Woman whose acne got so severe that it made her suicidal finds ‘life changing’ treatment

Young Illinois woman felt suicidal due to severe acne but found a treatment that saved her life. 

• A 20-year-old acne sufferer shares her life-changing transformation on TikTok.
• Isabella Miller started struggling with severe acne in her early teens, eventually leading to depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts. 
• Thankfully, she found a sensitive skin treatment that saved her life. 

Isabella Miller, 20, had to check into a mental hospital, as she grew suicidal due to her severe acne problem. The young woman’s condition caused her terrible cysts that bled all over her face. She was also resistant to medications, which made her situation even worse.

Thankfully, Bella finally found a “life-changing” treatment that helped her not only with her acne problem but also with her mental health issues.

@bellabirdmom#stitch with @bellabirdmom almost a year difference wow thank you everyone for the continued support and love I’ve been sent since this video 🥺❤️♬ original sound – Bella!

As Daily Mail reports, the 20-year-old started suffering from rigorous acne in 2014, during her early teens. Not long after, she was diagnosed with cystic acne. Unfortunately, all the medications doctors prescribed her were ineffective. Eventually, her blemishes and cysts grew so bad that she would often wake up with blood and pus staining her pillow. She shares:

“I first noticed the signs of acne during my freshman year in high school, where I had pimples develop mostly on my forehead which then spread to the lower areas of my face during my sophomore-junior year and it was very painful, uncomfortable, and itchy as I had very bad combination skin.”

The college girl spent years of suffering, leading to depression and suicidal thoughts. 

Bella’s depression got so severe that she had to seek help from mental health experts. Recalling the harrowing experience, she says:

“I became extremely aware of myself as my face always felt like it was dirty, even if I had just showered. I couldn’t leave the house without a full face of makeup and on some days, I couldn’t even recognize myself in the mirror which caused severe anxiety as I was constantly making sure that my skin looked okay.”

Sadly, when Bella tried to discuss her problem with her mother, she simply assumed it was nothing but “problem teenage skin.” However, the girl knew it was worse than that. She explains:

“I always knew that it was far more serious than that and would take intense treatment to help it go away. However, everyone in my close circle of friends was very supportive of me but I couldn’t shake the thought of it from my mind.”

The traumatized young woman also had troubles with people outside her friends’ group. She remembers:

“I was treated so negatively by those outside of my close circle, and I remember one time in high school where a guy I was talking to asked me if I washed my face which really hurt me because I was taking such good care of my skin.”

Bella’s healing journey began in 2015.

A year after her acne issues started, Isabella was diagnosed with cystic acne – a severe type of acne that leads to inflammation and infection. Her dermatologist prescribed her various medications, but they only burned her skin and didn’t do anything to help her healing process.

Other specialists also tried to come up with effective treatments, but it seemed like Bella’s condition was incurable. She says:

“Different dermatologists … tried a range of different treatments but none of those ever fully solved the problem until I was prescribed an antibiotic called doxycycline in September 2015, which cleared my skin in three months. However, my dermatologist then decided to take me off my medication and I went the whole summer of 2016 without it.”

Only three weeks before the school year started, Bella suffered a terrible flare-up. It was all over her face, which, understandably, deeply damaged her self-esteem.

In 2017, doctors prescribed her even more medications.

In May 2017, Isabella was put on spironolactone. While the hormone balancer did help, it was never a permanent solution. As soon as she was taken off the medication, her skin would instantly break out.

Bella shares:

“I would also use prescribed face washes, lotions and acne cream to keep my skin clean whilst trying to dry out the cysts on my face, and I remember this one face wash which cleared my skin but gave me a crippling eye infection that left me in a dark room with swollen eyelids — I just couldn’t win.

I felt completely helpless, like all the effort I was putting in was futile because no matter how well I took care of my skin, I was still having more breakouts that would develop before the last one could even heal.”

In October 2019, after experiencing extreme stress following a toxic breakup, Isabella’s mental health suffered even more. Feeling utterly powerless, she started suffering from depression, anxiety, and even bipolar disorder, as she didn’t even recognize herself anymore due to the appalling acne. She recalls:

“I felt so ugly and couldn’t even remember what I looked like under all that redness and I started to become extremely depressed and suicidal where I would constantly think about wanting to die and I didn’t trust myself anymore — so I was admitted to a mental hospital.”

The young woman thought there was “no escape” from her agonizing situation. 

But in April 2020, Bella was blessed with hope once again. At the time, her mother, Sarah Vanhagen, heard about a special sensitive skin treatment from a friend. It included only three simple steps – a cream cleanser, an acne-clearing cream, and a sensitive skin cream.

Bella shares this treatment has been a “life-changer.” She explains:

“After one month, my skin started to clear and felt soothed for the first time in years and I don’t know what I would have done without it. Although I still suffer from minor flare-ups every now and again, my skin is nowhere near as bad as it used to be and I have my new treatment and working on keeping my stress levels low to thank for that.”

Bella recently opened up about her healing journey on social media.

The 20-year-old recently showed her remarkable transformation in a TikTok video. She says:

“My family and friends are so ecstatic for me and they all tell me how much better and healthier my skin looks. I have also received an influx of support from people on TikTok, where I posted about my cystic acne journey and it’s nice to know that I’m not alone.”

The college student hopes others suffering from similar conditions know that “there are people who understand what you’re going through and you’re not isolated in this journey.” She adds:

“Remind yourself that you’re still beautiful with or without acne and it doesn’t define who you are!”