43 replies to this topic

[jaydeec]

So I went to the dermatologist yesterday, can't say I'm please with the visit or with the amount of money i had to shell out for 3 medications. Almost $250.00. Ughhhhhhhhhh!! In addition to the Spiro which the endocrinologist prescribed the derm prescribed Epiduo and minocyclin. I am leary of taking the antibiotic because I don't want to cause all that damage to my body. In my opinion antibiotics are pretty damaging. They rid your stomach of all bacteria, not just the bad stuff that may be causing the inflammation but the good stuff as well. I didn't want to really go on the Spiro either because of all the side effects I've heard about and that initial breakout that most people seem to get from it. But seeing as how the topicals I've been using for the past 5 or so years aren"t really working. Here i go on this journey. Along with the meds I'm going to start working out once again on a serious and steady schedule and i'm going to eat healthy. I hope to put all this acne b.s behind me. i'm hoping I can get healthy and stay on the path of clean living and slowly ween myself off the meds. I would hate to think that I have to be on medications long term to stay clear. Well let's see how this goes

[jaydeec]

Well maybe I should have started with an intro I'm 30 years old. Never had a real acne problem as a teen. Always had clear skin throughout junior high and high school. The only area I seemed to breakout from time to time was on my nose and It wasn't even a real issue. I would get a line of small zits on my nose from time to time that was about it. No one in my family has ever had acne problems. Not like the acne I have. My brothers did have some mild acne growing up but that was it. Dad never broke out and mom had mild to maybe moderate acne she says. So for me it's not a hereditary thing. when I was 18, 19 years old i would break out a little more. sometimes on my chin , some occasional zit on my cheek never on my forehead. I've never broken out on my forehead for some reason, I can count the amount of zits I've had on my forehead with one hand. I used to classify my skin growing up as combination skin, mostly t zone area and some dryness.

Growing up I was always taking care of my skin, didn't really obsess with it, i was just aware.. thanks mom (insert sarcasm) I used noxema, clean and clear gel wash, maybe some BP and clindamycin on my nose for the whiteheads. Oh and I did that Queen helene mint mask alot. Now that I think about it I don't know why i was even on that regimen because like i said I never had a big acne problem. I guess from an early age I realized that i wanted nice skin and in order to have it you have to maintain it. Anyway it wasn't until my mid 20's when acne started becoming an ''issue'' for me. I would break out more than usual, and it was always on my cheeks sometimes my chin but mostly cheeks. And I can't say when I became aware that my skin was oily. Alls I can say is that I was never as oily as I am now. It's a little better now thanks to the saw Palmetto I've been taking for the past month. Anyway i started drinking in a big way when I was 19 and my heavy drinking continued throughout my mid 20's. I went through some years where I would drink for the most part, all day. I couldn't go out without having a few cups of Vodka, beer at least. I would drink a pint sometimes more of Vodka just to go to bed. During those years, in my early- mid 20's along with a alcohol habit/problem I acquired unhealthy eating habits. I mean who could blame me, I was on my own, had no money , no car, no job. I ate crap because it was cheap and I had no ''real'' home of my own to settle into. So my meals consisted of fast food dollar menus and alcohol. I remember some days when I was absolutely broke , I would rumble around on my bedroom floor trying to find any kind of change JUST so I could buy myself a 40 oz beer to calm my hungry stomach. I was pretty broke. lol.
Anyway to make a long story short. The majority of my problems started because of the alcohol/unhealthy lifestyle. I'm pretty convinced.

I haven't mentioned it but growing up I never had weight issues. I'm tall , well these days it would be considered average (5'9) I was always a skinny kid. As a matter of fact when I was 9/10 yrs old the docs had to prescribe vitamins and put me on protein shakes JUST so I could gain weight, I was that skinny. Well all of that has changed. My weight started fluctuating in my mid 20's .....it's all been a downward spiral since then. I would go on ''diets'' for a week or two then go back to eating like crap. During one of my health phases I actually managed to cut all the crap outta my life, including alcohol. I got rid of it all cold turkey. To this day I don't know how I did it , especially since the drinking was outta control. I think I got mad at myself and at my ''friends'' who would make stupid comments about me being fat and having a disgusting beer get ( yeah , I drank THAT much) Anyway I lost about 30 -40 pounds , all within a 2 month span. It was ridiculous. I worked out for 2 hours a day, 7 days a week. I ate only salads and dry salads at that. I became a freak about whatever I put in my mouth. I lost the the fat ,and everyone still talked about my weight. It happened so dramatically and so fast that this time around everyone was convinced that i was on drugs. I wasn't happy with myself . I didn't feel any better then before. What I felt was deprived and burnt out. And I was only 23/24 years old. So one day I just started living the s**ty lifestyle again and that was that.

