Treatment help

[canadian_ebayer2k5]

I'm currently on Tetracycline, take (2) 250mg pills at the same time once per day (per the doctor).  I wash my face with Biore exfolient in the morning and at night, and i use facial wipes in the morning and night, and i never scrub hard, i'm gentle and i use a moisturizer called complex 15 after im done, morning and night.

Ever since I started doin these things 2 - 3 weeks ago I've noticed some improvement, but when i do get a pimple, it's usually swelling up bigger now and kinda hurts ya know?  I'm wondering why when i get the odd one, 1 or 2 a week it swells up and it's sore.  Makes me feel like I have a headache when they're on my forehead.

I also would like to know what I can do/use or ask my doctor for to help clear up some of the scarring and stuff like that, and the blemishes, i still have blemishes on my face, the red look tha tlooks like acne is there but it's not.  I would like to get rid of the scarring on my chest and back and face and blemishes for good and i'm willing to do anything for it.  whether it takes a few weeks or months.

Also, I have a hard cyst on the back of my right jaw, my doctor said it's harmless but it's embarrasing, as it's mobile, not attached to anything just my skin and it's the size of a marble and i'd like to get it removed but don't know how to go about getting it removed, i asked my doctor twice and all he said was "at a later time", should i get a new doctor?  i know people look at it and maybe I shouldn't be so self conscience of it but im young still, 24 and it's been there for at least 2 years now, it's embarrasing and I don't like people looking at it and i think it makes it harder for that first impression....i just wish it was gone.  If you could help me with the questions/concerns about my cyst of 2 years, how to get rid of scars and blemishes and what other products to try maybe etc, hints/tips that would be so greatly appreciated, thank you very much!!!

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

When acne improves, the pimples often leave red spots that last for months.  People call these "scars," but they aren't, because eventually they go away.  Before you undertake any scar treatment, you should let the doctor quiet your acne down, and you may not need any scar treatment at all.  Meantime, be gentle and don't pick or rub.

As for the cyst, those require surgery if they are to be removed.  Your doctor may feel that cutting out the cyst might leave a more embarrassing mark than the cyst.  You should ask him about this.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff