Stress acne

[Edenviolet]

How can I get rid of it??? It is driving me mad.

I have terrible spots on my chest, a few on my back and now my face is breaking out too. Have seen gp and they prescribed zineryt which I cannot use on my face as it burns (v v sensitive skin) it is not yet helping my back or chest but they said it will take a few weeks.

I asked for oral anti b but they said no due to risk/benefit ratio.

I look dreadful and it is depressing me. I eat healthily, walk a lot and do pilates and drink lots of water but they said it is stress. I also have pcos but the gp said I need to just try to not be as stressed and then it will go. I want it to go now I feel really ugly

I am 40 and still get acne, I eat healthily and exercise and makes very little difference. My back is better after a course of roccacutane but my chest and jaw line still break out regularly.

I use Clinique blemish solutions soap on face, back and chest plus st ives anti blemish scrub, plus use clinque clarifying lotion to dab on spots. Also use mudd mask as those are the only things that make it feel better.

I recently bought some dr Hanusaka (sp) sage bath which says it will help clear chest and back acne. Have only used it once so will see.

It is horrible to still have spots as an adult. Mine are also stress related as flare up when ever things are bad : (

That is very unhelpful advice from your GP in my view. I am firmly of the opinion that the link between stress and skin is a self-fulfilling prophecy: you ain't going to get less stressed when your skin is making you so miserable.

PCOS is a very unkind condition that plays on all of our insecurities - this "snap out of it" attitude from your GP is very unkind.

When I was in a similar position I badgered the GP relentlessly until the old bastard capitulated and prescribed me Dianette. It worked fairly quickly and in time, once my skin looked better, I was able to work on the other issues I had. It was only when I had my skin in hand though that I was confident enough to do that. It made me so depressed and the GP's attitude of "oh it's not that bad, here's another useless topical solution that will burn your epidermis and do sweet FA" made it worse for me. (I should say that I had two courses of Roaccutane by this point so it was pretty bloody awful).

I am not a doctor and I will happily be corrected by those in the know but it was PCOS that caused my acne and treating that condition made my skin better. It's a bampot of a condition to get under control but I needed a kick start to make me able to leave the house. It's not stress causing your acne, PCOS is, but the stress of dealing with a complicated condition is making you miserable.

Go back to your GP and ask again for help. Ask to see another GP if that is possible (it wasn't at my surgery). Treatments exist for this and denying you help is bloody cruel.

FWIW I am now Dianette free and with the exception of the occasional cyst like spot my skin in clear. The other PCOS symptoms are under control through diet and exercise. I am very kind to my skin even though I wanted to spray it with TCP and scrub the hideousness away. Hot cloth cleansing and the magnificient La Roche Posay treatments really help too.

Good luck OP! It's horrible and I really hope you get somewhere with your Dr.

Ian unable to take the pill but in the past anti b have worked well for spots.

The gp was pushing topical solutions despite me repeating how sensitive my skin is, that it burns and triggers my eczema. They just wouldn't prescribe anti b.
I feel disgusting, my hair has been getting really greasy too, acne is bad and rest of my skin dry and nails brittle I'm 32 but I feel 100. Its making me so self conscious and I know its pcos as am having issues with excess hair too and I'm fed up.

Ok OP - I hear you. There are other treatments available. Ask for a referral to an endocrinologist who will be far better placed to assist with this complicated hormonal condition.

I feel that you are being fobbed off at the moment. What are the reasons for refusing to prescribe antibiotics which have previously been effective?

Hopefully others on here have some suggestions.

It was a long time ago that I had anti b for acne and the gp said things gp have changed now and all about this 'risk/benefit ratio' and how they don't want me on anti b for a year or more??
I'd rather not have red burnt sore skin and eczema from topical solutions but they wouldn't listen. Have tried quinoderm which burnt, free deem which made my eczema bad and zineryt which burnt. I need to use gentle fragrance free products and have anti b to tackle the spots from inside I think.

What were the risks that outweighed the benefits?

One doctor told me that he would no longer prescribe me Dianette (this was a long time ago) as my chances of developing cancer doubled so the risk outweighed the benefit. I spoke to an endocrinologist who said my risk went from 0.02% to 0.04% and that the studies had been conducted on prostate cancers (?!). She was happy to prescribe. I cannot find any links on that but that's what she said!

I read this article

voices.yahoo.com/how-cured-acne-pantothenic-acid-vitamin-626891.html

started taking about six 500mg tablets of vitamin b5 a day and my oily skin and spots are massively improved. I am worried about the size of the dosage but not had any side effects yet.