I've managed to leave alcohol behind but the crap I put in my mouth, not so much. To be honest i think I'm still dealing with the damage the alcohol left behind. It made my depression and anxiety worse. I know that for a fact, i thought I was having an anxiety attack once , so I went to the doctor and demanded he give me pills to tranquilize me. It was that bad. The doctor checked me out , looked through my history and said ''i hate to tell you but your not having an anxiety attack that's stress related, its called alcohol withdrawal and on another note , if you continue to drink the way you are, your liver will be gone by the time your 30''
Anyway like i said the alcohol is no longer an issue in my life but my bad eating habits are. My hormones have suffered from all the crap I've put my body through . All the roller coaster diets and weight changes my body has gone through have taken a toll on me. I was classified as having PCOS ( thanks to all the fast food and weight on my body) I now have irregular periods and some minor facial hair on my chin i was also classified as being insulin resistance ( the weight all goes to my belly) I now weight about 220. It doesn't seem much for my height but trust me it is. My body feels it . Up until a month ago when I started taking the saw palmetto, my skin was REALLY oily, I was using 8 little blotting papers a day, no joke. I would buy 4 packs of powdered blotting paper and in one day half of a pack would be gone.

For the past 4 or so years maybe 5 my acne has been moderate to horrible. I wouldn't say severe but it's had it's moments. I've taken antibiotics for it. Done the BP, salicylic acid , washes and topicals, Used name brand products and store brand, and no success. The one time I can did manage to stop breaking out (for about 4 months) , I was using all store brand products, mostly neutrogena. I don't know what happened but my skin must have gotten used to it because I started breaking out again. These past two years have been the roughest. My breakouts have been constant/consistently and for a while i was even getting cystic type acne,mostly on my chin. I have never broken out on my chin the way i did like 3/4 months ago. The acne has again mostly been on my cheeks and jawline . I know its because I'm now obsessed with my skin but its probably not as bad as I think. I think it looks alot worse because of the marks/hyper-pigmentaion. I'm hispanic and I scar easily. I have never picked my face but still the marks are there and they won't budge. And it's weird because I've had the biggest problem with the right side of my face , so thats the worse side. It wasn't until about a month ago when i decided to get a peel that I got the worst breakout ever on my left side. So now I'm lucky to have insurance through my job, I can finally get some medications for my skin. We'll see how this journey goes. Sorry for the long story, just wanted to give some as to how I got here. I'll try to be consistent with my log

Edited by jaydeec, 11 June 2012 - 01:04 AM.

[Green Gables]

I too get most of my breakouts on my right side. I have NO idea why. I've searched this and I can't find a good answer. Most people claim it's that you "touch your face more on one side." I don't buy it. I don't use my phone much except for texting, and I've tried sleeping on the other side of my face...but still only breakouts on the right side.

Edited by Green Gables, 12 June 2012 - 11:51 AM.

[jaydeec]

So It's been about a week of being on the Spiro and so far the oiliness on my face has somewhat decreased, I was expecting that. I'm also taking some supplements...B5, B12 complex, Vitamin D, and the Saw Palmetto , also for the oiliness. Instead of taking the SP 4x's a day , I'm now only doing it once a day. I've gotten a few breakouts, one zit on my cheek ( I picked at a tiny whitehead and now it's a zit ...nice )a couple small ones on my right side jaw and a smaller one on my left cheek area, oh and a tiny one by my ear , around the side of my head. IDK if i broke out cause of my period or what. The Spiro actually made me have a period. Hmm mmm what else...I've experienced some bloating and stomach pain, the spiro supposedly causes this. I've mostly taken it with a snack or a meal to minimize the discomfort. It's weird cause i find that the bloating/pain is happening hours after i take the pill. No frequent urination like they said, hasn't increased or anything. i haven't been overdoing it with my water intake , but I've been trying to stay away from all the diet cokes. I really have to cut out all the takeout food. I'm trying though, last week I bought some veggies, fruit and deli turkey, eggs, ground turkey, some chicken. I made turkey sandwiches for work 3x's last week....proud of myself. The only downfall is giving in to the fast food/takeout dinner crapI've bought ( i'm too tired/lazy to cook after work) I REALLY need to start working on my time management skills, sleep schedule and exercise routine. I just finished reading ''The clear skin diet'' the book had some useful info but most of it was stuff I already knew.. but can't seem to put to use. I think by far my biggest problem is my lack of motivation/energy to practice good eating, exercise habits. I get bored easily and I like quick results . Not realistic I know. So my current regimen is :

