My Acne Story...

I am a 36 year old female, who has NEVER, NEVER had acne a day in my life, not during my pregnancies nor when I was going through puberty as teenager. Occasionally I would get a nodule/cyst on my chin or forehead, usually around the time of my period. It would come up and stay for a week or two then go away. BUT, a few years ago I started having breakouts on a semi regular basis. Then it was becoming regular and then all the time! I had numerous nodules/cyst on my chin and jawline- VERY PAINFUL!

Lord knows I have spent HUNDARDS of dollars on products trying to take care of my skin. I couldn’t tell if it was just getting older and my skin changing, or all the extra cream I was applying to figure out what the heck was going on. I can’t tell you how many times I have changed my foundation, and still no change. I have always had dry skin but the last few years by 1:00 in the afternoon I was an oily mess. As I tried to ignore my vanity calling my frustration was ever growing. My latest was this cheap remedy I had read about on a blog

Then just last week I had more nodule/cysts appear on my chin and I was done! I called my dermatologist and got in. I was so thankful that he had had a cancelation that very day.

Turns out I have disease that creates DEEP nodule cysts that cannot be treated with any type of topical treatment alone. I need to take a drug in order to get it under control. He gave me a few samples, a prescription and some coupons. Coupons, that should have been my first clue!

I was egger and raced to get them filled. Not forgetting my coupons the Doc had given me. My sweet little Target pharmacist smiles as she rings me up and says “that will be $1,013.00, boy that stuffs expensive!” I just about wet my panties right there, cross my heart! Still in a state of shock I asked “is that with my coupons?” …”oh, oh, no I forgot to apply them.”…”it’s just $50.00”…I began breathing again and handed her my debit card.

 

Turns out this stuff is a tad on the expensive side. Thankfully the next three months will be covered with a coupon. In the mean time I will be making some phone calls to my insurance, with fingers crossed, hoping they will cover some portion of the costs. So far I can already tell that my skin is changing, for the better.

 

Ladies, if you have never had acne issues and are struggling with them now I encourage you to not only visit your dermatologist but also your OBGYN. You may have a very common issue called PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) which is basically a severe hormonal imbalance. And all these issues can be treated with time and patience.

Don’t waste any more money or time searching for answers. Once you have them answered you will be better informed if the investment is worth it or not. Age brings a lot of things our way…acne does not have to be one of them.