The snow has set in. It's falling at a steady rate right now. I went out to use the snow blower to make a path to the chicken house, and it more or less covered it by the time I was done! I don't mind the snow so much, but we've already had our high for the day. The temp will drop down to 4F tonight, and that is just a bit cold for my lungs.
My skin is VERY dry and flakey right now (I'm getting ready to moisturize and exfoliate a little). Large flakes on my forehead, and tiny ones on my cheeks, nose, and chin. Yesterday I was out most of the day, and when I came back in, I noticed a particularly large flake right between my eyebrows. It was another one of those moments. I am hoping it arrived on my drive home, and not while I was sitting in front of a whole group of kids reading the questions for academic quizzing. haha.
Derm appointment is tomorrow!
Amazing how things can change in a heartbeat, and with the spinning of tires. I attempted to go out and check the roads today, made it half way out, and .... I'm officially stuck. My car is parked in the neighbor's driveway, It has been snowing all day, and it isn't supposed to get above freezing again until Saturday. I have had to cancel my derm appointment, and have it rescheduled for Monday when, hopefully, I will be able to get out. Fortunately I have some Tane left to fill the gap.
Initially the receptionist (who is not terribly polite) said that they couldn't get me in before February 7, and that raises a question in my mind... if I'd had to wait that long, and I didn't have extra, what would be the effect?
Anyway... I'm stuck in for a few days. Thankfully I have everything I need for a pot of chili, firewood to keep warm, and plenty of studying to do.
Ah! I am so glad you are staying warm and staying inside! Every time I hear a news blurb about the arctic storm I think, "Oh, I really hope Jess is ok!". I am glad to hear your cyst is shrinking. I had a quick question about that: when you had to get the cyst removed, what initially prompted the doctors suggestion that you do that?
Also, I remember reading a few logs where the person had to skip a couple days because of ipledge issues, appointment issues, etc. I don't remember anyone saying that missing a day or two made them breakout or did anything unusual. It's good that you had a couple of extra ones, though.
I am doing quite well, though cabin fever might be about to set in. Along with another 4-6 inches of snow. I believe I'll be going out on Saturday, if I can at all possibly.
Meg, the cyst that was removed was a sebaceous cyst. The decision was made that I should see a plastic surgeon, because it was on my face, and the derm figured it would probably leave too much of a scar. I think it took maybe 10 minutes, He did a fairly good job, but the incision then became infected, which hurt like crazy, and ended up making more of a scar. So far the derm hasn't said that the one on my cheek is sebaceous, so I am hopeful. 
Update: Things seem to be holding. Nothing new coming up, and no noticeable improvement. Since I've been staying in, I haven't done anything make up wise, and I've noticed that my skin, while dry, is not flaking so much. There are still some small places, but allowing my skin to breathe does help. That is not to say I'll be going out bare-faced any time soon (I don't necessarily want to terrify everyone in town), but it gives even more motivation to remove my makeup as soon as I come in.
I managed to go out, and get my car, and get back in yesterday, and it is a good thing. It has been snowing all morning, and I will definitely not be going out today.
I've noticed since yesterday that my eyelids are VERY dry. And there is a tiny bump right in my lash line. I'm not sure what that is, or how it will develop, but it is slightly painful. And now I have to figure out what sort of thing to put on my eyelids to give them moisture, without irritating them. Suggestions would be welcome.
I hope everyone is staying warm and healthy!
The unstuck car was a short-lived dream. I went out yesterday to an academic competition, and couldn't get back up the hill to come home, so once again, it is parked at the neighbors. Lovely.
I am dealing with some allergies right now in a way that I Haven't had to deal with them in a long time. I actually had to take a benedryl last night, because the swelling in my eyes was out of hand. I am just now (after 4 hours of wakefulness) able to see out of my left eye, and the swelling is nearly gone in the right one, and I have that very hang-over-ish feeling left over. <sigh>
My appointment with the Derm was rescheduled til tomorrow at 3:15, so maybe I will FINALLY get to know my numbers, and see what she has to say about my skin, which is extremely dry right now, and my hair can only handle being washed about every other day. It is EXTREMELY dry. Which ... for someone who is not used to that is a wonderful thing.
The unstuck car was a short-lived dream. I went out yesterday to an academic competition, and couldn't get back up the hill to come home, so once again, it is parked at the neighbors. Lovely.
I am dealing with some allergies right now in a way that I Haven't had to deal with them in a long time. I actually had to take a benedryl last night, because the swelling in my eyes was out of hand. I am just now (after 4 hours of wakefulness) able to see out of my left eye, and the swelling is nearly gone in the right one, and I have that very hang-over-ish feeling left over. <sigh>
My appointment with the Derm was rescheduled til tomorrow at 3:15, so maybe I will FINALLY get to know my numbers, and see what she has to say about my skin, which is extremely dry right now, and my hair can only handle being washed about every other day. It is EXTREMELY dry. Which ... for someone who is not used to that is a wonderful thing.
