73 replies to this topic

[GreenEyes33]

How I got this point (the long winded version):

Started breaking out when I was 12. I hated it. But of course I knew from school that 'most teenagers get acne' and figured I was just another statistic and it would be something I'd have to deal with through my teen years. Of course, that didn't stop me from convincing my mother to buy me every 'clean and clear' and the like product on the market hoping something would help.

When I was 14 my periods (which had always been irregular) were now so irregular I would get them somtimes two weeks apart, sometimes 4 months apart. I went to the doctor, and coupled with my acne he put me straight on birth conrol. I wouldn't even be sexually active for another 4 years, but I would do anything at that point.

Birth control helped my acne...somewhat. I would still get 3-4 pimples a month, rather than maybe 6 that I would get without it. All mainly around my mouth and chin. About 50% were the painful cystic kind.

When I was 19 I was referred to a determatologist because I couldn't take the cysts anymore. One was so bad it swelled up around my lip to the point where I couldn't talk without a huge lisp. Not exactly the kind of impression I wanted to make on people. It was about the size of a quarter. He put me on antibiotics and told me if it didn't go down with those I'd have to have it surgically removed. He also told me after the antibiotics he could put me on accutane to prevent cystic acne like this in the future. Luckily, the antibiotics worked (this wasn't however my first course of antibiotics both for acne and being constantly sick) and I started my accutane perscription.
Accutane was a year long nightmare for me. I trusted my doctor 100% but I was getting nose bleeds, my skin was dry and flaking, and my lips were cracked and bleeding all the time. I felt miserable. To top it off, I still got acne with it. It had NO effect on my acne. After a year I stopped it, still searching for the right product or cleanser that would give me clear skin.

When I was 24 my life was totally different. I had met the man of my dreams who loves me unconditionally and tells me I'm beautiful everyday. We were married for a year and we knew we wanted to have children sometime in the next year or two. I decided to stop taking my birth control, and we would just use a barrier method. Within 2 weeks I noticed I was different. My mood was SO much better. I could handle things without breaking into tears. I felt stronger and mroe capable. I didn't even realize the birth control pills had done that to me after being on them for 10 years. My weight didn't change (it never had, I weighed the same amount I did when I was 15) and my acne didn't get better or worse. I was so happy!

4 months later and the Christmas holidays hit. I suddenly started breaking out like crazy around my mouth and chin. I had never broken out this much. Devestated I continued trying different products. I was 25. I was too old to be getting acne! A friend of mine had used retin A micro. Since I was also noticing tiny tiny fine lines, it seemed like a no brainer. It cleared up her acne within a month, so I went to the doctor to ask for a perscription. Because my skin never really did recover, and was always painfully dry, he gave me the lowest percentage strength and the cream form. I went to acne.org and read reviews saying to ease into it and to moisturize. I applied it every 3 nights, and was sure to mositurize. But my skin kept getting dryer and dryer, and my acne worse and worse. After 2.5 months I was fed up. I couldn't apply it regularly because it burned and peeled my skin. I couldn't wear makeup because it only highlighted the flakes that were all over my face. I was also heavily breaking out on my forehead, a place I had never before broken out. I was MISERABLE. I reached a breaking point and turned back to acne.org and made my first post looking for advice.

I got a few replies right away. Some actually had some good advice, that I ignored. Tangerine posted and asked me if I thought about my diet, emotional stess, etc and a holistic appraoch. I pretty much ignored her thinking 'I dont have time for something natural, I need something that actually works!' Someone suggested zinc and omega 3 which I rushed out and bought. Well, it did work! My acne improved, maybe 20%. I stopped getting the colds and flus that I usually got twice a month for most of my life. My skin was more moisturized thanks to the omega. I was happy, but of course, 20% isn't THAT great. I kept searching.

