[nettexing]

Hey you guys. I just wanted to take a survey if you guys think going to a Dermatologist is worth it? I have Kaiser as my insurance. And its a bit on the deep side in terms of price. About 55 per session? I'm really considering it now.
Right now my face just feels so irritated and I have so many pimples. I'm really on the verge of depression. It just looks horrible.

I've tried so many products. ProActiv, St Ives, AcneFree, Netrougena Deep Clean Facial Cleanser, Aveeno Clear Complexion Cream Cleanser, Dessert Essence Thoroughly Clean Face Wash, Julep Facial Mask. etc.

My current regime: (I wanted natural products)
-Wash face with this Natural soap from Whole Foods
-Apply This Chinese/Japanese yellow paste thing.It says Miaoling Doujing Shengtan Rugao I bought it from this herbal store in LA
-and then a Ponds moisturizer.
-I also drink this Chinese/Japanse tea containing Lonicera Flower and Chrysanthemum also from this herbal store in LA

At first it worked out well.. when I used the soap but it still didnt clear everything out and now breakouts are even worse =__=

*****UPDATE on POST 7

[LycheeLa]

I would
If you tried all those products already

maybe it's time for something new

[str4wberri3s]

You might want to stop using the Ponds moisturizer because it contains a lot of mineral oils and that might clog your pores. Switch to a lighter moisturizer, maybe Neutrogena? Then maybe you can try lessening your use of the soap and just use water to wash your face. Splash it on and try to keep away from using a face towel, as that has germs all over it.

I don't really think a dermatologist is worth going to unless you know he/she is really good. I went to one sometime around February or March and she just gave me a bunch of crap that made my skin all dry and red. It took her forever to realize that I might've been allergic to one of the meds she gave me. That stuff messed up my skin so badly and it didn't even get rid of my acne. After using so much stuff and messing up my skin, I decided to stop using the meds and just use water and a light moisturizer. My acne has cleared up but the redness is still here and my skin smells like it's burnt [I mean like, when I scratch it, and then smell my fingertips.. it smells burnt; keep in mind this is about 5 months after going to the derm].

So yeah, try using more natural remedies before going to the dermatologist. I have yet to try these, so I'm not sure how well they'll work. But hey, they're natural. What harm could it do to you?



Oh, and you can see a Chinese/Asian Herbal doctor for it o_o Yeah, the medicine tastes like butt, but it helps cure it from the insides.

[fanatic520]

For pimples? Definitely. A relative of mine use to have really bad acne (face was always reddish, huge pimples). He went to the dermatologist and was given some type of cream. Now his skin is so nice and smooth. I'm so jealous

[fefifoe2001]

i would definitely recommend going to a dermatologist, especially since you're on the "verge of depression." $55? that's a relatively cheap price to pay for happiness. my dermatologist prescribed me accutane, an oral pill, and it has basically cured me of acne.

[Kirosuke]

Yes, I strongly recommend it.
I actually created a topic like this last year as well. I ended up going to a dermatologist and it was well worth the time and money.
Even though it's $55 per session, you'll most likely only need that one session.

[nettexing]

Hey guys thanks for the reply.
I did however attempt to make a derma appointment but Kaiser needs a referral from a doctor before being allowed to make appointments with a derma.
I went to the doctor and he said he wanted to see it himself and see if he could do anything about it.
I got 3 medicines. Tetracycline capsules (antibiotic); Erythromycin and benzoyl peroxide gel mixed together; Retin A tretinoin.

I've been using it for a 6 days now. And all I can say is it GOT WORSE (but then again.I dont know if I can blame it on the medications since whooopie my 'best friend of the month' had to come). I had more zits come out. And my face is peeling. Horrible horrible. I especially disliked the peeling part because it was the most painful for me.
The antibiotic is fine. I don't feel any side effects from it. But I dont think its even working.

did notice that the pimples(the ones I had before) were smaller and flatter? but my face is all red. My face looks even worse than it was before I started the medications.

***I have read other topics but it seems like people aren't really prescribed with Tetracycline capsules (antibiotic); Erythromycin and benzoyl peroxide gel mixed together; Retin A tretinoin so my question is has anyone tried those 3 medications? If so can you tell me the results? and if the results were long term or short term. Did you experience the same peeling and redness? Approximately how long did it take for everything to kick in and start working smoothly?

Its picture day tomorrow T_T;; and I'm going to look horrible

I take the antibiotic 2 times a day; I only use erythromycin once a day (around the time I get back from school, since I didnt want to deal sunburn stuff and redness) its suppose to be applied on 2 times; and I use Retin A every other night now since I figured it made my skin peel a lot when I used it every night. and it was painful.

[boka]

Tetracycline capsules (antibiotic); Erythromycin and benzoyl peroxide gel mixed together; Retin A tretinoin

Holy crap why are you suddenly on so many treatments? All you need is one.

