I just came back from my derm consultation. He said that the acne I have is a lot of clogged pores all over my face, so I’m going in for extractions on the 4th. He also said that I seem to have Seborrheic Dermatitis “plaques” and rough spots which may or may not be causing the redness. I had always thought they were just a lot of little bumps put together, but it seems to be inflamed plaques of skin all over my face (which *may* be causing redness) in conjunction with the clogged pores. He gave me a topical steroid to use for two weeks to clear it up, then we’ll see if the redness goes away along with the seborrhea. On the 5th I’m also starting weekly IPL treatments for the redness/flushing, but I don’t think they’re very strong. Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised, but I’m putting more stock in the topical seborrhea treatment and the pimple extractions.

I asked him about low dose Accutane, but he said I’d have to be on it long-term for something like this. I know he’s not a fan of that, but if these treatments don’t work, I’m going to push for Accutane. I want to first see how things improve after treating the dermatitis and extracting the clogged pores, though. I can’t believe I didn’t know about the dermatitis, though. My derm put on these cyclops-like goggles, looked at my skin, and said, “What the heck is that??” xD

I have a consult with him in two weeks, so it’s not like I’ll have to wait six weeks before starting the next treatment, like I did with the LED. If things aren’t improved in two weeks, it’s Accutane. I’ll find another derm if he’s unwilling to give it to me. Bwahahaha.

Okay, I’m going to put the steroid cream on now… ack, please don’t make things worse. >_<

Amy’s May 21st post got me thinking, just like all her posts do. ><

Anyway, before I go into that, I’m trying to make an appointment with my derm right after my last LED treatment, but they won’t pick up their phone (their office is open). grrr. I think I’ve called so much in the past that they just don’t pick up for me anymore. XD I’m excited for Accutane – I’ve never heard of it not working for someone if they stuck with it long enough. I just hope the doc is willing to give it to me without making me wait forever and ever.

I’ve been avoiding sugar like crazy and it’s really helped my Rosacea. Now my eyes don’t get bothered unless I’m on the computer for too long or something. And my facial redness is more pinkness most of the time, so the Rosacea isn’t very obvious at all. =3 But why does it have to be sugar?! Why???

I try not to care what I look like too much, but having acne has knocked my confidence down, certainly. But I’ve been going to movies and stuff, just trying to not care about it so much. A few days ago, I was waiting in line for a drink and this girl behind me was bumping into me, so I turned around. When I turned back, she said to her friend, “I thought they were freckles at first,” and they both started giggling. I was like >:O lol. At least it looks like I have bad freckles instead of acne from far away, though. XD

Which reminds me (don’t know how): my hair is finally growing, I’m so happy!! I’ve been growing it out since late ‘06. Right now it’s all highlighted and kinda light-ish brown. I’d like to die it a darker chocolate brown, or just a brown/black, like Michael’s hair color. My eyebrows and eyelashes are black, so I think it’d look natural. My mom also wants me to try a spray tan when I clear up to cover the redness I get when I flush. Eep, I dunno… I’ve never really liked the idea of fake tans, but she tells me it wouldn’t turn out orange. Many of the girls on my mom’s side of the family are a little tan and have that super dark brown hair. I think it’s a pretty combo and it’s not a big step from where I’m at now, but I’m so afraid of being orange… like this. Okay, well maybe not that extreme, but you get the picture, right? What were they thinking??

Why do all my posts sound so shallow? XD

I’m trying to practice my Spanish today, but I hardly remember anything out of the notes I took last November. There go my dreams of leaning Spanish/Italian, lol.

No, I shall persevere! Yarr!

My mom suggested that I start college with an online course so that I can stay with her in Florida for a while. I’d like to live there later this year, and the weather during September should be a little nicer than during July/August. Probably a lot of rain, but I love that! It’s crazy though – because my mom lives right on the water, any bad rain storm always causes the lower part of the house to get flooded. That happened once when Michael and I were over there last January. The puppy, Pumpkin, was not happy (lol).

Yesterday, I asked the nurse practitioner about Accutane, and she said that we’d discuss it with the head derm when I’m done with the LED treatments (in a week and a half). Then I’ll probably have a month’s wait since they want to do two pregnancy tests spaced apart before I start the drug. I’ll ask the derm about the birth control, but even if they feel it’s necessary, they won’t be able to know whether I’m taking it or not. I wouldn’t want to go against their wishes, but since there’s no chance of causing potential harm to a baby, I know 100% that taking birth control or not taking it wouldn’t make any difference. Plus then I avoid possible complications of taking BC, especially while on Accutane.

