Retin-A

VAgirl18 · #1 05-01-2007, 12:00 AM

i was prescribed retin-a for a different dermatological issue and it severely burned my skin. it hurt to take a shower.

AKA_Monet · #2 05-01-2007, 01:12 AM

Retin-A is an old drug now. I remember when it first was released by the company. It was in the 1980's. Then the reports of the side effects were quite significant in the mid-1990's.

Birth control I think provides the "synthetic estrogen" compounds to counter act all the hormonal fluctuations during menstruation. I will get the MD Consult info when I can post it.

I would say, do a WebMD search on your drugs and find the pros and cons.

Now, you will probably grow out of your acne. But what you can do is change your diet to better fit your metabolism. You can try eating more fish that contain omega-3's or 6's. Moreover, you want drink plenty of water during the day and decrease your fried foods and caffeine including ALL chocolate.

Good luck.

AlphaFrog · #3 05-01-2007, 07:38 AM

Have you tried something simple, like Proactiv? It works for me when I have breakouts - and it's cheap and doesn't cause the peeling.

ZTAngel · #4 05-01-2007, 07:44 AM

A few years ago, I broke out on my forehead. It wasn't too bad but to me it was significant considering I hadn't had acne problems when I was a pre-teen or a teen. I tried Proactiv and it worked for me. It cleared my skin up within a week and I haven't had problems since (knock on wood). Anytime I see a pimple, I'll use Proactiv and it seems to take care of the problem almost immediately.

I have friends that have used Proactiv and had the complete opposite experience from me, though. It all depends on your skin.

PhiMuLady150 · #5 05-01-2007, 09:00 AM

Thanks everyone for weighing in. I haven't been experiencing burning of the skin with Retin-A because my Dermatologost, pharmacist and my ethesitician told me it was extremely important to wear sunscreen/sunblock and even wear a hat if I knew I was going to be exposed to sun over longer periods of time. They say people's skin get burned on Retin-A because they don't protect themselves from the sun. The peeling is minimal and most of the time, I can calm it with my current skin care products. (I use SkinCeuticals, which is a GREAT skin care line, expensive but GREAT!) My diet just changed about a month ago to an "Eat Right for your type Diet". I'm an O- so that means lots of veggies, most fruits and beef and no caffine and not much alcohol either. I am really not keen on taken an OC just for my skin. Anyhow thanks again and if anyone new wants to weigh in that would be great!

_Lisa_ · #6 05-01-2007, 09:15 AM

Yasmin & Yaz both made me breakout worse than ever before. My ob-gyn told me that only Ortho Tricyclen is proven to help reduce acne (although its believed that most BC pills will help), so he has switched me to Ortho Tricyclen.

I use a prescription face wash to help clear up any acne that develops (I can't remember the name of it right now, but its been awesome!) and the Ortho Tricyclen has really helped prevent acne from appearing in the first place.

Yasmin (and Yaz) were most likely recommended because they're the newest BC pills out there & like I said before, all BC pills are said to help with acne. If you go the BC route, I'd suggest going with Ortho Tricyclen, since its the only one thats been proven to help.

33girl · #7 05-01-2007, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by _Lisa_

Yasmin & Yaz both made me breakout worse than ever before. My ob-gyn told me that only Ortho Tricyclen is proven to help reduce acne (although its believed that most BC pills will help), so he has switched me to Ortho Tricyclen.

Too bad it kills your sex drive and makes you gain tons of weight. Plus, I had spotting with it. I ended up changing OB/GYNs because apparently mine was in Ortho's pocket or something - I told him about the spotting over and over again and he refused to switch me.

It might work for you, but I know there's not enough $$ in the world to make me take it again.

BetteDavisEyes · #8 05-01-2007, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VAgirl18

i was prescribed retin-a for a different dermatological issue and it severely burned my skin. it hurt to take a shower.

Same thing happened to me. It was awful. Imagine being a teenager with acne AND a burned face. At least it was summer so not a lot of people could see me. I had to stop taking it after the burns got bad. The only good thing I got out of Retin-A was minimal scarring from the burns.

VAgirl18 · #9 05-01-2007, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetteDavisEyes

Same thing happened to me. It was awful. Imagine being a teenager with acne AND a burned face. At least it was summer so not a lot of people could see me. I had to stop taking it after the burns got bad. The only good thing I got out of Retin-A was minimal scarring from the burns.

it was on a less sensitive part of my body and it still hurt like crazy.. and i NEVER have reactions to anything!!