Adderall is giving me acne breakouts bad!!! PLEASE HELP

[mechanicalmetal]

Hey guys,

The doc just recently put me on Adderall 10mg twice daily, and this is like my 3rd day and I love it! Only thing is that it is giving me little tiny bumps all over my face and a couple nasty pimples. I wash my face daily and use acne cream on my face and its still doing nothing. I have read for HOURS all over online that people are saying there is no hope and they had to quit the medication to get rid of acne. I do not want to quit the med! I love the way I feel and I can actually think now! Can someone please please give me some hope in telling me if this is happening to you and what you did to remedy the situation. I am not going to have surgeries or go see a dermotologist becouse I don't have the money.
PLEASE HELP!!! im getting very depressed.

Thanks

[hannahsmom]

Sorry, no help here, I had the same problem on it and unfortunately it persisted for years after. I think I actually have rosacea now. I am trying Dexedrine, which is similar to Adderall and so far my skin is actually clearing. I'm hoping to feel as good on this as I did on Adderall. I'm still trying to adjust my dose, and right now I'm on the dreaded Barr formulation, but I"m hoping to switch brands next month. Maybe, if you don't find help, that Dex would work as well for you? Best of luck!

[Jubb]

If its still your third day then it's too early to tell if Adderall is the cause of your acne. Acne takes time to develop (1-2 weeks).

Amphetamines DO aggravate acne, but if you keep your stress levels to a minimum then your acne should clear up.

Just do yourself a favor and don't go out and start trying a bunch of different acne meds trying to banish "bad stuff" from your face because they will only lead to more acne and frustration in the long run. IMO the less crap you apply to your face the better.

Acne isn't really caused by bacteria and dirt, as popular culture will have you believe. Instead, it is mainly caused by stress and hormone spikes.

Amphetamines = more stress and hormonal imbalances (temporary of course), so try to remain more relaxed and maintain a healthy diet and so forth.

Naturally, sitting in front of a mirror and stressing about the little things isn't helping either so try to avoid that.

Having said that, acne sucks.

[scarygreengiant]

Have you tried Milk of Magnesium? It works great on my acne. It's my beauty cream. However, my acne is "regular" acne, not "Adderall acne" so I don't know if it would work on you. But like Jubb said, it's only your third day on Adderall so something else might be causing your acne anyway. If it turns out your acne is med related and it's really bothering you, maybe try switching to a different med. Adderall isn't the only option.

[nikkiana]

I agree with most everyone else that it might be too early to tell if it's the Adderall or not (but I wouldn't be surprised it it was, either)...

Out of curiosity, are you noticing that your face is a lot oilier than it was before you started the medication?

I know the entire time I've been on Adderall, my face became CRAZY oily. If I don't want to break out, I have to be religious about washing my face in the morning, doing something midday to control the oil... either washing or using blotting paper to absorb the oil... and washing again before I go to bed. If I skip one of those things, I break out the next day. It's awful!

Unfortunately... There's not a lot you can do. I casually asked an acquaintance of mine who's a dermatologist if she had any ideas, and pretty much all she did was confirm that what I was doing was the right thing to do...

[Seer-X]

NOTE: accidentally double posted.... sorry mods, meant to edit.

Originally Posted by mechanicalmetal

Hey guys,
The doc just recently put me on Adderall 10mg twice daily, and this is like my 3rd day and I love it! Only thing is that it is giving me little tiny bumps all over my face and a couple nasty pimples. I wash my face daily and use acne cream on my face and its still doing nothing. I have read for HOURS all over online that people are saying there is no hope and they had to quit the medication to get rid of acne. I do not want to quit the med! I love the way I feel and I can actually think now! Can someone please please give me some hope in telling me if this is happening to you and what you did to remedy the situation. I am not going to have surgeries or go see a dermotologist becouse I don't have the money.
PLEASE HELP!!! im getting very depressed.

Thanks

my suggestion, try taking a B-complex vitamin in the morning with breakfast. aids metabolism. and... for possibly even better results, break one in half and take a half in the morning and a half around noon (with food.) I suggest that because, most b-complex pills contain way more than the average body needs or normally will use at one time (read the back of just about any b-complex bottle, daily values.. %2500, %3333, etc,.)
therefore you can take a half of a pill and still get your moneys worth. the rest that your body doesn't use goes right through you in a fairly short while (that's why it makes pee'pee bright orange/yellow and gives it that distinctive vitamin smell.)

have you eaten anything unusual? or go nuts on some sweets?
my girlfriend really likes sweets/chocolate/sugar.. and tends to get acne pretty bad sometimes. I suggested b-vitamins to her a few years ago, and now, when she takes them regularly (at least a few days straight) it definitely makes a noticeable difference.

oh yeah, IMO, I think those acne creams are a big scam too, they never worked for me (when I was teen) or my girlfriend, and she has tried quite a few. Like the poster above stated, warm soupy water is the best, regarding face cleansing IMO.

I don't really know if b-vitamins will help with your kind of acne/zits, prolly worth a shot though. some Vitamin-E and Zinc supplementation might be a good idea as well.

just my 2 cents.

[DeloresMelon]

the more I read the more I have to "accuse" adderall for my acne. I'm nearly THIRTY FOUR and I'm having worse acne than I ever did in my teens. In fact, I had one, two blemishes max during those magical times each month and that was it.

