Back on antibiotics for my acne.....I'm 36 and fed up

[Iwonderif]

Tonight I've decided to go back on my antibiotics Lymecycline for my acne. I've tried for months to get in under control myself but nothing seems to be working. I have terrible chin acne. Painful cystic spots. Tiny blocked pores that feel like grains of sand and blackheads. Plus plenty of scars. My forehead & cheeks are clear. Bizarrely I get spots between my eyebrows too which has been happening for only about 6 months. I was first prescribed the antibiotics about 2 years ago & Duac gel. Both worked incredibly well for about a year but then it was almost like I had become immune to both. So I then went on a mission to try and sort it out myself.....I have spent a small fortune on cleansers, serums, masks, spot gels an ointments etc etc. it's so disheartening to have constant "fresh" spots daily. I have to wear makeup most days now as my chin is in such a poor state.

Can anyone offer me any advice or tips? I've been told this is adult hormonal acne. I had terrible acne when I was pregnant with my son who's now 5 but in my 7th month of pg my skin went back to normal & glowed. Then approx 2 years ago it just suddenly went crazy. With no warning and has never recovered. Up until I was 31 I had good skin. The odd zit once a month.

It may be worth saying that the regular painful ones itch for a few hours at the same time as throbbing. Sometimes never coming to a head but staying around for about 2-3 weeks. Then leaving a pink mark which rarely fades.

If you've got this far, thank you for reading this post I know it's long but I'm feeling pretty rubbish that I'm back to the antibiotics instead of trying to sort it out myself.

My routine is pretty good. I double cleanse AM & PM. I use nip and fab pads in the morning and the clearasil ones at night as they're pretty strong. I then use a night oil with rosehip. Any other ideas???? TIA

I was on the verge of going to doc for antibiotics as well, my sister in law suggested cutting out dairy, I thought nothing to lose and gave it a try. My skin has never been clearer, I honestly thought it was coincidence and added it back in, my bad skin came back clogged pores cystic spots, so I cut it out again and my skin cleared up.
I check labels on everything now and my skins honestly better than its been since I can remember, im 39 btw.
It might not work for you, I didn't think it would for me, but you've nothing to lose by trying.

As far as I know, acne has actually nothing much to do with hygiene - and you say that yours is hormonal.

A little while back I came across this YouTube channel:

The love vitamin

It might be helpful, and it seems that acne isn't something one has to just put up with.

My skin was similar to yours in my late twenties. I had one course of roaccutane and it honestly changed my life. I know it's not for everyone bit it really worked for me. Maybe talk to your GP about it/see if they'll refer you?

I have read that high doses of fish oil and probiotics are good for acne. Probiotic tablets rather than an Actimel yogurt drink.

Thank you trapped for replying..I've tried it. I'm currently doing it & have been for about 4 weeks. I agree with the whole dairy thing though as I do believe it does aggrevate mine. I'm wondering about refined sugar too, I don't think though that I'm as thorough as you as I still eat chocolate but I thought if it was a true intolerance it wouldn't be just on my chin?! Who knows. It's so annoying....

Not everyone's a fan of hers but Caroline Hirons' acne cheat sheet gets good feedback.

Agree about trying the roaccutane - my sister and best friend both took it and it completely cleared up their skin www.nhs.uk/medicine-guides/pages/MedicineOverview.aspx?condition=Acne&medicine=Roaccutane&preparationRoaccutane 20mg capsules

Thank you to Bright, I will click on the link and have a look. I too have heard about fish oils being of benefit but didn't know you could get probiotic tablets thank you squoosh. I'm going to try and chat to my GP next week & will mention roaccutane Bicnod. I really don't want to have to rely on antibiotics for x amount of years.

Dianette keeps mine under control, then thanks to the Asian/Korean beauty thread, I've started using products to reduce the scaring. So far so good. I know it's not for everyone, but I'd reached the same stage as you op, hundreds of pounds wasted.

I came off Lymecycline recently because they messed with my gut and I ended up with acid reflux for months.

I didn't find them all that useful.

I now use something called treclin. It has tretinoin (retin A) in it and an antibiotic called Clindamyclin phosphate and I went from cystic acne to just a few tiny spots. I came off it for a bit and went on to retin A without the antibiotic which I got on eBay and had a big breakout. I switched back to the treclin and it cleared it up in two days beautifully. They call it Ziana in the US if you want to look up the reviews. There aren't many reviews from the UK as it is not regularly prescribed, but Ziana is the same product and there is a lot of information online about that.

Some people have side effects like the peeling skin, initial breakout etc that you get with the retin but the antibiotic helps counteract all that and I didn't get any side effects at all.

I will never use antibiotics again because long term they are bad and I always got an even worse breakout when I stopped them.

So that is something else for you to consider.

I would also personally ditch the facial oil. Anything with oil in it is not good for my acne.

My skin is 90% better and I just have the scars to deal with now and it is thanks to treclin. I wish I found it years ago. I switched to retin A purely because I thought it might help with anti ageing more and I am worried my GP won't give it to me long term. I am sure normal retin A would have given me great skin within time as well, but no purging with the treclin so I switched back.

