History?

Hi, I'm Nikki, and I've had severe persistent acne since I was ten years old. Not a good way to get through your formative years. But, somehow I've made it to 18 and to college. Mostly. However, remember the 'persistent' part about that acne? Yeah, I've still got it. After years of dermatologist visits, horse-sized antibiotics and hormone control, those pesky little nodules [yes, they're called nodules] keep popping up.
So, what is the next step for a poor teenage girl who was taking four pills a day just to get her acne manageable? One scary word:
ACCUTANE.
You know, the drug that causes liver problems, severe birth defects, depression, suicidal thoughts and-- worst of all-- dry skin and chapped lips? Yeah, that. I'm on it.

But let me tell you something:
This was me in July 2009, a year ago, when I started my crazy antibiotic treatments to try and rid me of my acne before senior year:

Scary, huh? Think of living with that. You think I ever feel attractive?
But then, here's my face in January 2010, after about 6 months of strict antibiotic treatment.


Not so bad, huh? I have to say, when I first compared those two photos I was pretty excited. But here's the sucky part-- I still have acne. It's not as severe, but it's still acne! So, after about four more months of treatment, we broke out the A-word.

Here we go.