It's not such a great idea to use BP with Retin-A... one burns and the other peels so together you're just asking for damage/inflammation and if you're particularly sensitive, you could get permanent scarring and discolouration. Actually, I don't think you're even supposed to use soap on the same area you apply Retin-A. BP might actually oxidise the retinoids in Retin-A aswell.

I'd suggest you drop one of the creams and phone your doctor about it. I'd say drop the Retin-A since it sounds like you're quite sensitive to it.

[cciconoclastic]

I'm on Kaiser too and though it took forever and a day for them to allow me the referral to the actual derm, my copay was only $15! That's so odd that they charged you so much, and I was getting treated for acne only too... Maybe we're on different plans I guess? I had been going to my general doctor several times across years, basically, before they sent me to the derm.

Still, it seems that the doctor was able to prescribe you basically the same stuff the derm office gave me. I'm on Retin-A (which takes forever and I had such a terrible initial breakout, but I'm basically clear now), an antibiotic gel called Clindamycin, and I was on antibiotic pills though I stopped those.

- With the Retin-A most people do recommend waiting before it becomes a nightly thing. I went right into it though and didn't see that much additional irritation and peeling. It really depends on how your skin is handling it. Only use that pea-sized amount every night even if it seems like it doesn't cover your face that well, otherwise irritation get much higher. Peeling and redness is normal and it does subside over time.

Recovery time takes... a lot of patience, though I really urge people to stick with it because it really does work! (It's about as fast as Accutane, I figure, but tons less side-effect prone). For the first 5-6 weeks I had my initial breakout, where the way the medicine speeds up skin cell turnover and peeling kind of seems to push out all the acne you were going to have really quickly... Around 2 months though, the improvement started to be really obvious.

- Not sure what your doctor's instructions were, but I use my antibiotic gel (like the Erthryomyocin + BP) in the morning after washing the Retin-A off but before moisturizer and sunscreen. I don't believe either of those things should be too bad for sun sensitivity though generallly wearing high sunscreen while on Retin-A is important, to prevent hyperpigmented scarring.

[ibrokeaplate]

no, i took tazorac for my acne and it made my face look like a tomato even with moisturizer. it burned soooooo much after using it for like a month, it kinda helped my acne though ...i guess it depends on the person and their skin type.

[Clu3less]

i had to switch doctors before i was finally referred to a dermatologist. after so many years, my skin has cleared up a lot compared to before. right now my dermatologist has prescribed me clyndamycin and epiduo and along with my washing my face twice a day with face wash, it's helped but i still have pimples.

i've used the tretin a before, and maybe i didnt use it long enough or something but after a couple months of not seeing any results i stopped using it. it made my face so red and irritated that i felt it was doing more harm than good

[ehytee7]

With my insurance, I had to get a referral letter from a primary doctor before they would pay for my dermatologist. I didn't actually know that and went straight to the doctor til I got billed later on. But I was able to fix that and got a referral.

I say be patient with your medications as your face is still adjusting to them. When I started the meds my dermatologist gave me, for the first 2-4 weeks, small acne with heads were surfacing. Some cystic acne too, but they weren't as bad as before. My skin was extremely dry, patchy and red. Then a 3-4 weeks after, my skin started going back to its old state which is like oily. The amount of pimples that were showing up lessen yet I still had active pimples that time. After I hit the 2 month mark, I barely get any active pimples anymore. Maybe one or two the most.

I've seen people given Retin A. However, my doctor only gave me Doxycyline to take twice a day, and a topical gel which I should apply every night to my active pimples. My acne is hormonal so I was asked to take birth control pills as well. Then he said that after the birth control kicks in which should take 4 months, he'll ween me off slowly with the antibiotics.

[nettexing]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply and I'm really sorry I took weeks to reply back again. Its cause I felt like I shouldnt post without results yet. And without a reasonable amount of time that passed.

Well I've been using tetracycline, erythromycin, and Retin A tretinoin for 5 weeks and 2 days. haha XD And may I say that I DONT SEE ANY IMPROVEMENTS? THAT I STILL have pimples.
From 1-4 weeks I was suffering with SMALLER pimples. I would have breakouts but they were tiny. But after a month around when my "best friend of the month" came around I started to have BIGGER and PAINFUL pimples.
Yes the small marks from the small pimples have faded but I have huge pimples now and I think it looks worse. I really hate looking in the mirror now. lol

Holy crap why are you suddenly on so many treatments? All you need is one.

It's not such a great idea to use BP with Retin-A... one burns and the other peels so together you're just asking for damage/inflammation and if you're particularly sensitive, you could get permanent scarring and discolouration. Actually, I don't think you're even supposed to use soap on the same area you apply Retin-A. BP might actually oxidise the retinoids in Retin-A aswell.

I'd suggest you drop one of the creams and phone your doctor about it. I'd say drop the Retin-A since it sounds like you're quite sensitive to it.

