Epuris: one year later...

Hello. It's me.

I'd forgotten that I had a blog and how it used to be

When I had time

To blog.

They say optometry school is easy

But it ain't been a breeze...

Got five exams

To study for,

But I'm running out of time...

Disclaimer: I started writing this post during the middle of exams, so my rendition of Hello doesn't apply anymore. But I'd say that's pretty decent song re-writing, eh?

Anyways. Hello! It's been over a year since I started taking Epuris, and if you've been following along, I've been off it since the end of September 2015; so I thought I'd post a little update for all of those who've been checking in to read about my experience.

Here's my background story: I'm pretty sure my acne started around grade 6, and I have a clear memory of having a really bad pimple on my chin in grade 7 when my crush spontaneously told me "You have a really big pimple" and I tried to pass it off as a bug bite. It continued on in high school, and then university where I started noticing that a) my breakouts loosely followed my menstrual cycle and b) it got really, really bad during the summer months. So in the fall or winter of 2014, my family doctor sent off a referral for me to see a dermatologist, and I got in to see her in February 2015, after getting started on birth control pills. And after some blood tests, I was given my first prescription for Epuris in April.

My experience was not terrible. My skin was naturally very, very oily, so Epuris' drying effect didn't desiccate my skin too much. My lips however did get very, very chapped, and the corners of my lips did crack a couple of times too. I also experience some moodiness at first when I started, but that subsided after a couple of weeks. And the last symptom I experienced was muscle pain in my back, between my shoulders - at the same time I'm not too sure whether that was entirely attributable to Epuris, or if it was me and my posture at work, because even since stopping Epuris in October, the back pain still hasn't gone away.

So how's my skin now? I'm still not entirely happy with it because I still have scarring, redness in some areas, and my face still gets shiny in the middle of the day. However, I'm satisfied with what Epuris did for my acne. I still do get pimples - most likely from stress and lack of sleep, with school going on - but they haven't been large, cystic or painful; and I haven't broken out badly (at most, I've had four pimples on my face at once! I mean, that kinda sounds like a lot, but compared to the amount I had on my face at once before, four is a really good number).

My routine has pretty much stayed the same - I still use the same makeup remover and face cleanser. I moisturize with a mattifying day cream, which admittedly doesn't do quite a great job at keeping me matte, but I like it for the SPF (I also use it as my night cream because I'm lazy - there are no negative side effects of too much SPF, right?). I also exfoliate at least once a week to promote skin cell turnover. For the occasional zit that pops up, I've been using a sample of NeoStrata's clarifying solution containing 2% salicylic acid, which I sadly don't have a picture for, but it has been effective, so I'm considering getting the full size product.

TL;DR: my experience with Epuris was great. I still get the occasional pimple here or there, but I'd say Epuris did it's job. Here's a selfie to show that despite the scarring and redness, there's nothing a Snapchat filter and good lighting can't fix!

Cheers!

Myers Briggs test 2016

Personality tests are always interesting. It's always fun to read the analyses and see how closely (or not) they actually line up with my personality as I see it. I took the Myers Briggs test on some random website today out of pure boredom and procrastination and my resulting personality type was different than when I first took the test a couple of years ago and last year.

ISFJ - Introverted, Sensation, Feeling, Judging

Dependable, considerate, and loyal to those closest to you, you have a firm grasp of the factual realities that lie before you as well as an eye for detail, each of which make you naturally gravitate towards others and their emotional needs. Nurturing and attentive, you tend to be quick to assume responsibility and to help out as soon as you see some task that could aid others. Though your surroundings rarely notice it, you tend to carry a lot of responsibility. All too often it is only when you are missing that others notice the immense effort that you usually put in to make sure everything around you is running properly and that everyone is looked after and feels at ease. Conscientious, thorough, and perhaps a bit perfectionistic, you are not one to impulsively chase after new and uncertain prospects before having finished the endeavor at hand. You tend to find a deep sense of satisfaction in working hard to achieve your goals and in selflessly supporting others, demonstrating that you care through your actions and preferring to lead by your quiet, dignified example.

The first time I took this quiz (it was a different quiz that took waaaaaaaaay longer, but last I checked, the quiz was no longer free to take or something), I got INTJ. And last year when I took it, I got ISTJ.

I'm evolving! I'm a feeling, more common-sensed individual now! Introvert has never been a surprise, and I don't think I'll ever grow out of that. As for judging... I don't know how to explain that.

Anyhow, quick post for the sake of posting; but also because I wanted that blurb on my blog for reference. You can take the quiz here, if you want. Or do you think these things are bogus?

So...... (Life goes on.)

Yeah, this blog challenge thing is NOT going to get done any time soon. The more I think about doing it, the more I go "ugh, why!?". It's become a chore in my mind, but while other chores - such as laundry, cooking, and washing the dishes - are necessary for my life to continue, this one is not. And so I'm not going to do it.

Does this mean I failed? Yes, I did fail the blog challenge.

Well, boohoo.

Life goes on. 

This has been something I've been telling myself a lot more lately.

My response to failing or not meeting my expectations is usually being upset, which entails moping, sighing obnoxiously every five minutes, or being fixated on what I could have done better or what went wrong. And this past year, there have been plenty of times when I have "failed" (one of them being not completing my optics midterm). But I've been getting better at letting them slide.

I've learned that sometimes, failures don't mean much in the grand scheme of things. Most of the things I consider "failures" are just wounds to my ego. You get over those by reminding yourself to be humble and modest; and that you're allowed to make mistakes and be scared.

What if it does matter? What if the failure is significant enough that it changes everything? Then, sorry, your life is over. NOT. You either dwell on it, or you do something about it. Or you dwell a little before you get up and start back up again; because life goes on whether you want it to or not.

Time won't stop while you dwell on your failures, so use your dwelling time wisely. Don't use a lot of it on negativity. Instead, try to think about the lessons you can take away from this experience; to plan what you'll do in the next few days, months, years; and to apologize to others where appropriate, and forgive yourself always.

So, I don't know where all of that came from, but hopefully it was inspiring or something. Regular blogging will resume whenever I post next (which may be soon... I think it's time for a skin update).

Hope you're comfortably warm wherever you are.