I am having the very same side-effects at the moment! My skin is incredibly dehydrated and sallow looking right now. I changed my night moisturizing routine, and am using Cerave PM moisturizing lotion as a serum, and layering the Cerave cream over it. It seems to be helping. I also ordered a humidifier for my BF's allergies. I am hoping it might help with my dryness too, I'll update my log if it does.
I also changed my eye-drops, which has helped tremendously. For day, I use Systane- extended relief (or extended care, or extended something) lubricating drops. Here's the game changer: At night, I use Systane Lubricating GEL for Night-Time Relief. It comes in a tube instead of a dropper like an ointment. The thing is, I don't just put a couple of drops in, I LINE the water-line of my eyes with it. My eyes are blurry like I just got out of the pool for a couple of minutes afterwards, but I don't wake up with painful stingy dry eyes anymore.
The Gel sounds amazing, Meg. I have an unfortunate tendency to sleep with my eyes at least partially open, which dries them out horribly. Maybe the gel would help? I will have to look for it tomorrow.
Update: Went to the derm today. My left hand was looking worse than it has ever looked since I started Absorica, but my face was behaving for once. She got up really close and looked at my face, and said that it is doing really well. She told me that after the Accutane is finished, we can start working on some of the scarring through various means. She did tell me to back off a little on the dosage, and maybe do it every other day if my hands get worse, and at the same time prescribed a cortisone cream to help them calm down a little.
Also... surprising to me, and the doctor, and the nurse... my cholesterol went down, and my triglycerides went up only slightly, and are still well within the normal range!
In other news: I got my car up the hill! Which is good, because I will be able to warm it before going out tomorrow. Small victories
Yay for great results and great bloodwork! And also cars going up hills. It's cold as hell where I am again too. Spring cannot come too soon for my poor chapped lips. I have never had the dry eyes issue, but to make up for it I get weirdly dry ears, lol.
Look at us! Clearing up nicely over here. I'm so glad there are so many positive things happening in our logs lately.
Kim, thanks for cheering me on. It does a person good to know that there are people cheering, and people who understand.
Update: Today I got out of the shower and discovered red blotchy, slightly itchy places up my arms. I've lotioned them quite well, and I'll be taking some lotion with me to work, just in case. My hands have healed nicely, so hopefully my arms will do the same. I ordered some Mario Badescu (How on EARTH do you say that?!) Moisture Magnet, and so far I am quite pleased. I put it on last night before bed, and I woke up without flakes! I put some on after my shower, and let things soak in before I put on my makeup, which went on smooth as silk. Excellent, so far. This is the first day back at work in... a long time, so I am curious how the moisturizers and makeup will last.
On another note, I experienced my first chimney fire last night, and it scared the ever-living you-know-what out of me. It cracked the flue tile, so no more wood burner for me until it is inspected and fixed. 
Glad the Polar Vortex went on its way before that happened, and hopefully it will stay away. I had a thought this morning that perhaps the stress from that contributed to the patches on my arms. Still a working theory... not that I intend to stress myself out intentionally to prove it.
Off to work! Have a great day everyone!
Yay for awesome blood-work and awesome skin!! I am also very glad your chimney fire wasn't as serious as it could have been, and I am glad to hear you made it through the polar vortex in tact!
When I got the rash-patch on my arm a weekago, my derm prescribed a steroid cream (I believe it's called tramcinolone?). They told me to use it twice a day, and to avoid washing my hands if not necessary (during flu season?!). I ditched the hand washing advice and just used the steroid cream once in the morning and once at night for two days. I also then just put on frangrance - free (Eucerin) lotion about once an hour and every time I washed my hands. The redness and itching cleared up on day 2, the dry patches took a little longer to completely clear (maybe another two days). I find as long as I keep my hands moisturized the rash and dryness stays away. I keep leaving little greasy thumb-prints on all my work documents, though!
Thanks Meg, and Petrichor Murmers (going to have to come up with a short for that, though it is such a beautiful name I almost hate to do that) for your comments, and advice. My derm prescribed triamcinalone (sp) on Wednesday, but said that I shouldn't put it on straight because it can cause some bruising under the skin. She told me to get a 16 oz tub of cetaphil, and put the triamcinalone in there and use it like a regular lotion.
A few things to report today... first, my skin seems to be less sensitive, and there is little to no peeling going on right now, except on my lips. I am hopeful that will continue. Second... the rash on my hands and wrists has gotten much worse since yesterday. I've been lotioning A LOT since yesterday. I didn't get the prescription filled for the cream, because up until today I have been doing really well. 