Regimen: (morning) wash my face with La Roche posay Effaclar foaming face wash
Apply Effaclar K (contains 1.5% Salicylic acid and 0.3 % micro exfoliating LHA along with 0.05% Retinyl Linoleate) to my cheek, jaw area
Benzoyl Peroxide on any inflamed pimples ( to dry them out)
Tone with Neutrogena Clear Pore astringent..but I will be going back to Apple Cider Vinegar w/water to tone. The Neutrogena toner has to much alcohol in it, I can smell it. Ugh!
(Night) Wash with Effaclar foaming face wash
Mud mask - I was using a clay mask from Holy Mud mask company but ran out. Lately its been a Queen Helene mint mask imitation from CVS. Or I do a tumeric and honey mask sometimes.
After the mask I use Epiduo on my chin, cheeks and jaw. No forehead, since I never break out there.
FYI: I do alot of masks, not sure if its a good thing. I started doing them routinely every night because i like the way my skin feel afterwards and the calmness I get when I do them( I just lounge around for hours with a mask on my face). I'm gonna cut down on them to see if this helps. I think I may be over drying my skin, although I don't feel any dryness because of them yet.

Edited by jaydeec, 18 June 2012 - 11:21 PM.

[jaydeec]

So its been a couple of weeks since i've started (15 days) my Epiduo/Spironolactone combo in conjunction with the Vitamin B5, super B12 complex, vitamin D and the one daily Saw Palmetto pill I take daily. I've added selenium (1x a day) , I also bought milk Thistle ( which supposedly helps with maintaining and supporting a healthy liver), and Evening Primrose which has GLA ( good for acne) . I've read up on the evening Primrose and I'm not sure if I'm gonna take it, the side effects may include: Abdominal pain, nausea, headaches and loose stools. I'm mostly concerned about the abdominal pain. The one side effect from the Sprio that has seemed to affect me the most is the abdominal pain/bloating. Its not really ''pain'' but more of a very uncomfortable bloated/gassy feeling. Like my stomach feels hard, and somewhat sore. It seems to be at it's worse hours after I take the pill, which is kinda weird. Yesterday was pretty uncomfortable and today was just as bad maybe a lil less. I have experienced a slight discomfort if I take the pill on an empty stomach but for me i feel the effects of it 3/4 hours after i've taken the pill. Oh and it gets 10x's worse when I eat and I have the discomfort. But what am I gonna do, I have to eat. I thought i would call in sick today because of it. It's just very uncomfortable to walk around for an 8 hr shift with this pain. I managed to get through my 5 hr shift though, but I was lagging about, just tired and bloated. I briefly contemplated discontinuing the medication but it's had some positive effects as well so Idk. I feel like the ''cure'' is almost worse then the disease. I think I'll put up with the discomfort for as long as I can tolerate it....i just want nice skin and i wanna STOP breaking out once and for all. Although I do know that this pill is not really a cure and the chance that the acne will return is a pretty sure thing. BUT i've read about Spiro clearing up people almost 80 percent (w/ BCP... which I do not take). And I'm kinda hoping that it will clear me up completely with out the BCP.

