Cannot afford derm need an otc cure please! (this is long sorry!)

UK Chick · 02-25-2008, 03:48 PM

Hi all,

I will put my story a bit further down on this thread and get straight to the point right now!

I cannot afford to go to dermatologist so need something will help me. I was using proactiv but it was so drying and I still had some spots. I was about to run out so I thought I would try something else that would be cheaper. So 2 weeks ago I purchases and have been using Clean and Clear deep pore cleansing and my skin is worse. My whole chin and nose is covered in these teeny tiny red spots that are not really white heads, more like pus (sorry gross!). I studied the shelves for ages, I cannot use anything with salicylic acid in it (as it causes major white bumps that will not go away). I did notice that this does contain salicylic acid but not the 2% that most acne treatments use. My skin is still very very dry. Oil free moisturisers are not touching the dryness so I purchased a cream for dry skin that wont clog pores and just hope it will not make it even worse. I just used some bore face strips but I dont know what to do now, I do not know whether to try something else or start proactiv again tonight.

I had started drinking lots of water whilst using proactiv and that seemed to work pretty well until I started working out at gym 3 times a week and skin broke out crazy again!

Please if anyone has any help, I would really appreciate it!

My story:
I had perfect skin all my life (did have back and chest acne at one point) and then when I was 21, I went on the pill which sent my skin crazy and then I switched to a few different pills, lastly Yazmin which I then had great skin again but had to stop taking it as it was causing loads of stomach problems. And since then I have always had bad skin. I used aspirin mask, a garnier acne face wash (salcylic acid) and then european version of proactiv (which just contains salcyclic acid), it wasn't until I used the Amercican version of Proactiv (with BP) that I realised Salcylic acid does not work for me). I dont know whether to try and go abck on a pill again, or proactiv or something new! Argh!!!

kingyao23 · 02-25-2008, 05:36 PM

You should try doxycycline pills but the only bad thing is u gotta get em prescribed from a dermatologist but the intial consultation shouldn't cost that much. Mines only cost about $20 (less than proactive). After that, the pills only cost about $8 a bottle for 60 pills if u got insurance. If u don't then it'll prolly cost a little more. But it worked really good for me so you should try it. Another thing is the Acnezine pills work really really good but only bad thing is that theyre pretty expensive (about $160) but theyre worth it. Hope i helped u out a bit.

tiredpoet · 02-25-2008, 05:48 PM

how much doess a dermatologist visit cost for you? Do you have any insurance? For all the money I spent on things like proactive and OTC stuff over the years when I was uninsured I wish I had just saved up and seen the derm. If you count, it'll literally add up to hundreds and hundreds of dollars of money spent on things that don't work. From the sound of it, your acne started after the pill so it's probably hormonal, which means no amount of OTC stuff will help very much. It's like treating an inside out problem from the ouside in, and I learned the hard way it just won't work. My acne is hormonal, so I wasted a ton of money and a ton of time on proactive, OTC benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, anything you can name, I bought it and gave it at least a three month go. I tried special diets, giving them six months at least before I quit. Some things got my skin somewhat under control and I'd settle for having "not horrendous" skin with them, but ultimately they all stopped being effective anyway. The only things that worked for me were doctor prescribed treatments, unfortunately.
I hope you can find a product you like that works well for you, but since it will take so much time and money trying different OTC products, if you can I'd consider saving up for a doctor visit.

aussiejono · 02-25-2008, 10:50 PM

Wash twice a day with cetaphil (or the RiteAid generic, which is identical but far cheaper)

Wipe over with a Nutrogena Rapid Clear Acne Pad (2% Salicylic Acid)

Wait 10 minutes or so until it is dry, then apply 5% Benzoyl peroxide gen (Oxy5 or generic)

Do this once a day for a week or so, until any irritation has settled and your skin is used to the regime, then increase to twice a day.

UK Chick · 02-26-2008, 01:03 AM

Thank you so much for all the info! Once I have sorted out some insurance problems I am currently having I will try and see a dermatologist! Thanks again!