my face is worse.....
 

I went to the dermatologist last week, and he prescribed oracea, Which is a low dose of doxyclyclin, and used for it's antiinflamatory properties.
I am also using aczone gel twice a day.
Hate to admit that I have been picking a bit still which is terrible. and now my face has gotten twice as bad. The bumps are now on both sides of my face and along my chin. My faces itches, I read somewhere that I could have an infestation of mites. So I decided to call the office and talk to their nurse. Her name is Val. I told her what was going on. She confronted me about my picking and I was honest with her. and she told me that I really needed to talk with a therapist about dealing with that. I told her it was like an OCD thing and that I had a therapist.
sigh I felt ashamed:(
He wants me to use the steroid ointment for a week. I asked about the mites and if I should switch back to metro gel which I used in the very beginning, he agreed after the steroid use. Wants me to use this 2x a day. It is oily...how am I going to be able to wear make up????
I can't wear bandages all over my face during the day.
I am getting very depressed about this...
I am my own worst enemy.....
bizi

You've worked so hard, I can imagine how hard this is. I wish you could just be mad at the mites :o.
How about makeup for oily complexions?
Sorry--best I can think of. Life's just not fair :(.
BCG, sad for you...

Dear Bizi

might it not be best, for now, to run the gauntlet so to speak? not wearing any makeup will probably expedite healing. i know you don't want to face (no pun intended, honestly) people in this condition... maybe it would help if kept reminding yourself it is temporary. i don't know if you can shuffle some appointments to minimize seeing clients for a week, and ask Jeff to do more of the errands for now.

might bandages be an alternative, at least for some of the rawer parts, or as an anti-picking barrier. i don't know.

i'm sorry you are going through this all over again. :(:heartthrob: (((hugs)))

i would make an appointment to see your therapist right away too. your statement "i am my own worst enemy" kind of struck me. i wonder if there is something to that... you may be going through a phase where you feel extreme guilt about something...... i don't know. thoughts to explore in therapy perhaps though? and she might be able to provide some guidelines to help in a more immediate sense.

please, remember you are beautiful inside.

lots of love

~ waves ~

Dear Bizi,

I understand that you are getting worn out and impatient for your face to be better.
Please listen to yourself and try to be kinder.
If you have OCD, there is no shame in that.
It's not your fault.

You can ask for some med tweaking from your pdoc to deal with the depression. Ask your tdoc to help you also.

Probably the derm's office can help with questions about make up. Call them as often as you need until you feel better about your face.

Taking the Geodon with meals might calm you. We are here with you, hoping that you feel better about yourself soon.

M

thank you all.
I am taking my geodon with food as prescribed but thanks for the gentle reminder as I have not in the past.
I have decided to take the prednisone this morning and for a few days, from what I have read it is the 5th day that it can become a problem.
I wish I were not vain but I am...will be wearing make up the days that I work...not over the weekend and take it off as soon as I get home so as short of a time as possible.
I see my therapist soon can't remember right off the top of my head when but it seems like it has been awhile, I see her once a month.
I can't take ssris as they make me manic, was put on prozac for picking in the past....2 cars 3 weeks...blah blah blah.
my bumps that I have picked at crusts over then forms a scab that cracks open and bleeds and comes off when I wash my face...I need to wash my face more gently...
thank you again for your continued support.
I wish this were on my arm...no it is all over my face right front and center...
~sigh
bizi

Bizi,
Sending thoughts to you. I hope you can start to feel better about yourself. I think it’s also something from what you are seeing that you might can to see if there is a pattern to your face.
Because I’m thinking it’s about the same time of month.

Donna:grouphug::hug:

I had the saliva hormone test done and my progesterone is low and my cortisol was high which is stress related. wonder if low progesterone can affect my rosacea, I asked the derm and he did not seem to interested, said the increased cortisol could just be stress or bipolar.
I made an appointment with a gyn nurse practioner next week to go over these results...to see if there is anything that I can do. Maybe the prednisone will calm everything down...that is what I am hoping for.
bizi

Bizi,

'Good idea to check with a gyn.
I've looked on the web for Geodon's possible effects on progesterone and cortisol. I have not found anything. Ask your doctors to look for you --- they have good data bases. Maybe a pharmacist can look for you as well.

