26 replies to this topic

[Ihavenoface]

Hello folks.

I'm new to posting, but not to reading.

I decided it was time to get accountable for my health (which obviously affects my skin -- no question about that for me), and to contribute to this forum, having benefited from many options that I would not have considered had it not been for others' experience on here. On that note, I'd like to thank all those who have shared their experiences with treatments on here, it just goes to show the diversity of people's body chemistry, how different things work for different people -- I believe this is a most important thing to remember, so that we do not try the majority-'cure' from doctors and derms, and give up when it doesn't work. As long as people are sharing their journies, they could be sharing the missing link for another person.

My hope for this regimen log is to detect any food intolerances, or vitamin/nutrient deficiencies, correct them, and to be of help to others on their journey to clear skin.

I'll try to structure this a bit for ease of reading. First I'll post current pictures of my skin, so I can track progress and to show anyone reading what I'm trying to heal here. Next, I'll give a little back ground info, then I'll post my current dietary, supplementary, and topical regimen. I will update regularly.

OK, before I post today's pictures, I should add that I started my regimen 1 week ago, when the cysts you are about to see were just forming. And BOY, did I have no idea they would get this big! I must be an optimist, because at least every couple of months they DO get this big, and in between I get the grace of slightly littler versions. I have some flaking and calamine lotion on my skin, but I don't want to scrub, so it's in there.

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Background info (I will endeavour to keep it brief, but you know how it is with skin!)

I am a 29 year old female. My father had acne that scarred right into his twenties, so there is a genetic component here that likely predisposes me to skin problems. My skin has been flaring up like this on a monthly, or two-monthly basis, for 7 years. In between the 10p size, marble-shaped buggars shown above, I tend to get clusters of smaller versions, cysts under that skin that don't fully develop, or that linger as a dull ache and develop months down the line. All spots I get tend to be located on my jawline, my cheeks and my chin. Although I have had a recurring one right between my eyes! Twice it has flared up to the size of a pea, and I don't mean 'petit pois', we're talking MARROWFAT here! Anyway, I have a lovely hole there now, and a red scar next to it from it's flare up a couple of months ago. Scar tissue tends to be more acne-prone, perhaps because the tissues are weaker they cannot support or expel toxins as efficiently as healthy tissue.

Anyway, what happened 7 years ago?

Well, I had a baby. I started depo provera contraceptive jag. I started smoking. I took less exercise. I developed a mental health condition. I started a stressful job. I developed insomnia. My relationship broke down. I started college. Etc, etc. Is there answer in there? Probably. Are we gonna find it by listing all the 'bad' stuff I done and that happened to me? Probably not. Safe to say it could have been all, or some of those factors. I suspect, however, that the culprit was the depo provera, and that my hormones have yet to recover.

Why? Because it gave me insane mood swings (hormone imbalance), straw-like hair (hormone imbalance), my waist disappeared and I developed a rather hefty, square, man'like shape (hormone imbalance).

So that was then, that was when I got my first spot. The cysts only started appearing about 3 years after that, the first was round one of the third eye (between eyes). Nice starting point acne, way to get yerself noticed! They have been appearing in various places and incarnation on my face since then.

How has my lifestyle been over the last 7 years?

I have smoked too much. Drank too much (sometimes binging 20-odd units in one night x two night per week). I have an incredibly sweet tooth -- cake, chocolate, biscuits, etc. I craved carbs like hell -- bread especially, oh, and cakes . I have been predominantly vegetarian over the last 7 years also, and that is non-negotiable, I quite frankly just hate red meat, and chicken.

Sooo, what have I tried in the past from derms?

Antibiotics -- 3 different types off the top of my head, Lymecycline, Minocycline, and a topical, Zineryt.
Topicals -- Differin, Retin-A, Panoxyl
Contraceptives -- Dianette, Yasmin, Microgynon, Cilest, and others that I can't mind the name of -- they didn't work anyway.

No joy.

I have tried various natural treatments, and over time some appeared to do more than othersx -- it is these that are including ihn my current regimen. But they were never enough on their own, so the major difference in this current regimen is DIET. I have never drastically changed my diet, until recently, when I went on low-carb to lose my freshman 10 (from my 6th foray into the world of academia, yes, at 28), and I noticed a reduction in the amount of spots. So. From all that, and a trial of some new remedies from the chinese herbalist, here is what I am doing just now and shall log my progress with:


TOPICALS AND SUPPLEMENTS


A.M.

