acne am i alone out there???!!!

[edithpoppy]

hello mumsnetters
i'm in my mid thirties and have had cystic acne for some years - although has been worse since having my beautiful children. i get the proper big cysts that never come to a head and just make me feel like putting a bucket over my head.

i'm having acupuncture for it and it is helping a bit but I've had my first flare up recently. I have a massive cyst that just wont go away and just as i think it is about to it fills up again....

so my questions are a few fold....firstly i feel as though i look at everyone else in the world and they have beautiful smoothe clear skin and i'm the only person who has this - is there anyone else out there who can empathise/sympathise?
has taking evening primrose helped with flare ups at certain times of the month?
has anyone else had success with acupuncture?

i guess most of all i just don't want to feel so alone with it. there seem to be support groups out there for all manner of conditions which is as it should be, but i haven't found any for acne...like its still a taboo...

thanks in advance for any replies xxx

my ex had this, nightmare went on for years until he had a private health investigation,

the outcome of his investigation was that he had issues with yeast and wheat,

as long as he doesn't have either, his skin is perfect, as soon as he has any, it flares up and it takes months to clear up,

the only alcohol he can drink is proper cider, because it's the only alcohol brewed on it's own yeast.

you need to find out what your triggers are, it might be yeast and wheat(common), it might be something else.

ask your GP for tests and a referral and don't take no for answer, good luck.

I'm currently on Isotrex gel for my acne. I have never found out anything that triggered it off, even though all foods were rules out, as were periods, thyroid problems, chemicals in anti-perspirants/body sprays/perfumes/face washes etc, even my fluid intake and different meds were investigated. All those were found to have no effect on my skin.

I did find out that the more expensive make-up like Clarins/Estee Lauder/Lancome were culprits in breakouts, but the cheaper ones like Collection 2000/Boots Naturals and Miss Sporty were all fine for some reason .

I am still not acne free, even after 5-odd years of trying to find a solution, but the one thing that did help was Thyme infused hot water, left to cool and used as a toner morning and night. Thyme has antibacterial properties and have done me better than all of the more harsh and gentle toners and it 100% natural too. I used that in conjunction with the Isotrex gel and it has worked a treat and, hopefully, I'll be on my way to acne free skin, given a bit more time.

My next port of call will be to see about being referred to a dermatologist to see what can be done about the scarring caused by the acne (if anything).

I hope my post has given you some stuff to mull over.

Four months of roaccutane got rid of my horrible cystic acne. I was in my early thirties and had it alo.g my jawline, neck and shoulders. Three years on, I get the occasional pimple but nothing compared to what I had.
Roaccutane is hellish, but does the trick.

Thank you all for your responses. @ThighsTheLimit - how awful was the roaccutane? I saw a dermatologist for a freebie brief private appointment and she was very pro-roacc, but I'm so scared of it after all the things I read...how hellish was hellish?

@PackItInNow - I had read somewhere about Thyme being very good - I currently use cider vinegar as a toner. I would just love to be rid or at least manage it more naturally, but I've had such a painful flare up I'm starting to worry that it might not be possible. What is Isotrex gel - is that an antibiotic gel?

Thank you again so much. Helps me not to feel so alone right now :-( xx

The side effects of roaccutane for me were extreme dryness. Inside my ears, my nose (I had lots of nosebleeds), vaginal dryness. The skin on my face became very red and dry and I had to constantly slap vaseline on my lips. The best thing I found for them was elizabeth arden 8 hour cream.

You also have to sign a document to say you will use two forms of contraception whilst on roaccuatane, and have a pregnancy test every 4 weeks.

Your skin becomes very sensitive to the sun - you really need to use factor 50 on your face. This is the only longlasting effect I have. I burn very easily. I have fair skin though and always burn in the sun, but now it happens more quickly.

It was so worth it though. My treatment was 16 weeks and I never dreamed I would have the skin I have now. I always had big cystic spots, blackheads and open pores. It's all gone now, and even some of my old scarring has faded.

I would give it a try if you have tried everything else.

thank you for sharing that with me. I'm starting yo get my head around the idea of accutane...but i'm still feeling quite frightened of it!! the derm said something about women of our age being on a lower dose for longer, is that what you had? also, how long after you stopped did the dryness go? i've also read that you can't wear make up on it - is that so? i just can't imagine going into work without makeup!
thank you again x

Hiya, I am suffering the same problem. I am 32 and the last 6 months have been horrendous for my skin. I get big cysts along my jawline, chin, neck and all around my hairline. I have a big crop of about 4 on my right cheek which are just big red volcanoes. They dont come to a head and are just sore and angry all the time.

Luckily one of the GPs in my practice is also a dermatology doctor at the local hospital. She has prescribed duac cream to put on it which is a topical antibiotic. I am also going on holiday for a week next week, so I am hoping a bit of sun might clear them up.

