Cystic Acne Help

Does anyone have cystic acne? As I have approached my mid twenties my acne has gotten so much worse... It is definitely cystic and it seems to get worse during my period. I tried birth control pills but I got really depressed while taking them. My dermatologist recommended taking a different antibiotic that can get rid of the acne but I am literally terrified because I was sick for the last month with a stomach infection that I got from a different antibitotic that I took for a sinus infection..

I feel like taking an antibiotic for acne is my only resort but im so scared of getting sick. the dr said it should have minimal effect on my stomach but when i googled it i found a lot of negative side effects...

can anyone recommend a product that has worked? these r not just ordinary zits i m dealing with :(

Message edited 4/2/2009 10:04:00 PM.

Re: Cystic Acne Help

i have cystic acne and bad for an adult, i hide it well with makeup, i can fool most people but by the end of the work day my skin looks horrible


i tried 1 full year of anti biodics, pro activ and finally accutane also bcps

accutane helped control it...but after a few months it got bad again and bad is how it reamins

my doc said i needed another round of accutane to kill it off but its such a pita- with the blood tests and the 2 types of contraception, alos the side effects, forget it.
he said it will stop when im 35. i guess ill deal with it for another 6 years

good luck, i actually dont look at myself in the mirror after i shower. i just hate these horrible painful ugly unsightly pimples

Re: Cystic Acne Help

I had bad cystic acne in my 20s. The only thing that got rid of it for me was Accutane...and I had to do 3 full treatments and 1 therapeutic treatment, but that's not usually the case for most. (My therapeutic treatment, which was 3 months of a low dose, was done through my primary care physician.)

I wish my previous derms had mentioned Accutane to me because then I wouldn't have the significant scarring that I have now. :( (It's become much more obvious as I've gotten older.)

Re: Cystic Acne Help

a combo of tree tea oil and proactiv solution would work great for me.

Re: Cystic Acne Help

I used to take antibitocis for my acne. It worked really well for me! The only side effect I really got wasyeast infections

I also had the bigger zits injected.

Do you have that done?

Re: Cystic Acne Help

I had terrible cystic acne throughout college. I tried everything under the sun to get rid of it. The only thing that helped it was Accutane.

Like a pp said it worked...about 2 or so months into taking it I woke and LITERALLY my skin was clear

I continued taking it for the next 4 months (I BELIEVE you can only be on it for 6 months at a time and than you need to break from it for awhile before restarting - I was taking it when it came out years ago - so this could be different now). The constant back and forth to get my blood work checked was a pita.

Also you can not get pregnant while taking this...they grill you about it left and right up and down.

About a year and half after I stopped taking it - my skin started to break out again...not like it was previously did but enough for the Dr to suggest another round.

I didn't want to go back on the Accutane - because I was depressed when I was on it. That is one of the side effects. Nothing critical - but bad enough to know I'd rather deal with the acne than the depression.

Eventually, my skin cleared on its own...I don't have flawless skin, iIstill deal with mild break outs but the Accutane controled the oil glands so I don't deal with cystic acne.

Talk to your Dr. about it...like I said I took it years ago when it had JUST came to the market...so it may have different side effects. HTH

Re: Cystic Acne Help

Michi

I had cystic acne once in a while, but mostly just regular acne. BC never worked for me, I'm allergic to it. Antibiotics and creams/gels didn't work either. Like PP's, I did two rounds of Accutane, and while the results were incredible, they didn't last. I'm breaking out again.

Would you be willing to consider Accutane?

Re: Cystic Acne Help

I had it in my early 20's- it was awful and left me with some scars that I feel so self concious about.
My only recomendation is to take the anti-biotics sooner rather than later.
I waited too long and tried all these ove the counter solutions- and that is what led to my scars.
The sooner you treat it, the less chance of scarring.

I took Minocycline for only like a month or 2 and it cleared it up so great that it never came back. After that I just used the topicals from the Dermo (Differn gel and something else I can't remember) and it honestly hasn't come back like that again. I still get a cyst now and then- but never like it was originally.

