day 4

i woke up this morning and felt great. almost too great though, like i was super hyper. i think it was a result of me drinking coffee last night, which i usually can't do without causing weird sleep problems at night and strange feelings in the morning.

sure enough, the super hyper feeling morphed into anxiety, and i was super stressed shortly after i got to work, and i stayed pretty stressed throughout the day. it felt hormonal though, and i remember having a similar feeling of anxiety and even anger the first time i went on yaz, but that was during the third week of the first month only.

i am trying to drink a ton of water (and succeeding), but i made the tragic discovery last night that i cannot eat nuts on spiro/yaz because they are high in potassium! as a vegetarian, i consume a lot of nuts for protein. i am sad. i better check my tofu and soy-based products and make sure they aren't high in potassium.

even though i felt more stressed than usual today, i do have more energy. not sure if it's related to the meds or the increased caffeine consumption both yesterday and today. i am hoping to finally run tonight after such a long, heart-wrenching 12 days of failing to train. i must admit, part of why it's been harder is that with it getting dark earlier, i haven't been able to run outside after work. the other option is the apartment complex gym, but there's a kinda creepy guy who's in there at night who won't quit trying to have conversation with me, even when my headphones are on. i guess i just have to suck it up and see him tonight. maybe if i go a little earlier at 6:30 he won't be there.

all of this is totally unrelated to my acne and hirsutism, but i try to pay a lot of attention to how new meds are affecting how i feel after those two bad experiences. i also work in the field of mental health, so i pay a lot of attention to psychological things.

the new pics i took of my face today look a ton worse than yesterday's due only to the fact that in lack of light, my laptop's camera hyperpigments everything. most of the marks on my face in today's pictures are not active pimples, but just red spots from previous pimples. in reality, i have around 4 active pimples right now (1 is cystic on my jawline) and 2 ingrown hairs that appeared as pimples.

my face does feel a bit smoother, but that's probably just my imagination. it's way too early for that. i was looking at pics of how clear my skin was on yaz last december, and i calculated that it had been around 5 months at that point. i'm pretty sure my skin cleared up during the third month on yaz though - even the red marks were mostly gone. so i am expecting to have much clearer skin in 3-5 months. maybe even earlier since i'm not just on yaz now, but also spiro. soo late december 2010 at the earliest and late march 2011 at the latest. maybe in time for Christmas if i cross my fingers.

as for the excess hair, i keep reading that it takes 6-12 months for that to decrease significantly. i've read a lot of hopeful stuff, but i know that once hairs become terminal, they will never appear vellous again. still, anything is better than the worsening that i am currently experiencing. my problem areas are my chin and under my jaw. hmm..6-12 months will be sometime between april 2011 and oct 2011.

i am putting links to today's pics below, but for some reason, i have been unable to successfully insert both images and links, no matter what i do. here goes nothing:

day 5

felt pretty good and happy today. not much to ramble about today. my skin looks a tad better than yesterday, and the photos (which never actually appear in these posts..?!) look way better b/c that weird lighting effect was gone. and i was wearing some makeup. still no change in hair. i forgot to mention yesterday that the other places the hair bothers me are my arms and legs.

okay, that's it! a short post to contrast the first two super-long ones! hehe. attempting a new method to post pics below. they are scary for halloween

I'd also return the Bare Esscentuals ASAP if they let you! I thought that stuff would be great to and heard a lot of good things about it but I swear that stuff caused the most painful acne ever and made it even worse (which SUCKED because at the time the BCP I was taking already made me breakout more)

 

They put something in it that skin reacts badly to, if you look it up in the cosmetic section of this site you can learn more about it.

 

Try Alma products I recently started using them never did before and I like them. They cover well and they are better for acne then most store brands.

 

If you wanna use mineral make-up there are some good ones. I personally loved this brand Demure but its just very expensive =/ but it made my skin GLOW and didn't make me breakout and just the powder seemed to cover everything when now I have to use liquid and powered and sometimes most times you can still see some of the really dark redmarks.

hi amber!

thanks for reading & replying with advice & information about your experiences i AM taking gianvi, and although nothing bad has happened yet, hearing from you (in addition to my friend) that this generic pill is not good, i think i will switch to the name brand at the end of this pack. it's worth the extra $10 for me.

i'm pretty disappointed hearing that you had a bad experience with bare esscentuals i had high hopes for that too. this introductory package wasn't priced too high though, and i can cancel my 'membership' easily if it doesn't work out, so i'll try it for a month or so, and if it doesn't work, i think i'll go back to aveda foundation. i think i remember it being around $20 for one pressed powder, but it was great powder! maybe i should check the prices on demure and alma (not almay?) before i spend $20 on powder though.

thanks again for your comments it's helpful to have input from other people who understand. i hope that your skin stays great now that you're back on the name-brand yaz!

day 6

i felt great again today. it was a feeling i had when i was on yaz last year. it sounds crazy, but i swear it's true. it's like a distinct peaceful, organized, happy feeling.

amber's comment above convinced me that i need to get the name brand yaz next time i go to the pharmacy, but so far i'm not having any problems.

if the off-brand yaz is so bad, i'm wondering if the good feeling i referred to is just a result of androgen-blocking. even if the off-brand yaz i'm on (gianvi) isn't any good, the 100 mg/day of spiro could be doing the same thing that the name-brand yaz did for me. i don't remember feeling any positive difference in my mood for awhile after starting name-brand yaz. maybe that's b/c it's only the equivalent of 25 mg/day spiro, and i am taking 4x that amount per day right now. so after 6 days, that would be almost a month's worth of name-brand yaz. i hope my logic is follow-able.

as for skin and hair, my skin still seems to be improving. no new pimples, although a couple that were on my forehead have become more inflamed. i conveniently did not capture them in today's photos to make myself feel better. on the other bcp's i've taken since april, i was getting a new cyst under my skin every few days or so. i don't believe i've gotten a new one since i started this yaz/spiro combo, which is unusual. i still think it's too early for it to be affecting my skin/hair very much, but i think this change in pattern is worth noting.

no changes in my hair yet of course. at my rate of rambling though, you know i'll let you know in full detail as soon as i see anything

okay, it's friday night - time for the weekend! i kind of have a 4-day weekend. i hope i have the energy to run tomorrow afternoon!

day 7

i felt good for most of the day, but maybe i worked too hard at work, because on the drive home, i could already feel that i was wiped out and probably wouldn't have the energy to run tonight. i took a 2-3 hour nap, and it was dark by the time i woke up. oh well. mood is still positive.

