Me and my acne.

As I mentioned in my very first post, I was on antibiotics for my acne, and have been for about three years.

As recommended, I came off it during the summer to see how I could cope without it, and if my skin could cope with it.
Turns out it couldn't, and I got about ten really big, really cystic spots. I expected my skin to get a little bit spotty, however these spots were like boils. Really big, horribly sore, and really delicate (I remember coming out of the shower and they had all spontaneously burst, which horrified me). Also, they left really nasty red marks on my skin that still haven't gone after a few months, which actually is the thing I hate most about myself right now.
So after a couple of months of doing what the doctor said, I literally couldn't cope any more. I ran to the pharmacist with my little repeat prescription paper and got myself my antibiotics again!

There are a lot of people with worse acne than me, I admit that.
But even so, no matter if it's just ten or twenty, nothing compares to how utterly shit you feel when you look in the mirror and all you see is spot after spot.
Your confidence goes, and I was definitely less enthusiastic about stuff as I used to be, due to the fact I didn't want people to look and notice me (and at my spots).
Also you feel like people are judging. I think things have changed more recently and a lot more people have more understanding about acne, but I still think there is a stigma attached to having it. 'Urgh you don't wash your face' is the sort of thing I think people still think. But again, as I have said, there is a lot more support and help available for people these days with acne, whereas many years ago it was brushed off with 'you'll grow out of it'.

But I'm giving myself another trail at the moment.
I've finished my current box of antibiotics, so I felt that it is a good time to see if my skin has finally cleared up, or if I need something else. I am aware that I need to come off my antibiotics at some point, but I don't want to suffer!
I am still on my topical retinoid (Retin-A), so hopefully that helps my skin along whilst I'm off my antibiotics. The emphasis being on hopefully!

So I'm going to do a post a week about how my skin is doing and keep everyone posted (you lucky things!) on how it goes. I might not post pictures because if I'm feeling shitty about my skin I'm not exactly going to want to share it on the internet! But I might change my mind, so I'll just wait and see.