What I've noticed about my skin since being on my regmen: my skin is less oily, like 75 % less oily. I still take the SP but not as much , I only do 1 cap a day now. Its nice not to have to spend all this money buying tons of blotting paper. I would go thru1 7/8 pieces of blotting paper a day. The Epiduo is just now making my skin dry. I think it's because i'm using a lil more the a peace size amount for my T-zone ( i should say mostly cheeks , jaw and chin area) or maybe it's because in the morning I'm using the Effaclar K which does have salicylic, LHA and retinyl. Maybe its overload. I should probably only use the Epiduo at night but i'm so paranoid about breaking out. I like to feel like i have something topical on my face 24/7 to help with the breakouts. I broke out last week maybe about 3 times but those are drying out. I got a couple more on my right side cheek, one that popped up a day or two ago and another one that mysteriously popped up today. It wasn't there this morning ( don't you just love that shit). I get home wash my face and ...voilaaaaaaa, there's a new zit. Ugh. But its funny cause I can't tell if it's a new pimple or an old one thats making a return or a new one right next to an old one. Whatever, a zit's a zit. Emotionally my face hasn't taken a toll on me, at least not for quite some time. I'm not gonna lie, there are moments when I look at my face and I just hate it and I get sad, and feel like this s**t is never gonna end. But I try to block it out and not dwell on it. Just like other people have said though, I am now obsessed with my face breaking out. I go out and i'm always looking at all these girls with nice skin thinking ''must be nice, wish I had nice skin like that''. It's almost as If i'm targeting everyone with nice skin so I can compare my face to theirs. Its pretty damn sad and pathetic. I never thought I 'd be worrying about skin issues at my age and certainly not self esteem issues. It's like I go to sleep thinking about my face and when I wake up and look in the mirror I am reminded of it throughout the day. And it's not like my acne is as severe as others or like i break out every single day but i am hispanic and tan so I do get hyperpigmentation with every single bump and scratch.

Maybe thats what makes it look worse then it really is. But despite my slight self esteem issues, I do take the time to remind myself everyday that it could be worse and that I do have many things to be grateful for. Maybe this is why emotionally I'm okay for the most part, because I know that even though people judge mostly based on our ''exterior'' there is so much more to life and us then what people can see. Beauty really is skin deep and if you take care of your soul and spirit and are a genuine good person then thats all that matters.

Edited by jaydeec, 26 June 2012 - 12:47 AM.

[jaydeec]

For the past two days I've noticed that my skin is getting oily again. I have managed to keep i under control with the SP. And now that I'm on the spiro i only take 1 cap a day...could this be why? IDK but I don"t think so, Maybe i'm drying out my skin. I think I'm gonna wash my face and tone then use spf, that will be it. The salicylic/LHA, epiduo combo is prolly too much. One of the things I have noticed since starting the Epiduo ...my zits go away quicker and they come to a ''head'' alot faster. I'll get a zit and, apply the Epiduo at night and in the morning I'll have a white head on the it. Soon after within 2/3 days the zit will be dried up, as opposed to them lingering around for days on end. Oh I just got a couple of zits..sitting side by side X:( on my right side of my chin. How wonderful, after a nasty bout with cystic acne 2 mos ago, new zits. Hopefully they'll dry up soon. I woke up this morning and realized that acne is always on the forefront of my mind i wake up just about every morning thinking about my face and dreading going to the bathroom to wash up. i just can't stand looking at my face sometimes. what makes it worse is the fact that at work we have these 5x's magnified mirrors in random places for customers to use , and every so often I'll go check out my face and that will be all it takes for me to have a shitty evening. I HATE those things, they make everything looks so much worse and make me scrutinize every single blemish/mark, zit. Another thing i'm constantly thinking about is a visit to my man, i haven"t seen him in almost a year. I'm dreading that day. I don't want him to think my face is all screwed up , and god knows every single time I pay him a visit, the stress is enough to produce more zits. Sighhhhhhhhhh

[jaydeec]

i just got a reply from my endocrinologist who was the one to prescribe the Spiro to me. I emailed him about the bloating i was having and explained to him that it seemed to be worse when I ate. His response to me ''the effect of the medication can take a couple of months also you will not see drastic changes with this medicine, spironolactone can be increased to 100 mg. Abdominal and bloating can occur with this medication. We will not be increasing dose since you seem to be having issues with this medication''