my skin seems to have improved a little again, with still no new pimples & just some recovering pimples/cysts and lots of red marks from the past. the bare minerals makeup actually arrived today, and i'm wearing it in the pictures. i put it on over the makeup i already had on, so i have double coverage in the picture, and my skin looks pretty awesome (esp the left side) compared to several days ago. i still need to see how the makeup will look by itself. i hardly had to use any to put a light cover on my face, and it doesn't feel cakey or anything.

still no improvement in the excess hair. i'm pretty sure it just slowly gets worse, but i'm hoping that will come to an end, and it will turn around in six months.

acne is a deeper issue than just appearance. yeah i care how i look, and i hate feeling self conscious with pimples all over my face. but ever since i found out that mine is caused by hormonal problems that are related to infertility, obesity, depression, and diabetes, i've begun to associate the state of my skin with the state of my overall health. it's like an outward signal of what's going on inside my body, and it's helpful to be able to rely on it. if i have a bunch of pimples, it lets me know that my hormones are acting up, and other unseen things are probably struggling too (insulin, energy level, reproductive health).

i know that BCP's and spiro might only be treating the symptoms & not the cause, but alleviating some of the symptoms of PCOS is quite helpful in restoring one's feeling of wellness and confidence to tackle some of the causes (as much as possible).

i also share hope with others that one day, there will be a cure for PCOS so that women/girls out there don't have to go through the confusion, worry, pain, and embarrassment of all the symptoms.

pictures (maybe):

Hi,

I can identify with your situation. I am 24 as well and have been fighting mild acne for a while. My normal breakouts occur along my jawline, and the corner of my mouth when it's that time of the month. I was pretty resistant to birth control for a while, but finally caved in June and started taking the pill- Ortho Novum 1/35. This cleared up my skin immediately (I may have had 2 or 3 pimples at the time) and kept it clear for a few months. I started breaking out a little bit again in September. I should also mention that the kind of zits I get are fairly resistant to over the counter treatment. I gave myself about a month of using my OTC products, and when I did not see much of a difference, I decided to go to the derm (a little over 2 weeks ago). I was prescribed Benzaclin, Differin 0.3%, and doxycycline. The only difference I can tell so far is that it is definitely making my skin purge. Ugh. Recently I have been hearing more about spironolactone for acne, but I did not ask at my appointment if this would be a treatment option for me. I am interested to hear what kind of results you have with this medication. It may be worth it for me to ask my derm about it at my next appointment in December.

Lately I have been hearing more about PCOS, and can't help but wonder if I should have an ultrasound and bloodwork done to rule this out. My periods have become more regular since taking birth control, but I am wondering if the previously irregular periods combined with the acne flare-ups are indicative of some other underlying condition.

Congrats on training for your half marathon- I am training for a full marathon on November 13. I too have wondered if the excessive sweating could be causing my breakouts, but like you, I realized that I have plenty of runner friends who don't have acne. I don't know if you feel the same way, but sometimes I just hate running with other people because of the way my skin looks. I'm sure I am way harder on myself than others are, but it still makes me very self-conscious.

Anyway, keep updating with your progress- I would love to know how your treatment is working for you and would also love to hear about your half marathon results!

day 7

 

i felt good for most of the day, but maybe i worked too hard at work, because on the drive home, i could already feel that i was wiped out and probably wouldn't have the energy to run tonight. i took a 2-3 hour nap, and it was dark by the time i woke up. oh well. mood is still positive.

 

my skin seems to have improved a little again, with still no new pimples & just some recovering pimples/cysts and lots of red marks from the past. the bare minerals makeup actually arrived today, and i'm wearing it in the pictures. i put it on over the makeup i already had on, so i have double coverage in the picture, and my skin looks pretty awesome (esp the left side) compared to several days ago. i still need to see how the makeup will look by itself. i hardly had to use any to put a light cover on my face, and it doesn't feel cakey or anything.

 

still no improvement in the excess hair. i'm pretty sure it just slowly gets worse, but i'm hoping that will come to an end, and it will turn around in six months.

 

acne is a deeper issue than just appearance. yeah i care how i look, and i hate feeling self conscious with pimples all over my face. but ever since i found out that mine is caused by hormonal problems that are related to infertility, obesity, depression, and diabetes, i've begun to associate the state of my skin with the state of my overall health. it's like an outward signal of what's going on inside my body, and it's helpful to be able to rely on it. if i have a bunch of pimples, it lets me know that my hormones are acting up, and other unseen things are probably struggling too (insulin, energy level, reproductive health).

 

i know that BCP's and spiro might only be treating the symptoms & not the cause, but alleviating some of the symptoms of PCOS is quite helpful in restoring one's feeling of wellness and confidence to tackle some of the causes (as much as possible).

 

i also share hope with others that one day, there will be a cure for PCOS so that women/girls out there don't have to go through the confusion, worry, pain, and embarrassment of all the symptoms.

 

pictures (maybe):

 

 

PS- I looked at your pics, and your skin is not bad. Really. My breakouts are usually on the right side of my face as well- it looks like we are basically in the same situation, as your breakouts look basically exactly the same as mine.

Hi,

I can identify with your situation. I am 24 as well and have been fighting mild acne for a while. My normal breakouts occur along my jawline, and the corner of my mouth when it's that time of the month. I was pretty resistant to birth control for a while, but finally caved in June and started taking the pill- Ortho Novum 1/35. This cleared up my skin immediately (I may have had 2 or 3 pimples at the time) and kept it clear for a few months. I started breaking out a little bit again in September. I should also mention that the kind of zits I get are fairly resistant to over the counter treatment. I gave myself about a month of using my OTC products, and when I did not see much of a difference, I decided to go to the derm (a little over 2 weeks ago). I was prescribed Benzaclin, Differin 0.3%, and doxycycline. The only difference I can tell so far is that it is definitely making my skin purge. Ugh. Recently I have been hearing more about spironolactone for acne, but I did not ask at my appointment if this would be a treatment option for me. I am interested to hear what kind of results you have with this medication. It may be worth it for me to ask my derm about it at my next appointment in December.

Lately I have been hearing more about PCOS, and can't help but wonder if I should have an ultrasound and bloodwork done to rule this out. My periods have become more regular since taking birth control, but I am wondering if the previously irregular periods combined with the acne flare-ups are indicative of some other underlying condition.

Congrats on training for your half marathon- I am training for a full marathon on November 13. I too have wondered if the excessive sweating could be causing my breakouts, but like you, I realized that I have plenty of runner friends who don't have acne. I don't know if you feel the same way, but sometimes I just hate running with other people because of the way my skin looks. I'm sure I am way harder on myself than others are, but it still makes me very self-conscious.

