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free skin care · Thu Aug 03, 2006 12:49 pm

Hi! I haven't been here in a while. Finally, finally, finally, I took some wise advice from you guys about my acne. I went to the DERMATOLOGIST instead of trying to fix things on my own, only to be let down. My first visit was in the beginning of the summer and she said I had a lot of blocked pores, but only a few pimples near my chin. She also said I look a lot more "active" than I actually am - meaning that the old acne marks make it look like my condition is worse than what it actually is. So first, she put me on Differin once a night, Duac (topical antibiotic), cleansing with a regular old bar of Dove Sensitive Skin soap, moisturize with Cetaphil. The Differin is amazing. I initially broke out, but that was because all the gunk was being revealed at the surface. It was bringing everything up and pimples would go away within a few days. The Duac was way too harsh. It made my skin red and it burned when I applied sunscreen (Shiseido SPF 55), so we bagged that. But the Differin, I love that stuff. Then.. THEN.. then at my appointment a few weeks ago, she put me on Klaron (a more gentle topical antibiotic) along with the Differin. Klaron has become my best friend. It definitely prevents pimples from forming. I can feel when I'm getting a bump, but applying Klaron morning and night gets rid of the bacteria before it turns into a full-fledged pimple. I absolutely love it. And then lastly, she put me on this heavy cream called Nicomide to take care of the post-inflammatory marks. It's a very slow fading process and I haven't seen any noticable changes. But honestly, I don't care. A little bit of powder takes care of that. All that is important to me is that I'm not getting any more pimples! I can't believe I'm saying that! So yeah, that's what I've been up to. Thanks for all your suggestions and being with me through it all.
-Jamie

free skin care · Thu Aug 03, 2006 12:55 pm

jamie630,

I'm so happy for you. Razz

It's wonderful to hear that someone found the product that works for them.

Thu Aug 03, 2006 1:05 pm

Good for you!!! I asked my pcp 2 wks ago if I should go to a dermatologist and she said no because since I only had acne on one side of my face...she believes it was stress related....huh???

Well, I am out on a stress leave from work right now. I have been out for over one month and don't plan on going back until end of August. I am getting the help that I need and spending lots of times with my 4 yrs old twin boys (which adds to my stress sometimes)..but not having to worry about work is helping.

I am one of those people who don't know how to leave work behind and care too much for a BIG company who could care less about its employees and I also take things too personal....Sorry...I know this has anything to do w/ this forum, but I needed to vent.

Well Wishes

Fri Aug 04, 2006 3:41 am

Jamie - that's great news! I hope things continue to improve.

free skin care · Fri Aug 04, 2006 6:31 am

Twinmommy-Hat's off to you with twin boys! I'm glad you take some time now and then to visit the forum and enjoy your down time. Hope your stress gets better.
Jamie630-Does the Klaron or Differin make you peel at all?

free skin care · Fri Aug 04, 2006 12:45 pm

Good for you Jamie. We don't get Klaron here in Canada but i've been using Sulfacet-R (which is basically Klaron + sulfur) for 2 weeks and it has significantly cleared up the giant cysts on my chin. Someone from this forum mentioned Klaron before so i went online to reseach it, and the reviews were good since it's one of those antibiotics that doesn't have the side effects of purging/redness/flaking/etc. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has trouble with cystic acne. I also got samples of Differin and am comtemplating on incorporating it into my regimen but so far the Sulfacet works wonders on its own. Keeping my fingers crossed that it won't stop working for me.

free skin care · Fri Aug 04, 2006 7:32 pm

I peel, but it isn't visible. I can feel a new layer of dead skin that's ready to come off every week. When I cleanse, I judge whether I can rub just a little bit harder to get that layer totally off. It sort of feels like dead skin is rolling under my fingertips. When I feel like I rubbed every flakey area, I rinse, and then my skin feels really smooth.

free skin care · Sat Aug 05, 2006 4:23 am

I wished eds forums were available to get all this information when i had my acne..........it would have saved alot of heartache.

i'm so happy for you that it worked.
regards

karina

free skin care · Mon Aug 07, 2006 2:45 pm

dollbird wrote:

Good for you Jamie. We don't get Klaron here in Canada but i've been using Sulfacet-R (which is basically Klaron + sulfur) for 2 weeks and it has significantly cleared up the giant cysts on my chin. Someone from this forum mentioned Klaron before so i went online to reseach it, and the reviews were good since it's one of those antibiotics that doesn't have the side effects of purging/redness/flaking/etc. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has trouble with cystic acne. I also got samples of Differin and am comtemplating on incorporating it into my regimen but so far the Sulfacet works wonders on its own. Keeping my fingers crossed that it won't stop working for me.

dollbird I would be very cautious about using Differin and Sulfacet. When I started Differin I was still using Sulfacet and had the worst irritation. I thought it was just from starting the Differin so I put up with it. Finally my derm took my off the Sulfacet (and replaced it with Azalex) and the irritation went away quickly. Only later did I read the package insert for Differin and found out that it should not be used with sulfur containing products. I have no idea why that dermatologist put me on both Differin and Sulfacet!!!

free skin care · Mon Aug 07, 2006 2:51 pm

jamie630 I am so glad you have finally found something that works for you! Tell me more about the Nicomide cream. Someone else mentioned it on the forum a month or so ago and I have been considering using it. Do you use it once a day or twice? Do you think that it would be appropriate for oily/dehydrated skin? I know that there is a gel version too but that contains alcohol which my skin cannot tolerate. Do you apply it to your entire face or just to your pimples and/or acne scars? Would you happen to know the complete ingredients or where I can find this infromation? TIA

free skin care · Mon Aug 07, 2006 6:37 pm

Thanks TheresaL. Yeah I'm aware of the irritation potential of those two treatments combined. I'm so paranoid about my skin, i'm just thinking of a backup plan in case Sulfacet stops working for me. How's Differin working for you? Did you experience the initial purge? What i like about Sulfacet is that it doesn't come with the side effect of purging, something i'm terribly afraid of with Differin. I can't afford for my skin to get any worse.

free skin care · Tue Aug 08, 2006 7:40 am

dollbird I have been using Differin for 8 years and during that time I had great success controlling my acne with a combination of Differin and either benzoyl peroxide or BP plus topical antibiotics. A few months ago I decided to try using the Differin by itself to see if that would work. My acne initially got much worse but seems to be improving so maybe the Differin by itself is sufficient. It is really too soon to tell though. When I first started using Differin I did not experience any purging just irritation. HTH

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