I have had acne since I was 12 years old. It continued all through my teen years. Of course I was told, "That's normal--you're a teenager!" which I don't doubt at all but even in my 20s my skin never cleared up. NEVER...NOT ONE DAY. In my 20s I was told, "Oh, it's normal for adults to break out, too." My acne wasn't super severe, it was just on my chin but it was about 10-15 (with up to 5 of them being the deep, cystic ones) and it was every day of my life.
I had been dealing with acne every day for 20 years--you can bet I tried nearly everything on the market. Finally, this past September (32 years old), I decided to see a dermatologist. At first we tried different topical meds (Aczone, Epiduo, and Zianna in different combinations) but it didn't work. Then we tried Solydyn (a short term antibiotic) along with the topicals, which worked beautifully for my acne but caused raging yeast infections. (I had lunch with a girlfriend one day who knew I was on meds for acne and remarked on how beautiful my skin was and my response was, "Yeah? You should see my vagina!") Then we tried Oracea which is actually for rosacea but works on some acne patients. Not me.
Finally, the doc pulled out the big guns and I have been on Accutane for 77 days. While the results have been very pleasing, I don't recommend it right off the bat. It is a wicked medication (there is a reason that I know I've been taking it for 77 days and that I have 73 left!) You absolutely cannot get pregnant on this med while on it and for a month after because it causes severe deformities in babies. You must be on two forms of birth control while taking it. It can cause your cholesterol to rise (mine has, slightly.) It can cause depression and people have committed suicide while on this drug (it has no affect on me in this regard.) It dries you out so bad--I only have to wash my hair once a week now (and only that often because I know my kids have thrown food in it or something else!) My nose is constantly dry and bleeding. My lips are so dry they burn (I play trumpet in a band and I have seriously considered quitting this season until I'm off the med.) My skin is constantly dry and peeling. You cannot have any sun exposure--I sat in 65 degree partial cloudy weather this past weekend and my forearms are burnt to a crisp. You cannot get waxed because it rips several layers of your skin off and will leave you prone to scarring, so my thick unibrow is back until I can get the tweezers to it. I have to go to the doctor every month for a pregnancy test and blood work. Then I have to go online and answer stupid questions about preventing pregnancy (did you know that you can get pregnant from having sex even if you lay very still???) However, my derm told me that 90% of her patients that have taken Accutane never have acne again!! (Please, please, please let me be in that 90%!!!)
Funny thing--at first, my insurance company wouldn't pay for it because they determined I was too old!! After my derm told them we had tried 5 different things prior, they approved it.
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