Anyway, keep updating with your progress- I would love to know how your treatment is working for you and would also love to hear about your half marathon results!

thanks for sharing your story and encouragement. wow, you're training for a FULL marathon?! that's amazing to me. is it your first? i have a friend who is running her first half marathon in alabama on the same day as yours.

i can definitely relate to not liking the way your skin looks while you run. i was talking about this with a friend recently. simply being in sunlight is uncomfortable to me, because it makes my acne & facial hair way more obvious & ghastly. sweat melting down my face through my makeup makes it even worse. it would be awesome to have clear enough skin that i felt comfortable running in the sun without makeup. maybe that day will come.

hmm it's interesting that we are in a similar situation. so did the dermatologist do ANY blood tests on you? i think it would be very unusual (and technically not allowed) for them to put you on BCP for acne without proof that your hormones were abnormal.

i also started off at the dermatologist, but i found that my primary care physician (the new, good one) approaches my hair & skin issues much more holistically than the dermatologist by focusing on the underlying cause(s) & possibly related ailments. i would definitely recommend getting those blood tests done - if you do have PCOS, then yaz, spiro, and metformin seem to be the best matches for it. but if you get good enough results from the BCP you're currently on, then that's great.

thanks for saying nice things about my pictures i DID have double makeup on, hehe. but i think you're right - it's not so bad right now. thanks for encouraging me

Hi,

I can identify with your situation. I am 24 as well and have been fighting mild acne for a while. My normal breakouts occur along my jawline, and the corner of my mouth when it's that time of the month. I was pretty resistant to birth control for a while, but finally caved in June and started taking the pill- Ortho Novum 1/35. This cleared up my skin immediately (I may have had 2 or 3 pimples at the time) and kept it clear for a few months. I started breaking out a little bit again in September. I should also mention that the kind of zits I get are fairly resistant to over the counter treatment. I gave myself about a month of using my OTC products, and when I did not see much of a difference, I decided to go to the derm (a little over 2 weeks ago). I was prescribed Benzaclin, Differin 0.3%, and doxycycline. The only difference I can tell so far is that it is definitely making my skin purge. Ugh. Recently I have been hearing more about spironolactone for acne, but I did not ask at my appointment if this would be a treatment option for me. I am interested to hear what kind of results you have with this medication. It may be worth it for me to ask my derm about it at my next appointment in December.

Lately I have been hearing more about PCOS, and can't help but wonder if I should have an ultrasound and bloodwork done to rule this out. My periods have become more regular since taking birth control, but I am wondering if the previously irregular periods combined with the acne flare-ups are indicative of some other underlying condition.

Congrats on training for your half marathon- I am training for a full marathon on November 13. I too have wondered if the excessive sweating could be causing my breakouts, but like you, I realized that I have plenty of runner friends who don't have acne. I don't know if you feel the same way, but sometimes I just hate running with other people because of the way my skin looks. I'm sure I am way harder on myself than others are, but it still makes me very self-conscious.

Anyway, keep updating with your progress- I would love to know how your treatment is working for you and would also love to hear about your half marathon results!

 

thanks for sharing your story and encouragement. wow, you're training for a FULL marathon?! that's amazing to me. is it your first? i have a friend who is running her first half marathon in alabama on the same day as yours.

 

i can definitely relate to not liking the way your skin looks while you run. i was talking about this with a friend recently. simply being in sunlight is uncomfortable to me, because it makes my acne & facial hair way more obvious & ghastly. sweat melting down my face through my makeup makes it even worse. it would be awesome to have clear enough skin that i felt comfortable running in the sun without makeup. maybe that day will come.

 

hmm it's interesting that we are in a similar situation. so did the dermatologist do ANY blood tests on you? i think it would be very unusual (and technically not allowed) for them to put you on BCP for acne without proof that your hormones were abnormal.

 

i also started off at the dermatologist, but i found that my primary care physician (the new, good one) approaches my hair & skin issues much more holistically than the dermatologist by focusing on the underlying cause(s) & possibly related ailments. i would definitely recommend getting those blood tests done - if you do have PCOS, then yaz, spiro, and metformin seem to be the best matches for it. but if you get good enough results from the BCP you're currently on, then that's great.

 

thanks for saying nice things about my pictures i DID have double makeup on, hehe. but i think you're right - it's not so bad right now. thanks for encouraging me

 

This will be my first full marathon. I have run half marathons before though. Is this your first?

The dermatologist did not do any blood tests when I went. My OB-GYN prescribed the birth control pills for me prior to my trip to the derm, but I did ask her to write the prescription. I had heard that BCPs help to clear the skin and thought I would give them a try. They seem to work well, but I went to my derm because I was just tired of getting breakouts every month at that time of the month- plus, the breakouts took forever to clear.

I think I will ask my derm about spironolactone at my next appointment if I haven't seen any type of improvement. She said with the treatment I am using I should see improvement in 6 weeks (my appointment was October 13). I think I am (hopefully) reaching the end of the horrible initial breakout phase, so I'm hoping to see some skin clearing within the next few weeks.

It has not been a fun 2 1/2 weeks and I am feeling more self-conscious than ever. I am definitely doubting my dermatologist even knows what she is talking about, but there is no point in quitting the medications now.

I think we are all definitely our own worst critics- I know that I am probably too hard on myself and that other people don't notice the breakouts, but I still can't help wanting to make sure my face is as hidden as possible when I'm in public. I wish I just didn't care, but unfortunately that's not the case. Hopefully we both will have clear skin soon.

Keep me updated on your progress- I would love to know how things work for you!

day 8

i ran today! it was great.

today begins week 2 of spiro & off-brand yaz. i found my last pack of name-brand yaz, which i never finished (even though i was supposed to). i left off right after week two. it's probably not advisable, but i'm thinking of finishing this second week of off-brand yaz and then picking back up on name-brand yaz starting next week to finish out that pack and get myself back on the real thing sooner. i don't see why it would matter much, since my pharmacist told me the off-brand is like 99.8% accurate (or something) to the real thing..

i swear i have a LITTLE bit of a life outside of acne, but last night i ended up on this girl's youtube channel, where she video-logged her struggle with acne, and i watched it. she tried about everything and was pretty upset that stuff wasn't working, but finally yaz completely cleared her up. i know there's a bunch of scary lawsuit warning stuff out there for yaz, but i really love the drug. it's great. i was so happy for her that i almost cried. it was very inspiring. you should watch all of her videos!

i have tried to insert the links below using the text editor's 'insert link' button, but those buttons never seem to work, so i doubt it will show up below:

1 -

2 -

my skin in improving little by little. i still don't think i've had any new cysts, lest pimples, at all since last sunday when i started spiro/off-brand yaz. that's crazy.

the bare escentuals did pretty well on me today. you can apparently use the loose powder foundation as concealer, which may be a normal practice of people who are more makeup-aware than i am, but i'd never done that before. i'm used to using liquid foundation as concealer, and it kinda feels like having paint scattered all over my face. going all day without any liquid foundation felt pretty good. it was a little less coverage than i'm used to on the pimples, since i usually try to cover them pretty strongly, but i think it was better for my skin and maybe even my mind to go a little lighter. also, my face was glowing quite a bit from the makeup.

my face still has the makeup on in the pictures below, but i took them right after i came back from running, so a lot of it had been washed away by sweat. my face is surprisingly far less oily than usual after running today..i attribute that to the spiro.

today's pics (maybe):

1 -

2 -

day 8

 

i ran today! it was great.