The Minocycline did not upset my stomach at all- I think I took it with food.
I was fine.
The only thing was that the Dr did give me a prescription for Diflucan with it- just in case of a yeast infection- because being on anti biotics like that for a longer period of time definitely makes you more prone to yeast infections down below.

Good luck and definitely see the Dr sooner rather than later- you dont' want to end up with tissue loss scars like I got!

Re: Cystic Acne Help

Thanks girls
I cant believe so many of us have experience with this. I sometimes feel like I am the only girl who has acne!!!! Its driving me insane.. I might call the Dr back and see if he can give me something else...the meds he perscribed are called droxyl..does anyone have experience with this?

i also was trying to think back to when my acne was better and i realized that i used to eat a lot of yogurt and i dont anymore..i wonder if i up my yogurt intake if that will help fight the bacteria?

can u all sense my desperation lol thanks to all of u, u girls rock!!!!

Re: Cystic Acne Help

I get 1 or 2 hormonal cystic pimples, depending on the time of month... i only use tea tree oil on them. After about 24 hours of regular application, the pain lessens and the redness decreases.

I have one right now!

Re: Cystic Acne Help

I have cystic acne and I have been on Minocyclin since December and I can't believe how good my skin looks. My stomach is super sensitive and I've never had any problems on the meds. And thankfully, I have not had any yeast infections. I also use Differin and Duac on alternating days. I haven't needed it in a while, but I did get injections for the big ones from the derm and he swabs my face with liquid nitrogen. Sounds scary, but works.

Re: Cystic Acne Help

Posted by Michi

Thanks girls
I cant believe so many of us have experience with this. I sometimes feel like I am the only girl who has acne!!!! Its driving me insane.. I might call the Dr back and see if he can give me something else...the meds he perscribed are called droxyl..does anyone have experience with this?

i also was trying to think back to when my acne was better and i realized that i used to eat a lot of yogurt and i dont anymore..i wonder if i up my yogurt intake if that will help fight the bacteria?

can u all sense my desperation lol thanks to all of u, u girls rock!!!!

Re: Cystic Acne Help

Posted by Michi

Thanks girls
I cant believe so many of us have experience with this. I sometimes feel like I am the only girl who has acne!!!! Its driving me insane.. I might call the Dr back and see if he can give me something else...the meds he perscribed are called droxyl..does anyone have experience with this?

i also was trying to think back to when my acne was better and i realized that i used to eat a lot of yogurt and i dont anymore..i wonder if i up my yogurt intake if that will help fight the bacteria?

can u all sense my desperation lol thanks to all of u, u girls rock!!!!

Re: Cystic Acne Help

I suffer from cystic acne. My derm put me on antibiotics for a year along some topicals. The antibiotics did nothing for me so he referred me to my gyn for birth control. I was on yasmine for 5 years and had the most beautiful skin. I came off of it November 2007 and my skin has been a mess since. Proactive does help me with the large ones (i use it for spot treatment) and my derm prescribed me clindagel which I like and it doesn't dry me out like the proactive does. Other than that nothing seems to help especially now that my DH and I are TTC, the derm doesn't want to put me on anything else.

Re: Cystic Acne Help

Posted by Michi

Thanks girls
I cant believe so many of us have experience with this. I sometimes feel like I am the only girl who has acne!!!! Its driving me insane.. I might call the Dr back and see if he can give me something else...the meds he perscribed are called droxyl..does anyone have experience with this?

i also was trying to think back to when my acne was better and i realized that i used to eat a lot of yogurt and i dont anymore..i wonder if i up my yogurt intake if that will help fight the bacteria?

can u all sense my desperation lol thanks to all of u, u girls rock!!!!

Re: Cystic Acne Help

Do you get cortisone injections at the dermatologist's office? Whenever I felt a big cystic zit coming on, I would make an appointment for an injection. The zit would disappear within 24 hours.

Cystic acne sucks, but there are treatments. Mynocycline (i think that's how you spell it) worked well. It is an antibiotic that can cause stomach upset, but I would just take it with a meal.

My sisters and I all suffered from cystic acne. I can completely relate...

Re: Cystic Acne Help

Re: Cystic Acne Help