I stumbled into the holistic board originally looking for additional vitamins. I think it was alternavistas post that I stumbled across that mentioned things like diet, and pop. Up until that point I had probably the worst western diet ever. I was always petite and tiny and never had to worry about my weight. Therefore, I thought food didn't affect me. I would drink diet coke (up to 4 cans) everyday, drank little water, ate only white and refined carbs, I ate nachos and chips and chocolate every single day (no exaggeration), I hated fruit and veggies, and I loved McDonalds and Burger king. I would eat out for fast food at least twice a week. While I was a student it was nothing for me to eat fast food twice a day even. I was shocked when I read that maybe what I was eating was causing acne. Doctors told me it had nothing to do with food, it was all genetics. Maybe something I was eating was breaking me out? I decided to keep a food log and stop drinking the diet coke. I also stopped using my harsh and drying clinique products and switched them out for gentle cetaphil cleanser and moistuizer, and only washed my face once a day at the end of the day and used a baby brush to exfoliate once a week.

It didn't take long, 3 weeks maybe, to see the pattern that everytime I ate fast food I'd get two or three big pimples within the next day or two. So I stopped going. Quit my obsession cold turkey. I hoped maybe that was all it would take, and my acne did improve, but alas I still broke out. So I decided (with the support of my husband) to overhaul my diet. I exchanged white bread and pasta and refined carbs for whole wheat. I stopped eating chocolate and chips. I stopped eating red meat (didn't like it that much anyway and didn't like preparing it so that one was easy for me). Slowly, I started learning to like new foods. I was the girl who was SUCH a picky eater, to the point where I once went a month as a child where I refused to eat anything other than corn and icecream and had eating nachos covered in cheese whiz everyday for a year and a half in my early twenties so this was a big adjustment for me but I dove right in. I learned to love whole wheat bread, and then flax bread. I learned to love veggies and fruit. I loved hummus, fish, yoghurt. I started drinking nothing but water- 2 litres a day at least. I increased my fibre and added fibre suppliments. The best part? My skin improved about 60% and for the first time in my life I was actually glowing. Of course, I still wanted that final 40% of clarity. I wanted to be completely clear. I booked an appointment with a naturopath. I went back and reread that inital reply from tangerine. About healing my acne naturally. She had a blog, and I checked it out. And now, my journey is only really beginning...

Edited by GreenEyes33, 07 June 2011 - 08:02 AM.

[GreenEyes33]

Part two, taking the next step:

I have always, always been a tired peson. I dont think I've ever felt rested in my entire life. Even after 10 hours of sleeping, I still always always want to nap. I figured that was just who I was, and maybe it is, but I'm not going to let it go without looking into it further. I also live in Nova Scotia, where it's winter for about 9 months of the year and there's only one month that you can actually SEE the sun through the fog, clouds and rain. Last summer was an exception. It was the
most beautiful and warm summer on record here, and we went camping every other weekend. Days spent hiking, walking, lounging on the beach...we were outside enjoying life every weekend day adn holiday. And my skin was clearer then than it ever had been. Of course, I was still on the dreaded birth control at the time, but it was clearer nonetheless! Vitamin D (something I dont take) is something I'm going to ask my doctor about.

Some other things I'm curious about? Adrenal fatigue, chromium, gluten/wheat sensitivity (praying this doesn't apply to me...I loooove my carbs even though they take up a small portion of my diet now), liver health... Rather than continuing to take stabs in the dark and spending money on suppliments I may not even need, I'll leave that up to the naturopath.

I also started going to hot yoga once a week. Exercise, toxin removal, and stress releif in one hour- check! I love it. I now wake up and take the dog for a walk in the morning before work, no sunscreen (my pale Irish skin usually needs it all year long), no hat, no sunglasses. Trying to let a little sunlight in there (or whatever 'sunlight' comes through the clouds and fog).

In addition I now have stopped drinking coffee and black tea, and instead opt for green tea. I actually hate green tea, so I get flavoured kinds- yum! I still have black tea rarely, maybe twice a month, but in general it's gone. I also start everyday with warm water with lemon and allow my liver to clear out toxins. Then I wait about a half hour before breakfast which is fruit- usually an apple. It has helped my energy level somewhat. I also just started (as of yesterday) making green smoothies. They're so good! And such a good way to get some extra fruits and veggies into me

Things I need to work on in the future: using more natural and organic products. I use flouride free Tom's toothpaste, and I also exchanged our cleaning products for vinegar and water, but I eventually need to find a good facial cleanser and moisturizer and MAKEUP thats all or mostly natural. We're still paying back student loans, so this isn't something I can run out and buy until I use up what I currently have- which though gental, do have chemicals. Happily my aluminum filled deoderant is almost gone and I can buy some natural aluminum free stuff.

