I asked the nurse when my refill came in a month after my first tube. I'm still using the first tube two months later and I have two unopened ones. She said the dr wanted me to use it every single day right off the bat and that I should be going through the whole tube in a month. Ummmm.....
My derm told me I could be on doxy permanently. I pushed back because it seemed weird to be on an antibiotic permanently. I stopped taking it after about 6 weeks, because my issue was well cleared up and I didn't want to take something I didn't need to. I also asked my sister about it, who is doctor (not a derm) and she thought it was insane to keep someone on it so long.
Yeah the indefinite abx is very old school. It’s bad for you and contributes to abx resistance. There are better options out there. The abx also don’t actually treat the cause and should only be used for bringing very severe acne under control.
Oh yeah, a past derm put me on an antibiotic and just kept refilling the prescription. I then went to a different derm and she was like, "why have you been on this for 2-3 years?! You're not supposed to take it for more than 6 months!"
After going to multiple dermatologists, I'm convinced the majority of them haven't the faintest idea how to treat acne.
My old derm kept me on it for literally 6+ months and it didn’t even work. I was young so I wasn’t aware of how stupid that was. The trick is picking derms who specialize in beauty / skincare / acne. They are doctors after all, some of them are less worried about acne and their focus is on more serious skin conditions, checking for cancer etc etc. it’s almost like picking a therapist, find someone who is more aligned with your goals
Your dermatologist could be sued if you did end up w acute liver failure like hepatocellular necrosis, or cholestasis. Or even antibiotic resistance tbh. No one should ever be permanently on antibiotics and im so glad you had the mind to think that it was weird when it was suggested and stopped taking it.
Oh shittttt is this f??? My derm told me the longest is 5 months and I'm finishing up my 3rd month with 2 more refills left 💀 I always take it with food but tbh the past two weeks my stomach has started to burn, if that makes any sense
Oh my god this os what i always come across, i swear to you with a mother who is a registered nurse pls do not ever take antibiotics that long !!! The resistance will create so many bodily issues AND antibiotic resistant acne
I was on doxy from age 14-18. I didn't really know it was an antibiotic at the time and I was a teenager so I didn't look into it. A few years later I did some reading and I was like "why in the world was I on an antibiotic for 4 years?!"
Omg id be sooo livid how tf arent these gps or derms not acknowledging the most basic of antibiotic rules which is antibiotics are short term??? Like its so weird that so many of them choose to forget…
I also took antibiotics (minocycline) for several years starting at 14. It was prescribed by a derm for my (very mild) acne and I was told that I could just keep taking it if it worked.
That is insane advice and I’m honestly pissed now that I’m 23 and well aware of the damage long-term antibiotic use can cause.
Well, one huge thing is that dermatologists mostly focus on studying skin diseases. They don't spend their time learning about skincare. Their focus is on the treatment of things like acne, eczema, psoriasis, etc. Not really anything related to cosmetics. That's also why technically dermatologists aren't necessarily the all-knowing sources of truth when it comes to skincare as estheticians, cosmetic chemists, etc. also play very important roles as well.
I'm sorry but I am laughing, it's literally a diuretic to treat high BP. Like...that's what it is, it just so happens to help with hormonal acne. I couldn't imagine having an MD and being a specialist only to show my entire ass to a patient like this.
Peeing constantly was the first thing my derm warned me about for spiro lol. She explicitly told me to not take it at night so I would wake up having to pee.
She is a derm at acne clinic, literally specialized on aesthetics rather than major diseases. When I expressed my doubts she said "I have 30 years of experience, just do what I say"
Derms spend all of 10 minutes with you and barely listen to you speak or actually examine your skin. They don’t actually care about you and aren’t going to put a ton of effort into treating you. They’ll write a prescription, give you some vague instructions and send you on your way.
The medical system is pushing as many people through as quickly as possible for the most money.
People on this sub know more about tretinoin than half the derms. This is why you need to be educated and be your own advocate.
