95 replies to this topic

[tracy521]

yes it is for sure! no i haven't been on bcp since 2008. long story but i started taking yaz and got a phlebitis on my arm and had to stop taking it. my skin was pretty clear for 2 years with benzaclin and then my acne came back and then for a little over 2 years i was able to stay clear by taking doxy but it stopped working back in november after i had a bad case of contact dermatitis. so that is when my pa put me on spiro and then after having so many injections i begged her for another antibiotic and she gave me the keflex before i start the acctuane. pretty much the only acne i was getting was cysts which was nuts because my acne was never so bad in my life.  this keflex is working pretty well now and i am using my benzaclin twice a day again too. friday will be 10 weeks for me on spiro. 

Edited by tracy521, 19 February 2013 - 01:47 PM.

[Someclearday]

My bachelorette party is Saturday! I'm so nervous, if my skin stays the way it is now it'll be decent by Saturday and even better for the wedding next weekend. I've been trying to relax and not thing about it and its helped a little. Something's kicked in lol.
I also have company coming this weekend so in hoping that'll be a good thing and distract me.

I picked up my Accutane bcp rx yesterday. I got Trinessa, never tried it but it seems like a pretty basic one. I'm wondering if I should really even take it bc the pill gives me awful melasma:/

Have you done the ipledge thing yet??

[tracy521]

awe glad that your skin has been ok for you! i am sure it will remain that way too! just try to stay positive and not stress if you can.

just beware with the birth control because the generics are not usually as good as the brand names. i was on ortho-tri-cyclen for years and while i never had great skin (i always had breakouts)it was manageable but when they switched me to tri-nessa and then tri-sprintec i started to get a lot of cystic acne. i freaking hate birth control pills they always make my acne worse. i think with ortho its because its a triphasic pill and i think the monophasic ones are better for acne if you ask me. good luck with everything and keep me updated!

i filled out the ipledge forms last month and then got the booklet and my pa took the id card from the book as well so i assume she registered me in the system. i am not sure how all of that stuff works do they register the day you get the script or what?  i go back on march 8th for another negative pregnancy test and then i was told i should be able to start right after that. 

Edited by tracy521, 22 February 2013 - 06:42 PM.

[Someclearday]

This weekend really helped! I had so much fun with everyone and it helped me to de stress a little and get excited about the wedding next weekend!

My skins doing okay, looking decent from not having time to pick this weekend although I did get a new pimple today among all my red marks:/
I know birth control break me out worse every time! Doesn't matter on the brand either, I've always had awful skin on it. I wonder if they wouldn't know if I filled the rx, but just didn't take it?
I think that's how it works because I got my password and stuff in the mail but it still won't let me register early? I can't believe it's only been two weeks since my appointment also

[tracy521]

so glad you had a good weekend and that you had fun! i totally hear you about the birth control. it sucks so bad! what i would do is get it filled and pick up the script and then that way you can prove to them you are taking it even if you aren't. they wont know ya know? hmm i never got anything in the mail with my username/password. now i am worried. i will email the pa i see tomorrow to ask her about it.  

sorry you got a new pimpled but at least its just one ya know? you are still taking the keflex right? 

[Someclearday]

Yeah I have no clue how the ipledge works so ill just have to ask her at my next appointment.

Yeah I have two days left of the Kelfex, not sure if I should refill it or not and take it til this weekend? You know what though, something IS working. Not sure if the antibiotic kicked in, the Spiro, or the lack of messing with my face but it looks a lot better. Which is good in the sense of the wedding but bad because I really want to try the Accutane and I'm afraid she'll change her mind. Most people would think that's a good thing but I've wanted to do it for so long, ya know? But with that being said ill have a massive breakout tomorrow,I just know it lol.