Another big thing I need to work on? STRESS and my emotions. I don't handle stress well. I handle it a lot better than I did while on b/c but still not great. I also have a bit of an infreriority complex. My husband comes from a family where they have two sons and he is NOT the favortie and they dont even try to hide it. They have flat out told him they don't like him as much, and dont have anything to be proud of him for (which is bs, he's an amazing person and is starting his own business, whereas his brother is really just the most arogant self centered person I've ever met). They also treat their DILs the same as they treat their sons, so in turn, I am not as good as my SIL. This has been really hard on me. I grew up in a family, while not perfect, there was no favoritism. I have always been well liked by friends, their parents, my boyfriends parents. It makes me feel like theres something wrong with me and the acne just adds to that. Well, I LET it add to that. My self esteem needs work, and I need to learn not to care what they think. Realistically, of all the people in the world to have not really like me, they're probably the ones I'd care about the least if they werent my inlaws. They're boring, rude, they think they're better than just about everyone. They dont like fat people, gays, or liberals. They are VERY different from me. I always thought I'd have a great relationship with my inlaws, and it's hard for me to accept that I...well I dont. It'll be distant at best. But in the end it makes us happier than always worrying over and trying to please them. Also, I dont want this to be passed onto my kids. I wont have them thinking they're not as good as their cousin. As soon as my husband can find a job there, were planning on moving to an old farmhouse in the country (about 2 hours away from the city we live in now...where the inlaws also live), to help create distance and so maybe our kids will think they're not as close to their grandparents as their cousin because they dont live as close. We cant wait to have land to grow our own fruits and veggies, have a chicken coop for eggs, get more than one dog (we love dogs!) and just be away from the city

[GreenEyes33]

May 5th 2011:

I can see improvement!

Well, further improvement My forehead has had no new spots for two days now, and the ones there (that were bad...maybe 8 of them?) are healing. This is a first for me!

Here's what I'm doing:

3-4 litres of water a day
sometimes an herbal tea
one green smoothie a day- lots of spinach, apple, blueberries, melon...whatever I have!

My main diet, which hasn't changed much in the past month (which I did notice improvement on!) is:
Wake up around 6- walk dog with no sunscreen or sunglasses trying to get some vitamin d and exercise.
1 mug of warm water with half a lemon squeezed in.
About an hour later-one apple, activia (with all bran buds mixed in) for breakfast.

Other than that I mix it up. Somethings I usually eat:
Soup (organic if I can)
fiber 1 bar
flax bread, sometimes in a sandwhich or with butter
eggs
turkey
chicken
fish
whole wheat pasta
brown rice
lots of veggies and fruit
occasionally brown rice chips
hummus
whole wheat pita
apple sauce
Other random healthy things

About once a week, I'll cheat and having something bad

Other things I've done:

Yoga once a week, trying not to stress, not drinking water while or after I eat for an hour (a hard one for me, but Im used to it now), fibre suppliments when I feel I need them, changed to a natural aluminum free deoderant and a natural shampoo/conditioner...

Anyways, hopefully the improvement will continue. Looking forward to my naturopath appointment next week.

This has in NO way been an overnight thing though. I started eating healthy in early March 2011, so I am now on month two. But I'm loving it so far!

Edited by GreenEyes33, 05 May 2011 - 06:42 AM.

[GreenEyes33]

May 12 2011

Saw the naturopath!!

It went super, super, super (cannot emphasize that enough) well! I suggest anyone who can afford it or has health care coverage for it to go. She talked with me for an hour and a half about everything and was thorough and took lots of notes. Being tired isn't normal, having digestion problems isn't normal, acne isn't normal!