Topical
1. Wash with sulfur soap
2. Tone with 1:3 Apple Cider Vinegar:Water
3. Moisturise with Pientzehuang Pearl Cream

Supplements
1. Apple Cider Vinegar internally: 1 tablespoon in a glass of warm water, on an empty stomach
2. Vitamin C x 1000mg
3. Dr Stuart's Skin Purify tea

AFTERNOON

Topical (if I am home)
Wash and tone as above, and spot treat with undilute ACV

Supplement
1. Dr Stuart's Skin Purify tea
2. ACV internally x 1 tablespoon in warm water, if I am home.

P.M.

Topical
1. Wash with sulfur soap
2. Tone with ACV dilute solution
3. Spot treat with undilute ACV
4. Apply Acne Getaway 101E herbal lotion
(wait 30 mins as directed)
5. Calamine lotion mask overnight

Supplement (between 4pm and 10pm)
1. Fybogel (if I haven't had a bowel movement that day)
2. Niacin (flush kind) 2 x 100mg
3. 15mg Zinc (there is also zinc in my multivitamin, so I don't want to overdo it)
4. Vitabiotics Wellwoman multivitamin mineral formula with micronutrients
5. Dr Stuart's Skin Purify tea


DIET RULES

Eliminated list
Dairy, meat, soy, wheat, fruit, caffeine, processed-anything, simple carbs.

Severely reduced list
Grains (I only have one packet of instant oats per day, no other grains at all), sugar (a couple of squares of dark chocolate per day, the little that is in the instant oats -- no other sugar at all), carbs in general.

What does a typical day's diet look like?

Breakfast:
--- Salad (one tomato, 4 sticks of celery, half a cucumber, 1 clove of garlic, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, half juice of a lemon, dash of garlic salt, 3-4 cups of spinach). This salad usually give me 2-3 servings, and therefore lasts through to lunchtime.

Snack:
--- 10 almonds and 3 brazil nuts

Lunch:
--- omelette (1 egg and 1 egg white, garlic salt, parsley, fried in Carotino oil which apparently doesn't degenerate when heated)
--- 2 squares of Lindt 90% dark chocolate

Dinner:
--- celery, carrot, and cucumber sticks with hummus dip
--- 10 almonds, 3 brazil nuts, 2 squares of Lindt 90%

The only drinks I am having are green tea (one-two per day max due to the caffeine), Dr Stuart's Skin Purify tea, Peppermint tea, mineral, or boiled water, ACV in warm water.

If I am clearer in 1 month, I plan to reintroduce dairy and wheat, in seperate intervals, to see if they are aggrevators for me. I will also be gradually minimising any topicals -- my hope is that through healing my internal environment, I will no longer need to treat the external. Healthy inners = healthy outers? Makes sense to me.

I know this is quite strict, (although I do enjoy all the foods I am eating, so it doesn't feel like deprivation, which I think is important), and I know that even after a week my skin is terrible, BUT, there is one very important change that has occurred since I have changed to this diet regime: I am sleeping, a whole 8-9 hours per night WITHOUT a sedative for the first time in years. The past 4 nights I have had the sleeps of my life, that I never thought I would ever have without medication. THAT alone, tells me that my body is happier eating and supplementing this way. And I am confident that the benefits on my sleep cycle will find their way to my skin in time.

So, that's all for now. I wish everyone luck on their journeys and hope to help as much as I can whether through this log, or suggestions that I have found to be beneficial, although I do not have much of the latter atm, hopefully this will change in the near future and I can share what I have learned.

Edited by Ihavenoface, 24 July 2011 - 05:36 AM.

[Ihavenoface]

So, today the swelling of my cheek cysts appears to have reduced, there is less pressure and pain also which usually indicates a reduction in size (MAN were they sore last week when my whole cheek was just a big swelling, no discernable lumps, just a big swollen cheek!), on the right side, my jaw is a bit more painful, probably because it's on the bone. The one on my jaw is a reccurring cyst, I've had this one around 3 times before, and this time it has leaked back into the scar tissue from the previous inflammation/incarnation, but also the tissue surrounding, so it's bigger. Hopefully less damage will be done this time, and with my keeping my paws off it (yes, I USED to be a picker), hopefully it will heal properly. Some little ones surfacing on my cheek above it, but they've been coming for a couple of days too, although one is also on scar tissue from another relatively big previous cyst, so that's a little worrying, but I'm not going to freak!

