Neutrogena - Sweet, sweet relief! + Review

It's been another week and a half. Some improvement, but it's off and on due to the withdrawals. I can tell you that I am having the best results with products that I have had in years which is a major breakthrough for me - and right in time! The photo below was taken two mornings ago. I had one random break out yesterday, but the new products I am using have really cleared a lot of that up. I guess I wont be getting rid of all my acne any time soon, but if I can keep it controlled enough to the point where it looks invisible under a thin layer of makeup - I'm happy as can be!

If you're curious about what miracle products I am using (out of the hundreds I have tried in my life) that are finally working, don't worry. I wasn't going to keep that a secret from all of you! All the products are products of Neutrogena, and I am in no way being paid to write any of this. It is simply my opinion being shared out of pure joy that this stuff actually works!

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1. Neutrogena Rapid Clear Treatment Pads - These are the most powerful of all the products I have been using to kill my ugly acne. They contain a full 2% Salicylic Acid, and can be used up to three times a day which is a gift from God in itself. Any product that I can use three times without my face peeling off is good in my book. Within a day of using this I saw a huge reduction in my acne. Mind you, I've gone through every brand in the beauty isle PLUS Proactiv. None of it has worked. I realized that I had never tried Neutrogena (recently) so I bought these and fell in love. I am totally hooked.

2. Neutrogena Rapd Clear Acne Eliminating Spot Gel - You only get half an ounce of this stuff for $6.00, so I wasn't loving the idea of making this purchase. However, my handsome boyfriend being the sweetie he is, decides to surprise me with some sort of lovely evening this Saturday... He wont tell me where he's taking me, but all he has told me is I need to dress up. So what that left me thinking was "How do I dress up with this massive zit on my chin?!". The zit I had was probably the size of a dime - nothing I have ever experienced before. It was round, red, and sore - 4 week healing time MAXIMUM. Of course, I wanted it gone sooner. Therefore, I decided to go with Neutrogena again since the treatment pads were already working so well on that big, fat chin zit. But this stuff... This stuff is just as fabulous. It killed that zit within two days, bringing it to about 1/3 of the original size and removing all the redness.

I will warn you - it removes zits by drying them out. I noticed the smaller zits woud just disappear when covered with this product, but the larger zits like the one on my chin were literally peeling off of my face. Most of this thankfully happened in my sleep, but I did have to wear my sunglasses to the grocery store twice. I can tell you that it's well worth it.

What's even better? The zits get killed completely and do not reoccur! Miracle! I've been using this for two weeks and I am not really coming close to running out of the stuff. So the small amount is no longer an issue and the results are so good that I don't think it would matter!

3.  Dermatologist Recommended - I do want to NOTE before telling you about this product, that there is soap bar by Neutrogena that looks exactly the same. Make sure you're buying the acne-prone skin formula! They are both non-medication, but they are different as far as ingredients go and I found that this bar was the only one that worked. An easy way you can tell the difference is that the acne-prone skin formula has a red label, and the other has a blue label.

Now, this bar is truly divine. I have never felt so refreshed after cleaning my face. My pores feel open and it's like a breath of fresh air for my skin. I don't really know any other way to explain it. It lathers up quite easily, and rinses off easily as well. All you need is some warm water, your hands, and this bar of soap!

I would NOT use this as your only acne treatment product, as it does not contain Salicylic Acid or any other sort of acne treatment agent. I would definitely pair it with one or both of the other products I mentioned. It is rich in glycerine, so if you have extreme issues with dry skin, going for the non-acne bar may be better as it is less harsh on the skin.

I added the bar of soap two weeks ago today and I am very satisfied with my results. I would try each product one at a time since they contain Salicylic Acne which is a drying agent. I have a good friend who has used only the treatment pads for about a year now without any cleansers or other products. But I found that alone, they were not enough for me because my skin is excessively oily right now.

Below is an example of how I worked each product into my regimen and you can definitely consider following the same routine. I am *NOT* giving advice in place of a doctor, so please use your own personal judgement of whether this regimen is ideal for you and your skin type.

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First week:

Morning: One treatment pad

Noon: None

Night (right before bed): One treatment pad


Second week:

Morning: First, wash with soap bar. Pat dry and apply one treatment pad.

Noon: None

Night: First, wash with soap bar. Pat dry and apply one treatment pad.


Third week:

Morning: First, wash with soap bar. Pat dry and apply one treatment pad. Add a SMALL amount of spot treatment to any large zits in serious need. You don't want to use a whole lot of that product where it is not needed.

