Fighting Acne

A huge part of my life recently (and almost everyday since I was twelve) has been fighting my acne. This is a long, long story, but since it's been so huge in my life, I want to share it.

I've tried many, many products (Neutrogenia, Clearasil, Proactiv, Murad, Clinique, Mary Kay, Arbonne, and MaxClarity), and I've been to see two dermatologists in addition to talking to my regular doctor. Somethings worked for a little while, and some things made it worse. Proactiv worked for a while, but then made it worse later. I saw some results with both Clinique and Arbonne. The best results were from MaxClarity. Murad made it much, much worse. Both of the dermatologists wanted to do two things: antibiotics and a retinol treatment. The first time I tried retinol, it was terribly harsh. The second time I tried it it helped. The first time I was prescribed antibiotics my mom refused and the dermatologist was so disgusted he didn't offer anything else. The second time I was prescribed antibiotics I took them, and they made me sick to my stomach. The second dermatologist also prescribed "acne surgery" which actually helped. They would steam my face, put exfoliants on it, and push gunk out of my pores. This actually helped. I also tried topical antibiotics which dried out my face and only worked for a brief time. I think that's everything I've tried before the last couple of months.

So, here I am half my life later. For the past several months, my grandpa kept suggesting I have a Candida Yeast overgrowth. It's actually hurt me quite a bit that he would see my acne as such a problem. I had gotten to  the point where I was content with having minor breakouts all the time and knowing my friends and family loved me anyway. I felt that his constantly wanting to talk about it was offensive, and I told him so.

FYI: Everyone has Candida in their system. However, things like antibiotics, birth control, poor diet, and even the chlorine in our water can cause good bacteria to die allowing the yeast to over grow and release toxins which can cause all sorts of terrible problems in our bodies. Most of this happens in the intestines. This is sort of an alternative medicine idea, but the more I learn about it, the more I believe it.

Back to the story...after my grandpa hurt my feelings, and I told him not to talk to me about it anymore...

I looked up Candida Yeast and acne anyway. I found a book called, Acne Free in 3 Days. Now, I wasn't going to buy it from the website, but I found it on Amazon for about $6, so I read it and tried it. Much of what the author said made a lot of sense, however, I think for someone with severe acne or a Candida Yeast overgrowth, the three day method will not work. It helped (at first), but did not work for me. I could try the three day thing again, and I probably will later. I read the book in early March. At that point, I had already cut most sugars from my diet which had helped tremendously. I did the three day thing, and it helped, but not drastically. Then, a week later, my whole face became bumpy. ICK! It's stayed bumpy.

It is still bumpy. I think the cause of this was that I tried doing away with my regimin of over the counter salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide face washes. I would have still been using MaxClarity, but they stopped producing for a few months, and I never reordered because with the retinol the over the counter washes were working. However, when Ryan came home I had to do away with using the retinol because it may cause birth defects, and we have been "trying."

I'd been watching what I eat after doing the three day thing as recommended by the book and other websites that I found. That means no sugar, no bread, no mushrooms, no vinegar, no white potatoes, no dairy (except all natural full fat yogurt), no, no, no lots of stuff. What got me through? I could eat natural peanut butter (so I thought). I also, as recommended by the book, started taking garlic pills and acidophilus (probiotic) pills.

I continued to try to diet and do research on Candida. I was having very few large pimples, and I even had some days with no large pimples. The more I researched, the more Candida just made sense as the cause of my breakouts since high school.

Last weekend (and to a lesser degree for two weeks before), I ate foods I shouldn't have eaten. I broke out terribly! This week, even though I've been back on my diet, I haven't really recovered. So, I reordered MaxClarity. It's what's worked the best topically. I also did more research on Candida diets. My wonderful peanut butter that was the only thing I enjoyed eating probably contains molds and is therefore off-limits! Bummer! But, if it answers the question as to why I'm not clearing up, then it's okay.

The more research I do, I am also coming to the conclusion that I need to get a pill that is stronger/has more probiotics. I am not comfortable taking some of the ones like ThreeLac that are recommended to get rid of Candida because they have probiotic not naturally found in the body. I also added olive leaf extract to the garlic pills to kill the yeast.

So, an example of what I'll be eating now: Today, I ate yogurt with fresh blueberries (fruit is mostly off limits, but berries have antifungal properties and, therefore, are okay), scrambled eggs, sunflower seeds, a hard boiled egg, guacamole with garlic (another anitfungal) and pecan crackers (yes, there is such a thing), carrots, celery, tilapia, and spinach with olive oil and lemon juice for dressing. It's not what I'd like to be eating, but I think it's good for me.

The good part about all of this is that the probiotics and diet should be perfectly healthy to continue during a pregnancy if I am blessed with a baby during this process. Hopefully, once I've killed off the overgrowth which could take months, I can eat like a normal person sometimes, but I'll probably always need to be careful.

Hopefully this works, but if it doesn't, I learned a long time ago that my acne is not me, that those who love me best don't see it, and that I won't have it in heaven.

