5 replies to this topic

[missmissy]

Maybe someone can help as I have a few questions...

At the age of 31 (this all started 9 months ago) I got my first pimple in my life! After that it has all been going downhill. I have become extremely oily and keep breaking out on my face and top of my back. On top of it all, I've noticed this past month that my thick long hair is shedding and I feel like I'm loosing a lot of hair. Also I would imagine it is androgen related, however my hormone tests are normal and my ultra sound came back with no cysts.

So could this be that my body has developed a sensitivity to testosterone? And if so, do your hormones regulate and go back to normal if I don't take medication? Is this forever. The reason why I ask is because most people I read about on acne.org seem to have been battling acne since their teens or earlier and it followed them to adulthood. But I have had perfect skin up until this year. How is this possible???

As a background, I was on alesse for 2 years from 2006-2008 so I doubt that could have caused this. Also, I never really was a milk drinker and have a fairly healthy diet. Please help me! This is destroying my life! Has anyone fixed this permanently or do all the people that have been cured leave this site?

[melissa6980]

I'm 31, but this has followed me into adulthood from my teen years. My androgen tests were normal too, it is possible to just be sensitive to testosterone and not have an excess. Some women do all of a sudden start breaking out with adult onset acne. I'm not sure if there's any way to predict whether your acne will clear up on it's own or not. You could try a low glycemic dairy free diet to see if that helps if you haven't already. Or you could try allergy tests. Some people have good luck with avoiding gluten or dairy. If you can visit a naturopath, they might be able to help you figure out how to balance your hormones and a dermatologist has a bunch of stuff that could really help. Stuff like benzoyl peroxide, retin-a, short term antibiotic use, spironolactone, etc. can be incredibly helpful. I know this can be maddening and frustrating trying to find something that works for you. You can get through this and find something that will help.

[ethio84]

had perfect skin as a teen but once I turned 20, BOOM. Docs and Derms were no help, but I figured out that the problem all started when something changed in my tap water. They replaced the chlorine with chloramine (combination of chlorine and ammonia) which irritated the heck out of my sensitive skin. The problem went misdiagnosed as acne for years before I figured out it was Folliculitis, a overgrowth of yeast in the skin which has symptoms very similar to acne . My suspicion is that the chloramine dried out my skin so bad that it had to work overtime to self moisturize by increasing sebum production, thus allowing the yeast overgrowth. Washing my face with bottled water helps, but if the problem is advanced, you need to try anti-fungal topicals or oral medications (ask a derm) ZNP soap bar and tea tree oils should work if it is a fungal problem.

good luck ../../..//public/style_emoticons/default/smile.png

For tips got to a thread titled"Pityrosporum Folliculitis"

There are a lot of people on there with similar symptoms that appear to be acne that arise suddenly out of nowhere.

Hope this helps anyone that is suffering needlessly.

Chin up guys ../../..//public/style_emoticons/default/smile.png

[the uphill battle]

missmissy, first of all I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I know the pain of it. Have you tried Spironolactone? Even if your hormones were considered in "normal range" you could still have a sensitivity to androgens/testosterone and respond well to the medication.

[changedmynamefinally]

id like to know from a doctor/derm how this occurs in older people

[thisisnothollywood]

I turn 31 in January and Im stillgetting acne, mine started when I was 14....such a pain in the ass.