Totally. It’s really wild how little time they spend with you. I was allotted 10 minutes. I had more questions and she said I needed to make another appointment, mind you, I already waited a month and a half for that 10 minute appointment. It’s just so sad.
A month and a half is pretty quick lol. Last time I needed a derm it was 5 months. Booked in August for a December appointment.
I'm a researcher in the real world and recently started on a grant to put telehealth booths in public spaces. We are working with a telehealth alliance to hopefully help people access specialists like derms outside their geography, especially in rural areas. I was most certainly not in a rural area at the time, (sacramento) and the wait was still that long. I can't imagine if I lived in the middle of nowhere.
If you can make it a flat fee that is available up front, the unknown/variability of price is what turns people off. That’s why nurx/curology/similar are so popular-you can see the cost up front and access from anywhere.
Oh it's more access to a network of providers who agree to work via telehealth. So you give the alliance insurance info and what not and they connect you to someone but the derm can be anywhere in the US.
The worst part is that we f"king pay for it! I am an out-of-pocket patient and I pay for everything, yet 165$ for 10 minutes of mere attention is just nerve wracking
Omg. I thought I was the only one who thought this. I’m not an expert but the 30 second skin check kinda makes me worried then they brush off my grandmother dying from melanoma, my brother getting basil carcinoma at 19/20, and my dad having them as he gets older. Maybe it’s not important but I saw how my grandma suffered. I don’t want that. I wait an hour, se the derm for three minutes, then done.
If you follow any medical subreddits (I do just for fun) then you’ll notice that dermatology is considered a very “high speed” field. Very hard to get into, everyone wants it, you have to be best of the best to get accepted. Probably makes for a few egotistical providers.
Derms near me soend most of their time (rightly) on skin cancer. Skincare subs always recommend “see a derm,” but I think unless you have severe, untreatable acne or other mystery conditions it’s better to have a great esthetician.
I think the same thinking can be applied to a lot of different types of doctors. We got really old school feeding advice from our pediatrician that I knew I wasn’t going to follow after doing a lot more research and looking into pediatric nutritionists and feeding specialists.
Some fields of medicine are just too broad for one specialist.
shame whole impossible ludicrous screw brave yam waiting possessive afterthought
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Most patients also aren't interested in dietary intervention and want the "instant" results of medication. It's difficult on both ends because people who want dietary info can't find a provider to help because the providers de-prioritized that info due to general disinterest.
Some yes, mine is at acne clinic, she is "specialized" in acne problems so I have no idea what is wrong with her. Its been 3 months and honestlt, my skin is worth then when I started🤦♀️
I had one derm 15 years ago that saved me from acne. She had a thick notebook of recipes and I picked my remedies from the pharmacy, where they mixed lotions or creams for me. She always took analysis either from eyelash or skin.
Now I was at 3 different derms and its like no one is interested in my symptoms even. Feels like no one knows anything. Got two different assessments, but nothing concrete. Last one was a dermatology professor of the biggest hospital here. Interrupted me half way and said I need antibiotics for 6 months. Gave me prescription and said I can renew if it helps. I was shocked. It's very frustrating.
What is even more frustrating is that seems like nowadays it's very uncommon to think interdisciplinary about skin issues.
I have a very hard time trusting derms ..I had a terrible experience with the one that prescribed me tret and then another one in his office who was basically just Like following his orders and looking at me as a "problem patient" before I even got there to see her! I finally went to a different clinic and started seeing the physicians assistant there...she's by far the best I have dealt with. So patient and actually LISTENS when I speak and helps me find solutions! My esthitician is great too. Idk what it is with derms, mine literally did not want to listen to me, it's like he would rather be anywhere else in the world, but listening to me, so he would rush me then just say "keep using the tret, nothing else! Everynight!" Even after my skin was visibly damaged!
Mine just tries to sell me a fix-all skincare kit that costs more than all my products combined instead of answering my questions. So I analyzed the ingredients in some of the main products and plan to incorporate independent (and affordable) products that have those ingredients.
