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Adult Acne Blog - 2002
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nurse, nutritionist, herbalist, or otherwise medically trained person.
I am an ordinary person who has suffered from adult acne since 1995 and have found no solution to my acne through conventional medicine.
May 4, 2002
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
3:07 PM (Pacific)
You know what, it's great to be back. I still love blogger. :)
Anyhow, my skin is going back to crap...but I don't think it's the Differin/clindamycin phosphate, I strongly suspect it's the Tri Levelen. I called my HMO...pfffffft...someone (not my regular doctor, unfortunately) is supposed to call me on Monday about switching to a different Pill.
I read on the Internet, on, I believe, an Oprah Winfrey site of all things (I'm starting to feel an enormous respect for Oprah Winfrey, imo she kicks ass), that there are 3 "newer" progestins--norgestimate (this is the Ortho-patented one iirc), desogestrel, and gestedene, that are supposed to help acne. The "older" progestins (including the one in Tri Levelen/Tri Phasal) are supposed to *not* help acne and in fact can worsen it.
My HMO ended their contract with Ortho, so I am hoping, hoping, hoping that the other 2 progestins are not Ortho progestins. If they are however, then I'm going to make my case that I need to take Ortho birth control pills...my skin is killing me.
On the positive side, at least this venture has made me think about hormone regulation in general...how it is the only logical way to prevent acne. Isn't acne caused by hormonal imbalance to begin with? How else are you going to prevent it?
I also found out that there is some theory that progesterone can help acne...there are 2 herbal ways to increase your progesterone. One is an herb called "agnus castus," the other is a progesterone cream...Emerita makes the best-known one, Zand also produces one.
The thing is this--you *can't* use either of these treatments if you take birth control pills. I mean, I'm desperate, but even I won't touch either product...I'm afraid I'd get pregnant.
I've felt really depressed the past week over this...I feel we are hypocritical as a society. We're quick to judge, say, Iran, where the religious police have been known to throw acid in the face of a woman wearing makeup...we consider that ridiculous (and it is ridiculous)...but we are so quick to accept that a woman here in the U.S. should have permanent acne? for the rest of her life? In the greater sense, what's the difference?
It's obvious that something environmental is causing all this adult acne. I've said it before, we are crapping ourselves up. I heard on the news, very briefly, that it's not at all unusual now for 8-year-old girls in the U.S. to develop breasts and pubic hair. Eight years old!!!!! They mentioned...again briefly...that 3 causes could be, obesity, residues of hormones from milk and meat, and elevated estrogen levels from, say, heating your foods in plastic.
I now meticulously do *not* use plastic in the microwave. I honestly did not know about the estrogen thing. I'm already pretty meticulous about the milk and meat stuff, and I don't let myself put on weight...although, again, this stupid Pill has made me put on more weight than the Ortho Tricyclen did.
I will continue posting about the birth control pill thing.
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