I did check out my legs and feet the other day, and holy moley I was dry! So I laid the lotion to them, and they are doing some better. Need to make that part of my routine.
The weather has been GORGEOUS today. It got to 60, and I was able to spend time outside without a jacket, even though there was still snow on the ground! Tomorrow it is supposed to be around the same temp in the day time, and then we are looking at the possibility of another 4-5 inches of snow! This time they are saying "heavy, wet" which is a bad thing, because it can bring down power lines and tree limbs. And since I had a fire in the chimney on Thursday night, I am a little scared to use the wood burner..... hmmmm.... more stress bringing on the rash?! Curiouser and Curiouser.
Glad to hear all is well. My hand rash has been awful this week. It's partly my own fault, though, because I already realized that hand sanitizer irritates it, and I used it a few times this week and regretted it immediately. Alas. I tried putting moisturizer on right after the sanitizer to avoid the reaction and it actually made it worse.
Hope your great weather and unflakiness keep up! I am much less flaky than I was in the first couple months, so I think it might be something that generally calms down as you go? Let's assume that!
Thanks Meg, and Petrichor Murmers (going to have to come up with a short for that, though it is such a beautiful name I almost hate to do that) for your comments, and advice. My derm prescribed triamcinalone (sp) on Wednesday, but said that I shouldn't put it on straight because it can cause some bruising under the skin. She told me to get a 16 oz tub of cetaphil, and put the triamcinalone in there and use it like a regular lotion.
A few things to report today... first, my skin seems to be less sensitive, and there is little to no peeling going on right now, except on my lips. I am hopeful that will continue. Second... the rash on my hands and wrists has gotten much worse since yesterday. I've been lotioning A LOT since yesterday. I didn't get the prescription filled for the cream, because up until today I have been doing really well.
I did check out my legs and feet the other day, and holy moley I was dry! So I laid the lotion to them, and they are doing some better. Need to make that part of my routine.
The weather has been GORGEOUS today. It got to 60, and I was able to spend time outside without a jacket, even though there was still snow on the ground! Tomorrow it is supposed to be around the same temp in the day time, and then we are looking at the possibility of another 4-5 inches of snow! This time they are saying "heavy, wet" which is a bad thing, because it can bring down power lines and tree limbs. And since I had a fire in the chimney on Thursday night, I am a little scared to use the wood burner..... hmmmm.... more stress bringing on the rash?! Curiouser and Curiouser.
I am super glad you are doing so well! I am sure an aggressive moisturizing routine will keep your rash monsters at bay. How have your eyes been?
it seems I can't quote anymore.
My eyes are doing okay. I got Clinique All About Eyes and I've been using that on my lids. It has worked beautifully. It is very light, and doesn't leave my eyelids oily at all. IN my eyes, I've been using systane drops, at the recommendation of the eyedoctor. At night I've been using the gel stuff, and it seems to help quite a bit. It is nice waking up and being ABLE to blink without pain.
Otherwise, my hair and skin seem to be doing "ok". Neither good nor particularly bad. The lotioning helps with the rash on my hands and forearms, and my hair is dry, but doing okay as long as I use a shampoo and conditioner for dry hair. I know I will need a trim shortly, but I JUST got to the point where I kind of like this haircut (after 3 months), so I am trying to hold off as long as I can.
Kim, my hands look TERRIBLE right now, between the rash and the various scrapes and scratches I've managed to acquire from goodness knows where. I am moisturizing like mad, but it is only helping to a point. I am going to pick up the prescription today, and just admit defeat in that particular arena. I haven't used hand sanitizer, because I know it is drying and it does burn like crazy, but I've been using antibacterial soap, and moisturizing right afterward. We've not worked a whole lot recently, so I've managed to stay healthy, but I can only imagine trying to stay healthy in the classroom without some kind of germicide.
Just got caught up on your log and one thing stuck out - the chimney fire! Ahhh!! I'm so sorry that happened to you! Unfortunately, that happened to me last March, and I wasn't so lucky. I lived in an apartment on the top floor, and there were fireplaces in every unit which all shared a joint chimney. Someone in an apartment below me started a fire in their chimney and the chimney decided to stop working, and combusted in the attic directly above my unit (the top of the chimney came out of my apt). All I was able to do was grab my dog, keys, and purse, and get out of there...I lost literally everything else I owned and wasn't even able to go back to see if I could claim anything. And what sucked most was I had everything packed up for a move which was supposed to happen exactly a week afterward. So, I was kinda homeless for a while (stayed with friends and in hotels) until I got furniture/got moved into my new apt. It was very surreal. But I got through it! And definitely now recommend getting your chimneys swept and cleaned and inspected regularly! I'd hate for that to happen to anyone else.
