Just after my last post, I was struggling to get my 0.025% Retin-A from any pharmacist in town. They said it might be a manufacturing issue, or maybe they had discontinued it. I hoped it wasn't the latter, my Retin-A is my saviour when it comes to helping to deal with acne.
But, since I couldn't get hold of it, I went to the doctor to see if I could get an alternative. At that point, my acne had flared up again, with lots of small red pustules across my forehead and on my cheeks. Speaking to the doctor, he prescribed me Differin, which is another retinoid, and also prescribed me the contraceptive pill Yasmin (retinoids cause serious birth defects, so if you're on a retinoid the doctor will probably force you to take a contraceptive pill!).
I tried the Differin for a few weeks, and I hated it. I didn't notice any acne-related results, I was continuously covered in the multiple small, red and angry-looking spots on my forehead and cheeks, and so stopped using it. It just isn't as effective as the Retin-A I was so used to using. So after being bummed out for a while, I had found a old prescription with Retin-A and Lymecycline (an old oral antibiotic I was on for a while), which was printed back in early 2012. I went to a completely different pharmacist I had never been to before, and I managed to get hold of my beloved Retin-A. I could not tell you how happy I was, honestly I could have cried.
And that's what I'm on at the moment. Since I had the prescription for the Lymecycline, I decided that I might as well take those as well as the contraceptive pill, and apply the Retin-A once a week, which has resulted in the clearest skin I've probably EVER experienced.
But my Retin-A days are nearly over. I have been asking pharmacists every so often whether they have any deliveries of the 0.025%, and it's not even on their system, so it's more than likely discontinued.
I don't want to try anything else. I have been faffing around with different medications and I would just rather stick to something I know works for me. So that leads to think about trying the stronger concentration 0.01% Retin-A. I'm used to the side-effects (I've been on it for three years!) and if I use a small amount of the stronger concentration, then I'm sure my skin will be able to get used to it quite quickly.
Before I go back to the doctors and demand the new Retin-A at gunpoint I want to make sure I actually need it; I might have a period without acne medication and see how I get on. Who knows, I might not need any more medication!
Has anyone tried the 0.01% Retin-A? What do you make of it and how bad are the side-effects?
if the 0.01% is too strong, you can try buffering it with a thin, bland moisturizer or oil 20 minutes before applying it. Skinacea has good info on it. I'm sorry your version was discontinued, it's always a nightmare when something so vital is just not available any more! have you had luck with any OTC retinoids?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the 0.01% would be okay, I've been using the weaker version for 3 years so I'm used to dealing with the side-effects! And no I haven't tried any over the counter version, I might try those if everything else fails! :)
DeleteHow about erytop or magnification?
ReplyDelete