I dont think I would ever be prescribed roaccutane, as I have had antidepressants in the past and they wont prescribe if you have a history of depression.

Oh I'm sorry to hear that and I feel your pain. My chin has been so sore this week too. I take nurofen for the pain which does help, but you can literally feel it wearing off afer 4 hours!

Will you let me know how Duac goes? I too have had the occasional depression in the past, so I guess that would mean that I wouldn't be able to go down the Roaccutane route, although the acne itself is a massive trigger for my depression

Keep me posted and have a lovely holiday
xx

I also had this problem for years until I stopped smoking and became teetotal, I also drink loads of water. I don't have it anymore but I had to stop all my vices :-)

Isotrex is just Roaccutane in gel form. I use it on my face after washing with tea tree facial foam and I use a tea tree facial scrub once a week. I will be going back to my GP again as I've broken out again and although I'm a lot better than I used to be, I thought after 5 years it would have at least stopped the breakouts and my skin would have healed, but

Sorry OP, pressed the post button before I'd finished LOL....

I was meant to finish with "but it hasn't".

I had problems with acne for over 20 years and had tried most things. Mine was like your at times. I can't believe it but I started using panoxyl 5% about a year ago and I rarely have spots any more.

Its about £3.00 and you can get it from a chemist. I am as certain as I can be that it was the panoxyl that got it sorted. Good luck

thanks so much for your comments. @PackItInNow - hope this breakout calms down for you...its really rubbish isn't it?

@sleepymum - my friend suggested Panoxyl too - did you have to start using it gradually. She used to have very red sore spots and her skin is lovely and clear. she did warn me that it can bleach your pillows though!

xx

I sympathize - I have had the same issue for years. I'm in my mid 20s but my acne had been getting worse and worse since I was around 11! I just put it down to teenage stuff and I had my first child at 18 so wasn't surprised when it came back after that (not too bad though). Then I had my second child at 21 and after DC2 was born got cystic and painful and A LOT worse, and other symptoms started appearing or worsening.

Finally when he was 18 months I was diagnosed with PCOS from blood tests and scans. The consultant said I was lucky that I'd had my children young before the PCOS got out of control and stopped me ovulating or having periods altogether.

I think the treatment for the acne would depend on the cause and on how much you are prepared to put up with possible side effects or risks of taking the medications.

I don't think Clearasil or anything like that will help much with anything beyond a few pimples tbh.

I have had some success with Benzol Peroxide Gel which your GP should give you easily and although it says do not use for more than x amount of months I've used it for 10 years on and off with no problems. It however makes your skin very dry and very flaky and only reduces the acne a bit for me.

Roaccutane and lasers were not an option for me due to already being extremely fair haired and pale skinned, however Roaccutane has a huge success rate I think. Although side effects and risks don't seem too pleasant, as described by someone above.

If your acne is caused by hormones or sensitivity to hormones, it may be an idea to try one of the less androgenic combined contraceptive pills. Dianette is probably the best although has quite high risks compared to the other pills and some docs are reluctant to let you stay on it longer than 6 months - 2 years max. Yasmin is a good choice too, but quite expensive so some NHS places will want you to try something else first or just not prescribe it at all (my local family planning won't prescribe it at all). I had quite good success with Marvelon/Gedarel and this is quite a widely prescribed one. However obviously there are risks to taking the pill and you may not think it worth taking for this reason alone.

Lastly, when I came off Marvelon my acne returned with a vengeance! So I asked to be prescribed a drug called Spironolactone (used for the symptoms of too much male hormones in PCOS but it's actually a tablet traditionally used in heart failure and high bp - not technically licensed for use in PCOS or acne etc, but cheap to prescribe so they may be willing to let you give it a go). It has the side effect of making you need to pee A LOT , and another one you MUST TAKE WITH CONTRACEPTION as it could be teratogenic to a fetus, and it can have quite rare but potentially dodgy side effects of too much potassium in the body, although you will be monitored for this so it's unlikely to cause a serious problem. From the first few days on 100 mg a day my acne was gone, vanished. Still get the very odd spot but nowhere near what I had, and my skin is much less greasy than before, so I'm happy with it as it seems to balance all the other problems with my wayward hormones, don't know if it would be worth taking it for acne alone though.

Good Luck x

Hi OP, how are you doing today?

Hi @mrawmraw - thanks so much for that. I have had hormone blood tests but nothing came back, so i think I'm ok with regard to PCOS. I will talk to my GP about Spiro - have you had any other side effects? I think my acane is definately hormone related as I just know the start of week 3 is when it all goes hay-wire...and unfortunately that is fast approaching thank you though

@PackItInNow thank you for asking, I'm ok. although think I'm starting to feel another blinder on my chin. Just as my other ones start to clear.... How are you? Hows the breakout? Are you sticking with Isotrex? have you ever tried panoxyl?

xx