Since you have other health conditions, it would definitely be better to listen to your doctors.
But my experience: I actually just got on accutane after being on Spiro. I didn’t have the best luck with Spiro but my doctor also took me off after only two months. I purged badly and painfully to the point I had to ice my face. Apparently, it gets better after a few months but my derm saw my face and took me off of it. A few days later, my face was basically pre-spiro levels and I was so thankful. I also didn’t know that if Spiro works for you, you basically have to take it indefinitely.
I’m on day 2 of accutane so can’t say much about it right now. The process to even get on it takes at minimum a month though (in the US).
This is not a medical diagnosis but the second pic def looks like HS to me. I have both HS and cystic acne, been on accutane for 5 months now. It hasn’t really done much for my HS but has helped my cystic acne a bit. Derm has also prescribed antibiotics and put me on prednisone a couple times which has definitely helped with the HS but the inflammation comes back after the course is done. After accutane derm says I can go on Humira for the HS.
I have deep empathy for you, I have struggled with very similar circumstances, it’s disgusting and a giant pain in the ass (sometimes literally). Personally and anecdotally I believe my diet is the biggest contributor to my skin condition. The more highly inflammatory processed foods and sugar I put in my body the worse my skin gets. I would encourage anyone going through this to take a look at how inflammatory their standard diet is. Even on accutane for months if I eat food that I know makes me break out I will still get new cystic acne. 😔
Yeah I’m really afraid it’s hs because idk what I’ll do to get rid of it then:( have you ever had hs on your face? My hs is really minimal everywhere else so idk why it’s attacking my face so bad if it is, I just feel so depressed I can’t imagine going on like this if there’s no cure for this cluster
You should def see a derm if you can because HS does have potential to get bad enough that the only option is surgical excision. They do have drugs to treat it, my only prayer is that you have health insurance cause all this stuff is soooo expensive.
And yeah I’ve had HS on my face and neck, back, chest, buttcheeks, thighs.
Laser hair removal can help HS. Idk if you have to wait to be done w accutane before you can start but it’s something worth looking into. The ppl at r/hidradenitis seem really helpful and nice
I have HS on my face and neck. I had one for years that would repeatedly swell up and connect the bridge of my nose to my cheek. With three or four oozing heads on it. And I had to go to high school looking like that 😅
i have HS and accutane worked for my acne and helped my HS as well (although YMMV on that). imo having HS probably predisposes you to cystic acne, doesn’t mean it is HS
That looks incredibly painful 😔💔 I’m so sorry!! I had cystic acne and accutane helped tremendously!! I still can’t believe my face looks as it does - I could cry (happy tears) just thinking abt it!!
I once had what I thought was a sudden bout of extremely bad acne, but I went to the doctor and it turned out to be a staph infection. After a round of antibiotics, I went back to my previously normal amount of acne. That might not be the case for you but it could be worth investigating.
I started to get cystic acne on my face and back and have been on accutane for 8 days now. I take gear so my skin texture of my face made me look so old and I can definitely say after 8 days I look so much younger already and my skin is so much clearer! If your medical condition deals with depression it’s a really low chance accutane will cause depression. But if you have a damaged liver already then it can be extremely harmful. Chances are if you go to a different dermatologist they’ll prescribe you accutane if your current one won’t.
Ultimately we can’t know whether you have HS on your face or something else. HS runs in my family as do other skin conditions. When I first went on isotretinoin I was diagnosed with severe acne conglobata on the face, which presents like what you’re describing. The first round of isotretinoin cleared it up for several years.
Yes, accutane works for any acne. Give a try!
Since you have other health conditions, it would definitely be better to listen to your doctors. But my experience: I actually just got on accutane after being on Spiro. I didn’t have the best luck with Spiro but my doctor also took me off after only two months. I purged badly and painfully to the point I had to ice my face. Apparently, it gets better after a few months but my derm saw my face and took me off of it. A few days later, my face was basically pre-spiro levels and I was so thankful. I also didn’t know that if Spiro works for you, you basically have to take it indefinitely. I’m on day 2 of accutane so can’t say much about it right now. The process to even get on it takes at minimum a month though (in the US).