M

Christian Northrup
 

Bizi,

I hope your face gets better for you soon.

You probably found this long page by Christine Northrup. I link to it here.
Sometimes she offers sensible advice.

M

http://www.drnorthrup.com/womensheal...hp?topic_id=56

Rosacea
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Bizi,
I think I would also check with other dermatologists, if you just don’t seem to get this better. I also wonder if a female dermatologist would be more sensitive to what is you are feeling.

Donna:grouphug::hug:

Dear Bizi,

The only thing I know is that low progesterone causes acne...
Have you told your gyn about this ??

Also, cant remember if I already asked you, but, have you tried adapalene on your face ?? It helps me...

Hang in there... and also, I would expect dermatologists to be used to people with OCD contacting them... OCD causes several different skin problems so...

Much love and NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF !!! :hug:

thank you dear...I will look into this, could you point me to an article or how do you know that low progesterone causes acne?
thanks majo.
((((HUGS))))
bizi

PCOS - i doubt this is your case
 

Dear Bizi

in the case of PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome) high androgen levels can produce symptoms including both low progesterone and acne. other symptoms besides those listed below include unexplained weight gain, menstrual irregularities, depression. (i personally think it is more likely something else is going on.)

Polycystic ovary syndrome (mayoclinic.com)PCOS and Progesterone (womenlivingnaturally.com)
---------------------------------------------------------------

your gyn will be able to answer questions regarding reproductive health based on your hormone levels, but if she comes up short regarding the rosacea, you might try seeing a gynecological endocrinologist to help you. i would state your problem clearly before going in however, as some are very "geared" towards problems of infertility... make clear that is not what you are seeking - you want someone more broad minded.

~ waves ~ sending you well wishes :heartthrob:

Hi sweetie !!!

I will find some articles for you... pinky promise !!!

In the mean time...


Symptoms of Progesterone Deficiency

Hot Flashes
Breast Tenderness
Fibrocystic Breasts
Anxiety
Hair Loss
Bone Loss
Low Libido
Night Sweats
Irregular Periods
Vaginal Dryness
Depression
Insomnia
Infertility
Weight Gain
Acne
Bloating
Mood Swings
Memory Lapses
Loss of Muscle
Nervousness
Excess Facial/Body Hair
Heavy or Painful Periods
Urinary Incontinence
Poor Concentration
Irritability

http://www.energeticnutrition.com/ar...n-hormone.html

Bizi, it could be from the Geodon. ???

My daughter has PCOS and had bouts of acne before she was diagnosed. Turned out it really was hormonal. She wasn't producing any oestrogen. It's been sorted since she's been treated with Metformin and added oestrogen.

Never feel ashamed. You've been under a lot of stress for a long time. That wouldn't help but I still keep wondering about the Geodon and if that's affecting you in this way. Did you have this before you started taking the Geodon?

Love to you. :hug:

Geodon
 

Bizi,
Waves has a good suggestion. My mdoc sent me to a gynecological endocrinologist because she was running hormone panels on me that came up with results that did not make sense to her ---I was sure that I was fine.

The gyn's office took lots of blood right in the office. His office called me to read the results over the phone. Everything came up normal.
My point is that this is not a big deal ---- to stick out one's arm and let the office people take blood.

One more thing, call the manufacturer of Geodon and make a report. If you stay on the phone and talk to the right person, you might find some one who can listen to your concerns.

Your friends here can find nothing via our searches on the internet (google scholar, . .. . ). Find someone with more access to information than we have: pharmacist, gynecological endocrinologist, top dermatologist, . . . .

Does rosacea run in your family? Even if it does, I would put money on the Geodon contributing to the problem.


Mari

If low progesterone caused acne...all the post menopausal women you see would have it.

In fact some women GET acne from taking HRT... if the progesterone in the HRT is synthetic!

Acne IMO in older women is linked to high cortisol (as in Cushing's syndrome) or PCOS. Cushing's may originate in the adrenal glands as hyperactivity, or may be pituitary centered.

Acne can also come from elevated androgen levels. This can be hereditary, or come from Cushing's.

