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Hey I just wanted to say that in those pics you posted the other day I think your skin looks really good!
Thanks hun. I love my iphone camera - it flatters everything. ATM i don't have any huge over the top pimples, just a lot of small red and white ones so the camera does a terrible job of picking it up. Definitely taking it one step at a time. How's the accutane course going for you?
Took my first pill yesterday so still to early to tell. Im derm said Id likely only be on it for 2 months though thank god because Im on 80mg a day! I remember 70 was rough.
Hey I just wanted to say that in those pics you posted the other day I think your skin looks really good!
Thanks hun. I love my iphone camera - it flatters everything. ATM i don't have any huge over the top pimples, just a lot of small red and white ones so the camera does a terrible job of picking it up. Definitely taking it one step at a time. How's the accutane course going for you?
Took my first pill yesterday so still to early to tell. Im derm said Id likely only be on it for 2 months though thank god because Im on 80mg a day! I remember 70 was rough.
Only 2 months? Whats the plan after that? Are you going to give topicals a go again?
my derm emailed me again just to check in. Such a sweet woman, I think i'm going to keep her regardless of my outcome with acne. Been a bit stressed lately with work but tomorrow is the last day so woot! woot! Still breaking out in those small red pimples on both cheeks, nose, forehead and chin (more left than right) but i'm ok. I'm dealing with it and grateful that its not worse. Juicing has been going well and i've been sleeping better. Eating has been so- so but starting Monday, i'll be back in control. I've decided to indefinitely hold off on the topicals for as long as I can to gauge if diet will work for me. Not changing my skin care products either as I don't want to add/subtract too many factors.
Will keep you all posted
43 Days (6 weeks) Post BP
How much do you hate pimpled with pus? They bring with them white tops and redness - I feel like a lit up Christmas tree! The up side is that I currently have 1 mega obvious one and 3-4 smaller pus filled pimples with white tops. I am way too old for this ish. This week has been stressful preparing for graduation and my eating has been slipping due to the stress but next week i'll be able to get on point again (after a much needed trip to the supermarket). My forehead has cleared up of those red pimples for the most part and when i do get ones, it's gone within 2 days or so. Cheeks/nose are doing terrible and chin is so-so. I'm still going out and doing my thing though so acne will not stop that. If people want to get offended, then thats their problem, not mine. I found out yeserday that I may not have a job for September so i will have to start job hunting, the first time in 4-5 years. I always was looking for a sign for when change was needed and I think I got it. I will just have to let go and let God.
Still struggling with this no mirrors thing ....I was doing great and then i caught a look at myself and it was all over. The good thing is that I am not feeling depressed over my face - it could be much much worse.
Diet Day # 1
So it is so hard to maintain or even start a diet when you have to feed other people or you're around family. This weekend was spend celebration graduations, BBQ and such and frankly, I think my body needs a reboot. I am going to attempt to eat:
Salmon
Sweet Potatoes
Various Veggies: Cooked/Raw
Green Smoothies
Vegetable Juices
I may occassionaly have chicken but that may be if I have to eat out which I'm trying not to do. Cutting out red meat for the most part (which is a sin considering 4th of July is coming up and it's rib season). Not expecting much from this but what the hell. I've been promised the world with diet changes but much of it has been a lie. If anything will hopefully help, it will be the juicing. From one timeline i've read, oil production should ease up in 6 weeks even though new acne is still expected. We'll see.
In addition to this, I am going to go out and laugh, live, love and just be happy because in the bigger scheme of things - I only get 1 shot at this life.
As my day went on, definitely felt discouraged. My face feels disgusting and rough and I was tempted to look but I didn't. I am so beyond caring anymore - why even bother. The good is that I know that this life is temporary and I won't always feel this way about myself. May tomorrow bring with it a better mind set and attitude.
My count has been way off. It's been officially 63 days post BP (a little over 2 months). My skin hasn't been faring well so that sucks but hopefully with the juicing, things will get better or at the very least, slow down. If by the end of the summer, I am worse, I may break down and try B5 as my oil levels are out of control. My cheek area where my pores are biggest are so congested that everyday 1-3 inflamed pimples are popping out. Chin is grainy and disgusting (i've avoided looking at that part of my face for the last few days) and my nose has all sort of red bumps growing on it. My forehead is pretty clear though - go figure. I think the constant humidity and sweating is not helping me in the least. I want to schedule another appt with the derm but i don't think there is anything else they can do for me....I am just a lost cause.
