All is not rosy with Team Holly, but I'll get to that in a minute. First my experience with professional IPL.
Before we got started I handed Penny a treatment card that I had completed earlier. This contained questions such as current medication, asking whether I have, or had a list of skin problems, moles, pigments, etc. There was also a scale as to how easily I tanned or burnt in the sun and this, together with skin colour and facial hair thickness & colour, was the baseline for the IPL machine. She went through what she was going to do before laying me down me down on the couch and handing me some goggles. She then put some cooling gel on my face, which I think was Alo Vera, and went to work with the 'gun'. I was warned that I may feel a little discomfort, but the reality was like being shot in the face nail gun full of pins! Yes, it hurt. Penny kept asking me if I was OK (seeing me flinching all the time) and whether I wanted the level reducing. I told her to cary on as the pain meant that more hair roots would get killed, so less hair would grow back - she didn't disagree with me! She moved to serveral areas around my face, chin and neck and after 15 minutes it was all over (I think that this was a patch test rather than the first full treatment). I was then given a tube of Alo Vera gel to use on my face if it became hot, irritated or dry and booked me in for my next session in 4 weeks time. She told me that IPL could only be done every 4 weeks, but I could start my electrolysis in the meantime, so I'll probably be alternating between the two every 2 weeks.
On the way home my face was a little warm so I was glad of the gel because it was soothing, especially as I couldn't use any moistureiser, creams or oils after I shaved before treatment. Next day I was back using my moistureiser, creams and oils and my skin hasn't reacted at all.
Now we get to some problems that I have been having over the past couple of months. When I was taken off my own medicine and given a bridging prescription I was told by Dr Timmings that the Estradiol in my system would suppress my T, that I did not need spiro and only a lower dose of Fin. WRONG! Within a couple of weeks I felt a little strange and slightly agitated. Two weeks after that I was also a little anxious, regular mild headaches. my scalp became itchy and I noticed that I was shedding a lot more hair. When it came to my blood test, the results confirmed what I had suspected, my T was 20x higher and just below the lowest 'male' value. I did nothing because my injection was due in a few days. Two weeks later I finally had my injection and my physical health was starting to deteriorate. I caught a virus, got laryngitis and wasn't able to swim or get to the gym. My voice still hasn't recovered fully but the virus has left it me with a lower pitch and wiped out 7 months of voice training. As you all know leuprolide acetate takes time to work and you get a T spike in the first month. Unfortunately as my T level increases my mental health deteriorates and at the weekend the first signs of my schizophrenia reappeared. I now tired all the time, slightly confused, no concentration and my head feels like it's in a vice. My weight has also started to go up - it's like going back into the dark shadows of the past before my overdose. I've emailed the GIC but had no response yet so I've gone back onto what's left of my own medication, which will only last a week. I never expected T poisioning to have such a big effect on me at this stage.
Holly x
