Hi Friends,
Time for another Thoughtful Thursday post - they've been getting personal lately which has been very different for me, but I'm enjoying it! Today I want to write about another pain in the bum: acne. I want to talk about my story, how I helped my skin and what I use now!
So first off, my experience with Acne! I had the occasional blemish when I was a teenager but that didn't bother me too much, it was when I turned about 17 and they wouldn't stop that I started getting frustrated. I was getting frustrated because it wasn't like I wasn't trying. I'd bought everything Clinique could possibly offer and spent all my pocket money on skincare - I was trying! I went to the doctor a few times and said that I was upset about my skin and was given different tablets and creams to help, which never worked. You name the pill/gel/cream/cleanser - I've tried it. I NEVER went out without make up, I could not let people seeing my bare face. Where's the airbrushing? I need a filter. Eventually, I went to a dermatologist in London. I had to go to her anyway for a skin cancer check but after that I also spoke to her about my acne. She said that before trying Roaccutane I had to try every other tablet under the sun, just in case something worked, as it needed to be a last resort. These actually made my skin WORSE - they were so strong and did not react well with my skin, which made me feel terrible. Finally, the day came when the doctor decided that I had tried ENOUGH - it was time!
Roaccutane is meant to suppress the oil produced by glands in your skin - I THINK. It's meant to reduce the size of the glands and the inflammation you get with acne. There are about a million side effects which actually need to be taken really seriously. These are: joint pain, back pain, feeling dizzy, drowsy or nervous, dryness of skin, lips, mouth, nose and cracking/peeling of skin. I was told that I must come back to the doctors once a month to take a pregnancy test and that if I was to be pregnant that I cannot have the baby, this is because babies can sometimes have deformities if the mother has been taking Roaccutane during pregnancy. I was also told to keep a very close check on my mood as taking this drug has occasionally been linked to suicide/poor mental health. These are CLEARLY not things to be taken lightly. But this was supposedly my miracle cure for my skin, I wasn't planning on having a baby and I was highly aware of the side effects. To be honest, I think I was very lucky. I had dry lips for a couple of months but I just bought a million tubs of lip balm to help me through it! Apart from that my skin cleared up extremely quickly and I saw no other side effects.
It has been over a year since I've taken Roaccutane. Now, I'm not saying I never get spots, I still do, but it's the normal amount. The odd one or two. Not constantly covered in them - HOORAY! My most used product for my lips was the Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream - I'm not sure if it's meant for this but it is fantastic.
Overall, I recognize that this is a massive decision for people to make but if you do have big problems with your skin and you have tried other alternatives, I really recommend it. I've been sticking to a good skincare routine which I wrote about in a post here, which will be changing soon! I have ridiculous amounts of cleanser spare in my flat and I'm desperate to use it all up this year so that I can buy some new things!
I hope this has helped in some way, any questions on that treatment then please let me know!
Love & hugs,
So first off, my experience with Acne! I had the occasional blemish when I was a teenager but that didn't bother me too much, it was when I turned about 17 and they wouldn't stop that I started getting frustrated. I was getting frustrated because it wasn't like I wasn't trying. I'd bought everything Clinique could possibly offer and spent all my pocket money on skincare - I was trying! I went to the doctor a few times and said that I was upset about my skin and was given different tablets and creams to help, which never worked. You name the pill/gel/cream/cleanser - I've tried it. I NEVER went out without make up, I could not let people seeing my bare face. Where's the airbrushing? I need a filter. Eventually, I went to a dermatologist in London. I had to go to her anyway for a skin cancer check but after that I also spoke to her about my acne. She said that before trying Roaccutane I had to try every other tablet under the sun, just in case something worked, as it needed to be a last resort. These actually made my skin WORSE - they were so strong and did not react well with my skin, which made me feel terrible. Finally, the day came when the doctor decided that I had tried ENOUGH - it was time!
Roaccutane is meant to suppress the oil produced by glands in your skin - I THINK. It's meant to reduce the size of the glands and the inflammation you get with acne. There are about a million side effects which actually need to be taken really seriously. These are: joint pain, back pain, feeling dizzy, drowsy or nervous, dryness of skin, lips, mouth, nose and cracking/peeling of skin. I was told that I must come back to the doctors once a month to take a pregnancy test and that if I was to be pregnant that I cannot have the baby, this is because babies can sometimes have deformities if the mother has been taking Roaccutane during pregnancy. I was also told to keep a very close check on my mood as taking this drug has occasionally been linked to suicide/poor mental health. These are CLEARLY not things to be taken lightly. But this was supposedly my miracle cure for my skin, I wasn't planning on having a baby and I was highly aware of the side effects. To be honest, I think I was very lucky. I had dry lips for a couple of months but I just bought a million tubs of lip balm to help me through it! Apart from that my skin cleared up extremely quickly and I saw no other side effects.
It has been over a year since I've taken Roaccutane. Now, I'm not saying I never get spots, I still do, but it's the normal amount. The odd one or two. Not constantly covered in them - HOORAY! My most used product for my lips was the Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream - I'm not sure if it's meant for this but it is fantastic.
Overall, I recognize that this is a massive decision for people to make but if you do have big problems with your skin and you have tried other alternatives, I really recommend it. I've been sticking to a good skincare routine which I wrote about in a post here, which will be changing soon! I have ridiculous amounts of cleanser spare in my flat and I'm desperate to use it all up this year so that I can buy some new things!
I hope this has helped in some way, any questions on that treatment then please let me know!
Love & hugs,
No comments:
Post a Comment