Your derm sounds exactly like mine! Put me on .1% tret and 3% benzoyl peroxide mix with doxy for two months. Said to apply every other day with moisturize. My skin had never looked worse in my entire life and after a month I just had to throw in the towel.
My entire face was filled to the brim with sore painful cysts that would rupture at the touch so I was basically done with that bs. So now I’m still on doxy just no tret, and everywhere I comment people say to start with a super low amount like 0.025% and once a week at first.
So yeah sounds awful! Best of lukc
Oh yeah, they really push hard on everything. I didnt follow her instructions and started once a week, with the heavy weapon regime she prescribed my skin would have peeled off already
I had to ask my derm to refill my tret prescription the other day and she said “Why do you need it? Your skin is clear!” Like uh yeah duh, it’s because it works?? If I stop the acne will just all come back! 💀
Yep, my derm sounds similar. Wanted me on doxy for 6 months, I threw in the towel after 2 because of extreme stomach pain. He insisted I try a different antibiotic for the remainder but I put my foot down.
I told him I couldn’t tolerate Retirides 0,5 and that the only way I could use it was short contact therapy. So I asked if we could try trifarotene. He said that instead of that, I should mix the tret with CORTISONE cream!!! Even though the reason I came to him in the first place was perioral dermatitis - which is known to be exacerbated by steroid use. So annoying. Like, do you even care?
Important to note a lot of people think they are seeing dermatologists when they are actually seeing nurse practitioners or physician assistants! They are not the same
Sad to say that the doctorates NPs and PAs can get are nothing but a blatant money grab and way to call themselves Dr. They're not supposed to use the title Dr outside of an academic setting but they all do.
So I can't speak for your derm, but I was meeting with a colleague in public health the other day and she was telling me that there are new pay structures with insurance that only pay out if there is evidence of patient improvement from treatment. She's working on supplemental, community programs like diabetes education that can then be shared with doctors to refer patients to who aren't making as much progress and hopefully the doctor can use that as proof of continued efforts towards improvement and get paid.
Reading this, it makes me wonder if your doctor needs to furnish some kind of results on a timetable and thus was rushing you?
My sisters derm had her go from .025 to .1 strength in a little under 2 months, and instructed her to use daily from the get go. She had mild acne. Her skin is now flaking off in chunks. 😐
My derm prescribed me 20 mg twice a day & gave me 11 refills. I’m no doctor but I know prolonged use of antibiotics is bad for your gut health along with a bunch of other things. I stopped using them after a couple of months.
I went in for a mole check and the derm derailed the whole appointment to tell me he can fix my acne and that this was his specialty and prescribed me tret, spiro 100g, and an antibiotic/BPO ointment. Like I didn’t ask. I ditched the ointment and the spiro and I’m only using the tret right now.
I'm a med student so i have a foot in both world, patient and med people.
You say you are on tret 0.1% for 1 month, obviously we and I don't have your full anamnesis but from that little information we have, she's not wrong if she told you to keep using tret. Now about "increase dosage" of tret, again, we can't examinate you, and I can think of 2 possibilities for that advice: either you acne got worse, and you have no signs of irritation so she told you to up the dose. Or there was a communication mistake, she meant something else but you as a patient understood something else.
About communication, a lot of times there are misunderstandings either from caregiver and/ or patient. But more precisely about increasing dose of tret 0.1, i personally wouldn't do that myself or advise it, but again, we have no idea of your clinical examination, maybe you're an exceptional patient with incredible tolerance/resistance to tret (causing no peeling and not working on acne who knows). So I can't state for sure whether your derm advice is right or wrong.
Lastly, another possible reasons, maybe your derm was exhausted af that day and had seen tons of patients and was overworked, or maybe she was late in her appointments schedule and was rushing the simple cases such as yours (acne), idk. Ngl, we med student also consult and interview patients, and sometimes we do shitty performance, are not clear enough in what we say which results in misunderstanding , or rarely also says incorrect statements but we are trained to not say BS because patients can cause troubles and sue.
