Beauty Tips For Body Care
Hi all,As the title states, I feel like I've tried everything to control my hormonal acne and the only thing that worked (combination birth control pill) is not an option anymore. I'm hoping one of you can suggest something as I am out of ideas, and I'm pretty sure my dermatologist is too.I would classify my acne has moderate and it is mainly on my lower cheeks and jaw line. It is extremely painful and red.. I usually have around 6 active pimples at a time. My skin is very fair and the red marks from past breakouts stay a very long time. I also have a lot of closed comedones on my chin that have been there for years and will not budge.Things I've tried:Spironolactone - I'm currently taking 50mg of this and have been since November 2015. I recently tried to up it to 75mg after getting my derm's blessing and I ended up fainting the morning after increasing my dose. The doctor diagnosed it as a vasovagal response and sent me on my way but I'm pretty certain it was from the medication lowering my blood pressure too much. I'll likely stop taking this soon because the excessive thirst/dehydration/having to pee every 30 minutes is too much for a drug that doesn't seem to have improved my skin at all.Accutane - I've been on this 3x; very low doses however. I think the first time was 30mg/day and the last two were 15 mg/day. Although this helped for short periods of time, my acne has always returned relatively quickly. My skin and eyes are very dry already and I don't think I want to try this path again..Hormonal birth control - This cleared up my skin 95% and then after switching to a different one with higher estrogen I had a migraine with aura. I stopped taking it because of the greater stroke risk with people who suffer from migraine with aura, however my doctor says I can try the one I was on previously before any migraines occurred. Everything I find online says otherwise and the stroke risk is too great. Honestly, if I can't find anything else that works I may resort to this because it seems that the depression my skin is causing is a greater risk than the stroke risk..Topical RX Creams: I'm currently using Benzaclin and Tazorac but I've basically been on all prescription topical creams available in Canada at some point. Epiduo, Clindoxyl, Differin, none of them control my acne..Other - I've taken Zinc supplements and Evening Primrose for about a month at a time (at different times) and saw no improvement in my acne. I've used AHA's and BHA's in the past and while I was on birth control they did help with the texture of my skin but right now I am trying to stick with my dermatologist's recommendations and adding more chemical exfoliation is rough for my dry skin.My current routine:AM:Neutrogena Extra Gentle CleanserMaritime Natural Vitamin C SerumI'll sometimes add a little Benzaclin to any active pimples at this point.. not often though because it makes my foundation look flakeyImpruv Moisturizer or Complex-15 Moisturizer depending on how dry my skin isLa Roche-Posay Anthelios Ultra Fluid Lotion SPF 60PM:Remove makeup with Garnier Micellar WaterNeutrogena Extra Gentle CleanserAlternate between Tazorac Cream and Benzaclin every nightImpruv moisturizerVaseline on under eye area50mg SpironolactoneSome other things: I change my pillow case every day, sanitize my phone regularly, drink lots of water and have a fairly healthy diet. I'm experimenting with removing dairy from my diet to see if that helps at all. Also, Cerave anything breaks me out like crazy so that is a no go unfortunately :(I'm just so frustrated and feel like I've exhausted all my options. Thanks for any advice and for reading this lengthy post!
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by giraffelaugh
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