Day # 36

Initial outbreak.....initial outbreak.....initial outbreak. Ugh! my chin is breaking out in small inflamed bumps and a few whiteheads. And worst of all, its happening all at once! This was definitely not the surprise i had in mind for Christmas. My pores are also becoming more clogged resulting in many small bumps on my cheeks. I'm, definiteley heading in the direction i was pre claravis and i'm not happy about that. I am in the 2nd month of this regimen so i am hoping that this is the start of the purging/clearing stage. My doc says that this month i should see my bumps heal faster and breakouts become less and less. I see here again in 2 months to reevaluate if i will stay with this regimen or switch. Sigh.......this is so not the way i wanted to start 2012

Day # 37

I am so at a crossroads now. I honestly want to stop this regimen. It seems that literally in less than 48 hours, more bumps and clogged pores have popped up left and right. I am soooooo not used to this. It has me questioning a few things:

is my moisturizer clogging my pores (i'm using cetaphil moisturizing lotion- my skin is so dry from the acne products but i think that cetaphil is just sitting on my skin creating a greasy feel and look and um.....clogging my pores).

is this my purging stage where bumps just pop up left and right- 5 weeks in?

How long can and will this nightmare last.

I could definitely use some reassurance right now.....not many people on this board have used Ziana so i feel like a little fish in a big barrel.

Day # 39:

Ahhhh.....my acne is so frustrating. I am now noticing a redness surrounding the areas where those underground/without a head pimples reside. It makes my face look extremely irritated in some parts. I am also getting more inflamed pimples on my cheek. I took and posted pictures of my chin to show how those underground suckers on my chin have popped up. I am so frustrated right now especially since i keep getting new acne - inflammatory acne everyday that don't have whiteheads. Did anyone else experience this with a retinoid. It makes me wonder what the purpose of Aczone is. Would my acne be worst without it? The zinc is not doing anything for me acne wise not is the vitamin D3 so i am holding off on adding anymore supplements. It all seems like such a big waste of money to me. I think it is too soon to tell if the diet change is helping much, especially if this regimen is purging my skin. At times i honestly feel like crying (going from clear last year to this has been hard) but then i remind myself that others are going through much much worse and that i should be grateful. At this time of the year, i have a warm home, supportive family, a good job.....all that i really NEED.

Thank God for that!

Day # 41

I hate you...I hate you...I hate you. My skin is sooooooo dry and soooooo red and sooooo blotchy and i have all these new flesh colored pimples popping up left and right! I want to friggin scream....AGGGGGHHHHHHHH! The weird thing is that even when i can't feel a pimple, a bright red mark remains. Please tell me this is normal and that i have to give it time. I mean, is it normal for skin to feel so dry its about to fall the hell off? I'm just afraid that this regimen is irritating my skin and causing more pimples. I have to keep the faith and tell myself that my skin is just purging bumps that would have other wise come up.

Deep Breath.....Woosah......Deep Breath......Woosah.

But seriously, i am not happy right now. My face feels and looks horrible and i have nothing positive to say about this regimen so far. My derm says that by the end of month 2 i should be getting less clogged pores....we'll see.

Thanks for listening to the vent....i love you folks on the ORG

Maybe you need to switch lotions? I use Neutrogena face lotion for combination skin! It is amazing! The one for sensitive skin did not work for me! Also relax more stress and worry = more pimples.

*sings bob marley*

Thanks for the advice Dee.........I use the Neutrogena Sensitive Skin and its not helping. Will the combination skin one break me out? I just feel as if i'm ruining my face everytime i apply these chemicals to it.

Day # 42

Moisture......needed.....dying.....lol. I have posted pics of my face after i have applied my meds and BEFORE moisturizer. Is it supposed to be that dry and that flaky? Also, when i added moisturizer, it stung a little even though i waited 20 minutes....SIGH. I am still flaky even with moisturizer. At what point does that subside?. As i stated before, Cetaphil was way too heavy and i think it clogged my pores (i was using the lotion). In any event i need a recommendation for:

a gentle cleanser (non medicated/moisturizing)

a moisturizer (i've got some great suggestions so far!)

The more natural, the better.

Unlovely, you are anything but.....lol. Awesome progress. I'm hoping for similar results. BTW, i tried to moisturize before Ziana and guess what, still dry as a mutha. I'll either have to up the moisturizer OR cut back on the application.

