During my annual checkup last week, I finally asked my doctor to prescribe a remedy for my acne. I am right smack in the middle of my 30s, and I am still breaking out like a pubescent teenager. It’s been this way since I actually was a pubescent teenager. It’s never been serious enough (no pepperoni pizza here, though still quite oily) for me to consider asking for the big guns. It’s just been a steady regiment of salicylic acid-infused face wash and benzoyl peroxide cream, hoping it will all go away as I age.
Obviously that has not happened. Constant mask use during the pandemic exacerbated the problem. The mask material interacted horribly with my oily face. Changing one out every few hours did not do much to stem the tide (my apologies, landfills). Even with the pandemic over, and far less frequent mask use, the acne did not recede at all. Which is why I finally talked with my doctor about an oral medication. Decades of topical remedy has accomplished very little.
I think most people are familiar with Accutane: the hammer against acne. It’s the final boss, for when everything else has failed. My doctor did not think Accutane is necessary. Apparently there’s a similar drug to take before exercising the Accutane trump card. It makes sense, because the side effects of Accutane is kind of notorious: constantly dry skin, and potential depression.
The doctor and I are hoping to avoid that by having me take doxycycline, a twice daily oral tablet for three months. It’ll be some time before I can say for sure whether this medicine is effective or not. What I can say is that it’s certainly working on something. One of the warnings on the bottle is users may become hugely sensitive to sunlight. I can directly confirm that is correct. Good thing I am starting this regiment during the autumn/winter months!
Football is life!