Blessings,
Jordon

5 Months Later

Ryan's  been home for about five months. I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by. After five months back  living together, I have another little insight into military deployments and marriages for you.

Ryan and I spent the first few months in a "second honeymoon" feeling. We've just been so happy to be together that we've over-looked faults and annoying habits. We've probably also tried harder not to annoy each other.

A few days ago we had our first real frustration with each other. It wasn't really a fight, but his annoying habits brought out my annoying habits which brought out his anger which brought out mine. I didn't even want to sleep next to him. Instead of grabbing my pillow to head for the couch, I grabbed his hand, and he held mine.

I realized that it's definitely an okay thing and maybe even a good thing that we are getting used to being together again. Not that I want to take being together for granted, but we can't just go on in a honeymoon feeling. What's left after that feeling is gone is better. It's the commitment. It's the understanding that even though we are both annoying and angry, we aren't going to leave (the bed or the marriage).

Jordon

P.S. I have another small insight for you. We have a new routine. I'll be talking about something. Ryan will say "I didn't know that." I'll start thinking really hard about when it happened. Ryan will ask, "Was that last year?" I'll say, "Yep. Well, now you know." :) Can you imagine what it'd be like to miss out on a year of your life? He missed everything from new roads and stores to graduations and weddings to the everyday feelings and experiences of life in a marriage or family. Yes, I talked to him and told him, but where he was--working as hard as he was--made it difficult for him to even place the events and feelings of home in his mind. It's interesting.

A Journey of Revelation

Revelation. Yep, I mean the last book of the Bible. The one almost no one understands. The one I read every year but do not understand. I know it is God's Word and therefore just as worthy of study as any other book in the Bible. I'm just a little scared. If a bunch of brilliant pastors and theologians don't agree and don't understand Revelation, how will I?

Last week, we finished a unit in Bible class. It was focused on service and missions called Sharing Your Faith and Serving Others by Jim Burns. I felt equipped to teach this subject. I had the opportunity to talk with my students about donating my hair and blood and about going on mission trips to Sri Lanka and Mexico. I was challenged to be less selfish, more aware of needs around me, and more bold about sharing my faith. I often get as much or more out of our Bible studies than my students do, but I think most of my students gained from it and were challenged by it.

So, as we finished, I was hoping to find another great study. I asked the kids what they would like to study. "Is there any subject or book of the Bible you always wanted to know more about?"

Most of them said "End Times" or "Revelation."

In my mind I said, OH, CRAP!

I ordered two books to help me. A youth-group aimed book to use for teaching and a slightly deeper adult study book for me.

I've not even finished teaching one whole lesson (which takes about 3 class periods), I've not even finished one chapter in the other book, and I've not even finished studying the first chapter of Revelation, but already I am seeing some very awesome, very understandable themes.

(I try to avoid those super long compound sentences-not really good grammar-, but they're my weakness and Faulkner used them! You like my English teacher comments, right? Well, I can't help myself sometimes, and yet I fear that you find many typos and grammar mistakes. Really, it's probably my pride that makes me point out my own mistakes.)

The awesome main points of Revelation highlighted by both studies:

1. It's all about Jesus!

2. God is in control.

Those two statements are so simple yet so HUGE and so pivotal to everything I believe. They are two truths that are reassuring on the large scale when looking at all of human history, and they are just as reassuring as I look at today, the coming weeks, the coming months, and the coming years in my own life. They are the two main lessons God's taught me in the past few years.

I'm dreading studying and teaching Revelation less and less, and I'm becoming more and more excited about this journey!

Jordon

Trust Me!

I am sorry I blog so infrequently. We had History Fair at school a couple weeks ago, so I was coming home pretty exhausted. If you want my best writing, you want me to be well rested.

God has been teaching me a BIG lesson, and He's used my own words to do it.

A common scene from my classroom: I go up in front of the class to teach. I go to the board and write a math problem (or a timeline, or a sentence to diagram, or any number of things depending which class I'm teaching). I get a variety of reactions from the kids.

"We already know this."

"I hate learning about this."

"This is too hard! I'll never get it!"

"What does this have to do with what we are learning?"

I know that I am adding new information. I am trying to find a new way to explain it to make it easier and therefore more fun to learn. I know how it all connects. They need to just give me time to teach, and they need to trust me!

One day, I say (sometimes I yell in frustration) over my shoulder as I am writing, "Just trust me!" I've been their teacher for at least seven-eighths of a school year. Don't they remember that in every lesson before, I've given them something new, made it easy to understand, and connected it back to what we've been learning?

Then...(you see where this is going?)...

God says back, "Just trust Me."

But, God, I already know this, It's too hard to learn, I don't like learning it, and I'm not sure how what You are doing to me in my life will teach me anything!

"Just trust Me." Don't I remember how faithful God has been in the past? Don't I remember how He's given me what I need? Don't I remember how everything's come together in ways better than I could have imagined?

I have to acknowledge daily that God knows what new lessons I need. He knows exactly how to teach me. He can see how everything connects. I just need to give Him time and trust Him.

Sigh. It's so hard!

Trying to trust God and waiting to see where this lesson is going,

Jordon