awlrightie i really do not know what took me so long to take the time to update.

so i went to the dermatologist last monday. it has been a week and 3 days.

so here's what i wrote in fran's forum the other day:



I had my first appointment with a dermatologist and she prescribed me to Duac (clindamycin 1%, benzoyl peroxide, 5%) and Differin Gel 0.3% (adapalene).

This is my 5th day of continued use of duac in the morning and differin at night, and despite some slight uncomfort, my acne has actually improved; most of the inflamed acne are now scabs.

My question is this: is this combination of medications (differin 0.3 & duac) too strong for mildly moderate acne?

I saw my dermatologist when my skin was in a temporarily horrible condition, and my skin was never always quite that bad. I'm worried that she prescribed me to an extra-strong medication regimen that corresponded with the abnormal severity of my acne during that appointment, and didn't really consider the normally mildly moderate acne I usually have. I'm fine with continuing with the medication, but I'm a bit concerned that the overpowering strength will cause a breakout later on or cause my skin to be too dependent on the powerful treatments.

Also, after a few months of use, should I gradually start to decrease the dosage and discontinue use within a few months/years? I'm skeptical that these medications are going to start to lose effectivity if I use them for a prolonged time.

I'm confused about how to approach my skin after I have been prescribed to conventional medications... If I am concerned with holistic treatments, will using the medications in conjunction with natural treatments do me any good in terms of getting to the core of my acne problem? I had been a faithful believer of Fran's natural treatments, but after tried them for myself with no improvement, I figured I still needed that little help from conventional products. Now that I'm on a full conventional treatment regimen, it has left me little room to stick to some natural approaches to acne. I still would like to go back to natural treatments completely, knowing that the natural approach will keep my skin clear and healthy!!!


so all in all, the medications have really dried up my acne. i still have more than i want but i have seen great improvements, considering that ive only used this for a week and a half. kinda scares me though... i was worried that they were too strong for me but i've decided to give them a few months before i see the dermatologist and find some adjustments to the regimen.

i'm currently dealing with reaaally dry skin. my cheeks feel like the skin of some kind of amphibian! D:

soooo.

today was just disgusting.

anyway
i'm about to go to the dermatologist.
hope this works out; fingers crossed.

i'll have to tell her:
allergy testing: esp yogurt/honey
concern about candida overgrowth
went on proactiv for over a year
trying natural treatments & maintaining a healthy diet
possible side effects concerning the medication?
how soon might i see results?

oh
my.

what is this!
what have i done to deserve this!
this is utterly ridiculous.

what
the fuck

wow
i dont think my skin has ever been this terrible. my right cheek is like seriously inhabited with pimples. oh my gosh. i've never had a breakout this horrible before... i feel like hibernating. alas, tomorrow is an appointment so at least that'll be good? but boy do i feel depressed. i have an essay that i've been working on for the entire day but i can't finish it because i feel so down. rahhhhhhhhhhh! i really really really dont want to go to school tomorrow. i think this might be the yogurt. maybe. i'll definately be asking tomorrow.

fuck i feel like shittt

so if i'm gonna get anything out of monday's appointment, i'd better think of questions

dear dermatologist,
i've had acne for around three years and i had been using proactiv for a little over a year. i stopped using it a few months ago and have now began to use a more holistic approach. although i still do use the proactiv lotion sometimes, i started to use more natural treatments. i use a gentle cleanser, an organic aloe vera toner, and green clay spot treatment. i've also looked over the foods i eat and reduced the amount of high GI foods and dairy and also added more vegtables and fruits to my diet. i try to be healthy and rarely eat any candy or sweets. everyday i take a flax seed soft gel. i have actually started to see improvement in my overall skin health, but not exactly improvement of acne. i'm not quite sure why but it might be the yogurt that i had not eaten for a week. although my priority is to clear my skin, i'm worried about running the risk of developing a candida overgrowth that might trigger a breakout later on. i think the cause is hormonal, but i want to get an allergy testing to see if anything i'm eating is aggravating my acne, like wheat, soy, dairy, etc.

yayyy i went to whole fooooods :DDD i LOVE that place. excpet their products are expensive because everything is organic.

agave nectar
low fat yogurt
whole grain crackers
flax seed granola
frozen berries
cacao nibs

i'm starting to get really skeptical about yogurt... i haven't had yogurt for about a week, and my skin has become very healthy over the course of this period of time. i really hope its not the yogurt because i absolutely adore yogurt! i'm gonna have to ask my dermatologist about it. in the meantime i'll try yogurt for a few days and see how that affects my acne. i'm kinda bummed that i only have three days to test this... as soon as i go to the dermatologist i'll probably be prescribed to some medication and i wouldn't be able to tell if the results are comming from that or the yogurt.

yesterday i realized how much my overall skin condition has improved. unfortunately this improvement has not been of my acne though. :[ the regions that i don't have bumps are extreeeemely smooth like it never had been before. not quite sure what caused this. probably a mixture of things that i'd been doing hopefully!

i made an appointment with a dermatologist! it's next mondayyy.

but here's the problem. i think i've started to get acne under control. not that it looks any different, but i feel like it's died down considerably. the clay has actually been working quite well as a spot treatment.

i'm not sure if my skin is going to get better and stay that way... i'm hoping so but still skeptical. i guess i'll honestly tell my dermatologist that my skin is improving but i need advice and that i'm not really opting for a large dose of a strong antibacterial or acctuane or something of that sort. i'll ask her if my routine is good or not. so mainly i want to ask her for advice on how i should approach skin care. i hope she won't look at me and be like why are you here? :[

i've decided to consult a dermatologist. this is ridiculous. why should this be a hinderance that keeps me from getting the best of life?

i'm really glad i made this decision because i originally was going to test out the clay and the moisturizer before seeing a dermatologist. they might work, they might not. i don't know but i feel it's time to get professional advice. especially when this is concerning my social life.

i just realized how terrible the past few weeks had been for my skin. i was stressed, had a lot of refined sugars for two days straight, and also was in the leading days to my monthly. these are the three biggest things that could cause irritation. now all of these are mostly gone; i have significantly less stress, no candy at all, and my monthly has now ended. i can't help but think that this was the reason why the clay seemed like it wasn't working. ah well. i've decided to see a dermatologist and boy do i have a mountain of questions to be answered...

i'm very very frustrated with acne right now. i feel like it has worsened because the period of bad food consumption happened right before my period. i also think the absence of my mom and my brother is really giving me stress. i feel very stressed with my dad too... they're comming back in a few days so i think if i go back to my regular daily routine i might be less stressed. it's not that i feel really really stressed, but i think it actually is the major source of "stress" right now, even if it doesn't feel like it should be.
i'm also considering a dermatologist appointment. but maybe i should give natural treatments more time to work with my skin before i decide that natural treatments itself can't clear my acne. my gosh i am so confused.

oh man my skin is looking horribleeeeeeeee.
it's prolly all the candy and stuff i had for two days straight. rahhhh!