Acne and everything with it. (help me medical ppl!)

[Nynaeve]

Roche USA no longer makes or distributes Accutane in the US. It is available as the generic isotretinoin. But due the extremely high danger of major, life threatening birth defects, you have to sign a lot of paperwork to be perscribed it. If you are female or are married to a woman of child-bearing capability, regular pregnacy tests and possibly 2 forms of birth control are required.

Basically the legal liability and lawsuits got to be too much. It's a drug that can be very helpful or harmful. YMMV.

[Kerberoz]

Afaik, Accutane is the only acne drug that does anything at all. The rest are just a waste of money. If you're still getting it at 28, it's unlikely that any routine changes are going to help you.

You probably noticed it getting better due to more sunlight exposure, not less gaming.

[Yuri-G]

You'll never find a girl that will love you.

not everyone's looking for girls, you know.

[Zalius]

not everyone's looking for girls, you know.

yeah but nobody cares about fags

[Penthesilea]

I believe the only thing ever on the market that helped to clear acne permanently was accutane (Retinoids) as panda mentioned. It literally shrinks the size and production of your sebum glands. It had a ton of really serious side-effects though. If you do decide to get this (can you still get this?), just be aware of the side-effects. Bad acne can really hurt self-esteem, so for many it may be worth it - just realize that some of the side effects can be permanent - even after you stop taking it.

Outside of Accutane, meds you get are typically antibiotic related (since acne is caused by bacteria) - for instance your Minocycline. The problem with ongoing acne is you're killing off most of the bacteria when you start on the medication - face clears up a bit - but you end up leaving the resistant bacteria and selecting for its growth. So oftentimes you take the med, clear up, then it flares back up to normal or even worse months later (resistant bacteria selected). At this point, the antibiotic is useless because the thing it's trying to get rid of is resistant - and yet you still have to deal with all its side effects.

1 practical tip that may help you is if you sleep with your face to the side, try changing your pillow sheets very often. Those sheets can build up a lot of oil and your face is pressing right against it for hours at a time at night if you sleep sideways.

Everything he said plus getting out in the sun (be careful doing this on accutane) will help a good deal (from my experience).

[melbufrauma]

sunlight will clear up acne, also dabbing toothpaste on where you have breakouts before you sleep and leave the toothpaste on overnight will dry it out and clear it up. Proactiv also works

[Yuri-G]

yeah but nobody cares about fags

right, that's why 90% of the straight male population today dresses like them.

also, on topic, idk what to tell you man. I took accutane and it changed my life. if that's not an option for you... good luck. acne's a bitch.

[Penthesilea]

I took accutane as well, and while my acne was mild, it didn't clear it up the first treatment. I followed up with another treatment later and now I've got extremely clear skin.

[Fistandantilus]

yeah but nobody cares about fags

He could just be looking for Women instead of girls. Seeing as how it was Senoska who said the OP wouldn't ever get a girl, it's likely that he meant a girl who is like 14.

[Cream Soda]

Cancer

[melbufrauma]

its lupus

[Fistandantilus]

its lupus

It's never lupus.

[MoogleAura]

Yeah I took Roaccutane (Same as accutane) and after 4-5 months my face had cleared up almost completely. The ironic thing is that the medication can cause depression in some people and I'd never felt so energetic while I was taking it.
However you have to go for a monthly blood test of which the results are sent to your dermotologist because prolonged use can be bad for your liver or something.

Mine came back though after 6 months. The dermotologist has said mine had always been mild but it still gets to you. I've never drank alcohol or fizzy drinks like Coke (hate the taste) the majority of the time I drink water, juice or tea. While friends family shovel down crap and their skin is flawless. ~_~

[Zalius]

right, that's why 90% of the straight male population today dresses like them.

also, on topic, idk what to tell you man. I took accutane and it changed my life. if that's not an option for you... good luck. acne's a bitch.

90% of the straight male population are bitches

[Kerberoz]

Yeah I took Roaccutane (Same as accutane) and after 4-5 months my face had cleared up almost completely. The ironic thing is that the medication can cause depression in some people and I'd never felt so energetic while I was taking it.
However you have to go for a monthly blood test of which the results are sent to your dermotologist because prolonged use can be bad for your liver or something.

Mine came back though after 6 months. The dermotologist has said mine had always been mild but it still gets to you. I've never drank alcohol or fizzy drinks like Coke (hate the taste) the majority of the time I drink water, juice or tea. While friends family shovel down crap and their skin is flawless. ~_~

There has never been a proven causal link between accutane and depression. Some kid killed himself while on it (omg a teen with acne killed himself? nowai) so they have to put a warning on it now. Also, the caffeine thing is largely a myth. Your diet has very little impact on acne production.