Another irritating response from a doctor. First it was with the derm who I saw almost a month ago. He had me wait over an hr to see him only to have a ''consultation'' with me for 5 minutes..if that. He never asked what I've tried, topically or internally. Never asked what worked. I had to offer up all that info..which is fine. But as a doctor shouldn't you be the one asking all the questions, especially with a new patient. Not only that he was old as dirt, which doesn't affect his credentials but it sure does make him outdated in terms of how to handle young patients, and female at that. I told him that antibiotics never worked for me in the past and what does he do, he prescribes minocyclin x:( Needless to say I left that appt with a bad taste in my mouth .
Now I have this doctor telling me i won"t see drastic changes, which I know varies from person to person but from what I've read there has been great success with this medication. So I guess what irritates me is the fact that he sure does not seem to think that the medication he prescribed for me for my acne will do jack for me...so then why prescribe that s**t to me in the first place. As a doctor if your gonna prescribe something to a patient ,I'm assuming you stand by it and know of all the studies done with this medication and how patients have reacted. But thats JMO. Then he says ''this medication can be prescribed up to 100 mg, which I know is not true because many women on this forum are taking dosages beyond that. I'm just fed up with these doctors who are so called ''specialists'' ! I feel like a know a hell of alot more about skin issues/diseases then they do. Thats my rant for today

[Ekr150]

I totally know how you feel! When I started getting acne again this year (I hadn't had bad acne since high school), I had to go to a new derm because I had moved to a new city. Like your derm, he was an older guy and didn't really ask me anything about my past treatments/what had worked/etc. I explained to him that my acne is hormonal and that I had been on about 6 antibiotics for acne in the past and none of them worked. Only Spiro ever works for me. And what did he do? He said "I doubt that Spiro alone cured your acne" and prescribed me Doxycycline. Needless to say, the Doxy did absolutely nothing for me, and I found a new derm (actually an accutane specialist) who got me back on Spiro. So now I've been on spiro for two months and it's sloooowly starting to work. It's a little frustrating because in the past it worked for me within a couple weeks. Oh well. I started out on 25mg/day, and increased to 100mg/day two weeks ago so we'll see if that does the trick. What dose are you taking now? I've definitely heard of women on here taking up to 200mg/day.

[jaydeec]

I totally know how you feel! When I started getting acne again this year (I hadn't had bad acne since high school), I had to go to a new derm because I had moved to a new city. Like your derm, he was an older guy and didn't really ask me anything about my past treatments/what had worked/etc. I explained to him that my acne is hormonal and that I had been on about 6 antibiotics for acne in the past and none of them worked. Only Spiro ever works for me. And what did he do? He said "I doubt that Spiro alone cured your acne" and prescribed me Doxycycline. Needless to say, the Doxy did absolutely nothing for me, and I found a new derm (actually an accutane specialist) who got me back on Spiro. So now I've been on spiro for two months and it's sloooowly starting to work. It's a little frustrating because in the past it worked for me within a couple weeks. Oh well. I started out on 25mg/day, and increased to 100mg/day two weeks ago so we'll see if that does the trick. What dose are you taking now? I've definitely heard of women on here taking up to 200mg/day.

i'm taking 50 mg. And as of now it's not even doing anything for my oily skin. It may be decreasing it a bit but I feel as if i had better results in term of my oiliness with Saw Palmetto. its so gross, I washed my face tonight and 30 minutes later I could see glistening specks forming on my cheeks and forehead, the oil was already forming. Do u experience bloating? How bad is it? i feel like it's to early to tell if it's gonna work for me so I wanna keep taking it . I know I most likely need a higher dosage but I'm afraid the bloating will get worse.

[Ekr150]

Yeah, definitely keep taking it. From the reviews other people have done on Spiro in here, it seems like it takes several months before it actually starts working really well. Four months seems to be the lucky number. I haven't had any bloating with Spiro... just some dizziness when I first increased to 100 mg and I pee A LOT. Are ou on birth control? I'm on Lo Loestrin Fe right now and it's totally fine (low amount of hormones), but when I was on any other kind of birth control pill in the past I got horribly bloated.

[jaydeec]

Yeah, definitely keep taking it. From the reviews other people have done on Spiro in here, it seems like it takes several months before it actually starts working really well. Four months seems to be the lucky number. I haven't had any bloating with Spiro... just some dizziness when I first increased to 100 mg and I pee A LOT. Are ou on birth control? I'm on Lo Loestrin Fe right now and it's totally fine (low amount of hormones), but when I was on any other kind of birth control pill in the past I got horribly bloated.

No birth control. I'm gonna stop taking it for 3 days to see what happens in terms of my bloating and stomach discomfort. I didn't take it yesterday and i'm not taking it today and tomorrow. My stomach felt shitty yesterday even though I hadn't taken the pill. Woke up bloaty a little when I ate breakfast.p it got worse, had cramp type discomfort all day along with bloating, took aleve did nothing. Did a hot compress at night helped to ease the pain. I was thinking maybe I should wait till i see the derm on monday but idk

Edited by jaydeec, 05 July 2012 - 03:52 PM.

