The land of Botox and... Accutane?

Zach has had a rash on his abdomen since last summer. It's not ultra noticeable, doesn't itch, hasn't spread... I'd actually forgotten that it was there since I rarely see him topless anymore. But, my friend mentioned a skin disorder that her daughter has and it reminded me to take a peek at Zach's rash. Since it was still there, I decided to take him to the dermatologist (his ped saw it three months ago). We went yesterday at 4pm. It was packed! You know who gets out of school shortly before 4pm? Teenagers! They were everywhere. There were no two seats together, so Zach decided he wanted to sit on my lap. Plus, he'd fallen asleep in the car, so he just wanted to be cuddled. All these teenagers were there - many were dressed as if they'd just rolled out of bed and they STILL looked better than I do after a shower and make-up - and I was there looking 35 and with a child squirming in my lap. Their teenage skin was gorgeous. Why were they there? I'd decided that if I ever wanted to feel bad about myself, this is the place to be at 4pm M-F. The dr was running about 30 minutes behind schedule, so we had the pleasure of hanging out with all the pretty people in the lobby. Finally Zach's name was called. We met the nurse - very nice. She left us alone to wait for the doc (nurse practitioner, actually) and I picked up one of their pretty brochures. "Want to look younger? We've got what you need!" All sorts of treatments were listed, all of which made me cringe in pain. Then I noticed the bio of their nurse practitioners. No colleges listed, but it was quick to inform me that they've been trained by nationally renown doc's in Botox! Botox? What am I doing here? (No judgements if you use Botox, I'm just saying that I have more serious problems with my appearance that need to be taken care of before I can even think about what Botox would fix.)

Pretty soon the nurse practitioner arrived. She was gorgeous, well-dressed, had a huge mane of gorgeous curls, and (of course!) clear skin. She was SO sweet with Zach, high-energy, just what I would look for in a pediatric doc, not an adult doc (they see adults & kids). I was expecting stuffy, hurried and cerebrial. She looked at his abdomen, said she didn't think it was anything serious, and asked if she could bring the doc in to get his opinion before making the diagnosis. So, he came in and was equally wonderful with Zachary. How great!! Zach has a rash that is usually seen on the legs, very rarely the torso. Nothing serious - it will go away on it's own within a year or we can treat with meds if we want it to go away a little sooner. Since meds weren't necessary, we decided to skip 'em.

They are very nice around here... Maybe this isn't so bad after all???

So, I did it.. I broke their cardinal rule that's posted on several walls througout the practice, "If you are not the patient with today's appointment, we cannot treat you or give you advice. Please schedule an appointment." But, they were both so nice and I just had a quick question - I didn't want anyone to treat me today. Just wanted to know if there was hope for me. So, I apologized for breaking their rule and said that I've tried many things for my skin and have just given up. They were both compassionate (didn't know that existed in the land of the beautiful - I've never had a derm actually care!) and said that they believed they could help me. In fact, the doc asked the nurse practitioner if she could stay and fit me in right then! She had to pick her kids up from day care though, so instead she helped to fit me in (a new patient) next Tuesday afternoon. The plan is to put me on Accutane. She said the drug is not nearly as scary as it once was and works for virtually everyone. The greatest thing - most times it clears acne forever! I cannot even allow myself to think about that, as it's completely overwhelming to think that I might one day have clear skin. I have no idea how much it's going to cost us, but my amazing husband asked, "Does it even matter?" He knows how badly I want to be acne-free. Actually, not even acne-free, just not so acne-overwhelmed!

So.. Maybe the reason for all the beautiful faces in the lobby is ACCUTANE. And maybe beautiful people are not to be feared. They didn't bite and I think I may have finally found a derm that I feel comfortable with.