Day # 43

6 week pictures finally posted! My camera sucks hardcore so i'll try my best to explain whats happening with my skin.

Texture:

Grainy and rough ALL over.

Complexion:

uneven, red, peeling, irritated

Acne:

My left side is doing MUCH better than my right side which has always been the case.

1 hard, under the skin bump on my lower chin

less clogged pores on my cheek

bump on lip

My right side is my sucky side and right now it sucks.

Over a dozen tiny red/flesh colored bumps going from my upper cheek down to my chin area (the results of clogged pores/irritation?)

1 inflamed bump on lip and below lip.

Tiny bumps on nose (maybe 3?)

Forehead has a few flesh colored bumps.

Well folks, that's the status of my face. As you can see, 2011 is not ending on a great note face wise. Hoping that this time next year i would have found something that works for me but in the meantime, i am keeping hope alive

All the best to everyone in 2012!

For me, the lotion did not break me out..

Thanks Dee!

Happy 2012 to everyone on the org! I am feeling very optimistic this year in regards to my acne and such.

Acne wise, it seems that i spoke too soon about the left side of my face being clearer. three bumps, one of which is hard and lumpy and very inflamed popped up on my cheek. But you know what, that's life! I am so tired of stressing over every little bump, zit, scar, indentation. it's stressing me out and probably making things worse.

This year i vow to only look in the mirror when i apply my products and not get super close to examine each bump. Anyone want to join me in this pledge?

Also, i will be doing a food intolerance test to see what foods i am sensitive to (and i'll cut them out). If at the end of FEB (my 3 month mark) i see no improvement, i will go see a naturopath.

Maybe natural will work better and give my body a chance to heal itself.

WEEK 7 Almost to the 2 month mark -YAY!!!!

Well let's start with the positive:

My skin feels sooooooo smooth whenever i wash it. Alot of those flesh colored bumps have disappeared and i seem to be getting less clogged pores (as my derm promised). I also am getting less inflammed bumps and when they do pop up, they never develop a head and disappear over time.

Now for the not so positive.

I am flushed ALL THE TIME!

I have had to skip days or buffer the meds with mositurizer....Before i put on the meds. I'm not sure if this is affecing how effective the meds work but my skin is drying out and is visibly flaking. I know this happens but isn't the skin at some point supposed to get used to it?

I am still breaking out....albeit, small bumps that usually don't devlop a head. I believe the Sumadan wash dries them out as well as my skin.

So, do i think my regimen is working? Well ever the cautious one, i'll reserve judgement once i hit the 3 month mark. My face definitely is way better than it was in July but only time will tell if this treatment is worth it.

Tried to post pics of week 7 but site not allowing me to do so. Hopefully this will be resolved soon.

Well done for sticking it out, I personally think maybe using Finacea, Aczone and an antibiotic mixture all together is alot to put on your skin at once and there is no way to tell which products are working to help you and which ones are surplus to requirements.

The mixture of different chemicals (namely Finacea and Aczone) could well be causing the irritation and flushing you are experiencing BUT I see that this is a dermatologists plan so I assume that they know what they are doing. Redness and peeling are side effects of both finacea AND aczone (which I had never heard of before so thankyou for my backup plan).

Hopefully your skin will get used to it xx

Crystal.....you may very well be right. 3 prescription meds is a literal pain in my ass and i have no clue as to what is actually helping with clearing but whatever works, right? I at some point want to completely go natural with my skin care routine but i am doubtful that will happen anytime soon. My skin is acne prone and it will always be acne prone and after the year i had with my face, i just don't need that stress in my life. I too am assuming my derm knows what she's doing but i am in no way, shape or form deluding myself into thinking she magically was able to 'read' what my skin needed. I just think she started with the least irritating products and hoped for the best (acne is not an exact science after all). But so far, i do see improvement and i am going to stick with it. I have my follow up appt Feb 18th so i am hoping by that point i can be like 'Whoa....my face is friggin amazing!!!!!!!'....lol. Your progress has definitely been inspirational to me though so keep it up!

Thanks for stopping by - the encouragement is appreciated!

WEEK 8 - 2 MONTH MARK....YAY!!!!!!

Gosh, i can't believe its been 2 month already. Time seems to have flown by sooo fast and yes, there has been many ups and downs. My ups are as follows:

Within the last week, the excess dryness has disappeared (weird - it's like i got up one morning and realised that i didn't have dry patches all over and regular, lightweight moisturizer keeps me hydrated all day).