I'm going on an elimination diet, but it's really not SO bad. Basically I'm eliminating red meats (which I dont eat anyway), dairy, eggs, and wheat (this will be so hard for me) from my diet for one month. Most other things I can eat. After that, I can reintroduce with her help and hopefully find out if there's a food sensitivity (she strongly suspects there is) I can also have as much herbal tea as I want, 4 cups a day even!

I'm increasing my dosage of omega 3's and when I'm done with this bottle I'll get a better quality.

I'm taking two caps of probitocs per day (I can give the brand and dosage if anyones interested)

I'll be taking 2 L-Trepins per day to help with my liver and gallbladder (I have gallbladder issues)

Annnd I'll be starting a magnesium suppliment as soon as I go out and buy one, twice per day.

She also said I may need to take vitamin D3 supplements, but we'll start with this first and see where it goes. She also suggested to use Dr. Houshka normalizing oil once my cetaphil is gone (or once my shoppers optimum points build enough for me to buy it free lol)

Oh and to try and do a few things to eliminate toxins like dry brushing my skin, and buying certain fruits and veggies organic if I can afford them. And I'll continue to drink warm lemon water in the mornings.

Anyways, this is pretty much just a personal post but I go back June 9th and she said by then I will most likely see and feel a lot of improvement, and then we can go from there to make the improvement perminant.

I'm no longer taking stabs in the dark trying to figure out what's wrong with me, and I'm really excited to start this! Yay!

Edited by GreenEyes33, 12 May 2011 - 01:58 PM.

[TexMurphy01]

Well well, the girl becomes a man (or something). And hey, you need to bold those headings eh?

Seriously though, it's good that you're putting all this stuff in a log. It might sound like an anal thing to do, but you should take picture of yourself (once weekly is enough - just try to do it in the same lighting conditions each time). When you're down you always think your acne is worse, so it helps to have an objective measure.

I probably don't need to boost your confidence in this regard, but I think your boyfriend's folks sound like bitches. I guess this is what happens when you have a closed mind and have difficulty empathising.

I have many ideas about acne and what cures it, and I'm most interested by this summer you spent away where it all cleared up. So I guess you've got some factors to look at. Firstly, dietary changes during that period. Secondly, environmental factors. Thirdly, and this is my current favourite theory, plain old exercise. I know what it's like... I've been clear before and this was with no change in diet (that I am aware of). It's quite frustrating on the one hand... but on the other hand it's a clue.

Keep up the good fight, and let us all know what works (if you find anything good).

[GreenEyes33]

Well well, the girl becomes a man (or something). And hey, you need to bold those headings eh?

Seriously though, it's good that you're putting all this stuff in a log. It might sound like an anal thing to do, but you should take picture of yourself (once weekly is enough - just try to do it in the same lighting conditions each time). When you're down you always think your acne is worse, so it helps to have an objective measure.

I probably don't need to boost your confidence in this regard, but I think your boyfriend's folks sound like bitches. I guess this is what happens when you have a closed mind and have difficulty empathising.

I have many ideas about acne and what cures it, and I'm most interested by this summer you spent away where it all cleared up. So I guess you've got some factors to look at. Firstly, dietary changes during that period. Secondly, environmental factors. Thirdly, and this is my current favourite theory, plain old exercise. I know what it's like... I've been clear before and this was with no change in diet (that I am aware of). It's quite frustrating on the one hand... but on the other hand it's a clue.

Keep up the good fight, and let us all know what works (if you find anything good).

LOL. I really need to update this log because I've had some improvement! It is annoying to write it down, but it'll be good to look back to. I took a before pic that I'll have to post, and I've been meaning to take a current pic! At least to try and take one every 2 weeks.

I agree about his parents. I wonder if they even have theory of mind? They believe anything that happens that they dont see with their own eyes is as good as if it didn't happen. I struggle everyday to not let their closed mindedness get to me and I know someday I'll get there!