My high today has ended on an incredible low. I have a huge underground inflamed bump on my lip line. It hurts to the touch and it is unpopable (not that i pop my pimples anyway). This came out of nowhere. I guess thats what i get for eating my aunt's homemade ribs, chicken and rice and peas. This mega monster sucks but i gotta admit it was a damn good meal.
Sorry to hear it's not going so well. You've still got spiro up your sleeve to try, I think it's worth a shot girls seem to have good results with it.
Thanks for stopping by. I don't get cystic acne anymore so I don't think Spiro would work for me (neither did birth control). The acne I get now is inflamed, has pus, etc. It honestly sucks especially since I have changed my lifestyle so much (i'm even stressing less) but I have to thank God that it is not worse.
67 Days Post BP
24 Days Juicing
So i attempted to take pictures but the quality was just crappy so I'll try again this or next weekend (besides, I'm trying to avoid mirrors so...)
Juicing is not going as well as I expected it to. I am almost a month in and I have not noticed any reduction in oil or in my acne, granted, it's been less than a month but geez, a sign of it working would be appreciated. It's easy to do though so I will be keeping it up so. This is 7 days before my period so maybe the shift in my hormones is to blame but I am breaking out more than usual. I have 3 juicy pimples with white heads on my chin (same spot i had them last week too). Left side by my mouth and my next to my upper lip has a cluster of pimples waiting to explode and my lip zit has brought a twin so there are 2 of them. I Also have another whitehead above my lip and one in between my eyebrows. I have acne other places but those are the significant ones. Thank God I am not feeling depressed or sad or stressed out. I know he is holding me up through this because In the past, I would have been a hot mess ready to throw myself out a window. I am however frustrated with this whole ordeal - it's been 3 years and counting...........
Diet has been way off track too as i've been visiting my family a lot so they've been sending me home with a lot of the to go containers with foods (dairy/gluten free) but still, it's not the elimination diet i wanted to do. I honestly don't think i can stick with fish all day, every day but I will commit to making it a primary part of my diet. Still working out and feeling good physically. Also started drinking ginger tea as i hear its anti inflammatory.
Hopefully everyone else out there is having much more success than I am.
Here are some pics I took today. Very disappointing to say the least. And the worst part is that the pictures do not show the reality of what my acne is like in real life (i need to use a real camera). The bumpiness by my left mouth/nose area is what i like to call mini me acne - not yet inflamed but has a good potential of getting there. My right mouth has an inflamed pimple and another one above that one. My left cheek which I haven't broken in that area in a few weeks has an inflamed pimple that is Thank God not painful. My forehead is doing well. My lip zits are ok (not bothering me as much) and my nose has small red bumps on there. If this keeps up, I may have to cave and get a topical. Maybe something milder than retinoids such as SA. What frustrates me the most is that my acne is no longer moderate and I can't kick it -what the hell! I
eat well
supplement
work out enough to work up a sweat
stressing less
sleeping much better
juicing
And for all my efforts I still feel like crap. And if another person offers their unsolicited advice about diet, i;m gonna throw down.
I think your skin looks great! Especially if you are not using any kind of topical on it anymore!
Gotta love my camera! Hows accutane going?
No big progress yet. Just finish my first box of 40mg and my skin is becoming pretty dry. I have about 10 actives on my chin / jaw.
Honestly, your skin looks so good in those photos - and in natural light too. I'd even hesitate to call it mild!
Maybe the juicing is helping more than you think
I agree I looked again and i dont really see anything! I think youre making more progress than you think
Well you only just started so hopefully things will kick into high gear soon.
I haven't seen any progress that i can attribute to the juicing/eating healthy. My forehead cleared up but it cycles like that - it will start getting clogged for a week and then disappear for a while and then repeat. I guess what makes the pictures deceiving is that some of the acne is the bumpy/grainy kind that is obvious when you are right in front of me. Also, my skin tone has a bit of red to it so the acne doesn't stand out in pictures that much but boy oh boy do i notice it. If I am comparing my acne now to say last week, it's definitely gotten worse. But we all know worse is relative. Since stopping BP though, all the under jaw line bumps that i developed on tane have gone away. The person that recommended i do juicing says that i could be having a detox reaction that may take 3-4 months to settle down/show some improvement. I in all honesty doubt that but will continue anyway. Also, my period starts next week so maybe this a flare - who knows. In any event, a few changes are coming:
I see my derm on the 25th for topical advice
I ordered borage oil and zinc
Thanks for the positive feedback guys, wish i could see the same.
