Doctor for Acne

[Elliejane]

Hi
Just wondering about taking my son to see doctor for acne . He is 17 and it’s getting worse . We have tried pretty much everything you can buy yourself . It’s mostly on his cheeks and has horrible white heads also and red inflamed .

Have tried tea tree, Cerave wash (initially helped) ,dots for spots ,salicylic acid various brands , freedmen gel , usual acne products like clearsil etc .

I know nhs is busy but just not sure what else to try . I tried pharmacy and got a cream but told not to use in sunny days so was bit worried over that
any ideas ?

Could maybe book a private dermatologist also ?

He keeps his skin clean and never had issues until last few years but it getting worse .

Ellie

Thank you

Just an FYI. My daughter who was referred to dermatologist on NHS waited 18 mths to be seen. She’s 15 now and just finally seeing some improvement in her acne after 10mths of treatment.

Thank you.

Had follow up appointment with gp today . Thete has been improvement with the duac cream in last while however she wanted to try oral antibiotics so got lymecycline. She said don’t need to use the duac cream now but the first doctor we saw said if he needs oral antibiotics to still carry on with duac also

Have any of you had both or just one?

Thanks

My son was always prescribed cream alongside tablets - I'd use both.

I agree use both

Yes use both. Then keep on with duac when come off the antibiotics. They each kill different bacteria.

How are things @Elliejane ? I have been following this thread as DS developed bad acne last year and we've been down the lymecycline plus cream (all my towels and pillowcases ruined to prove it!) which worked for a while but the third course had no effect and then things started to get really bad with it spreading all across his cheeks. We are now 11 weeks into roaccutane and desperately waiting for things to improve. DS has been very stoical and was straight up with the doctor when he asked about mental health and side effects. I would put those spots on my face if I could to save DS from this.

Hi

We are behind you only just started oral antibiotics this week.

Please let me know how the roccatune goes. What age is your son? Its so sad for them.

My son never complains over it but I know he would love for the acne to disappear .

He's 15. He is just desperate to have clear skin again so would do anything. In fact though, after 11 weeks, I looked at him this evening and even though it's still quite bad, I can see a definite improvement. The only side effects have been dry lips and joint aches after exercise (he is quite sporty and was hoping to do some competitions this summer). He had one nose bleed and his mood has been fine.

If you end up going this route do DM me as I have read around it obsessively endlessly over the past few weeks.

I hope your DS clears his skin soon, I'm rooting for him, we had the pills with epiduo and it is good stuff. Just for us the results didn't last.

Also following. My dd is 16 and her face is so bad. I suspect Pcos.

@alsohappenedoverhere you could try spironolactone, our dermatologist said it's fantastic for girls with hormonal acne. So sorry for your DD, I had it as a teen as well.

Anything with benzoyl peroxide made my skin worse - sore and red.

I found dalacin t worked well for me as only topical antibiotic

Oral antibiotics never worked for me

Zineryt was good too as it antibiotic and zinc.

Dianette worked wonders for my skin (combined pill) plus a topical antibiotic like dalacin t or zineryt

I've just seen this post on the aibu page, appreciate it's an older thread.

My son takes lymecycline - he's into his 2nd 3 mth supply, but the nurse practitioner said it can take anything up to 6mths-1 year for them to stop the spots completely. We have seen a massive improvement in his skin, particularly his face.

I hope they work for your son.

Thanks for all the new posts. Will keep you all updated . Benzol peroxide was worse for him too.

I am so hoping the oral antibiotics works only on day 5 so far .

My husband is a dermatologist and a previous acne sufferer and firmly believes in roaccutane as it works. It's where some people eventually end up and will typically get rid of it for good. Some people need more than one course though typically years apart. With a good doctor and monitoring roaccutane orally is fine.

Just commenting re: We are now 11 weeks into roaccutane and desperately waiting for things to improve

My second daughter had beautiful skin until aged 14 years and then - suddenly it seemed - developed acne. She did try topicals and antibiotics which seemed to work, until they didn’t.

She started roaccutane in May 3 years ago and nothing seemed to change until September, when suddenly all the lesions disappeared and never came back.

3 years on her skin is great, you’d never have known she had acne at all.

She was very moody so I was cautious but she was happier when her skin cleared. The poor thing was hiding behind her hair a lot. Her lips got very dry, we had chapstick’s everywhere.

Update on my son at end of week 4 lymecycline. Cannot say we have noticed much improvement maybe slightly less red on cheeks.

He never used to have any spots on his jaw line neck but in last 2 weeks little pimples coming out there too. Some have small white head others just red. Small but just something else now

Phoned surgery today and want to do 4 more weeks on lymecycline to beginning of june then review again

So frustrating everything takes so long. Just waa so hopeful for this treatment to work .

On positive side he seems ok with it and has a girlfriend now for last 6 weeks too.

His skin was just lovely 2years ago and gradually got worse.

How are anyone else doing?

Ellie

Forgot to ask could the new spots be from antibiotics as that is new? Was not expecting it to get new symptoms?? Aargh

Hi @Elliejane , sorry to hear you're still going through it. Does he have exams at the moment? Apparently jawline is where you get stress spots. My DS has just had exams and it definitely made it worse.

We are now on week 15 of Roaccutane and seeing some pretty solid improvements, although it hasn't been the magic bullet we hoped for. I guess it's going to take time.

Glad he's not letting it get him down - I think we carry their problems for them 😙

Having acne can be really depressing and can really affect self confidence. Definitely book him into see a GP.

There’s a few common antibiotics they will probably want try first, I had to go through Lymecycline (turns out I’m allergic), Oxytetracycline, Tertracycline and Erythromycin before they finally referred me to dermatology where I was put on Roaccutane which was a total game changer. It required monthly blood tests when taking but the results lasted years.

I’ve had a couple of stages where I’d noticed my skin getting a bit spotty again and because I went in early before it got too bad the tetracycline antibiotics worked the next couple of times around.

I’d get the ball rolling sooner rather than later though, it can take a while of trying different things and them not working to get a dermatology referral and dermatology currently has a 12 month wait list. Even if you pay to go private a dermatologist won’t allow you to go onto Roaccutane without having tried at least one of the above first.

Yes he has exams next week . Just wish it would go away . Would rather I had it but my skin is blemish free. His older brother only got a few random spots in his mid teens. Guess just have to see what gp says early June. I might pay to go private next.

Yeah I went on Dianette for a while, and it did help, unfortunately it was discontinued and so I was taken off it.

My GP said if it looks like it is scarring then they can skip other treatments and make a referral to dermatology for roaccutane - that's what she wrote on our referral. We're in Brighton and at least here the NHS wait list was only a matter of weeks (although we paid for a private appointment at a skin clinic).

Even though we saw a consultant early on, it does look like DS will be left with some scarring/texture although hopefully not too bad (plus there are lots of treatments available).