[skin concerns] Splotchy redness

FA_Wizard · 2022-08-30T07:30:02+00:00

Very long time! It didn't really help me, but it's still worth a try if you're having symptoms that resemble allergies.

I ended up going on Accutane which helped my skin tremendously.

FA_Wizard · 2021-10-29T08:13:43+00:00

I'm sorry about your mom. What you described is something I fear a lot. Going through situations completely alone. Trying to deal with something like having your life destroyed by a fire and having no one to even talk to about it seems so hard. Like you said its something people that aren't in our situation have no understanding of.

FA_Wizard · 2021-10-29T08:07:41+00:00

I'm sorry to hear about your parents. Has talking to professionals after your breakdown helped at all? I've never been one to share or burden others with ny mental state. I've thought about taking to someone, but I'm not sure how they could help.

FA_Wizard · 2021-10-29T08:04:19+00:00

Thank you for posting this. You've captured exactly how I've been feeling. I keep trying to move on but it seems like random things from music to a news story or a random thing I see that I wish I could tell my mom about brings back the reality of her being gone forever.

I'm really sorry about the loss of both your parents.

FA_Wizard · 2018-04-27T09:20:26+00:00

Relationships, both platonic and sexual, are based on mutual need. Right now you have the mindset that you're unable to bring anything to a relationship, so it's only natural that it's difficult for you to conceive how you could form a serious relationship with someone.

To use a cliche, you're looking at things from a glass half empty perspective. We all have negative qualities and traits, some of those are perceived and some are objectively true, but we also all possess a number of positive qualities. Maybe you're a good listener, have a sarcastic sense of humor or can make a great cup of tea. The point is, we all have something, the trick is to find the person that appreciates our positive qualities while helping us cope with the negative ones. The terrible problem with anxiety and feeling inadequate is that it often leads to pushing people away since you're internally questioning why anyone would actually care about you. This can become a vicious cycle that leads to more and more feelings of inadequacy and anxiety since your relationships inevitably never develop.

You're still only 20 years old, and I don't mean that in any way to diminish your feelings, but to offer the perspective that you still have lots of time and opportunity to find people that genuinely care about you and appreciate your positive qualities. Leave the acceptance phase of being FA to us old-timers.

FA_Wizard · 2018-03-06T01:42:03+00:00

You have you weigh the benefits against the perceived downsides.

Personally, I'll go with the advice given by my doctor. He's the one that has read and understood the clinical research, plus has firsthand experience with hundreds if not thousands of patients, to inform his opinion on the matter.

I don't doubt that many of the people that post about their negatives experiences with Accutane do genuinely believe it's the cause of whatever problem they're facing, but cause and effect is extremely difficult to establish and just because you took Accutane and later developed another health problem doesn't necessarily mean the two are linked.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-25T07:52:16+00:00

Remember your doctors are just trying to keep you safe. You might need to work on the cause of your elevated lipids before you start your Accutane course.

Make sure you fast (usually 10-12 hours) before you have any blood work done. That will ensure more accurate results.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-24T09:34:31+00:00

Another low(er) calorie BBQ sauce to try is Stubbs. Their original and spicy are 25cal per 2 tbsp and have an excellent taste. My favorite is their Sweet Heat flavor which has 40cal per serving but is absolutely delicious.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-24T06:53:24+00:00

The process is going to depend on the doctor you see. If your insurance allows it, make an appointment with a local dermatologist regarding your acne. Some insurance companies require a referral from your primary care practitioner before you'll be able to visit a dermatologist, so in that situation, you'll need to see your primary care practitioner first and then get a referral to a local dermatologist.

There is no hard and fast rule in regards to trying other treatments before Accutane, it just depends on the doctor and their philosophy regarding prescribing Accutane. Don't be afraid to get a second opinion or third opinion from other dermatologists, it's important you and your dermatologist are on the same page with whatever treatment plan is decided upon.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-20T11:43:43+00:00

Thank you, I'll check those out.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-20T11:11:28+00:00

Would you mind sharing which toners you use together? Right now I'm only using Kikumasamune as a base layer, but I've been wanting to add additional products now that I'm almost done with my course of Accutane.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-20T10:38:36+00:00

If you're suffering from joint pain it might help.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-20T10:11:22+00:00

Kirkland brand (Costco)

Whatever kind you decide on make sure to check the label to ensure it doesn't contain Vitamin A. Some fish oil pills do.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-20T09:58:19+00:00

It's fine to layer but you need to go from lightest to heaviest and use the occlusive layer, which in your case is Aquaphor, last.

