I have an appointment with a dermatologist for the 25th. I have never seen one before. I know I want to talk to her about my body acne, that is a given. But what exactly should I expect from the visit? Any specific questions I should ask? What are their procedures for first time patients?

Thanks in advance!

Cassie

I don't know about your dermatologist, but in my practice, I usually get seen by the nurse and the physician's assistant. The dermatologist herself only comes by when/if it's necessary.

Usually, nowadays, they will do a full body check for skin cancer, or at least, at my age they do! Maybe not for you.

Then they will ask you why you're there -- and you can tell them about all your skin problems... warts, moles, skin tags, dark skin, etc. Tell them you have PCOS so they can look for signs of the IR.

If they do, they may tell you that you need to see and Endo and you can tell them you have that appointment scheduled. Then they may recommend some options for you to treat it -- I had a derm once recommend Amlactin to get rid of dark skin.

For your acne, you'll have to tell them that you want a regime and what you can afford if you want to treat it. There's so many options that you'll have to figure out how much you want to spend. Then you'll have to go home and try it out.

And they will tell you about sunscreen. Listen to them. Then go to the store and buy some if you don't use it.

thank you! That's exactly the advice I wanted!