Cystic Acne

When I was a teenager, I had beautiful skin. It sounds a little big headed to say that but it's genuinely true. I used to receive compliments on my skin above all else. I was obsessed with skincare and having just one spot was devastating. That one big cystic spot would come only once a month though, so I just used to sulk & get on with it. Looking back, I've now come to realise those spots, that only came once a month (clue right there...) were hormonal.

So throw in two, pregnancies, two babies & 2.5 years of breastfeeding and you've got a woman in hormonal overdrive! My skin has suffered the most. Gone are the days of a baby soft face, now it's blackheads, whiteheads & worst of all, Cystic Acne. I don't suppose the fact my skincare ritual slipping through exhausting pregnancies & sleep-deprived newborn days will have helped matters but as my hormones are still all over the joint, my skin is just not settling. In fact, despite trying various cream, lotions, washes & remedies throughout the past year(+), I've given up... Coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil, breastmilk, salicylic acid, clay masks, evening primrose oil... Nothing has worked, not even slightly.

To the point that last month I resigned myself to going to the doctors. Since I've yet to find a cure for myself, I was holding out for their being a medical miracle they were keeping a secret, that might just fix my face. Having already exhausted every remedy I'd encountered from hours of Googling, I was dubious there was much they'd actually be able to do, particularly for my hormone induced cystic acne. It seems the best solutions for that included the contraceptive pill but given I'm still breastfeeding, they simply won't even entertain that idea. And since stopping breastfeeding isn't going to happen any time soon, I thought there was little hope.

Thankfully, I encountered a very sympathetic doctor. She agreed that my acne was more than likely down to hormones & not once suggested stopping breastfeeding. We talked about the various other options that avoided hormones as not to interfere with breastfeeding and before going down the route of oral antibiotics, that I'd try a couple of topical creams & solutions. She prescribed me Stiemycin & Acnecide Gel, both to be used twice a day. I was to give it at least 4 weeks and if there was no improvement to go back & discuss starting oral antibiotics (obviously ones safe for use whilst breastfeeding).

It's now been 4 weeks and disappointingly, I'm making another appointment with my doctor. Despite my cystic acne not being quite as widespread, it's by no means improved. There's a few less cystic spots but that could be as much to do with the fact that the previous ones have healed, as although there's not as many, there's still some there regardless; & they're by no means any better than they were before starting the prescribed treatments. I imagine the fact I've also just had my first period in 18 months means perhaps my hormones are going into a whole new overdrive (yay...). Plus there's absolutely no improvement in the blackhead & whiteheads. I won't get an appointment for another couple of weeks yet, which will give the treatment a little more time to work but as there's been no change yet, I'm not holding my breath.

I plan to keep updating throughout my treatments though, as to help anyone going through the same. Because if you're anything like me, obsessively Googling treatments is something that comes with the territory of Cystic Acne. And yes, I do have a some rather high-resolution photos for my face but I'm not quite ready to share that yet - perhaps as a before photo when I have a after one.

Do you have any experience with Cystic Acne? Or any magical cures to share?

I've since written an update on how my Cystic Acne Treatment is going. Click here to read on...

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