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Skin: The Plan
The dermatologist’s office was insanely swank. Even GM mimed polishing her knuckles as we breezed into the lobby. Just as I had hoped, the lobby was full of great magazines and loads of pre & post op people. GM was in heaven pointing out all of the bandages to me.
There was only a ten minute wait before we were whisked back to the medical side of the building (a sharp left from the surgical side). A perky nurse got us settled into a room and spent so much time fawning over GM that GM actually started to freak out that she was the intended patient. “I’m not getting naked for you” is what she yelled, but it made her point.
And by the way, nobody had to get naked. Always a pleasure to see a doctor and not drop your pants.
The nurse went over my fun history of allergic reactions to tetracycline medications and pulled over a large magnifying device and then left the room. The ever observant GM informed me that she could still “see my spots”. Yes. Thank you.
A few moments later the Physician’s Assistant came in (why bother waiting 3-4 weeks to meet with a bonafide dermatologist when a P.A. can see you immediately?) and she pulled the magnifying glass over to my face and studied me. I could feel myself blushing at the shame of my skin but I kept telling myself this will only get better.
Apparently what I need is a system. I need a step by step plan of attack that will yield complete results. The woman literally promised me that my skin would be 98% clear in 3 months. Holy fuck! Sign me up.
The plan begins with one month of bactrim taken daily. In the morning I am to wash with cetaphil cleanser and follow with benzaclin and an oil-free moisturizer. In the evening I am to wash with an oil free cleanser with 2% salicylic acid (like neutrogena). Then I follow with atralin starting every other night & build up to every night.
(don’t you love how THRILLED everyone is on those drug websites?)
In a month I am to return to the clinic to see how my skin is tolerating the treatment. If things are looking good then she will add another topical cream to use in the morning that will decrease the amount of oil that my face produces. She will also discontinue the oral antibiotic (the bactrim) in a month if my skin is no longer “flaring”. If it is still flaring then I will remain on the pills for another month.
She also wants me to book an acne facial (at their clinic, naturally) in 2 weeks. Problem is that the facial costs $100 and my insurance would not cover it. But she said that it would virtually eliminate all of the blackheads on my nose and it would help with some of the scaring that I have around my jaw line. The fucked up thing is that she must have told me 3 times how painful the acne facial will be and a part of me really liked that. I must be some twisted sister to think that there really is no gain without pain.
Oh- & a really awesome thing is that I was sent home with giant samples of everything in my regimen. Free stuff rocks my world.
Can I just say that my mind keeps going back to this woman guaranteeing me a result? I can not remember ever hearing a promise like that and while it might just be her sunny disposition I found myself really wanting to drink her kool aid and believe. I am amazed that after all the shit I have been through, all of the failings via my own body & the medical world, that I still have this (ridiculous?) ability to hope for the effing best.
Twelve week wait to clear skin. heh.
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28 Responses to “Skin: The Plan”
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Ok, so I mean to reply to the earlier post, but then I had to have a fight with the new weed whacker (I lost) and take Sophie to soccer. And now there is a new post. But. Aye. The skin thing. I feel you. Good god, do I ever sympathize. It’s funny you put all this up now, because just last week, I was all “wow - good skin for 6 + weeks! Woo!” And then I broke out. Ugh.
This plan sounds good to me - a very dear friend who’s tried everything did something similar and now his skin look *good*, damn good.
It sounds like a good plan! The antibiotics did work very well for me. You’ll start seeing good results in a week or two. Just be sure to add some priobitics to your diet (Activia yogurt, acidophilus pills) because the antibiotics take the good with the bad.
Looking forward to the “after” pics.
Okay, chica, I’ll be with you during your 12ww!
Seriously, tho, I LOVE that you have a plan of attack, er, action. {{{{}}}}
Glad you have a plan and can’t wait to see the sexy new you, well sexier new you because you know you’re always a hottie.
back when i had health insurance (groan), i was working with a NP on my acne issues. bactrim did quite a nice job for my face…..but it turns out i’m allergic to it. and it took me a while to figure that out, because i’m stupid. so if you start feeling itchy, don’t think it’s something else! and i used benzaclin, too. for me, it did the trick but wasn’t too drying.
so i have faith that you WILL see results. and that’s a beautiful thing. fuck adult acne!
