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i guess the only thing i can do try is accutane, though it gets me worried knowing it was taken off the market for lawsuits and is only available in generic form...
Have you tried holistic approach? Maybe you are having a skin reaction to topicals (soaps, creams, chlorine in water, etc.). Have you ever tried doing nothing?
I am specifically talking about your bed linen and your diet.
You can scrub yourself raw and go lay down on a pillowcase that isn't freshly laundered and whaddaya know a new eruption.
As far as "I've tried diets" - you can't just munch on carrots. You have to actually change your entire lifestyle.
A pimple is a blocked hair follicle.
They take SIX WEEKS to form.
If you use salicylic acid at least once daily, use antiseptic soap, launder your clothes and bed linens daily, quit with the Coke and white bread and other processed junk, get exercise and use witchhazel whenever you sweat, you will eventually win.
Sounds like folks want instant results with little effort. Ain't gonna happen. Its lifestyle.
For really stubborn/hormonal acne a few sessions in a laser clinic or under UV lights also help but the regime of cleaning will also be recommended.
I had severe cystic acne flare up out of nowhere on me, during the summer between high school and college. It was centered right around my mouth on either side. I had a girlfriend at the time, we got together when I had moderate "normal" acne, and she stayed with me when it got worse. We broke up mostly because I thought I was the ugliest thing alive, and no one wants to be with someone who feels that way about themselves. The acne itself wasn't a deal breaker for us, my lack of self worth was.
I took accutane. My face is now clear going on 4 years, I don't ever have to even wash it and it stays clear. The scars are slowly going away, but are still there. The acne got worse at the start of the accutane, it was brutal, and it produced scars I still have today(I'm going to start laser's soon, my doc said to give it a few years for my collagen to work its magic since I was still young). Going out in public was an ordeal, every time. I felt like an alien.
I was lucky with side affects, mostly just had dry lips and that's it. Although, I started losing my hair right around then, and it hasn't stopped. It's in the traditional MPB pattern, I have a hunch that the accutane triggered my dormant MPB, which was supposed to show up later in life. I'm not the first that this has happened to, lots of "coincidences" out there the same as mine.
So I've traded acne for hairloss, and you know what? I'll take hair loss every day of the week. That says something about severe acne, it's no joke.
Take the accutane, stay alert to anything going wrong. You'll have blood drawn every month to watch your liver, but watch everything else. It changed my life and was worth the risk, I would take it again. Also, 90% of people who take it have their acne go away permanently. I'm one of the 90%, and you most likely will be too. you don't hear from us because were out living our life, you only hear from the 10% who are bitching and moaning on internet forums.
I had my acne clear from my face when I was 21, with a few odd returns, but it started to flare on my scalp and that lasted like 3 more years. The dermatologist gave me a prescription to help gradually clear it up, but I have to shave my head on a normal basis and I still have scarring but not as embarrassing now like it was where I had to wear a large cap or a do-rag. Young women were such immature (bad word) and guys were acting like I had some kind of plague. Those were some nasty times back then. Like every week I have to shave my head now and avoid products that clog the pores in my scalp, and I have to stay away from severe heat. Living in Arizona I have to shower twice a day during summertime to make sure any dirt and oil are washed away.
As for dating life, well yeah it killed it among other things. Not sure if my kind of acne is genetic, but my mom when she was alive was a bit of a slob when she had shingles and wouldn't not stop touching our bathroom products so we had to adjust where we keep our things.
is it possible for a man with really bad adult acne to get a girlfriend?
As a budding Dermatologist, I would advise you to make an appointment for consultation ASAP. There are so many new treatment options for adult acne that work very well. With you being a man, you also have a good chance of getting things under control (depending on how old you are, of course).
To recap, see a Dermatologist. You'll be glad you did.
So I've traded acne for hairloss, and you know what? I'll take hair loss every day of the week. That says something about severe acne, it's no joke.
Take the accutane, stay alert to anything going wrong. You'll have blood drawn every month to watch your liver, but watch everything else. It changed my life and was worth the risk, I would take it again. Also, 90% of people who take it have their acne go away permanently. I'm one of the 90%, and you most likely will be too. you don't hear from us because were out living our life, you only hear from the 10% who are bitching and moaning on internet forums.
Accutane has been known to cause transient patchy alopecia in a select few but does not cause male patten baldness. You were likely prone to MPB because of your genetic make up.
Have you tried holistic approach? Maybe you are having a skin reaction to topicals (soaps, creams, chlorine in water, etc.). Have you ever tried doing nothing?
i have tried the "nothing" approach for one month and it really made my acne worse. my skin was redder than before.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cindersslipper
For those that are screaming "but I'm clean!"