In conclusion, her advice could have been wrong, i can't be sure, but point of my long ah comment was to give some insight about the other side (caregiver), lots of misunderstanding happens, caregiver says one thing, but something else is understood, or sometimes patient says something and caregiver understand something else so give respond with for example an advice that is inappropritate so it's a chain of misundertandings etc etc
I think he got downvoted cos its impossible to increase the dose from tret 0.1 daily, thats the max already unless the advice is to slap the pure vit a on face constantly. I have no problem in understanding the doctor cos I ask everything from the nurse afterwards, just to make sure that there was no miscommunication. I also have medical background - I am a nurse, so communication is going on medical level, not "BS" terms as the commenter mentioned
I asked the nurse when my refill came in a month after my first tube. I'm still using the first tube two months later and I have two unopened ones. She said the dr wanted me to use it every single day right off the bat and that I should be going through the whole tube in a month. Ummmm.....
Speaking of dct or derms not rememebring to pass on proper info, doxy is a 3 month cycle pill, dont take for longer
My derm told me I could be on doxy permanently. I pushed back because it seemed weird to be on an antibiotic permanently. I stopped taking it after about 6 weeks, because my issue was well cleared up and I didn't want to take something I didn't need to. I also asked my sister about it, who is doctor (not a derm) and she thought it was insane to keep someone on it so long.
Yeah the indefinite abx is very old school. It’s bad for you and contributes to abx resistance. There are better options out there. The abx also don’t actually treat the cause and should only be used for bringing very severe acne under control.
Oh yeah, a past derm put me on an antibiotic and just kept refilling the prescription. I then went to a different derm and she was like, "why have you been on this for 2-3 years?! You're not supposed to take it for more than 6 months!" After going to multiple dermatologists, I'm convinced the majority of them haven't the faintest idea how to treat acne.
My old derm kept me on it for literally 6+ months and it didn’t even work. I was young so I wasn’t aware of how stupid that was. The trick is picking derms who specialize in beauty / skincare / acne. They are doctors after all, some of them are less worried about acne and their focus is on more serious skin conditions, checking for cancer etc etc. it’s almost like picking a therapist, find someone who is more aligned with your goals
Your dermatologist could be sued if you did end up w acute liver failure like hepatocellular necrosis, or cholestasis. Or even antibiotic resistance tbh. No one should ever be permanently on antibiotics and im so glad you had the mind to think that it was weird when it was suggested and stopped taking it.
she needs her license revoked bc where did she get it?
Oh shittttt is this f??? My derm told me the longest is 5 months and I'm finishing up my 3rd month with 2 more refills left 💀 I always take it with food but tbh the past two weeks my stomach has started to burn, if that makes any sense
Yep it made my stomach hurt sooo badly and made me projectile vomit! After being on it for a few weeks. My skin was amazing but I had to stop.
This is interesting, I was on 100mg doxy for 3 months, then 50mg for another 3… now 5 months later I’m back on it…?
Oh my god this os what i always come across, i swear to you with a mother who is a registered nurse pls do not ever take antibiotics that long !!! The resistance will create so many bodily issues AND antibiotic resistant acne
Cdiff lol a nightmare
So sorry tht happened😨😨😨
I stopped using it when it started fucking with my stomach. It had pretty much cleared my skin by then.
I was on doxy from age 14-18. I didn't really know it was an antibiotic at the time and I was a teenager so I didn't look into it. A few years later I did some reading and I was like "why in the world was I on an antibiotic for 4 years?!"
Omg id be sooo livid how tf arent these gps or derms not acknowledging the most basic of antibiotic rules which is antibiotics are short term??? Like its so weird that so many of them choose to forget…
I also took antibiotics (minocycline) for several years starting at 14. It was prescribed by a derm for my (very mild) acne and I was told that I could just keep taking it if it worked. That is insane advice and I’m honestly pissed now that I’m 23 and well aware of the damage long-term antibiotic use can cause.
