16 replies to this topic

[MariaS]

After 15 years, my skin looks okay. I've had moderate to severe cystic/hormonal acne for so many years that I can't remember not waking up with at least a half dozen new pimples/cysts every day.

I've tried countless over-the-counter and prescription meds over the years, including: proactive, bp, benzaclin, metro gel, tazorac, doxy and minocycline.

The minocycline was the only medication that really made a big difference. I took 50-100 mg/day for about a year and a half and had a glimpse of what my skin could be like. It didn't solve the hormonal cysts or the cysts on my cheeks and around my jaw that never really subsided even while taking mino.

Anyway, it's been a miserable 15 years.

As of a month ago, I have been largely gluten free. I say largely because I have cut out all gluten I can see and know about, but I imagine I may have ingested small amounts in some of the take out stuff I've eaten (veggie and meat dishes that may be contaminated).

After a few days of cutting out gluten, I started getting flu-like symptoms including a terrible cough that still hasn't gone away. I've had days when I feel like I have light fever, days when I fee like I have chills and I've had days when I've coughed so much my stomach muscles hurt. From what I understand this is pretty common fare in people who cut out gluten cold turkey.

But here is the cool part! In the last month, my skin has moved into what I can only imagine is some sort of 'light acne' category. I've had about 2 cysts in a month (THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED IN 15 YEARS!!!). I'm left with a few little pimples here and there, and I imagine they will eventually go away completely if my skin keeps improving like this.

I keep looking at myself in the mirror and I'm amazed that my skin looks okay under all the acne I used to have. I honestly thought I would never see clear, healthy skin in this lifetime. It wasn't even some kind of gradual, creeping change - my skin just CLEARED in a month. Unreal.

I've had this gross, irrational fear for as long as I can remember that if something ever happened to me and I got sick and had to spend a night in a hospital, or I had to leave my house in the middle of the night without having time to put on my 3 layers of makeup - that everyone I know would finally realize just how awful I really looked. Anyway, I'm done with that.

By this time next year, I am planning on lying on a sunny beach with ABSOLUTELY NOT A DAB OF FOUNDATION.

So that's it, folks. No miraculous cure, just a big diet change. Peace!

Edited by MariaS, 04 December 2010 - 10:35 PM.

[Sooroo10]

Congrats! Such great news. I have also been (mostly) off gluten since September. I've slipped up 3 times (once was thanksgiving), but I'd say I'm about 90% gluten free (1 or 2 cheats a month). It makes me so gassy that it's not worth it.
Here's to a fun summer on the beach!

[joris]

Do you still eat chocolate and other gluten free processed foods?

I have been cutting dairy processed and gluten for 2 weeks now. (Although I still eat 4slices of bread a weak, and on Saturdays I allow myself 2 snacks... I don't do it so strict but I'm seeing results and I am coughing to. Was it the cough from your lungs?? Did you cough stuff out?

Ps. Have you tried just cutting gluten a little bit, not so strictly?? And what were your results with that?

[MariaS]

Thanks, Sooroo!

I occasionally will eat chocolate or other sweets that are gluten free. I'm not that big on sweets through, so if I do it's once or twice a week. I've found several snacks that are gluten free, but they are more like chips or pretzel sticks made out of rice.

I've tried cutting out gluten a little bit before and it didn't make a difference for me. Before I cut out all gluten, I tried various versions of an anti inflammatory diet hoping that it would at least bring improvement, but to be honest my skin didn't much care until I cut it all out. Also, I didn't have any kind of withdrawal symptoms the way I do now.

The week before I stopped eating gluten, my face was actually painful to touch - that's how inflamed it was. I had at least 8-10 cysts.

Though once I started, the improvement was very quick - so I have absolutely no doubt what did it.

...and YES, the coughing is probably from my lungs. lol! I have coughed up stuff for the ENTIRE MONTH. I really hope it stops soon. What disturbs me every time I look at a muffin or a piece of cake, is that that stuff must have been lining my lungs and who knows what else in my body if I've had such a reaction.

Edited by MariaS, 05 December 2010 - 08:21 AM.

[Thehoper]

Keep with the diet. That's my advice. Around 6 months ago. I went gluten free cold turkey, and had my skin magically clear. But then after about 3-4 weeks, the acne came back. And yet I was still eating healthy. Don't be discouraged, that is huge. You have to stay motivated and fight through it, I don't know if it just took my body a month to cleanse, but yeah for about a month it was bad again even on a very healthy diet.

After that month my skin starting rapidly clearing again, until now I have cleared what seems forever. Another thing I want to say. Don't eat all that garbage that says gluten free. Just because it's gluten free doesn't mean it's healthy. Another thing is that if your allergic to gluten, there is a great chance you are sensitive to soy as well.

Stick to a clean diet, I would hate to see you in pain again with no light at the end of the tunnel. Let coconut flour and oil be your best friend. You can actually make pancakes, brownies, and cupcakes that are good for you! Id also suggest looking into hemp. Does wonders. Hemp milk, flour, oil.

Good luck friend.

[jen0489x]

Wow that's amazing. I feel gluten may be my problem.. all I eat is gluten! Bread, pasta, pizza dough, and seitan which is wheat gluten. Ahhhh, but good luck. I don't know how you do it but congrats

[wicky]

i too feel gluten is my problem as every time i ate a bagel or pizza or a sandwich, i got a cyst that day or the next..Ive been gluten free for one week so far and went cold turkey..I'm finding it very difficult to know what to eat...I went to whole foods and was so overwhelmed i left with only a handful of things...what are some good brand names for the occasional cookie..The ones i bought were terrible and tasted like cardboard...Also how does the gluten free pasta taste?

