Worried Parent

[sarahstevo1974]

My daughter has been suffering with severe acne since 2018, GP prescribed Doxycycline in 2019 after 2 weeks my daughter became very unwell feeling nauseous and jaundiced she was admitted to hospital where she spent the next 4 days having all sorts of tests eventually we were told that she had hepatocellular damage- raised alt and bilirubin, this was put down to the Doxycycline, yesterday we had her first appointment with the dermatology consultant who is very cautious about starting her on Isotretinoin because of her reaction to Doxycycline since that episode in 2019 she has tried erythromycin and Benzoyl peroxide gel which made no difference, she was then given Trimethoprim again she had a reaction to this but not as severe as the Doxycycline, she is adamant that she wants to start Isotretinoin as she is so unhappy with her skin and I really feel for her and know how badly it affects her but, I’m really scared that she will have another reaction so my question is has anyone else experienced this? How did you get on? Will this treatment work? Is it worth the risk?

Sorry for the really long post 😊

[Maxim7]

Go to an independent skin clinic like sk:n they might have an alternative? Though it’s not cheap…….

[troy04]

Not sure Doxycycline or any other antibiotics can make acne disappear. It is often tried, it did not work for me when I was a teenager even completing 3 months course. Doctor has to agree that Isotretinoin can be tried; if prescribed I think it is worth taking the risk. In the meantime Erythromycin should be continued; it takes 2/3 months sometimes to see the benefits.

[lillyofthevalley37]

Does your daughter take evening primrose oil capsules (EPO ) ?

If not I suggest she has some - I recommend 2 x 1000mg capsules per day

Also flaxseed oil capsules 2x 1000mg per day

[Hnerty01]

Yes , isotretinoin its working well

My son started 2 months ago with 20mg and than 40 , and the acne almost disappeared just few spots still there

Doctor advised that we need to take another 2 months

Seems to be ok , just to be careful with the sunshine and always put some hydration cream to skin and that’s all

Read well side effects on the leaflet and make sure you are in control of your treatment and you should be fine

[Kaka52]

I suffered with acne all my life and when I was 30 years old I was finally prescribed Isotretinoine.It was like a miracle, the only treatment that is guaranteed to work specially for severe acne.

The only problem is there are so many possible side effects, though I had none serious, if your daughter has had a bad reaction to the previous treatments I'd be cautious.

Before Isotretinoine I used a contraception pill called Dianete that helped a lot but in order to work I had to be on it forever so I decided to look for a cure instead, that's when I got to try Isotretinoine.

Maybe your daughter could try that for the time being, it works in a couple of months and you get clearer skin whilst you are on it.

Now my 15 years old is suffering with severe acne and we're going to the see the GP next week and see what they'll recommend.