"Is This Worth it?

I have been plagued by acne since I went off the pill 7 years ago to try to get pregnant. This past year I decided that I had enough! I found a dermotolgist through my step-mom, and went to her. We tried the old stand-by: antibiotics and Retin-A. That did not work. Plus, with all of the antibiotic resistence that has been going on, I did not think taking antibiotics was a good solution. So we tried Tazorac. It did not work. Then the doctor asked me if I had thought about Accutane. Yes, Accutane. Being that I am clinically depressed, and one of the side effects is depression, I really did not think it was a good idea. The only thing left was taking Spironolactone, a drug that is used for hypertension. It is used as an off-label drug for acne. It works by suppressing the male hormones which are responsible for most of the acne seen in woman. There are side effects, of course, but minimal when compared with accutane. I had to have a chem. screen done first because of some effect it has on your kidneys, and I was good to go. I scheduled an appt. for 3 months later, and went on my way. The result: it didn't work. I was so frustrated! At my next appt., she could see that it hadn't worked. I had two options. Try to up the dose, or try Accutane. We talked about my fears of Accutane, and I told her I would talk with my psychiatrist about it. She then decided to perscribe me the highest dose of spirononlactone to try. Her point about Accutane was that after one or two cycles of it, the acne would be completely gone, so there would be no more drugs to take. With the other drug, I would have to keep taking it pretty much forever.

I took the prescription for the other drug, and talked to my pychiatrist about the Accutane. Yeah. He pretty much was 'oh hell no. We agreed why add something like Accutane when I was doing so well with my depression. I would rather have zits than depression!

The problem is this drug has side effects. Menstrual irregularities being #1. Let me say that it has not been fun having two periods a month, and they keep getting closer together. Husband isn't happy about this either. Planning a vacation just for the two of us not knowing if we can even have sex, you know-spontaneous no kids around sex, basically blows. I was a like clockwork girl. I like to have control of this, to know when it's coming. I also have not enjoyed the lightheadedness, nor the out of breath feeling that happens when I walk up a flight of stairs. Working out has been interesting, I'll tell you that! But, but....my skin is beautiful. Really, really beautiful! It has not looked like this since I was a teenager, and didn't have much acne to contend with. I wear a lot less make-up, and feel more self-confident. It is wonderful not having to worry about my make-up smudging off. Sometimes I even feel like I have good skin. My only question is do the benefits outweigh the side effects?