Good morning everyone. Long-time, no see. It's been a long time.
Well, where have I been? Well, to be honest, I was having Google+ issues. As any of you fellow bloggers out there may know, these days if you want to comment on a YouTube video, you need Google+ to do so. The only problem was that it kept linking up other things when my computer logged into them. One of which was Blogger. To say I was annoyed was the least of it when I found out.
Anyway, I thought I'd unlinked them back them when I found out, but it seems not, because when I started having Google+ issues, it affected all the things linked to it, including blogger. It wasn't a big issue, but annoying nonetheless. I had enough stress from uni that I just left it and didn't deal with it until now.
Anyhow, now my blog is unlinked from Google+ and I'm having no such issues.
However, I'm not going to bore you with tales of stressful uni.
I'm in the middle of exams right now, and after that, London, so updates may be infrequent.
Currently, the thing I'm trying to better other than my grades, is my skin. I've had pretty bad acne for the last 9 or so years of my life. The doctors have tried almost everything by now, except two things - Roaccutane, and a hormonal treatment that I can't use because my brother had a thrombosis two years ago, and because I got migraines on the pill.
The reason I haven't been on Roaccutane/Accutane, is because it needs to be prescribed by a dermatologist. Which might have happened by now if my dermatologist didn't make me wait 6 months before the first appointment (where, alongside the topical isotretinoin my GP had given me, she gave me the exact stuff that always, without fail, makes my skin worse - Benzoyl Peroxide), and then never hear from her again (apparently I'm still on a "waiting list" despite having already been seen once. I haven't heard anything from her since November. And the reality is if I have to wait half a year before even hearing about an appointment (and then the appointment is usually a good couple of months after that), they're not going to be able to give me the proper care and testing whilst on Roaccutane. So I'm giving up on Aberdeens Dermatology clinic.
After 6 months of hell on Benzoyl Peroxide, I've stopped. What do you know, my spots actually started healing for a change! The problem with benzoyl peroxide, is that for me, it treats the superficial acne, but not the deep cystic ones. When the cysts come to the surface, normally they would burst and heal, and rarely ever scar, but on benzoyl peroxide, they simply don't. They burst, and then weep for weeka and weeks because they never heal over and I'd constantly be worried about scars. Plus the redness and irritation. This happens every single time I try benzoyl peroxide, and every time, I'm forced to stay on it for months and months, on the doctors assurance that it will improve (it never, ever does with benzoyl peroxide) before I eventually refuse using it, often about 6 months down the line, when my skin is twice as bad as it was when they put me on it in the first place. So I decided, it's not worth the hassle or the stress. What do you know, it barely took a week for all the weeping cysts to heal over upon stopping, and though I still have acne, at least it's not inflamed and irritated and it's healing again.
I'm still using the topical isotretinoin, once a day, though I need to get another prescription.
Anyhow, I was speaking on the LHC about how the sun helps my acne - not just covering it up like some doctors claim, because I barely ever tan, due to my efforts to avoid burning; but actually clears the, up somewhat - and I ended up speaking to Emi (who has a blog of her own: http://www.longhairedatheart.blogspot.de) about acne in general. She told me of her experience with acne and how it improved massively when she began using an anti fungal cream.
It got me thinking about all the times when doctors have prescribed me topical or oral antibiotics, each for six months to a year, and it barely made a difference. I started thinking that for all these things to not work, there are two possibilities - either my acne bacteria is antibiotic resistant or it's not caused by a bacteria at all.
Emi realised she may have picked it up from her dog, who was being treated for a fungal skin infection at the time. With me having been around so many animals throughout my life, including cats, dogs and horses, it's entirely possible I could have picked it up from one of them. My acne wasn't always like this - it only got to the way it is now about four of five years ago.
So, I started using a clotrimazole cream (clotrimazole is used for many topical fungal infections, including the more common athletes foot), and I have to tell you, the difference in my skin is amazing. My skin has gone from a slightly sickly-looking yellowish-grey, with red patches on my acne prone areas, to a more healthy-looking pinkish-porcelain, with red only on my actual sports. I wish I had before and after pictures to show you.
However, my parents, having only seen my skin at its worst back with the benzoyl peroxide have been trying to get me referred to a recommended dermatologist down near home since those in Aberdeen have been so useless. I'm kind of optimistic about my skin, but it's only been a week on clotrimazole and it's always hard to tell with skin. It may yet prove me wrong and get worse again, so perhaps it's a good idea to get a dermatologist. At least then he can see what makes a difference and what doesn't and help me if my skin does get worse. At very least he might be able to refer me for allergy testing for the rashes and dermatographia that appeared in the last couple of months.
Anyway, that's enough for just now. I'm off to revise for the next exam. Two down, two to go.
I'll have a rake through my pictures to see if I have any before pictures in natural light to let you see the difference. If not, you'll just have to believe me.
Talk to you all later
