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[hopeful87.]

I should have started this log last month but since I have tons of pictures saved up I'll add them all in this one message. Before I do that, here's a history of my acne.

This august was the first time I started noticing tiny bumps on my face. They were everywhere, forehead, cheeks, chin, jawline. I started putting on aspirin masks that helped somewhat but my face kept exploding progressively. By October I was a volcanic mess. And this went into November when I finally decided to see my doctor.

Prior to the acne breakout my health wasn't admirable. I slept 4 to 5 hours a night. Drank about a bottle of water every 2 to 3 days, sometimes even waiting 4 days to drink water. I was drinking coffee everyday along with a soda for lunch. I was having anxiety attacks left and right where I would be shaking for nearly 30 minutes during one particular incident. I was under a lot of stress financially and emotionally. And I was working out excessively and stopping and working out excessively again and stopping for a few months before starting again. I think my lifestyle had a lot to do with the flare up of acne. I went in for a check up in April and found that my DHEA-S levels were at an all time high (5300) when the average for my age (22) should be around 400 to 3600. And hence my testosterone levels were at 101 (average being between 10-83). I went back to my doctor in November to find out what to do about my acne and she ran another lab test. My DHEA-S levels increased to 5770 and testosterone at 8.8 (average at 0.1-6.4). So that proved that I had a horrible hormonal imbalance running through my system. She right away prescribed me Doxycycline and Yaz along with Duac (AM) and Differin (PM) as topicals to fight the infection. She as well recommended Accutane but I chose not to take that route. The root of the problem is hormones. SO I'm hoping the birth control will help me out until I get my life back in order.

Changes I've made...
I drink 2 liters of water a day.
I eat fruits/veggies more often than usual.
I sleep 8 hours a night.
I have tried cutting down on stress significantly. (which contributed to my high DHEA levels)
I am following my doctor's order religiously.

Here are my pictures from where it initially started to what it currently is.
The good news... I know the acne has become severe and accutane was suggested. But I'm going to try and fight it with the antibiotic and birth control. The inflammation has gone down significantly on my right cheek. And I'm not noticing any new problem areas arising. Although it's everywhere, it's not spreading anymore. So I'm hoping that's a good sign.
Wish me luck!

Attached Files

•  Photo_123.jpg   25.04K   43 downloads
•  Photo_124.jpg   24.12K   35 downloads
•  Photo_228.jpg   40.66K   46 downloads
•  Photo_229.jpg   35.61K   36 downloads

Edited by hopeful87., 19 December 2010 - 12:29 AM.

[hopeful87.]

Here's an update so far...

Every morning I'm waking up with more and more zits. Which is a good thing I guess. And I am popping them. I know I shouldn't but I can't help it. So I've been on doxycycline for almost a month now. My left cheek still sucks but here are pictures of a before and after of my right cheek. I think the old picture is about 2 weeks old. And the clearer one is from today.

Attached Files

•  Photo_233.jpg   38.37K   53 downloads
•  Photo_242.jpg   38.99K   37 downloads

[c'est la vigne]

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