Fading Acne Scars & My ACTH Stimulation Test

 So lately I have been feeling extremely tired and sleeping more often. I also have been still getting the dizzy spells. I called my endo and she suspected that I might need to get back on Steroids so she scheduled me for a ACTH and adrenal stimulation test. The test was about an hour long. At first the nurse attached an IV to me and drew blood from me. Then she injected me with some synthetic ACTH medicine to stimulate the production of cortisol. Sorry I am not sure what the medicine is called. Then I had another blood draw at 30 mins. Then another blood draw at 60 mins. The results came in and  just like what we suspected, my cortisol levels are still very low. My baseline cortisol was 8. When I was stimulated with the meds it only increased to 12. And in 60 mins it went back down again. My doctor explained that it should have been stimulated to atleast double or triple the amount to function like the average person. This is all really confusing information So I will put down a web explanation but basically I am back to supplementing steroids again. I didn't pass the test with flying colors but I am making something!

HOW I FADE MY ACNE SCARS
If you have had acne, you would know how hard it is to face the world with blemishes on your face. Especially for those who suffer from cystic acne like I did. Since the surgery, the breakouts have subsided slowly but what is left is just as bad. Acne scars.. The acne scars are allover my face. I have all kinds from the red scars, purple, brown to the bumps, keloids, and ice pick scars. There's so many scar names but I pretty much had it all. So even though I no longer had active acne, I still would hide my face from the world and have to wear heavy makeup to disguise all the scars. Like if you looked at me in the sunlight, you would see all these little holes and bumps on my skin and it looked so bad. I was very insecure about it, I would even wear foundation around the house with my family members. I did not think that I would ever be able to show my bare face ever again.

Well the past few months I have been testing different ways and products to help with the scarring. Some worked a bit and some was useless. So I researched acne scar solutions and found a good Diy recipe that has helped my acne scarring fade tremendously. I mix these ingredients and slather in on my face for 20mins every night. Here is the recipe:

Burning face mask Ingredients I don't use the nutmeg (the name is scary but it tingles)

Use honey as the base and add a squeeze of lemon and sprinkle cinnamon (I don't use nutmeg)

Burning face mask with the girls and yogurt face mask (alternate days)

The results for the mask has been very positive. My skin has been improving weekly. A few weeks ago I was at my local store and saw that this cream was on sale so on a whim I decided to purchase it. It is called Garnier Skin Renew dark spot corrector. I decided to try it out. And WOW it just heightened the acne fading so much quicker. I instantly saw results and last night my boyfriend and little sister told me that my skin looked so clear and bright. My boyfriend told me I should forgo foundation all together. I am so thrilled to get these skin compliments!! So remember that new scars fade faster than really old scars so you have to be consistent and patient. So this is the cream I am talking about and I will put some progress pictures here:

^I prefer the cream 

My Cystic Acne From Cushing's Syndrome in 2013 ='(

no makeup!! >.<

#NoFilter Wearing face powder and eye makeup >.^

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored review. This was what worked for me. Everyone has different skin and will react differently to products and ingredients. Test your skin to make sure you are not allergic.

My Hair Has Been Electrocuted

Hello! Sorry it's been a while since my last entry but I just wanted to talk about our physical appearance during Cushing's Disease (CD) and going through Adrenal Insufficiency (AI) As all of you patient's know. The physical changes are so severe that even the most confident person would feel insecure. I want to talk about hair this time.

I've been trying to grow my hair out since my last haircut a few months ago. Lately I have been distracted examining my hair. For the past few weeks I have been noticing another change in my hair texture. When I had CD my hair was falling out, I had some bald patches in the front and overall was thinning. It was oily so It was still soft and shiny though it was very thin. I noticed that after surgery, My hair started to regrow and fill in the bald patches however the new hair growing in is very course, dry and rough in texture. It is still fairly thin as my ponytail is a measly half fistful and now it looks dead and dull. I traded the balding for courser crinkly hair. I am not sure how I feel about this, other than I am completely distracted with how it feels. Almost like I've been electrocuted lol

A bit worried, I talked to my friend and she confirmed that the hair issues are from steroids and possibly AI. And her hair improved when fully tapering off. I hope in time my hair will start growing in better and healthier. Not only are we plagued with waiting for our health to get back but we have to be patient for our appearance to get normal. But Don't worry about it Cushies! Worst case scenario is that we could shave it all off lol just kidding >.<

As my lesson in health and recovery continues, I realize that the best way to get through these changes is to let go of our attachments to things in our life such as the past, the way we use to look, anger towards things we cannot change, material items and the way other people view us. Yeah that's a hard pill to swallow being a 25 year old girl/woman who is vain as the mortal version of a Kardashian. But I must remember that things were worse and now getting better. I almost forget that while comparing old photos pre CD, I look better now because I have some kind of inner self esteem I discovered during this whole process. It helps me to feel comfortable in my own skin and accept myself regardless of how I look. It kind of just radiates and people seem to approach and say hi to me. Unlike before people seemed to stare at me for the way I was dressed or the ridiculous amount of eyeshadow I wore lol OR maybe, it's because I seem happier :D

Cushing's Awareness Day

So I am a newbie here. I didn't know that April was the month to write a post everyday for 30 days for Cushing's awareness. I am 8 days late but I will try to catch up. Who's counting eh? Lets talk about symptoms and progress. Oh yeah thanks Marian for updating me on this!!