Elevated androgens can be tested for. So can cortisol. A cortisol suppression test which involves giving dexamethasone the day before, to see if the cortisol is suppressed...can be done. A negative result on this test, suggests Cushing's.
Androgen elevations typically cause increased oil in the skin, and some hair growth on the upper lip and lower face.

Bizi, don't you have an identical twin? Or am I mistaken? In identical twins, there should be some similarity in presentation.
If an environmental agent is at fault this similarity is not likely.
Drugs, toxins, deficiencies etc, could cause the differences.

I even had identical twin sisters once, who both had to take Dilantin for seizures! They were in their 70's!

Dermatitis Herpetiformis
 

Bizi, :heartthrob: :heartthrob: :heartthrob:

Is your face itchy?

Have you thought of Dermatitis Herpetiformis?


http://healthyandalive.blogspot.com/...formis-on.html

Mari

the saliva tested 5 things, estradiol, testoterone,dheas, these came bck normal, the progesterone was low57 normal(75-270), cortisol14 high normal(3.7-9.5) .
thank you for your support and I will get back to you..have to run and get my hair colored...I will be back thank you again.
bizi

Remember this all started back in january when I decided to get off of benzolperoxide products and did not wash my face for a month then went to the derm and they put me on metro gel which worked to a point then they switched me to finacea that stung burned my face and that is when I broke out the first time horribly.
The benzol peroxide was keeping my rosacea in check and I did not know that....hind sight is 20 20 I wish I had never switched and left things well enough alone.
~sigh
bizi
I keep reading about spironolactone need to research this.....

The saliva tests are not as accurate as the blood work IMO.

I think you should have an endo do a complete workup on all your hormones to rule out some imbalance.

Bizi,

How do you like your hair results?

:Cowgirl:

M

I love the color, red violet. deep red that looks like blood color at the ends....great for halloween!
Today is day 3 of 30mg of prednisone...so far I have had to take extra klonipin to sleep but have slept which is a good sign. wonder if taking the geodon will prevent me from going manic? Sure hope so.
I think my face is less inflammed today.
(keeping fingers crossed)
bizi who is trying with all her might to not pick at the white heads. haven't in 4 days now. :o It is so hard to just watch them sit there full of bacteria and let them be.....
~sigh
we just got back from the pumpkin patch, picked out a couple of fine pumpkins, jeff is hammering away at the stakes to put up the tombstones, the ground is so hard here, poor guy.
Did I mention that we went to a haunted attraction in baton rouge last night? The 13th gate and necropolis were wonderful lots of fun! had a great dinner at the chimes right next door to LSU which was crazy full of people because of the home game today. had a delicious BBQ shrimp dish with a crispy grits wedge and wonderful peppery butter sauce to dip your pistolet roll into. YUMMY!!!!!!Great night!
bizi

Dear Bizi

you will look great for halloween! :) and that sounded like a fun pre-halloween evening... is it that close already?

CONGRATULATIONS on FOUR DAYS of NO picking! :yahoo:

c'mon, let's go for FIVE! you can do it! :cool:

as usual i am envious of your dinner description... sigh... (mouth-watering even though i just had a pretty good breakfast m'self - mini-frittata made with left over garlic spinach).

i think it is a good idea to see if your sis also has to use benzoyl peroxide though... might be interesting. it's true what MrsD said about identical twins... they tend to have the same pathologies with onset around the same time... eg. if one has an organ failure the other does too within a brief period of time (months)... often even in different environments.

for the rest, just keep us posted. it is going to be impossible to second-guess things over the net. the derm should be able to diagnose what you have accurately. if you have doubts at this point, do get a second opinion. maybe a female who might be more sensitive to the emotional and esthetic impact on you.

if it's the hormones, blood work will tell. i specifically suggested a gyn endocrinologist because they have in depth knowledge on female related hormonal issues and possible causes and effects, as well as preparation in general endocrinology. but i might start with your mdoc, and your regular gyn. they may be able to help you directly, or refer you according to your needs otherwise.

