Me and my skin conditions – Again.

Well guess what? I am going to blog again about my skin. I really wish there will come a time wherein I wont have to complain about my acne’s and eczema anymore. But I am afraid that only death can separate me from that…lol pardon me for being so morbid. I was reminded of the caricature about accutane I saw wayback wherein it has a drawing of the dead person underneath a blanket with embalmers talking and somebody says, “We’ll at least he died so beautiful without acne” if you found that funny then I believe you empathize with acne sufferers like me hehe.

Just to give you a quick recap of my regime also a quick review. Very quick you wont miss a minute. Nothing in this picture ever worked dramatically on me except Biore UV. Physiogel cream for my eczema, nah. Avene Diacneal for the pimples? NAH! Acne Clear? NAHHH!!!!! Now for the main entry…

Today, I went to my first ever Singaporean dermatologist. Tonight actually cause I basically came after work which is 7pm. I almost missed my appointment. But the Dr is still welcoming although she had to cut me with my stories hahaha. I kept on saying how frustrated I am with my fes!

So she greeted me and offered a hand shake but I was so hesitant to touch her delicate hands as I am afraid I will surprise her with my cracking fingertips! Yez dear, other than acne….its the fingertips. And they are so worse at this moment. I can barely type on my right hand.

 

 

If I set my camera on the default one, the picture will look so horrible. This one is set on ISO. High lighting. So as to prevent shocks! Im still embarrassed you know? lol

Anyway she keeps on saying, no no its okay. She understands. So I started blabbering about my eczema for at least 15 mins. She seems so empathic. But I told her, I didnt see her for my eczema, I was here for my acne! Then I started telling her my loooooooong tale about acne. That I went to pills to accutane to tetralysal. Basically I’ve gone through a lot. I also told her that back in the Phils, I am undergoing glycolic peeling every 2 weeks if I have acne and if I am acne free, I do diamond peeling every 2 weeks. After agreeing on what to do on my face, I first asked her about the prices. GULPS, if you convert it to our money, I can already have 4 diamond peelings already in the PH!

I still agreed though. I am so desperate and I am glad I did it cause my face according to my derm is “too much for a woman” LOL come on, she told me that usually people who has an acne problem like me are MEN. mmmk. that made me really sad but what can I do? it is the structure of my body. Plus Singaporean girls are basically blessed with beautiful skin! Singaporean Chinese particularly. I have a Chinese blood (like 1/4? lols) but why I didnt acquire any good skin genes?? ahuhu. Moving on…

The procedure. So the assistant removed my make up on. After that, doctor came to apply the 20% glycolic acid on me. I am not a newbie with this acid so yeah it stings. After few mins, the assistant cleaned my face and we are done. I know what you are thinking, where is the cortizone injection? The doctor didnt even inject my cystic acne’s :( I want her really bad to flatten them but she said, she can make more money out of it but believes that I dont need it cause we are putting chances of spreading the bacteria underneath the skin… so that means, cortizone injection = more MONEY!! HUHU. enough to keep me stressed.

Ok total wallet damage….

Dr gave me something to read  about Oratane (isotretinoin) and Estelle (Contraceptive Pill) She said I should think about it because she thinks my skin problems are hormonal…I dont know I really have to think hard about this! I am so terrified to take another Isotretinoin again and worst, contraceptives!-----had bad experience with this if you follow my skin history! It bled me profusely. So right now, I am a bit torn.

Anyway FOR My pitied scarring, she also suggested some Fraxional chorva. I asked if its called Fraxel and she said, its like that but for 1 session only. Lots of major downtime only like redness and peeling after. So I need to keep myself OFF from public by that time. I said, I can do it while vacationing in the PH. “But arent you going to meet your old friends?” NAHHH Its okay, they can understand. LOLSS I choose to have a clear skin!

The price? 4X the one that I paid today! S***T! but I am willing to save for that. All for the sake of clear skin…sigh.

Anyway, I have to go. Catch up again real soon! My next visit would be two weeks after this treatment. Will let you know the results.

 

xoxo

All about SKIN and Isotretinoin Update

First, HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)

This would be for my personal records but on January 26, 2010, it would be my 9th month OFF Isotretinoin (Acnetrex) - A potent drug that I took for my nasty zitz last June 2008 till April 26, 2009.

Link to my Isotretinoin History

Consumed 22 boxes and 8 more tabs.

