joyous acne and pregnancy

i have struggled with acne my entire life. topical treatments never worked and i took accutane when i was 17 (best decision of my life) but of course the acne came back after treatment. i was on adoxa (doxycyline) prior to pregnancy and some other prescription topicals all of which i had to stop upon getting pregnant. my dermatologist put me on some safe topical treatments, azelaic acid & topical erythromycin. unfortunately nothing is working and every morning i wake up with 2 or more new ones and cry. i cry because these aren't just "pimples" these are painful cysts/nodules. and they are all very large and clustered around my face. and for a person with low self esteem to begin with getting painful acne only makes it worse. i feel like i am reliving my teenage years all over again and quite frankly that scares me because those were the worst years of my life.

so i'm wondering, what is everyones experiences with acne during their pregnancy. was it worse than ever before? was it painful cystic acne? did it go away during the second & third trimester (if so around what week)? what type of treatments did you use? anyone use oral erythromycin (category "B" drug)?

thanks

 

This sounds like it hurts and I am so sorry for you. I always get a lot more acne during my 1st trimester. It clears up for my 2nd and 3rd. I am lucky and don't normally have a lot of acne. My older sister told me she was surprised how bad my skin looked when she saw me. She lives out of state and I was about 7 weeks along. I hope it gets better for you soon.

 

My daughter will be 13 weeks pregnant with twins tomorrow. She has had this problem in the past and is having it now. It is really hurting her self esteem also. It's probably due to all the extra hormones produced in your bodies right now. My daughter is also under a dermatologist care but had to cancel her last appointment due to sickness. I will update after she see's her doctor. In the mean time you remember that you are created perfectly in the eyes of God. All of this will be worth it when you hold those precious babies in your arms. I'm praying for a happy healthy pregnancy for both of you.

 

:hug:'s Momma. I know what you are going through. I have always had bad acne and everyone told me that when you are pregnant that your skin gets better, not as many pimples, etc. All bull for me. :cry: I had even worse skin during pregnancy... hence no pictures of my face during the whole pregnancy. It did go away after I had the babes, now it's back to how it's always been, I still get them just not as many.

I hope you find something that works. Please don't cry about it. :hug: You are doing such a great job, it's not worth you getting upset, I know that's much easier said then done.

 

I've always broken out pretty bad with pregnancy and they were the painful cystic kind. Thankfully, I only had one or two at a time. The acne did go away for me a little after 20 weeks. Ironically, what helped keep it under control in my case was not to wash my face more than once a week. ANY type of cleanser just irritated it. When I did wash it I had to use both an exfoliating wash and a washcloth and then rinse, rinse, rinse. Those two things (which you would never expect to work) helped a lot. I also used the Bare Minerals makeup because it was the only kind that didn't make the acne worse and it's okay not to wash every night.

 

[SIZE=12pt]Sorry i don't have any advice, i just wanted to say sorry you feel bad and give you a big :hug: [/SIZE]

 

I have had acne my whole life. It got alot better after my son was born but with time it came back, but nothing was as bad as the begining of this pregnancy, I had huge red pimples all over my face and neck, with in the last few weeks it has gotten better thank god! I was so uncomfortable and hated going out, my dr. ok'd the proactiv cleanser because things like that only stay on your skin for a few moments then you wash them away,,, so I use that and I have been wearing the bare minerals for a few years and it has always helped my skin. Also tooth paste helped in the begining of this pregnancy if I had a really painful pimple it dryed it up instead of putting the benzoil peroxide type stuff on it.

good luck...hopefully it passes as your body adjusts to the hormones:hug: :hug: :hug:

 

I've been having massive acne problems this pregnancy too and most of them are definitely painful, especially around my jaw area. I've also broken out all over the top of my back, its frustrating! I think part of it is simply linked to all the excess oils i'm noticing on my skin. I agree about it killin the self-esteem, but i know my hubby loves me anyway and he's all that matters. Hope it gets better for ya soon and it should only be this bad temporary. Hang in there girl!