oral fixation

I'm down to my last two weeks' dose of Isotretinoin before going back for a follow-up check up. At the moment, I'm, uh, bleeding... Between my last update and now, some things have gotten worse and some things have gotten slightly better.

Anyway, it turns out that my dry, scaly, tender lips may have been a combination of PMS and the side effects of Isotretinoin. It stung and was really bothersome; and for about a week or so, I had to constantly keep applying petroleum jelly, avoiding anything salty (or sometimes eating altogether) and avoiding anything mentholated. It wasn't until I started on my period that things started getting better; well, it might have been that, or it might be because whatever it was that I had had run its course. The temperature's also back to normal ( read: in the 30+ degrees range), and it might have helped with the chapping. Either way, things are almost back to normal regarding my lips, and I only need to deal with minimal peeling these days. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you see it) I've been a bit impatient with having to squeeze petroleum jelly out of a tube each time I needed a fix, and it led me to a few lip balm purchases.

 and this doesn't include the tinted ones I already have. I do remember mentioning that Maybelline's Baby Lips didn't cut it anymore, but it seems I may have been a bit hasty in my judgment. I probably won't use it when my lips are severely chapped, but I needed something with SPF at the time, and Vaseline doesn't have it; Carmex does, but the mint irritates my lips, so it's a no-go. Blistex had a mild bit of menthol in it, and kind of drags when I apply it, so I wasn't able to use it until recently.  I remembered Baby Lips having SPF 20, so I went and got myself one, and was pleased that it didn't irritate my lips and applied quite smoothly. It also leaves a sort of sheen, which is nice.  As for my chin... *sigh* well, as long as I keep comparing pictures, I do see some progress, but not enough to wow me. See below:

From this, which was around two weeks ago...

to this (taken with a better camera and in harsher lighting.) I do like how plump and moisturized my lips look here, though :) Also, no cystic breakouts, despite my raging(?) hormones. I could get used to this, but I would really like to be off the meds. I wonder how long I'll have to be taking it until the bigger bumps disappear? I'm paranoid enough about liver damage, as it is...