Happykid had minor acne, and following a bad reaction to the topical treatment offered by the dermatologist, she had excellent results with over-the-counter salicylic acid face wash. I am forever grateful that it was such a quick fix.
I did, and it made me feel bad as a parent for not taking him to a dermatologist right away. I will note, however, that he was not free of blame in that he didn’t wash his face and apply various topical medications as religiously as he should have.
But as for his self-esteem, yeah, it affected it a lot. And the fact that the kids who he had been hanging around with made fun of him was a life-changing event in many ways. Some of the worst kids belonged to a religious social group that he attended, and it kind of turned him off to religion in general. As best I can tell there is only one kid from his former group that he hangs around with regularly.
@EarlVanDorn: Sometimes we miss what our kids are hiding, as they learn so well how to craft what they show us, camouflaging their feelings and learning to duck the ‘friendly’ chiding that actually bitterly stings. Sounds like he has held on to a friend who is true, so that is great; it’s what we all want for our kids.
We are still learning even as they look to us for answers, aren’t we?
My daughter’s acne got really bad in September. She was put on the birth control pills, the oral medication to calm the inflammation, and the ointment Tretinoin. It’s been about a month and a half and the skin is as bad as before. Seems like there is no progress. I feel so bad everytime I see her face. She is being strong but I know she is devastated inside.
Those of you whose kids went through the same thing, how long did it take for the meds to kick in and saw some improvements?
@HiToWaMom What dosage is your daughter taking? Are her lips chapped? That’s a good sign it’s working. Often the acre actually gets worse the first month and then starts to clear up. You might ask the doctor for an oral antibiotic such as doxycycline and a topical such a clindamycin. For some reason doxycycline got super expensive a few years ago, but I think the price is back down. This will give you some immediate relief.
D17 was put on an oral antibiotic about a year ago. it cleared up her face really well in about 6 weeks – and it was great as long as she stayed on it. she’s off it now, and she’s getting acne again. i counted about 17 spots on her face the other day.
how much is too much? when do you take them in? both d17 and s13 do not want me to worry about it and says its normal for teens, but i think all the bumps and red marks are distracting. Thinking of taking them both in; but @Pizzagirl mentioned above, i don’t want to nag, nor hurt feelings. ahhh
Just an FYI for kids whose acne has cleared up but are left with scars. We have had great success with a product called PMD. It is a hand held microdermabrasion machine. We got ours from Ulta. My daughter has been using it for a year and it has reduced her scarring by 50% or more. Not sure if it helps if you have active acne.
@EarlVanDorn ,
Thank you for your response. Yes, soon after she started taking the oral medication and the ointment, she was complaining about the chapped lips. I’m away from home now so I don’t remember the medication name and the dosage. But it’s good to hear that the chapped lips are good sign and it gets worse before it starts to clear up.
@bgbg4us ,
Thank you! 6 weeks… about a month and a half then. She has a followup appointment with her dermatologist around late November so hopefully there will be some progress by then. My daughter usually calls me “unsympathetic parent”, but her acne covered face just gives me a heartache…
@hitowamom Is she on tretinoin or isotretinoin because these are not the same thing. Isotretinoin is the generic for Accutane.
@Madison85 , Ooooh, I will check when I get home!
So, why is Accutane so controversial? I heard about birth diffect and such but does that occur only for those who are taking the medication through pregnancy? If the woman is off Accutane for many years, is it safe? I don’t know much about it at all.
Isotretinoin is the wonder drug to permanently cure acne and women of child bearing age must use two forms of birth control while taking it. There are side effects.
Everyone using it has monthly blood draws and is registered on the IPLEDGE website.
Does this sound familiar?
If not, consider requesting a referral to a dermatologist for your daughter to find out if isotretinoin is right for her.
No, it does not sound familiar. I just looked up Isotretinoin and iPledge. I understand now.
We will wait and see what are other options are for my D if things do not get better.
Thanks, everyone, for the info.
It sounds like @HiToWaMom’s D is doing a combination of birth control pills, antibiotics and ointment - not Accutane. HiToWaMom - if those things aren’t working, I’d ask for the Accutane before your D’s acne worsens.
You can choose abstinence. My daughter wasn’t dating/involved with anyone and didn’t want birth control pills so she went the abstinence route.
Yup.
First and foremost, it causes birth defects in women if used while pregnant. That’s why the use of birth control is required (actually double birth control). A poster downthread said abstinence is always an option, but plenty of teens claim to be abstinent when they aren’t. If a doctor is allowing a girl to take this medicine on an abstinence pledge he is breaking the marketing rules.
There is also the risk of kids sharing their medicine without the recipient receiving the proper education.
It has been linked to inflammatory bowel disease and teen suicide, although the risks are quite small. Roche decided to pull it from the U.S. market over lawsuit fears, and it is now sold in the U.S. by generic manufacturers.
^^^ I don’t know about “marketing rules” but abstinence is one of the iPledge options.
From the iPledge program:
A female has to call in to iPledge each month before her prescription can be filled. One of the questions asks which forms of birth control she uses - abstinence is one of the choices.
Certainly the doctor and the iPledge program stress the risk of birth defects should pregnancy occur. However a female not currently dating or one sexually active in a committed homosexual relationship, and so on, may choose abstinence.
I do agree that the iPledge program really stresses the two forms of birth control for all the reasons mentioned in post #35. You don’t want a teen claiming to be abstinent when she’s not. Still women of all ages not just teens take the medication. My daughter did not need Accutane in her teen years but rather in her mid twenties - old enough that she had no reason to fudge about her sex life.
Wow. That’s an intense program and it should be. It sounds like the “last resort” treatment for acne.
I checked my D’s medication and it was Tretinoin Gel 0.04. We’ll wait and see. Many reviewers say it took them about 3 to 6 months to clear up. So I guess it’s too short for my D to see the improvement. We’ll be patient.
^^^ Accutane is an intense program but you’re only on the medication for four - five months ( 16 to 20 weeks). So while intense, it is short-lived. My son and daughter have both been on it and their skin looked better sometime in the second month. After that improvement was dramatic and rapid.
The other benefit of Accutane (isotretinoin) is it is generally a permanent cure to acne.
While tretinoin may have good results and clear up acne in 3-6 months, what happens months or years after the medication is discontinued?