A Sick Joke

I went to the dermatologist a few weeks back for a skin scan. I spent so many summers lifeguarding and swimming that I don't know how I came away without melanoma before the age of 21. I have some hyperpigmentation I've been self conscious about and asked my derm about it. He looked quietly with that freaky light saber scanner and said "Pregnancy Mask". 

"Uhh, what?" I replied. 

"Are you currently on birth control?" He asked. 

"No actually, I stopped years ago but I did just finish a round of hormones for IVF"

We then discussed my journey a bit and he told me that "pregnancy mask" can occur in pregnant women or women who are taking pregnancy hormones such as birth control or IVF meds (shout out to the PCP who first prescribed me BC way back when and to my clinic nurses, all of whom never once warned me to be extra super careful about sun exposure while on any of these drugs). He said he'd call in a cream that can fix it but it being summer and with my continuing to take the IVF meds prepping for transfer, it would take a while to see a difference. 

Lucky me, shortly after I got word I wouldn't be having an FET this summer at all so at least my skin has started to show vast improvement. I just had to laugh at the odds of everything that could have happened to my skin, I walk away with "Pregnancy Mask"; pretty sure that this is what irony is. 

PSA: wear sunscreen 365. Trust. Me.