I am specifically talking about your bed linen and your diet.
You can scrub yourself raw and go lay down on a pillowcase that isn't freshly laundered and whaddaya know a new eruption.
As far as "I've tried diets" - you can't just munch on carrots. You have to actually change your entire lifestyle.
A pimple is a blocked hair follicle.
They take SIX WEEKS to form.
If you use salicylic acid at least once daily, use antiseptic soap, launder your clothes and bed linens daily, quit with the Coke and white bread and other processed junk, get exercise and use witchhazel whenever you sweat, you will eventually win.
Sounds like folks want instant results with little effort. Ain't gonna happen. Its lifestyle.
For really stubborn/hormonal acne a few sessions in a laser clinic or under UV lights also help but the regime of cleaning will also be recommended.
i never said that i just "munched on carrots", i went on many strict diets for months at a time and they did not work. they were also very expensive to keep up with. also, my apartment complex has room service that includes washing and changing the linens daily so they are always clean. the diet approach does not work for everyone. my skin is never clear period, i don't get eruptions out of nowhere, it's basically "erupted" every day. i think you should understand that some people have worse cases that don't respond. that is what accutane is for and why my dermatologist says i need to go on it. it's funny how you assume that i'm lazy in your last sentence though when you are saying something that isn't proven.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tofur
Take the accutane, stay alert to anything going wrong. You'll have blood drawn every month to watch your liver, but watch everything else. It changed my life and was worth the risk, I would take it again. Also, 90% of people who take it have their acne go away permanently. I'm one of the 90%, and you most likely will be too. you don't hear from us because were out living our life, you only hear from the 10% who are bitching and moaning on internet forums.
interesting you have hair loss from accutane, it is one of the common reported side effects online. either way i will discuss it again with my dermatologist next time. thanks for the info on your experience.
yeah just ignore the people giving you the standard issue advice (proactiv, diet change, etc). NO offense to those who gave the advice, its just that adult severe acne (especially cystic) is not like normal acne. It's a mean relentless bastard that doesn't respond to pretty much anything besides accutane. It really is a miracle drug.
Don't let the sideaffects dissuade you. You'd have to draw a really bad card to regret having your acne gone permanently. I got my life back because of accutane, I'm fine with hair loss as a result. My self esteem took an initial hit but now I'm fine with it, give it a close buzz cut and go about my business and no one thinks twice about it. Having huge cysts front and center on your face is 100x worse.
Accutane has been known to cause transient patchy alopecia in a select few but does not cause male patten baldness. You were likely prone to MPB because of your genetic make up.
Congratulations on being a success story!
Yeah this is what most dermatologists say. Then there's the people like me who all have the same coincidence happen, which starts to make it seem like it's not a coincidence.
I am specifically talking about your bed linen and your diet.
You can scrub yourself raw and go lay down on a pillowcase that isn't freshly laundered and whaddaya know a new eruption.
As far as "I've tried diets" - you can't just munch on carrots. You have to actually change your entire lifestyle.
A pimple is a blocked hair follicle.
They take SIX WEEKS to form.
If you use salicylic acid at least once daily, use antiseptic soap, launder your clothes and bed linens daily, quit with the Coke and white bread and other processed junk, get exercise and use witchhazel whenever you sweat, you will eventually win.
Sounds like folks want instant results with little effort. Ain't gonna happen. Its lifestyle.
For really stubborn/hormonal acne a few sessions in a laser clinic or under UV lights also help but the regime of cleaning will also be recommended.
Wrong. Acne is not just a blocked hair follicle (and it can take as little as 2 weeks to form). It's an inflammatory response to it. Why some people's pores just push out the gunk & others have an over-reaction in the form of a large, inflamed lesion is not fully known.
Diet is not a cause for many with acne, and why assume all people have such poor diets? I don't eat processed junk & have always struggled with period-related hormonal breakouts (which I treat easily with topicals). Besides morning coffee & occasional glass of wine, all I drink is water & I avoid processed foods with preservatives. I gave up dairy & red meat for a time - did nothing.
Way to go to make more ignorant assumptions (about cleanliness again....really? Acne is NOT from being dirty when it's a skin disorder; those are not lifestyle related breakouts the OP is talking about). I've never had bad untreatable acne, but talking to those who do & they experiment with ALL kinds of things to get rid of it. Whenever I hear people advise to change pillow cases or stop touching the face, etc, I roll my eyes. That's like acne 101 - you think most adults considering an extreme drug have not considered the simple stuff first? I can tell you they have; that's last resort for them & their doctors.
These kinds of ignorant assumptions would not be tolerated with any other disease.
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