Dr Ranjit in SS15 right? The male doctor I assume. I did consult Dr Ranjit (but this one female one) at their Shah Alam branch. She just told me hormones and gave me antibiotic without explaining much on the side effects and all that. It felt to me like they just give everyone the same kind of meds and dosage without much concerns. Maybe I should pay the SS15 branch a visit some day.

Free radical might be the cause of acne too, like the food we eat, air and etc. Whereas those fruits with high anthocyanins will help to reduce these free radicals. Maybe you can eat more fruits with high anthocyanins.

or you can try dr.Koh uptown

what kind of antibiotic did she precribe you?

Dr Ko? Nearest to me would be his Klang clinic. A few of my friends have been to his clinic and they say prices quite expensive and also give them the same meds anyway.

I can't remember already. She just said it's antibiotics.

Anyway after that, I went to see a gynae because of irregular menstruation and found out my body hormones are all upsidedown. So was prescribe birth control pills to regulate it. The hormonal acne got much better after that but my skin still isn't clear. Currently waiting for body to regulate hormones itself since I just gotten off BCP not too long ago. Then will see how which dermatologist I wanna go to if my face still doesn't clear up.

Dr. Koh, not Ko
well at least he managed to solve my friend's sudden breakouts..
so far only external stuff prescibed. maybe if really serious only give meds

so its true some birth control pills could help huh? i heard before but never really seen actual cases

Is it this one? http://www.damansarauptown.com/2010/12/koh...ist-uptown.html
Thanks for the recommendation, will look into that.

External stuffs doesn't work on me. Have tried all sorts expensive ones or even natural ones, most of the time it works for a while then no effect edi and it comes back worse or my skin dries out like crazy. I also do not wish to ingest meds to control it but it seems like I don't have much of a choice. Already eating healthy, never smoked, don't drink coffee, don't like sweet stuffs, no oily food, less processed food, lots of water, more fruits and vege, more sleep, some exercise (still working on this), but still having problems with acne.

Everytime go facial, facial lady sure say must press out everything. Damn painful. Now scared to go facial already. Somemore have to listen to them push their products.

The BCP did work but it did not clear up the pimples much, just lessen only. Mine was quite bad few months ago, to the extend that it was itching badly and I couldn't touch my face cause it hurts whenever I touch it. A few of my friends that went on BCP to control acne say that it'll usually come back after they get off BCP.

yala thats the problem with the medication..its just a treatment instead of curing
unless you can find the root cause..i think the problem wont go away

time for roccutane?

But roaccutane also one of the treatments for the symptoms, still can't find the root cause with that.

See how next few months then only decide. I was told if taking roaccutane, cannot go to the beach, cannot kena sun, cannot this cannot that, sensitive dry skin, etc. A bit troublesome to fit into my schedule.

Yup. SS15 one. But now he has another female doctor in the clinic for some of the days. I dunno if she is the same one from the Shah Alam branch. But avoid her. I seen her once and don't have good impression of her. So request for Dr Ranjit when you call for appointment and in the clinic.

You mentioned your hormones are upside down. Did you do a blood test on that? Birth control pills are used to control acne in selected patients, but they often cause rebound flares after taking off of them.

Actually there is no way to cure chronic acne unfortunately. All medications only control, so acne can come back after some period of time, unless your age decides it's time to do something good to you, or your hormones are in balance.

But at least there are still ways to control them. So consult a dermatologist to see what they can do for you.

Go to Ting Skin Specialist Clinic, Jalan Imbi.

I've been going there for over 1 year now. The doctor is really good, the prices are NOT expensive, i'm a student and I still can afford. The doctor also don't hide facts and you can ask alot of questions. I normally see Doctor Yap, he's so nice, friendly and chill, he even quotes scientific studies while talking.

Since your acne is serious, I recommend you do a oral course of Accutane (Isotetrin). You will be acne free for life.

Please DON'T believe bullshit such as diet, lifestyle, "natural" medicine or whatever, it doesn't work. Best you can do is cut off all dairy from your diet and it will improve your acne by 10%.... but of course useless.

This post has been edited by Armesh: Nov 22 2014, 08:04 AM

Acne are caused by bacteria, oil production and clogged pores. So the doctor giving you antibiotic pills is a correct treatment, given that those acnes of yours at that time may be caused by bacteria.

Diet also played a part in causing acnes, food like dairy products, chocolate and carbohydrate-rich foods may trigger acne.

Stress is also another factor. If you are stressed often, it will trigger more acnes.

Oily skin is another major factor of acnes. As soon as your face felt oily, go and wash your face with a facial cleaner. Buy one of those facial cleaner tubes such as those from Kao and keep it with you so that you can use it when you need to wash your face at school, work or public place. Also buy those wet face wipes or those wet baby wipes so that when you cannot go to the toilet to wash your face immediately, you use those wet wipes to wipe out the excess oil temporary until you can go to the toilet to wash your face. The longer the oil stay on your face, the higher the possibility of acne forming.

Facial Wash to try:
Neutrogena
Oil-Free Acne Wash
Contains Salicylic Acid to get rid of acne you have now and help prevent future breakouts.

