In my teens I was blessed with a flawless skin, while others were having breakouts with teenage acne due to hormonal changes. And I used to hear all sorts of remedies that friends were trying out; washing the face with a facewash, natural face packs like yoghurt or chickpeas flour paste and avoid eating fried food among others, were the common ones. My life took a turn when I turned 20, there were drastic changes that happened. I moved countries for education, lost 2 stones in weight, was eating healthy, going through verbal, emotional and physical abuse and to top it up an acne flare up on my face to a point where puss was oozing out from the boils, leaving purple patches, this went on for 5 years. I tried all sorts of face washes and settled with a tea tree one that claimed to have less chemicals.
I then went to see the General Practitioner (GP) to get a solution for the acne problem, I was prescribed with Doxycycline a type of antibiotic to sort out the issue, there was a change for 3 months, but my skin went back to the way it was. After that I was prescribed a different kinds of antibiotics one after another. This carried on for about two years and my skin was far from being improved, I was then referred to a dermatologist by the GP, who prescribed a dose of heavy medication that within 2 days I had a severe reaction. My upper lip extremely swelled resembling Botox gone wrong, I was advised by the GP to stop taking the tablets at once. However, from all that intake of medication my body took its toll, and I ended up with allergies and to date I take antihistamines to for the flare up.
After constant pestering the GP, I was referred to a gynaecologist as there were suspicions of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), after going for a series of scans, I was diagnosed with PCOS. PCOS is a condition where the ovaries are enlarged due to excess fluid in the sacs where the eggs are incubated, they are called cysts but are not cysts as such and one of the symptoms is facial acne. I was prescribed the birth control pill to help with the condition and hopefully reduce the acne. But my body had a negative reaction to the pill, the migraines became more frequent, did I forget to mention? I had my first migraine at the age of 13, I had to stop taking the pill immediately as having migraines could lead to a stroke. We were back to square one and I was advised to take the contraception route and have an Intrauterine device (IUD) fitted to regulate the menstruation cycle, but I opted out of, as I wanted to start up a family.
Little did I know, there were more issues coming my way, I started bleeding, at first, I thought it was just my irregular monthly period, but I continuously bled for 3 weeks, this went on for 3 months and it alarmed me and I went back to the GP for another referral to see the gynaecologist. After a series of scans, there was a suspicion of either a polyp or fibroids. A polyp is tissue growth that looks like a finger, which is less than ½ an inch in length. Fibroids are non-cancerous growth around the womb. A surgery was recommended, if it was a polyp then that would be removed, but if it were fibroids then they would have to perform a later surgery to remove them. I went through the surgery, but they neither found a polyp nor fibroids. However, they discovered I had a thick womb lining, known as endometrial hyperplasia, that caused the heavy bleeding raising the risk of uterus or endometrial cancer.
Thus began the ordeal of having to go for a biopsy every 6 months, with a recommendation of taking the birth control pill, which was out of the question, with the final option of fitting an IUD. I still insisted on not having one due to starting up a family. I began to feel like a lab rat going through a series of trials, tests and painful probing. A biopsy procedure is the most uncomfortable method to extract tissue cell from the uterus, the first time I was put under the local anaesthetic to perform the procedure, but after that I was wide awake to feel the pain twice a year.
I began to look for a holistic approach and not take anymore medication. I began to self-heal using reiki and going for reflexology sessions, I also went for a couple of trial yoga sessions and loved it and religiously went three times a week. My family saw changes in me with weight loss and looking healthier. The biopsies were moved from twice a year to once a year and my husband and I finally decided not to have children and get an IUD fitted, that prevented the excessive bleeding.
I recently went for 6 weeks break to Kenya, yes as soon as the country was out of the red list, I booked the first flight available out! While I was out there, the heat turned my face red and the blemishes and acne was visible that I was being questioned about it, I met Tasneem, who helped me a lot with my acne and blemishes issue. I wish I had met her earlier in my trip rather than the 10 odd days before I was due to fly back. My sister mentioned about her and the home remedies she provides and has seen positive results on a mutual friend of ours. I decided to give it a shot, got nothing to lose, and I visited her after a series of phone calls, sharing photos of my face on WhatsApp. I must say this woman is a magician and a God sent angel, she gave me a tub of cream and asked me to apply it once a day to begin with, low and behold I could see a difference in one day. And also recommended home remedies that I am currently using,
I have never stared at myself in the mirror in my life as I do now, I fallen in love with myself all over again.
by Kiran Kaur
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