Retin-A

[33girl]

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.

[_Lisa_]

Originally Posted by 33girl

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.

Wow! That sucks! I've not spotted or gained any weight, but I'm also on Weight Watchers so I'm watching what I eat very carefully.

Its definitely safe to say that different brands of BC will affect everyone differently, its important you find the one that works for you!

I started getting cystic acne at 26. In September 2005, my dermatologist put me oral doxycylin, plexion cleaning cloths, benzaclin, and differin (adapalene, a type of retin-a). She encouraged me to go on a hormone, either Seraquil (sp?) or birth control, Yasmin. I stuck with the oral antibiotic for 1 month and continued with the three topical treatments. I was clear in one month. I had three cysts until...

a nasty, nasty break out in November 2006. What a mess! I was put back on doxycyclin, but it did not help. I persisted with three rounds of doxycyclin in addition to the three topicals. Finally, over the Christmas holidays, my dermatologist called in azithrymycin (Z-Pack). Within 48, the cysts were gone.

Since cystic acne is stress related, I started working with oral medication in addition to the three topicals. I, too, was nervous about Yasmin. But, when I saw a cyst growing near my chin. It was also the first day of my cycle, so I decided to start the Yasmin. (I filled the prescription, but was hesistant to use it.)

Yasmin made me moody, nauseous, and larger-breasted but it has also made me skin 100% clear now. I have had three pimples since then. One white head, two pustles. The pustles dried up in a matter of days. When they scabbed, I put Neosporin on.

Cystic acne is often caused by extra testosterone. What Yasmin does is bind the "free testosterone" so it can't create cysts. In severe forms, it would be polycystic ovary syndrome. Only a reproductive endrocrinologist can tell you if you have polycystic ovaries- I've yet to get checked.

My regimen is now:

Plexion cleansing cloths 3x daily (generic Prascion, sulfur-based)
Benzaclin topical (am)
Differin (pm)
Yasmin OCP

PM if you want to talk more!

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally Posted by ForeverDiamond

BC pills have done wonders for my skin, but as someone else said, everyone reacts differently. I've switched brands a few times, and they've all worked well for me, but I've seen people get worse on it.

So true - I'm on my fourth or fifth BC now and everything is working great except my face is breaking out like crazy and my freckles are getting so dark. The BC has been the only change in my life and I have no idea why it would be affecting my freckles, but it's the only thing I can think of!

[kk_bama]

I am on Yaz and Retin-A Micro. While the Retin-A works for me, if does leave my skin really peely, so I use it every other day and it seems to work pretty well that way. But I really have yet to find any medication or treatment that works well for me. Over the years, I've tried it all -- Benzaclin, Differin, Proactiv, Retin-A, oral antibiotics ... my acne is definitely not as bad as it was as a teen, but I still get about 5 breakouts a month (mostly on my chin) and I still have problems with blackheads on my chin and nose. Luckily I'm a pro with concealer and I swear by Bareminerals, which I think has helped to improve my skin a bit as well.

I switched from Yasmin to Yaz recently and I noticed a big difference. I was less moody and the PMS migraines weren't as bad.

[LeslieAGD]

I used Retin-A as a teen, and it works well. A little bit of peeling the first few weeks is normal. It will stop when your skin gets used to it.

[ThetaPrincess24]

A common side effect of all of your topical acne medications will be peeling/drying. Generic forms of the topical medications can be even more drying if the drug store gives you those. Best way to combat that is to cut back on your daily usage and gradually work back up again over time .I use retin-A for acne as well as sundamage and it has really improved my skin (in addition to Philosophy skin care and Bare Minerals). I can only use it once a day though because it does dry me out and cause flaking if i use it more often.

It will make your skin more sensitive to sunlight and artificial light from tanning beds so yes daily sunscreen is a must. Birth control pills will also make your skin more sensitive to sunlight and the same recommendations for sunscreen apply. Freckles are a sign of too much sun and those particular skin cells have "tanned" if you will causing freckles and for current freckles to become darker (I only know that because today oddly enough I was talking to my mother in law who is a dermatology nurse about freckles). She told me there are products they use in their office to lighten freckles but they are expensive and can lighten the non-freckled parts of the face as well.

Speaking of BC pills. As far as I know as of this time Ortho-tricylene is the only one that is FDA approved for reducing acne, but as others have said other birth control pills have also shown to do the same (though they may not have FDA approval for it). Birth control pills can also make you break out as well depending on the the strength of the hormones that are in them especially around in the laugh line areas around the mouth and the cheeks. I no longer take them, but I have been on three different brands of pills plus the patch before and they worked at first for me by reducing acne breakouts but after about 6 months the acne came back .

As a side note the patch caused my skin to break out locally too because apparently my skin is sensitive to the adhesive. I dont recommend the the BC patch for anything.