I've figured it's pointless to update photos daily, as the difference will be minute, so I'll aim for weekly.

A note on my diet: I'm aiming for less that 100g carbs per day and up to 80g fat, as it was when I restricted my carbs and increased my fat intake that I saw my skin calm down for a bit.
The day's example diet I have shown above is not neccessarily all I would eat, I would add in one bowl of oats later in the day, or a jelly at night, or double up the nut portions, have a 2nd omelette, etc, I'm not trying to lose weight atm (although it has been a consequence), so I am eating as much of the allowed foods as I like.

Any questions, feel free to ask.

Edited by Ihavenoface, 22 July 2011 - 02:21 AM.

[Ihavenoface]

A quick note on make-up and alcohol.

I haven't left the house without foundation and concealer in the 7 years I have been getting these cysts. I have never had my face totally clear in that time, the cysts I get tend to take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months to heal completely, so there has always been at least one or two on my face at various stages of development.

The foundation I have found to be best when my skin isn't too dry is L'oreal True Match, in rose ivory (I'm very pale) -- good coverage, and doesn't cause breakouts as far as I can tell. I have experimented with different make-ups and this one seems the gentlest whilst still giving me enough cover to leave the house. The concealer I use is Bourjois Healthy Mix in eclat clair, again it doesn't seem to excacerbate my skin, and covers redness relatively well. Obviously, I still have a lumpy face because of the size of the cysts, but in reducing redness I feel a bit better. I'd have had no love/dating/sex life had it not been for these two products!

Alcohol: I haven't drank alcohol in two weeks, although this is not the norm for me. But, it is onmy reduction list because of the sugar content. I am going to limit myself to only drinking clear spirits with low-calorie tonic, too much caffeine in diet coke and the like, and to limit consumption to 10 units per week. I used to have one or two with friends during the week with lunch sometimes -- that is stopping, weekend only and only 10, no matter how many nights I am out.

[Manticore]

Hi Ihavenoface.

I hope your regimen produces results for you. It's not until a member posts pictures like that, that it puts acne like I had into perspective.

I'm sure a lot of members with severe acne would come on these forums & rant & swear, & wave their clenched fists in the air shouting "why me!", but it's good to see that you have a level-headed approach to achieving your aims.

I also gave up dairy when I started my regimen a couple of years ago. Although some say that soy should be avoided, I changed from cow's milk to soy milk, & I still drink it now. I don't know if cow's milk was part of my acne problem, but after thinking about what cow's milk contains & that it's only meant for growing calves (not human consumption), I will never go back to drinking it.

If you intend to start consuming dairy again, perhaps you should give it 8 weeks instead of 4. It can sometimes take that long for changes to be noticable.

Good luck.

[Ihavenoface]

Hi Ihavenoface.

I hope your regimen produces results for you. It's not until a member posts pictures like that, that it puts acne like I had into perspective.

I'm sure a lot of members with severe acne would come on these forums & rant & swear, & wave their clenched fists in the air shouting "why me!", but it's good to see that you have a level-headed approach to achieving your aims.

I also gave up dairy when I started my regimen a couple of years ago. Although some say that soy should be avoided, I changed from cow's milk to soy milk, & I still drink it now. I don't know if cow's milk was part of my acne problem, but after thinking about what cow's milk contains & that it's only meant for growing calves (not human consumption), I will never go back to drinking it.

If you intend to start consuming dairy again, perhaps you should give it 8 weeks instead of 4. It can sometimes take that long for changes to be noticable.

Good luck.

Hi Manticore,

thanks for your reply and good wishes. You know, I appreciate the acknowledgement of the severity of my condition right now, you get so used to being told not to worry about it, that it's what's inside that counts, and that it could be worse, etc, etc, but at the end of the day, it affects people deeply, no matter how insignificant it is or looks to others.