Noon: Apple one treatment pad. Apply spot treatment if needed.

Night: First, wash with soap bar. Pat dry and apply one treatment pad. Add a SMALL amount of spot treatment to any large zits in serious need.

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Hope you enjoyed today's post. I thought since I get so many e-mails asking about acne treatment that it would be helpful to share what I am using as a successful treatment right now. Especially since we're all on anti-epileptic drugs and that is the cause of our acne. Please let me know if this was helpful!

God bless,

Mandy Krzywonski

Dating... with Epilepsy: Mandy & Rafael - Part One

Rafael and Mandy sharing a dance at Mandy's high school graduation party in June 2011.

   By: Mandy Krzywonski


Introduce you and your boyfriend, Rafael.

You all know me pretty well by now… After all, this is my blog, isn’t it? Anyhow, for those of you who are reading my blog for the very first time, my name is Mandy. I’m 18 years old, and I have had Epilepsy for about 7 years now. If you have Epilepsy, or your loved one has Epilepsy, you don’t need me to tell you that the road of love is extremely rough. (As if it isn't already?) Something about having a loved one with a disability makes things difficult, but it also makes things beautiful in a lot of ways that are extremely overlooked.

How to Live Well with Epilepsy - Part I - Natural Treatments

Hey everyone! Here is a brand new part of my blog series that will be called How to Live Well with Epilepsy. I will be featuring ways to live well with Epilepsy while still dealing with this illness. I hope you all enjoy, and please, please, please leave feedback on my blogs. If there's any topics you would like me to touch on I would be more than happy to!

Today I want to touch on natural treatments. Now please note that I DO NOT recommend anyone stop their medications, or other treatments. Always ask a doctor before you make any treatment changes. These natural treatments were meant to be added on to your regular regimen to help enhance your current treatment.

The following are natural ways to relieve common side effects and symptoms of

Know Your AED's

There are currently 20 approved AED (Antiepileptic Drugs) available on the market, aside from their generic forms. To a person with Epilepsy, it may seem like there are a million different drugs in which we are being switched to and from all the time. If one drug doesn't work out, our doctors shuffle us onto the next drug - the journey never ends for some people.

How the VNS Has Changed My Life as a Person with Epilepsy

When I started this blog, about a year and a half ago, my intentions were to tell others all about the VNS device. After a month or so, the VNS started to blend in to my daily life as if it weren't even there; leading me to totally forgetting to write about it.

I can finally sleep!

Hey everyone! Today I'm feeling a lot better than I've been feeling, so I made it a point to get online and give a little update while I have the time. As you all know I made a big switch from one of my medications to another one. (Vimpat to Felbatol). Basically the withdrawals were horrible (they are still a little bad actually...). I had extreme anxiety attacks, tremor, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, migraine, and probably the worst case of insomnia that even I have heard of. The vomiting was crazy... I always thought that the term "projectile vomiting" was something that was only in movies until I got off of Vimpat. I know this is totally TMI, but I literally threw up "at" my wall. Thankfully we had water resistant paint in the bathroom and I was able to clean it up. I was used to throwing up almost once daily while on Vimpat, but this vomiting was several times a day and just horrific. I thought I would suffocate or choke because there was no letting up.

The nausea and loss of appetite is still apparent. I lost 10 lbs, which I would imagine was all water-weight since I can't tell except that my pants are a little loose and my face is less puffy. I have actually had to set an alarm on my phone to remind myself to eat 6 times a day or else I literally forget to eat because I have no appetite for food whatsoever. I have had to also make myself eat some sort of meat once a day because I have been looking almost green/gray in the face. Food pretty much tastes like cardboard to me now, and it's depressing because food is a great passion to me.

The insomnia was the worst side effect of them all. I got 3 hours of sleep at the most each night. This led to me being extremely exhausted, both physically and mentally. I had panic attacks because I couldn't sleep and I felt like I was going completely out of my mind. I started to almost dream while I was awake, which is by far the weirdest thing I have ever experienced... okay, maybe it wasn't the weirdest. But it was definitely crazy. The lack of sleep led to me having 6 of the more serious seizures on two different occasions. I was almost thankful for this because I was able to be tranquilized, and I slept for 2 days straight. I finally got my sleeping pattern under control after forcing myself awake for entire days at a time.