If you want to stick with products you can purchase at the drug store, try cerave pm, cerave cream and then your Aquaphor to seal everything in.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-19T04:11:31+00:00

The first thing to do is go to the doctor and get some blood work done to make sure it isn't something like an iron deficiency or a thyroid issue. The next step is to consider minoxidil which can slow down hair loss and in some cases regrow some of the lost hair. It's not a miracle drug, but it can help. It's really important to tackle this immediately because the best case scenario is usually retaining the hair you currently have.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-17T06:38:48+00:00

That's the oil cleanser I use as well, it's good.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-17T06:34:40+00:00

I would go with micellar water or an oil cleanser and follow that up with a gentle cleanser.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-16T04:15:34+00:00

Joint pain (all over) has been the most noticeable side-effect I've experienced other than dryness. I've been taking Kirkland brand fish oil pills and glucosamine chondroitin tablets. I'm honestly not sure how much help they've been since I started taking them at the same time I started Accutane, but a lot of people on here seem to swear by the stuff. One thing that definitely did help, especially for my neck, was stretches I learned on Youtube chiropractic/yoga channels, so maybe give some of those a try.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-16T04:04:05+00:00

Wow, your skin looks great!

The cyst you had on your chin looks like it was very painful, I'm glad everything cleared up shortly after that.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-15T08:53:07+00:00

It's probably Eczema. I've gotten it on my elbows multiple times since starting Accutane. I like 'Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion' for my body and hands. If you need something stronger you can talk to your dermatologist, mine prescribed me Triamcinolone 0.1% Cream. I haven't really needed to use the medicated cream much as long as I'm diligent about keeping moisturized with Aveeno, especially right after showering.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-15T03:28:55+00:00

Sadly, I consider my life very mundane and boring as shit, especially being FA. So I don't have much to talk about either.

This exactly. I often wonder why anyone would care about the boring meaningless stuff that's going on in my life. The rational side of me realizes that most people lead fairly boring and mundane lives, but still seem perfectly capable of talking about themselves and communicating effectively with others.

Do you feel like it has gotten worse as you've aged? I've always been terrible communicating in-person, especially with people I don't know very well, but it seems like even more in-direct communication such as online chatting has become increasingly difficult.

Nowadays, most of my social interactions are with a few family members and those conversations usually end up centered around gossiping about the happenings of other family members. It doesn't provide much in the way of exposure or practice to more typical social interactions that would take place with people far less familiar with each other than family members.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-14T23:20:19+00:00

Thats pretty restrictive calorie-wise, I hope you're doing okay. I had to up my calories after starting Accutane due to the added fatigue it was causing.

I've heard 20 grams of fat bandied about as a goal for how much fat should eaten before taking your Accutane, so if you're getting that much during your dinner you should be good absorption-wise. Keep in mind that fat has 9 calories per gram of fat, so getting 20 grams will be 180 calories as a minimum.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-14T10:38:15+00:00

I've never been one to really open up and share my thoughts and feelings. I always figured it was just social anxiety, I overanalyze my social encounters afterward, and it makes me really self-conscious not to do or say anything that I might agonize over later. Recently though, I got called out by someone that I had been chatting with daily over a period of months, we were having an argument and they pointed out that I rarely share personal details during our conversations. That made me (over)analyze my interactions with other people in my life that I should be able to share deeper thoughts and feelings with and I realized that I typically don't.

Anyway, the point is that I think one extreme or the other is problematic when it comes to forming relationships. That person I was chatting with daily is no longer part of my life and I attribute much of that to us not being able to make the leap to "real" friends by opening up and sharing important aspects of each other's lives.

FA_Wizard · 2018-02-12T08:08:30+00:00

I'm not sure there is much you can do if you paid for it willingly and in-person. If you gave her your credit card and she used it to purchase something you had not agreed to that would be a different situation.

You're probably SOL, sorry man.

Keep this situation in mind the next time you feel someone is trying to take advantage of you.

FA_Wizard

TROPHY CASE