[tracy521]

yeah that is exactly how i feel too and i think for me the keflex is really working. a few days after i started it, i stopped getting cysts. i am afraid to see what will happen when i stop taking it next week but i guess if things get bad then i will start the accutane. i have wanted accutane all my life but if i dont get anymore cysts then i dont think i will do accutane unless its a very low dose. we shall see what happens next friday i guess. if i were you i would keep taking the keflex until after the wedding. you dont want a crazy breakout right before or the day of ya know? i do find for myself that my face is better when i just leave it alone and dont touch it. i am happy for you that your face is getting better though

[Someclearday]

Is your Accutane appointment next Friday? Let me know how it goes! And how to work this stupid ipledge lol
I got a refill of the Keflex yesterday and ill probably take that til Monday.
3 days til the wedding and my face is just okay...2 healing spots and one more trying to come through. I'm cutting back a lot on coffee because I think that contributes a lot to my stress level which can't be good:/

[tracy521]

Is your Accutane appointment next Friday? Let me know how it goes! And how to work this stupid ipledge lol
I got a refill of the Keflex yesterday and ill probably take that til Monday.
3 days til the wedding and my face is just okay...2 healing spots and one more trying to come through. I'm cutting back a lot on coffee because I think that contributes a lot to my stress level which can't be good:/

 

yup my appointment is on the 8th so we shall see how it goes. i am so torn and hope that i can figure something out by next week. while i want all my acne gone i dont want to get on accutane and get more scarring ya know? that part scares the crap out of me. oh wow your wedding is so close! how awesome for you! are you nervous? did you end up going tanning? i wish you the best of luck! i loved my wedding day and would love to do it all over again. yeah i think thats good to cut back on coffee. i think i read that caffeine can cause the body to be more stressed or something. i found this on acne.org too - According to nutritiondata.com, instant coffee is inflammatory, while coffee brewed from fresh grounds is anti-inflammatory

[Someclearday]

Yeah same here with the scarring. And I don't want to wrinkle easier. I think it's the uncertainty that scares me the most. You could have no side effects and it be amazing BUT you could be on the other end and seriously regret taking it.

No I didn't end up tanning. I didn't have the time but now I wish I had gone a couple times. Antibiotics are finicky I didn't want to end up frying. I'm extremely pale.

I am SO nervous though, especially because my skin is starting to act up after being much better all week. Of course. I just hope to get on some make up ASAP that day and lots of it.

[tracy521]

i totally here you on that. ahh if only i had a crystal ball to see how my body would react to the accutane. its so hard to make decisions like this. yeah some antibiotics can make you burn easier but i dont think keflex is one of them. i was able to tan while taking doxy but that was only at 100mg. i was taking 200mg a few summers ago and went to the beach and got friend. oops!! dont worry your skin will be ok for the wedding because you will have your makeup done and they will be able to cover up everything. just try to get your rest and not stress so much. i know its so hard though because there is so much to do. 

[Someclearday]

So today is the big day! I'm killing time before I leave for my hair and make up stuff. My skin looks AWFUL which is so frustrating because it was looking up at the beginning of the week:/ I pray she brings some crazy make up and she can cover all this nonsense.

The rehearsal and dinner wasn't so bad. I was able to cover my face with my hair most of the night and you can't see anything in the pictures. But this has definitely solidified my decision for the Accutane. People with normal skin are so lucky they don't have that to worry about on their wedding day.

Wish me luck!!

[tracy521]

awe how did the wedding go? i am sorry about your skin but were they able to fix you up with makeup at least? i hope so!! i was thinking about you this weekend and was hoping that your skin would be ok for you. so when are you going to start accutane? keep me updated with everything when you do start i want to hear about your progress.

[Someclearday]

It went great!! So much fun. It was over before I knew it:(
My make up turned out great. A little trial and error and a little extra concealer but I couldn't tell in the pics at all.
The 30 day wait is over on the 14th so ill get my bloodwork done and make my appointment around then. Yours is coming up soon!

[tracy521]

that's awesome! i am so glad you had a great wedding and yeah i hear ya there becuase its like you spend all that time planning and then in a few short hours its all over. I hate that! so are you two going on a honeymoon at all?

i am also glad to hear that your makeup turned out great. i bet you are relieved to know that the pictures will turn out good as well. at least with pictures they can be airbrushed if you need them to be. lol i remember being in high school and i had a breakout right before my senior pictures and the guy that took them was so nice and told me it didnt matter that they would airbrush it right out. lol my pics ended up looking so amazing -ha! who would have thought they were doing airbrush like 18 years ago!

yeah my appointment is on friday. still not sure what to do but i might see about getting more keflex and taking it for a bit longer and then weaning off and hoping that the spiro would have kicked in by then. i am so nervous about the accutane only because i dont want anymore cysts or bad acne at this point. now if the derm can keep me on the keflex and try a lower dose accutane for a bit that might be worth thinking about. its just hard because i hate to think of my spring/summer being ruined by not being able to be in the sun or drink alcohol but then again i know the payoff will be worth it.

