22 and having the worst breakouts of my life! HELP!

kaykay18 · 10-10-2006, 01:34 AM

i'm 22 years old, and for the past year and half or so i've been suffering from breakouts terribly. it seems as though i started to have these terrible breakouts right after i went on the pill. but since then, i've switched to ortho-lo in hopes that that would be the answer to all of my breakout problems.. wrong! i've been on it now for about 4 months and i still see no huge change. i'm not sure if it takes longer than 4 months to start seeing results, or what? but i still seem to be suffering from pretty bad breakouts, and it seems to be more than usual. so basically, i'm stuck in a rut. i really don't know what else i can try doing since i feel as though i've tried EVERYTHING. from the whole switching b/c's, to using both the bedtime and morning creames faithfully that my derm gave me and now i've even switched to neutrogena skin-clearing makeup and using the acne-free face wash both morning and night and but nothing seems to be helping at all. PLEASE PLEASE HELP! i'm veryvery frustrated. any insight at all would be MUCH appreciated!!

thanks so much.

LisaMarie982001 · 10-10-2006, 04:40 AM

If you're saying that it all started from being on the pill then you might have hormal acne but just haven't found the right bcp for you. What bcp's have you been on? I've been on alot but Othro tri cyclen is the best one for me. Alesse is the bcp that made my skin goes nuts!!!! I'm still suffering from it. Yasmin didn't work for me either but has for other people. People with breakouts who have hormal acne usually get better by being on the right bcp. And people who have bacteria acne get better on an antibiotic. You should get the book The Hormonally Vulnerable Woman by Geoffery Redmond. Their is also I drug called spiro that is for hormonal acne. I am taking that med. I have only been on it for 82 days. It can take up to 2 to 4 months. The book talks about this drug and acne. It also talks about bcp's and other ways to control acne. It really is a great book. It's for all ages too.

What bcp's have you taken?

kaykay18 · 10-10-2006, 07:45 AM

thanks for the reply! i'm going to look into getting that book ASAP..

as for what b/c i'm on.. well, i started on aviane and was on that for about a year. i really thought that that was the pill which was giving me such bad breakouts.. so this past june i was switched to ortho tri-cyclen lo, but like i said.. i haven't seen much of a change in my face.. any other b/c suggestions? i'm going back to the dr. in december and would LOVE for this problem to stop.

babygirl2005_21 · 10-10-2006, 12:28 PM

Well when you start switching around birth control pills or going on and off them that is when you create major problems. I had the same thing happen when I was 20 I am now 22. I never had acne in my teens either. I was on Alesse from 17- 20 then I thought I would take a break from the pill. Bad idea! Broke out terrible cysts and all. Now I have been on Yasmin, Differin, and Klaron lotion. These all work really well for me. Find a birth control pill and stick with it. It takes about 4 months to notice an improvement usually.

LisaMarie982001 · 10-10-2006, 04:28 PM

Well, they say that it takes 3 months for the bcp to kick in so if your not seeing results in 4 months (i think that's what you said) I would switch to something else if I were you. Not that this is the way it is but this is how I feel be/c of my experience..... I have been on many bcp's so I know that ortho tri is the best pill acne wise for me (I was on it young but switched be/c of mood swings). For me if a bcp is going to work I can start to see a difference early. On the alesse it completely ruined my skin. So then I went on yasmin be/c I was hearing good things. But the yasmin didn't work. So then I just thought forget it I know the otc worked for my skin I'm just going back on that instead of trying many different pills that may or may not work. And within 2 weeks I could already see a difference.
The book says....

BEST BCP''s
yasmin, ortho-cyclen, ortho tri-cyclen, ortho tri-cyclen lo, desogen, and mircette

MIDDLE BCP'S
Ovcon 35, ortho-novum 1/35, ortho 7-7-7, nordette (I never even heard of those four), Diane-35

THE WORST BCP'S
lOESTRIN 1/20, ALESSE, lo/ovral, levlen, tri-levlen, and levlite

Now this is just for acne, he is doing an overall on all the pills. He says he sees no good for the alesse bcp. He tells you why he thinks what he thinks about these pills in the book.

He says the best pills for acne are yasmin, ortho-cyclen, ortho tri-cyclen, desogen, and the ortho evra patch that is on page 281. Again like I said the yasmin didn't work for me. He says that those are the best pills for acne but you have to find the right one for you. So if I were you I would try those pills (one at a time of course). But those are the first ones to try first. I really hope you get the book be/c as you can see it is a great help! I am sooo glad someone on this board suggested it be/c it is great!! It has a whole section on acne.