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Growing up I never had bad acne, maybe just an...
Growing up I never had bad acne, maybe just an occasional break out here and there, even throughout highschool my face was pretty clear, except for these several tiny bumps I had on my cheeks, mainly one cheek, and then my forehead. I also had blackheads on my nose and chin area, and wanted to get rid of those, so I demanded that my mom buy my proactiv, even though my face looked pretty clear. The Proactiv did a good job, I couldn't complain but then again I did not see much of a notice since my acne was not bad but when I did have a hormonal breakout, Proactiv was there to clean the mess. I would say I was using Proactiv for about three years or more, until about three months ago when I decided to stop using it. My decision to stop Proactiv was a brave and risky one, since; I had already broken out with cystic acne on my face one time before when I decided to stop. So I did some searching on Google and real self and found some topics about weaning oneself off of Proactiv, I followed these steps and reduced the amount and frequency of the product and eventually went to a dermatologist.
The dermatologists PA asked why I wanted to discontinue the use of Proactiv and I simply said that I was tired of the routine and that some of my acne wasn't going away or coming up, I felt like my face was just stuck, I had little bumps on my forehead and cheeks but they had no whiteheads or blackheads and never went away nor did anymore show up on my face. He looked at me and said it is stress that is causing your face to breakout and prescribed me Epiduo and Doxycycline Hytrate. Now I was a little dumbfounded when he said stress was causing this to happen, when not once did he ask me any type of questions besides why I wanted to stop using Proactiv.
Anyway, I used the Epiduo at night and took the Doxy every morning, my face the first two weeks looked decent besides the little red pimples I had on my face. The Epiduo did itch my face significantly but it eventually went away after 30 mins or so, it also made my face look like it was sunburned. As the weeks went on my face got worse and worse, I did not worry about it because I read in several reviews that it gets better before it gets worse even the dermatologists PA told me that it was an outcome to expect. I stuck it out until the 2 months recheck date, and those where the hardest 2 months I have had in a long time. I was embarrassed to go places or do anything, not even make up helped cover my acne and if it did my face was so dry that I looked like I was shedding a new skin. I also feel like the antibiotic is making my skin even oilier than it was. The dryness and redness seemed to have spread everywhere. Mainly around my chin and mouth making me feel like I had some kind of STD... My forehead is pretty bad as well. The bumps on my cheeks though still remain and the dermatologists PA told me that they may be deeper than he anticipated and if they are not gone before the next 2 months mark then he will lance them out? Is this really necessary? He also prescribed to me Tretinoin, since using this product my skin has gotten dry-ER but I have learned that a small amount works best for me. It has been turning my pimples into nasty whiteheads in a day or two. But this also burns and itches, even if I moisturize before or after I apply it. I was told to use Tretinoin at night and Epiduo in the morning. I am almost certain that this routine is not working for me and I am thinking about returning to Proactiv since it did not make my face look this bad. It has never looked this bad, besides the first time. I have been using the Epiduo and Doxy for 3 months and the Tretinoin for almost two weeks, I am thinking about using Proactiv again and using it maybe once a day or every other day and the Tretinoin still but only at night like suggested? Would this be a bad combination should I still to what the dermatologists PA prescribed to me? My face has only gotten worse and I will upload some progress pictures and pictures while I was on proactive and when I ran out the first time.
The dermatologists PA asked why I wanted to discontinue the use of Proactiv and I simply said that I was tired of the routine and that some of my acne wasn't going away or coming up, I felt like my face was just stuck, I had little bumps on my forehead and cheeks but they had no whiteheads or blackheads and never went away nor did anymore show up on my face. He looked at me and said it is stress that is causing your face to breakout and prescribed me Epiduo and Doxycycline Hytrate. Now I was a little dumbfounded when he said stress was causing this to happen, when not once did he ask me any type of questions besides why I wanted to stop using Proactiv.
Anyway, I used the Epiduo at night and took the Doxy every morning, my face the first two weeks looked decent besides the little red pimples I had on my face. The Epiduo did itch my face significantly but it eventually went away after 30 mins or so, it also made my face look like it was sunburned. As the weeks went on my face got worse and worse, I did not worry about it because I read in several reviews that it gets better before it gets worse even the dermatologists PA told me that it was an outcome to expect. I stuck it out until the 2 months recheck date, and those where the hardest 2 months I have had in a long time. I was embarrassed to go places or do anything, not even make up helped cover my acne and if it did my face was so dry that I looked like I was shedding a new skin. I also feel like the antibiotic is making my skin even oilier than it was. The dryness and redness seemed to have spread everywhere. Mainly around my chin and mouth making me feel like I had some kind of STD... My forehead is pretty bad as well. The bumps on my cheeks though still remain and the dermatologists PA told me that they may be deeper than he anticipated and if they are not gone before the next 2 months mark then he will lance them out? Is this really necessary? He also prescribed to me Tretinoin, since using this product my skin has gotten dry-ER but I have learned that a small amount works best for me. It has been turning my pimples into nasty whiteheads in a day or two. But this also burns and itches, even if I moisturize before or after I apply it. I was told to use Tretinoin at night and Epiduo in the morning. I am almost certain that this routine is not working for me and I am thinking about returning to Proactiv since it did not make my face look this bad. It has never looked this bad, besides the first time. I have been using the Epiduo and Doxy for 3 months and the Tretinoin for almost two weeks, I am thinking about using Proactiv again and using it maybe once a day or every other day and the Tretinoin still but only at night like suggested? Would this be a bad combination should I still to what the dermatologists PA prescribed to me? My face has only gotten worse and I will upload some progress pictures and pictures while I was on proactive and when I ran out the first time.
Provider Review
Name not provided
First office visit I did not get asked any questions and was told immediately it was this instead of being observed and etc. The second visit was better, more informative but I still do not feel like I am being heard.