It is interesting to wonder what would have made the difference that summer. The only difference I can see is that it was a rare hot summer here (normally are summers consist of fog and rain) and I spent every weekend out side all day. On the beach, camping, hiking, whatever. Other than that I was camping so I ate worse than ever. I think all I'd eat for those 3 day weekends was tea, hot dogs, and chips. But I was also on the pill during that time, so I was generally more clear than I am now.

I will! I'm bound determined. No way will I turn 26 and still have acne so I better get crackin.

Edited by GreenEyes33, 03 June 2011 - 05:37 AM.

[GreenEyes33]

Tried to start a diet log, failed!

Edited by GreenEyes33, 03 June 2011 - 05:38 AM.

[fakeplasticgirl]

Hey there! I'll be reading your log as I'm in a similar-ish boat as you, though I'm not really doing an elimination diet but am still trying to eliminate gluten + dairy. One q -- have you ever head a blood hormone test done? You said you always had irregular periods, and were put on birth control, did you find that you were regular when you went off it? Just wondering, cuz I had no idea my hormones were so terribly out of whack til my gyno suggested I take the test.

Anyway, best of luck + keep up the discipline and good work! It's good to have people that are in a similar situation as me, so that I have some motivation and am less prone to cheat and break my diet rules

[GreenEyes33]

Thank you!! Im finding it super hard to stick to. And I think my acne is getting WORSE which makes me think it might be less so my diet and moreso something else It's spreading now to my cheeks. I cant win! Anyways I'll see my ND in a week again and we'll see what she says.

I had a hormonal blood test done last week and I find out the results June 13. I cant wait! I do worry about PCOS since I have a few other symptoms, but I really dont want to take synthetic hormones..

[GreenEyes33]

Added Vitamin D3 (4000 IUs) as of May 28th.

Since then I've only gotten two new spots that were already in the process of forming. As of yet, no NEW forming spots.

My exhaustion has been cut in half.

I'm no longer freezing, constantly.

And my face has colour in it.

I will keep taking the vitamin d3 whether or not it helps with my acne, as it's a very important vitamin, but hey I wouldnt complain if it DID help

Going to see the naturopath again as of June 9th, and will get my blood results on June 13th.

Oh and my diet log= fail. I cant keep track of what I eat. Im just too lazy. But I am now taking weekly pic updates that I refuse to post until I really notice improvement. In my last one I still look like I'm full of acne because of all my hyperpigmentation!

[GreenEyes33]

Still nothing new! The two that were already under the skin came to heads and popped very easily (without looking horribly nasty afterward either)

This is the clearest my skin has been in months!

Still very early, but if this time next week I'm still heading down this path I will have to go ahead and post my before and afters.

Also, I want to make it clear I dont think that it was JUST the vitamin d3 that has had such a positive effect, it was everything I'm doing/have done, the vitamin d3 just pushed it over the edge...the good edge!

[hope1986]

Thank you so much for your post, it inspired me! I am also in the same boat as you are (I m 25, met the man of my life and acne issues .) I ve finished 3 months ago a a low dose of Acccutane treatment, I m clean now (very few pimples which dissapear quickly), and I m decided to stay clean. This was the second round of accutane, after first one, I had a relapse. Thus, I turned to the nature, following a similar diet as you do. I started it in March, improved it in April and May. It s hard, I lost some weight (I ve always been a skinny person, thus I m a little bit worried) but I am decided to continue it. Sometimes when I m at supermarket, I do not know what could I buy - no gluten (pasta, bread, baked stuffs, rice - everything has gluten), no diary, nu sugar, no eggs, even potatoes, lentls etc...- nothing left. But I manage to find solutions each time. Maybe you could also try avocado, olive oil, and almond oil - it helps me. A question to you: What do you think abut goat milk? Do you think it also harms as cow milk? I love it, but I am scared to reintroduce it to my diet - NO diary.

Please keep posting. Your suggestions are more than welcomed.