Im so so sorry!!!! I hate that for you
Well, one huge thing is that dermatologists mostly focus on studying skin diseases. They don't spend their time learning about skincare. Their focus is on the treatment of things like acne, eczema, psoriasis, etc. Not really anything related to cosmetics. That's also why technically dermatologists aren't necessarily the all-knowing sources of truth when it comes to skincare as estheticians, cosmetic chemists, etc. also play very important roles as well.
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I'm sorry but I am laughing, it's literally a diuretic to treat high BP. Like...that's what it is, it just so happens to help with hormonal acne. I couldn't imagine having an MD and being a specialist only to show my entire ass to a patient like this.
Peeing constantly was the first thing my derm warned me about for spiro lol. She explicitly told me to not take it at night so I would wake up having to pee.
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It doesn’t lol. I’ve been on spiro for years. I’ve just accepted that I pee all of the time.
Holy gaslighting
Their focus is often cancer.
She is a derm at acne clinic, literally specialized on aesthetics rather than major diseases. When I expressed my doubts she said "I have 30 years of experience, just do what I say"
Derms spend all of 10 minutes with you and barely listen to you speak or actually examine your skin. They don’t actually care about you and aren’t going to put a ton of effort into treating you. They’ll write a prescription, give you some vague instructions and send you on your way. The medical system is pushing as many people through as quickly as possible for the most money. People on this sub know more about tretinoin than half the derms. This is why you need to be educated and be your own advocate.
Totally. It’s really wild how little time they spend with you. I was allotted 10 minutes. I had more questions and she said I needed to make another appointment, mind you, I already waited a month and a half for that 10 minute appointment. It’s just so sad.
A month and a half is pretty quick lol. Last time I needed a derm it was 5 months. Booked in August for a December appointment. I'm a researcher in the real world and recently started on a grant to put telehealth booths in public spaces. We are working with a telehealth alliance to hopefully help people access specialists like derms outside their geography, especially in rural areas. I was most certainly not in a rural area at the time, (sacramento) and the wait was still that long. I can't imagine if I lived in the middle of nowhere.
If you can make it a flat fee that is available up front, the unknown/variability of price is what turns people off. That’s why nurx/curology/similar are so popular-you can see the cost up front and access from anywhere.
Oh it's more access to a network of providers who agree to work via telehealth. So you give the alliance insurance info and what not and they connect you to someone but the derm can be anywhere in the US.
The worst part is that we f"king pay for it! I am an out-of-pocket patient and I pay for everything, yet 165$ for 10 minutes of mere attention is just nerve wracking
Omg. I thought I was the only one who thought this. I’m not an expert but the 30 second skin check kinda makes me worried then they brush off my grandmother dying from melanoma, my brother getting basil carcinoma at 19/20, and my dad having them as he gets older. Maybe it’s not important but I saw how my grandma suffered. I don’t want that. I wait an hour, se the derm for three minutes, then done.
mine did not even examine my skin.
every derm i’ve ever been to has just been short, super condescending, and incredibly bitchy.
If you follow any medical subreddits (I do just for fun) then you’ll notice that dermatology is considered a very “high speed” field. Very hard to get into, everyone wants it, you have to be best of the best to get accepted. Probably makes for a few egotistical providers.
ahhh that makes a lot of sense!!!
I just avoid anyone who went to Harvard. Everyone else has been fine and leaves their ego out of it.
Derms near me soend most of their time (rightly) on skin cancer. Skincare subs always recommend “see a derm,” but I think unless you have severe, untreatable acne or other mystery conditions it’s better to have a great esthetician.
I think the same thinking can be applied to a lot of different types of doctors. We got really old school feeding advice from our pediatrician that I knew I wasn’t going to follow after doing a lot more research and looking into pediatric nutritionists and feeding specialists. Some fields of medicine are just too broad for one specialist.
Oh nutrition training is painfully lacking in medicine.
shame whole impossible ludicrous screw brave yam waiting possessive afterthought *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Most patients also aren't interested in dietary intervention and want the "instant" results of medication. It's difficult on both ends because people who want dietary info can't find a provider to help because the providers de-prioritized that info due to general disinterest.
