Getting hitched and spots... Anyone had medication?

Hi,

My friend had something similar to these. It used to get her really down so I kind of understand. My friend did go on the medication and it worked perfectly there's no harm in trying. Hope you feel better soon

I was in a similar situation, was on the pill, but it would not clear up my skin completely, my skin would have moments where it would flare up quite drastically and I was extremely upset about it, wouldn't leave he house, I went to the doctors where I was prescribed some antibiotics and after a week already noticed a different, they also prescribed me some dermatological skin care face wash to prevent it happening again, don't think it's too drastic, I know a lot of people who have taken tablets or are on special medication for their skin. As long as you are confident and happy that's what is most important! I try stay away from certain skin care products now/makeup that will cause my skin to break out or react as well

I'm totally in the same boat!! I have had horrible cystic acne all over the lower half of my face since I came off the pill, and now even though I've gone back on the pill its not clearing up. Am seeing my GP about it now & they've sent me for blood tests to check if its a hormone imbalance. If the tests are clear I think I'll be asking for roaccutane or something similar. I've tried every topical ointment Boots will sell me but they all make my skin crack and bleed.

Acne really does make me feel rotten so I totally understand you wanting to get medication for it. If it makes you feel crappy, do something! Don't worry what anyone else thinks!

In all honesty, if its just for the wedding I wouldn't recommend it. You'd be better getting some prescribed cream or something.

The tablets you will be put on are antibiotics, they will take about 8 weeks to kick in, and when you stop taking them your spots are usually worse and extremely painful.

I don't think anyone should take them just for their wedding day, if you need to start taking them it should be because your generally day to day unhappy with your spots for whatever reason. I think this because in my experience, in the long run, it only makes them worse.

I had super antibiotics in the 3 months before my wedding, and to be honest although my skin calmed down I still ended up with a few corkers on my neck on the day! In hindsight I would have just made sure I got a good makeup artist to cover it, and to be fair mine was fine and I didnt really notice on the day or in the photos.

This isn't necessarily true. My sister went on roaccutane for a few months and it totally cleared up her skin, the spots never came back, ever.

I think it depends on the underlying cause of the acne. If it's a hormone imbalance then the medication will only pause it, and the spots may come back, but if, like in my sister's case, it was just teenage skin taking a while to bugger off then drugs should sort the problem out.

Be aware though that you have to be VERY careful with contraception, as it there are very strong links between roaccutane use and harmful effects on a baby. My sister had to sign a form saying she would take every measure possible to not get pregnant!

I think the moral of the story is talk to your GP

(Edited for typo)

It all depends the reason for the spots,

i get really bad breakouts with stess and on my period, but found being religous about washing fce morning and night - no excuses really helped. I also had advise and regular facals from by local friendly beautian who i see every month. ( not for everyone but the salon only treatments have really helped with my skin.)

I use a medicated lotion from then, which i think you can only get from Salons , From Image Skincare, from the Clear cell range - medicated acne lotion, feels like it does somethig, and it helps dry it up, its not cheap, but it does give results. But i religiously clense witha foam cleanser, toneand moisturise and medicate if required.

Ahh, interesting! I made a big judgement there based on my own experience and others online, glad to hear its not the case for everyone.

And yes - completely agree RE contraception, I was going to say but decided not to, if you are planning on TTC then you will be limited on what antibiotics you can have.

The tablets I was originally on for my chin spots would damage any unborn child to the extent that they would encourage terminations because of it.

Benzoyl Peroxide is pretty good at clearing spots relatively quickly -

its in Quinoderm (you can get this at boots) Duac Gel etc

ww

Thanks for the advice so far! I don't think I would have even considered going on any medicated cream/otherwise if the nurse hasn't of told me that it was something that they could do. I do have a good face care rountine, it's just that time of the month which results in my job being taken over. I also have a MUA at the ready I need to go to the docs to sort out my hayfever anyway so might mention it just to find out a little more if nothing else. In the meantime, thanks WW, I'm off to boots now at lunch to try that and see what happens - there are so many products out, I just need to know which really I think in all honesty!!

