Adult Acne & Laser Treatment (a Sufferer's Story)

It's been a long time since I posted anything--my intention was to post another article next (I hope that those suffering from acne are able to find some useful information in some of the articles and the links that some of my commenters have posted), but recently I received a personal story that somebody wanted to share with me and my readers. I have edited the submission for typos (with the author's permission), but have otherwise left this person's story intact. The story is from someone who wants to be known only as "Sarah," and who has suffered from a different type of acne than a lot of us are commonly used to hearing about: adult acne. What I like about Sarah's story is that she was finally able to find something (a solution) that worked for her. I truly wish Sarah (and all other acne sufferers) the best in finding a treatment that can work for them. I've said it before, and I can't say it enough: many 'outsiders' who have never suffered from this often do not understand how debilitating this condition can be, and exactly how heavily it can affect a person's self esteem.

Sarah from Vancouver writes:

"I also share some of the same struggles that you talked about in your story. My acne started at somewhat a young age, I think around puberty, and it got worse pretty fast. I too got made fun of throughout junior high and high school and I also tried every "gimmick" available to me on the market at that time. None of this worked and my friends and family kept assuring me that it was something that a lot of teenagers went through and that it would pass. Imagine my horror when I entered college and still the acne had not gone away. I still hoped that it would pass, but as the years went on I started to worry more and more that it would not pass. I now had access to the internet, and I began researching like crazy. I soon learned about something called "adult acne" and I was sure that I had it.

I had seen many dermatologists when I was younger and they all prescribed medications and when the medications didn't work, they told me that my acne "would pass." Of course I was frustrated by this but I tried to wait it out. I wanted to believe them. At one point I was 23 years old and I looked in the mirror and I realized finally that it wasn't going to just "pass." I had done enough research to know that I had a chronic problem and it really scared me to think that I might have to spend the rest of my life going through what I had gone through for over the past ten years. I was literally at the lowest point in my life. Everyone around me, all my friends, all my classmates and coworkers, all had beautiful perfect skin. I shut myself out to the world. I didn't want to go out with my friends anymore because when I did, it hurt too much to see my friends get attention while I sat alone in a club or a bar wishing that someone would take interest in me.

One incident that hurt the most was one night when I was out with my friends at a club and a group of guys spotted us from across the club. They were looking and one of them started pointing and smiling at me. My friends noticed this and left to dance knowing that if I was alone maybe he would approach me. Well, he did. He came up to me and we started talking at the bar where I was sitting. I noticed as we started to talk that he didn't seem as interested in me as he was when we walked up. He had bought me a drink but now was being very quiet and was barely looking at me. After we finished our drinks, by the way he drank his down like he couldn't wait to get out of there, he stood up to leave and I asked him "well do you want to trade numbers or anything?" He said no thanks and walked away. Later one of my friends was pretty pissed about what had happened so she went up to one of his friends and asked him what happened. He obviously liked me so why didn't he want my number? The friend, a total asshole, told her "did you see that girl's skin? I'm sorry but my friend has standards."

I didn't want to go out after that and like I said I secluded myself from everything and most social activities. I realized that this thing was ruining my life, my self esteem was completely down the tubes and I needed to do something or else I was not going to be able to live another day with my face being the way that it was. Even makeup couldn't cover it up. I have told few people this, but there were some days I looked in the mirror and thought about suicide, thinking that it was the only way that I could end this.

I called my mother who is my best friend to this day and I told her about how the acne was bringing my life down. She said to look into some treatment, that she was willing to go anywhere and to pay anything to make this better for me. To make a long story short, I did some research on the internet and found a treatment that I had not yet tried. It was laser acne treatment. I'm not positive but I don't remember it being around or popular when I first started researching acne treatments a long time ago.

We found a nice facility in Seattle and set up an appointment to meet with a doctor. He was very realistic about the process, he explained that I should not get my hopes up, that this works in some cases very well and in other cases it is less successful, and he also explained to me all the risks. By this point I was so desperate that I would have done anything. I also liked and trusted the doctor and I agreed to the treatments. To make a long story short again, I'll just say that the laser treatments completely changed my life. It was the best thing that could have happened to me and I am literally a new person ever since my skin has been ridden of this awful thing that had haunted me for over a decade. My only regret is not finding out about it sooner, maybe I could have saved some years of my youth. Now I am 28 and I go out and I party with my friends, but also I am married. I met a great guy who has seen pictures of me BEFORE the treatments and he said that he would have liked me anyway, but there is nothing that could have given me the self-confidence to meet him or do all the things I am doing now were it not for the laser treatments.

I know that there are lots of treatments out there that work for different people, but I just wanted to share my story in case there was someone out there who had not heard of acne laser treatment or had not yet tried it, who also might feel like I felt, totally hopeless. Thanks for letting me share and I want to tell everyone suffering from this disease that there really is hope for you out there! Just do your research. If you do decide to go through with any treatment, make sure you research your doctor well and learn your facts. Best of luck. Sarah."

After submitting her story to me, and apologizing for it being so long (no worries, Sarah! :)) she wrote me wanting to add that her emphasis was on the problem of adult acne and she hoped to educate people that this isn't just a problem that teenagers go through. I think that she has done a good job, and I commend her for having the courage to share such a personal story. Again, I wish her and all acne sufferers (whether they are young or in their adult years) the best of luck and to remind them (as Sarah has) that there is hope no matter what your personal journey has been.

If anyone else would like to submit a personal story to be included in this blog, please leave a comment and post your story in there. If it works for the blog, I will post it (I can't promise anything as I have not been active on this blog too much lately and as the story must be relevant with what I'm trying to do with this blog). Please be advised that if you post a story in the comment section for me to post in the blog, I would like to edit any typos that may exist in the original. If you feel more comfortable emailing me your story, just post a comment saying that you would like to post a story (give me the gist of the story too, if possible), include your email address, and I will send you an email. Thanks. :)