I'm waging war on my skin.

My god. Nobody ever told me I'd be dealing with acne when I was 28. And monster, killer, I'm-bigger-than-godzilla acne at that! What *is* up with my skin and it's current state of destruction?

I suppose it started 2-3 three weeks ago. Technically, it was PMS time. I remember it specifically because we had tickets to the American Players Theatre and I wanted to wear a tank top. But I had this huge, nickel-sized cyst on my shoulder which I figured the people seated behind us wouldn't want to look at for three hours. I wore a t-shirt.

But the acne didn't stop there. That would be too easy because a shoulder wound is concealable. No. The acne also "popped" up with a doozie right smack dab between my eyebrows. Oh, and another on my cheek.

Fun.

I'll have you know, when I talk about my acne, I'm not talking about regular pimples. My skin seems to have an all or nothing philosophy. It's perfectly happy staying clear and clean. But when it decides to erupt it does so in full force with tumor-like acne nearly .5-1" deep and wide.

Nasty shit.

Four years ago I went to the doctor about my acne. I was worried about the enormous size of the pimples. Who knows what they could mean? What could they turn into? I didn't want scarring. I didn't want skin cancer. And, frankly, I didn't want ugly bumps on my face. After trying a few things, I found Retin-A was my best solution. I'm allergic to anything with Benzoil Peroxide and I hated the side affects of antibiotics such as Tetracycline.

Admittedly, the Retin-A has worked rather well. My skin is clearer and I've had considerably less breakouts. (I won't go into the countless battles I've waged with my insurance company over the prescription, however.)

Unfortunately, less frequent breakouts seem to make the ones that do occur much more traumatic.

And this recent stint is full-blown outrageous.

So, I'm pms-ing, I have wart-like bumps above my nose and on my cheek and an additional cyst on my shoulder. I pulled out some of the big guns for assistance: an Emergency Deep Cleansing Mask from Clinique, my tea-tree oil based blemish stick and an oil-free concealer. I figured if I could bide my time for the week (basically: suck it up), the blemishes would go away and I'd be back to life as normal.

However, life in the skin-zone DID NOT return to normal. Soon after the exit of the three mega-zits, new ones replaced them in new and more spontaneous places. Two under my chin and a hugo-one on my forehead just at my hairline that hurt like hell whenever I accidentally hit it while brushing my hair.

Fun.

Two weeks later, I'm past my period and my skin should be at its monthly high point. But, no, I'm using foundation (which I haven't used all summer) to even out my skin tone and concealer on the war zones. Every night I'm religiously cleansing my face (but not rubbing too hard like all the articles tell you not to do!) and applying my Retin-A . And I'm wondering if this is caused by stress or sweat or changes in my body chemistry...

I've set an appointment with a dermatologist. I figured it's in order since I haven't been for three or four years and this past month is quite unusual. Of course, doctors being the way they are, I can't get in to see one until late October. And knowing my luck, these blemishes will become a faint memory and my skin will be flawless for the appointment leaving me with little help from Dr. Skin Care.

I'm such an optimist.

In the meantime, I'm keeping up my skin-regime and doing a little praying on the side. I'm drinking my water. I've even cut out soda. Hopefully, my skin will soon stop its strike and decide to play nice.

It's either that or I'm going to become a pimple-popping Nazi.