Any regrets?

hi everyone,

it's been a while since i've posted. so, after wanting to go on accutane for a long, long time (i suffer from mild/moderate but very persistent acne), and being rejected by one derm after another, i finally found a derm who is willing to prescribe me a low dose of accutane. only problem is, i'm starting to get cold feet now. my boyfriend thinks i'm an idiot for even considering taking such a "dangerous" drug, but what the hell does he know?? his skin is freaking perfection. what makes me even more jealous is the fact that his skin is naturally perfect-- he eats and drinks whatever he wants; he rubs his face with his hands whenever he wants; he goes to bed without washing his face; he barely splashes water on his face and considers that washing; etc.-- and he never, ever breaks out. as for me, i've been on birth control pills, changed my diet, tried topicals, and been on antibiotics, and while i've had some success, sure enough, the acne always comes back after a short while. why is life so unfair??

anyway, sorry for going off on such a tangent. i'm wondering if anyone has any regrets in taking accutane. does anyone suffer from any long term side effects?

any input would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!

--yOsh

Amalgam fillings

hi guys,

i was wondering if anyone has had his/her amalgam (silver) fillings taken out, and how much the procedure cost.

after doing some research, i'm wondering if my acne, although it's mild, is from my amalgam fillings. whatever the case, i think it's better for my health to have them removed.

i have 4 that i would like to remove, but i'm not sure if it's a smart idea for me to have them removed all at once. i was thinking i should remove two at a time? or is that too much? does anyone have any suggestions?

also, does anyone know how much it'll cost me? i doubt my insurance would cover the procedure, since it's considered cosmetic more than anything.

any help would be appreciated! thanks!

-yoshi

Has accutane cured anyone's acne?

i'm just curious, is there anyone on these boards that has been cured of his/her acne? by cured i mean completely free of all kinds of acne by using nothing on his/her face. so in other words, has anyone taken accutane, gotten completely clear, and stayed that way afterwards without using BP, AHA, BHA, Retin-A, etc.? i'm seriously considering taking accutane for my extremely mild but persistent comedonal acne. i'm kind of thinking that one round of accutane will cure me, but i'm not sure, so i was wondering if anyone could fill me in on his/her experiences. my boyfriend thinks i'm crazy for wanting to take accutane, but he doesn't understand because he was born with clear skin! he can seriously rub grease on his face and not get a single pimple. i'm just sick of having to follow a regimen on a daily basis. my freakin' boyfriend just splashes water on his face in the morning and he's all ready to go. no face wash, no acne medication, no lotion, no nothing. life's so unfair.

also, if you're a female and taking accutane, do you HAVE to take it with some sort of birth control pill?

just an observation...

hmm, i don't know if this is just where i'm from, but i've noticed that i see more girls with acne, but the guys that i see suffering from acne have it way more severe than the girls do. i don't know why this is, but it's something i've definitely noticed, especially at school. has anyone else noticed this? by the way, i'm from norcal.

Question regarding AHA...

hello, i was just wondering how exactly leave-on AHA products, such as alpha hydroxy products or paula's choice 8% AHA gel, work. i know AHA is supposed to exfoliate the skin's surface, but how exactly does it get rid of the flakes? when you apply alpha hydroxy souffle, for example, does it dissolve the flakes? or does it loosen the flakes so that they can easily be rubbed off during the next wash? let's say i use lac-hydrin 5 in the morning after my BP application; at night time, do i need to rub my skin to get rid of the flakes? or is just applying AHA enough to get rid of the flakes? if the latter, then i'm assuming that AHA dissolves flakes?

i'm actually using AHA right now in conjunction with the baby brush method, so i was wondering if the baby brush method is at all necessary because i'm using an AHA product. i don't want to irritate my skin or anything, and sometimes, after i apply my AHA, my skin feels really raw. but even though i use AHA, my skin is still somewhat flakey. the flakes aren't visible, though, but i know they're there because in the shower, when i use the baby brush, flakes are produced. so yeah... should i rub the flakes off, or just let them be?