Acne :(

When I had severe acne twice in my teens I was prescribed roacutane. Very strong & not without side effects but clears up acne . I think it's very expensive too. Has you doc suggested it ?

You could ask for a referal to a specalist who may subscribe Roaccutane. More info via the link I suffered really bad and went on it about 10 years ago and have been spot free ever since.

It is not a treatment to be taken lightly though.

http://www.nhs.uk/medicine-guides/pages/MedicineOverview.aspx?condition=Acne&medicine=Roaccutane&preparationRoaccutane%2020mg%20capsules

I know how you feel. I am getting married in July and my acne was so bad I couldn't sleep on my back due to the soreness, couldn't wear makeup or wash my face as it was too tender. I went to the doctors in tears (had been so many times and nothing ever worked) and they finally got me referred to a dermatologist. I have been on Roaccutane since the end of September and the results have been overwhelming.

The side effects are fairly serious - dry eyes, dry nose, very dry lips, dry skin, linked to feelings of depression (but to be honest I felt worse when I looked like I did!), not allowed to pluck/wax eyebrows, not allowed alcohol etc.

I have been keeping track of the changes and it really is astonishing and any amount of dry skin is worth it. I am hopefully ending the course at the end of March, just in time to have clear skin for my wedding.

My back before and 1 month ago (cleared up more since):

As you can see - huge difference, the change on my face is even more amazing. The medication won't change scarring but at least it gets rid of all the red. I know how you feel, I know these before pictures are horrible (I hope they don't gross anyone out) but it CAN GET BETTER. Good luck

Please don't quote my pics as will be removing later.

Wow Hoddy what an amazing difference!
You must feel so much better & full of confidence Such a big improvement!

Oh I Hoddy I suffered on my back too! ouch! i'm so happy it appears to be working for you too.

Yes sadly it doesn't fix the scars but mine have got better over time.

I do have pics of the change on my face but too shy to post haha! Yeah it's gone down so much, I'm really happy and I never thought I would be able to feel like that!

I don't have acne per se, but I do have Rosacea which is bloody miserable. My GP prescribed metronidazole gel which worked really well for a couple of months but suddenly stopped having any effect. I'm going back next week to ask for something else. He did mention something about the same medicine in tablet form but I think the side effects are worse. Bah.

Anyway, this is what I live with at the moment. Thank fook for foundation or I'd never leave the house.

Weeks 1 - 5 of using metronidazole

Aaand this morning ☹️

Little things have helped, small improvements. The body shop seaweed range. But tbh the only thing that's cleared mine up is The Pill. Currently on femodene. My skin was on par with some of arquards photos but its totally cleared up.

I was just going to ask this. I was put on Dianette from about the age of 15 and have never looked back. The docs are constantly trying to get me off it though as they don't like prolonged use. I have tried others over the years but have always begged to be put back on Dianette. My old doc recommend Liz Earle products as well to me and my sister. We both use the cleanse, polish, tone and moisturiser which we find quite effective.

Hope it clears up soon. I know only too well how miserable it can make you feel.

Just to add, I also only ever use Bare Minerals makeup. A fellow student recommended it to me when i was 21. I had been telling her that I never wore makeup on my skin because it would cause me to break out. She recommended Bare Minerals (or Bare Escentuals as it was then). That was back in the days when you had to order it online from the USA as it wasn't sold over here. Good stuff.

Another vote for Yasmin here - my skin was really good when I was on Yasmin, and now it's rubbish.

Smiles, so sorry to hear you're having this trouble To be honest the pill is the only thing that sorts out my facial acne. When I'm off it a get outbreaks all down my neck, jawline and chin and I tried everything when I wasn't on the pill and nothing really touched it - or if it did only for a week. For me it's definitely hormonal rather than not getting the right amount of vitamins etc. Im on Femodene of that helps x

I'll give another vote for Dianette if you don't want to go on the harder Roaccutane. I was on Dianette aged 14-16 for my skin, when they took me off it my skin went awful again. I got put on Yasmin which did nothing for me, and various others like microgynon. I was allowed back on Dianette for 6 months when I was 18 but my skin never cleared again Now on the roaccutane as I said above and it is amazing.

Thank you for all your kind suggestions. I've been on Yasmin, but it made no difference whatsoever. So I thought it would be best to be 'hormone' free for a while and see how that works. So far, so bad.

They're not even proper spots, just massive red painful bumps on my skin. It feels like I'm destroying my face even if I wash it with water.

I heard that your pillow can make a difference, so I bought some hypoallergenic one's at the weekend. We'll see how that goes, as it's now spreading to my EARS.

I would put up a photo, but I'm not that confident yet.. Maybe when I start seeing results I'll pop one up. In the meantime, this is what my face currently looks like -----> ?

Big hugs lovely I've heard that earrings can irritate the skin too. I used to wear big massive hoopy ones and one day for no reason my neck on both side just broke out and was like it for months. I had no idea what it was and then one day stopped wearing the earring as it was too uncomfortable and within two weeks it began to clear. So many things can set it off so I completely get your frustration with trying to pin-point what it is xxx

I also found dianette really helpful but came off it after quite long use. I use Duac gel (prescription) and this is better than any other prescription creams I've tried before.