[hope1986]

forgot smth. I also have problems with controlling my emotions. Homeopathy helps me a lot. It might also help you. I am taking 3 granules of IGNATIA AMARA 7 CH in the morning and 3 granules of GELSIUM 7 CH in the evening. I do not feel so stressed anymore, considering that I am still in the university. I also take zincum metalicum and selenium metalicum 7 CH. You know which is the best part? they are 100% natural and not so expensive. 1, 80 eur per box:) i will try to find "natural stuff" for d3 vitamin and fish oil. I m taking some fish oil now, but I do not think it is 100 % natural. If u are interested, you can also check about "Fleurs de Bach" - french version. it s about controlling emotions with the help of plants

Only good things to you .

[GreenEyes33]

Wow! Thank you, your response really motivates me to keep trying. Are we the same person? lol Im also skinny and struggling not to lose weight. Do you live in Canada by any chance? We have a store called the Bulk Barn and the Gluten Free pasta there is literally half the price as it is in the grocery. They also have gluten free bread mixes, even banana bread. Im definitely going to start eating avacado, I already love them just haven't bought them yet.

Do eggs and potatoes break you out too? Im really hoping they wont for me. So far sweet potato doesn't at all, which is great.

I'm also thinking of trying out goats milk and cheese. I've heard a lot of people say it's better digested than cow's milk. If I were you I'd have 2 servings of it for 2 days then drop it again for 2 more days and wait to see if you have a reaction at all. Thats my plan at least. I really miss cheese!

I wrote down the names of what you mentioned and will discuss with my ND next week. The emotions are the hardest part for me. I've graduated (Thank God that stress is behind me!) but now we're starting up a business, going to start a family soon, buying a house...I swear the stress never ends. And I know it leads to breakouts for me, especially because it causes me to not sleep well. Thanks for the sugestions, much appreciated!

[hope1986]

Thank you No, I m living in Europe, Luxembourg. I know, stress is a part of our lifes, sometimes it s hard to cope with it. I had a very intense rhytm of life, but I ve slowed down lately. I believe health is the most important. Each time when I m stressed, i start thinking at my health. Everything settles in life with or without stress. I used to abuse eating potatoes (they are my favourites), so I reduced them from my diet (my skin feels better).(from time to time I eat them, I think in lower quantities doesn t damage me.). The same with eggs - If I eat "bio" eggs from time to time it is ok. In my case, giving up gluten brought the the most visible improvements. I feel different, in a better way, and I haven t broken so much this month after my period - it is usually 1 week after my period has finished when I have the most problems with my skin. Meanwhile, I checked my hormons level and it s ok. I hope my diet was guilty and I can fix it now. It takes time to eliminate all the toxins from body but with patience I hope I will stop breaking out.

Regarding milk...I used to drink goat milk which is pasteurized. I think this damages. If it were 100% natural and fresh I think it wouldn t be any problem. But it s impossible to find it unalterred by chemical procedures. I will keep digging, there should be goats in Luxembourg hehe

[GreenEyes33]

I called myself the potato junkie! They are my favorite food. It was very very hard giving them up (I havent eaten them in over a month now) but I do think I will try eating them again as time goes on. I believe once you heal your gut and decrease your toxins then you CAN eat most foods again (in moderation with potatoes of course) other than dairy, gluten, and sugar/processed crap. I cheated and had a little slice of banana bread the other night which usually breaks me out and I didn't break out at all from it. Whats more is that I usually get really bad stomach pains from my gallbladder after eating food like that, and I didn't. I wont push it but I dont think I'll need to be as strict as some people once I get my body to a good place.

I also love eggs and hope to reintroduce them too! I think if you get them from grass fed chickens they're usually less problematic.

Pasturization is so bad! Unpasturized food is actually illegal here, so maybe I'll never be able to find it

Please keep me updated! You should start a log so I can follow it. I hope this keeps you clear for good

[hope1986]

I will start a log for sure; maybe it would be possible to help someone else. In 2-3 weeks after my exams will be finished, I will work on it Now I m a little bit busy .
Take care,

[GreenEyes33]

Decided to start posting some progress pics. Took one 2 days ago and I really noticed a difference so I figure why not. It's still early, and I wont feel like what I'm doing is definitely working until I've had improvement for a solid month, but what the hay! I'll post them hopefully on a weekly basis from now on.


