Posts by Drew Peterson7

Hey, crimsonhound28, I did! Thanks! I actually just replied to you.
Look, I’m fully aware that jojoba isn't some magic cure-all, but honestly? It feels right for me at this exact moment. It’s like it just completely settles my skin—which, let's be real, is currently an inflamed, battered, and irritated mess.

I've decided it's time to start being kind to my body 👏
Because if I don't look out for myself, who else is going to...?

You guys aren't going to believe this, but I'm back—it's jojoba. Look, I don't buy into any of those "miracle acne cure" fairy tales, but I have officially decided that I am NOT putting anything aggressive on my face ever again. Absolutely NOTHING. There was a time when I was so desperate I probably would have slapped hydrochloric acid on my skin; if something stung, I just assumed it was working better. Well, thanks to all that reckless experimenting, listening to "well-meaning" advice, and my own sheer stupidity, my skin is now incredibly inflamed, depleted, and sensitive to... everything. So, I figured—I have this bottle of jojoba (which I totally $33 earlier) just sitting there unused, even though when I actually used it, it felt surprisingly good. In some inexplicable way, it didn't even bother me 🙄
After just two days, the peeling caused by the Avena Diacneal and my little flirtation with benzoyl peroxide is finally calming down. God, I was so foolish to fall for the hype with those products...
Listen, ladies, these breakouts that stem from within cannot be cured by anything you apply to the surface!!!! Externally, you just need to be gentle with your skin and give it enough strength to handle things on its own. Everything else needs to be dealt with somewhere inside. 🙏

Yesterday I went to see my specialist at the Mayo Clinic, and after I laid out my entire history, she just stared at me and asked—what exactly do you want from me here? 😕
She isn’t a bad doctor, generally speaking. Even though I haven't spent much time under her care (thank God for small mercies), I do trust her; I feel like she actually knows what she's doing. But what happened yesterday? It was incredibly disheartening. I really had high hopes for this appointment... 😢
She didn't even suggest a hormone panel, not even when I practically begged her to! I am convinced that my hormonal levels are the root cause of all these acne issues, yet it feels like nobody gives a damn... or maybe they already know there's no magic pill, so they're just trying to save a buck and avoid wasting both my time and theirs?
I still need to get my thyroid checked, but honestly, I suspect everything there is fine. I’ll probably end up wasting an entire day and a chunk of change for nothing. Still, whatever—I'll go. But I think I need to find some alternative way to clear my head. Since life clearly won't give me any peace...

You know how I’m constantly dealing with this weird sensation, like there’s a little lump stuck in my throat! For years, I suspected it might be my thyroid, but the issue never felt urgent enough to actually dive into. Or, to be more precise—I honestly didn't have a clue what I was even looking for.
Anyway, my doctor finally gave me a referral to get my thyroid checked out, but apparently, the local clinic near Mayo Clinic is completely incompetent and can't even run basic searches!!!!!!!
Now I'm left wondering if I should just pay out of pocket and go private. I have an appointment at the endocrinologist today, so I’d really like to get my other hormone levels checked while I'm at it. Can you believe it (well, of course you can...) that despite all these diagnosed issues, nobody has ever bothered to check my bloodwork, let alone my actual hormone levels...
Has anyone here gone through this privately? Where did you go and what kind of damage does it do to your wallet?

I honestly feel like I’ve become addicted to Diane. They didn't exactly solve all my skin issues, but they kept everything under control. Now that I've stopped taking them, my face looks abysmally worse than it ever has. On top of that, my moods swing every five minutes—I’ll burst into tears over something tiny, cause a massive scene, and then act like nothing even happened. It is exhausting to live this way, both for me and for everyone around me. But since I recognize what's actually going on, I'm trying my best to keep myself in check. Honestly, I’ve lost all sense of perspective; I can no longer tell if something is an actual objective problem or if it's just my own perception acting up. 😕
When I first started, the side effects were pretty mild. I gained a little weight and felt a bit depressed, but that passed relatively quickly. To be perfectly blunt, since I’ve been on Diane, I haven't had to go on a single diet in five years. I won't count the usual 5 to 10 pound fluctuations between summer and winter, because I consider that completely normal. Before this, I used to struggle with being up to 30 pounds overweight. As far as my mental state goes, I actually feel more balanced while taking them than I do without them.
I LOVE DIANE 😍

It feels like we’re just spinning our wheels here... 😢
So, how are you doing on the baby front? I mean—do you have kids, or are you currently trying to conceive?
I’m finally at the stage where I want to start a family, so I can't help but wonder if any of this stuff actually impacts things. My doctor is practically breathing down my neck telling me to get pregnant AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. She insists there’s no such thing as an estrogen injection that mimics pregnancy. I keep holding out hope, but honestly, it feels like my PCOS ovaries have a mind of their own and they're calling all the shots...