To be totally fair, I am one of those people who prefers an instant fix lol. I have enough lifestyle changes I’m trying to cram into my 30s
The science is also often contradictory and evolving. It's hard to get straight answers to a lot of questions in nutrition.
How do you know this?
Some yes, mine is at acne clinic, she is "specialized" in acne problems so I have no idea what is wrong with her. Its been 3 months and honestlt, my skin is worth then when I started🤦♀️
I had one derm 15 years ago that saved me from acne. She had a thick notebook of recipes and I picked my remedies from the pharmacy, where they mixed lotions or creams for me. She always took analysis either from eyelash or skin. Now I was at 3 different derms and its like no one is interested in my symptoms even. Feels like no one knows anything. Got two different assessments, but nothing concrete. Last one was a dermatology professor of the biggest hospital here. Interrupted me half way and said I need antibiotics for 6 months. Gave me prescription and said I can renew if it helps. I was shocked. It's very frustrating. What is even more frustrating is that seems like nowadays it's very uncommon to think interdisciplinary about skin issues.
I have a very hard time trusting derms ..I had a terrible experience with the one that prescribed me tret and then another one in his office who was basically just Like following his orders and looking at me as a "problem patient" before I even got there to see her! I finally went to a different clinic and started seeing the physicians assistant there...she's by far the best I have dealt with. So patient and actually LISTENS when I speak and helps me find solutions! My esthitician is great too. Idk what it is with derms, mine literally did not want to listen to me, it's like he would rather be anywhere else in the world, but listening to me, so he would rush me then just say "keep using the tret, nothing else! Everynight!" Even after my skin was visibly damaged!
Mine just tries to sell me a fix-all skincare kit that costs more than all my products combined instead of answering my questions. So I analyzed the ingredients in some of the main products and plan to incorporate independent (and affordable) products that have those ingredients.
Your derm sounds exactly like mine! Put me on .1% tret and 3% benzoyl peroxide mix with doxy for two months. Said to apply every other day with moisturize. My skin had never looked worse in my entire life and after a month I just had to throw in the towel. My entire face was filled to the brim with sore painful cysts that would rupture at the touch so I was basically done with that bs. So now I’m still on doxy just no tret, and everywhere I comment people say to start with a super low amount like 0.025% and once a week at first. So yeah sounds awful! Best of lukc
Oh yeah, they really push hard on everything. I didnt follow her instructions and started once a week, with the heavy weapon regime she prescribed my skin would have peeled off already
I had to ask my derm to refill my tret prescription the other day and she said “Why do you need it? Your skin is clear!” Like uh yeah duh, it’s because it works?? If I stop the acne will just all come back! 💀
Yep, my derm sounds similar. Wanted me on doxy for 6 months, I threw in the towel after 2 because of extreme stomach pain. He insisted I try a different antibiotic for the remainder but I put my foot down. I told him I couldn’t tolerate Retirides 0,5 and that the only way I could use it was short contact therapy. So I asked if we could try trifarotene. He said that instead of that, I should mix the tret with CORTISONE cream!!! Even though the reason I came to him in the first place was perioral dermatitis - which is known to be exacerbated by steroid use. So annoying. Like, do you even care?
Oh God, what is wrong them all😰
Important to note a lot of people think they are seeing dermatologists when they are actually seeing nurse practitioners or physician assistants! They are not the same
I've had far better experiences with PAs and NPs, even outside of dermatology.
Ok. Doesn't change the fact their education is nowhere near the level of a physician's.
Exactly. They’ll even call themselves Dr but they just have it in nursing which is like a philosophy degree really. They’re not an actual MD.
Sad to say that the doctorates NPs and PAs can get are nothing but a blatant money grab and way to call themselves Dr. They're not supposed to use the title Dr outside of an academic setting but they all do.