[SamanosukeShiva]

take a birth control pill i heard it helps! rofl

[SquireStrat]

Roche USA no longer makes or distributes Accutane in the US. It is available as the generic isotretinoin. But due the extremely high danger of major, life threatening birth defects, you have to sign a lot of paperwork to be perscribed it. If you are female or are married to a woman of child-bearing capability, regular pregnacy tests and possibly 2 forms of birth control are required.

Basically the legal liability and lawsuits got to be too much. It's a drug that can be very helpful or harmful. YMMV.

This is probably what my Derm. was talking about. She said she wouldn't prescribe it anyways because SHE didn't "feel" I was a candidate for it even though I tried my very best to say how bad it gets and how ongoing it's been. Of course on my last app. I was having a "good day". I would love a second opinion, but I'm afraid of going thru the hassle of starting another "regime".

Sunlight. Yes more would help. I work second shift(3-11:30pm)which is killing me, but it's the best paying job I can find right now. Also kills me cause I miss the Florida sun/beaches during the day(still new to the area ish)!

My diet I do have concerns with though. While I don't drink any pop/soda, RARELY fast food, or fried food, I do drink coffee every day and love my breads/cereal/no veggies. This week at the store I'll get some V-8 to help with the lack of veggies. I drink probably around 1/2 gallon of water a day. More depending on what station I'm working at work. I also will be grabbing some Witch Hazel as I've read that can help with inflimation(sp?) and also I do have a lavender/chamomile oil that my mother whipped up for me awhile back(she's a massage therapist, has like every essential oil).

I had a talk with a few coworkers as I work with mostly women(I'm a Sterile Processing Technician at the local hospital)about this as they are good people. It was unanimous that while yes it's present, they seem to think I overthink it. I probably do since I hate this whole acne problem so much!

I really need to see a doctor about the anxiety/stress thing. My Derm. made it clear that if you show any form of depression or anything related, acutane was off limits, so I didn't say I have a stressful job or that I over-analyze things.

[thetruepandagod]

A lot of derm's refuse to prescribe accutane because of all the paperwork and kids that refuse to follow all the rules that they agreed to do. Luckily my mom is a derm so it was pretty easy. I would just hound ur derm to give it to you because it really is a fantastic thing to get rid of acne.

edit: dont drink on accutane either if you somehow get it. you don't even realize how much faster it hits you

[Draylo]

No I highly doubt sitting in front of a computer screen will be causing your acne problems. Although if you eat at the computer or don't wash your hands etc before you get on the keyboard and then touch your face after touching the keyboard, that may cause some acne. The amount of germ on a keyboard is crazy especially if you share it with other people.

[Atreides]

I took accutane as well, and it sorta worked for me but not really, as I still had breakouts but not as bad, or just different skin problems. I’ve been on every acne medication you can think of: differin, retin-A, sulfacet-R, pretty much every topical on the market. Stuff would work for me for a few weeks, then I’d break out again.

Then, on a whim, I decided to try acne.org’s relatively simple method of store-bought 2.5% benzoyl peroxide (don’t use anything higher than this!) and a generous amount of moisturizer before bed every night, and sure enough it cleared me up in 3 days, and I’ve been acne-free ever since. Switching to an electric razor I could rinse helped, and using it with a shave gel and a good aftershave helped a lot with irritation/infection. I’ve also had a lot of luck using Bump Patrol (an aftershave designed for African American men, lol) as a spot treatment and aftershave, but anyway.

I think the 2 biggest causes for acne that people overlook are:
A) Stress and
B) Lack of sleep
I know those are my BIG triggers, and FFXI can cause both. So do some yoga or breathing exercises, and make sure you get enough sleep every night and see if that helps. If you smoke, quitting will make a huge difference too, I assure you.

I disagree that diet doesn’t affect your skin, in my experience it really does, but then again everyone’s skin is different. My skin really started to glow once I started eating healthy, cut down on my caffeine intake, and made sure I drank enough water every day.

Oh and one more thing: most men don’t use moisturizer, which is absolutely retarded. Find one that doesn’t make you break out, and use it 2-3x per day, more as needed in winter. It seems counterintuitive to use something that might make your skin feel greasier when it’s prone to breakouts, but often using too many products or just normal wear and tear will dry you out and make your skin overproduce oil to compensate. Plus, the SPF should help keep your skin looking young as you age.

Anyway, just my thoughts, I had mild acne well into my adult life and I was under the impression that it was just something I’d be stuck with for the rest of my life, but now my friends/family say they can hardly tell I used to have problems. Worth a shot anyway, since you can buy Neutrogena On The Spot and moisturizer at virtually any drugstore.