Around late August, I felt my skin was breaking out one by one and I noticed that it only occurs when I am stressed and with no sleep. Its also probably due to the fact that I also stopped putting Adapalene (cause I was stubborn and lazy)

I had another dermatologist by this time because I relocated to the province (But I had no intentions of leaving my previous derm in Makati) so this 2nd derm told me that I have to take more of this drug cause I am complaining for occasional zits. Still haven't decided until now if I will take another course (in lesser quantity)

Then I had my first diamond peel around September. Then another diamond peel before October. Results are satisfactory! Now I can put make up flawlessly. But I need to do more to remove the scars completely. I stopped the diamond peel because I want to visit my 1st derm about my diamond peel procedure. Which until now I havent done yet due to uhh delayed scheduling heehee.

PS. I think it will take me until January 19 to visit Makati again so I will just go and have another diamond peel by Tuesday.

Before the diamond peel I’ve tried several cleansers like Dessert Essence and VMV Superskin 3. But I still stick to Cetaphil until this time.

My regimen during the diamond peel is:

Morning: Clindamycin (spot treatment), Olay White Radiance Old Formula SPF 19

Evening: Adapalene, Whitening Cream (from 1st derm)

When I continued Adapalene and Clindamycin, my zits have improved.

And my regimen at the moment is:

Cleanser: Cetaphil

Morning: *Clindamycin + VMV Sunblock from Superskin 3

Evening: *VMV Superskin 3 Toner (every other day) + Whitening Cream

I dont use the Adapalene anymore cause I want to finish the VMV Toner.

For the (*) asterisk, I dont put them everyday. I have to check my face if it feels sensitive and burning, I stop at least a day until I feel like I can continue putting them again to my face.

Sometimes, I use Apple Cider Vinegar when I feel like I want to rest off chemical products and needed some natural remedies.

Definitely Sunblock is my #1 protection and I cannot bear to remove it to my regimen. Avoiding the sun is a must!

I still get zits like 1 or 2 once in a while but they are controllable. And I notice that I only breakout after putting make up for 8 hrs with no washing of face OR a day/week/month of NO QUALITY SLEEP and POOR DIET.

Oh by the way, I am a semi vegetarian since November of 2008. I rarely have red meat in my diet. I eat brown rice and I drink water a lot. Although I love eating sweets, they are only in small amounts.

And I am also particular with the products I use to my face, hair and skin. If I use a certain hair product, I avoid those with strong fragrances. I also test at least a day to two weeks if its compatible to my face. My hair currently likes the products of Shine Moist (Shampoo and Hair Wax Treatment-NOT the color treated one) and Citre Shine (Conditioner). For my skin, seems like AVEENO loves me because it keeps my skin moisturized and it doesn't give me any zits at all. And as much as possible with cosmetic products particularly with the foundation and face powder, I use hypoallergenic ones like VMV/ Clinique/ Laura Mercier. But with the eye shadow, ELF is ok. Its better to be safe for the foundations and face powders because you put a lot of these on your face as compared to the eye shadows.

Link to the history of my Skin Allergy and Eczema is below which is already cured now (they really crack like el nino).

I don't like to complicate much my skin regimen. If do, then I will be stressed out and as I have said, stress gives me ZITS. :)

xoxo

✎ Skin Problems? Hear My History

If there's a Guinness Book record award for the most sensitive skin category, I think I will be a finalist.

I don't have a flawless skin. That's it. Ever since I was a child, I am always prone to insect bites, cuts, scars, prickly heat, name it. I think I have them all lol. It's not that I was not fully taken cared of by my Mother but because my skin is so sensitive that I can't even wash the dishes with a liquid dish washing soap. Why? Because my fingertips will surely crack. Yes, I have this fingertip eczema that worsens every time the weather changes and of course with stress. Anyway, I have battled every skin problems in my lifetime and so far the worst kind of them all is (drum roll please?)

Acne.

Yep. I am an acne ridden lass. Used to be, take note. Haha. It all started when puberty kicks in. I have a very active hormones. As early as kindergarten, I already have a crush with my schoolmate lol. When I was in 6th grade, I am in love already lol. Blackheads came popping up in my face. Big pores, oily face, mestruation at 13. I have three older brothers and imagine the horror they have to tell me everytime they look at my face. So as early as 12-13, I am already conscious with my face. I self medicated it. I tried popping out one blackhead and it disappeared. Another blackhead emerges and again I pushed it out onto my nails. BUT like infatuation, it just came rushing without warning. I just woke up that I cant stop them from reappearing anymore.

