Spotlight Case (The Home Version)
We have developed a Definitive Practice for acne in New York City and it has become obvious that focused home version clients have been able to master this advanced program as well.
This home version client has given us permission to show her story, her emails, and her progress photos. For those who have lost hope, read every word of this extensive post and you will see that no case of acne is “special” or “untreatable”.
(try Full Screen)
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Hi Dr Neal,
I recently came across your practice on Fran Kerr’s High on Health site which I signed up to a few months ago and have been researching it on her site, YouTube and TheAcnePractice site, and am interested in starting the programme. I am 20 (21 in October) and have had acne since I was about 14, so around six years now. Unfortunately though, I am a student from England and I can’t afford to come to New York so I would have to do the home version, but I am 100% willing to do exactly and whatever you tell me and follow your instructions to the tee. I’ll explain my story to you so you know what exactly you’re dealing with.
It started mild and was like my friends’ teenage acne so I thought it was just my age and would clear fairly soon, but when I got to about 16 it was quite a lot worse and after trying countless over the counter facewashes (Clearasil, Oxy, etc etc) that didn’t help, I began to seek medical advice. I tried panoxyl cream 5, oxytetracycline (which made it horrendously bad and was a horrible time in my life), erythromycin, benzoyl peroxide, diannette and microgynon, all to no avail whatsoever.
I then became wary of continuing medical prescriptions in case they made it worse again and tried other things myself such as tea tree oil, neem oil, hemp oil, PurpleEmu acne creams that I’d researched on the Internet, and many many other ‘treatments’, e.g. homeopathy, apple cider vinegar both topically and as an internal supplement, multivitamin tablets, evening primrose oil, cod liver oil, chinese herbal medicine, ‘Clear Complexion’ tablets, Ayurveda holistic tablets, and probably some others that I’ve forgotten as there are so many.
I exhausted these and tried changing my diet, buying Karen Jesset’s ‘Clear Skin’ book online and following a very strict diet, on which my skin began to clear very well, although after a month it ceased to clear any further and started to reverse even though I stuck rigidly to the diet, so after another month it was back to the way it was before I started. I then bought an Acne Lightbox - red and blue light therapy - which I thought started to work at first but after 2months my skin was no better than it was before, so I sent it back to get a refund last Friday.
After then being stumped and very frustrated as to what direction to go in I decided to go back to the doctor. I explained things to him and he said he would refer me to a dermatologist. He offered to put me on anti depressants when I described how it affected me emotionally, but I refused as I am not keen on the idea and can at least feel better when I wear make-up, though it does distress me a great deal, just like many of the people on the videos you have put up on your site. I constantly check mirrors, the first thing I have done every single morning without fail for years is to look in the mirror, and I worry when I am in situations where I am wearing no makeup, it being on my mind the entire time and consuming my thoughts. I’m worried about what my new flatmates will think when they see me with no make-up on for the first time, and sometimes I don’t go out because of my acne and stay in the house depressed and crying all day. Also, it’s frustrating because applying make-up is so time consuming. So I am pretty desperate for your help. I’ve decided, upon looking in the mirror this morning, that I just cannot wait until the dermatologist gets in touch and it would be a better idea to go to you because I’m almost certain anything he offers me won’t work anyway, and I don’t want to go on Roaccutane because of the potential side effects or have laser therapy because of the possible permanent hyper pigmentation. I’ll now tell you about the condition of my skin so you have an idea of what you’ll be working with. I have large spots (papules and pustules [I get a lot of pustules], and I think the odd nodule sometimes) on my forehead, cheeks and chin. The only place on my face that is clear is my nose. I have suffered mainly with acne on my forehead, chin and the bit above my upper lip, but last January I started getting the odd large spot on the apples of my cheeks and this year this has progressed further out and now I have more large spots and lots of smaller ones that are all over my cheeks, going down to my jaw and these have, in the last few weeks, spread to below my jaw now, and I now also have large spots (one nodule), under my chin/jaw. Aside from the big spots, my skin has sandpaper-like bumps all over my forehead, cheeks, and lower jaw/upper neck. I have started to get a few permanent scars but mainly there are lots of red marks that spots have left. And it sometimes clears a bit and then worsens quickly. I have in the past been used to having lots of very large spots all over my forehead, though after stopping moisturising about 3months ago I don’t get as many now and there are significantly fewer red marks, though it has got much worse on my cheeks. I’ve attached a few photos so you can see. Sorry if the quality isn’t so good on some of them but I tried to get the best ones I could. My skin also gets very oily (oilier than in the photos because I washed my face only two hours before I took them).
I would say my case is severe I think? Have a look at the photos and tell me which product of yours you think I should use, because I’m not sure whether to get the moderate-severe or the severe one. I don’t think I have any cysts so this is partly why I’m unsure.
I hope I’ve given you all the information about my state that you need. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if there’s anything else you need to know. I was wondering how often I would need to e-mail you to let you know of my progress once on the programme? Would I need to send photo’s every few days? Let me know exactly what you require and I’ll gladly do it. I’ll be a ‘good’ patient.
Hope to hear from you very soon.
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3 Months Later:
Hi Dr Neal,
My skin’s totally clear and looks amazing! I’ve been pretty much clear for a while, except for accidentally getting one spot, then clear, then one spot again that day, due to not touching up quite in time, but it’s clear now. Thank you so much for this – the freedom of not constantly thinking about my skin is fantastic, I can live normally now! I can’t imagine ever going back to living with acne, it really was taking its toll, I was getting increasingly distressed and depressed about it, anxious, obsessive, compulsive, etc. etc. I now don’t have to let it rule my life! And for the first time in years, I’m happy with what I see when I look in the mirror. It’s amazing. I’m beyond grateful. I’ve got so fed up of spending so much time applying foundation/concealer that I hardly ever wear any now as I feel confident about my skin as it is – there’s a few marks left, mainly on the sides of my cheeks, but these can be pretty much covered when my hair’s down and they’re all fading brilliantly. And the oiliness – I used to have extremely oily skin and it’s so relieving to be rid of the way that looked! And it’s so smooth!
I’ve attached some photos of how my skin looks now, and some of how it looked before in case this saves you time searching for the old ones I sent you. I don’t mind at all you using these on the site, plus the rebate would help me out with the costs. I’ll send you some when all the marks have totally gone if you’d like, too, for a better before and after?
Also, I’ve looked on your site at the three dimensional scarring videos which are great, I didn’t think these would go without some form of laser therapy or something. I haven’t got many given the amount of activity as you said at the start of the programme, but there’s a couple right in the middle of my forehead that are kind of annoying. Will these eventually fade with the products that I’m using now?
Again, thank you so much for all your help!
November 22nd, 2009 at 12:07 am
I had tears on my eyes after watching this video and reading the story!!! Partially, because I understand what kind of of frustration and stress this person had to go through, partially because of the amazing results she’s got!!!
Good job and thanks for sharing the video!!!