Brenda Rogers said:I struggled for years, trying everything you guys mentioned—tossing piles of expensive creams, hopping from gynecologist to dermatologist to endocrinologist. Eventually, three years ago, I was on Accutane and everything finally settled down. But last summer while I was on vacation at the beach, I had a literal eruption of cystic acne, specifically just on my neck. On top of that, my hair was coming out in clumps in my hands. Since this alarming situation hit me in literally one week, I went straight to a private clinic for testing because by late August everyone was out on vacation, and appointments weren't available until late September or early October. All in all, they couldn't find an actual cause; they just claimed it was a hormonal imbalance caused by stress... I mean, what kind of "deadly" stress occurs while you're relaxing at the beach? In the end, it passed just as quickly as it arrived, but I was left with a ton of dark spots that I spent all winter fighting with AHA acids. Most of them faded, but some traces remain, so I’ll have to repeat treatments again this winter.
So, dear doctors, when they have no clue what to say, they just blame it on stress.

I absolutely agree! They haven't a clue! Though, honestly, you can't put it all on them either. It's because we actually know so little about how our own bodies function that if a treatment actually works, I suspect it's mostly pure luck combined with a tiny, microscopic sliver of knowledge. Of course, I'm not talking about those incompetent doctors who barely glance at you and clearly didn't absorb much medical knowledge during their time in med school. Those people are a special breed of patient. 🙂
Stress is dangerous, and quite often, we don't even notice it happening. It disrupts the body's internal balance, leading to things like migraines, insomnia, ulcers, cancer... but we all know that, don't we? 👍 The real question is how to identify it and resolve it before it reaches the level where it starts causing physical damage. I'm still searching for the answer myself... all I know is that regular exercise truly helps me, both physically and mentally.

Oh, I have to go whip up some dinner; my husband will be home from work any minute now. 😍

Sandra Campbell9 said:I can't even think about starting treatments yet because the sun is still absolutely scorching! Do you have any idea when it’s actually safe to start messing around with those acids?
If you ask a professional aesthetician, they won't give you a straight answer—they'd probably try to sell you a full peel in the middle of July just to line their own pockets! 🙂

Man, I am telling you from firsthand experience—STAY AWAY FROM THE SUN! The UV index is staying high much longer this year, so don't rush into it. Wait until that dreary, gray autumn weather finally rolls in. In my opinion, that is the absolute prime time for any kind of chemical treatment. You’ll have just enough time to get your skin looking flawless by next summer... and then you can go right ahead and ruin it all again. 🤣

And honestly, please, keep venting! Isn't that exactly why we're all here? To let off steam, offer some comfort, and hopefully help each other out.

Betty Adams12 said:Right now, I’ve switched over to all-natural cosmetics because, at the very least, they don't strip my skin dry like everything else does.

Look, I’ve tried it all—aromatherapy and all that jazz. It isn't "bad," per se. In fact, I actually picked up some life lessons from that whole philosophy that have been genuinely helpful for my mental state. But let's be real: I simply couldn't justify dropping half my paycheck just to wait an eternity to see if my condition might *eventually* improve, or if I'll still be dealing with liver issues, kidney problems, or whatever other organ decides to act up next. I finally decided I'd much rather spend that money on a nice dinner or having someone I love pamper me with scented oils. I know that sounds like I'm trivializing a serious situation, but honestly? That's exactly how I feel right now.

I’ve officially made the switch to goat milk. Honestly, soy milk is just plain revolting. I mean, don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy soy in other contexts and have been making it more often lately, even if it is basically pure GMO sludge 🙂 Just kidding—mostly. I’ve been in a bit of a mood lately, so I figure I might as well swap out hormones and antibiotics for pesticides and GMOs just to shake things up a bit 🤣
Anyway, I haven't seen any actual results yet since I only started a few days ago 🙄, but I’m fairly certain this is the right move.
I just don't wrap my head around this whole macrobiotics thing 😕 It feels like you're supposed to eat stuff sourced from halfway across the globe, like some exotic ingredients from Brazil, Afghanistan, or Mozambique! Isn't a homegrown, organic tomato from a local farm way healthier than all that imported nonsense?

Grace Turner85 said:The one thing that actually worked for me—the one thing I find myself constantly returning to—is a strictly healthy diet. I haven’t ventured into macrobiotics yet, but I’m convinced it would solve just about anything. For my own situation, sticking to the Montignac system worked like an absolute miracle.

Dietary intake isn't just about fuel; it’s fundamental. To my mind, nutrition operates on an entirely different plane of existence. It is the bedrock upon which everything else is built. When you prioritize what you put into your body, you aren't just eating—you are ensuring that every single biological mechanism within your system functions with precision. You are striving for true physiological equilibrium. If you can achieve that state of internal balance, then disease simply doesn't have a foothold to take hold. 👍
I make a concerted effort to maintain a high standard of nutrition; I’m in the kitchen cooking from scratch every single day, ensuring my diet is heavily supplemented with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.
I’ve been digging through several studies lately, and the evidence suggesting that milk and dairy products trigger acne breakouts is hard to ignore. It feels like because the big dairy industry holds such massive influence over our food systems, you rarely see anyone willing to speak the plain truth about what's actually happening. Because of that, I’ve made the decision to cut them out of my diet entirely. I won't even try to tell you how much I'm struggling with this; I absolutely live for cheese, milk, and everything else in that category. But then I start thinking about the sheer amount of hormones and antibiotics they pump into those poor cows, and I realize I'm basically just storing all those chemicals in my own body. Once I frame it that way, staying away from it becomes a lot easier to stomach.
I honestly think the exact same logic applies to how they raise chickens.
So, what I'm hearing is that I need to go out and find some old lady at a roadside farm stand who milks her own cow, makes her own cheese from scratch, and has absolutely zero concept of what antibiotics even are? Is that the play here?

