Acne.org Products
Day # 168
So i finally busted into my last month of Claravis blister packs. 29 more days and then i'm donzo. Back from a wonderful vacation and had an awesome time! My eating wasn't as great as i would have liked it but i didn;t consume dairy or gluten so pretty damn proud of myself. I did however fall off the Paleo bandwagin by having white potatoes and gluten free bread and treats. Screw it - i was on my vacation and now i'm back on. My acne sucked on my vacation and over the week i was gone, i broke out in 7 significantly inflamed pimples and i have the marks to prove it. Over the last few, days, things have gone down significantly and the bumps that i am getting are not as big. I am definitely not getting excited as i am so used to this song and dance.
My acne.org package arrives and i have to admit it was a bit intimidating. I can't use it for another month or so so it'll sit in my bin of unused products until then. Also, i am debating whether or not to begin using BP if my acne doesn't flare at the end of treatment. Maybe a retinoid may be a better bet? I don't know. I'm glad though to have the option of acne.org though as i constantly live in fear of the next beakout.....sigh. But, as my motto has become, one day at a time
Day179.
So lets seem i have about sets of pills left so in about 2 weeks i shall be done! Fear grips me at the thought as does a sense of relief and i have to ask myself the questions, "is it all worth it?" My answer is yes and no. Yes becuase my acne while still there has calmed down a lot and No because i still have acne that flares every few weeks. I am so:
- frustrated
- tired
- scared
I can't fathom having to go through ANOTHER regimen again and the disappointment that comes with that. I have purchased The Regimen and intend to use it when my acne flares again. My derm will probably prescribe a topical which i may or may ot attempt to use before trying the regimen. Spiro was also something i was interested in but after hearing stories about missed periods, etc, i wanted to leave it as a last resort option
But on to the update
PROS:
- Acne at a minimal so its been a while since i've had a huge inflammed bump
- skin is feeling so much smoother
CONS:
- getting more small reddish bumps, esp around chin/mouth area
- still breaking out
So all in all, things are much better. Emotionally, i am scared shitless of going back to where i was in August /September. This fear has permiated EVERY aspect of my life and i don't know how to move forward
Day 183
Emotionally, i am in a better place than i have been in a LONG time and the funny thing is that i have been getting small bumps AGAIN. It bothers me but i realize that i enjoy so much being around my friends, talking walks, shopping and teaching my babies even with acne. I like indulging with my friends once in a while (think french fries and gluten free treats with GASP.....sugar), i sometimes like eating snack foods like plantain chips, esp during that time of the month and i like not dictating every fucking aspect of my life around my fear that any and all food will trigger acne. For me, i relize that food doesn't appear to help or hurt my acne and that they key for me is probaby finding a good skin care routine and MAYBE down the line, some hormonal means to CONTROL my breakouts.
I have been barely living with this disease since my teen years and have cried hundreds of tears over somethign that i had no control over. Today, i am done crying. With less than 20 days to go on accutane, i realize that the 'when my acne clears up' mantra NEEDS to change to a 'even with acne i will' one. This will not be easy but i must do this.
Stay Tuned
BTW, i have been breaking out in small reddish bumps on and around my nose (weird)
Chin has a few pimples and a sprinkling around jaw and cheek line
With less than 2 weeks to go, i have been delivered a follow up plan by my derm. After about 15 -30 days off accutane, i will start retin a micro .04% every 3 days and then work my way to using it nightly. My derm didn't go into what to expect but from my previous experiences with retinoids, i know that hell possible awaits. My plan of action is to give it 3 months post tane to see if i see results. If things just continue to worsen, i will use my regimen products for 3 months. If that too fails, then i will go back to derm and possible talk SPIRO and/or epiduo. Aside from that, there's nothing left for me to do.
In a few weeks i want to include brown and quinoa back into my diet as i need some variety and even though i LOVE LOVE LOVE paleo, i hate being so restrictive when i got out with friends and family.
On a personal not, my 30th is July 22nd and i am hoping to get some peace of mind for that day......tired of this struggle but you all have been my rock so thank you!
Also, once i am completely off accutane, i will begin to post on my retinoid progress via this message board as there's not retinoid log section
Day 189
9 more days to go before i finish my course and i am glad to have i over with.
