Unfortunately, the answer is yes.

The only way to correct a hormonal imbalance sometimes is to add hormones to balance things out. Some women choose to live with their condition rather than use birth control hormones..

I too had problems with acne as a pre teen..horrible problems..my mom took me to the dermatologist and the doctor put me on a generic form of Accutane...its a very very strong prescripted medicine which some dermatologists hesitate to prescribe...it has been supposedly been linked to severe depression and mood swings in some and causes bad birth defects if you were to get pregnant(only temporalily while you're on the medication)...i was about 12 when it was prescribed and convinced the doctor not to put me on birth control since i swore it would be unnecessary, i had to sign a few papers saying so and i was finally put on "accutane"(or, the generic form anyway)...my skin started clearing and now years later i really have no acne at all...except maybe that occassional blemish caused by "that time of the month"...i maintain my skin by using "differin"cream..you may have seen ads for that..and really have no problems...i would suggest seeing a dermatologist about your problem and if differin doesn't help at all(warning:differin does cause bad peeling for the first week or two of use until your skin adjusts) then maybe birth control wouldn't be such a bad thing? I'm currently on birth control now and my skin does great with it

Great, just great. If I only had the odd pimple here and there and my skin didn't get so oily, I'd just live with it but my skin gets so oily that the problem areas(the T zone and upper back, for those who don't know) get so bad that my upper back will actually permanently stain my clothes and sometimes, you would think I'm sweating even though I'm not because the oil occasionally drips from my forehead. As for my acne, I'm currently trying to find work and even though many workplaces say they don't discriminate against those with acne, you know for a fact that they do but they just never say it. If my face were covered in acne, my chances of getting a job would be even less then what they are now.

You know, I don't think I'd have a problem taking these pills if the companies that made them didn't feel the need to rip off those who actually need them for a problem like hormonal imbalances.

Here in Canada, Diane 35 ranges from $45-52 and the CyEstra, which is a generic form of Diane, is in the mid $30 range. With the job find being so crappy, I'm always forced to go off of them about a few months of the year because I can't afford them! What angers me the most about this is that pills like Alesse are only $7 at the sexual health clinic yet the ones I need are a fortune!

worrywart01,

I've been seeing my dermatologist since I was six and even though the acne I had during my teen years was so bad that you couldn't even find a bare patch of skin that didn't have acne on it(my acne was on my back and shoulders), it still wasn't severe enough to go on Accutane or any generic form of it. Once it cleared up on my back, it moved to my face which was when I started taking Diane 35.

Have you called around to get different prices from different pharmacies or providers?

maybe you should seriously consider switching dermatologists and getting a different opinion? mine acne was bad, but it definitely wasn't severe, it was just something I could never get rid of like you and we'd tried antibiotics,creams etc and it wasn't working for me...so as a last resort we talked about it and he said it was up to me since my acne was severe but he would put me on accutane(generic form) ..and like i said the general concern was depression, but things were fine for me and its definitely something I dont regret,clear skin now was definitely worth it...i understand your pain and frustration though, i went through freshman and sophomore year of high school and it really does alot to your self esteem

also if you are unwilling or the dermatologist still does see the need to prescribe you accutane i would start looking at differin cream if you havent...it helps control oily skin and clears your face up, i've found that I have to put it on every other day thought or it dries my skin out, and sometimes I'll just use it for spot treatment..good stuff