I’m mad. Like, really f*cking mad. Ok, that’s a lie, I don’t really get mad, I just get sad. So, I’m really f*cking sad. My face was finally getting better, finally looking like something was changing and my face was starting to play nice, but NO. No, no,no. It ain’t playin’ nice no mo’. My face has freaked out. Like OMG Ihateyousomuchjuli. Iwantyoutostaysingleforever. Andidefinitelydontwantanyonetofindyouattractive. Ever.
You, my face, are a straight up b*tch.
Ugh, I’m going to get so many emails about my dirty mouth now. I’ll save you the time…please don’t send them.
Anywho, I’m having one of those days of feeling absolutely hopeless. I don’t know what to do. I clean up my diet and it gets a little bit better, then it goes back to normal. I change up my face cleansing routine and it gets a little better, then goes back to normal. I get off birth control, I stay on birth control. I take fish oil, I don’t take fish oil. I eat more fat, I eat less fat. I don’t eat dark chocolate, I do eat dark chocolate. I get facials, I don’t get facials. You get what I’m throwin’ out? I try everything, but in the end my face has full control, and I am left staring in the mirror with tears in my eyes, choking back the egg of frustration that sits in my throat.
Just today, I started taking the probiotic saccharomyce boulardii which was recommended by Liz of Cave Girl Eats. I also am getting cod liver oil soon to start trying that as well. And making sure all sugar and nuts are cut from my diet. It’s just so annoying that my mind has to be filled with thoughts of how ugly I am or how I wish I could improve my skin. That’s dumb. It should be filled with cookbook thoughts, and Christmas gift thoughts, and food thoughts. But no, the face has won.
So here’s my question out of utter frustration and anguish…do I try acutane? Do I face the fact that I may be incredibly depressed, moody, and upset for months because of the drug? Do I face the fact that I may have to take the drug even though my face and other body parts will literally dry up and peel off? Do I face the fact that it may not even work? I don’t know what to do, but I’m obviously upset enough to blab all about it and want some of your advice. So, advise me.
On a more positive note, you NEED to try these muffins. They are DELICIOUS.
Morning Glory Muffins (nut free option)
- Yield: 9 1x
Ingredients
- 1 apple, peeled and cored, shredded
- 1 large carrot, peeled
- 1/2 cup sunflower seed butter
- 1 cup pepitas
- 3 eggs, whisked
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped (optional for nut free version)
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Now add your pepitas to a small saucepan over medium heat with a tablespoon of fat. I used coconut oil.
- Cook for 3-5 minutes, moving around lots so they don’t burn and so they cook on all sides.
- While your pepitas are roasting, add your apple and carrot to your food processor with the shredding attachment. If you don’t have a food processor, use a grater to shred your apple and carrot.
- Add your apple and carrot to a bowl along with your sunflower seed butter and rinse out your food processor bowl.
- Then add your roasted pepitas to the food processor and puree until you get a flour/meal.
- Then add your pepita flour, eggs, coconut oil, honey, raisins, pecans, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Mix well.
- Pour your batter into 9 FULL muffin liners in your muffin tin. I lined my muffins tin with silicone muffin liners but paper would do just fine.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until cooked through.
- Let cool slightly, but eat warm, because they are the best that way.
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More Nut Free Muffins:
Apple Cinnamon Muffins (nut free)
Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins (nut free)
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Juli, absolutely positively do NOT take the acutane. My oldest step-daughter’s mother put her on it when she was a teenager for a very short period of time and she suffers from terrible IBS and other gastric issues from it now. No, no, no, no, no. So not worth it.
No accutane!!!! First off, get a prescription for Retin-A… it will change YOUR LIFE. In addition, I go and get microdermabrasion… also has changed my skin big time.
Don’t try Accutane, it ruined my gut. which is why I am now paleo (hopefully I’d be paleo regardless) but there are studies that have linked it to causing gut disorders. Don’t do it. … I’m trying to think of what I did that changed my face… your paragraph of things you tried sounded like my LIFE. I stopped using all traditional skin products and moisturize with virgin coconut oil, wash with the oil cleansing method in combination with Juice organics Pom Smooth foaming facial cleanser. .. I seriously feel for you- I have been there. I am sorry.
I used it and it worked wonders. Not everyone has horrible experiences. It does get worse before it gets better though. And my skin was like the Sahara for the 8 months I took it.
I used Accutane after having my children and it worked GREAT for me! I had no side effects at all and it didn’t ruin my guts at all.
BTW earthclinic dot com has fantastic drugless cures for virtually everything. My skins cool but from memory tumeric has some sort of wildly successful ability to cure acne.
And holy smoke man, since when do you get over two hundred comments?! Last time I was here you got maybe thirty. Serious pat on the back. You’re doing unbelievably well.
I took Accutane and I honestly don’t think it did anything for me. I saw no real difference with my acne or affected the rest of my health. Just thought you could always use another person’s experience!