Emotional wise, i feel fine. Trying to not think of the what ifs but that seems to be a part of my persona - worrying. Acne wise, things are looking good. I never stopped breaking out unfortunately but if we are comparing the beginning of my course till now, then there has been an 80% improvement. Today i got my 1st inflamed pimple in 26 days and it hurts. It is mostly beneath the skin which sucks but it looks like in a few days it will develop a whitehead and drain so thank God for that. Hopefully it won't ge too much bigger but out of sight, out of mind.
My forehead is mostly clear as is the middle of my chin. Everywhere else is just mostly clogged pores and small pimples that don't usually get too inflamed. This month has definitely been better than last month, thats for sure.
With my final day being Tuesday May 30th, i'll start the retin a micro on Wed and use it every 3 days for a week, then every 2 days for a week and so on and so forth until i am up to daily use. Hopefully i won't get an IB because of accutane (it would really suck to take steps backward).
I was contemplating the regimen right away but for the level of acne i currently have, it seems like overkill and i'd rather wait till the dryness of accutane has subsided before introducing BP.
Eating wise, i've pretty much slipped on paleo so i can't say i'm doing that anymore but starting today, i am adhering more strictly to diet so no more plantain chip binges. I also will continue to do tubers and cut back grains as i really do feel more tired when i eat them so................
I will not be cutting out any more foods from my diet as it really has added more stress on me
Anyway peeps, will update again soon!
Ok, splotchiness went away - Thank God. I have started to break out again on my forehead (doesn't bother me much) and around chin, mouth, jaw area (which bothers me tons) Currently have another huge inflamed one on my chin and larger underground ones on the side of my mouth. Still debating whether to just jump into the regimen or try retin a micro. From my experience with retinoids, they don't prevent acne well for ME. If you read my log from the beginning, you'll know i was on them for 6 months after a 1 month course of accutane and NEVER got clear so..............
If inflammation continues, i may just have to bite the bullet and do the regimen which i already purchased.
UPDATE: I noticed tonight that cheeks are breaking out too.....ARGH.....so frustrating. I think overall this course might have ended up being a bust which sucks but such is life.....on to the next thing. The Regimen is looking more and more like my best bet especially with the inflammatory acne. If i do go down that route, my next blog will be cause Rebel with a cause....sounds hard doesn't it.
So folks - the end of my acne journey is here. I took my last pill yesterday and i am forgoing the final four days. Overall, this treatment has helped to diminish the acne i had before but unfortunately, i never stopped breaking out.....like ever. I started The Regimen tonight so we'll see how that goes. I would like to believe that i am done with accutane but i've learned in life, never say never. Put it this way, i am interested in exploring other gentler, treatment options. i am lookin forward to the dryness to go away, especially with my lips and hair.
Hopefully no one is discouraged by my outcome as my reaction to tane is NOT the norm.
Good luck to you all and if anyone has any questions, feel free to hit me up
Peace Out
Hi there,
During my first 6 month course, my acne didn't clear up until I was off the Accutane for a couple of weeks. Once I stopped abusing my body with the accutane, things got a lot better. So you might want to just take your last 4 pills, then stop everything for 2 weeks and see what happens. If you keep irritating your face without taking a minute to see how it's doing you might never be better.
Having said that, if you're not clear a couple weeks post accutane, it sounds like retinoids aren't doing a whole lot for you (Retin-A is nothing compared to accutane), so BP might be your best bet along with an antibiotic like Bactrim DS.
Good luck to you!
Hey Richard! Thanks for the input - however, from experience, the wait and see approach is not for me. It's like i am always playing catch up. I never expected this third course to cure me, only buy time. Now that its over, its time for me to move on to the next thing.
Good Luck with your third course.....hoping you have more success than i did
So maybe it will be even more manageable now that you did it a third time. That's what I'm hoping. I'm also hoping I get a good 2 years out of it (I'm 26), and by the time I'm 28 I'll have grown out of it.
Be wary, starting the BP applications right after finishing the accutane, you're going to tear up your skin and it's probably going to go downhill for at least a few weeks. I would ease into it. But overall, it will probably get better eventually. It's just going to be really rough on your skin, and it won't be happy.