Visit to the Dermatologist

So, December 14th is finally here and I got to see the dermatologist. I couldn't sleep the night before I was kind of anxious and worried at the same time. What if he prescribe me Accutane? Is it going to permanently solve my acne problems? What if not? What am I suppose to do if he will not?


I went there and told him about my situation. Also, showed him my pictures at the worst time in the month where my forehead was full of red pimples. Then, he asked me to tell him my history of all the drugs/treatments I have been doing for acne. I told him all the over the counter and prescription medicines that I took; which included many face washes, different antibiotics, gels/creams and Accutane. He specifically asked me about Accutane which I told him I only took it for one month on low dose (10mg) per day. He said it's not enough to get rid of my acne. So, naturally I asked him for Acctuane. But he refused; instead gave me more gels/creams that I have used in the past. So what a waste of time!
My mom said I should not fill the prescription, which I agree. My mom suggested that I go see my primary care doctor again and see if he has anything else that will help. So we went on December 18th to see him. I waited over an hour to see him because he had so many patients. Well, it was good after all because at least he didn't say anything about it's going to go away and give me more gels/creams. He said that he thinks that birth control pill, more specifically Ortho Tri Cyclen is going to help with my problem. Come to think of it, my acne does tend to flare up significantly around the time of my period. Other times, my skin tends to heal and there are less acne. So, I got the Ortho Tri Cyclen the generic one Trinessa. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will have a beneficial effect on my skin. I will write another post on exactly how it is affecting me so far.

Acne coming back @ 26 years old

So, my acne was pretty much under control once I turned 25.  I had almost no acne except for the occasional breakout every month around that time.  However, this year October, I had some extra stress and my acne came back full force.  I had lots of small red pimples all over my forehead; they almost look like they are angry and screaming at me.  Why??  I was so frustrated that I almost wanted to end it all.  I am already 26 with acne for almost 8 years.  This is so unbelievable.  Why would I still have this problem when I am an adult?  I inherited my dad's bad oily acne-prone skin which makes me feel like I am a monster practically all the time.  I am sure all acne sufferers would relate to that.  I never felt beautiful in my life and I know it's because of acne.  My mom says so and so has acne but she is still happily married.  She doesn't know how I feel or how people with acne feel because she's never had acne in her life.  I am just so tired of hearing it will go away eventually.  OK, like when is it really going away??  Never.  Anyways instead of going on and on about how miserable I am.  Let me give you some update on the situation, I saw my doctor and he prescribed me bunch of medicine, Benzoyl Peroxide (5%) / Erythromycin Gel (1%), erythromycin tablets and retin-A.  The benzoyl peroxide / erythromycin gel is pretty effective however I am super allergic to it.  It made my face tomato red for several days plus I was itchy.  If your skin can tolerate the benzoyl peroxide, you should definitely get this mixture cream, works very well for my hundreds of forehead acne.  Erythromycin tablets was prescribed to me as well, but I couldn't take it because every time I took I felt really sick.  The retin-A just peels the skin and I didn't feel it had an effect at all.  So with that, I felt pretty hopeless.  My primary physician said that I should get my blood / urine tested so that I can get ready to take Accutane.  He gave me a referral to a dermatologist who can actually prescribe the medicine (as my primary physician cannot).  I will be seeing him on Dec, 14.  Don't know if he is willing to prescribe me that stuff as I imagine that he will say that my situation is not that bad. 
Oh, here is a little bit of background on my acne history.  I took Accutane before for just 1 month on 10mg per day.  It cleared up my skin beautifully.  It worked almost right away.  My skin was feeling normal and the acne never came back as severe as before.  Thinking back, I should have taken Accutane for at least 3 months 20mg per day for a longer lasting effect. 
OK, my fellow acne sufferers, I will update you on the situation once I see the dermatologist.