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In which blood clears everything right up
Apr. 20th, 2014 11:00 amSecond cycle off dairy. I love getting my period now, because that's when the pre-period breakouts end and my skin is suddenly like "I ain't even mad!" and magically begins to fix itself. This month was different from last month, in that my skin got really angry for two days, but five days before my period. Then it continued grumpily, with one giant forehead zit -- which is already calming down, though -- the day before bleeding. I was going to say this month was not better than last month, but now I think I was wrong... if the breakout stage feels just as annoying but it heals up faster than last month, then it IS better.
Credit, perhaps, to four more weeks of fish oil (which might equal 20% reduction in blemishes, starting from a baseline in mid-March). Or to an extra month of skin getting stronger from general healing up, plus my attempts this month to NOT squeeze the crap out of it before bedtime. Oh, nobody's saying I look like a makeup commercial; I have blemishes that have turned the corner and are healing up, is all, and fewer/better than last month; but improvement is improvement.
This is not the first time I've treated a chronic problem with some success and then noticed a pattern to the part of the problem that remains. It's like a new landscape arising from a lake-bed as the waters recede.
So the issues next are:
I suppose that what feels good is my new sense that there is hope; that at least one thing actually works, so maybe there is some other thing that actually works, and if I keep paying attention and collecting data I might find it. Also, to state the potentially obvious: while I remain interested, I'm not miserable about my skin anymore. I can live with a monthly breakout.
Credit, perhaps, to four more weeks of fish oil (which might equal 20% reduction in blemishes, starting from a baseline in mid-March). Or to an extra month of skin getting stronger from general healing up, plus my attempts this month to NOT squeeze the crap out of it before bedtime. Oh, nobody's saying I look like a makeup commercial; I have blemishes that have turned the corner and are healing up, is all, and fewer/better than last month; but improvement is improvement.
This is not the first time I've treated a chronic problem with some success and then noticed a pattern to the part of the problem that remains. It's like a new landscape arising from a lake-bed as the waters recede.
So the issues next are:
- What is the deal with dairy anyway? I really miss cheese. To this end I have obtained some casein protein powder, and some pure lactose; we already had whey powder; and these I will try one at a time, starting probably in about a week. I really don't know what I'm hoping for with that; if none of them get me, there are more things to try.
- What is the best fix for what's left? Not sure. I'll keep fish oiling, for sure. This shit's also clearly got a hormonal aspect, so I could see if a dermatologist would put me back on the Pill; or I could try witch hazel toner, or the expensive "Medik8" stuff recommended in this article on monthly breakouts. I could also keep a food diary, and try to figure out if even MORE restrictions around the time of the month could help. Or I could start taking GLAs in addition to fish oil, which nobody in the fish oil / GLA study actually did.
I suppose that what feels good is my new sense that there is hope; that at least one thing actually works, so maybe there is some other thing that actually works, and if I keep paying attention and collecting data I might find it. Also, to state the potentially obvious: while I remain interested, I'm not miserable about my skin anymore. I can live with a monthly breakout.
