Me, Myself and Acne

A few days ago, I found out that one of my family friend’s son has been suffering with acne to the point that he has completely shut off the world and does not got out at all. This triggered my own feelings and struggles that I went through and hence this blog post.

Acne. I was introduced to this word at the age of 18, been in a relationship with it from the age of 18 till present and I think the way that I experienced acne is quite unique.

It only started as a few spots (I thought they were just pimples/zits and would go away on its own) on the cheeks of my face, but then, it took a turn for the worse. My cheeks became an infested, breeding ground and the acne started to multiply, grow bigger and grosser.

You might be wondering why my acne is unique, I will tell you why…

I also had severe body acne.

My body acne was so severe, that at one point it was really hard to wear a bra as the straps and hooks of the bra would rub against my acne and make it even worse (sorry, if this is TMI!).

I used to hate my face and despised going out with friends/ family or take any kind of pictures of myself. The most embarrassing bit of information that I left out is that, it was not me who noticed that my acne on my cheeks were getting worse, it was my friends and family who politely pointed it out who then persuaded me to take an appointment with the doctors. The visits to the doctors began and number of prescriptions for medicines increased and changed often as most of them were not working. My acne on my face and body, along with my self-confidence grew worse.

At last, somewhere in 2011, I was prescribed with some antibiotics for my acne. I was to take them once a day without fail. I did this, even though I lost hope in having medicines for my acne. I also started to adopt slightly healthier lifestyle which you can read all about it here. After 2 – 3 weeks of having these anti-biotics, I saw a difference. I was overjoyed! My skin was not producing any new acne and the acne that I did have, was slowly starting to fade. I was starting to gain confidence and like how my face looked and felt.

My skin was starting to look more and healthier and I was very glad. A few months into the course, I was acne free, apart from a random pimple that does pops up.

In early 2013, the doctor suggested if I wanted to try going off the antibiotics because, obviously I have been on medication for 2 years and all these chemicals in my body could cause some side effects now or in the future. I took the plunge and was confident that it was all going to be okay. After a couple of weeks without my anti-biotic, it returned. I decided to go on the antibiotics again, but this time, my body wasn’t listening to the medication. This time, I started to develop acne (the gross kind) on my forehead and chin area too.

I decided to stop having any more medicines or anti-biotics because consuming antibiotics over a long time also has its own side effects. The doctor suggested that I try on a gel called Epiduo that needs to be applied once a day. Although I had tried several other prescribed creams/gels/lotions with no positive result, I had no other option and so I took it.

Long story short, I have been applying this gel since autumn of 2013 and my acne is under control. The gel has been good to me so far! Also, adopting that healthy lifestyle makes all the more difference.

There are still days when I still feel awkward and uncomfortable to go out whenever I have a crazy breakout of spots on my cheek or worse, on my forehead. I have learnt to accept that I might never be rid of acne, but I have learnt to live with it rather than hate it causing more worry, stress and anxiety to myself.

To those of you who are on your own journey in dealing with acne, I wish you all the best. It does get better with time. I learnt to be patient too. In hindsight, it is definitely sad to think that at one point I did hate my face just because of spots!

After reading this post, I hope this gives you some kind of encouragement… You are not alone ❤

Don’t let acne define who you are.