I dunno my doctor prescribed it to me. And I did some searching what I was experiencing in the first weeks of using Retin A was normal. My skin was just trying to get used to it.

I'm on Kaiser too and though it took forever and a day for them to allow me the referral to the actual derm, my copay was only $15! That's so odd that they charged you so much, and I was getting treated for acne only too... Maybe we're on different plans I guess? I had been going to my general doctor several times across years, basically, before they sent me to the derm.

Still, it seems that the doctor was able to prescribe you basically the same stuff the derm office gave me. I'm on Retin-A (which takes forever and I had such a terrible initial breakout, but I'm basically clear now), an antibiotic gel called Clindamycin, and I was on antibiotic pills though I stopped those.

- With the Retin-A most people do recommend waiting before it becomes a nightly thing. I went right into it though and didn't see that much additional irritation and peeling. It really depends on how your skin is handling it. Only use that pea-sized amount every night even if it seems like it doesn't cover your face that well, otherwise irritation get much higher. Peeling and redness is normal and it does subside over time.

Recovery time takes... a lot of patience, though I really urge people to stick with it because it really does work! (It's about as fast as Accutane, I figure, but tons less side-effect prone). For the first 5-6 weeks I had my initial breakout, where the way the medicine speeds up skin cell turnover and peeling kind of seems to push out all the acne you were going to have really quickly... Around 2 months though, the improvement started to be really obvious.

- Not sure what your doctor's instructions were, but I use my antibiotic gel (like the Erthryomyocin + BP) in the morning after washing the Retin-A off but before moisturizer and sunscreen. I don't believe either of those things should be too bad for sun sensitivity though generallly wearing high sunscreen while on Retin-A is important, to prevent hyperpigmented scarring.

Actually I'm not sure what the actual copay will be. Thats just what I heard. I have Healthy Families but my hospital is Kaiser? And since Healthy families is by the govt. I dont think the copay will be as low as yours ): And I think your medications are the most similar to mine!

Can describe me your 5-6 week mark? Like was the acne still really really bad and then as it got closer to 2 months it got better? Can you define 'better'. So I'll be able to look out for those signs and it might also help me decide whether or not to continue my medications. and I stopped the antibiotics too.

With my insurance, I had to get a referral letter from a primary doctor before they would pay for my dermatologist. I didn't actually know that and went straight to the doctor til I got billed later on. But I was able to fix that and got a referral.

I say be patient with your medications as your face is still adjusting to them. When I started the meds my dermatologist gave me, for the first 2-4 weeks, small acne with heads were surfacing. Some cystic acne too, but they weren't as bad as before. My skin was extremely dry, patchy and red. Then a 3-4 weeks after, my skin started going back to its old state which is like oily. The amount of pimples that were showing up lessen yet I still had active pimples that time. After I hit the 2 month mark, I barely get any active pimples anymore. Maybe one or two the most.

I've seen people given Retin A. However, my doctor only gave me Doxycyline to take twice a day, and a topical gel which I should apply every night to my active pimples. My acne is hormonal so I was asked to take birth control pills as well. Then he said that after the birth control kicks in which should take 4 months, he'll ween me off slowly with the antibiotics.

Oh I see. I'll try to be patient for up to 2 - 3 months. Its just so depressing to look at myself! T-T...And mine was patchy, red and dry.

[Christinaisweird]

At Kaiser they charge 15 per a visit at the derm or any doctor.
I just went yesterday and got myself some Retin-A, I'll be coming back in december for the milia on my right eye. I went to get a physical from my regular doctor and then she saw it and ask questions about the bumps on my eye. Luckily there were some time left open for the visit that day.
I think reading the manual they give in each box does help you and learn to deal with patience. Just one day at a time.

[xreminisce]

no, i took tazorac for my acne and it made my face look like a tomato even with moisturizer. it burned soooooo much after using it for like a month, it kinda helped my acne though ...i guess it depends on the person and their skin type.

Thank god for tazorac! It cleared me almost completely now, ive stopped using it religiously so i still have some breakouts (like maybe 2-3 small pimples) before my breakous were soooooo bad! but now im almost completely clear. i loveeee that stuff!

It takes awhile with retinoids such as tazorac, i used it for a couple of weeks a year and a half ago, i had to stop because my breakouts were so bad and i felt like crap ): but i restarted after school ended and i came back to school with clear skin (:

[ehytee7]

Well I've been using tetracycline, erythromycin, and Retin A tretinoin for 5 weeks and 2 days. haha XD And may I say that I DONT SEE ANY IMPROVEMENTS? THAT I STILL have pimples.
From 1-4 weeks I was suffering with SMALLER pimples. I would have breakouts but they were tiny. But after a month around when my "best friend of the month" came around I started to have BIGGER and PAINFUL pimples.

You wouldn't actually see huge improvements til month 2 or 3... based on my case.. i still get small pimples during my 3rd month and after that they started appearing less frequently..