Hey, that's great you've gotten clear. I also swapped to soy milk last year for a year, but it never made any difference to my skin, which means that either it's nothing to do with either dairy or soy, or both, time will tell on that one. TBH, I don;t miss milk, I'm off caffeine, so I don;t need it for tea, I was never a big muncher of cereal so I don't need it for that, but I did enjoy yogurt, and it was a good way to get the probiotics (hate swallowing pills!). So, hopefully I'll be OK with yogurt at some point. Good advice for the 2 month thing. I haven't fully planned how I'm going to do it yet, if I actually manage to get clear through the eliminations it will be very difficult to reintroduce stuff, petrifying actually, but I'd rather know what's aggravating things. I suspect it's as much about what I wasn't eating, or getting enough of nutrition and vitamin-wise, than what I was. So, I guess I just need to try work out my balance. My body is definitely happier atm, with me sleeping and all, so I'm doing something right.

Glad you're detecting some level-headedness, I'd be no use at sorting this out in freak-out mode, which, like everyone else, I do go cycle through, but it's not a good place to stay, and life is too precious to be miserable longer than necessary, you know.

Thanks again for replying

[Ihavenoface]

Well, a wee update.

The large cyst on my left cheek broke tonight, and yes, it was gross, but at least the swelling has gone down a bit. God know what kind of scarring I'm going to have from that monster, my cheek looks crinkled and caved-in just now -- I still prefer that to the big bubble of yuk that I had earlier! I just have to hope now that it doesn't fill up again, as there are a couple of smaller ones right around it, and I suspect that there are channels under the skin where they are feeding each other in this case -- this isn't paranoia, my friend had a similar type of outbreak, and was told by the dermatologist that this can happen, you can';t see it because it's under the skin.

The recurring cyst on my jaw on my right side is bigger and redder than ever, no reduction, and there is one right next to it that's growing.

If all heals well on the left side I am hoping for a positive picture for next weeks posting

[Manticore]

I bet you feel a bit of relief now that a lot of that gunk has now come out. I know that I did when I had a cyst under my arm a few weeks ago.

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/Ouch-Lump...40#entry3109540

A few days after that photo was taken, the pressure was getting very uncomfortable. It felt like it was going to explode, and eventually...it did! Ahh...relief.

Fingers crossed that yours continues to subside.

Do you ever try cold compresses on your face? They are supposed to help reduce the inflamation quicker. They also help soothe the burning sensation.

Also, I see that you are concerned about caffeine. Have you tried decaffeinated green tea? Clipper do a decaffeinated green tea. I don't drink it myself, as I prefer the Twinings flavoured green teas.

[I am I]

-green tea is good for inflamed acne as it can reduce the inflammation,and as a result,decrease the size of pimples.. green tea is also good for the hormones since you firstly got the acne from hormonal imblance..
-I heard that the taste of decaffeinated green tea is so bad( metallic ) but i have never tried it ,so i am not sure.. If the one that you have now is normal green tea,then, you can reduce the amount of caffeine by brewing the tea bag in hot water for 30 seconds to 45 seconds ,then throw the water and only drink the second time brewing one.. I drink at least 4 tea bags in a day and no experience any side effect..
-The supplement that you take( wellwoman) , it contains iodine,right??? Iodine can worsen the acne, and you should not take the multivitamin that contains iodine which can cause the eruption.. also the same with biotin which eventually worsen the condition in some people..
- just my suggestions.. wish you luck..

[Ihavenoface]

I bet you feel a bit of relief now that a lot of that gunk has now come out. I know that I did when I had a cyst under my arm a few weeks ago.

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/Ouch-Lump...40#entry3109540

A few days after that photo was taken, the pressure was getting very uncomfortable. It felt like it was going to explode, and eventually...it did! Ahh...relief.

Fingers crossed that yours continues to subside.

Do you ever try cold compresses on your face? They are supposed to help reduce the inflamation quicker. They also help soothe the burning sensation.

Also, I see that you are concerned about caffeine. Have you tried decaffeinated green tea? Clipper do a decaffeinated green tea. I don't drink it myself, as I prefer the Twinings flavoured green teas.

Oh, definitely, it was so painful, felt like a new nose growing out the side of my face or something!

Yeah, I've tried the icing thing, and the heat thing -- the ice doesn't appear to do anything for cysts at all IME, but heat does appear to soften the harder, deeper ones and bring them up quicker, but also increases the inflammation, so I only do that if I have a day or two at home without no reason to go out, which isn't very often!