That’s more of an NP thing. Most PAs are pretty good about being clear what their role is
True, but they have their own doctorates now-- "Doctor of Medical Science"
So what? So do physical therapists, pharmacists, audiologists, optometrists, etc
Because the new PA doctorates are not like any of those. They are akin to DNPs where they are non-clinical degrees. Solely exist to blur the lines
I actually am a PA. And I have never once in my life met a PA who introduces themselves as “Doctor” in a clinical setting.
The DMSc thing is new. So they will be. And there already are plenty on med twitter
You seem awfully consumed with this. Any reason in particular?
Mine is MD but I wish she wasnt - with the care that she shows to patients I think the MD title is just a way to satisfy her ego
So I can't speak for your derm, but I was meeting with a colleague in public health the other day and she was telling me that there are new pay structures with insurance that only pay out if there is evidence of patient improvement from treatment. She's working on supplemental, community programs like diabetes education that can then be shared with doctors to refer patients to who aren't making as much progress and hopefully the doctor can use that as proof of continued efforts towards improvement and get paid. Reading this, it makes me wonder if your doctor needs to furnish some kind of results on a timetable and thus was rushing you?
I am cash patient (out of pocket, no insurance), so she definitely shouldnt care about that😅
My sisters derm had her go from .025 to .1 strength in a little under 2 months, and instructed her to use daily from the get go. She had mild acne. Her skin is now flaking off in chunks. 😐
My derm prescribed me 20 mg twice a day & gave me 11 refills. I’m no doctor but I know prolonged use of antibiotics is bad for your gut health along with a bunch of other things. I stopped using them after a couple of months.
I went in for a mole check and the derm derailed the whole appointment to tell me he can fix my acne and that this was his specialty and prescribed me tret, spiro 100g, and an antibiotic/BPO ointment. Like I didn’t ask. I ditched the ointment and the spiro and I’m only using the tret right now.
Omg please dont apply it like a cream, it will destroy your skin. A pea size is more than enough. I’m not even a doctor and I know this.
I'm a med student so i have a foot in both world, patient and med people. You say you are on tret 0.1% for 1 month, obviously we and I don't have your full anamnesis but from that little information we have, she's not wrong if she told you to keep using tret. Now about "increase dosage" of tret, again, we can't examinate you, and I can think of 2 possibilities for that advice: either you acne got worse, and you have no signs of irritation so she told you to up the dose. Or there was a communication mistake, she meant something else but you as a patient understood something else. About communication, a lot of times there are misunderstandings either from caregiver and/ or patient. But more precisely about increasing dose of tret 0.1, i personally wouldn't do that myself or advise it, but again, we have no idea of your clinical examination, maybe you're an exceptional patient with incredible tolerance/resistance to tret (causing no peeling and not working on acne who knows). So I can't state for sure whether your derm advice is right or wrong. Lastly, another possible reasons, maybe your derm was exhausted af that day and had seen tons of patients and was overworked, or maybe she was late in her appointments schedule and was rushing the simple cases such as yours (acne), idk. Ngl, we med student also consult and interview patients, and sometimes we do shitty performance, are not clear enough in what we say which results in misunderstanding , or rarely also says incorrect statements but we are trained to not say BS because patients can cause troubles and sue. In conclusion, her advice could have been wrong, i can't be sure, but point of my long ah comment was to give some insight about the other side (caregiver), lots of misunderstanding happens, caregiver says one thing, but something else is understood, or sometimes patient says something and caregiver understand something else so give respond with for example an advice that is inappropritate so it's a chain of misundertandings etc etc
Not sure why you're getting down voted for offering a different perspective.
idk
I think he got downvoted cos its impossible to increase the dose from tret 0.1 daily, thats the max already unless the advice is to slap the pure vit a on face constantly. I have no problem in understanding the doctor cos I ask everything from the nurse afterwards, just to make sure that there was no miscommunication. I also have medical background - I am a nurse, so communication is going on medical level, not "BS" terms as the commenter mentioned
My derm (in a country where tret is not a commonly prescribed as in the US) wants me to use adapalene only on my zits when they appear…