Feeling very depressed - have acne and now gp says to give up breastfeeding...

[Enid]

which I am not going to do as can you imagine how shite I would feel if I gave up AND the spots didnt go

have not had spots like this EVER - along hairline and most horribly, on my neck

they are really getting me down and I am losing loads of confidence. Coupled with the stress of coping with 3 kids (one 10 week old baby) I am beginning to feel quite depressed.

Any tips? Have tried prescription antibiotic and it didn't really make any difference (plus it smelled HORRIBLE )

Eve lom actually made my skin worse - but that's a different thread. Agree about the benefit of vitamin supplements.

Um, no, I REALLY doubt giving up bf will stop it.

I have had horrid acne since DD2 was born.

Get some Proactiv. NOW. It's the only thing that's worked for me and you don't have to give up bfing.

poor you Enid - without wanting to be too personal, have you had a period yet? Could the spots just be a sort of PMT lead up to your first period? I remember my first period after birth and the lead up to it was long and horrid!

when I had the mirena coil I got spots like that - they were awful, so huge they were like lumps on my hairline and chin - it was definitely related to the progesterone surge me thinks

don't know what else to suggest - one cream I felt made a bit of a difference was a Garnier Pure A cream which I think was designed for blemishes on a more mature skin!

Fox
They wanted to give me the Mirena, but thankfully I tried progesten-only pills first. Well, thankfully in the sense that I discovered progesten gives me HORRENDOUS, painful boil like cystic acne. I've still got the scars on my chest and back to prove it!

Am now trying evening primrose oil as now have bad PMT, too.

poor you expat - I have been taking EPO for several months now and I feel it is finally starting to kick in a little bit so don't give up if it doesn't work quickly!

enid - just to offer support to you xxx

Shame your doc doesn't value your bf. Check out kellymom as one poster recommended xxx

A friend of mine had terrible acne (entirely hormonal) since she became pg with her db (he's now 8 months old). She has just stopped bfing him and the doctor has agreed to put her on some really strong tablets that must be given to her by the hospital. She has to use double contraceptives and have a pg test every month as the tablets would have devastating effects on a foetus. She was offered this medication earlier but wanted to bf until db was at least 6 months old so decided to hold fire with the medication until now. Her doctor is confident that her acne will be totally gone in 4 - 6 months. HTH and good luck - I know how terrible the acne has been for my friend.

hi, this is for Gobbledigook really, i had the exact same thing - except mine started before i got pregnant. i was given a topical antibiotic called zineryt towards the end of my pregnancy and used it while bfing. 2 years later it is alot better (just some redness)and i have stopped using it. i also saw a dermitologist who told me to use aveeno cream as a moisturiser. you have my total sympathy enid as it is a misery and really affected my self esteem.

oh no, how horrid, poor you.

I'm using the Neal's Yard version of Eve Lom (it's called Wild Rose Balm) and love it to death, and it's got rosehip oil in it which is frightfully good for the skin.

Poor you, is really horrible I know. I bf dd till she was 3 and half and only now a year on is the acne begining to slow down.
A friend of mine suggested that I see a herablist with the view to taking angus castus, My gp advised me against this - (DD is on various meds - another story really).

However although I don't know if it is safe to take while bf I wonder if it would be worth your while looking into it, if you think your skin might be hormone related.

Although I and dd were happy to stop bf I do wonder what kind of part my acne played in the decision.

Good luck anyway, you are not alone!!

MI this one I assume ? Do you have spot prone skin then ? The words "The base oils are deeply moisturising, while palmarosa, rosemary and patchouli are strengthening and stimulating." make me think it'd be too greasy for oily, spot prone skin ?

I found the Wild Rose stuff way too rich for my skin - I know they're meant to be 'good' oils, but on my skin any extra oil is bad.

I usually use Tesco Clear (ie spot-prone) mattifying moisturiser, but at the mo have got some cracking Johnsons Clean & Clear stuff my sis brought back from the US with salicylic acid in - think it's stronger than the UK formulation.

this stuff

I might try the lavender Neals Yard cleanser.

My skin suddenly went dreadful when I was almost due with ds1 - huge, painful zits all along my jawline and on my neck too. Horrid. So yes, I reckon it's definitely hormonal. Tbh, my skin has never been as good since having children as it was before and it flared up again really badly when I had ds2. I didn't want to stop bf-ing either so I lived with it (it is so depressing and makes you feel horribly self-conscious) until I gave up breast-feeding. Then I took a course of oral antibiotics, used Zineryt (topical antibiotic) and went on Dianette (contraceptive pill which is good for acne). I'm still on the Dianette and I invested in some Proactiv on expat's advice - and my skin is better than it has been for years.

Do all the 'safe' stuff til you want to stop bf-ing then blast the damn things with the heavt duty stuff. Much sympathy.

I LOVED Dianette! BUT, it's a no go for me now as I am over 35 and have strong paternal history of hypertension/heart attack.

Some docs don't like to put you on it if you're over 35 at all, b/c it is an androgen blocker, and still others don't recommend it for long-term usage.

But I was on it for 18 months and it was fab!

dianette is EVIL stuff, my migraines went through the roof when I was prescribed them. I couldn't move . I thought I'd had a stroke, ffs !

My doctor is making "coming off it" noises now (also have a strong history of heart attacks in my family and I'll be 37 this year so I think I will have to stop taking it - I'm scared my skin will flare up again though). NdeP, I get migraines too but they haven't been aggravated by being on Dianette.

I suspect my skin needs those oils. It is not as young as it was

I have a strong family history of stroke and heart attack at a young age, plus I get sever migraines (including the focal sort which apparently make you that bit more susceptible). I was told that a person with my family/medical history should not be prescribed any sort of hormonal contraception. On the dianette info slip that comes with the pills it does mention migraines (sufferers should be monitored carefully whilst on Dianette).

Even though I'm only 24. I must have an extra cautious doc if you guys in your mid-late 30's are still beign put on it ! In fact, I was 22 when I was told I shouldn't take an form on hormonal contraception, and I was 18 when I had the horrible reaction to Dianette.

severe, not sever

Yeah, hormonal contraceptions's off the list for me now, too, NdP.

Proactiv was the only stuff that allowed me to face the mirror and not burst into tears.

FWIW, I tried the ProActiv stuff - v expensive and I only found it worked for about 3 weeks. My skin seemed to get used to it.

Yikes, NdP, yours sounds like a dire case. Have you tried Roaccutane yet?