TBH, the amount of caffeine in 1-2 cups of green tea is negligable compared to the buckets of coffee I was drinking prior, we're talking anything up to 10 cups per day, some of which were very strong from cafes. So, I'm not too worried about the green tea. I don't think the caffeine is a major aggravator anyway, as I started drinking much more of it when I started uni last year and I didn't note any huge change in my skin. But it could be an indirect effect with the detrimental effect caffeine has on my sleep, so it's still going to be beneficial to drop it.

I'm kinda doing this lifestyle for my whole body, I don't believe you can just treat one thing and still be 'bad' with the rest of you, if you know what I mean, I believe if you treat the whole bodily system, things will work themselves out. Unless, of course there is a food intolerance, but this remains to be seen, I have a funny feeling food intolerances are not as common as many sites would have you think.

[Ihavenoface]

-green tea is good for inflamed acne as it can reduce the inflammation,and as a result,decrease the size of pimples.. green tea is also good for the hormones since you firstly got the acne from hormonal imblance..
-I heard that the taste of decaffeinated green tea is so bad( metallic ) but i have never tried it ,so i am not sure.. If the one that you have now is normal green tea,then, you can reduce the amount of caffeine by brewing the tea bag in hot water for 30 seconds to 45 seconds ,then throw the water and only drink the second time brewing one.. I drink at least 4 tea bags in a day and no experience any side effect..
-The supplement that you take( wellwoman) , it contains iodine,right??? Iodine can worsen the acne, and you should not take the multivitamin that contains iodine which can cause the eruption.. also the same with biotin which eventually worsen the condition in some people..
- just my suggestions.. wish you luck..

Hey I Am I,

thank you for your reply. I checked my wellwoman multi and there is no iodine listed, although there is biotin. I haven't actually done any research on biotin, so thanks for pointing that out, it may be worth looking into.

I don't want to change too much of the plan at this stage, as my skin appears to have stabilised. I haven't had any new spots appear in the last week, only the development of ones already present, so I'll wait and see what happens when these cysts clear. I've only been taking the wellwoman supplement for about 10 days, the cysts I have were already present when I started all of the above steps, so it's really a waiting game atm.

[Ihavenoface]

Okies, so a wee update.

I am beginning to think that digestion may be one of my key issues with my skin. I used to eat a lot of processed crap and cooked food -- a lot of vegetables, as I'm predominantly vegetarian, but many of them very starchy which I believe can cause sugar spikes? Anyway, in the last week to 10 days or so I have been eating mostly raw, and unprocessed, with the exception of eggs and dark chocolate. I was never very 'regular' prior to eating this way, so to get things moving along I was taking fybogel for the first few days, since then, no fybogel and I have experienced a bowel movement every day, which I feel ten times better for, I feel less bloated, lighter, all obviousl things you would think, but you get used to feeling a certain way and I blamed my bloating on my sporadic eating (I have a tendency to eat nothng for long periods then binging) -- this I believe has given me messed up digestion, and is to blame for the alternating constipation/loose stool. So, I think my tummy and bowel are getting happier with the regular, dairy-meat-wheat-free, mostly raw way of eating.

Here are some update photos since my left side has begun to heal. I had several cysts on this side when I posted pictures a few days ago, the largest which was about the size of a 10p has since broken and although it's still weeping a day later, I believe it is healing. The cysts on my right jaw is still very active, although it appears to have calmed down somewhat since yesterday, the one growing next to it seems to have halted at its present stage too.

[Ihavenoface]

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Edited by Ihavenoface, 24 July 2011 - 05:37 AM.

[Ihavenoface]

OK, I have a couple of changes to report, the first of which I am not proud of, but I was getting seriously down about my skin.

