1965 replies to this topic

[blankdiscs]

Here's another success story with Vitamin B5. I started taking it a year or so ago and gradually noticed my skin being less oily. Before I was strictly on the Acne.org benzoyl peroxide treatment (smearing a bunch of it on in the morning and night). I was still getting zits here and there. After the B5 plus the benzoyl peroxide, I was CLEAN. Not even a little whitehead. I actually was able to reduce my benzoyl peroxide smearing and was still clear.

Time passed and I got cocky thinking with older age, maybe I finally won the battle so I started getting lazy with taking my Vitamin B5. What a big mistake! The acne came back with a vengeance. I had stopped taking Vitamin B5 for so long that I forgot about it and upped my smearing of benzoyl peroxide. Nope, didn't help. Only when I remembered about the B5 and started taking it in high dosage again did I see some results again.

Morale of the story? Take B5 and if it works, keep at it. Don't get cocky.

[strato]

Has the powder form worked for anyone? I took 12 grams for three weeks nothing changed!

[rws1546]

I just ran across a site that listed all of the skin therapists in my area. I've just got off the prescription medicine but thought others could use this as well. www.skincareservices.net

[StriderHien]

i just started this about a couple days ago but now i'm afraid to continue. Why are there so many people who claim that the B5 failed after a while even if they kept at it the whole time? They even say that it gets worse than before. Thats kinda scary

[scottyh]

I have just a few questions. I started the B5 regimen about a week ago and so far I have noticed a slight decrease in oil, however the whole first week i got acne on my cheeks which i have never got before there.. Is the first week not too soon for an initial breakout? Also I am still currently on Dans BP regimen which has worked decent at keeping the acne at bay, however my skin is still extremely oily, so i am curious what others are doing in my scenario? Still using BP regularly? I am scared to complpetely come off of it in fear the acne will come back. And last.. I am currently taking the full 10g of pantothenic acid, along with b-50 compplex twice a day, and a multi vitamin which contains 50mg of zinc and 300mcg of biotin. Is this enough biotin for this regimin? and is zinc the same as optizinc? Thanks again!

[stm1975]

Hello

I've read about the B5 regiment, and seems like there are a few success stories. I am currently taking Niacin no flush 500mg. I was wondering if adding 5-10g of b5 would be alittle too much b. I am taking b 50 complex. I have the b5, and biotin, but have yet to start it.

Any info would be great

[1Question]

I have just a few questions. I started the B5 regimen about a week ago and so far I have noticed a slight decrease in oil, however the whole first week i got acne on my cheeks which i have never got before there.. Is the first week not too soon for an initial breakout? Also I am still currently on Dans BP regimen which has worked decent at keeping the acne at bay, however my skin is still extremely oily, so i am curious what others are doing in my scenario? Still using BP regularly? I am scared to complpetely come off of it in fear the acne will come back. And last.. I am currently taking the full 10g of pantothenic acid, along with b-50 compplex twice a day, and a multi vitamin which contains 50mg of zinc and 300mcg of biotin. Is this enough biotin for this regimin? and is zinc the same as optizinc? Thanks again!

I started 2-3 weeks ago and I seemd to go through a IB in the first week also. I've just stayed with my normal regimen.

[enomisailat]

I just finished my first month of Pantothenic Acid mega dosing. For girls: did it ever cause you to be late? I have the copper iud and have been relatively regular (give or take a couple of days). I am over a week late and I think it is because of the B5 but I can't find anything to corroborate.

Please respond asap!

[321]

Another thing is to try space out each dose as far apart as possible. I take 2g in the morning, then around 7-9 hours after (work), I eat and take 2g more. Then I eat around 7 hours before I go to bed and take another 2 g (I also take a B-100 after work). I get all my stuff from swansons because it's by far the cheapest.

Before I spaced out my doses I was getting "ok" results (still better than anything I had tried before). I don't do anything else besides cleanse my face morning and night with some great La Thérapie cleanser.

And the reason I always eat is because if I don't major stomach irritation and not so nice bathroom breaks. Plus I'm a pig.

I've been on this near a year, might go on Accutane just because of the inconvenience factor (If when I stop it comes back..). B5 does work though, just remember space out doses...

[B5works]

I've been taking vitamin B5 for the past 10 years to help with my severe acne. I was 23 and in grad school when I first started with B5. My acne was very severe, I had acne rosacea on my face and severe breakouts all over my chest and back. I honestly thought there was no hope for my acne as I had spent thousands of dollars going to the dermatologist with no success. I have been on everything they could prescribe including accutane. I started taking B5 at 4g a day during the summer of '99. Within 2 months I noticed my oil glands stopped producing large amounts of oil like they use to. Within 2 years my acne had completely gone away. I still have breakouts even today at the age of 33 with a 3g dose. I notice my breakouts flare up under stress. When they do I increase the dose by 1g. I have never had any side affects what so ever from taking B5. I would never recommend anyone reading these posts to try 10g a day. That seems to be way too much. Be PATIENT and take a lower dose. Allow the B5 to saturate your body and eventually your skin will clear over time. Do not apply harsh topical solutions either as they can irritate your skin and make your breakouts worse. I use Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser as a face wash. Anything else will burn my sensitive skin.

I hope my 10 years of taking B5 will help encourage those that it is safe with a moderate dose. My life has forever changed because of it. You do not need to go through life feeling ashamed about your appearance. Just remember to be patient.

[ShirleyB]

Hey B5works, did u experience any IB when u first started? I'd like to try B5 myself but am afraid of the IB..

[B5works]

Hey B5works, did u experience any IB when u first started? I'd like to try B5 myself but am afraid of the IB..