My visual seizures have gone from hundreds to about ten a day, however they are much longer. They last anywhere from a minute to sometimes 5 minutes. If any of you readers are new, I consider auras and visual seizures two different things. Auras for me are when I get weird tastes in my mouth and see colors. The visual seizures are a little more complex and involve hallucinations along with symptoms of a simple-partial seizure. My auras have increased a lot. Throughout the day I often get sensations in my sinus area that are a bit tingly, and a windex type of taste. I have also had an abundance of absence seizures and I have literally been running into walls and I fell out of the shower again. I think I have also been having the type of seizures where you start randomly walking around, but I can't confirm this because no one sees me. I think this because sometimes before I run into a wall I wasn't actually walking anywhere, I would just be standing.

I decided that since I have been this ill, I needed to quit my job. I didn't quit completely, but I am going on a medical LOA (leave of absence) until May, when school is over. This way I can rest and focus on getting better. I am actually really sad about this because I love my job so much and it was my last way to socialize since I had to drop out of school and start on home schooling. I guess that work can wait a while though. I'm a little angry because I have a stupid $200 bill that I need to pay off and I have like $65 sitting in my account at the moment. Hopefully I can find some way to pay that bill off before I start ruining my credit.

After all this bad news, I do have a little good news. At least I think so. When I get those auras, that usually means a Grand Mal is on its way. Every time I start having auras I have been using my magnet and they literally stop for a good period of time. I would call this a bit of success since I haven't had an actual Grand Mal yet. Just trying to be positive, I guess.

Blegh! Well I guess I'm in a bit of a rut but I'm trying to get better as fast as I can. Every time I complain I think about a little girl I saw in my doctor's office who was in a wheelchair and headgear because of her seizures. She had a little tiara glued to the top of her headgear and she just had the biggest smile. It just makes me feel so weak for saying that I don't feel good. Somebody always has it worse, and a lot of the time those ones are the strongest. I mean I don't want to overestimate the health that I have because it isn't wonderful, but I am blessed to be able to walk around without headgear.

Anyway, I have to go give my puppy a bath, submit some homework and get ready to pack up and stay with my cousins this weekend. We are getting tile installed in our home so I need somewhere to rest without the noise. I hope you all have a great weekend and I wish you the best of health. God bless!

Coping with Memory Loss

Many people with Epilepsy experience memory loss. Epilepsy itself can cause major damage to the brain; top it off with heavy medication and you're bound to be forgetful. I'm writing this blog to show different types of memory loss I have experienced and some great ways to get yourself back on track.

To start off, there are three types of memory.

* Procedural memory -
Activities which are carried out almost without thinking, for example, riding a bike.

* Semantic memory -
Knowledge that has been acquired but we are not sure when, for example, capital cities.

* Episodic memory -
Personal memories of everyday life.

So like I said, first, my semantic memory began to lag. After that, my episodic memory got worse and worse. Feelings of deja vu came frequently, and I couldn't tell if I had been to that place before or not. I couldn't always recall what I had done the past weekend if someone were to ask me.
My procedural memory, as well, started to get very bad. For example, once I was unloading groceries and put a head of lettuce underneath the sink along with a carton of cottage cheese. Literally, about two minutes later I was asked where both items were and I didn't even recall seeing them. Sometimes I would hassle my parents all day long to be taken to the store to shop for something like a new pair of flip-flops or a dress. I would know exactly what I wanted up until the very moment I walked into the store - then, I would immediately forget. I almost hurt my brain sitting there confused, trying to dig out the memory that had vanished in a split second. I would get embarrassed and I would fear getting scolded by my parents so I would pick out something random and buy it. Later on in the day, week, or even month I would randomly remember what I needed to buy.
During homeschool classes I would be asked questions to review the sections that we had covered in our lessons. Names and terms that I had known since I was a child would completely slip my mind. Not forever, but only when I needed to be able to recall these things. My teachers began to think I wasn't studying or that I was just a below average student. This frustrated me very much because I was a straight A student up until 7th grade, when I began getting sick. I would tell my parents but they never saw it as anything serious.
After seizures I would lose my memory for almost a week. I remember one seizure where after I recovered, I looked at my cell phone to see a text message from my boyfriend - only, I didn't recognize his name or who he was. I asked my sister, and she said that it was my boyfriend and I started to cry. It took me a whole day to remember him.
Memory loss is a scary thing, but I have found ways to help ease the frustration.

- Dictionary.com : You are probably wondering what this link is doing here. As you all can tell I love to write, and apart from that I'm a student. Many times when I'm writing I can forget a simple word such as "wonderful," but I can remember the word "great". I could sit there for 30 minutes until I remember "wonderful" or I can type in "great" on Dictionary.com and look at similar words... voila!

