Cystic Acne, who else has it? - Page 2

JuiciCouture · 03-02-2005, 12:27 AM

Im 21, and Ive got it. I got it for my 21st birthday practically. I had beautiful skin up until September 2004. It seriously erupted all over my chin out of NOWHERE. I dont know why I got this severe form of acne out of the blue- but im trying desperately to make it go away. Right now im using Retin-A Micro and Doxycycline (oral antibiotic) and Im on Estrostep Bcp.
I hate the Retin-A Micro. I got a....particularly hideous breed of horrible initial breakout on this stuff. I kid you not..I now know what suicidal means. I really couldnt believe how bad it was. I went to the Derm and got Doxycycline about 2 and a half weeks ago, and So far..I dont see much of a difference. Im on Retin-A Micro almost 6 weeks.
Im considering Accutane because Im so desperate for it to go away. It leaves these horrible red marks that make my skin look like I have a rash or something. They take forever to fade. I was an aspiring model and had to stop because of this. Im also a hairstylist and its really hard to face people and be confident when you have acne. So Its seriously affecting me and I want it GONE.
What does your acne actually look like? Im trying to determine if what I have is really cystic acne. Its under my skin, red..almost shiney bumps..and they are SO painful. They get medium sized..sometimes a little bigger than a pencil eraser or so- and some have even connected to form a monster cyst. Eventually, some of them will come to a head- but they still take forever to fade away after that. Are those cysts?

deltoro · 03-02-2005, 12:55 AM

Yes, they are, sorry. You are about the age when it hits, for what reason Ihave no idea but I was about 22 when I literally just woke up with it, I had never really had an acne problem before either..give the meds some time to work and see what happens..good luck to you

stan · 03-02-2005, 08:21 AM

ive got cystic acne on my back and shoulders and just normal acne on my face ive been on all antibiotics for it and they did not work so im on accutane now into my 2nd month and its cleared some of the cyst already just the painful side effects i hate

goodluck

MommyPox · 03-02-2005, 09:54 AM

As far as side effects for me on the tane. I have dry lips and a dry mouth. My skin has dried a bit, but nothing lotion can't take care of. But I am only on 20mgs/day for 21 days now. Maybe I will be upped at my next visit to the derm and my list of side effects will change. But IMO, it's totally worth it. I have 9 days left on 20mgs, can wait to upped in dose and start seeing results rather than just side effects. Good Luck everyone!!

JuiciCouture · 03-02-2005, 01:19 PM

Yeah, Thats what I figured it was. Its so weird- I woke up with it too. Its awful because I went from having clear skin to dealing with the worst type of acne withnin a matter of a few weeks. I still have a ton of red marks left from the really,really bad breakouts. Im hoping these start to go away. I want to go on Accutane before it turns into scarring acne (meaning icepick, etc).
Accutane brings a whole new set of problems though. Im terrorfied of the initial breakout. Im terrorfied that Ill end up with worse acne. Im terrorfied Ill get depressed or suicidal or...have some kind of health meltdown on it. I wish they didnt stress the side effects so much...Because it seems like the worst things people get are dry...well, everything- and joint pain. But for those of us suffering with cystic acne and being held back in life- they've scared us into not wanting to take something that could potentially give us our life back. I just do not know what to do. Any advice?
By the way- Mommypox.. I saw you are on 20 mgs. Have you seen ANY difference? ANY initial breakout? How is it going so far for you? I think even on any dose- you wont see results until around the 3rd month. Thats what Ive read, at least ..from more than a few people actually. So I wanted to wish you luck with it, and I hope it clears you up permanently!