someone who understand which component of the pill was important, and what other sources there are for that ingredient.

Can the dr not refer you for roaccutane? I has really bad skin and was hellish in my forties, Dr referred me for this ,some crap side effects but honestly the difference in my skin ,it's never been this good and has more or less stayed good since coming off

Following if you don't mind as I'm 41 and still getting awful cystic spots on chin and neck 😭

See a dermatologist and get roaccutane. Horrible drug but so effective. Took it in my teens when I had cystic acne and it's a total game changer

In my experience GP's do not understand skin/acne. You can spend too long in a cycle of anti-biotics/changing contraception. Insist on a referral to a dermatologist or pay privately. There is a lot of very supportive advice on this thread but please stop trying different products, giving up dairy...this really doesn't work.

I had awful skin as a teenager, and then into my 20's developed adult cystic acne. I'm now 36 and my skin is completely clear, and what worked for me was paying private for laser treatment, losing weight and completely avoiding dairy. Also, don't use harsh skin cleansers - I use products for sensitive skin, and always use moisturiser.

I was told at the laser clinic that female fat stores hormones, and dairy products contain hormones. As my acne was hormonal, they recommended the weight loss and avoiding dairy, as both were adding to the hormone issue. No idea if this is true, but it honestly worked for me.

I feel your pain- it's horrible isn't it?
I am 42 and I still have it all over my jaw and down my neck. I've tried everything except roaccutane as I also have depression and I read it can affect mood.

I've recently decided to stop treating my skin at all as I felt I was in a constant battle with it, and have decided to accept it as I can't get rid of it. It's been there since I was 13!

Reading this though I might try and ask for a referral for roaccutane after all.

What are the nasty side effects?

Retinol .

Google: Tretinoin for acne

You can get it from an online uk company called dermatica . Done wonders for my skin

But do research it well first because things will get worse before they get better with it !!

I have no experience of Roacutane ( sorry sp) but that seems like it’s worked well for many on here so deffo try a Proper dermatology referral as your first move

But failing that do look into the Tretinoin
Good luck

You now know that hormones are impacting/triggering/causing your acne. I would start there. Forget about anything topical. Read up on everything related to hormone imbalances and what you can do. Being overweight or underweight can affect them, but so can lots of things.
Ask your GP for a blood test to check everything that can have an effect on hormones.

Another one that had Roaccutaine here and it worked. I had it aged 21 where it got rid of my acne completely. The spots started again at maybe 20% of what they had originally been about 10 years later, and I've since had another course. I believe my spots came back when I was pregnant with my children, I really don't think they would've otherwise because the timing was very coincidental. However 20% of the original amounts of cystic acne that I had was a huge improvement, and I was extremely lucky the dermatologist gave me a second course because ultimately it wasn't bad or affecting me the way it did in my teens.

Side effects for me were extreme dry lips (if I didn't take my little tin of vaseline everywhere it was a disaster!), extremely dry skin in general (I certainly couldn't wear any foundation for a few months, but my skin cleared so it wasn't as bad as you'd think!)

Other side effects included my scalp not being nearly as greasy, so all of a sudden I could go from washing my hair daily to going every three days! Definitely an unexpected bonus! Unfortunately for me this disappeared as soon as I stopped treatment!

If I had my time again I'd do exactly the same thing. The side effects of the Roaccutaine were really not that bad for me, and it's cleared my skin.

I had a long course of antibiotics which totally fixed my cystic acne from the inside out, lymecycline I think?! Also echo pp who said to use products for sensitive skin, gentle cleansers and moisturisers.

For example - the link between insulin and acne
www.dietdoctor.com/for-the-first-time-in-15-years-im-finally-free-of-acne

I should explain the process as well if you get it prescribed. Roaccutaine causes severe birth defects if you take it whilst you're pregnant, so there is a bit of a process.

You have to sign a consent form to take the drug, and have the implications of getting pregnant whilst you're on it explained to you. The course of treatment I took was approximately 6 months both times.

You agree to use a reliable form of contraception whilst taking the drug (I was on the pill anyway)

You have to attend the dermatologist every month, and submit a urine sample for pregnancy testing. You only get one months supply at a time for this reason, and it can only be prescribed by a dermatologist, so you need to factor in attending monthly appointments.

My dc was put on antibiotics by the NHS gp at first sign of spots. That is several years ago. Are you in uk? Thought that was general policy.

I've had cystic acne since the age of eleven, over my face, neck, back and chest. Roaccutane in my early 20s was amazing. Sadly after having children it came back in my 30s and I've just had low-dose roaccutane again this year, sadly suspended due to lock down.

I found looking at the NICE guidelines for which medication works very helpful and I went armed with that info to my GP. I asked them for a dermatology referral after duac gel, zineryt and antibiotics didn't help.

The one medication I do rate aside from accutane is 20% Azalaic acid, available on prescription, and the NICE guidelines support this as an effective treatment. It doesn't bleach bedding/clothes like the other topical medications do.

I’ve cried over my skin many a time! My skin first flared up years ago and I went to my GP. Was put on antibiotics for 6 months with no difference. My GP told me there is not enough evidence to suggest what you eat affects your skin unless you’re intolerant. Nothing cleared my skin, so I finally went to a private clinic (I’m in Glasgow) and the nurse recommended a brand called Obagi. I was put on the clenziderm kit and had 3 chemical peels as well. My skin cleared up big time! It’s still not perfect and has some acne scarring but it is so much better than what it was! Obagi is a medical brand so you need to get it prescribed but it is amazing. Quite expensive (I think it’s £125) but worth it if you can afford it.

Get yourself referred to a dermatologist and ask for Roaccutane. It's worked wonders for both me and DD.

Reading this thread is very difficult for me. My daughter took her own life last year whilst taking Isotretinoin (Roaccutane). We were never told that this drug can cause sudden suicidal ideation. In fact, the dermatologist played down any concerns I raised about it’s safety and it’s link to suicide by saying that people who take their life on this drug do it because they are depressed due to their acne. I believed her and agreed to allow my daughter to take this drug and it killed her. She was 15 years old and was not depressed. On the contrary, she was the most upbeat person we knew.
Sadly, we are not alone. Please look at the MHRA’s website to see the reported side effects of this drug. You will see that each year a number of suicides are attributed to this drug. Also FB has many groups for people whose lives have been ruined by this drug. Do your own research because the drs won’t tell you. They give this drug out without offering anything else because it’s cheap, it works and it gets you off their books as quickly as possible.
I understand that for many people this drug has been fantastic. However, there is no way of knowing whether you will be one of the lucky ones or one of the ones for whom this drug ruins their health. If you were offered a bag of sweets but told that some of them were poisoned, would you take any?

I am glad lots of people have had good outcomes with this drug but I wish more than anything that we had never gone anywhere near it. My lovely girl would still be alive. I will regret believing that dermatologist and allowing her to take it it until the day I die. To compound matters, she didn’t even have bad acne.