hi everyone my name is stewy im 24 yrs old. first i want to say i have found this form very educational and very positive. i want to tell my story and hopefully have u guys give me some thoughts and opinions, and if anyone has any questions for me i will try my best to be a help. well here goes my story. i pretty much had nice skin most of my life. u know a pimple here and there but then my doom day came. i was about 19 yrs old and i got a bunch of black head looking ***** zits. mostly on my forehead and temple area along with on my upper cheeks by the cheek bone. I figured i was gettin adult acne so i tried everything i literally mean everything u name it i was on it tons of topical treatments along with accutane. after my 5 month course of accutane ended i was still getting pimples. dude i was a wreck. i know that acne scars fade with time but even when my bumps were gone the marks wouldnt leave. all i knew is that i had a type of acne that i have never seen. it wasnt necesarily severe but i new it different. i never put much thought in it but from what i can remember somewhere around the same time i did get these bumps on my butt, back of arms, and shoulders. back then i never really associated those body parts with my face. sure the ones on my body bugged me but i never really let it get to me to much. i mean ive always had girlfriends and girls telling me i was good looking so my self esteem for the most part was alright. deep down inside it was a little rocky but i didnt try to let it show. my face to be honest with u was the only part getting me down. my cheeks are red but not solid red it almost looks like razor burn. i dont put any topical treatment on it because like i said i thought i had acne and even though my cheeks are red i never broke out there. so my cheeks drive me out of my freeking mind and also the red dots around my temples and upper cheeks what some of u guys say chicken dots are what bug me. i have been on tazorac for about a year which kept my skin smooth but those dam red dots are still there. i just went to another dermatoligist about a week ago and he told me i have keratoses pilaris atrophicians faciei. he just said keratoses pilaris but from the research ive done thats the type i think i have. he put me on retna a micro to hopefully fade some of the red spots but i dont know. i even use make up because latley my self esteem is so low. its funny ive had this conditon for a while and knowing that those dam red dots might not go away has made me quite depressed. i guess before i knew i had hope the acne scars would fade. i also have a thick beard so any info on good ways to shave will be helpfull im so fed up i think i might just grow a zz top beard. i also use cetaphil face wash, mostirizure cream at night and sun screan any suggestions would be helpful as well. also i read a bit about the lonpulsed dy laser to remove the red dots. let me know whats up with that as well. and ladies if there is some good makeup that wont look like im wearing make up but covers the blemishes let me know as well. sorry this has been a long introduction but finding this form helps me open up and express whats been on my chest for a while. it helps to talk with people who are going through a similar struggle. i know this isnt a life threating disease but it still hurts. one person might think u look fine but if u dont feel good it can depress and eat u up inside. thanks for your time.

stewy.

Stewy,

I hear you man. I've been dealing with this ever since I was 17 and I'm now 21. This condition has almost taken the last 4 years of my life captive. It's such an everyday issue that I feel like I've had it for so much longer. Like you, I've gone through some really rough stages and dealt alot with self-esteem and depression for quite some time. But there is still hope.

The more we talk about our condition, the more we can understand it. And hopefully doctors and dermatologists will become as interested in this condition like they are interested in acne. Both do cause alot of the same emotional issues.

I encourage you to consistently check out this forum and even look back to soem of the archived postings. Welcome to the forum. I'm glad you have found a place you can be open about what you are going through. Together we can all make a difference with condition not only helping ourselves but everyone else that deals with the same thing.


Ryan

thanks ryan for responding bro. it means alot dude and i understand how u feel as well. the more we do discuss this and learn from each other the better we all are. i will be keeping in touch with u man.

stewy

Hey no problem Stewy. Thanks for sharing your story. I'd be glad to hear more. Knowing that there are other people and talking with people that are going through the same thing really helps. You can check out pictures of my condition from the post called "Pictures Anyone?" There is a couple links a few replies into it. I find that pictures might help as well in actually sharing what each of our faces look like. Keep in touch man.

Ryan