1. I went to the doctor today because quite frankly I have not been leaving the house unless I have to for work or food. My friends have been asking where I have been, I'm missing beautiful weather, getting no exercise, and staring at my face all day. My cysts are such that all I can do to conceal them with make-up is reduce the redness, they are so big that I look physically deformed, whatever I do. Red and deformed or white and deformed? That's my choice. So anyway, the one that is bothering me the most is the marble-sized one on my jaw, it's seriously painful, inflamed, and full. This is also its third or fourth incarnation. I'm sick of it, and I know it well enough to know that if left alone it will linger for months. So, I asked the doctor about a short, strong dose of something to help it. He prescribed Flucloxacillin 500mg, four times per day, for a week. He said that shoudl take care of the current cysts, but asked if I would be open to going back on a more long-term course of antibiotics, I explained that if he check my notes he would see that both the various doctor's antibiotic courses (internal and topical) and the dermatologists courses were all ineffective, so I said no, I am not willing to kill my stomach and burn my skin for no result again. He then said that the next step would be Accutane. I said I would continue with my new diet and supplements for the time being, as it has prevented any new eruptions in the last 10 days, and has gotten me off sedatives. Obviously he brought up the fact that there is no medical evidence that supports a connection between food and hormones, or food and acne, I nodded and said again, 'I am sleeping. For the first time in years without a sedative, on this diet' -- that is enough evidence for me that my body and mind are happier, and I would like to see if this will be reflected in my skin eventually. So, I'll be taking this week's course alongside my diet and supplement changes, then just continuing with the diet and supps.

2. I am slashing my list of topicals.
New routine:

A.M. and P.M.

-- wash with sulfur soap
-- apply distilled witch hazel all over face
-- moisturise with pientzehuang pearl cream

My make-up has changed also, I decided to go for a gentler, more recommended foundation, and a medicated concealer.

I am now using Almay Nearly Naked Make-up in Ivory, SPF 15, and Witch Naturally Clear concealer in Natural.

I posted pictures yesterday of my progress, I will repost tomorrow after one day on Flucloxacillin, and each day until the end of the course.

[SweetPea91]

Glad you're deciding to stick with the diet. Stay strong

[Ihavenoface]

Glad you're deciding to stick with the diet. Stay strong

Thank you sweetpea, although I screwed up a bit last night. My sugar cravings had all but disappeared, but whatever happened last night they came back with avengence and I munched down 2 packs of mini jaffa cakes and 100g of milk chocolate!! No new eruptions today, although I doubt it's an instant reaction anyway, so I'll be on the look-out over the next couple of days

[Ihavenoface]

So, an update. I'm on day 3 of Flucloxacillin, and around my 3rd week of diet change.

The large cyst on my right jaw broke again today and this time appears to have drained completely; this would usually take anywhere from 4-12 weeks without treatment other than topicals. The inflammation on my left cheek has died down somewhat, but I am still lumpy, healing is still going slowly. So happy about my right jaw, it was seriously killing me, I can actually feel the bone now, instead of this big dull achy cushion I had before! I never actually realised just how big it was until I tried to put a spot plaster on it yesterday to go shopping, and it was bigger than the plaster, so I had to go out with it in its full glory. I guess the air is good for skin anyway, although I'm trying to stay out of the sun, as sunburn is a severe aggravator for me, and I don't have any non-comedeogenic sun block as yet.

I said I'd be posting pictures daily on the Flucloxacillin, but I think it best to leave a bit longer inbetween, there isn't much difference day to day. I'll post a photo tomorrow, which will be the beginning of day 4 on Fluclox, I am on it for 7 days, so we'll see what happens. I think I may only have 1 active cyst left (next to the one that just broke on my right jaw) provided my jaw begins to heal now.

OH, and I've very slightly tweaked my topical regimen again. I'm doing the occasional sea salt and olive oil exfoliation -- I don't want to call it a 'scrub' because I'm petrified of scrubbing skin like mine, so I wouldn't want to lead any one astray by using that word.

Here is the method I am using for the exfoliation:

-- Apply with a cotton ball, sea salt dissolved in boiled water, hot, but bearable, NOT burning, to whole face.

-- Let it dry. (10-20 mins)

-- gently massage a 5 pence-sized amount of olive oil over the dried sea salt on face

-- steam off with a hot wash cloth - again, no scrubbing or rubbing.

This is making my skin feel very clean and moisturised. I was able to apply make-up without moisturiser afterwards, I would even go as far to say that my skin was a little too moisturised, but I doubt that's a bad thing for me, as my skin tends toward the dry.

Edited by Ihavenoface, 27 July 2011 - 06:45 AM.

[Ihavenoface]

I am reducing my supplements as of today, since I appear to be entering healing-mode, and I think I was taking too much anyway. I should be getting plenty vitamins from my current diet, so I don't want to overdo it, but I will continue to supplement to a lesser degree for the time being.