Please don’t use Acutaine! My husband took it when he was in high school (only for a month or so, because the depression was so bad) and then several years later he was in the hospital (too close to death for a 19 year old) with an extreme case of Ulcerative Colitis. Those of you that say that not everyone is effected negatively I beg to differ, years later these effects can take place. It isn’t worth the risk.
Accutane – that shit is SERIOUS. I used to be a pharmacy technician and in order to dispense it, we had to jump through a million hoops, sign 24,598 pieces of paperwork, and have women give us an arm, a leg, and their firstborn to prove they wouldn’t get knocked up whilst taking it. Some serious shit.
So, I hear you on the acne. I’ve been on birth control for a year, still had acne and insanity (like, I want to stab everyone in the eye and break down in tears alternatively) kind of insanity despite being off the artificial wackness that was supposed to help regulate my hormones and help my migraines etc. Then I did a Whole30 and I saw a slight improvement – just enough to tell me there was a fix but it was probably going to be more than just dietary intervention.
Long story short, I went to see more of a DO than a traditional MD (though I don’t think she’s actually a DO, she has more of a whole picture approach and uses homeopathy, supplements and meds if necessary but is paleo friendly) and she said (no surprise) that I was hormonally unbalanced and that I needed to give up coffee bc it screws with hormone regulation. But she also gave me a homeopathic remedy to get this shifted back closer to normal and pointed out that the birth control and depleted me of a lot of things that my body needed. I’m fatty acid deficient in a big way despite the fact that I take fermented cod liver oil daily. I also had a number of vitamin deficiencies and through blood tests and various other things she was able to identify a thyroid issue and a milk allergy I never knew I had.
So, what I’m saying is that maybe its not what you think it is. And maybe you haven’t given your body what it needs to heal itself. I, personally, wouldn’t go the Accutane route. Drugs have repercussions and not just the ones we can easily identify. If you are still breaking out that means there’s an underlying problem and its better to struggle through and ID the problem so you can fix it rather than slap a bandaid on it thats only going to temporarily cover up the issue.
*I’ve been OFF birth control for a year. (I’d been on it for 11…now I’m going the copper IUD route. Single gal and looking to stay tiny human free for the foreseeable future.)
I’ve had a copper IUD for 4 years and am getting mine out tomorrow (gulp!) because my husband wants to start a family (double gulp!!). I wish you many years of happiness, and baby-free peace with your IUD. I love mine, and am totally getting one put back in, post baby. Best BC method. EVER.
Amanda, I hear you! there are so many things that can be at play, and I’m glad you found a great DO. I wish I could find one in my area, but I honestly have no idea how to go about doing it. I think your issues are probably pretty common – that birth control has depleted a lot of women of things they need, that many of us have thyroid issues, and that’s why it’s much more common for us to have acne than men.
You are crazy beautiful, stop being silly! I understand (sort of) your frustration. I eat whole30, primal, sugar detox, IF and no matter what I still look the same. ANNOYING!! I say no on the accutane, it sounds like your body is doing some serious detoxing. I don’t claim to have great skin but I wash with this great organic skin care stuff and my clarisonic brush, use ACV as a toner and slather on coconut oil as my moisturizer.
#1 – Swear away. Potty mouths are the new black, or whatever. Every time you swear it makes me love you a little more.
#2 – Give the new stuff some time to work.
#3 – If a dude can’t see all of the awesome in you, he doesn’t deserve you.
“LIKE”
TRIPLE LIKE!! You are awesome Julie. My sister has struggled with the same issues so I know how hard it is to love yourself when you just see the face flare ups and it makes you feel so stabbity. I have been blessed with good skin, and have started taking Nordic Naturals Cod Liver oil with vit. D and it has helped with nerve pain a lot but I have noticed more breakouts, sort of like what you mentioned. I wish you the best. Wierdly my skin is the best break out wise right after I get a good sunburn…natural microabrasion?? (but that’s really bad for us fair freckly scandinavians!!). And dude, if a guy can’t see past your face he is one dumb turd and not worth your awesome energy. Throw a sugary piece of cake at him and be on your way!
oh…one more thing I forgot. My sister’s friend struggled with acne on her shoulders and chest and used some products from Lush and voila…it cleared up amazingly. Spendy, but worth it IHO. Just a thought….
Put f*cking beautifully!!!
Thirded! (If that’s a word. Whatever.)
LIKE! I totally agree.
aaawwww Julie dont let that shit get you down! Your gorg! May be a dumb question but have you tried Proactiv? I used to use it and it really did work. Hope you pull put of your funk ASAP. 🙂 Cant wait to make these muffins BTW.
Isn’t Proactive basically hydrogen peroxide? So it’s dealing with bacterial overgrowth and drying out the skin, leaving a need for any extra oil that might think about hanging around and being zitty.
