..so no hope? - Acne Message Board

~Cansu~ · 03-28-2001, 12:55 PM

I had my derm appointment today and she prescribed Retin A and eritromycin gel again and i know those are not working and also irritating my skin.(I used Retin A for 4 months and eritromycin for 5 months)She thought i looked good even though i had 12 zits and numerous clogged pores.Then she just said that i had to learn to live with that!I don't think my acne will ever go away on its own as even my mother has acne at the age of 47.After the appointment,i had to go to work and i just started crying there.I had pretty bad acne two years ago and with treatments..vitamins..healthy food etc. it's milder but i'm really sick of living like that.When my face is clear i'm the happiest person in the world and i know i cannot live with pimples+clogged pores+red marks for the rest of my life.In this case,what should i do?Is she right?I wouldn't mind just 1 pimple once in a while..Does that mean my face will never improve?Please help!

atget · 03-28-2001, 02:55 PM

First, let me say your derm does not sound like she has great "bedside" skills. i had the same problem with mine years ago when i went- he was a total ***hole, would tease me about zits, not realizing how that can totally disable a person't esteem. You might consider another doctor- if the prescriptions don't work for you no matter how much you try, and she won't work with you to find something tolerable, she doesn't sound fabulous, that's for sure.
i wish i could tell you something more encouraging, sometimes i think that being in my mid-twenties, there's no hope for being clear, but i'll be d*mned if i'm going to stop trying. Have you ever kept food & exercise journals so you can track just what your face does after each activity? i used to write down every day what i ate, what i did, and how my face looked and it really clued me in to some stuff i needed to avoid.

Also, 2.5% BP cream helps me a lot without burning my face off.
Hope this helps you a little bit!

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swissmiss · 03-28-2001, 06:00 PM

What other meds have you tried?

~Cansu~ · 03-29-2001, 12:03 AM

Thank you atget..I will find a new derm.I think that would be better.

and swissmiss..Well..That will be a long list oral doxycycline 6 months (worked at first but i had a second course for 4 months it didn't work),Benzamycin (worked as well then it stopped working),Differin,Skinoren (Azeliac acid) cream,Cleocin T (horrible),Retin A,Benzac AC(Benzoyl peroxide),Diane 35 (10 months with no signs of improvement),eritromycin gel and not to mention all the OTC stuff..We really don't have any other meds here except oral Tetracycline.I wish there was Tazorac,minocycline etc.At least i would be trying something different.Also i used each med for at least 2 months.Now this is depressing..<p>[This message has been edited by ~Cansu~ (edited 03-29-2001).]

swissmiss · 03-29-2001, 07:40 AM

Ok, I was going to suggest that you try minoccline and tazorac (great combo, really helped me), but now thats out...hmmm...have you tried B-5, many people on this board seem to be having really good results.