Ruth77

Hi everyone,
Well, you wouldn't believe I have been lurking on these boards for the past year, but have not posted until now.

I wanted to share my story age. Forgive the very long post:

I'm 29 years old and my acne began when I was about 14/15. It was the usual teenage acne, on the nose, forehead and chin and also some on the hairline. (I never got acne on my cheeks).

I found it distressing at that age, going to school, etc.....with a spotty face. I tried all the products under the sun. None really helped and they usually irritated my already sensitive skin. Also tried and had varied success with zinc, B complex and B6. What kept me going was the belief that I would grow out of it.


Through the years I had good and bad spells with my skin - it could be completely clear to quite bad. There seemed to be no link to anything in particular during the bad times.

I found it improved a lot in my mid-twenties. It was much more under control and having the odd spot was not upsetting in the way that having all those breakouts were.

Unfortunately, the past year I have had a resurgence of considerable problems with acne on my chin - for me, this was ALWAYS the most embarrassing area to have acne. It is mostly down each side of the chin and the skin has no time to heal before the next onslaught.

I have read lots of advice here on this board and also in books on how to cure acne. I have tried pretty much every natural remedy: creams, lotions manuka honey, tea tree oil. I scrutinised my already excellent diet, cut out all sugar (had very little sugar anyhow) and drank honey and lemon. I already eat a lot of foods that are meant to be good for the skin, have virtually no processed foods and drink lots of water.

Now, don't get me wrong, I do believe eating the right foods is vitally important for general skin health. But in my experience at least, I have found no real correlation between what I eat and how good/bad my acne is.

At the beginning of this year I went to the docs and asked to be put on an AB. I know from all I've read that at best they are a sticking plaster, but I was desperate for some relief. It was upsetting me that much. I was put on minocycline, 100g a day. It took about 2 months to have any effect at all, but it did eventually help my face to settle down, although not as much as I'd have liked. It had the most positive effect on my back (oh yes, forgot to say that back acne is also a problem for me). I stopped at six months as I hate taking medication and to be honest it wasn't like it was a miracle cure for me anyway.

Well, here I am and whilst the rest of my face is pretty good, my acne on my chin is bad again. I even resorted to buying a (red/blue) light machine 6 weeks ago. This has definitely helped my back considerably (and maybe my forehead) but it doesn't seem to want to help heal the acne on my chin. Weird.

I am so distraught at the sight of my skin that I have cried off work this last couple of days. I just can't face dealing with members of the public and being cheery when I feel so miserable.

Yesterday, I visited the doc and he gave me oxytetracycline, 2 tablets 2x a day for two months. I am so desperate that I don't really care if they only help temporarily. I need some respite.

Over the last 15 years then, I took ABs at the age of 15 (for two months), 19(for two months) and then this year. There were plenty of other times I could have taken them, but chose to tough it out/try other things.

I remember when I was younger and not being able to look at myself in the mirror with the light on. It was great when I got to the point where I was able to look in the bathroom mirror - even up close, and see a fairly reasonable complexion looking back at me. I am desperate to get that back. I am so scared that the red marks I currently have will not fade, or take forever to fade. At present, I need to get the acne to clear up, before I can try to tackle the redness.

I am sorry for going on, but felt a need to let off some steam. I don't want to go to work tomorrow, as even the concealer is not doing the trick at the moment. When I think of the number of times in my life I have avoided going out because of my skin it upsets me terribly. I am praying that this AB helps over the next few weeks, so I can get some respite again. I dream of having clear skin - at least by the time I turn thirty next year!!!!!

Thanks,
Ruth
xxx