Blog posts : "skin"

Tetracycline Update

I have been having motivation issues the past week and a half! Along with Tetracycline, I started another medication which made my energy levels plummet the first week. I seem to be adapting now :)

Tetracycline is a huge pain in the butt. For the best results, you should take it one hour before eating or two-three hours after eating. You are also expected to avoid dairy products within one hour of taking it, though the warning should really be to avoid calcium-rich foods which includes soy milks, fortified beverages, dark green vegetables, some fish, calcium suppliments and so forth. Tetracycline has a tendancy to bind to calcium, rendering the drug ineffective.

So far, I have managed to get one new nodule since I started taking tetracycline. I heard that it is supposed to take a few weeks to start working, but it seems to have held the current breakouts at bay while almost eliminating new ones.

Side effects... I've thrown up once and have learned that I should be trying to take the second dose of tetracycline before supper time so that my stomach has time to digest it and so that the nasuea that it causes me can subside enough. I get nausea after I eat, before I eat, and while I sleep... Unfortunately, this is a minor trade-off for how painful the breakouts can be. I'm hoping my body will adjust to it.

The biggest issue I have with it is timing the doses. I'm thinking I'm going to try setting a new alarm up to go off one hour before I'm to get out of bed, then taking it and going back to sleep. Then I can have my coffee and I should be able to take the second dose 2-3 hours after lunchtime.

Go Back

Oil Cleansing Method

Yeash, how long have I been doing the oil cleansing method? I think it's been 11 days... Almost two weeks! Wow! It's going pretty good. I've learned that I started off using wash clothes that were WAY too hot for the steaming step. This created blotchy red skin, since I was burning myself without realizing it. Even though your skin won't tell you it's burning, you're still at risk for damaging it. Woopsies!

I've adjusted how I manage the cleansing method. I'll go into more details later, but I wanted to post something before I headed off to practicum just because I hadn't really mentioned anything about the OCM lately. I've had one single nodule break-out since I've started, which is pretty significant since I usually have one or two breakouts every other day. A few nodules were even surpressed and reverted back. I had one holy mother of all nodules on my chin that lasted three weeks which has finally gone into remission.

I'm not in love with my skin, but it's starting to look a lot better so I'm pretty darn happy!

Go Back

OCM Day 7?! Wow!

Alright... So tonight will be the seventh time I've cleaned my skin with oil. So far... No new nodules forming under my skin, and a few of them actually reverted. The bad side is that my skin doesn't look terribly healthy. It's not that it's greasy looking or anything, it's just missing a certain luster about it. Maybe it's just the terrible diet I've been eating lately - nothing but junk!

I have had a few small white heads pop up, likely because I'm not spending enough time steaming and removing the excess oil.

All in all... I'm not really sold on the oil cleansing method. I said I'd do it for 3 weeks, so I will continue to do it for 3 weeks. It's pretty good and it's cheap to do, but it's definitely not perfect!

Go Back

Oil Cleansing Method Day... 2?

So today is the third day since I've cleaned my face with anything other than soap paired with harsh chemicals. I'm really apprehensive about posting anything terribly positive... Because I don't want to jinx anything. I have 3 current nodule break-outs on my skin, which are from last week. I had two forming on Sunday when I started this and today, one is completely gone, and the other is small and not red. The pores on my nose look amazing.

I found out that oil is great at removing water-proof mascara! Fabulous :D

So far, I'm pretty content with it. I feel as though my skin is less oily during the day. Usually come afternoon, my skin is incredibly greasy and oily looking. Yesterday, it wasn't too bad at all. It was still kind of oily, but not nearly as bad as normal.

I'm trying to take daily pictures so that I can put together a neat little collage when my 3 weeks is up. I missed last night's photo because I crashed pretty hard after my daughter was in bed. I had only received 2 hours of sleep the night before and was back on my feet for most of the day in light of practicum.

I'm pretty happy with the OCM so far... I just hope that my skin continues to adjust to it like it has been.

Go Back

4 blog posts