Meanwhile try not to worry about having all the weird diseases mentioned in this thread. i suspect the most likely thing is set of coincidences, eg:

• change in your usual topical facial treatment,
• stress over the in-service and now stress over your face (vicious cycle and elevates cortisol),
• possible pre-menopausal changes (can begin several years before).

just another 2c.:o
if you had 2c for every time i gave my 2c, you'd be rich, huh? :o

~ waves ~

since thursday 10-20-11
 

thank you dear waves.
I have a fraternal twin.
everyone else in my family uses only water to wash their face...that was what I was aiming for back in january.
I have been reading horror stories of other peoples woes of acne and using new products and things getting a lot worse before getting better...so maybe that is what is happening to me. I just don't have the stomach to wait 2 months of my face getting worse before maybe getting better.
This is my new routine. since thursday 10-20-11
Ist thing in the morning take 40mg doxyclyclin oracea on an empty stomach except for coffee.
wash face with cerave cleanser apply metro gel(metronidazole 1 %) apply clinique rosacea make up. during the day blot oily skin with tissue, same if it itches.
noon eat lunch take meds and vitamins
dinner take meds
bed time wash face with cetaphil bar soap(cerave did not take off make up)
apply aczone gel(dapsone 5%), apply cerave moisturizing lotion with ceramides and hyaluronic acid,
take nite time meds
watch lost
bed time around midnight
bizi getting to bed a bit later than during the week.

crossing fingers and toes for you, bizi, that your face clears up soon!

nitey nite
sleep well. :Zzzz:

(((hugs)))

~ waves ~

have a good day waves!
((((HUGS)))))
bizi

I was doing really well not picking at my face then it started to peel...the temptation to peel off the dead skin was too great so that is what I have been doing all day is running my fingers over the bumps gently peeling them off or the ones that have scabs.
all day.
but over all. I see a vast improvement. the predinisone is really doing its trick and I am sleeping with 2 mg of klonipin instead of 1mg.
So I am happy over all.

bizi

great news i hope this keeps up!

and i hope you don't catch the flu!

(((hugs)))

~ waves ~

Dear Bizi,

Keep taking care of yourself. The more happy you are with your results, more likely you are to keep with your plan.

M

I see the nurse practioner today to go over my results from the saliva testing and hopefully to draw labs, I did not wash myface this morning as I wanted her to see what I am dealing with...kind of scraey going out with out make up on....yikes, I think she needs to see my face. Have an appointment with my therapist this afternoon.
thank you for your continued support. I really appreciate you.
bizi

Bizi

I see it as going to doctor's appts without the make up so they can help you.

So it would be like having surgery, without make up on. And I think having
a appt, is much better than surgery. So I like your needs better.

Donna:grouphug:

Tell us what happened as soon as you can sweetie :hug:

Even though she had me waiting over an hour, I liked her.
She told me that the saliva tests re unreliable.
She put me on a low dose estrogen patch that is to be changed twice a week, To start this after my period is over...soon to start. not sure when though. To call her in 2 weeks with results.
She said this may help with my rosacea, it was worth a try. I am willing to try anything at this point. She told me I should be on a non dairy and low carb diet.
~sigh diet restrictions....
again I liked her and she took her time with me.
so I appreciated that and told her as much.
so many changes how will I know what actually is working?
bizi

Dear Bizi,
I'm glad you like the NP.
Don't worry about what works.
The diet and patch are good suggestions.
You have done low carb before with the paleo diet

I think I read that giving up diary for some people is harder than any other dietary restriction. But can be done. Right now I'm eating meat but not eating dairy. Non dairy can be done.

Good luck.
Let us know how your afternoon appointment went.

M

that means giving up my ciders/beers switching to hard liguors I guess, I think wines are lower in carbs...sigh maybe I should stop drinking altogether....
bizi

I hope that the patches help, I know this is really a tough thing to deal with for you bizi. It just seems like it's been going on forever. My heart goes out to you dealing with this problem. Maybe the diet changes will impact this problem, we can live in hope though! Hang in there! :D

Dear Bizi,

You can fit whatever you want into your overall plan. Take carbs out of one area and put some into another area.

You can call her and ask her how many carbs a day she recommends.

M

I saw my tdoc today, and very very tearful and depressed. We think it is from the prednisone. tomorrow starts the 10mg x 3 days so that will be it...wonder how long the side effects take to wear off? I am going to see her again next week...just need an extra set of eyes and ears for now.
I told her about the picking and the judgement from the nurse and how ashamed I felt. She was very supportive and helpful. I really do like my therapist.
bizi