It's been almost 10 months since my adrenalectomy. Symptoms I still have is rapid heartbeat for certain things. Food can trigger it, high activity, social anxiety and caffeine. It's not as bad as before but it still happens maybe 2 or 3 times a week. No more panic attacks! YAY! No more paranoid feelings when I am out. The depression is much better. I find myself enjoying life more. I am socializing again and doing more of my hobbies. My menses come once every two months. I am getting more tired lately and extra unmotivated to get things done. I don't know if it is related but before I could multitask and wake up early but now it feels impossible to get out of bed. My memory is getting pretty crappy. The short term memory is bad. I repeat things and lose things that are right in front of me. Everyday is a struggle. Can't remember what I am studying and my textbook is a puzzle to me. I will be getting a brain MRI in a week to figure out why I am having headaches every night and the memory problems. THE STRUGGLE IS REALLLL lol hmmm.. weight is still stable. I am eating lots of fast food, takeout and restaurants. I have mad sugar cravings. Still get faint often.. The nurse says I have low blood pressure so i guess that's why I will eat a cookie then crave another piece of chocolate. SIGH I hope this won't make me gain weight once my hormones regulate.. I have absolutely no motivation to eat healthy and go workout or be productive versus before surgery I was working, going to school, eating super healthy and working out. Now I have to find great effort to do simple things. My bones still hurt, I tried to squat and heard my knees crack and pop and it hasnt stopped cracking ever since so I guess no squats for me. lol I will probably get a fat ass from eating all these carbs i'm inhaling anyway. The hairy-ness is sooo much better. This guy in my class said he hates hairy arms and asked to look at mines and said I had nice hairless arms. HA! He should have seen me a year ago. I was a furry hamster... But yeah I shaved my whole body and the hair growth is much thinner and almost blonde so that is very good progress. The acne is better as you saw in my last video.. But I still get pimples here and there so I still feel paranoid about that. The hair on my head is filling up nicely. Just got a fresh cut and now my hair feels so soft! Okay there's so more stuff but I don't remember so I will post a better blog next time. I am a little distracted right now =] Here's some pics of my haircut and progress pic!

Loving this hair. I did not change my color this is a box color from walgreens =]

Recovery is a beautiful roller coaster. Hello dimple, never thought I would see you again.

My SEVERE CYSTIC ACNE video

Hello guys I made a quick video of my acne journey. I cringe when I looked at my "during" pics bare face. Honestly I still am having anxiety posting this up as it is a very personal issue for me but on my quest to become a brave courageous person I am going to be bold with whatever I do. I need to step out of my comfort zone and live out of my bubble and it will start with this video.  I always had a few pimples here and there. I controlled it with Benzoyl peroxide which cleared up my skin 97% . During Cushing's the acne morphed into sever cystic acne. I had boils all over my face and neck and not one part of my face was clear. Every morning I woke up and cried in the mirror and every night I would sob washing off all the caked up makeup off my face. I became very self conscious about my looks. I never knew I placed so much self worth into my looks until I looked so disfigured by Cushings.

I use to model and do pageants and so having Cushing's basically made a devastating impact. When I started to get the breakouts I tried every herbal remedy there was to try to fix my skin but of course hypercortilism won the battle. and I soon gave up on my looks. After surgery my skin stopped breaking out around month 5 but I was left with dried out cysts under the skin which would turn into deep scarring. The doctors said I need to peel off the layers to get rid of the scarring.. So I went to the dermatologist and they prescribed me low tane and Retin-A. Now my skin is pretty much flat and smooth however I still have scarring that needs to be healed. I hope in time I can get back my clear skin. As a vow of overcoming my anxiety I will start  being social again and putting myself out there in life. There is  more to life to see and do than to be stuck in my little bubble being depressed that I have a pimple. I am thankful to have experienced the lowest point in my life. I can only appreciate life more today. If you are suffering from Acne please go see a doctor to make sure the inside of you is okay then a dermatologist and see what treatment they think will work best for you. Good luck and good skin!

LIQUID GOLD 4 CUSHIES!

Hello Cushies! If you guys are going through recovery, preparing to operate, or just super dry skinned. I found the holy grail lotion!

During my first month of recovery, I was not prepared about getting the itchy dry skin. I read all Cushies have the terrible itchy dry skin all over but of course I didn't think it would be that bad. Then one night I woke up in the middle of night and was so itchy I kept scratching myself and it did not help the burning sensation, if anything scratching irritated it more. I could not sleep and was so upset it felt like a allergic reaction. The next morning I looked and noticed I had patches of scaly stuff on the tops of my arm and the side of my backs. In time it got worse I noticed a strange texture to my skin almost like bumpy chicken skin. I researched what was going on with me and it seems like this is a common problem during recovery. So I started putting lotion on my skin and it seemed to help the itching however the lotion seemed to just sit on top of my scaly dry skin. So I tried different lotions but none of them seemed to penetrate deep in the skin for lasting relief. Then I just tried some lotions that were very thick and felt sticky all the time.

That was until I discovered Borage Therapy Lotion. OMG this is my holy grail lotion. I am so excited about it. I have to share the liquid gold. This lotion is the best lotion i've ever used. It absorbs quickly, penetrates deep layers in the skin, not sticky, fragrance free and gets rid of the dry scaly goose bumpy skin. It has a yellow color to it and a nice texture The smell kind of reminds me of cooked oatmeal. It does have oatmeal and borage oil as the main ingredients I think. Disclaimer: pleas check ingredients to see if you are sensitive or allergic to ingredients!
 I got this one at vitaminshoppe in store. but they sell it on amazon for bulk packs and individual. This one was 12.99 but I used a coupon for half off. I would still pay full price for this stuff. My muffin recently complimented how smooth my skin was and kept touching my arms haha I love it!

liquid GOLD!