Anyway...back to your accutane log, I recommend using some argan oil on your hair. I usually just wash my hair once or twice a week with shampoo, and maybe 2 other days I'll use conditioner only, and the rest I just put my hair up in a shower cap. But every day, I use argan oil from mid-length down, and I swear it's helped my hair stay manageable. Also, what kind of brush are you using? I recently switched to 100% boar bristle and can tell a difference. Maybe give that a try, too?
LLV, your fire sounds like it was MUCH worse than mine!! I hope you were able to replace all that you lost. Surely the place you were living was insured! So glad that you got out safely. Also, how do you use the argan oil? I mean, do you put it on your hair, smooth it in, and rinse it off? Or leave it on there? As you can tell, I'm not much used to a lot of these products. I adore the moisture magnet lotion.
Update: My hands are healing very nicely. The lotioning has helped immensely, and the prescription helps somewhat too. They are starting to look and feel a little less alligator-y. I've noticed that more of the large pores on my cheeks are shrinking up, and that some parts of my skin feel very soft and smooth. I have a lot of scarring that I'd never noticed before, but that is a problem to be taken care of after my course is finished. I have noticed that I am much more emotional, and more easily offended, but I don't think that can be attributed entirely to Iso.. I think it likely has some other contributing factors.
I believe I must be turning part reptile. An Accu-gator, or something. My skin the last couple of days has been sucking up lotion just as fast as I can put it on! And it isn't just my hands, either! Geez!
My face is still holding on. The large cyst is now just a purple spot, I can feel a definite difference there, but it isn't raised like it was, which makes it more easily hidden with makeup. I put on a different kind of moisturizer this morning, because mine was missing, and it burned a tiny bit on my forehead, but otherwise, it has been pretty good. I will have to remember to post what it is a little later.
The tube of Aquaphor that I bought for my lips is completely gone! Never knew I could run through a whole container of lip balm without losing it first.... I guess the key is speed.
Anyway, goodnight, everyone.
I noticed you said you got a coupon to for $10, any idea how to get that coupon? Ive tried a couple of the coupons I found online and haven't been able to use them anywhere. Cheapest place I've found is walmart and its a whopping $480 a month which I'm paying out of pocket. That's how desperate I am to get rid of this acne and have my life back! I'm currently on my third month and have two more months to go. I really wish I didn't have to spend almost another $1000. I'm also now paying for the drs appts and lab tests as my insurance is really useless. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks! Good luck on your journey. Btw I use a generic hydrocortisone cream on the hand rash and it goes away in a couple days. Ive had it twice but now its gone.
Jess -
I agree with LLV about the Argan oil. It has helped my hair quite a bit. I am glad the systane gel stuff is working for you - it has helped me so much! I can totally relate to how you feel about your hands, my hands look like I am in a fight club, literally. My knuckles have scrapes on them that keep getting opened back up, I have scratches from the dogs and who knows what else. I also burn myself every time I use the oven...so there's that (probably not accutane's fault, but I'll blame it anyway).
I'm going to have to get some argan oil. I discovered the body wash i've been using has some in it.
I also get burnt very easily, and very often. Although, I admit that I did that long before I started with the tane.
I have become even more gatorfied. My legs, especially right above my knee caps feel like sand paper! SO, more lotioning for me!
SO many people moan about having bad hair days. For me... I think this might be the first GOOD hair day of my life! I mean, I've started out having a good hair day, and it would be awesome... until I walked out the door. Or maybe out of the bathroom. Today, my hair has been good ALL DAY! Such a wonderful surprise for a day I normally dislike. Now, if I could just figure out the flourless chocolate cake that I want to make this evening.
Other than that, there isn't much new to report. I am trying hard to keep myself, and my skin hydrated. This morning I tried a Neutrogena sesame oil on my skin, and it does seem to have helped, and the scent is very light and lovely. Will try more of that a little later this evening. I just put it on right after the bath, while my skin was still damp.
We are expecting more snow this evening. I am SO looking forward to a week without! The wood supply is dwindling, and the animals would love to have some warm days (I'm sure).
Speaking of Accu-gators, I can definitely see where you're coming from. I'm beginning to suspect the maker of accutane of trying to create his own little army of hybrids. I feel like I'm shedding skin, but it won't properly ...shed. Shower oil and moisturizers have become necessities, essential to have in order to not crack open like something out of a horror movie. Sorry, my imagination (and my mood) carries me off to undiscovered places these days. It is such a comfort to have animals, although is is a lot of work. They can soothe you regardless of almost any situation.
However, yay for the hair!