 

today begins week 2 of spiro & off-brand yaz. i found my last pack of name-brand yaz, which i never finished (even though i was supposed to). i left off right after week two. it's probably not advisable, but i'm thinking of finishing this second week of off-brand yaz and then picking back up on name-brand yaz starting next week to finish out that pack and get myself back on the real thing sooner. i don't see why it would matter much, since my pharmacist told me the off-brand is like 99.8% accurate (or something) to the real thing..

 

i swear i have a LITTLE bit of a life outside of acne, but last night i ended up on this girl's youtube channel, where she video-logged her struggle with acne, and i watched it. she tried about everything and was pretty upset that stuff wasn't working, but finally yaz completely cleared her up. i know there's a bunch of scary lawsuit warning stuff out there for yaz, but i really love the drug. it's great. i was so happy for her that i almost cried. it was very inspiring. you should watch all of her videos!

 

i have tried to insert the links below using the text editor's 'insert link' button, but those buttons never seem to work, so i doubt it will show up below:

 

1 -

 

2 -

 

my skin in improving little by little. i still don't think i've had any new cysts, lest pimples, at all since last sunday when i started spiro/off-brand yaz. that's crazy.

 

the bare escentuals did pretty well on me today. you can apparently use the loose powder foundation as concealer, which may be a normal practice of people who are more makeup-aware than i am, but i'd never done that before. i'm used to using liquid foundation as concealer, and it kinda feels like having paint scattered all over my face. going all day without any liquid foundation felt pretty good. it was a little less coverage than i'm used to on the pimples, since i usually try to cover them pretty strongly, but i think it was better for my skin and maybe even my mind to go a little lighter. also, my face was glowing quite a bit from the makeup.

 

my face still has the makeup on in the pictures below, but i took them right after i came back from running, so a lot of it had been washed away by sweat. my face is surprisingly far less oily than usual after running today..i attribute that to the spiro.

 

today's pics (maybe):

 

1 -

 

2 -

Just a quick update.....

I work in a medical center, and we have a hormone replacement therapist on staff. I spoke with her today about hormonal causes of my acne. She did order bloodwork to check my hormone levels. Of course, these values may be slightly skewed, since I am taking birth control pills. Instead of spironolactone, she suggested that I come off the birth control pills and try cyclic progesterone. She said that while birth control pills can help, if you are not using them for birth control reasons, the cyclic progesterone is a better choice. I did talk to her about PCOS, but she did not seem to think that was what was causing my breakouts nor did she think I should get an ultrasound for it.

I am a little hesitant to switch things up too much at this point- I don't want to wreak havoc on my hormones and end up with even more breakouts. I think I will call my dermatologist this week and see what she thinks about this.

As far as the actual condition of my skin, the blemishes that were on my jawline are gone, and the blemishes on my chin are healing- I now just have a few crusty spots where the pimples were. I am not breaking out with such vigor, and when I get a new pimple, it's considerably smaller- I hope I have not just jinxed myself!

I hope your treatment is going well, please keep me informed, and I will let you know more about cyclic progesterone therapy when I find out more about it.

if you feel the bcp are helping don't stop. it has other benefits other than acne and birth control...it also helps with periods :]

Amber,

At one point the bcp's were definitely helping, but about 2 1/2 months into using them, I started breaking out again (fairly mild). That's when I went to the derm because the zits I would get were pretty resistant to the treatment products I was using. Since the initial breakout, I can't tell if they are helping or not

I guess it would probably be best for me to just stay on them so I'm not making any changes to which my skin would have to adjust yet again- I think that may also be a problem- if I don't see the results I want immediately, I switch skincare products. That's really tempting right now because my skin is looking worse than it did before. As frustrated as I am, I guess I'm going to try to stick with this regimen for the full 8-12 weeks before ditching it.

day 23

hello!

my computer had a meltdown, and i was laptopless (!) for like two weeks, which prevented me from posting. the good news is that the old laptop burned me, which made lenovo treat me very well (to prevent a lawsuit), and they mailed me a free, new, nicer laptop today! yay!

i ran my half marathon! ran the whole thing. beat my goal time by a lot. felt great doing it. seeing physical therapist tomorrow for joint pains (i've had 'em for awhile, but i thought i'd just wait til after the race to start working on them). i'll resume exercise after talking with doctor tomorrow.

had some sort of physical meltdown 1-2 hours after the race. maybe mixture of shock, hypothermia (was freezing that morning), and i'm suspecting high potassium due to spiro/yaz. i read after the race that runners on spiro should drink 15-20 glasses of water before race day versus a normal person's 8 glasses. i didn't even drink 8 glasses. also, i accidentally drank the sports drinks at a few of the water stops during the race without remembering that those are usually chock-full of potassium..!

i scheduled bloodwork this friday (will be the end of first month on these pills) to check potassium and maybe some hormone levels too. i'm so unmotivated to get blood drawn cuz even the "best" phlebotomists have a hard time getting blood out of me. it's prolonged, painful, and usually too early in the morning for me. they told me this one needs to be fasting too, so that makes it even worse. i get weird without food (and coffee!)

okayyyy so acne update! mm i think it's actually about the same as it was last time i updated! so i guess it doesn't matter that i went so long without updating. have had maybe 1-2 cysts come and almost go since then, but it's an improvement still from before spiro/yaz. have also had random new pimples, but nothing's too bad. no improvement in regards to hair yet, as expected.

bare minerals is working well i think. they've been super nice to me. i called on two separate occassions to complain about the shades of two separate items they sent me, and they offered to replace both free of charge with the shade of my choice in larger size. the new shades are much nicer, and i have not had any skin irritation. have been supplementing coverage with liquid foundation though to help hide pimples more thoroughly. hopefully i can stop doing that when acne clears up more.

skin has not been nearly as oily since starting spiro/yaz. not oily at all really (i was very oily before). it's kinda dry right now, but that's kinda normal for my face at this time of year.

mood has been struggling - i have had a lot of stress and anxiety. mostly at work, but a little at home too. i have had a lot more stressors these past two months, but the physical response to the stress that i feel in my body is something i'm attributing to the spiro/yaz. i had a similar feeling during the third week of the first time i tried yaz. i've had it on and off so far for the whole time i've been on spiro/yaz, but i'm hoping it will go away soon like it did just on yaz last year.

mm i think i had a couple other things to say, but i have forgotten them. thanks for the posts while i was gone. AAV9186 - i have wondered to myself if ppl ever use non-BCP hormones to treat acne. i'd never actually heard of it before. seems like it would be more efficient maybe? are you actually proceeding with that? i'd like to hear about how it works.

day 23

 

hello!

