NWR: When acne isn't acne. RANT!

OH no! I don't have rosacea, but at age 17 I was diagnosed with "adult onset acne" when it was actually something entirely different. The doc put me on tetracycline, and the bumps got worse, and when I went in for a follow up, he sent me in for blood work. Long story short: bumps were not acne, but rather bumps were leukemic tumors. Seriously. Bumpy face leukemia. True story.

I hope your skin clears up asap! If not, your MUA should be able to cover up any redness for your wedding. I'm sending good vibes your way!

I have rosacea pretty badly, so same boat!

Are you on Oracea? That's what I'd say helped me the most. I use cetaphil face wash and the neutrogena super hydrating moisturizer in the blue tub. I'm also obsessed with Lush- their Rosy Cheeks face mask is wonderful and Angels on Bare Skin is a great gentle exfoliator.

I wouldn't say mine is completely under control, sometimes I have really bad flare ups and my skin is super sensitive. But it is much better now that I have the correct diagnosis!

Oh my goodness, Bea! That's a crazy story. I'm so sorry that happened to you. All is good now, I hope?

If we're being totally honest here, the thing I'm the most upset about is the antibiotics for a really dumb reason. Hah.

I have rosacea - and its been reasonable under control since I was about 21 or so. Every once and a while my skin rebels against what has been working for a long time and I have to refigure out what will work. Good luck! Be KIND to your skin and sunscreen yourself daily - some people say UV helps - but sun damage makes it worse. So make sure you always have a good face lotion with SPF on.

Lindsey, good to know! For now, they put me on sulfa cleanse face wash, Clindamycin lotion and excipial 20% Urea Intensive Healing Cream for any serious dryness. Then the antibiotics I'm on are Minocycline.

Thanks to amazing people here, I've recently found Paula's Choice and have been using their Redness Relief moisturizer, which has helped quite a bit and it actually doesn't burn when I apply it (most do)! The dermatologist told me to keep using it if it works.

ETA: Erin, I need to start applying daily sunscreen. I rarely go outside, but I do work right next to a window (I work from home) and it's just not something i've ever been in the habit of. I did notice when I was younger though, long term sun exposure made me break out like CRAAAAZY. I never put 2 and 2 together. :/

Oh yeah, I'm all good now! Thanks! And I don't blame you because antibiotics suck, especially when you're on BCPs. Your story just shows you have to be a self-advocate and seek a better opinion when something isn't right.

I have both rosacea and acne lol. I have to get sensitive skin acne treatments or it'll really mess with the rosacea, but I have a moisturizer that really helps. I've also been told that anti aging creams are really helpful for the redness.

Originally I was put on Doxycycline but I didn't like the idea of long-term antibiotics. Oracea is still an antibiotic but my derm explained to me it's a little different and a lower dose. I'm definitely going to try the Paula's Choice asap- I've heard so many good things about it on here!

Lindsey, I have seen that Paula's choice has a redness relief line. Or Maybe its called "calm". Its for red skin... I guess, rosacea? Definitely worth looking into. I haven't used it as I don't have rosacea, but I am obsessed with all their other products that I've tried!

Kristy! Yes, it was YOU! Scroll up! Haha. I'm a HUGE fan of the redness relief moisturizer. I have you to thank!

Lindsey, that's what I've seen recommended a lot - Doxycycline. I am allergic to Cipro, so I don't know what family that's in. We'll evaluate in 6 weeks and see if we should change antibiotics or if we can taper them off at that point. Hopefully the latter!

Edit: My comment to Kristy was not me being rude, but me being stupid excited about facial moisturizer that doesn't burn when I apply it. Haha!

Same exact thing happened to me. They initially put me on a strong antibiotic to clear it up quickly, and it worked. I can't remember what it was called, but the dosage was too high. I was supposed to take a pill in the morning and a pill at night. The pills made me extremely dizzy and nauseous, so I cut back to 1 pill per day. I was only on it for a couple months. Then they put me on Oracea, which seemed to work well. I was on it for a year, and then the doctor took me off it - she said no one should be on it for more than a year. Now all I use is cetaphil, and then a prescription cream called finacea. It works pretty decent. I'll have random breakouts, but not very often. I always have SPF on my face, and I wear a hat when I'm in the sun.

@connie haha!!! I think I mentioned PC somewhere to suggest to someone and Jersey Jen decided to try and brought it forward to all WW gals. Its amazing stuff! Glad you found something that worked.. hope you got the discount!

Oh. I suggest a lot of yogurt. All those antibiotics tend to lead to yeast.... not to be too tmi

Kristy - Oh yes! I used your code and everything! I was the dumb one all kinds of confused because the coupon code thing wouldn't accept THE LINK. Haha! I bought the KP lotion too, but honestly, i've been terrible at using it. I think i've only used it maybe once or twice.

Macy - that's really encouraging! I'm so glad you got yours cleared up! I just started the antibiotic last night, but I'm having the same issue. Luckily, no nausea yet, but dizziness galore. Yikes. It sounds like I need to talk to my dermatologist about Oracea if I keep having these issues.

Erin, trust me. RIGHT THERE WITH YOU. That is probably #2 of my top 3 reasons I hate antibiotics. Ugh! I get thrush and/or yeast infections almost every time I have to take them.