You shouldn’t be embarrassed by your acne

Autumn+Prescott

Autumn Prescott

I’ve been living with cystic acne, also known as nodular acne, for four years, and I’m being completely honest with you when I say it’s been a nightmare.

Cystic acne is the most severe form of acne, and it occurs when oil and dead skin build up in the hair follicles. Cystic acne results in large, red bumps differing in size, spreading across the skin.

It’s an infection of the body, so it can’t be treated by external products like creams or soap. Most of the time, people suffering from cystic acne need to go to a dermatologist who may prescribe medicine in pill form.

After years of trying all the things that wont help cystic acne, like Proactive and other creams, I went to a dermatologist for some answers at Silverton Skin Institute.

My doctor at the institute has been very helpful throughout the process of getting rid of my acne. I have about 20 to 30 cysts on my shoulders, and when I began my treatment last year, he told me that my best option was to take isotretinoin. Isotretinoin is a last-ditch effort to treat acne, and it comes with many warnings and precautions.

To be able to take isotretonoin, I have to get my blood drawn once a month to make sure everything in my body is working the way it should. I also had to sign up for an iPledge account.

The entire goal of iPledge is to prevent any female taking isotretinoin from becoming pregnant. If any girl became pregnant while taking the medicine, her baby could suffer many mental or physical defects, like a cone-shaped head for instance.

Before receiving the medicine, I had to promise to take birth control, and I have to take a pregnancy test every month to prove I’m not pregnant. Before I can pick up the medicine from my pharmacy, I have to log in to my iPledge account and answer comprehension questions.

These questions are there to ensure that I understand the risks of taking isotretinoin, and if I don’t answer them, I don’t get my medicine.

Isotretinoin dries your entire body out in order to get rid of excess oils in your skin, thus making  normal acne disappear.

Because of the drying effect, things like moisturizer, lotion, and lip balm have become a necessity in my life. Without them, my lips would crack and my skin would look like the Sahara desert.

I’ve been taking a pill form of isotretinoin once a day for a year, and it has helped so much. All of my regular teenager acne is gone. But, unfortunately, isotretinoin does not get rid of cystic acne.

After 12 months of taking this medicine, it’s time to start focusing on the cystic acne that’s formulated on my shoulders.

On May 11, I started injections for my acne. I’m not sure what’s in the injections, but they’re supposed to soften the cysts on my shoulders enough to be able to flatten them out.

The nurse — who was very nice and attempted to distract me from the needle repeatedly being jabbed into my back — stuck the needle in every bump on my back. I’m not lying when I say it was one of the worst pains I’ve ever felt.

Every time the needle entered my skin, it felt like a bee sting. My doctor said I could have as many injections as I could tolerate (which I should have taken as his warning that this was going to be painful.)

Instead of telling the nurse that the shots were hurting, I sucked it up and let her inject as much as she could, thinking it was better to get it over with than to wait any longer to deal with it.

That was the first time I got injections, and it definitely won’t be the last.

After I’m done getting needles poked in my back, my dermatologist has recommended looking into laser treatment to get rid of the discolorations that will be left on my shoulders.

As much as this whole process has sucked, it’ll all be worth it in the end.

I’ll feel confident wearing tank tops in public, and I won’t have to explain to people that my acne isn’t a result of bad eating habits or poor hygiene. I wont get uncomfortable stares or rude comments from people who don’t understand that my acne is an infection I can’t control.

I’m telling my story to make anyone who has ever suffered with acne feel better about themselves. If I can get through this, so can you.

Having a skin condition is not your fault. You can find people who will understand that the condition you’re living with doesn’t stop you from being a good person.

While looking good on the outside is something we all want, it isn’t the end of the world if you don’t live up to unrealistic expectations of perfect skin.

People have pimples, and freckles, and moles, and a whole bunch of other stuff that’s labeled “gross” or “imperfect.” But if the majority of people have skin blemishes, how can they be an imperfection?

What I’m saying is please don’t be embarrassed because of your acne.

If you have acne, scars, or any other kind of blemish, walk tall and proudly because you are a beautiful person and absolutely nothing gets to take that away from you.