Day 60 - Raw or Not Here I Come

Well, I thought I had neglected this thing for a mere ONE week, but in fact, it has been TWO. The funny thing is that I took pictures of a lovely meal I ate last week and just didn't get around to posting them. It's been a busy couple of weeks for me and D. My eating has been "ok" at best -- still vegan with maybe 50% raw, if that. I spent a few days in Toronto for a business trip, where I ate more plain veggie pita sandwiches than ever in my life. HA. It was the only vegan option anywhere! Roasted Vegetable Wrap, hold the cheese please!

I'm still snacking quite a bit -- I cut out peanut butter (wow what a mistake it was to buy those huge jars) and I'm keeping fewer carby snacks around the house. I got my monthly bill yesterday, so some of this last week's scavenging can be attributed to that.

BIG NEWS! I went to the dermatologist! Yes, I'm officially fed UP with my crazy face. I mean, we all have our limits I guess. I look like I have tumors on my face, literally. No I won't provide photos. So I found a new dermo, instead of the same ole guy that would prescribe Accutane in a heartbeat. This new guy was direct I'd say; he called naturo-health-people "a bunch of lunatics" -- but aside from that little dig, the visit was informative. So here's what I'm pursuing at the moment:

• A short round of Amoxicilin to get some of the facial inflammation under control. No, I won't be on antibiotics forever. This will be like two weeks, and I'm amping up on probiotics to offset.
• Spirnolactone -- androgen blocker. This is the one I wary of, I don't know if I'll stay on it. It is basically blocking testosterone from going... somewhere -- he says it stops it from going to the oil glands, but I would imagine it stops it from moving period....? Not sure. He says this should not effect libido. And I'll make sure to let you all know if that is true!
• Photodynamic Therapy. Ok this one is up in the air. It's a very expensive procedure, but I'm drawn to it because it does not require ingesting any type of harsh medication. It's literally a photo or light therapy that is supposed to shrink the size of the oil glands after a couple of treatments.

The doc said the cause of cystic acne is fatty acids building up in the skin. So for whatever reason (could be diet, genetics, hormones) fatty acids find themselves in my skin. And Doc says the only way to heal this is to shrink the oil glands.

I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING. Fatty acids....HMMM. Yes, this could very well be diet related, I'm no expert. However, I just NEED some relief. I'm going to do this short term, maybe seek out the photodynamic therapy, and see how things go. Oh how far we go for vanity..... No joke.

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THE OTHER NEWS! I gave up coffee and dessert for lent =D It's amazing how I can stick to a "program" when it has a beginning and an end. When it is just a "lifestyle change" I seem less inclined to stick with it. So for now, I'm going strong on day #2 of lent season! Just to clarify, I've been off caffeine since the new year, but I was drinking decaf on an almost-daily basis with my beloved soy milk. So now it's tea in the morning, just like a good raw vegan girl.

Diet overall, I have a serious cooked food attachment. Maybe this blog should just be called "YEAR" and I can update you all on a year's worth of eating in this weird world I live in. Raw or not, here I come!

Cheers,

K