I think it's different for everyone though... so I guess it's just a case of crossing fingers if you do end up trying it! My GP told me to try other things (lotions, potions etc) first for exactly the reason you said though - if it can be fixed with creams its best to avoid a rather nasty medication that might not work!

HAG13 - one thing I have tried that did work in the short term were Cane and Austin blemish pads, they're from Space NK and are pretty expensive but you can cut the pads in half and the box lasts twice as long. They worked in reducing the size of my spots for about 6 weeks, then my skin got used to them and started flaring up again. Definitely worth a try!

Also a note for anyone that uses PanOxyl gel - I heard at Boots the other day that they're discontinuing it in the 2.5% and 5% strengths, so if you use those, bulk buying might be an idea!

Can't help with the medication side...

Something that I picked up while talking to an endocrinologist but haven't ever really pursued in the medical literature is that fluoride toothpaste can causes spots. I don't know if it's a chemical irritation or a true allergy.

I'm not suggesting that your spottiness is down to fluoride, but if you're a messy brusher, perhaps if you take care when brushing your teeth and don't splash foamy toothpaste across your chin/mouth, it might prevent this effect exacerbating an existing problem?

This is definitely worth a try - can cause something called perioral dermatitis, which looks like acne, but actually isn't. I used to get quite a few monsters around my jawline, but switched to an aloe vera based toothpaste and also changed the moisturiser I was using - made a huge difference.

Ali

I'd definitely recommend talking to your doctor. There are topical creams and ointments which they can prescribe. This is normally a first step if the pill isn't working. Next step would be antibiotics and a last resort is Roaccutane. I've been through all steps in an attempt to clear my skin and have finally gone onto Roaccutane - its early days but appears to be working. My doctor was pretty reluctant to put me on Roaccutane until I had tried all the other steps as its a pretty powerful drug - as mentioned above I've had to sign something which says I agree to a termination if I become pregnant during the course of tablets and have to have blood tests once a month!!

I agree with Wickywack - I have suffered from mild to moderate acne continuously since the age of 11. Despite using good skincare, over the counter spot remedies and being really careful with how I treat my skin, it was always there. However, I went to see my GP a few months ago to discuss ways of getting rid of it, and was prescribed Duac Gel. It's changed my life. Literally. My skin is so clear now, and I still have plenty of the gel to use for when an occasional spot appears.

There are options other than the harshest tablets. Maybe try some of those first, they might just work for you.

Usually my spots are on my chin which is a symptom of stress. As a teenager I had regular acne then in my 20s I got cystic acne which was nasty. I would 1-2 spots that would be really deep, very swollen and painful. Then I'd be clear for a bit then I'd get more again. It seems to have stopped and now I get a regular spot now and again.

As a teenager I was on roaccutane - It cleared my skin but the side effects meant I had very dry flaky skin for a while. I used emmolliant (sp?) cream for it and sometimes my skin was so dry it stung to put moisturiser on. If it is close to your wedding I think you need to find something else as the excessive dryness will just change your problem to the opposite extreme.

I use freederm for spots - it doesn't kill them but speeds up their life so they are over faster and reduces the swelling and soreness which is what bothers me the most.

Also, there are treatments which some beauticians can do or places that do lipo and laser stuff. Special light treatments, microdermabrasion, dermaroller etc. It does cost quite a lot. I am having a course of microdermabrasion as it really improves the appearance of my skin, reduces pore-size, evens out colouring. I've done it before and found that it reduced the frequency of my spots as all dead skin was removed and it was like a deep clean.

I came off the pill and my skin cleared up no end. I know that's not the normal state of affairs but that's what worked for me after 15 years of breakouts while I was on the pill' thinking I'd just have to deal with it. Dermalogica products helped too...