- Sticky notes: If you walked into my home and took a look at my bathroom mirrors, walls, and all of my school work you'll see sticky notes everywhere. As soon as I know that I need to do something I grab a sticky note and jot it down as fast as I can before I forget it. I always put the notes in places where I can see them, like the bathroom mirror as I mentioned before. When I wake up in the morning to brush my teeth, my daily to-do list is right in front of me.

- Utilizing calendars, planners, and cell phones: This is a must for an Epileptic, or any person dealing with memory loss. At the beginning of each week I write down everything I know that is going to take place in my planner. It's hard to get used to, but if you stay committed to your planner it will save your life! I've gotten so used to my planner that as soon as someone, such as a teacher, wants to meet I go right to my planner and make a time slot for them. I usually use my Franklin Covey planner, but I have gotten this trendy new Palm Pre Plus cell phone that has a wonderful calendar. Speaking of phones, make sure to save every phone number that you think you might possibly need again in the future. Phone numbers aren't easy for anyone to remember.

- Reminders: It's hard to remember daily tasks, so that makes it even harder to remember really important things like doctor appointments. If you ask your doctor's receptionist or nurse, they can call you on day in advance or even same day to confirm your appointments. My doctor's office actually sends me letters in the mail to remind me as well as phone calls. If your doctor's office doesn't provide these reminders, make sure to always let your family and friends know if you need help remembering something. They are there and I'm sure they would be glad to help you out.

- A Pill Box: I use a weekly, am + pm pill container to separate my pills. Being on many different medications can be tricky, so always use a pill box. Using a pill box allows you to check if you already took your medication, know when you need to take it, know what medications to take, and to help you know when you are out of medication.

- Get a balanced diet: It is important to eat three healthy, hearty meals a day. Food gives your body energy which acts as fuel to power your brain. Foods high in antioxidants and omega-3 are great for your memory. If you are not able to eat good meals during the day, you may want to talk to your doctor about starting a vitamin supplement.

- Free time: Always keep some free time in your schedule. This will leave time for you to check around the house and see if you forgot to complete a task, or just leave you time to relax and reboot your mind.

- Sleep: Number one, most important of them all. Everybody needs sleep. Just as food acts as a fuel to the brain, sleep does the same. Sleep helps your body recharge and gives you more energy. Get a good amount of sleep at night; 8 hours if you can. Try to get a small one hour nap in each day when you feel too tired.

If you have memory problems like me, I suggest you try using some of these tactics and I guarantee it will improve your life. They can't help with all of your memory loss. You might not be able to remember the word "wonderful" but you can be sure that you'll make your 7:00am appointment to the dentist on time!

God bless you all and goodnight!
Mandy Krzywonski

Day #8 - VNS Device Activation

Today is day #8 of my VNS Therapy experience. About an hour and a half ago my VNS device was activated for the first time. It was really interesting (at least I thought so). I sat in a chair next to my doctor's partner as she pulled out the communicative device or as she called it, "the wand" which communicates directly to the implant. When the orange light started to flicker on the wand, I knew that the device was connected. She programmed the device for about 5 minutes, and then activated it. She set me for stimulation lasting for 60 seconds with 12 seconds in between. Unlike what I have heard from others, I barely noticed that the VNS was on unless I tried very hard to sense it ticklling in my throat. I agreed that it was okay to take the stimulation up to a higher dose. This time I could definitely feel the device working. It feels like a slight tickle along with some tightness to the throat. It is not too bothersome to me...yet. I think that over time I can learn to ignore this sensation. I noticed that when I talk my voice crackles or breaks up VERY slightly. A person would not notice unless they were specifically looking for this characteristic. My doctor said that I reacted very well to this therapy compared to some other people.

When I tested out the VNS stimulation using the magnet, I had some difficulty. It's hard to use, but my doctor said over time it will become easy. You have to give a slow stroke over the machine. Depending on the model, you may either have to move the magnet directly over your chest from right to left. In my case, I have model 103. So I swipe the magnet from the top of my chest slowly to the bottom. I'm sure I will get the hang of it because I have seizures daily.

I am thankful that today went well! Some people strongly dislike this treatment, but it's working out great for me so far. I will be blogging constantly to let you all know how it's going. To recap the current side effects there is: a feeling of tickling, tingling, or tightness of the throat during stimulation. But for me this is very light and unbothersome. It's hard to sing, so if you are in choir be sure to tape the magnet over the VNS implant. Doing so will stop stimulation, letting you use your voice as normal. So far this is all. I will also be decreasing my medication dosages a bit, so let's see if this VNS does any magic for me.