oh...wow!!! super glad I found this site.

So basically I'm THRILLED that I found this site...I'm sorry that there are other people as frustrated as I am, if not more so...but I suppose its better to have an all knowing group of strugglers than to be alone. I digress (sigh). My name is Tia...I'm 20. I'm suffering through my 4th year of pre-med (I took strictly college courses my junior and senior year of high school). My family is cursed. My mother AND father were both prone to acne, unfortunately the gene didn't skip a generation...my brother, sister, and I all apparently have one inherited trait in common...and it isn't ANYTHING GOOD. I have moderate acne according to the dermatologist, who didn't accomplish anything but making me hope that my skin didn't end up looking like his. I have slight breakouts of whiteheads, some redness, and EXTREME amounts of blackheads. Blackheads, of course, are uber frustrating. I don't get discouraged easily so I've kept trucking through the years and tried everything I could get my hands on. Accutane (which made my eyebrows fall out, they still haven't regrown...I have to paint them on, my hair thin, my lips and nose bleed on a consistent basis), Differin, 3 different pills from the derm., Proactive, Murad, Philosophy, Cosmedicine, etc. None of which got rid of my blackheads. Currently I'm on an entirely salicylic acid and exfoliation regimen, everything I put on my faces is medicated, no over-drying or initial worsening of acne so far, but also no real improvement and it has been about 3 months. I have hopes...small ones, but hopes all the same because at least it isn't getting WORSE. I'm a vegetarian (sticking to as much organic food as possible), I take multivitamins (they have low iron content), drink loads of water (about 1.5 to 2 gallons a day)...I don't smoke (asthmatic), drink (family history of addiction to more than just alcohol has scared me away from that), consume caffeine in large amounts (low tolerance to any chemical substance)...oh man...that probably makes me sound ridiculously abnormal...I might be (shrug). My mother passed away in April...which means I don't currently have insurance and won't have it until my open enrollment in May, so going back to the dermatologist is out of the question financially. I haven't had a lot of luck with benzoyl peroxide in the past, I'm seriously considering trying it again...I wasn't using the huge amounts as indicated by everyone who has had success. I take the drawing of eyebrows in stride...it may even be funny. I haven't decided. I'm sooooo unbelievably frustrated with the blackheads that I'm ready to cut off my nose!!! Which would be a feasible option if it wasn't so cute and it wasn't attached to my face. Anyway...hi everybody. Sorry I ran off at the mouth. It's an addiction.