[joris]

wicky the problem is that those are pretty high GI/GL to. The only way to find out is compare those foods to an same height GL food that hasnt got any gluten. And/or taking a lower GL gluten food.

[Dotty1]

I've been reading about contamination and small-scale cheating on a gluten-free diet for gluten-sensitive individuals. This is what I've learned:

Even if cheating on a gluten-free diet doesn't really affect your skin, it really harms the organs of the body in ways we can't even begin to imagine. For example, if a person is sensitive to gluten, the body begins to attack itself when gluten is ingested. This is why autoimmune diseases become common among gluten sensitive individuals.

Hypothyroidism is common in gluten-sensitive individuals because the body begins to attack the thyroid gland. Or the body launches an attack on the pancreas which causes Diabetes Type I.

A common problem for gluten-sensitive individuals is that even TRACES of gluten in the diet destroys the liver. The doctor kept telling me that my liver looked like an alcoholics and that I needed to lay off the alcohol (I have never had alcohol or anything like that!). By the time a gluten-sensitive individual is 80 years old, only 4% of their liver will be functioning if they haven't strictly adhered to a gluten free diet free of contamination.

Anyway, this is just a heads up about watching out for contamination! Good luck!!

[Bosie]

I've been reading about contamination and small-scale cheating on a gluten-free diet for gluten-sensitive individuals. This is what I've learned:

Even if cheating on a gluten-free diet doesn't really affect your skin, it really harms the organs of the body in ways we can't even begin to imagine. For example, if a person is sensitive to gluten, the body begins to attack itself when gluten is ingested. This is why autoimmune diseases become common among gluten sensitive individuals.

Hypothyroidism is common in gluten-sensitive individuals because the body begins to attack the thyroid gland. Or the body launches an attack on the pancreas which causes Diabetes Type I.

A common problem for gluten-sensitive individuals is that even TRACES of gluten in the diet destroys the liver. The doctor kept telling me that my liver looked like an alcoholics and that I needed to lay off the alcohol (I have never had alcohol or anything like that!). By the time a gluten-sensitive individual is 80 years old, only 4% of their liver will be functioning if they haven't strictly adhered to a gluten free diet free of contamination.

Anyway, this is just a heads up about watching out for contamination! Good luck!!

Hi, i tried to give up gluten once but gave up on the grounds that A) it's sadly in just about everything you eat and B) No one in my family has a gluten allegy... or acne for that matter (my parents, 3 sisters and brother are all older than me and have never had it, leaving me scratching my head as to what has caused mine) I was wondering if anyone in your family has a gluten allegy or is it one of those unfortunate things individuals develop? Also if you're eating a gluten free diet, can you eat special stuff like Gluten free bread and gluten free candy/sweets?

[wicky]

So I've been gluten free form 2wks give or take and my skin is worse..I have been taking my supplements (zinc, fish oil, epo, d-chiro inositol) and Im getting welts along my jaw line every day. I broke out with 4 more this morning...Is it possible my skin is purging since I have not eaten gluten...Thehoper i think you mentioned your skin cleared, got worse and finally cleared again...i feel like I'm doing everything right and im breaking out worse than ever...HELP

[joris]

wicky what foods did you increase in your diet. It may be that your really not gluten sensitive and/or are more/also sensitive to another food that you increased by going gluten free.

[Gilmour56]

ive been telling people about gluten free on here for a long time, for me wheat is the main cause but chocolate and sugar can also have a noticable effect

ive got from bad cystic acne to light acne, although still suffer from the marks

[wicky]

joris thats the thing i havent increased anything just decreased...my skin is soo bad with at least 8 welts on the right side of my face and nothing on my left...for example i ate for breakfast two small gluten free blueberry muffins, for lunch a fruit cup and yogurt and for dinner nothing yet but that will be turkey and roasted vegetables..i havent even taken my supplements for fear its either the d chiro inositol i started last week and the evening primrose oil...i've only taken my oracea and spironolactone...i have a big party on saturday and im in such a state over this...i need somthing to decrease them fast...what though? I feel like i have a pharmacy in my medicine cabinet i just dont know what to take or do anymore...

[joris]

Dont you eat way to less if you just cut something out? those gluten free muffins are they regular in your diet and what did you ate before? just muffins?

[wicky]

joris absolutely nothing before..in fact while i was typiing that to you i broke out with 4 more hive like welts on my clear side....angry and red and somewhat hard...now its 4:00 am and i cannot sleep and just looked in the mirror and there are 3 more along my jawline..what could it be?

[joris]

I really dont know how can you not have changed something btw. Siriously. Just small things. One type of fruit, dairy, eggs, Soy. (these are most likely)

How long have you been on? It may be that you have a little bit of a detox or something but that you will clear up after that. I got an pretty bad cold when starting this. It stopped now though.

You cannot sleep? Is that going on for long now? Did you get sleep since you changed diet and do you think its because of the diet?
Did you get less darkness at night and or less sun at daytime.
Did you get more stress?

EDIT!!!: just read you have hormonal jawline acne. Is it painfull? Or just big or something.
I forgot something in the above thing and its insulin (huge amounts will screw up hormones). Sensitivities dont play a huge role in a lot of people. Sometimes its mostly the insulin response to foods. You will want to eat low GI/GL. General rule: dont eat processed especially no snacks. Also no dairy. Watch out with white potatoes. You would have to cut out your muffins etc.. And start eating veggies, fruits, meat, fish, eggs and nuts (if gluten isnt the problem, would keep this out till your clear and then watch your response).

Edited by joris, 16 December 2010 - 04:00 PM.