This woman tracked her cystic acne to flouride overload: http://www.celluliteinvestigation.com/fluoride-acne. Even stock from the bones of a turkey that drank fluoridated water causes her to break out.
Oh, and how friggin’ cool is this? Might answer some of those ‘is it gut related’ questions, too: http://humanfoodproject.com/american-gut/
Hey yeah- I was going to mention the fluoride but went on some other tangent. You could consider a reverse osmosis undersink filter, they’re frikkin awes. Also get a REmineraliser because it sucks all the minerals out- basically dead h20, not very useful in the rehydrating schematic.
BTW if you suck back a lot of water, make sure it’s MINERAL not ‘spring’ water (‘spring’ means they either fill your bottle with tap water or bog standard UNmineralised reverse osmosis- in which case either way you lose). MINERAL water is usually imported from Italy. San Pellegrino etc. Stupid really, which is why a stainless steel bottle full of fresh REmineralised water from under your sink is really the way to go.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen.
I am 28 and have been using Proactiv almost 10 years. I have tried to go off of it before and the result was more of the cysts and zits all over. Benzoyl peroxide isn’t ideal, but the inflammation and humiliation on my face is worse for me. Most people are shocked when I tell them I have bad skin (and if I went off Proactiv today they would believe me in a week) because I use a good moisturizer and take very very good care of it because if I don’t, I will pay for it. I love this blog. I dabble in Paleo (barely) but I love your recipes and your ‘tude. And I totally feel your pain on this. My sister is hardcore Paleo and resisted Proactiv for as long as she could, but she is back on it and her skin is totally clear (she has also suffered from a life of acne, even into her 30s). I know it won’t work for everyone, but if you haven’t, give it a shot!
Juli, first off, you are BEAUTIFUL! I am so sorry you are struggling with your skin. My daughter is as well, and it pains me to see her sadness about it. She has taken acutane, twice, at the advice of a dermatoligist. Her skin cleared up for a few months afterwards, but is now breaking out terribly again. It’s so unfair-she’s diligent about skincare and her diet. I would advise against acutane. It dries you up terribly, and in our case, did not work at all.
Hey Juli! I struggled with acne really bad a few years ago. I use Dial Gold Liquid Handsoap. I use it once a day in the shower ( my problem area was my upper chest and upper back). It sounds really weird, I know! But my skin cleared up within a few weeks and I haven’t had a problem since.
P.S. I love your recipes! I make at least one of your meals weekly!
Dial liquid gold- I’ve heard of this working on acne before! There must be some magic in that soap. When I got my tattoo, its the soap the shop swore by too.
Hi Julie,
I am sorry to hear about your skin issues and I hope since you first posted, it has gotten better. I had acne as a teen and into my college years and also as a young adult. I went to a dermatologist for many years and Minocin seemed to do the trick for me after trying many other medications. I stopped taking Minocin in college after I had an allergic reaction (I was out in the sun way too much… sun tanning), so after I stopped taking anything, the acne came back in my late 20’s& 30’s. So! After trying every lotion and potion, I went to the local grocery store and got a yellow bar of yes, DIAL anti-bacterial soap. It’s been a miracle for me..no more issues!! Dial is one of the only “anti-bacterial” soaps on the market and I hope you will give it a try. Get the yellow bar of Dial. It really works. I read one of the other posts and she shared the same thing about Dial so I wanted to as well. Wash your face in the morning and at night before you go to bed. Wear your make up as you normally do after applying a small amount of SPF sun block.
Look forward to trying your delicious recipes!
April W. 🙂
I worked in dermatology for amost 4 years before I decided to stay home with the kiddies. Accutane definately works, I have actually never seen someone it doesn’t work for (a few repeated the course of treatment) I think docs have gotten a lot better at perscribing it, so your face isn’t scaling off, we only had a few patients with “depression” but my docs always said it’s less the drug itself and more who it’s being administered too. Teenagers with low self esteem- has depression written all over it. The first doc I worked for- I had formed a negative opinion of accutane, and swore as a parent I would never allow my child to take it, then once I switched practices I saw a little more insight into it. It’s such a pain as a patient to take though (without the woes of possible side effects) doc apt once a month, two forms of birth control, blood work, pregnancy tests, etc etc etc. I hope you find peace no matter which path you choose.
Hey Juli, I used to have problems with breakouts too. Paleolithic eating has definitely helped. The cleanser, etc. that I use is by Arbonne. I had never heard of them and a friend introduced me. It is a natural line and after about a month to two months you really see a change in your skin. I became a consultant just because I liked the products and they worked. Just like you I had tried a lot of things and nothing seemed to work. Just wanted to share what worked for me because I know how frustrating it is. I spent tons on dermatologist visits, medications, etc. before I found what worked. If you have any questions feel free to contact me! Btw, I love your recipes! Can’t wait to try these muffins . 🙂