Not really sure if I'm posting these pics right...but there should be three as attachments. The first is from May 2nd, 2011 just before my acne was at it's all time worse. The second is from May 27th 2011, it looks even worse but it's not (still super bad though) just a lot of hyperpigmentation and such, the third is from just a few days later on June 2nd. I started taking vitamin d3 on May 28th and my skin had already progressed to that point.

All of these are makeup free.

And yes I'm wearing a bandaid to cover a particularly bad one that had just been doused in tea tree oil lol!!

Attached Files

•  May_3_2011_2a.jpg   174.43K   259 downloads
•  May_28_2011a.jpg   161.3K   250 downloads
•  June_1__after_vit_d3a.jpg   142.34K   267 downloads

Edited by GreenEyes33, 04 June 2011 - 08:53 AM.

[AmaraG]

Decided to start posting some progress pics. Took one 2 days ago and I really noticed a difference so I figure why not. It's still early, and I wont feel like what I'm doing is definitely working until I've had improvement for a solid month, but what the hay! I'll post them hopefully on a weekly basis from now on.


Not really sure if I'm posting these pics right...but there should be three as attachments. The first is from May 2nd, 2011 just before my acne was at it's all time worse. The second is from May 27th 2011, it looks even worse but it's not (still super bad though) just a lot of hyperpigmentation and such, the third is from just a few days later on June 2nd. I started taking vitamin d3 on May 28th and my skin had already progressed to that point.

All of these are makeup free.

And yes I'm wearing a bandaid to cover a particularly bad one that had just been doused in tea tree oil lol!!

Hi there. Just been reading your progress and was somewhat suprised at our similarities....I too realized that being on BC made me unfeeling, almost zombie-like. I have had on and off again acne sometimes Im clear and sometimes I wonder, do I have measles? lol.
Anyway your post about being tired and having low energy spoke to me...I never really considered drastic diet changes(Ive cut out most sugar and most dairy which I dont need anyway) but youve got me to rethink that. Im going to look into the whole gluten/potato thing which may have some validity to it after all.
Thanks for posting your story and pics, I reall wish you the best and keep us posted
-A

[GreenEyes33]

Decided to start posting some progress pics. Took one 2 days ago and I really noticed a difference so I figure why not. It's still early, and I wont feel like what I'm doing is definitely working until I've had improvement for a solid month, but what the hay! I'll post them hopefully on a weekly basis from now on.


Not really sure if I'm posting these pics right...but there should be three as attachments. The first is from May 2nd, 2011 just before my acne was at it's all time worse. The second is from May 27th 2011, it looks even worse but it's not (still super bad though) just a lot of hyperpigmentation and such, the third is from just a few days later on June 2nd. I started taking vitamin d3 on May 28th and my skin had already progressed to that point.

All of these are makeup free.

And yes I'm wearing a bandaid to cover a particularly bad one that had just been doused in tea tree oil lol!!

Hi there. Just been reading your progress and was somewhat suprised at our similarities....I too realized that being on BC made me unfeeling, almost zombie-like. I have had on and off again acne sometimes Im clear and sometimes I wonder, do I have measles? lol.
Anyway your post about being tired and having low energy spoke to me...I never really considered drastic diet changes(Ive cut out most sugar and most dairy which I dont need anyway) but youve got me to rethink that. Im going to look into the whole gluten/potato thing which may have some validity to it after all.
Thanks for posting your story and pics, I reall wish you the best and keep us posted
-A

These replies are so motivating! I think there's a large group of us girls who are going through the same things, I really felt like I was the ONLY one before coming here. Now I dont think so highly of myself It's weird because after being tired and zombie like for so long you begin to think of that as 'normal'.

Focus on being healthy is my best advice. Eat whole foods, rather than processed, and minimize your carb intake for a while and see if it helps. Dont forget about GOOD sleep (something so hard for me, but I find going to bed at a regular time, keeping the room dark, and getting my 8 hours really helps), exercise and destressing, and any vitamins you may need are important too. Keep us updated as well!