Finally paying for last weekend's festivities. Cysts suck.

Cutting down to washing once a day to reduce irritation.

I feel like I have no control over my skin at the moment, which is frustrating as all hell. No matter what I eat or put on my face, I break out almost every day, although carb-loading does seem to make things a bit worse. If I didn't feel so helpless and had some hope that things would clear, I could focus better on more important things and just let the acne run its course. So here's a game plan I have for the next few months to put my mind at ease.

November- Staying in Iceland for three weeks; my skin might magically clear like it did in Arizona. Either way, I will have some awesome experiences living abroad with people from all around the globe! When I get back, I will take the food sensitivity test that the naturopathic doc recommended if funds allow it, and then wait three weeks for the result. After consulting with the naturopath, I will also begin supplementing with:
50,000 IU of Vitamin A (maybe less, need to read more about toxicity)
400 IU Vitamin E (mixed tocopherols)
500 mg of Riboflavin
600 mg of niacinamide
1,000 mcg of chromium
500 mg of Magnesium
in addition to continuing my
5000 IU of D3
Probiotics
1700 mg Vitamin C with 500mg Quercetin
B-Complex
Digestive Enzymes
and 600 mg Alpha Lipoic Acid.
I will also be getting Selenium and more B Vitamins from brewer's yeast and brazil nuts.

This is an insane amount of supplements, but I will be stopping the digestive enzymes and probiotics in January to see if I feel any different without them, and will stop the D3 as soon as I can get my serum levels up. Additionally, if my skin does clear up from this, then I will slowly stop the supplements one by one and note any changes until I find a core supplement set to stick with. If it doesn't clear at all, then I will almost certainly know my acne is not from a deficiency and can stop most of the pills. Anyway, all of these supplements together are far cheaper and healthier than Accutane!

Also, I will begin meditating daily and trying to be more positive. It certainly won't hurt.

December- Boyfriend will be gone for most of the month, so I will have weekends free to work on stabilising myself both emotionally and physically. I will improve the parts of my appearance I can control by getting a good hair cut, getting my ear pierced, doing exercises to improve my posture, and buying a nice outfit or two. I would also like to take capoeira class again once per week if I can afford it, and work out more regularly. The results from my food sensitivity test will be back by the middle of the month, and I will try to base my diet on avoidance of the foods it tells me to avoid. At the end of the month I will possibly be traveling to Alaska with the boyfriend to work and live on an alpaca and llama ranch for two weeks. Sweet!

January- The job hunt begins! By then I will know if the topical serum is worth continuing; if not, I will switch up my topical routine again.

February- I will note the progress made with my vitamin regimen and avoidance of certain foods. If I have made significant progress, I will keep everything the same. If not, I will ask to get my hormones and adrenals tested to see if I have any imbalances, and add 1000 IU of Vitamin E and 50 mg of Zinc to my regimen.

March- I turn 22, hopefully without acne! By now, I should be seeing serious progress. If not, I will add evening primrose oil and stop supplementing most other things.

Four months' planning is good enough for now.

This post has been edited by QuirkyPixy: Oct 19 2009, 09:01 PM

Ahhh big hormonal chin pimple o' doom! Haven't had one of these in a while. I actually don't know if it's necessarily hormonal, but I used to get a ton of these during my sophomore year of college before I started any diet stuff, and they made up the majority of my skin issues. It is also almost THAT TIME, so that could be it.

Not washing my face in the morning is helping with reducing redness so far.

This post has been edited by QuirkyPixy: Oct 20 2009, 11:00 AM

Heading off for Iceland in a few days, and wanted to take a few snapshots of my current skin condition to see if I do clear at all while I'm gone. Forehead is pretty clear right now aside from tiny bumps, but my chin isn't happy. Looking at these pictures, it seems like a lot of my problem is red marks. Yay, I think.

I have been eating a ton of wheat bread, brown rice pasta, cheerios, crackers, and all sorts of other fun carb-y things. No negative effects yet, probably because I make sure to eat 'em with some fatty stuff.

This post has been edited by QuirkyPixy: Oct 21 2009, 08:29 PM

peanut butter definately made my acne worse. cut out peanut butter and *POOF* acne gets better. :)

try it. i know how you feel about vutting out peanut butter, its the same for me. i think i was actually addicted to it at one point. but seriously, muster up the willpower and do it. you will not regret it.

@EarAnnej: I'll try cutting the PB out again, but I don't think it gives me acne.

--

So I just got back from Iceland, where I ate complete garbage for three weeks- cookies, chocolate, and a ton of bread almost every day- and my skin is pretty much the same as when I left. I did break out while I was there, but not any more severely or frequently than normal. This leads me to think that my acne is not primarily caused by something I'm eating.

Next step is to regulate my sleep cycle, and start taking evening primrose oil supplements. I will also spend much less time on this website, as I felt so much better in Iceland partly because I didn't log onto here at all.

Have been taking EPO for a few days now, with little noticeable effect on my skin so far. My mood seems to be more stable, however, and that's always a good thing!

I ordered some 25,000 IU Vit A and 250mg B-2 capsules, as well as different (cheaper!) probiotic and digestive enzyme supplements. I am also in the process of getting the food sensitivity test done. Time to kick acne's ass once and for all!

My cheeks feel...normal- smooth and not oily. Chin and forehead are broken out, but in tiny pimples that will not scar (phew). Something is working a bit!

Not much change in anything. Started eating sprouted wheat toast with a bit of butter again with no ill effects so far; I think it's the only type of dairy that doesn't do much damage to me.