I'm sorry you have to deal with the cystic acne. I got it from Lithium even into my very early 40s. I'm in my mid to late 40s now.

I've heard of people complain about skin problems from Lamictal, but not from Tegretol until now. If Tegretol is the culprit for your acne, it goes to show that different people get different side effects from different medications. I've been on 1200 to 1400 mg of Tegretol XR for almost 9 years. Ever since about three months after getting off Lithium my skin has been almost perfect. It's been about six years since Lithium.