My skin has been so smooth....up until 3 days ago - but the point was that the texture was unbelieveable

I am getting lessing small bumps popping up

My downs are as followed:

Complexion is splotchy so that evened tonedness that people talk about hasn't visited me yet

I have started to break out in multiple red bumps at the same time, on my forehead which is odd because my forehead has been my least worrysome area.

I am still breaking out daily in at least 1-2 bumps.

My views on my regimen

I believe the Sumadan wash dries out the pimples cause withing 24 hrs they look like they have hatched and begin to scab over without any help from me (gross.....i know).

Not sure which of the other 3 topicals is doing what.

Am i impressed yet? - not amazingly so.

Will i keep at it? - absoulutely.

What do i expect from the next month? - I have no expectations...we'll see where it goes from here

Thanks to all of you that have read and written back, it's made this journey waaaay more fun

Good Luck!

I will post 2 month pictures this evening.

yay for pictures!! and well done, the first part is so hard so well done for sticking it out. My skin didn't clear for 6 months so hang on in there. It really improved when I started using finacea twice a day instead of once but maybe you won't need to because you are using other things in the evening.

Good luck and well done xx

Thanks Crystal....you are a major motivator! I have to keep on remindign myself that it takes time .....unfortunately patience was never one of my virtues

Week 8....heading towards week 9.

Aghhhhh.....i hate this rollercoaster. My face has reverted back to be being overly dry after i wash it, and even worse when i apply the medicines, especially the Aczone/Finacea combination.

Also, my chin which was clearing up nicely has now begun to break out in under the skin bumps that i just know will pop up any day now.....not a happy camper. I am only comforted by the fact that people do report the clearing, breaking out, clearing, breaking out cycle. I just wish i had some consistency with things so i could guage if it is working or not. Relax.....relate......release.....Wusah. 4 more weeks till that 3 month mark where the 'magic' supposedly happens......well, i guess we'll see.

my magic started happening at the 4 month mark,(just so you don't loose heart at 3 months)... took 8 months to get mostly clear.

also what are you doing about your emotional wellbeing? do you take time to indulge in hobbies etc?

x

Crystal, your advice is solid! Thanks for the support girl! i work out 4-5 times per weeks (weight training and cardio) and i eat healthy so that helps keep me emotionally in check. Trying to get into yoga but so far, it's not working out for me. My top fav hobbies though are listening to music and writing. It keeps me chilled, focused and away from my mirror...lol.

I'm holding on girl. It just sucks going from clear a year ago to not where my face is dry, blotchy, broken out, oily and just not how i want it to be. I'm hoping that supplements will help over time (it's been a few weeks on them) and that diet will have a big pay off too. I'm taking it one day at a time though and i am grateful because i know my acne could be so much worse. Hmmmm, now that i think about it - 4 months is not that far off! Thanks for the encouragement.

Week 9 - Still stagnant. i am breaking out in small, red bumps on the right side of my face, along the outer part of my face. I am also getting a round of clogged pores on my upper cheeks. I still have under the skin bumps on my chin/jaw area that are just sitting there. I feel them when i wash my face and they are noticeable as the areas where bumps are forming tend to be red and splotchy. My forehead has cleared up some though i currently have 1-2 red bumps on it that appeared over night.

My skin itself remailns splotchy, red with dry patches (despite moisturizer). It gets dry after i wash it even dyer after applying meds. Last week with the non-dryness must have been a fluke -damnit!

On a side note, i did an allergy test IGE as they didn't offer IGG and found out via a skin prick that i am allergic to almonds -my new favorite food since i've been trying to gain weight in a healthy way - double DAMN!

In any event, i am hesitantly trying to replace the almonds with walnuts as i hear they are somewhat anti inflammatory due to their omega 3 content. i will get the results of the blood component of the test so i'll check in more next week.

Will post week 9 pictures in a few.

Mood as of now regarding my acne - I hate your @$$.....lol

EDIT: So i just uploaded this weeks pics and right lower/chin jaw area is inflammed, red and itchy. It's the only part of my face that itches. I tried the walnuts - is that it? According to my allergist, i'm not allergic to it. I think it's too early to tell. Damn acne, go away already. Zianna, Aczone and Finacea, y'all need to start pulling your weight around here .