I'm also seeing more rosacea than before. I initially blamed recent baby and those hormones, but now that I see this kind of post more often, I'm blaming adderall. Everything out of wack, much more oil going on.

my doctor just switched me to ritalin (started yesterday) so I'm anxious to see if I have improvement.


Although I have to agree with others that mentioned it, 3 days is pretty darn early for adderall to cause skin trouble, but I wouldn't say impossible.

[mechanicalmetal]

Originally Posted by nikkiana

I agree with most everyone else that it might be too early to tell if it's the Adderall or not (but I wouldn't be surprised it it was, either)...

Out of curiosity, are you noticing that your face is a lot oilier than it was before you started the medication?

I know the entire time I've been on Adderall, my face became CRAZY oily. If I don't want to break out, I have to be religious about washing my face in the morning, doing something midday to control the oil... either washing or using blotting paper to absorb the oil... and washing again before I go to bed. If I skip one of those things, I break out the next day. It's awful!

Unfortunately... There's not a lot you can do. I casually asked an acquaintance of mine who's a dermatologist if she had any ideas, and pretty much all she did was confirm that what I was doing was the right thing to do...

Well its kinda hard to notice because I have always had oily skin. I never even washed my face and had only occasional breakouts and it wasnt bad enough to bother me. But yes it is oily but no more than it normally is.

What bothers me is that I woke up this morning to shave, and as soon as I glided my razor across my face I had about 6 little bumps start bleeding. I cant do anything about it and now it looks like I have horrible acne n stuff now that they got cut open.

I just wanted to thank you guys for all of your support as it means more than anything to me!!!!

Also, is the B-Complex vitamin the same thing as b-12? I actually have a bottle of b-12 chewables in my medicine cabinet that I am going to try.

Also, I was thinking about proactiv formula. I have used it before and it worked wonders!!!! I am just questioning it now becouse acne from adderall is horimone related.... ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't mean to keep jumping subjects but I just want to reply to all of you guys....

Also I know you say it is too early for the adderall to blame for the acne, but about 3 months ago the doc put me on Adderall XR. I LOVED IT but it gave me a few male problems and I refused to take it ever again. My fiance got upset and I finally went to the doc again to request just REGULAR adderall non XR so that at night it wears off. Now my male problems have went away, its just the damn acne now!!!! Everything is great I love the med, but why does there have to be a ******* con!!!!!!!

Guys if you have any success stories please please post. I thank you for your input but I don't want to hear that there is nothing I can do about it and I just have to suffer with acne or get off of it. I know there has got to be something I can do!!! I am a stress freak and I work sales so I know that adds a HUGE bang to it as well.

Please advise guys.... SUCCESS STORIES PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!

I love you guys and thank you so much.

[Nocturnal]

I've noticed more and more pimples on my face as well. Also, I'm not sure if this is related to Adderall or not but my knuckles get extremely dry. It could be attributed to my antibacterial soap though.

[brewskijmu]

Originally Posted by hannahsmom

Sorry, no help here, I had the same problem on it and unfortunately it persisted for years after. I think I actually have rosacea now. I am trying Dexedrine, which is similar to Adderall and so far my skin is actually clearing. I'm hoping to feel as good on this as I did on Adderall. I'm still trying to adjust my dose, and right now I'm on the dreaded Barr formulation, but I"m hoping to switch brands next month. Maybe, if you don't find help, that Dex would work as well for you? Best of luck!

I am wondering about your comment about the Barr brand...what is the alternative? I'm taking the Corepharma brand and I haven't read many good things about it. I haven't noticed a great change in my concentration, and haven't had those appetite suppression side effects that everyone talks about. i just started 3 days ago and i'm only taking 10 mg to start so maybe once i increase it will get better. i did noticed major dryness and heavy eyelids on day 2 but that could be because i was tired. my stomach also seems to be kind of upset often. i have also noticed that a bunch of new pimples but it could also be from not washing my face after working out. who knows with these meds, so many hormonal issues to add in the mix.

i am hoping to go on XR so i am at least on the brand Adderall instead of messing around with generics.

[trinity10120]

The new Murad Acne Treatment did wonders for my acne. I also use strivectin because the Murad Acne treatment does overdry my face in certain areas.
My acne became worse once I went on Vyvanse. Now my face is clear with an occasional break out.

[trinity10120]

Also, if your getting really dry skin try the goldbond brand.... i forget the actual name of it but its "ultimate" something or other.

[Pauligirl]

scarygreengiant...in regard to the Milk of Mag being your beauty cream, do you mean this literally? You put it on your face like a cream? Interesting, maybe I'll give it a try...hehehe

[Mary]

One vital question:... how much water are you getting per day? I noticed my daughter would have less acne taking adderall if she got enough water. When she drank anything else.. she'd break out again.

[scarygreengiant]

Originally Posted by Pauligirl

scarygreengiant...in regard to the Milk of Mag being your beauty cream, do you mean this literally? You put it on your face like a cream? Interesting, maybe I'll give it a try...hehehe

Yes, just put some on your face and wash it off after a few minutes. If you leave it on too long it might dry out your skin a little but you can always use some moisturizer if that happens. I looooooooooooove my Milk of Mag.