Tuesday, April 22, 2014

PCOS -my acne journey

It is very difficult for me to put myself out there in this way. In person (specifically one-on-one), I'm very outgoing and can talk about PCOS, my acne, weight loss and gain etc...but really, my acne has always been a very embarrassing thing for me. There have been times I've brought it up just because I felt like it was an elephant in the room, and some of those times (as I supposed) the person was dying to give me "advice" on what to do for my skin. "Wash it every day!" they'd say. Better yet, they'd suggest I put toothpaste on it because the one time they had a pimple it dried it right up. Apparently, if you don't have acne and never have had it, you are the ultimate authority on problem skin, but I digress.
Check out beside my nose, to the right of my mouth, on my chin, and underneath my chin. This is a horrid pic someone tried to take of me that I must have forgotten to delete from my camera.

I was somewhat relieved when I found out PCOS aka hormone imbalance was the cause of mine. It gave me a seen enemy to fight. I didn't know yet how to fight it, or how long the road would be, but it was a starting point. I was ready to arm myself with info. Of course the first thing I did was ask my doctor. She told me to take birth control for the hormones to balance, eat-at most- two desserts a week and drink only water (part of PCOS is insulin resistance hence the "no sweets".) She said that if that didn't work she had some more drugs to throw my way. I asked if there were something natural I could do, and she said no. She told me that the birth control were gonna be something I did for the rest of my life, because there is no cure for PCOS. I was not happy with this, but decided to see what happened with the birth control. I took it for a few months, but I wasn't okay with the havoc it wreaked on my body and stopped.
I began to research and am now on two supplements, and have changed the way I eat as well as the way I care for my face. My breakouts have diminished, but not completely stopped; at least now it's only about once a month that I get a breakout. Years of acne have resulted in hyper-pigmentation that is so hard to get rid of. I would like to help others who struggle with this. It's not fun. It can really mess up your self-esteem. If you don't think you have someone in your corner cheering you on, think again; I would be happy to. Here are pictures of me now. I took close-up pictures with good lighting to show the dark marks on my face.
Haha, I was so busy making sure I got clear selfies without moving that I forgot to look pleasant. My eyes look completely glazed over. 

There is no way I can completely go over all of this in one post, so some of it will have to be saved for later. Feel free to contact me if you just want to talk about PCOS and acne, or if you have questions. 
Oh and I almost forgot...I started this conversation in a previous blog post. Find it here.


9 comments:

  1. "Apparently, if you don't have acne and never have had it, you are the ultimate authority on problem skin..." lol

    I've had it, still get it, and I have those darker spots on my face, too. I just ordered a yestotomatoes product that I'm hoping will help.

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    1. I struggled for so long with the acne-since I hit my 20's especially-and now that it's slowing down I'm really annoyed with all the dark marks. Don't forget sunscreen!

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    2. And you would think by this stage in the game I'd remember to leave the bumps alone and STOP taking them off. smh They have me scared of sunscreen, now. I use shea butter instead.

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    3. Get kiss my face brand. It's all natural.

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  2. Lizzi, put Sherry Rogers into Google and do a little research on her. She's more or less local (Syracuse-90 miles away). She's an M.D. (dermatology). From my memory, I recall that she had acne and dug and dug to find answers for herself. In so doing, she discovered lots of answers to many, many problems. Especially the G.I. track. I know she does have a newsletter. I'm assuming it's free.

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  3. I'm glad you found a more natural way to clear the skin.

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  4. So glad you're finding some resolutions that are helping and pray you'll find many more!

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    1. Thanks Melanie! It's a work in progress, but I'm thankful any positive changes.

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