So here is the acne update:
All those grainy bumps are slowly becoming inflamed (there are at least 12-15 of them (the timing couldn't be any worse)
Chin has 4 bumps in various stages of inflamation.
Both sides of mouth have 1-2 inflamed bumps
Left side is doing much worse than right side in terms of clogs that are becoming inflamed.
Forehead is doing well for the most part
Dear God, please let this be as a result of my menses.
I have no less than 8 red, inflamed bumps on my face. It seemed that many of those tiny clogged pores inflamed and took up half my face. This is the worse my face has looked in a while. I think this may be the 'no BP' thing catching up with me. I don't see these bumps going away either. Usually they start to disappear within a few days but it seems they have inflated and brought friends with them.
The three things that really bother me about acne is:
it makes me look like i don't take care of myself (i don't use a lot of products)
it emotionally cripples me.
There seems to be no simple cause and effect process going on.
Going on 3 years fighting this and I still don't know what my route cause is despite going to derms and holistic people and taking advice from people on this board, etc, etc, etc.
I am wavering in my belief that acne can be helped from the inside through diet and supplementation as I have been doing that for YEARS and no improvement. I would gladly use topicals for the rest of my life if it kept me clear like the regimen did.
At this rate, accutane is looking mighty fine (though i probably won't go down that route)
71 days Post BP
28 days Juicing
So here is a legit update excluding all the venting. My mouth/chin area has developed numerous clogged pores, inflamed acne with and without pus. My chin 6 small bumps with little whiteheads (these are small so unless you're standing in front of me, you won't notice them. The bigger pimples on each side of my mouth have gone down but are far from gone. Clogged pores still persist on left side of my mouth and is beginning on right side as well. On my left inner cheek i have an inflamed bump that has started to go down (i think this is the exact one i had 2 weekends ago). Face is generally bumpy/rough. I feel better about it today (i guess this has become my new normal). It'll be interesting to see if the roughness goes away as i started my period yesterday (4 whole days early too). I have also been drinking ginger tea like crazy as it calms my PMS cramps so hopefully that is helping inflammation from the inside. My supps come today so i will start zinc today or tomorrow and the borage oil in a week.
Thats it for supps for a while as i want to keep my regimen simple as pie. As mentioned before, I see my derm in T-14 days so we'll see if it helps any.
Thanks for listening. I think i will picture update in a week or so or when i go see my derm.
Looks like this acne is here to stay. Everything is multiplying and getting inflamed right before my eyes (even on my cheeks!). By the end of the month, my mouth, chin, cheek area will be covered in all kinds of acne. So upsetting. I am at an honest lost of what to do. my new derm said she was open to spiro for ceratin cases so when i go see here, we'll talk. I am so distressed at this turn of events.....again. It's like a can't catch a break. And it bugs me when people tell me i'm over exaggerating. These same people refuse to post pictures of their own skin yet dismiss the issues of others as mundane - i find it very hypocritical. As much as I say i'm going to try and enjoy my summer, i know how emotionally impacting acne is for me. People who don't wake up to several new bumps both big and small will NEVER understand what it's like to feel like a prisoner in your own skin.
I pray for God to take this burden from me and if not, then give me the strength and peace of mind to go through it.
The left side by my nose and mouth has blown up with whiteheads. The most inflamed has been in the works since last Monday and it is huge, red and has pus. I'm afraid to pop them for fear it creates more but it is nasty to look at. There are 6 whiteheads in all. When i was on The Regimen i never got this kind of acne.....ever. It makes me feel like the bacteria on my face is running rampant. My period ended yesterday so technically if this was hormonal, it should be dying down but nada. I still have acne on my chin/mouth but the worst of it is what I described above.
Juicing is not helping any at all and it's too early to tell if zinc will do anything. I'm cutting back on the amount of carrots and beats i uses as sugar is sugar so.........
Another course of accufail is looking mighty fine right about now.
I am so miserable right now! So fed up with trying to control everything acne wise. So you know what, I'm doing something about it. I am backing down from diet as while i do believe a healthier diet can help acne, it's been something I have been engaging in for a long time and it hasn't helped in the least. I am still going to eat fish but I will also be adding in chicken and once in a while, beef. I also will start eating brown rice once in a while. Fruits are back in as well. Will leave eggs out for now as i'm not a fan and maybe will include almond milk/butter in a few weeks. I'll still be juicing but not the massive amounts of beets and carrots I was doing before. My body is not liking that at all if my BM have anything to say about it. Supplements will remain the same, especially the magnesium which is helping a lot with stress and anxiety.
Will update tomorrow on what my derm recommends and may post a pic.