[jaydeec]

update: since I last logged on my stomach has still been acting up, bloating mostly oh and now constipation. It's gotten increasingly worse for about a wk now. It was to the point where I went to the e.r this past weekend. They took some Xray's of my stomach and did an ultrasound. Everything looked fine, no blockage or mass , the only problem was I had alot of stool (sorry to be so graphic) i guess this is why my stomach's been bloated. I've been having normal BM's up until last week. The constipation only started when i stopped taking the Spiro. The first day off of it was okay as far as the BM goes but I still had the cramping and bloating, actually it was worse when i got off it. The 2nd day was slightly better but not by much, and this is when I noticed my bm's were not looking normal, still nothing out of the ordinary, the 3rd day was when the constipation started. todays the 6th day I've stopped taking the spiro and I'm completely constipated. I've bought Mylanta, charco pills, prunes, prune juice, fiber to take regularly, and laxatives and even did an enema (which I thought would for sure work....not) none of it has worked except the maximum strength laxatives. But even the Max strength laxatives have been slow to work and they haven't fully emptied my stomach out. Today I was bloated , I ate lunch and of course it made it worse . I felt like my food was gonna come back up, not nauseas , just kinda like heartburn but not.
I'm not sure what to do anymore, except keep taking the fiber, increase my water intake and eat soups mostly. Maybe the solid food is whats making it worse, idk. Anyone suffer from constipation while on Spiro or when they stopped taking it? and if so what helped?
Oh I went to the derm today, a new one. Its a women, she was way better and seemed in tune with what I was telling her. She listened and gave her advice, she has also been the only Dr to tell me that my testosterone is high. I knew I had an abnormal hormone test but wasn't sure which one. She said the Spiro would definately help me out since I have a hormonal imbalance and suffer from acne. she thinks i should stay on it, she doesn't think the spiro is the cause of my gastrointestinal issues since i've been off the Spiro for almost a week and continue to have discomfort. She wants me to wait at least 2 weeks until my stomach issues go away and then she suggests only taking 25 mg. She told me another patient of hers has seen great results with 25mg's good news but I'm still weary of going back on it and think that it can only make my stomach issues worse. Hmmmmm I'm really thinking about it. BUT I will say one thing whatever it is , not sure of its the Sprio that i took for almost a month or the Epiduo or the combo but my skin has been looking good. Not breaking out where i normally do (cheeks, jawline) I have to active zits as I write this. One is on my chin...its a cyst but it's been healing nicely . The dan cysts always tend to hang around forever. I think its the Epiduo doing the work as far as that goes because I have noticed that with the Epiduo my zits dry up way faster and heal alot better. I am oily once again since I'm not taking the spiro.
Oh and i got a new prescription , topical clindamycin. I've done that before, clindagel I think it was. She wants me to apply it morning and night but only on the zits themselves and not on the entire face. She says the clindamycin and epiduo should take care of my 24/7 topically while i wait for my stomach to get better :/. So I'm happy my skin is looking better but I'm getting stressed cause my stomach is all messed up does'"t seem to be getting better.

[Green Gables]

Don't mess with a good thing...stay on the spiro. The only thing you need to worry about is getting your potassium level checked every couple months when on it. Spiro is potassium-sparing, meaning you need to be careful of eating too much potassium. Is your derm checking those levels?

Edited by Green Gables, 11 July 2012 - 09:57 AM.

[jaydeec]

Don't mess with a good thing...stay on the spiro. The only thing you need to worry about is getting your potassium level checked every couple months when on it. Spiro is potassium-sparing, meaning you need to be careful of eating too much potassium. Is your derm checking those levels?