I’m still bummed that I’ll have to wait around a month before even starting the drug… Then it’ll probably take about two months (in the best scenario) before I really start to see results. But I guess the long-term results are more important. I found out that if I’m able to stay on the whole course, there’s a 90% of remission (lasting years) and a 60% of being cured. Jeez!

It won’t do anything for the over heating and stuff, but I seem to be able to keep that under control for the time being if I avoid triggers (which unfortunately still includes exercise). I’m really glad I wasn’t planning on dancing for much longer past this year… It would have sucked if I’d gotten this problem two years ago, when I still wanted to dance professionally. And it’s good that it’s happened now, before college, so I’ll have time to get things under control before then.

Oh also, I looked up my original lab work and I *was* tested for 5th disease, and that had unfortunately come up negative, so I guess it’s not that. Thanks for telling me though, Amy! My mom said that the symptoms might just be unexplainable and go away after a while. She had really severe arthritis for about 9 months, then all of a sudden it went away. None of her doctors could find out why, lol. I’m so lucky that I’ll probably be able to get most of my symptoms under control. I don’t really mind keeping myself cool or avoiding certain foods, even if it’s a hassle. It’s just the over heating + eye problems + bad skin that bugged me. If low-dose Accutane helps the latter two, then I could totally deal with the first symptom for a while. And maybe it’ll just go away sometime as quickly as it came. Who knows?

Okay, so.

Since I haven’t really seen much improvement with the LED, I’m considering being drastic. Drastic = Accutane. I’d only use low dose, though (low dose being 1/10 normal dosage) to avoid some of the more serious side effects. I’d probably still have to go in for the mandatory, monthly blood tests to make sure my system was accepting the drug, but if it does, then a couple of months of that would probably ensure the remission of the bumps and the annoying amount of oil I’ve been getting, as well as the inflammation (which would really help my eyes). And since it’s low-dose, it wouldn’t aggravate my Rosacea. It’s basically one of the strongest treatments available (if not the strongest), so if I can handle the side effects (and low-dose side effects don’t sound very bad), then staying on it long enough will probably ensure at least a number of years of remission, which sounds a-ok to me.

There’s this iPledge program involved with Accutane to make sure that users are serious and understand the side effects. This means that, in most situations, I’ll have to wait a month after my doctor approves the drug to actually get it. That sucks, but the sooner I ask, the better. My parents seem to be okay with it, so we just have to ask the derm soon for more info.

I went to the GI doc today to have the ring in my stomach (technically one of my intestines, but all that stuff is the “stomach” to me, just like all types of white meat are “chicken”, hehe) looked at. They said they’d order another CT scan of my pelvis area. If it’s in my colon, they’ll try to flush it out. If it is stupid and doesn’t budge, then I’ll either need surgury (I’ll pass) or we’ll just ignore it (I pick this one, thank you!). Normally, we wouldn’t even be bothering with it since it’s not causing me any trouble, but the endo ordered an MRI later this year for that growth on my adrenal gland, and you can’t have a MRI with metal in your body. So either we get rid of the ring and I get the MRI, or we leave the ring and I get a much less effective CT scan. Of course, I’d rather go for the 2nd option since it’s easier, but the doc wants me to try the first if at all possible.

My mom was in town for like two days. She was super busy and couldn’t stay longer, unfortunately. We just had time to see Iron Man and then go to dinner and lunch those two days, then she had to fly back. Hopefully next time will be a longer visit!!

Just came back from my endo. She said that, while I seem to have a small growth on my adrenal gland, my hormones are fine, so that really can’t be the cause. I’m getting a referral to a GI doctor to check my intestinal tract, since digestive problems can oftentimes take a toll on our skin. Also, many people with Rosacea have small intestinal problems as the cause, so I want to rule that out.

I’m going to focus on treating the symptoms instead of pinning all my hope on finding a cause. My doctor prescribed my Bactrim for 7 days for my eye problems. Since it’s generally fast to act, if it works, I’m going to ask for a maintenance dose to help my face clear up, since it’s an antibiotic. It’s also good for Rosacea inflammation, so I’m hoping it works for me and that I’m not allergic to it.

I was also given a beta-blocker, Propranolol, to control my social flushes (ie when I get embarrassed, sad, angry, etc). I hope this works, too. I’m to take it 1 time a day for 30 days, and if it works, then I can adjust the dosage and only take it before instances where I think I might flush. I got the lowest dosage possible, so hopefully there won’t be any side effects.

So, if my luck decides to turn around and these two things actually work, then my eye symptoms, acne, and a lot of my flushing might be reduced. That would be amazing. But that’s all I’m gonna say, cause I don’t want to jinx myself.