Tag: Apocyclin

It’s so hard to evaluate the skin by just looking in the mirror. If that was the case I would still feel like my skin isn’t any better. Luckily I took some pictures too so I know if the skin improving or not. And looking at the photos I have to say that there is improvement! Last month my skin was kinda worse than it was when I started the medication so I’m so happy to be going forward now.

I still have some inflamed pimples, but my skin is doing much better than last month. I have some acne scarring on the sides of my chin, so the situation there may look the same as it was, but some of the redness is just scarring.

Another good way of evaluating the skin is using people that see you often, but not daily. My sisters were complimenting my skin at the dinner table and how even and clear it was. Yay!

My skin today 2 months + 1 day of Apocyclin. That annoying red pimple on my cheek is finally getting better – it’s smaller now and smooth.

About the side-effects I have nothing new to report really. The stomach situation is what it is and I still feel a bit sick on the mornings every once in a while. I notice that my stomach is more sensitive than ever and now that I don’t eat that much wheat or sugar, it instantly reacts to those foodstuffs (is that a correct English word?) quite strongly.

My acne progress from February (1 week of Apocyclin) – March (1 month) – April (2 months). 

February – April. The first pic shows my skin at it’s worst, before starting the medication. My acne is really inflamed there. On the April pic you can see that even though there’s redness, my acne isn’t inflamed anymore and some of that redness is just scarring.

Another thing I’ve noticed that I’m not sure what to blame though is that my hands are super dry. It’s not even that cold anymore outside so I don’t think it’s the weather. But now I get to use more hand cream and I actually just bought a new one that I love, ha.

Altogether I feel a bit better about my skin. I think I’ll be eating the antibiotics for at least another month, if not two. Let’s hope my skin continues to get better!

What comes to food & acne, I’m writing another post about the topic, because it’s something that I’ve been thinking about a lot. But for those of you that are wondering: I’m avoiding dairy, wheat and sugar at the moment. Those are the main things people say they get acne from. Even though my acne is hormonal, I still want to boost the recovery with clean eating.

Anyone else on medication for acne? What’s your progress?
Thanks for the support and comments – it’s always nice to know I’m not alone with this. 

Related posts:
About birth control pills (the history behind my acne)
I’m not perfect (when my acne came back)
When acne just doesn’t leave you (when I started the medication)
Acne update:Progress after one month of Apocyclin
My acne-friendly makeup routine

It’s been one month since I started to take Apocyclin medication for my acne. First I felt like there wasn’t really any progress, but I guess there is a little. My family has also been saying that my skin looks better and that’s something.

What it comes to my skin, I feel like a lot of my pimples have come to the surface – the closed comedones I have on my cheeks have turned into blackheads and they basically come out if I just squeeze them a little bit. I’ve been trying not to touch my face too much though and you shouldn’t pick on your skin – but some of these are really just almost surfaced and they come out easily without irritation.

I’ve still had some painful pimples that don’t like touching – at all. And I noticed that all of a sudden my back is full of painful red pimples that make it impossible to wear a bra or lay down comfortably on my bed. Now it’s a bit better – luckily. My chest area is a bit clearer now too, but there are still some imperfections.

These photos were taken today, a month + three days after starting the medication. It’s hard to see any progress on the photos. I did have a weekend of bad sleep, bad food and alcohol mixed together though so I’m pretty sure that’s why my pimples seem to be more red. Or maybe the acne gets worse before getting better? I really don’t know. Anyway I want to be honest with this journey so here is the truth (these pictures).

Comparison between 24.2.17 – 20.3.17.

I haven’t noticed any major dryness on my skin during this time, but there are other side-effects, which haven’t been that nice. My stomach has been going crazy with these pills and that is their number one side-effect, tummy aches and everything that goes with that. I’ve been feeling really sick in the mornings, heartburn and almost ready to puke. The same happened in the evenings at first too – but then I realized I had to take the pill with lots of water and so I drank more water (at least half a tall glass) and it hasn’t been that bad. I also switched up my lactic acid bacteria pills to probiotic ones and I think that’s been helpful at least to my stomach.

Also now that I compare the first week of eating these pills to this moment, the side effects are definitely not that bad anymore. I don’t feel that sick in the morning and I barely get any heartburn. Still the tummy-aches are noticeable in the mornings.

I’ve been studying acne and hormones and doing some changes to my diet too recently. I think eating less dairy products as well as wheat is good for me right now – but I’m still taking baby steps and will keep you updated on that. And having the medication on right now it’s hard to say if what’s working is the pills or something I’m eating or not eating (probably the combination of these three though).

Trying to keep a positive attitude. (Trying to smile.) That red pimple right on my cheek has been there forever! It’s a deep one so I haven’t touched that – just waiting for it to go away on it’s own. Hasn’t left me yet.

Anyone else on acne medication right now? What’s your progress?