Ladies, thank you all so much for the input!
It honestly feels like this thread should just turn into an official support group—something along the lines of "You're beautiful even with 😛." Honestly, hearing that from my partner, my sister, my parents, or my best friend means the world to me lately. They usually catch me right when I’m mid-breakdown because, frankly, I’ve turned into a total monster overnight.
But,
looking at the consensus here, it seems most of you agree that everything we’ve tried so far has been nothing more than throwing money down the drain. It makes me wonder: what would my skin actually look like if I had just left it alone all these years? Then again, maybe I'm just kidding myself. Who knows...😎
I’ve made a conscious choice to stop stressing and obsessing over it. It isn't exactly easy, since I don't spend my days hauling boxes in a warehouse; I work in customer service, dealing with people, so naturally, everyone stares. But I've come to realize that this is just one of those things in life you have to learn to deal with. People out there have much, MUCH bigger problems than mine.
I just walked through the door and washed my face immediately. By the way, I cannot recommend the Hygiea Zincia cleanser enough. It’s super gentle and has a bit of zinc in it. I won't be applying anything else before bed, just some Aknemicin. Though, who knows, I might just act like a total baby and 😍
this too shall pass.

Look, after spending months lurking and reading about everyone else's struggles, I’ve finally decided to step up and lay out my own saga.
I’m 31 years old, and since puberty, it has been a non-stop war against breakouts, acne, scarring, spots, and those deep, painful bumps. It feels like there isn't a single known therapy I haven't cycled through—everything from Clindamycin and every flavor of antibiotic imaginable to Skinoren, benzoyl peroxide, birth control like Yaz, various estheticians, glycolic acid, and even cryotherapy... everything except Accutane.
I was on birth control for about five years, and honestly, it helped quite a bit. The breakouts didn't stop entirely, but the situation was significantly more manageable. It was at a point where I could actually focus on fixing the scars. Well, that’s where luck failed me; I stumbled right into the hands of a Dr. Miller and his so-called "miracle" methods, which just left me with a handful of fresh new scars. Dr. Miller ended up being blacklisted—partly due to his reckless techniques and partly because of some shady financial dealings. All I really needed was a dab of acne cream on a fresh breakout and something like an acne oxidizer on a popped one, plus a decent moisturizer, because all this aggressive "treatment" combined with aging means I'm starting to see fine lines.
Six months ago, I decided it was time to try for a baby. My OB-GYN told me to just stop the birth control and see what happens. Since I have PCOS, the risks are high—irregular cycles, acne, difficulty conceiving... and well, that is exactly what is playing out. My cycle is 👎 I didn't get pregnant, and the acne 😲
It started gradually, of course, but then it hit like a geometric progression 😉 steadily and surely—first one pimple, then three, then seven, then fifteen, then thirty-two... now my face is so inflamed it looks like I got stung by a swarm of bees along my jawline; I am completely red and swollen. And it hurts and it itcheshhhh... 😲 I suspect part of the reason is that I wasn't being nearly careful enough with sun exposure while at the beach. I simply didn't think it could impact things this much. I forgot. For years while I was on birth control, I used to tan without a second thought.
So, I get back from the coast, take a round of Geomicin, and nothing. I go to a dermatologist in downtown Chicago—the woman looks horrified, but she tells me she has something I haven't tried yet that will surely help. Erythromycin combined with benzoyl peroxide. The woman literally forgot that I had told her two minutes prior that I was ALREADY using THAT EXACT COMBO. Then she tells me to stop taking the Geomicin so I don't poison myself unnecessarily if it isn't working. So, I head home feeling happy, having wasted an entire morning for absolutely nothing.
In the meantime, I've started running tests—blood work, urine, thyroid, hormones... we'll see where things stand.
But—as often happens when a problem drags on this long—I’ve become a bit of a self-diagnosed doctor. I'm convinced the issue lies with my ovaries. They seem to be the source of all these "joys." As for what triggered them—I still don't know. So, I'm going to tackle that head-on and focus on getting ready for a baby. After that, we'll see.
Anyway, I would love to hear from anyone who has gone through something similar. And if my story helps someone else, I’ll be glad.
One thing I want to emphasize to everyone: do not buy those "REVOLUTIONARY" creams or any other nonsense. Take that money and spend it on a better haircut, some clothes, or a nice pair of shoes if you want to feel better. For acne and breakouts, the cure is somewhere inside you. You aren't going to fix it at a CVS or a Walgreens.
I'm also curious if anyone has experience with aromatherapy or homeopathy regarding this. Because, naturally, I have 🤣 but I don't feel like venting too much right now. Maybe another time when we revisit the topic.