I want to preface this post by noting that I am solely writing about my experiences.  I am not (in any way) saying that my decisions are the best or that everyone should follow what I am saying.  If you suffer from chronic acne and are not seeing any improvement, please see a dermatologist to discuss options that may work for you.  Again, this is all about my experience and my journey.  Thanks!

Those of you that have been reading this blog for a couple of years now know that I have been on quite a journey as far as my acne is concerned.  I’ve been anything but quiet with my frustrations.

I’ve gone from converting to almond milk, to drinking ACV, to using Proactiv.  All of these changes provided some temporary relief (except for the ACV – that made things WAY worse).  But that’s all it was…temporary.

So now I’m sharing what I did to take control of my acne.  The next chapter so to speak.

And that chapter began this past February.  As I was putting on my makeup one morning, I started crying.  My acne was acting up again in a big way.  And this time it literally hurt my face.  Vishnu looked at me and said, “Please make a dermatologist appointment.”

You see, Vishnu hated when I would try more natural remedies to cure my acne.  Simply because none of it really helped me.  I would convince myself for weeks that it was working and just needed a little more time, but Vishnu wasn’t fooled.  So I finally gave in and made an appointment with a dermatologist in our area.

There was an opening that very week, so I headed to the doctor knowing full well the regimen she was going to prescribe.  After the initial appointment, she started me on antibiotics and a gel called Tazorac.

I have to say that taking antibiotics for what ended up being four months was not an easy decision for me.  I was honestly torn.  The doctor explained that for people like me, topical, natural cures weren’t going to do anything.  My acne was caused by bacteria, and we needed to kill it to see any real change.At the end of the day, I decided to go for it because I truly felt like nothing was helping me (the things I listed in paragraph #2 are just a few of the things I tried).  I even talked to Vishnu, his dad, and a few of my pharmacist friends about side effects, drug safety, etc.

The first two months or so were rough because my acne was getting worse.  My doctor ensured me that it would get better and that I needed to be patient with the medication.  Things did get better.  Around month three, I started noticing my face was much clearer.  I was beyond ecstatic.

After taking the pills for four entire months, my doctor recommended that I continue taking them the week before my period to help keep my face clear.  After thinking this through, I made the decision not to do that.  I wasn’t comfortable taking the pills in the first place, and I really didn’t want to continue with them more than I had to.  I am, however, still using the Tazorac gel on my face once a day (because there is no permanent cure for acne and some measures need to be continued).

That brings me to today.  My face, minus a few smallish bumps here and there, is doing ok (knock on wood!).  I do breakout occasionally, but I find that my acne now is not painful and it disappears a lot quicker than before.

I’m not sure what the future holds because when we start trying for a baby, I will have to stop using the Tazorac.  My acne may come back full force at that time, but I’m not going to think about that right now!

In all honesty, this wasn’t the route I wanted to take.  And it wasn’t an easy decision.  But thinking back, I did what was best for me.  I have been dealing with acne my entire life (or so it seems) and seeking professional help was apparently the only way to help calm things down for now.  And that’s ok.  You have to make the best decision for you and move forward.

I’m sure in a year’s time I will be blogging about this again.  And hopefully there won’t be too many tears!

Do you use natural treatments to cure things like acne?  Any success stories?