Edited by tracy521, 05 March 2013 - 08:42 AM.

[Someclearday]

I told her to heavily airbrush them haha I'm glad they're able to fix them up a little. Ill try and post some in the gallery I I can figure it out.

Yeah we'll go on a honeymoon eventually. I have to get my passport still haha such a pain. I feel ya on the summer thing. It's a catch 22 because I don't want to travel and be out in the sun on Accutane but I don't want to go on a vacation here I have to worry about my skin lol. I think I may do the Accutane first, which is so silly I would put off something like that because of skin.
Is your derm pretty good about working with you? I'm lucky I have a really nice one that listens to my suggestions and is aggressive because she understands how frustrating it is. Did you do your blood work yet?

[tracy521]

I told her to heavily airbrush them haha I'm glad they're able to fix them up a little. Ill try and post some in the gallery I I can figure it out.

Yeah we'll go on a honeymoon eventually. I have to get my passport still haha such a pain. I feel ya on the summer thing. It's a catch 22 because I don't want to travel and be out in the sun on Accutane but I don't want to go on a vacation here I have to worry about my skin lol. I think I may do the Accutane first, which is so silly I would put off something like that because of skin.
Is your derm pretty good about working with you? I'm lucky I have a really nice one that listens to my suggestions and is aggressive because she understands how frustrating it is. Did you do your blood work yet?

 

thats cool! yeah i know what you mean with the vacation thing thats for sure. yeah i see a pa who runs the accutane clinic and she is really cool about everything so i will go with what she advises. i did my blood work last month and had my pregnancy test then as well when i go back on friday i just have to take another pregnancy test and then do the ipledge registration and thats it. i would love to do a really low dose version of accutane (5-10mg a day) but i dont know if the pa will go for that only because i would have to take it a lot longer so we shall see what she thinks. friday will be week 12 on spiro so who knows maybe its starting to kick now as well. ahh i hate making decisions like this and this would have been so much easier to make last year when i had no scars!

Edited by tracy521, 05 March 2013 - 12:01 PM.

[Someclearday]

Yeah my Spiro worked so quickly the first time I took it, so I think if it was going to work it would have by now:/ so I only think that's a maintenance option for me. Although it HAS done its job with my excess oil I still have these little pimples that it doesn't touch. "Calcified lesions" she called them. I think for me it only works on hormonal cycts, which technically im free of those but now I'm getting here huge very pop able pimples whereas the first time I was on Spiro I had mainly un-pop able ones. Acne is such a strange thing!

Yay your apt is soon! I can make mine in 10 days. Maybe we should start a duo of an Accutane log! Hahah

[tracy521]

hey so for now i decided to hold off on the accutane. i went to see the pa today and she was all ready to start me on it until i told her how i have really cleared up the past few weeks being on keflex and she looked at my face very closely and agreed that its a lot better. it was so red and angry before and now its so much calmer and way less irritated looking. so she bumped up my spiro to 150mg a day and then wrote me 30 more days of keflex and then we will go from there. i am still in the system she said for about another 45 days and then i will get kicked out so i got around 14 days to tell her i want to do it and take a pregnancy test incase anything changes. now if in a month or so i want to do it i just to tell her i want to do it and take a pregnancy test and then the 30 day process will start all over again. so i am praying this will work and that i wont have to do the accutane. i told her my fear is that right now things are healing up so well that i am afraid of throwing a wrench into the system and having my face breakout really bad while on accutane and that i get more scars. she did say that only 8% of the people on accutane will have an initial flare up but that i could go through the entire 6 month course and my face could look exactly like it does now. so when are you going to start?

[Someclearday]

Aww good! Hopefully this is something that will continue to work for you, and it's good that you always have the option open to go the other route. I made my blood work appointment for Monday and then after the 14th I can make my second derm appointment and hopefully get on it. I keep thinking its starting to look better on its own but then I wake up with tons of new spots and the exhausting cycle continues. I stopped the Kefelx after the wedding. For me I feel like it wasn't doing much and I'm weird about antibiotics.

I'm getting the weirdest pimples too. Is like tons of tiny little spots that you can see if you lean the right way in the light. But only on my right side. And one by one they all form these huge pimples that I have to extract and then they look like ant bites. It feels so gross when I wash my face because I can feel them all. I feel like a teenager again lol