Yes they were checked about a week ago and all is good with regards to that. I think I am just now starting to recover from all my stomach issues, my new derm doesn't seem to think the Spiro is causing my stomach issues. I've been of it for about a week now. She wants me to hold off for about a couple weeks until my stomach issues resolve and then continue taking it but at 25mg, she thinks this will help me out since my skin seemed to be doing well on 50 mg. She says my body probably only needs 25. She has another patient who completely cleared up on 25 as well
skin update: I'm still pretty clear I've gotten to small, really small (i'm amazed) pimples on my right side. One on my cheek and another tiny one on my jaw area. Oh and today I got one on my left side jaw ear towards my ear and another one by my right ear. No big deal, I'm really psyched about my skin ( hope I'm not jinxing it) it hasn't cleared this way in a long time. All the zits I had before are fully healed. No bumpiness, they've smoothed out. My derm says the combo is working for me, but she says its most likely the spiro that did all the work.
As for my stomach: I seem to be slowly getting better, not so constipated anymore. Having more ''normal'' BM's. They're not like before but getting better, weird thing to say, I know. lol. I did get my period normally this month, so i had some cramping with that, I expected it. BUT with all the crap my stomach's been going through, kt only made everything worse. But the pain is minor now. Mostly alot of grumbling, gas , etc. I did go to a regular doc for it, he had me take blood tests just to make sure i didn't have an infection. All is okay as far as that goes, negative on the infection. He also suggested I wait to go back on the spiro. He did mention IBS, which I had also suspected. Although I doubt I have IBS , there are other common symptoms that go with it that I do not have. I don't know what's up , maybe it's my poor eating habits catching up with me, Oh i've stopped taking my vitamins for about 3 days now. I wanted to completely stop ingesting anything to see what was causing my stomach issues. The derm told me to watch for the niacin in the B-complex I was taking ( I doubt that had anything to do with anything). I have now added fiber to my diet (3 days taking it) and my mom brought over some colon cleansing herbal pills ( senna, fennel, licorice) and some other stuff I can't think of right now. The Dr prescribed some pepcid , since i mentioned to him that I seemed to be having trouble digesting my food because of how bloated i felt, and he also prescribed colace. Not taking the colace right now though since I don't really need it at the moment.
I'm happy that i'm healing. I feel 50% better then I did a week ago. I go to Catalina this week ( 3 days) and I can enjoy it now since i'm not in so much pain, almost no pain. I'm so looking forward to this trip...you guys have no idea. Can't wait to leave it all behind, if only for 3 days.

[jaydeec]

okay so i've gotten back on the Spiro after almost 2 weeks of not takng it. I'm constipated cuz of it. my stomach was slowly healing from that and now it seems it started up again. I've also run out of fiber and am gona get some to see if it helps, the bloating isn't as bad but I can feel the cramps. Oh I'm on 25mg now, the derm thinks it might still clear me up . She did tell me to wait a full 2 weeks until my 'issues' resolved BUT i've started breaking out again slowly and getting more oily again. Damnit I was on a clear streak for a little bit. I have like 3 zits on my right side (chin, jaw) and two on my left side by ear. One was a big ole cyst but it's wayyyy smaller now and getting flatter. Today is one of those morning where I cannot stand my face, the damn marks all over my face, esp my right side are gross. I know they fade but they'll taker forever to dissapear and they make my acne look alot worse then what it really is. I hate this shit..but oh well, complaining only makes it worse and does nothing. So I'll be proactive and keep doing my thing. And i've come to a realization that it must have been the Spiro doing all the work because my topical regimen hasn't changed and I'm breaking out. So we'll see how long I can tolerate this damn pill. Wish me luck...sigh

Edited by jaydeec, 22 July 2012 - 04:01 PM.

[Green Gables]

Hang in there. I love spiro. Do you eat a lot of dairy and sugar? I had on and off stomach problems with both. This article also explains how both stimulate acne: http://www.huffingto...a_b_822163.html

[jaydeec]

Hang in there. I love spiro. Do you eat a lot of dairy and sugar? I had on and off stomach problems with both. This article also explains how both stimulate acne: http://www.huffingto...a_b_822163.html

I sure do..I eat like crap so that could also be another reason why my stomach is spazzing out. What kind of stomach issues did you have. Since I've gone back on it I've been constipated.....and the times that I have had a BM I've struggled, sorry. lol

[Green Gables]

Hang in there. I love spiro. Do you eat a lot of dairy and sugar? I had on and off stomach problems with both. This article also explains how both stimulate acne: http://www.huffingto...a_b_822163.html

I sure do..I eat like crap so that could also be another reason why my stomach is spazzing out. What kind of stomach issues did you have. Since I've gone back on it I've been constipated.....and the times that I have had a BM I've struggled, sorry. lol

When I ate dairy regularly I was always bloated and exhausted after a meal. Felt sluggish.

