Hi everyone,
I haven't really visited this site much since my acne was nicely under control. All of a sudden, these past couple of weeks, BOOM! I have gotten many new cysts, and I just don't understand why! Since the age of 11 I have had acne and oily skin. I have been to various good dermatologists who have kept the acne under control with topicals and anti-biotics. There were periods where my acne was really bad, and times where I was zit free and looking beautiful. When I was around 21, my acne got very bad to the point where it was cystic, and I had to go on accutane. The Accutane dried up all the oils, and my initial breakout was HORRIBLE. I got HUGE, painful cysts all over my face, and still have some scarring 4 years later. I was also on a birth control pill along with the Accutane not because I was planning on conceiving, but to regulate my hormones, since I have a hormonal disorder called PCOS. I am sure several women on this site also have PCOS or are aware of this disorder. It is a disorder in which a female produces too much testosterone and androgens, which as a result cause acne and oily skin. Anyways, after an agonizing 6 months, my skin was flawless. No acne, no oily skin. Aside from few MINOR breakouts afterwards, which went away very quickly, my skin remained zit free for a couple of years, aside from the monthly cyst or breakout. Little by little though, the oils did return. Personally, I don't care so much about oily skin as I do about breakouts. I am not sure if it was the Accutane or the BCP that helped clear my acne. Maybe it was a bit of both. I DO in fact know that I got some horrible side effects from the accutane including very dry skin, dry lips, and dry nose, weight loss, and constant headaches. At the end though, the treatment was worth it, even though I was breaking out throughout the treatment, and only saw the benefits once I was OFF the drug. Right now, I am also off BCP's which in the past were used to control my acne and my PCOS. I am off of them due to the fact that the BCP's also gave me some health problems, which are now fixed, but I don't want to resort to them anymore, since they aren't safe for me. Today, August 23, 2004 my face is a mess! I am getting cysts where I haven't gotten them before, on the sides of my face. I am getting quite nervous and distressed over this. I am now 25, and acne should be the last thing on my mind. Without the acne I am a very attractive young woman, and whenever I break out, it just ruins my whole day. I don't know what else to do, and I refuse to go back on Accutane or use BCP's. I don't think that a person's health and wellbeing is worth being sacrificed over acne, even bad acne. I need to know if there are any SAFE, yet EFFECTIVE ways to combat cystic, painful acne that just seems to pop up unpredictably. I would feel so much better knowing that someone else is in this predicament and understands the torment I am going through. May we all one day SOON find a cure to this annoying skin disease! Thanks guys, I just needed to vent!
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