 

my computer had a meltdown, and i was laptopless (!) for like two weeks, which prevented me from posting. the good news is that the old laptop burned me, which made lenovo treat me very well (to prevent a lawsuit), and they mailed me a free, new, nicer laptop today! yay!

 

i ran my half marathon! ran the whole thing. beat my goal time by a lot. felt great doing it. seeing physical therapist tomorrow for joint pains (i've had 'em for awhile, but i thought i'd just wait til after the race to start working on them). i'll resume exercise after talking with doctor tomorrow.

 

had some sort of physical meltdown 1-2 hours after the race. maybe mixture of shock, hypothermia (was freezing that morning), and i'm suspecting high potassium due to spiro/yaz. i read after the race that runners on spiro should drink 15-20 glasses of water before race day versus a normal person's 8 glasses. i didn't even drink 8 glasses. also, i accidentally drank the sports drinks at a few of the water stops during the race without remembering that those are usually chock-full of potassium..!

 

i scheduled bloodwork this friday (will be the end of first month on these pills) to check potassium and maybe some hormone levels too. i'm so unmotivated to get blood drawn cuz even the "best" phlebotomists have a hard time getting blood out of me. it's prolonged, painful, and usually too early in the morning for me. they told me this one needs to be fasting too, so that makes it even worse. i get weird without food (and coffee!)

 

okayyyy so acne update! mm i think it's actually about the same as it was last time i updated! so i guess it doesn't matter that i went so long without updating. have had maybe 1-2 cysts come and almost go since then, but it's an improvement still from before spiro/yaz. have also had random new pimples, but nothing's too bad. no improvement in regards to hair yet, as expected.

 

bare minerals is working well i think. they've been super nice to me. i called on two separate occassions to complain about the shades of two separate items they sent me, and they offered to replace both free of charge with the shade of my choice in larger size. the new shades are much nicer, and i have not had any skin irritation. have been supplementing coverage with liquid foundation though to help hide pimples more thoroughly. hopefully i can stop doing that when acne clears up more.

 

skin has not been nearly as oily since starting spiro/yaz. not oily at all really (i was very oily before). it's kinda dry right now, but that's kinda normal for my face at this time of year.

 

mood has been struggling - i have had a lot of stress and anxiety. mostly at work, but a little at home too. i have had a lot more stressors these past two months, but the physical response to the stress that i feel in my body is something i'm attributing to the spiro/yaz. i had a similar feeling during the third week of the first time i tried yaz. i've had it on and off so far for the whole time i've been on spiro/yaz, but i'm hoping it will go away soon like it did just on yaz last year.

 

mm i think i had a couple other things to say, but i have forgotten them. thanks for the posts while i was gone. AAV9186 - i have wondered to myself if ppl ever use non-BCP hormones to treat acne. i'd never actually heard of it before. seems like it would be more efficient maybe? are you actually proceeding with that? i'd like to hear about how it works.

I haven't started the cyclic progesterone treatment yet. I am still waiting on the results of my bloodwork to come back. The hormone replacement therapist explained to me that sometimes the synthetic progestin compounds in bcp's are actually what cause acne in the first place. The treatment that she suggested for me was cyclic progesterone, which is a bio-identical hormone to the progesterone that we make naturally. I am a little hesitant to to try it only because I don't think I could deal with it if by chance it made my skin get worse.

I haven't really had much change in my skin, either. It is not breaking out as bad, but I'm still getting 1-2 new pimples every few days. Ugh. I'm getting pretty frustrated that I have not seen any results, but I guess like everyone says, it really does take up to 12 weeks to notice any change. I hate holding my breath every day wondering how my skin is going to look or what it is going to do.

Congrats on your half marathon! I am glad to hear that it went well. I finished my full marathon, and I can definitely relate to the pain you are feeling in your joints and muscles!

Keep me updated on your progress- I will let you know more about the cyclic progesterone therapy after I talk with the hormone replacement therapist.

day 24

wow! congrats on your marathon! that is such an accomplishment! 13.1 felt like a bunch to me..can't imagine doing it twice back to back..! i am thinking of trying a duathlon next (short course, then maybe long?), then maybe a triathlon. saw PT today, and he told me that continuing running/exercise will not interfere with healing the joint/muscle issues i have through PT..however, PT's expensive if you go as often as they suggest! dunno if i can afford all this..

anyway, felt pretty good today. not stressed. kinda tired from <6 hrs sleep last night (), but felt good. maybe low on energy, because i didn't do anything active when i got home, and i ate junk food instead of cooking. i need to meal-plan again. helps me eat right, which helps me exercise.

skin's still not struggling too much with pimples..the ones i have right now are around my chin and jawline. most of them are actually tweezing-related (actually ingrown hairs or something that are resembling pimples). sooo i feel that on day 24, i can say that the pills have made a difference by diminishing the amount of pimples i'm getting, especially cystic ones. what's funny is that i noticed that difference after only a few days! remember i thought it was too soon to actually be seeing results? i thought it was a fluke that the acne was slowing down so soon and that it would return to a normal level before slowing down for real. maybe it's still too early, but there has not been pickup at all since the acne slowed down right when i started the pills...yay!

my face-skin is super flaky right now. my PT was cute and single, and i was embarrassed about my dry face-skin in front of him, hehe. i think this is seasonal for me. i need to exfoliate, but i hope i'm not too harsh on my skin when i do it. left the apricot-scrub that i like in another city, and i'm too cheap to replace it (i have an irrational feeling that i will somehow get it back, along with my phone charger), so i have to be creative in regards to exfoliation right now.

no improvement in excess hair. might even venture to say it is worse on my face.. however, it may have thinned out on my arms over the course of using those other BCP's, because it seems to have grown out again fully (i waxed it a few months ago), and it looks pretty normal. the only part that doesn't look normal is on my upper arms, where the hair's not supposed to be dark and long, but it still is, so i waxed it off! i used to have some dark hairs under my belly button too, but they seem to be gone. i hated those BCP's, but maybe they did help a little with body hair, although i cannot say the same for facial hair

okies, i think i will shower, play with cats, and meal-plan before i go to bed. although, i'm betting i will only actually accomplish 2 out of those 3. byees

day 24

 

wow! congrats on your marathon! that is such an accomplishment! 13.1 felt like a bunch to me..can't imagine doing it twice back to back..! i am thinking of trying a duathlon next (short course, then maybe long?), then maybe a triathlon. saw PT today, and he told me that continuing running/exercise will not interfere with healing the joint/muscle issues i have through PT..however, PT's expensive if you go as often as they suggest! dunno if i can afford all this..