This is what I am taking now:

- 1 Tablespoon of ACV in warm water, once per day.

- 2 x 500mg of vitamin C, one in the morning, one in the afternoon

- 1 x Vitabiotics Wellwoman Multivitamin, which contains:

100 mg Starflower Oil
100 mg Evening Primrose Oil
10 mg Citrus Bioflavonnoids
2 mg Natural Mixed Carotenoids
-----------
5 ug Vit D (as D3 200 IU) (100% RDA)
30 mg Vit E (250% RDA)
60 mg VIt C (75% RDA)
90 ug Vit K (120% RDA)
10 mg Thiamin (vit B1) (909% RDA)
5 mg Riboflavin (vit B2) (357% RDA)
36 mg Niacin (vit B3) (225% RDA)
10 mg Vit B6 (714% RDA)
400 ug Folic Acid (200% RDA)
20 ug Vit B12 (800% RDA)
50 ug Biotin (100% RDA)
6 mg Pantothenic Acid (100% RDA)
100 mg Magnesium (27% RDA)
12 mg Iron (86% RDA)
12 mg Zinc (120% RDA)
1500 ug Copper (150% RDA)
2.5 mg Manganese (125% RDA)
100 ug Selenium (182% RDA)
50 ug Chromium (125% RDA)
30 mg P.A.B.A.

[Ihavenoface]

Sooo, it's been a wee while since I have posted. The last time I posted I was on a week's course of Flucloxacillin with the hope of reducing some super-cysts. Result? Well, several of them broke, and did reduce, my inflammation has went down also, and my face not so swollen and painful -- all good. However, I am 2 days off the antibiotic and I have had somewhat of a mini breakout, a couple of smaller cysts (nothing like the monsters in my photos, which I may add, got bigger before they got smaller!) and a couple of minor spots that came up with heads -- which is weird, I never get spots like that, usually just the big huge buggars that move in for months.

Anyway, I may not fully belong in this forum any longer, as I have decided to take measures over and above my diet changes. My diet has also altered slightly too.

So, first, the diet: meat-free, very low-sugar, low-wheat, simple carb-free, dairy-free -- except 200ml of Activia pouring yogurt and one activia yogurt per day for the time being, as my stomach has the crazies after that antibiotic course, i just can't seem to tolerate them at all anymore. I have reintroduced some fruit (one week ago), I just don't feel good not eating any, and I think it's important to listen to your body in ways other than just your skin, so I am eating 1-2 servings of fruit per day, usually apples, bananas or berries. I have also reintroduced a small serving of grains per day, to help my digestive system, usually oats, or a couple of oat cakes, or a couple of rice cakes.

Supplements have changed also. I feel I no longer need a multi, I think I am getting plenty nutrients from my food. So I am just supplementing purely for my skin with:

100mg Flushing Niacin
15mg Zinc
1000-1500mg Vit. C
2000mg Pure Acai Berry
67mg (or 100 I.U.) Natural Vitamin E

The other measures: well, after seeing the doc for the Flucloxacillin, he advised me that Accutane from the derm would be the next step. I asked him for the second time if we could try Spironolactone, as I believe since my problem began after the depo provera contraceptive jag that my condition is caused my hormone imbalance, but he said again that he doubted it would help. So I bought them from a registered online pharmacy myself. For those who don't know, Spironolactone is essentially and anti-androgen, it is also known as a 'water tablet'. It should help with some other issues I have been having also, like hair loss, premenstrual bloating, and perhaps even mood swings (as high testosterone can lead to anger).

So, I am no longer fully medication-free. Not sure if I still belong in this forum actually.

[Ihavenoface]

Oh, and for the record, my current status is a godawful:

Left cheek/jaw -- 2 large (5-10p-size) cysts, 2 smaller cysts, 3 average spots (one of which is feeling quite swollen and has the potential to become a cyst on my chin -- joy!)

Right cheek/jaw -- 5 cysts that have joined up, all around the 5p size range, 2 smaller cysts on lower jaw, a sprinkling of average spots on jaw and neck.

Chin -- one appears to be threatening right in the centre of it!

Give me strength!!

[Manticore]

So sorry to hear that you are still breaking out. I have just seen your photos in the other thread.

Hopefully, a change in tactics will bring results.

Best of luck.