Bad acne

Help I feel like a teenager.
I had my surgery more than 2 years ago and before that I took non-stop BCP and never had acne. Now I am all broke out. Last year I had a mild case of acne and mentioned to my GYN that the BCP prevent the acne. He said he would not put me back on them to control the acne. I am trying Clearasil and Proactiv but no luck. Any advise?

Hi Shelly It's nice to see you over here, although I'm sorry you're having skin troubles. I bet you'll get a lot of responses because lots of ladies go through this problem.

Have you ever had your hormone levels checked since your surgery? Were your BCP's a combination pill with estrogen and some kind of progestin? I bet the progestins were helping keep the acne at bay... they did that for me, too, when I was on depo provera for birth control several years ago.

One thing you might try, if your DR doesn't want to look at your hormones, is using a little bit of OTC natural progesterone cream on your face. When I was using progesterone cream that was one of my favorite places to put it because it did help somewhat with the breakouts.

Other than that, I find I've had the best luck with skin products containing benzoyl peroxide. It kills the bacteria that lead to pimples. I like some of the 10% benzoyl peroxide gels and I put some on every night before I go to bed. I also use a salicylic acid containing acne wash instead of soap on my face once or twice a day. Between those two things, my face is pretty clear.

I hope this helps!
s,
-Linda

I've had acne since my teens and I'm 57 now. It is a lot better since menopause but has never completely gone away. Some people just have skin and hormone makeup that is conductive to acne, unfortunately.

BCPs fixed my acne, too, but did other terrible things to me like migraines and severe cervical erosion. I use a 2% salicylic acid cleanser, and alternate between using 2.5% or 5% benzoyl peroxide gel. Persagel is a good 5% & 10% brand. Neutrogena is the only OTC with 2.5% that I have found. Sometimes I use a prescription called Differin (a cousin of Retin-A) but not at the same time as they cancel each other out! When I get cysts, I use topical erythromycin 2% solution (another prescription). I find that overdrying my skin just makes the oil glands pump that much harder.

I've heard Proactiv is good but pretty expensive and is primarily benzoyl peroxide that can be obtained for a smaller price.

Wow, I just posted practically this exact message! I can't believe that we both have the same problem. I've sold Mary Kay for years and take good care of my skin. I am often complimented of my skin. But yuk, I hope no one sees me now. This is certainly no fun. If I'm going to look like a teenager I want the youthful and firm body of a teenager!!!!!!

TC