Facial Wash to try:
Simple Moisturizing Facial Wash
This gentle face wash removes oil, dirt, and impurities without overdrying. Contains pro-vitamin B5 and vitamin E known to keep your skin soft and hydrated, and Bisabolol, from chamomile, is known to keep your skin calm and soothed.

Try acne cream:

Neutrogena On-the-Spot Acne Treatment

Try acne cream:

Natural Acne Solutions Spot Treatment Cream. Naturally derived salicylic acid helps reduce acne and prevent breakouts and licorice root and tamanu oil help promote healthy looking skin.

Try yuan soap and you will thank me later. It solve all acne problem but you need to apply moisturizer as it dry your skin a bit.

http://www.yuansoap.com.my/index.php?main_...&products_id=72




This post has been edited by jimmybcmy: Nov 22 2014, 09:36 AM

Hi there, am a pharmacy student in training and I myself had serious acne issues after I came out of PLKN till the point that my parents wouldn't stop nagging me about how ugly I looked.

I learned abit about acne (we only covered topical drugs) in my first year too so maybe I can offer you some advice, do note that I'm not a professional yet though, just qualifying to be one.

I tried using antibiotics before under the directions of a famous skin doctor at SS15 (Forgot his name), but it didn't really help and taking two antibiotic pills 2 times a day for 6 months was hard to comply with especially knowing the fact that you can't anyhow stop antibiotics.

Then my friend recommended another doctor to me at Damansara Uptown (DR Koh I think) and he prescribed different types of creams and Roaccutane to me. I used roaccutane for about 3 months and didn't see any improvements, but he assured me that it would take awhile, and after 6 months there was extremely visible positive changes on my end, with some minor red spots left, but definitely not as severe as it used to be. I continued treatment for awhile longer until I had no more bumps on my face and all is well now (I still do ocassionaly get a few pimples here and there after stopping treatment for about 6 months though, but not too severe)

AFAIK, I had dry lips and had to use lip balm, and it's an extremely common side effect of the drug, but the result was that my skin was noticeably less oily. And acne is caused by your oil glands being blocked (then bacteria can infect it when its clogged), so I'm assuming that it worked in that way.

thus, I'd recommend listening to your doctors advice and continue taking Roaccutane after the 6-12 months regime is over and see what the results are like- Just follow the dose your doctor gives you. Remember, everyone has different bodies and hence why 6 months of treatment for you might not necessarily give you the results that someone else got, so give it some time. Talk to your doctor about your concerns and I'm sure he'll tell you why he thinks roaccutane is the best treatment for your option.

But just to give you some sense of assurance, many of my friends who had acne problems also resolved it with roaccutane when they were in their 20s. and it was visibly useful for them.

As for fried food etc. One of my doctors told me that there was insufficient evidence to show that eating friend stuff lead to acne, but you can always choose to be careful by watching your diet- eating a balanced meal won't hurt!

You might want to get your mom to talk to your doctor so that he can clarify her misunderstandings of western medicine though- as a pharmacist-to-be who comes from a very asian family background, I always get nagged by my relatives about how western medicine is "not safe" and "dangerous", but they usually have no evidence to back up their claims. The reason why I trust western medicine > chinese tradition is not because I don't respect my elders, but it's simply because western medicine is based on evidence.

And don't worry about your self esteem! I can totally relate to how you're feeling because at one point I was so desperate to get rid of the acne that I took a picture of myself everyday to see if there were any improvements. I recall being really depressed because of my acne esp when I was trying to chase a girl (HAHA). What helped me get through that period of low self esteem was to talk to friends who actually accepted you for who you are and not how you look like. Do try to remain positive too since being stressed and sad won't help your condition and might even make it worst!

For those mild-moderate acne problem, never go for Accutane, too much side effect! Of course, doctor will never tell u this, they will said the only side effect is dry. Don't trust my words, go google and u will found out many aftermath side effect from taking accutane. One of them which I scare the most is hair fail~ Acne sufferer should put accutane as their last option.

Yes, isoretinoids aka Accutane/Ro-accutane is the most powerful and effective medication for acne. So far I haven't heard of ppl failing to improve from it. The course usually takes 6 months, and more up to two years according to the patient conditions. After weaning and stopping off, it stays in your body for another six months. So the positive effects last at least one and a half to two years.

It strips your skin of oil by halting the sebacceous gland activity, not only of your face, but also other parts of body. Chapped lips is very common, so lip balm is necessary. And it's only one of the mildest side effects. Hair loss is a dreadful one, but it's usually reversible if not mistaken. Raised cholesterol is common but usually not noticeable when patients do not check for it. But increased cholesterol level have long term effect to your cardiovascular system. So exercise and diet control are advisable during the course.

But don't be scared off by it. The physiological effects brought by the severe acne are more devastating. Just be cautious of the side effects and you will be fine. If your severity is not severe but mild to moderate, put Accutane as your last resort. There are other effective medications with less side effects can do the job. Discuss with the dermatologists. They know what's the best for you.

About the Accutane pills. Can I get it from the pharmacy or I must visit the skin specialist?