MelanieC said:
Recently I stopped taking birth control pills. I had been taking them for 15 years, but just about a month ago I started to experience some strange side effects (blotches on my face & gobs of pus coming from both eyes).
So its been about a month since I stopped taking them, and the brown blotches on my face are fading. But I've noticed that my appetite has lessened (which is a good thing for me!)
I've been doing research on the side effects on the pill I was taking, and one of them is increased appetite. But, have I been off the pill long enough to attribute my lessened appetite to being off the pill? Is it just in my imagination or has anyone else experienced an increase in appetite due to taking the pill?
One of the reasons I'm asking is because I struggle with acne problems and my doctor recommended I take Diane, which is to treat acne but is also a bc pill. I'm hesitant though to go on the pill again because of the side effects I already experienced and because I really don't want to increase my appetite again.
Any similar experiences?
Melanie -
This is off topic since its not about bc pills, but your comment on acne got my attention, since I recently experienced a horrible breakout that brought home to me how lucky I am to have found a product that works wonderfully for me, although its not marketed or intended as an acne product. Yeah, I know, everybody's got a recommendation about what you should use for your acne and you probably don't want to hear about one more, but as a fellow sufferer I just want to share.
I've suffered with hormonal acne my entire adult life...I keep thinking with each decade (I'm 47) it will go away, but no such luck. I have to be exceptionally careful about my skin or I will break out...even when I am exceptionally careful, I still break out. I mostly get whiteheads and "subways", but I don't have severe scarring thank goodness. I've tried many treatments, internal and topical, although I never did bc pills specifically for acne because I swore off any internal meds after going into liver failure from one (ironically from an antibiotic given to me in lieu of a third round of accutane because accutane is so hard on the liver). Yes, my acne could have killed me.
I've been using Retin A for years, and that helps, but what also helped heal my skin and prevent breakouts is a product called deep cleansing oil from DHC. I've been using it 6-7 years now, but I guess I was taking for granted what it was doing for my skin. Recently, for about 3 weeks I didn't use it, although I kept using the retin a...it wasn't on purpose, it was just in a part of my house I couldn't get to. I didn't think much of it until my skin stared to break out as badly as before I went on my first round of accutane...I couldn't figure out why it was happening and all those horrible painful memories and feelings of being embarrassed to leave the house started coming back. Then,as I was feeling better and able to get around my house more it hit me: I hadn't been using the deep cleansing oil...could it really make that much of a difference? Yep, I started using it and within 2 days my face was dramatically better.
Deep cleansing oil is olive oil you put on your face and then wash off with water...I know, as an acne sufferer you can't imagine putting ANY oil on your face on purpose, but the oil interacts with the oil on your face and removes it all while not drying your skin out. The weird part is that people with really dry skin love this product, too. and yes, it washes off completely with water...and removes any and all makeup you may have had on, too.
Other than my recent breakout, my skin has improved so dramatically in the 6 or 7 yrs I've been using this...believe it or not, other women frequently comment on how nice my complexion is, which is so shocking to me. Nobody can ever believe how badly I've suffered from acne. I still get breakouts, but they never get bad, because this product (combined with the retin a) tames them before they get a real hold. I love this product and I knew it was helping my skin, but I guess now I know that it was helping evn more than I was giving it credit for.
If you're at all interested in trying it, you can call the company for a free sample...here's their website
http://www.dhccare.com/DHC/
And if you want to read other reviews of the deep cleansing oil, you can read them here:
http://www.dhccare.com/DHC/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=300
There are more than 1600 reviews with 5 star ratings.
I don't work for DHC, but I do know the pain of acne and just want to share information about something that doesn't seem like it would work, but has truly made a difference for me.
Pam