Do you know the average dermatologist salary is 400k? Go to nytimes and search “THE PRICE OF BEAUTY; For Top Medical Students, Appearance Offers an Attractive Field”…it is really interesting!
But 98 percent gone is AMAZING. If only all doctors had those odds.
Yay! Sounds like a great plan. Can’t wait to see the after pics - you will be even more smokin’ hot!
yo! skin to match the hair and the soul, and the beauty that is already there.
love it.
love you.
I can’t imagine a doctor’s office promising me results like that!!!
It sounds like you are doing a spectacular job taking care of you!
BTW, I love your hair and the pictures from the previous post are really beautiful. (I confess to being a silky hair iron addict. One of my yoga students does my hair and I’ve been addicted to the flat iron for nearly three years!!)
Nice! Sounds like a productive appointment. Maybe this woman needs to get into the fertility business. With promised results like that, I’d drink whatever kool-aid she was serving!
Fingers crossed for fantastic results!
OK I am a total dork but isn’t it imitating polishing off your nails and not your knuckles. I have been doing it for the past 10 minutes and I always thought it was a sort of buffing up the nails to look shiny and posy. Why the knuckles???
I am so easily distracted.
ha ha! really it is polishing the RINGS on the knuckles. Or at least that is how GM has always done it to make a point. You know, buff up the old trinkets so that they match the shine of whatever swank place you are visiting.
ooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh that makes sense.
LOL
I am SUCH a dork.
I sympathise with the skin thing. I’ve always had yukko skin (thank you PCO). Tetracyclines never did anything for it. About the only thing that would really fix it for good would be roaccutane, and well, can’t take that just now.
Otherwise I find 5 or 10% benxyol peroxide cream is the best thing.
Hope your 12ww is worth it,
J
wow. i’ll toast you with the kool aid. i can’t believe she made` that promise! my skin issues have been my #1 source of low self esteem, so i am so proud and inspired by you posting pics. you rock.
How great! I had the same feeling when I left my derm. I was taking bactrim for awhile too:) I think I still have some actually
This is awesome. I’m sure it will help. Jeff finally went to the derm and now he is acne free.
I totally get the pleasure of pain! I love getting a facial and someone pinching and pulling at my skin. Most be some weird buried instinct.
I love me a skin regimne! Best of luck with the system.
I’m hoping for the best for you, too!
man, when I get health insurance again I’m printing up this blogpost and taking it to find a dermatologist.
Here’s to having a plan and a doctor/PA who can stand there and say this will work and mean it. I hope it all works quickly and can’t wait to see the after photos.
I’ll be following your posts on this with great interest. I swear adult acne is the biggest blow to my self esteem. At 15 it seems devastating, but you aren’t alone. At 36, I sure feel alone with my zit covered skin. I tried a dermatologist a few years back, and sadly I stopped the regimin when I broke out worse than ever and was too embarrassed to leave the house. IF I had stayed with it, or gone back and changed meds, maybe I could have found success. Funny how now I can find the time for everyone else’s doctor appts, but none to get my own self cared for. Maybe you will inspire me to finally do something about my own skin.
What a great thing to look forward to– I’m so glad you got A System. We all could use A System, I think.
I’m so happy for you that you got in to see someone and set up a plan. I hope it works great!
I can’t wait to see the results!
And at 98%! How friggin’ cool is that!!
wow, getting a guarantee from a doctor is gold! all the best with the new regimen.
Unless you’ve got money to burn and/or you enjoy visiting the dermatologist’s luxurious office
so much that it’s worth it to you, I think you’ll get excellent results, without antibiotics and “painful” acne facials with Proactiv. It costs $19.95 for a one-month supply and you get a full refund if you don’t like the results.
My teenage son used it for about six months and his skin is flawless today. He went from having scattered whiteheads on his forehead and his cheeks and blackheads on his nose to an absolutely clear complexion. I was amazed at how well it worked. He had used prescription medications before and he didn’t get nearly as good results.
Proactiv is also a “system” and it’s gentle on the skin. My son now washes with warm (not hot, that will wreck your skin) water and Cetaphil. He no longer needs the Proactiv. I’m not affiliated with the product, but I was so impressed with it that I recommend it to everyone.
Guaranteed results…now THAT’s something we’re not used to hearing, is it? Good luck with the new regimen!