For those of you who struggle with their skin I have a few products to mention. Note that these are prescription medications and you can't get them in any store, so if you think they might work for you, make an appointment with the dermatologist! First off, I went in with the blunt ambition to be put on Accutane. My friend is an esthetician and has always had skin problems, I saw her a few months ago and she had NO acne..I was shocked and had to know what she was using! Her answer, Accutane. I was a little scared at first after hearing so many negative about this drugs, the law suits and so on..but needless to say I felt desperate to try it even still!
So I made an appointment thinking I would have clear skin in a few weeks..wrong. The process is grueling, in fact you have to have tried and failed an acne product within the last year before most insurances will cover it. So rewind to November, I succumbed to my derm's suggestions of Atralin, Acanya (two creams) and Doxycyclin (an antibiotic). These took at least 2 months to fully kick in, but I did see moderate improvement which made my acne a lot more bearable. In the picture above, this is my skin on a clear day, I am wearing a tiny bit of foundation but I definitely saw results! However, I do still get breakouts more than i would like. Three months passed and I was finally able to get on Accutane. I was just at the derm's today and I have to get blood work done and pass two pregnancy test within a month of getting the medication, this is part of their ipledge program which is government regulated because of severe birth defects. You have to be on birth control as well as use condoms so keep that in mind, even if you swear you are not sexually active they will not leave it to chance!
Anyhow, I asked my derm lots of questions because I was a little nervous about health problems down the road. She insisted the medication is very safe and that she would give it to her kids if they needed it! The drug can effect your liver or cholesterol levels but they monitor this through blood work and make sure you're not having any reactions to it. Other side effects are extreme dryness with nose, eyes and skin, also mood swings that can vary from normal to severe as well as depression. Anyway, I am ready to take the risks and I will update you all constantly on my progress!