You also have the option of getting a derm referral. Now a days you don't have to live with it, there are many treatments out there and most are miles better than antibiotics.

Scrap the rosehip oil for starters, it's doing nothing and your skin doesn't want more oil

I take it you've already had lots of acne advice before so are using a v boring non-foaming cleanser like Cetaphil or LRP Physiological Cleansing Gel.

Then you can do better than the Nip and Fab/Clearasil pads - the Clearasil pads feel strong as they are quite abrasive and have a lot of alcohol in but aren't at the right pH for the acid to work best. I'd go for Paula's Choice 2% BHA, again assuming you've already used Effaclar Duo.

Do you really need a moisturiser? It's not mandatory and if you skin feels OK without one, just skip it If you want one, pick something oil-free like Cetaphil moisturiser or Cerave.

But finally, if your skin is this bad, antibiotics aren't a great treatment for acne. Neither is fish oil going to make a serious impact on bad spots. Ask to see a dermatologist about Roaccutane or topical tretinoin. You will probably find it life-changing. You have really only tried step 1 of acne treatment so far, you need it sorting out properly

Roaccutane was going to be the next thing I considered.

I would seriously consider the treclin first if you can get it prescribed. It's a lot less harsher and clinical results show that lots of people have great success with it.

If it ever stops working for me or my GP stops giving it to me I would try for the Roaccutane.

I can't understand why acne isn't recognised as a medical issue. It's a medical issue. Roaccutane is the only thing anywhere near a cure for acne. Cystic acne is a curse and adult cystic acne can be v persistent. It also tends to relapse following most topical and oral meds. Go back to the GP. Ask your GP to refer you to a good derm, or go privately. Don't put up with it any longer.

Roaccutane.

No point faffing around with anything else.

OP, fellow longterm acne sufferer here. Most recent hellish outbreak has been consistent cystic acne on one cheek for 8 months or so. Absolutely maddening. I did Differin and Lymecycline with some success. However my skin has transformed in the past month and I think it's due to a change in diet. I've cut down on carbs - bread, rice, pastas - and upped my veggies and fruit. I've also started drinking a lot more water. I know it's tough to change eating habits but it is well worth a shot.

Me too! I'm 41 and have acne outbreaks. I started lymecycline last year. I took it for 3 months (acne cleared up in first fortnight) then stopped. It's come back so going to start it again. I felt queasy on it at first but that eased off. Was really happy with the results and it's so much better for you than the old Minocin MR. Hope it works for you.

Cystic acne is not caused by diet.

You may have PCOS. I'd ask for scan referral.

And ask for referral to a dermatologist to discuss Roaccutane.

Give up dairy especially cheese. It works.

As someone who suffered with adult acne for 10+ years, and had two courses of antibiotics (which worked, but when I came off them, the spots came back slowly but surely), I implore you to please try La Roche Posay Effaclar face wash and Duo cream. It has transformed my skin into peachy, glows, completely clear skin. I can go without foundation for the first time in years. Please try it - within 6 weeks your skin could quite literally be unrecognisable.

Op chocolate gives me terrible deep spots, its up to you but I would cut dairy out completely before taking antibiotics. Anything with milk listed as an ingredient starts my skin itching!!

You've all given me brilliant advice. My face does need moisturiser as it's also dehydrated but I will stop with the rose hip oil on my chin as I like what it does elsewhere. I think I will have to ditch the clearsil pads as I too do think they're harsh. I definitely haven't got PSOC but thank you for suggesting that as I know you can get bad skin if you have. I do agree with the posters about diet as I think there is "something" in that. Will arm myself with these suggestions and see the GP next week. Unfortunatey I cannot take the pill as I'm very very sensitive to extra hormones. It was suggested to me last year and I tried it but had a terrible reaction (one for older women but great for skin problems, can't remember the name) real pity. I know upping my water would do my health the world of good and not just my skin. Will try that too. I know antibiotics DO work but didn't want to have to rely on them forever as I know long term they don't do us any favours. Thank you to each of you who took the time to reply. I really appreciate it.

Ask your GP for a referral to a dermatologist.

I self referred (pricey) but I was fed up with the cascade of treatments my GP was offering.

I went on a course of Roaccutane - sorted my skin out.

Nothing (and I really mean nothing) else stops acne like Roaccutane. Not even the topical version.

My chin....I know it won't be as bad as many but I wondered if it did warrant a dermo appt or roaccutane. It doesn't look as angry as I'm pottering about doing housework so haven't even washed yet. After I wash it becomes redder. Because of the light you can't quite see the cystic one that's sitting waving at me when I look in the mirror. Throbbing and itching away.... my right hand side. Cluster on my left will now stay like that for weeks. Die down then reappear in the same place in a month or so. Vicious circle. Thanks for looking

All other marks are scars....been there for years.

I also had this in my late 30s. Like others, it was sorted with one course of Roaccutane.

If you can afford it, might be worth seeing a dermatologist privately?