Help Acne-Anxiety-Acne-Anxiety

[Acopia]

Does anyone else have this problem, & could offer any advice.

I have acne, been on antibiotics & cream for months, (actually cream for years but it stopped working) they make no difference.

The worse my acne gets, the more anxious I get - the thought of bacteria growing in my face.. bleugh.
Then the more anxious I get, the more acne I get, and the process is never ending.

I really don't want to add more meds to my system, I use clean & clear skincare products, which I *think* might be making a positive difference.. unsure yet.

I don't need yet another physical ailment making my MH worse

HELP!

 

[Rue89]

Acne is the worst. I had it really bad for years, and still do but not as bad.
Proactiv skincare products really helped with my acne. Charcoal masks also help.

 

[XYZ]

Can you find a good dermatologist and try various treatments and see which one works?

What have you tried so far? Have you taken other oral medication apart from antibiotics? Have you tried Retinol? Or Benzoyl Peroxide? Or creams with salicylic acid?

 

[not4us]

I have same problem, Pantothenic Acid Vitamin B-5 helps when you take 10-15 (500mg) pills per day. Accutane is the last resort

 

[Lester Cohle]

Does anyone else have this problem, & could offer any advice.

I have acne, been on antibiotics & cream for months, (actually cream for years but it stopped working) they make no difference.

The worse my acne gets, the more anxious I get - the thought of bacteria growing in my face.. bleugh.
Then the more anxious I get, the more acne I get, and the process is never ending.

I really don't want to add more meds to my system, I use clean & clear skincare products, which I *think* might be making a positive difference.. unsure yet.

I don't need yet another physical ailment making my MH worse

HELP!

I'm in the same boat with you and would recommend visiting a dermatologist and asking for isotretinoin right away. The side effects are terrible, but it may be worth it. I was taking it for 6 months one year ago, and now my acne is back, but there is like 20 percent chance of relapse, so pray to the Elder Gods while taking it.

P.S. I am going to start this medication once again, but this time in much smaller doses.

 

[Acopia]

Can you find a good dermatologist and try various treatments and see which one works?

What have you tried so far? Have you taken other oral medication apart from antibiotics? Have you tried Retinol? Or Benzoyl Peroxide? Or creams with salicylic acid?

I'm in the UK so I'm at the mercy of the National Health - although going private may be an option. No just Tetracyclines, I was on Duac for years then must've become resistant to it, now they've given me Differin.

Acne is the worst. I had it really bad for years, and still do but not as bad.
Proactiv skincare products really helped with my acne. Charcoal masks also help.

I've heard of charcoal stuff, I'm a bit dubious. Did you find it to work well?

I'm in the same boat with you and would recommend visiting a dermatologist and asking for isotretinoin right away. The side effects are terrible, but it may be worth it. I was taking it for 6 months one year ago, and now my acne is back, but there is like 20 percent chance of relapse, so pray to the Elder Gods while taking it.

P.S. I am going to start this medication once again, but this time in much smaller doses.

I'd have to go private to get Accutane in any reasonable timeframe (which is doable, I think they charge £100) - the side effects do look scary! But the impact it's having on my MH is horrendous.

I have same problem, Pantothenic Acid Vitamin B-5 helps when you take 10-15 (500mg) pills per day. Accutane is the last resort

Ooh thanks I'll look into that! I agree with you about the Accutane!

 

[Giraffey]

I know that the NHS is something of a postcode lottery, but in addition to the above, it may be worth advocating for your GP to do a culture test (if they haven't already). They essentially take a swab or sample of your acne, grow a culture from it and then your antibiotics can be changed/tailored according to the bacteria in question. Sometimes an antibiotic screening is ordered as well to check for resistance but often the lab will have knowledge about local antibiotic resistance.

I mean, that's assuming it even is acne and not a mimic like gram-negative folliculitis for instance. A dermatologist will pick up on these things right away as they have the training and clinical experience necessary to spot the sometimes subtle differences the GP can easily miss (especially with the lightning fast consultations).

 

[Worthless_nobody]

I have been struggling with acne for years. I have it mostly under control. Here is what helped me:

Safe doses of vitamins (don't exceed daily tolerable upper limit.) Vitamin A, D3, omega 3 fish oil, zinc, turmeric capsules all help.

At home blue light device
At home high frequency machine
- both of these are used in dermatologist offices but the home versions work great. You can purchase them online.