[jaydeec]

@

Hang in there. I love spiro. Do you eat a lot of dairy and sugar? I had on and off stomach problems with both. This article also explains how both stimulate acne: http://www.huffingto...a_b_822163.html

I sure do..I eat like crap so that could also be another reason why my stomach is spazzing out. What kind of stomach issues did you have. Since I've gone back on it I've been constipated.....and the times that I have had a BM I've struggled, sorry. lol

When I ate dairy regularly I was always bloated and exhausted after a meal. Felt sluggish.

I rarely eat dairy, at least not by itself. I'll have cheese with a sandwich or whatever, but I stopped drinking milk a while ago (although I did drink milk this morning) i eat yogurt every once in a blue moon. I know its the Spiro that started all my stomach issues, that and maybe my poor eating habits have finally caught up with me , with my digestive system that is.

Hmmm let's see. I got a cyst like zit on my left side by my jaw. Haven"t gotten one in a while, oh and an older one on my right side is popping up again a couple by my chin (left side) and my skin is still oily , not as oily as before but oily nonetheless. Oh last night I started taking 50mg's again. I don't think 25 mg will benefit me, so I'll continue with the 50 and see how my skin clears up. Hopefully with in 2/3 weeks I'll start clearing up again. A week ago I bought a hydroquinone serum , what's the name....hmmm , it's by that Dr who has the infomercials. I've heard lots of good reviews and bad ones of course. I'll start using it once my face starts clearing up again. Oh it's by Dr Murad, it's called : Rapid Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Serum. It's 2% hydroquinone and contains glycolic acid as well, it supposedly has ''Hexapeptide 2= ''an advanced skin lightening peptide, complements the results of hydroquinone and prevents future damage by helping prohibit pigment formation'' Hmm we'll see about that, I'm skeptical about alot of stuff. Has anyone tried this serum and seen good results??

Edited by jaydeec, 27 July 2012 - 09:51 PM.

[jaydeec]

Today is one of those mornings where I hate my damn face...my skins been breaking out again. When I first stopped taking the Spiro I was clear for a week, then slowly but surely I started breaking out. It started with a tiny zit on my right side cheek that seemed to dry out quickly, then I got a bigger zit on my right jaw side, I thought it was drying up nicely but it seemed to be getting bigger outta no where. As of right now I have a cystic pimple on my left chin area that seems to be healing somewhat slowly, one cyst on my right side jaw slowly healing, another zit above that cyst, its red and some smaller ones to the left of that one. A couple of white heads on my chin. My left side has also broken out a bit, I got a cyst where an old one used to be, that one is kinda healing. I have two right above that one, right next to each other. And i have a small one on my upper cheek area , the ones on my left side by ear are now pretty much dried up. I washed my face about half an hr ago or so and it seems to be oily now but it could be the Clindmycin gel, it seems to make me oily after I apply it.

So as of right now I have 6 active zits, 2 which are cysts. And what looks like 3 more forming. My right side is the worse , I hate looking at my skin , I only see the damage and hyper-pigmentation that looks as if it will NEVER dissappear. I almost wish I would have never stopped taking the Spiro, cause then I would have never started breaking out again, I'd be clear. it's been two weeks now i think since i started taking it again, lets see how long it takes for me to clear up.

I've gone from applying the Clindamycin gel 2x's a day to 1x's a day (morning) only. So now I wash my face with Effaclar foaming wash and apply the gel, at night I wash with the Effaclar and apply the Epiduo, thats it. Pretty simple right. I don't take the supplements anymore, although I'm gonna start again today. Oh and i do a mask everyday. i was doing a peet mask by Lumene, but now I'm doing that tomato mask , you can get it at CVS, its supposedly organic. I'm not buying it though cause that mask is too fragranced, it smells almost perfume like. I can't stand that smell, but I feel as if masks keep my skin soft and calm. I think today I'll do a honey and tumeric mask.

Oh and might I add that I seem to be tolerating the Spiro alot better this time around. I take it at night now before bedtime as my derm suggested. I don't feel the cramping really, only slightly. I don't feel bloated really and my BM's are slowly go back to normal, still slightly constipated but it's getting better. Maybe my body is getting used to the medication. I'm not experiencing any other side effects that many of the girls on here seem to be dealing with, thank god.

Edited by jaydeec, 01 August 2012 - 02:22 PM.