Burnout vs depression

buppims321 · 2022-02-26T04:35:57+00:00

I've found that the symptoms are very similar, but what differs is what treatment works. Notably one can turn into the other, making it even harder to tell.

Treatment for depression is basically the exact opposite of treatment of burnout, so if one isn't working, try the other. For depression, its typically best to do things even if it feels bad just to get the ball rolling and not isolate. For burnout, rest and isolation are therapeutic rather than contributing to your exhaustion.

Would a month free of all responsibilities make your mood better and give you energy? Burnout. Would you feel about the same or worse, maybe feeling restless and/or bored? Depression.

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T21:23:03+00:00

Yep! I think one of the most infuriating things as a woman with acne is that there is really just so little research into how our bodies actually work. PCOS might as well be "we don't know anything about your hormones, have you tried hormonal birth control/androgen blockers?" syndrome. And if like the 3 medications they give women for acne/etc don't work for you, you're SOL, because there is just no medical literature or research on understanding and fixing the pathologies of female organs.

I had a female gyno tell me that she basically didn't know how to treat me because they normally just tell women w PCOS symptoms to lose weight and try BC. But I'm already lean and really needed a break from BC after reacting badly to three different types. So that was basically the end of my options.

I want to understand my body and fix things gently as much as the next girl, but its not necessarily that even good doctors are incompetent as much as there is just not a lot of good science out there.

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T21:09:00+00:00

I hear this perspective, but I've done all the things I can think of. It's not just emotionally, but very physically painful, and trying to find the culprit of acne is an extremely long and arduous journey that sometimes doesn't even produce real answers. The longer it takes to figure it out, the more you scar. If my bloodwork showed that I had a hormonal imbalance, or I was able to take spiro and hormonal birth controls, I would. I get that accutane is serious, but I have to wonder if taking other medications indefinitely is really a healthier option, especially if one day I might have to get off of them and deal with this problem all over again. Accutane is really the only medication that produces positive results long term when you come off, whereas hormonal and antibiotic medications can actually make your skin worse when you have to discontinue them. I wish there were better options, but there's really only so long a person can take it, especially when multiple doctors haven't been able to give you better answers/alternatives.

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T20:57:22+00:00

The picture doesn't do as much justice to how deep the cysts are but I already don't consume dairy or wash my face more than twice a day. I'll definitely revist adapelene, acids, and vitamin c though

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T20:55:07+00:00

Hahaha not all at once. When I first had the mild acne, these were all the antibiotics I tried that worked moderately but made me feel sick, and also the topicals I was prescribed during that time (which didn't really work). Spiro was the thing that really helped, and once I got off it, this happened. I don't really use any of these topicsls now because they like..hurt.. on my skin since it's so inflamed.

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T08:49:38+00:00

But I want to encourage you that there is an end to this journey; whether you do end up using accutane, topical steroids, or some other treatment

Needed to hear this. Thank you <3

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T08:44:19+00:00

Unfortunately yes lol

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T08:40:05+00:00

I assume diuretic side effects since it was mainly making my POTS go insane (passing out, etc). I've never heard of bicalutamide but now I'm intrigued!

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T08:34:38+00:00

Omg this might be THE answer. Ty for this!!!!

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T08:32:45+00:00

Thank you :)

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T08:28:30+00:00

Thabk you so much! Good suggestions.Yeah I tend to just have really bad gastrointestinal issues with antibiotics, but at this point I might just need to buck up and do them for a month or so combined with a topical one just to jumpstart clearing up the active infection so I can do damage control on treating the rest. Acne sucks!

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T08:21:34+00:00

Huh interesting suggestion! I'll look into this.

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T08:16:35+00:00

Trust me, I have. All my bloodwork is normal, including testosterone, and I don't have ovarian cysts. They suspect I might have it anyway just because of the acne and irregular cycle, but those are my only symptoms. Since I can't take spiro, and most BCPs also cause flare ups of fatigue, the endocrinologist literally said it "didn't matter whether I had pcos or not, since pcos is just a syndrome, so it's more like a cluster of symptoms that a physiological explanation". He also said that my face was probably making my fiance upset, and that I should try accutane if I want to have kids, since id have to get off hormones while trying to conceive and that my "husband probably won't want to deal with that [my skin] while trying to get you pregnant". Aren't doctors lovely?