I don't ever recall having IB when I first started. I wouldn't be surprised if some individuals have IB after taking large doses, something I wouldn't recommend. A quick note on how long someone should take B5. I stop taking B5 when I turned 30 thinking that my skin would fix itself over time. After 2-3 months of no B5 I started breaking out again very severely. It took another 6 months of B5 to get back to clear skin again.

[ShirleyB]

Hi again B5works, your starting dose was 4g followed by a 3g maintenance dose and u saw result in 2 months, am I right? I have moderate acne and am wondering what starting dose I should try, I definitely am NOT going to mega dose 10g then get an IB that I don't want..

[mattsushi]

I have been steadily taking 4g of B5 a day for only 1 week and it has reduced my oil production quite a bit and i haven't had a new lesion yet. My skin actually FEELS like its clearing up. I'll keep my fingers crossed but i think i've finally found the answer.

[stm1975]

Hey all,,,,
Not sure if everyone on b5 is clear and not posting anymore??? From what I've read, it seems to work for alot of people. I'm wondering why it's such a dead topic. I've been on the B5 regiment for 2 weeks 3g a day first week, didn't see much of a difference. 4.5g this past week, not much of a difference. I will be going up to 6 grams this week. I was hoping to atleast see some oil reduction, but didn't.
I would call my acne very mild but persistent, and usually cycstic. I'm a 34 yr old male, been on everything except accutane.
I don't really want to hit the 10g mark, and I'm hoping to see some good results by the 6-8 week mark. I am also taking a B 50 complex, and on an anti candidia type diet. I've had no side effects such as hair loss, the runs, stomach aches or low energy. Any advice or comments would be great. Thanks

Vitamin shoppe Pantothenic acid 500 mg is what I'm taking.

[wibble]

Hey all,,,,
Not sure if everyone on b5 is clear and not posting anymore??? From what I've read, it seems to work for alot of people. I'm wondering why it's such a dead topic. I've been on the B5 regiment for 2 weeks 3g a day first week, didn't see much of a difference. 4.5g this past week, not much of a difference. I will be going up to 6 grams this week. I was hoping to atleast see some oil reduction, but didn't.
I would call my acne very mild but persistent, and usually cycstic. I'm a 34 yr old male, been on everything except accutane.
I don't really want to hit the 10g mark, and I'm hoping to see some good results by the 6-8 week mark. I am also taking a B 50 complex, and on an anti candidia type diet. I've had no side effects such as hair loss, the runs, stomach aches or low energy. Any advice or comments would be great. Thanks

Vitamin shoppe Pantothenic acid 500 mg is what I'm taking.

I think the problem is that its a very hard regimen to continue, simply due to the amount of tablets needed. So some stay on B5, others try other avenues.

Taking the B50 complex "may" hinder the results, however its healthier to take them. I'd be very interested if you stopped the complex just for a week say (not long term), just to see if you notice a reduction in oil without it (I did). Not recommended it as a solution, but just to be aware (if so, there may be an option of taking different B supps individually or something).

[enomisailat]

I have been on B5 for over a month. There has been a huge decrease in oil production, i have broken out a couple of times but they have been small. I would say it has made a difference, but not huge or anything. I will continue to take it for the 3 months and see how it goes. I think after I will check my liver, take a break from megadosing and stick to fish oil/multi-vitamin and see how niacin works (if the b5 stops working, if results continue to increase I will stay on a small dose).

i do get a lot of red marks that stay forever after every blemish. for the last 2 days I have been putting olive oil on my face as an am/pm moisturizer. Red marks are diminishing a bit and I think it is helping to heal some of them, as well.

My face is looking better but far from good. I have a couple of pictures from just before I started b5 that I need to post and i will take some now. I don't know if it will show the difference because there are still so many red spots, but I feel like it is better.

[SubState]

Hi,

I've been on b5 for only 2 months on a medium dose (6 grams a day max) and 4 months after I stopped I still have hairloss and hairthinning, it's stopping now though, and may not completely be attributable to the b5 (had a lot of stress during that time).. The acne did stop while I was on it so in my case the desired effect was there, but it was definitely not worth the hairloss (oh yeah and dry eyes as well). I'm pretty sure the b5 played a large role in losing my hair, just search on the internet for hairloss b5 and you'll come across a lot of people that have exactly the same problem. Some say it's because of a Biotin deficiency, but I did take the recommended b-50 complex on the side while I was on b5, maybe it wasn't enough for me.

I always had a head full of thick hair, no baldness in the family (both sides) and my brother who is 4 years older than me still has the hair I had before the b5. Not that I'm going bald, like I said the hairloss stopped for a week or so and I still have nice hair .
This is just to warn/inform you, it might as well work out completely different for some of you guys, I just have a very bad aftermath and I think ODing with such a large factor can't be right. For me it took a while to balance out even when I was on it for only 4 months, and the hairloss I noticed a couple of weeks after I got off b5 (the acne came back so I stopped).

Again, it might work out completely different for you, so if you're on it, I suggest you take enough Biotin / b-50/ b-100 complex just to be sure you're not having a deficiency, and stay lower than the max dose!

Good luck my fellow sufferers!

SubState

[stm1975]

Hey Substate,

Thanks for the info,,, I'm going to monitor the hair. I upped my dose to 6g recently and noticed a little more hair in the shower drain. I do have alot of hair, and if It doesn't get too thin I will continue through it. I guess I do see some improvement overall. Not perfect, but far from bad. Been on it for alittle over 2 weeks. I think I'll stay at 6g for a while. So far so good. I will report back in a week or so. I might start taking biotin along with the b50 complex at the 1 month mark. I heard biotin could throw the b5 out of whack, not sure about this but I believe I read it on somebodys post.

[wibble]

Hi, its possible about the Biotin. I would get your skin stable first, then try introducing it and see if it has a negative effect, if not fine. If it does affect it, then it makes it a tricky decision as to whats best.