 

anyway, felt pretty good today. not stressed. kinda tired from <6 hrs sleep last night (), but felt good. maybe low on energy, because i didn't do anything active when i got home, and i ate junk food instead of cooking. i need to meal-plan again. helps me eat right, which helps me exercise.

 

skin's still not struggling too much with pimples..the ones i have right now are around my chin and jawline. most of them are actually tweezing-related (actually ingrown hairs or something that are resembling pimples). sooo i feel that on day 24, i can say that the pills have made a difference by diminishing the amount of pimples i'm getting, especially cystic ones. what's funny is that i noticed that difference after only a few days! remember i thought it was too soon to actually be seeing results? i thought it was a fluke that the acne was slowing down so soon and that it would return to a normal level before slowing down for real. maybe it's still too early, but there has not been pickup at all since the acne slowed down right when i started the pills...yay!

 

my face-skin is super flaky right now. my PT was cute and single, and i was embarrassed about my dry face-skin in front of him, hehe. i think this is seasonal for me. i need to exfoliate, but i hope i'm not too harsh on my skin when i do it. left the apricot-scrub that i like in another city, and i'm too cheap to replace it (i have an irrational feeling that i will somehow get it back, along with my phone charger), so i have to be creative in regards to exfoliation right now.

 

no improvement in excess hair. might even venture to say it is worse on my face.. however, it may have thinned out on my arms over the course of using those other BCP's, because it seems to have grown out again fully (i waxed it a few months ago), and it looks pretty normal. the only part that doesn't look normal is on my upper arms, where the hair's not supposed to be dark and long, but it still is, so i waxed it off! i used to have some dark hairs under my belly button too, but they seem to be gone. i hated those BCP's, but maybe they did help a little with body hair, although i cannot say the same for facial hair

 

okies, i think i will shower, play with cats, and meal-plan before i go to bed. although, i'm betting i will only actually accomplish 2 out of those 3. byees

I'm glad to hear that the spironolactone is working for you! I have decided to go ahead with the progesterone therapy. I got my lab results back today, and all of my hormone levels were extremely low, especially the estrogen. Numerically, it was an 8 when it should have been somewhere around 150. The hormone replacement therapist explained why natural progesterone is more beneficial than birth control pills in treating acne. The synthetic progestin in bcp's can actually cause acne, while the progesterone that we make naturally combats it. Also, estrogen is synthesized from natural progesterone. She seems to think that this will help not only with acne, but also with my moodiness (especially mid-cycle) and sleep disturbances. I mentioned in an earlier post that it was a cyclic course of progesterone; the hormone replacement therapist wants me to take it daily to begin with because my estrogen levels were so low.

My appointment with the dermatologist is in 2 weeks- I am anxious to hear what she will say when I go for my visit. I think my skin has recovered from the horrible initial breakout, but like I said before, I'm still getting a new pimple or two every few days. I also have a nasty one left over from last week (which was the week that I was on my period)- however, I think the progesterone is supposed to help with pimples that arise during that time of the month as well.

Are you giving yourself a few days of recovery after the half marathon? I am not running this week and doing yoga and cross-training instead. I know I'll be getting the itch to go for a run soon though!

I will keep you updated on this progesterone therapy- I hope it works!

I'm glad to hear that the spironolactone is working for you! I have decided to go ahead with the progesterone therapy. I got my lab results back today, and all of my hormone levels were extremely low, especially the estrogen. Numerically, it was an 8 when it should have been somewhere around 150. The hormone replacement therapist explained why natural progesterone is more beneficial than birth control pills in treating acne. The synthetic progestin in bcp's can actually cause acne, while the progesterone that we make naturally combats it. Also, estrogen is synthesized from natural progesterone. She seems to think that this will help not only with acne, but also with my moodiness (especially mid-cycle) and sleep disturbances. I mentioned in an earlier post that it was a cyclic course of progesterone; the hormone replacement therapist wants me to take it daily to begin with because my estrogen levels were so low.

My appointment with the dermatologist is in 2 weeks- I am anxious to hear what she will say when I go for my visit. I think my skin has recovered from the horrible initial breakout, but like I said before, I'm still getting a new pimple or two every few days. I also have a nasty one left over from last week (which was the week that I was on my period)- however, I think the progesterone is supposed to help with pimples that arise during that time of the month as well.

Are you giving yourself a few days of recovery after the half marathon? I am not running this week and doing yoga and cross-training instead. I know I'll be getting the itch to go for a run soon though!

I will keep you updated on this progesterone therapy- I hope it works!

yes, please keep me posted on that - it sounds like a more direct way of treating the problem. that's interesting to hear that all your hormone levels were low too. how does this happen?! my doctor thinks i am have a low desmolase enyzme level (just a hypothesis). that's associated with NCAH when it's severe..but maybe mild deficiencies just cause a mild form of NCAH (which is relatively mild when compared to CAH).

day 25

started off-brand yaz (gianvi) placebo pills today. actually, i don't even take them. maybe i would for the routine's sake if i were actually also using it for birth control purposes, but i am not.

noo big changes in skin or hair today. nothing to report.

ate better today - cooked a nice dinner and such. but still didn't get around to exercising - i am feeling directionless with the completed goal of half marathon behind me. i am really interested in doing a duathlon next (run-bike-run), but i'm kind of in revving-up mode, making sure i really can and want to. found a good training plan today..think i may start that soon and be exercising regularly again. i believe i have given myself TOO much rest since the race (11.7). it's been 10 days, and i have only exercised once since then (light recumbent biking and walking). sooo it's time to resume!

that stress/anxiety thing has lessened quite a bit since last week when i felt it the most. that's funny..it was the third week again, just like the first time it happened to me on yaz. maybe feeling anxious is just normal adjustment stuff for me in the third week?

alright..not much to ramble about tonight. bye!

I'm glad to hear that the spironolactone is working for you! I have decided to go ahead with the progesterone therapy. I got my lab results back today, and all of my hormone levels were extremely low, especially the estrogen. Numerically, it was an 8 when it should have been somewhere around 150. The hormone replacement therapist explained why natural progesterone is more beneficial than birth control pills in treating acne. The synthetic progestin in bcp's can actually cause acne, while the progesterone that we make naturally combats it. Also, estrogen is synthesized from natural progesterone. She seems to think that this will help not only with acne, but also with my moodiness (especially mid-cycle) and sleep disturbances. I mentioned in an earlier post that it was a cyclic course of progesterone; the hormone replacement therapist wants me to take it daily to begin with because my estrogen levels were so low.