Mall Dermatologists
I had my first facial treatment when I was 18 at a one stop dermatological shop in a mall. Yes it took that long. They picked my blackheads professionally. Had me lasered, masked and all those things they do in a facial shop. I was given topical creams. and after few days, VOILA. It was magic, they're gone. I was flawless.

But I was 20 and my face was starting to form red dots again. This time, my face got worst! Aside from blackheads, I have whiteheads, and tiny tiny red spots. Since I study in a very reputable school where kids are pretty flawless and zit free, I asked my mom to help me with the celebrity dermatologist. Yes you are right, I was caught up with the frenzy of the media. The lady doctor gave me oral prescriptions and some topical creams. I followed immediately my fairy godmother even though I am quite skeptical with drinking medicines. She told me to take this drug at the onset of my menstruation. She called it Oil Control tablet. Repackaged---Placed in a ziplock plastic. I obeyed like a blind patient.

Real Deal with this Celeb Derma.
Three days after, I notice a very beautiful me. Although I am not yet acne free, I feel like a woman. I feel....should I say....sexy. LOL. I even flirted out with a guy friend during these period. Just clean flirting girls, take note. Two weeks after, I am still in my period, bleeding profusely. I started to feel dizzy and so irritable. I went to the celebrity doctor and all she said is, "Iha, that's okay." How can she say that its okay? I am losing blood here. So I decided to go to a gynecologist. There is always a first time hah. My gyne checked ME. and asked some questions. I said, I am taking this drug and she looked at it. She said, its an oral contraceptive. I said, WHAT. Hey even though I look like that kind of girl but really, I am not sexually active! I am so into my studies. So I felt really deceived by that celebrity doctor. To cut the long story short, my gyne recommended her derma to me. She treated my irregular mestruation and I went to her derm.

Welcome Stieva-A
Alright, my second dermatologist is a sugeon. Yep. Turns out that old ladies are his expertise but I was desperate. The dermatologist is a believer of "no knife" theory. But he believes in the miracle of Tretinoin. I was desparate and took a chance. The Tretinoin stings. The pea size is a size of a 1 peso coin as said by my dermatologist. Now that's really a new thing but I obeyed. And so I developed rosacea (red face, much worst than the pic). My new dermatologists said its okay but deep inside I know that its not. Great. My college graduation is getting nearer and I have this red face. Taxi drivers think its cool and thought that I am a balikbayan but I am not and its not really cool. The redness stings like hell when I perspire and my acne---The're taking a lot of time to go out. Thank God, my derm suggested me to take a low dosage while my grad is nearing. Lesser redness but massive oiliness. Tretinoin is really painful on my part. It removed my zits for a certain point but it came attacking like a plague after few months. The drug is not acting on my skin anymore so I have to change. It was unfortunate for me to attend my brother's wedding FULL of zits in my face. The make up artists did his best to hide it and he succeeded but the embarrasment that I felt was incomparable. Imagine the faces of the people around. sigh. memories.

Welcome, Isotretinoin.
January 2008, I am 22, I decided to change derma for the third time. I am really breaking out. My derma did some facials to me and glycolic peels. I was prescribed to use clindamycin and erythromycin gel at night. He assured me that it will go away and I shouldnt worry. Its effective because it dramatically improved after few weeks. I was able to attend different parties by February and I had short stint flings lol. Boys kept coming now and then and I am confident with my clear skin. Good things must come to an end says, Nelly Furtado in her song. I started getting zits again after April of last year. The zits are small but they are overpowering my face.

We have no choice, you need to take Roaccutane, says the doctor.
What is that?, I asked.
It is a strongest of all acne treatment. It shrinks the oil glands which causes your uncontrollable pimples, he emphasized.
I gulped and decided.

Yeah. Around July 08, I decided to take the capsule. I was prescribed 20mg at the onset. By August, the zits are purging. By September. they are really big and cystic. My derm upped the dosage to 30mg. I quit my work because I cant perform well anymore. I am literally a moon crater. By October, they are starting to shrink. By November, they flatten and the scars are becoming visible. By December, the redness were gone, I can go out confidently with the use of make up. The scars are visible around my jawline.

I am in my last 8 pcs. And I am proud to say that I am acne free! At last. I can go out now and people look at me not with pity but in awe. haha. I can write more about it but I will continue nextime. This is too long already.

Watch out for my next detailed entry regarding my rollercoaster ride with Isotretinoin. :)

UPDATE #1
UPDATE # 2 - LATEST

♥,
Cecily