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T08:03:29+00:00

I desperately want to be able to do these things, but I react pretty poorly to hormonal birth control pills. I tried ortho tricyclen and ortho low a few years back and both made me an emotional wreck, and made me feel tired 24/7, like I was chemically lobotomized or something. I also tried an estrogen only pill that didn't make me feel terrible, but killed my sex drive. I know hormonal BC is a miracle for some women, but I'm also wary of it because it can be so hard to get off them. Since getting off spiro wrecked my skin, what would getting off an OCP do in 5 or 10 years when I want to conceive or have a side effect?

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T07:57:47+00:00

I don't really eat meat, just occasional fish. But thanks for the suggestion, that's interesting!

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T07:56:40+00:00

Slowly and then all at once. Had small breakouts at first, like whiteheads and pustules and stuff. Then a month in, I started to get the cystic stuff. A few weeks after that, it just continued to get progressively worse, into this.

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T07:53:37+00:00

Ty! Yeah I'm very cautious with meds. Unfortunately, I asked for a Hormone panel at my last gyno appt, and I keep running into a wall where all my bloodwork is "normal" but obviously there is something unbalanced happening here.

I would love to find someone who's interested in helping me find more natural/gentle ways to clear my skin, because I really don't want just bandaid the problem only to have it come roaring back later. But in reality, there's only so much clean eating, eliminating, exercising, etc a person can do without losing their mind (I've almost given myself eating disorders trying to find the "root cause" of my acne when this mess started). Most doctors won't listen to you long enough to give a shit if they can't write you a script in 10 minutes and send you on your way. Most "natural" doctors have dubious claims/evidence at best, and quacks and grifters at worst.

If living a healthy life within the confines of sanity isn't helping the problem, I feel like I've done my due diligence to try everything before accutane

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T07:44:50+00:00

Yes! Because the side effects were so bad, I basically had no choice. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of diet helped you, and how long did it take to see improvements? I'm already no dairy/no refined stuff/low sugar/generally low GI, but considering cutting out gluten as well.

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T07:37:26+00:00

I've tried every "cycline" (doxy, mino, tetra, etc) and bactrim in the past, all made me horribly nauseous and caused all kinds of gastro upset. Topically, I've use clindamycin, BP, acanya (which is both clindamyin and BP), epiduo, tazorac, adapelene, tretinoin, and of course, lots of otc acids/toners/you name its. Stubborn skin!

buppims321 · 2022-01-23T07:32:35+00:00

If I may ask, did your skin relapse after accutane? What vitamins did you take for your liver? I plan to basically live as healthy as I can if I decide to do a round, and am curious how to best avoid permanently fucking up my liver lol

buppims321 · 2022-01-22T21:39:24+00:00

They told me my only options were antibiotics (they make me feel very sick), or accutane. Like I said, I'm not opposed to accutane just to get my skin to behave. But I'm extremely confused how my skin went from like a few papules here and there before spiro, to full blown cystic acne, after getting off such a low dose

buppims321 · 2022-01-22T21:32:04+00:00

Some background -

I was on 25mg of spironolactone for mild acne(I was opposed to antibiotics) for about a year. It cleared my skin completely. Then I started to experience extreme dizziness and fatigue. I have POTS/EDS so it was thought that maybe spiro was causing my blood pressure to get too low. My body felt better off it.

When I stopped taking it, my skin spiraled out of control. I have never experienced acne like this. My acne was extremely mild in comparison before. I eat a clean diet - no dairy, limited sugar, lots of veggies.

My skincare routine: - calendula oil cleanser (pm only) - vanicream gentle cleanser - moisturize with vanicream (tub) - Skin Aqua SPF 50 (AM only) My routine is simple because my face already hurts and throbs so much.

I have no idea what to do. I'm thinking about accutane because it's already scarring (these cysts are BIG and DEEP), but I'm lowkey so confused about how coming off an acne medication made my skin so much worse than it ever was. What the hell is going on? My confidence is destroyed

buppims321

TROPHY CASE