My appointment with the dermatologist is in 2 weeks- I am anxious to hear what she will say when I go for my visit. I think my skin has recovered from the horrible initial breakout, but like I said before, I'm still getting a new pimple or two every few days. I also have a nasty one left over from last week (which was the week that I was on my period)- however, I think the progesterone is supposed to help with pimples that arise during that time of the month as well.

Are you giving yourself a few days of recovery after the half marathon? I am not running this week and doing yoga and cross-training instead. I know I'll be getting the itch to go for a run soon though!

I will keep you updated on this progesterone therapy- I hope it works!

 

yes, please keep me posted on that - it sounds like a more direct way of treating the problem. that's interesting to hear that all your hormone levels were low too. how does this happen?! my doctor thinks i am have a low desmolase enyzme level (just a hypothesis). that's associated with NCAH when it's severe..but maybe mild deficiencies just cause a mild form of NCAH (which is relatively mild when compared to CAH).

 

day 25

 

started off-brand yaz (gianvi) placebo pills today. actually, i don't even take them. maybe i would for the routine's sake if i were actually also using it for birth control purposes, but i am not.

 

noo big changes in skin or hair today. nothing to report.

 

ate better today - cooked a nice dinner and such. but still didn't get around to exercising - i am feeling directionless with the completed goal of half marathon behind me. i am really interested in doing a duathlon next (run-bike-run), but i'm kind of in revving-up mode, making sure i really can and want to. found a good training plan today..think i may start that soon and be exercising regularly again. i believe i have given myself TOO much rest since the race (11.7). it's been 10 days, and i have only exercised once since then (light recumbent biking and walking). sooo it's time to resume!

 

that stress/anxiety thing has lessened quite a bit since last week when i felt it the most. that's funny..it was the third week again, just like the first time it happened to me on yaz. maybe feeling anxious is just normal adjustment stuff for me in the third week?

 

alright..not much to ramble about tonight. bye!

 

I am starting PA school in May, and I was doing some research in some of my old textbooks from A/P and Pathophysiology (knew they would come in handy one of these days!) regarding fluctuating hormone levels in females...in a lot of cases, exercise can actually decrease estrogen levels. It will not necessarily cause testosterone (the hormone responsible for acne) to rise, but in relation to estrogens, testosterone will seem high. This could be the problem in both of our situations since we both were recently training for long distance races- just a theory.

Anyway, I know what you mean about not having any direction since your race! I was following a pretty strict training plan for 16 weeks up until my marathon- I am not sure whether I am going to miss my early Saturday morning long runs or if I should just relish in being able to sleep late! I think my next event will be a half marathon in February. I may even go for another full marathon in April! I have definitely enjoyed several days off from running since the race, but I'm getting the itch to run again. I think I will probably hold out as long as I can just to prevent injury.

I am a little nervous about this progesterone therapy because I am terrified that if I make any changes my skin will get worse. I am willing to give it a try though, since everything else just seems to treat the symptoms and not the underlying process. Anyway, progesterone therapy is all about achieving hormonal balance- so maybe once I reach that, some of my issues will be cleared up!

Will keep you posted, hope you have a good rest of the week!

hmmm that's interesting about exercise lowering estrogen levels! that kinda sucks too. it seems like it doesn't affect most women though, or all female athletes would have acne, and i meet so many who have perfect skin. maybe some women have lower levels to begin with and exercising just makes it too low.

day 26

not much to report. still is still pretty clear, mostly just have a few healing pimples and lingering red marks from old ones. it's still very dry and flaky too. haven't gotten around to that exfoliation, hehe.

mood-wise, i was fine for most of the day, except for right after i got to work for a couple hours. i was working 12-8 instead of the normal 830, and i walked into a bunch of busyness. i am off tomorrow and only had a little time to accomplish a lot of work today..which proved to be impossible. i guess i let it go at some point though, realizing that the world would not fall apart, and i would just work to catch up next week. then my mood got better.

i am still dreading those fasting blood tests tomorrow morning :'( i had to move them even earlier into the morning, because i have another appointment that was conflicting..so i am leaving my house, starving and without caffeine at 7 am tomorrow to arrive at 7:30 and be tortured by phlebotomists who jostle needles in my arms for up to 20 minutes because the blood will not flow. :'(

i looked at my arm hair again today heheh unless it hasn't finished fully growing out yet, i think i can say that it looks even better than it did in jan 2008, when i had some problems, but they hadn't begun escalating yet (like they did when the cystic acne started later that summer). that seems pretty good to me. could be all in my head though.

okay that's all! bye!

hmmm that's interesting about exercise lowering estrogen levels! that kinda sucks too. it seems like it doesn't affect most women though, or all female athletes would have acne, and i meet so many who have perfect skin. maybe some women have lower levels to begin with and exercising just makes it too low.

 

day 26

 

not much to report. still is still pretty clear, mostly just have a few healing pimples and lingering red marks from old ones. it's still very dry and flaky too. haven't gotten around to that exfoliation, hehe.

 

mood-wise, i was fine for most of the day, except for right after i got to work for a couple hours. i was working 12-8 instead of the normal 830, and i walked into a bunch of busyness. i am off tomorrow and only had a little time to accomplish a lot of work today..which proved to be impossible. i guess i let it go at some point though, realizing that the world would not fall apart, and i would just work to catch up next week. then my mood got better.

 

i am still dreading those fasting blood tests tomorrow morning :'( i had to move them even earlier into the morning, because i have another appointment that was conflicting..so i am leaving my house, starving and without caffeine at 7 am tomorrow to arrive at 7:30 and be tortured by phlebotomists who jostle needles in my arms for up to 20 minutes because the blood will not flow. :'(

 

i looked at my arm hair again today heheh unless it hasn't finished fully growing out yet, i think i can say that it looks even better than it did in jan 2008, when i had some problems, but they hadn't begun escalating yet (like they did when the cystic acne started later that summer). that seems pretty good to me. could be all in my head though.

