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mama251ders Forum All-Star
Joined: Oct 21 2007 Location: Michigan
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Posted: Sept 10 2008 at 2:46pm | IP Logged
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Do any of you also suffer from this? I have been battling it for 6 years now (I never had acne as a teenager!) and I am sick and tired of it! What have you done? What works? Should I see my doc about it? Ugh! I just want my face back!
Blessings,
Betsie
__________________ Wife to Oliver
Mama to 5 Wonders
Benny, Braidon, Olivia, Anna and Saragh
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folklaur Forum All-Star
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Posted: Sept 10 2008 at 2:54pm | IP Logged
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Is Adult Acne and Rosacea the same thing?
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Paula in MN Forum All-Star
Joined: Nov 25 2006 Location: Minnesota
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Posted: Sept 10 2008 at 3:57pm | IP Logged
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I've had it ever since my surgery 4 years ago. Not constant acne, just bad breakouts. I thought I left my teen years behind 30 years ago!
__________________ Paula
A Catholic Harvest
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nissag Forum All-Star
Joined: Nov 23 2006 Location: Massachusetts
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Posted: Sept 10 2008 at 4:42pm | IP Logged
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You sound like me, Betsie. For a while I bought ProActiv and it worked really well. However, the cost is really a budget-buster.
A very sweet lady at church suggested hydrogen peroxide 2x per day. Works for me. I've had no icky dry flakiness with it. But if I forget for a couple of days in a row - whamo.
Also, vitamin B (KyoGreen powder is excellent), and lots and lots of water help me. I thought I had it beat until this pregnancy.
Blessings,
__________________ Nissa
Deacon's wife, mother of eleven, farmer, teacher, creator, cook.
At Home With the Gadbois Family
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Anneof 5 Forum Pro
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Posted: Sept 10 2008 at 5:06pm | IP Logged
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I have heard that cutting grains out of your diet can make a difference. Also, sugar.
Anne
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JodieLyn Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006 Location: Oregon
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Posted: Sept 10 2008 at 5:41pm | IP Logged
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red raspberry leaf tea might help normalize any hormone fluctuations contributing. and I've heard that tea tree oil works well on flare ups.
__________________ Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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mom3aut1not Forum All-Star
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Posted: Sept 10 2008 at 6:03pm | IP Logged
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Here's what my dermatologist told me about rosacea (often called "adult acne").
It can't be cured, but it can be controlled.
It is progressive.
Various lifestyle things can affect it -- caffeine (i now allow myself only two cans of caffeinated beverages a day -- usually), cardiovascular exercise not in a cool space (I hope to incorporate walking more and more for my exercise), using a washcloth or warm water to wash my face, etc. Various skin care products are more beneficial than others. Sunscreen is a necessity.
I postponed having my rosacea treated until very recently. (I am fifty.) I wanted to be done with having or nursing kids. Thus, my rosacea is considered moderate, not mild. It is under good control at this point. I use two prescription treatments. I get the generic versions from Costco. One little bottle of the Metrolotion (or its generic) costs $48 (with insurance) but lasted 3-4 months with daily use. Now I use it every other day. (It's such a little bottle too!) The other stuff (stinky) is less expensive and doesn't last quite as long. However, my face has lost the red color it used to have, and I rarely have the "pimples" I have had since my twenties. I like looking at my face more nowadays.
Btw, the first thing out of my doctor's mouth was "Get sunglasses!" Apparently, people with rosacea are much more prone to getting cataracts.
HTH.
In Christ,
Deborah
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jenk Forum Pro
Joined: Jan 25 2008
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Posted: Sept 10 2008 at 7:28pm | IP Logged
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I never had acne as a teen either but I had a bout of it in my mid to late 20's and used Proactive. It worked wonders but, like Nissa, I was unable to continue because of cost. (My mom paid for the first several kits for me- thanks mom!!) After I stopped using it my face never went back to breaking out like it had before although I still have an occasional pimple. I used it for around two years and I found that I could really stretch the product by using less and even rotating with other products- but that was after I'd used it exclusively for a while. I'd try to stretch one kit for 4-5 months. I don't want to sound like a proactive commercial but it did work for me- I never saw a dermatologist but if it hadn't worked, that would have been next on my list.
Jen
__________________ Jen
with 2 boys, 14 and 8, and a girl expected 1/09
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Philothea Forum All-Star
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Posted: Sept 10 2008 at 9:39pm | IP Logged
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Accutane was the only thing that worked for me. It causes horrible birth defects, so you must be VERY careful with NFP/avoiding pregnancy, and you can't drink (much) alcohol because it's hard on your liver (in fact, you need monthly blood tests to make sure your liver is okay). It takes about six months for the treatment. It really works well, though. I had acne throughout my teen years and when I didn't go away as an adult, I'd had enough. It is a wonder drug if acne is seriously negatively impacting your life.