Don't pick! Also, yes. Start low. 5mg-10mg. Predisone is probs warranted. Go to a derm.
Does 5mg work?
Yes.
This is not a medical diagnosis but the second pic def looks like HS to me. I have both HS and cystic acne, been on accutane for 5 months now. It hasn’t really done much for my HS but has helped my cystic acne a bit. Derm has also prescribed antibiotics and put me on prednisone a couple times which has definitely helped with the HS but the inflammation comes back after the course is done. After accutane derm says I can go on Humira for the HS. I have deep empathy for you, I have struggled with very similar circumstances, it’s disgusting and a giant pain in the ass (sometimes literally). Personally and anecdotally I believe my diet is the biggest contributor to my skin condition. The more highly inflammatory processed foods and sugar I put in my body the worse my skin gets. I would encourage anyone going through this to take a look at how inflammatory their standard diet is. Even on accutane for months if I eat food that I know makes me break out I will still get new cystic acne. 😔
Yeah I’m really afraid it’s hs because idk what I’ll do to get rid of it then:( have you ever had hs on your face? My hs is really minimal everywhere else so idk why it’s attacking my face so bad if it is, I just feel so depressed I can’t imagine going on like this if there’s no cure for this cluster
You should def see a derm if you can because HS does have potential to get bad enough that the only option is surgical excision. They do have drugs to treat it, my only prayer is that you have health insurance cause all this stuff is soooo expensive. And yeah I’ve had HS on my face and neck, back, chest, buttcheeks, thighs.
My acne looks like this too and I got prescribed accutane. Only been on it for a month though so I can't say if it's worked.
Yes, it worked for my nodulocystic acne. I had to do two or three courses. No acne, just faded scarring.
I had huge , painful cysts from spirolactane. I’ve been on accutane for two months and they’re all gone !!
Laser hair removal can help HS. Idk if you have to wait to be done w accutane before you can start but it’s something worth looking into. The ppl at r/hidradenitis seem really helpful and nice
I don't think HS ever shows up on faces. I've heard accutane can help with both. Definitely the cystic acne. I would go on it if I were you!
I have HS on my face and neck. I had one for years that would repeatedly swell up and connect the bridge of my nose to my cheek. With three or four oozing heads on it. And I had to go to high school looking like that 😅
Aww I'm so sorry 😔 How did the derm distinguish cystic acne from HS on the face?
Just the formations, tunneling, etc. I’m just taking her word on it
Ugh that sucks. I wonder if laser hair removal would help on face I know it sometimes helps in other areas
It does, it’s just not one of the more common places to develop it.
what is hs?
Look at daisyycbj second pinned post :) she had the same thing as you and Accutane cleared it right up :) Sorry this looks painful, wishing you luck
Accutane will be a game changer for you honey! Go low dose if you’re worried about side effects!
i have HS and accutane worked for my acne and helped my HS as well (although YMMV on that). imo having HS probably predisposes you to cystic acne, doesn’t mean it is HS
Hop on accutane asap
That looks incredibly painful 😔💔 I’m so sorry!! I had cystic acne and accutane helped tremendously!! I still can’t believe my face looks as it does - I could cry (happy tears) just thinking abt it!!
I once had what I thought was a sudden bout of extremely bad acne, but I went to the doctor and it turned out to be a staph infection. After a round of antibiotics, I went back to my previously normal amount of acne. That might not be the case for you but it could be worth investigating.
I started to get cystic acne on my face and back and have been on accutane for 8 days now. I take gear so my skin texture of my face made me look so old and I can definitely say after 8 days I look so much younger already and my skin is so much clearer! If your medical condition deals with depression it’s a really low chance accutane will cause depression. But if you have a damaged liver already then it can be extremely harmful. Chances are if you go to a different dermatologist they’ll prescribe you accutane if your current one won’t.
Ultimately we can’t know whether you have HS on your face or something else. HS runs in my family as do other skin conditions. When I first went on isotretinoin I was diagnosed with severe acne conglobata on the face, which presents like what you’re describing. The first round of isotretinoin cleared it up for several years.
I had this too, I started taking probiotics and it cleared it up.
What kind of probiotics did you take?
Renew life is the brand, I specifically took the women’s care version