Cutting down on dairy, sugar and gluten intake has helped (this is the hardest one to do for me)

What didn't help me was topical creams, antibiotics and benzoyl peroxide

 

[Caspers]

I love Clean&Clear, they have done miracles to my face. My regimen is; wash face with exfoliating every other day as it gets too dry if you exfoliate daily. Rinse off and then apply cream wash. The day that I'm not exfoliating, I use cream wash only. Then I apply their cream when finished showering. I sometimes use L'Oréal's masks, I have a few and they do wonders. Remember having your face too dry can cause acne outbreaks, as well as too oily. On days I can't be bothered to wash my face, I use facial cleansing wipes. I hope you manage to tame your face, good luck

 

[Acopia]

I know that the NHS is something of a postcode lottery, but in addition to the above, it may be worth advocating for your GP to do a culture test (if they haven't already). They essentially take a swab or sample of your acne, grow a culture from it and then your antibiotics can be changed/tailored according to the bacteria in question. Sometimes an antibiotic screening is ordered as well to check for resistance but often the lab will have knowledge about local antibiotic resistance.

I mean, that's assuming it even is acne and not a mimic like gram-negative folliculitis for instance. A dermatologist will pick up on these things right away as they have the training and clinical experience necessary to spot the sometimes subtle differences the GP can easily miss (especially with the lightning fast consultations).

I work in a hospital, and the first thing I did was ask the GP to swab it. "NO NEED" they said, "Acne."
I think it's more likely to be another strain bacteria, I'm not quite satisfied with the presentation for it to 100% be acne. They keep telling me that it's anxiety making the acne worse.. I think it's more because when I'm run down from the anxiety my immune system's dampened.
Now I've nearly done with the abx I think I qualify for a derma referral. Think!

 

[pole]

anxiety and stress definitely pushes so many breakouts for me.

i'd start laying out a proper skin care treatment for both the morning, during the day to give you an extra session which cant hurt and at night.

lastly, i definitely recommend exploring products and trying new ones. the ones you may be using currently may not be as impactful as say other products on the market. i've found that alot of the popular brands id been using with my routine for like exfoliation, skin cleansing and moisturizing had contributed to my breakouts and oily skin. exploring and finding perfect products suitable for my skin and ones that reacted better to my skin definitely helped. it just takes alittle research and experimenting.

hopefully you find a perfect regime and you control your breakouts during times of stress and anxiety.

take care.

 

[BipolarGuy]

Does anyone else have this problem, & could offer any advice.

I have acne, been on antibiotics & cream for months, (actually cream for years but it stopped working) they make no difference.

The worse my acne gets, the more anxious I get - the thought of bacteria growing in my face.. bleugh.
Then the more anxious I get, the more acne I get, and the process is never ending.

I really don't want to add more meds to my system, I use clean & clear skincare products, which I *think* might be making a positive difference.. unsure yet.

I don't need yet another physical ailment making my MH worse

HELP!

Allow me to offer you advice.

Ignore anybody who says to go to a beauty clinic and get a face scrub.
It won't help, though it may feel nice.

Topical creams and antibiotics work by killing bacteria, or by temporarily drying the surface of the skin.

Neither topical creams nor antibiotics target the root cause of acne: over active sebaceous glands.

Bacteria thrive on the sebum, but killing bacteria will not stop the overproduction of sebum, and so bacteria will return.
Drying out the skin temporarily doesn't deal with it either.

Only ONE treatment currently exists to actively treat the cause of acne: isotretinoin.

Isotretinoin is the ONLY treatment that will have a lasting impact on your acne.

Or alternatively, you could sit there for three hours with bananas covering your face because one of your friends who studied beauty therapy at college has 'heard it helps'.

 

[Acopia]

Allow me to offer you advice.

Ignore anybody who says to go to a beauty clinic and get a face scrub.
It won't help, though it may feel nice.

Topical creams and antibiotics work by killing bacteria, or by temporarily drying the surface of the skin.

Neither topical creams nor antibiotics target the root cause of acne: over active sebaceous glands.

Bacteria thrive on the sebum, but killing bacteria will not stop the overproduction of sebum, and so bacteria will return.
Drying out the skin temporarily doesn't deal with it either.

Only ONE treatment currently exists to actively treat the cause of acne: isotretinoin.

Isotretinoin is the ONLY treatment that will have a lasting impact on your acne.

Or alternatively, you could sit there for three hours with bananas covering your face because one of your friends who studied beauty therapy at college has 'heard it helps'.

Gosh I wouldn't have one of those peel things.. I'd contract sepsis.

Thanks!

 

[checkouttime]

I heard accutane was good for acne. this was from when i used to take steroids. although i'm not sure if it can affect you mentally (i'm sure i read that?)

I have really sensitive skin, i never used to use soap on my face. i used to have 2 baths a day though aswell!!!

If i get spots now i use clean and clear advantage. i have to be really careful what i use on my skin, this is ok though. I suppose it depend on how severe your acne is though.

I used to exfoliate alot and use face masks aswell(creams and the ones that peel off)........i bet most men don't do that, i liked it lol.

 

[Journeytoletgo]

My acne is permanent it hasn't went away and it's keeping me miserable. Nothing worked. And many years ago when it took over my system and placed me in a social positioning to receive mean remarks for something out of my control. I haven't been sociable And carefree in a while because of it. Nothing works. I can't desire this life any longer after so much hostility and cruelty towards me for this condition