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mom3aut1not Forum All-Star
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Posted: Sept 10 2008 at 9:53pm | IP Logged
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I think Accutane is used mostly with cystic acne. My middle dd had this, and Accutane did help. It did send her triglycerides soaring, and she needed other medicine to control that. It is harder and harder to get it (only two pharmacies in MD are now allowed to dispense it and you have to be on record as using two forms of birth control, one of which can be abstinance), and it is quite expensive as well. (After insurance and at Costco, it cost $80 a month.) It was worth it. it worked wonderfully. We are now trying to reduce the scarring she got from the cystic acne.
Cystic acne is a whole 'nother kettle of fish and much more difficult to live with than rosacea imo.
In Christ,
Deborah
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mama251ders Forum All-Star
Joined: Oct 21 2007 Location: Michigan
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Posted: Sept 10 2008 at 10:15pm | IP Logged
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What is cystic acne and is it different than just acne? How do you know what you have? My 18yo niece used Accutane last year and had to jump through all kinds of hoops, using bc, taking 2 pg test every month and then getting written approval from the doc for a refill. It was nuts! I don't think I am cut out for that!
I have breakouts nearly every week and lots of scarring on both of my cheeks. I am so sad about the state of my face. It is really hard to look like this. Sorry for the pity party, I just feel like this will never end and I'll end up with horrible scars for life!
Thanks for all the suggestions!
Blessings,
Bets
__________________ Wife to Oliver
Mama to 5 Wonders
Benny, Braidon, Olivia, Anna and Saragh
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folklaur Forum All-Star
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Posted: Sept 10 2008 at 10:25pm | IP Logged
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I have rosacea, my cheeks and nose are almost always bright red. I also get large, cyst like acne under my skin - they don't always even have heads, but painful lumps. They are pretty bad - and hurt much worse than where the redness is.
I have a mixture of the two things meantioned upthread. I've had the horrible acne since I was like 12, and I did have accutane at one point in college - but I have terribly senstive skin (dermatographia & urticaria) and so I can't use most acne medication - not even OTC ones. You should have seen what happened the one time I was a teen and decided to use Nair on my legs.
My face is a mess. I wish I could find anything that helped and didn't hurt. I can't even wear most makeup, it irritates mt skin, and so can't even cover the red. I have spent so much $ trying mineral makeup and even that wasn't great.
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mom3aut1not Forum All-Star
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Posted: Sept 10 2008 at 11:24pm | IP Logged
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Bets,
Cystic acne is a kind of acne where the oil glands never empty properly. Thus infection not only starts but never seems to leave. A pimple stays forever..... so you get scarring as well. Accutane helps about 95% of cases, but the birth defects possible are really, really bad -- watching-your-baby-die-horribly bad from what the doctor said. My dd was on Accutane for rive months, and although she has occasional pimples, it is nothing like what she used to have. The scars she had all over her face (and elsewhere) were bad, and we have been working on reducing the scarring as much as possible. She will never have smooth skin, but it is noticeably better. (It has cost us a fair bit to do this much, but being a disabled young woman is hard enough. Being a disabled young woman with horrible acne.. I just felt it would help her be less self-conscious as she prepares for adult life. Even so it makes me sad to think that some people will never take the time to know her because of her face and her disability.)
In Christ,
Deborah
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mom3aut1not Forum All-Star
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Posted: Sept 10 2008 at 11:28pm | IP Logged
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Laura,
Have you seem a dermatologist? I think the standard treatments are by prescription only -- well, other than lifestyle changes. If you don' t have insurance, perhaps the doctor will cut you some slack? My two oldest dd's do not have insurance so the dermatologist came up with an alternative lotion for my dd mentioned above that saved us $60 !
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mom3aut1not Forum All-Star
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Posted: Sept 10 2008 at 11:32pm | IP Logged
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whoops!
I posted that last one without finishing.....
Laura, I hope you can get something that helps. The lotions prescribed for me have really helped my skin. RIght now I have a pimple or two, but those are the first ones I've had in a while.
Btw, some time past I listed products recommended by my doctor. Maybe that would help a little... I don't remember the title of the thread tho.'
In Christ,
Deborah
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Angel Forum All-Star
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Posted: Sept 15 2008 at 6:46pm | IP Logged
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I've had good luck using tea tree oil soap. But I don't think I have rosacea... I've had acne since I was 10 years old. The tea tree oil soap works far better than anything else I've tried. I have some stuff that's tee tree/awapuhi oil (I hope I spelled that right). It smells horrible, but it seems to work best.
Cutting down on caffeine and sugar and high fructose corn syrup helps, too.
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LisaD Forum All-Star
Joined: Dec 27 2005 Location: California
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Posted: Sept 16 2008 at 11:51am | IP Logged
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I used Accutane 20 years ago. I did not have good results with it, and had uncomfortable side effects (multiple nosebleeds daily, painful, cracking skin on my arms, etc.). I have also tried many different prescription lotions and medications, most of which did not help at all. My breakouts have always been related to hormonal cycles, and they have been bad--I have the scars to prove it! My skin cleared up somewhat with my pregnancies, but now that I am in peri-menopause I have started having a lot more breakouts.
Neutrogena makes some Anti-Blemish/Anti-Wrinkle products that have helped, and I use a tea-tree oil face wash by Desert Essence that is excellent.
__________________ ~Lisa
Mama to dd(99), ds(01), ds(03) and ds(06)
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