 

okay that's all! bye! 😀

thi

I know what you mean. It does seem that if that were the case, more female athletes/runners would have acne. Most of the female athletes and runners I know do not suffer this problem. I'm not sure why this happens either- like you said, it could be because some females have lower estrogen levels to begin with, or maybe due to a higher sensitivity to changing hormone levels.

day 28

today is the last day of my first full cycle of off-brand yaz! somehow i still have one day of spiro left...don't know why only 29 come in a bottle.

went to refill both rx's today, and i found out that since yaz has a generic now, i would be charged $35 instead of the $20 i used to pay before the generic were around. i only pay $10 for the generic (until my copays possibly increase in january), so a $25/mo increase did not seem worth it at this point. i did not experience any significant problems during this first month of gianvi, except for the anxiety, but i also experienced that on name-brand yaz. so for now, i will continue with gianvi.

these pharmacists ALSO gave me a hard time about taking spiro and yaz together. one of them didn't seem fully knowledgeable though, because she kept saying that taking yaz is the equivalent of taking 23 mg of spiro..and i kept agreeing and saying that it wasn't enough, so that's why i was taking 100 mg spiro on top of it. i DID get my blood tests done (surprisingly easily) yesterday, so i promised her my potassium levels are being monitored, and i will stop taking them together if it proves to be dangerous. i expect to get my blood test results sometime next week.

acne is still much better. skin is even looking 'good' now - like i feel proud of the way most of my face looks, except for the few marks & little pimples around my chin and mouth. no improvement to facial hair.

mood is good, energy is about a 7.5 out of 10. mm can't think of anything else to report on. can't believe it's only been a month so far though. this past month has been a long one! i hope to see more improvement in my skin this next month, as well as the anxiety symptoms remaining absent. still seems to early to hope for improvement in hair, but you never know!

day 31

mm slight downward progression a few new, inflamed pimples on the left side of my face along my jawline. it's either from the four days of placebo pills that would've corresponded with the period i didn't have (days 25-28) or from my pillowcase hehe. oh OR it could be from resuming exercise & sweating!

not too bothered by it. anxious to hear back from doctor concerning results of bloodwork - maybe i should call them tomorrow. sometimes they forget about me my vision's been kinda weird - i injured my head a couple yrs ago (), which makes one of my eyes get blurred vision under stress or fatigue. i wasn't really feeling either of those today though..maybe it's the potassium! heheh i'm such a hypochonriac - i just don't wanna miss anything though!

energy's been weird - i have felt like crap the past couple mornings and called out sick both yesterday and half of today. i did have a couple late nights over the weekend (not drinking or anything..just up late), but i thought i'd made up for with extra sleep. maybe it's the potassium!! heheh

okay, speaking of staying up late, i better go to sleep! i have to get up early again for PT, then drive for hours to see family for thanksgiving, remain in family-mode for almost 48 hrs, and drive back friday morning to work at 11 am. (please help me, God )

day 31

 

mm slight downward progression a few new, inflamed pimples on the left side of my face along my jawline. it's either from the four days of placebo pills that would've corresponded with the period i didn't have (days 25-28) or from my pillowcase hehe. oh OR it could be from resuming exercise & sweating!

 

not too bothered by it. anxious to hear back from doctor concerning results of bloodwork - maybe i should call them tomorrow. sometimes they forget about me my vision's been kinda weird - i injured my head a couple yrs ago (), which makes one of my eyes get blurred vision under stress or fatigue. i wasn't really feeling either of those today though..maybe it's the potassium! heheh i'm such a hypochonriac - i just don't wanna miss anything though!

 

energy's been weird - i have felt like crap the past couple mornings and called out sick both yesterday and half of today. i did have a couple late nights over the weekend (not drinking or anything..just up late), but i thought i'd made up for with extra sleep. maybe it's the potassium!! heheh

 

okay, speaking of staying up late, i better go to sleep! i have to get up early again for PT, then drive for hours to see family for thanksgiving, remain in family-mode for almost 48 hrs, and drive back friday morning to work at 11 am. (please help me, God )

At the advice of my mom, I have decided not to proceed with the progesterone therapy at this time. She, along with everyone else, seems to think that consistency is best and that I should just stick with the birth control pills. I am going to give the bcp's another few cycles, and if I still don't notice any improvement, I am going to try the progesterone therapy.

Last week my skin was actually pretty clear- so clear in fact that I went several days without makeup! No leftover red marks, and no new pimples either. Of course that was short lived, as this week I have three nasty new unwelcome visitors on my face.

I am going to the dermatologist on Wednesday for my second appointment. At this point, I don't really feel like any progress has been made with my skin- the only difference I noticed was the initial breakout, which was definitely not a good difference. I feel like my skin is just back to where it was before I started treatment. I have noticed that my skin has been relatively clear in it's normal breakout zones (along right jawline and chin) since the initial breakout. I now just have three spots in random places. I am interested to see what the dermatologist will say, but mostly, I am just sick and tired of dealing with breakouts.

day 31

 

mm slight downward progression a few new, inflamed pimples on the left side of my face along my jawline. it's either from the four days of placebo pills that would've corresponded with the period i didn't have (days 25-28) or from my pillowcase hehe. oh OR it could be from resuming exercise & sweating!

 

not too bothered by it. anxious to hear back from doctor concerning results of bloodwork - maybe i should call them tomorrow. sometimes they forget about me my vision's been kinda weird - i injured my head a couple yrs ago (), which makes one of my eyes get blurred vision under stress or fatigue. i wasn't really feeling either of those today though..maybe it's the potassium! heheh i'm such a hypochonriac - i just don't wanna miss anything though!

 

energy's been weird - i have felt like crap the past couple mornings and called out sick both yesterday and half of today. i did have a couple late nights over the weekend (not drinking or anything..just up late), but i thought i'd made up for with extra sleep. maybe it's the potassium!! heheh

 

okay, speaking of staying up late, i better go to sleep! i have to get up early again for PT, then drive for hours to see family for thanksgiving, remain in family-mode for almost 48 hrs, and drive back friday morning to work at 11 am. (please help me, God )

 

At the advice of my mom, I have decided not to proceed with the progesterone therapy at this time. She, along with everyone else, seems to think that consistency is best and that I should just stick with the birth control pills. I am going to give the bcp's another few cycles, and if I still don't notice any improvement, I am going to try the progesterone therapy.

 

Last week my skin was actually pretty clear- so clear in fact that I went several days without makeup! No leftover red marks, and no new pimples either. Of course that was short lived, as this week I have three nasty new unwelcome visitors on my face.

 

I am going to the dermatologist on Wednesday for my second appointment. At this point, I don't really feel like any progress has been made with my skin- the only difference I noticed was the initial breakout, which was definitely not a good difference. I feel like my skin is just back to where it was before I started treatment. I have noticed that my skin has been relatively clear in it's normal breakout zones (along right jawline and chin) since the initial breakout. I now just have three spots in random places. I am interested to see what the dermatologist will say, but mostly, I am just sick and tired of dealing with breakouts.

 

I went to the dermatologist this morning, and she definitely agreed that after nearly 8 weeks of treatment, there has been no improvement in my skin. She switched my topical medication from differin to tazorac, and she gave me a prescription for spironolactone. 75mg/day. I think spiro is going to help, and I hope I see results as quickly as you did. I will keep you updated!