27 replies to this topic

[Mardiapn]

Yet, here I am, with one of the worst breakouts ever thats been lasting for weeks. I've "suffered" (strong word, hate using it) for years and years. Failed Accutane, spironlactone, topicals, oral antibiotics. Everything. Been using Dan's regimen for a few years but the last two months have been awful. Painful, cystic breakout on my chin. I saw some older posts about Aleive. I'm going to buy some in the morning. Can a simple OTC NSAID really work? I'm so crossing my fingers and toes!!

[FSAS]

I'm curious if you've tried a natural approach through diet and lifestyle? its something i've been trying to do but spiro and birth controls did help me. perhaps if it didnt help you its something very internal that can be fixed through diet rather than meds?

[cln]

I'm in the same boat, but I have persistent mild/moderate hormonal acne. I'm now on the clear skin diet (low glycemic foods, tons of vegies, lean meats, no dairy, 8 hours of sleep and exercise regularly) and after 2 weeks I'm starting to see some clearing. I took Spiro 100mg for 11 days and had the worst breakout of my life (or since my 20's anyway). Stopped the spiro altogether (that drug is the devil to me). I had a light bulb moment 2 weeks ago before I started the spiro: I lived in Sydney for 2 years and hardly had any breakouts, I'm back in Boston and I'm having breakouts before and after my monthly. What's different: food. I ate way healthier in Syndey. Today my face is looking alot better than any day over the past 2 weeks. I'll post in another 2 weeks to update on the diet. I'm confident it's going to work for. It did in the past. Plus, I was a carb/milk junkie in Boston. I at frosted mini wheats and milk every morning (high sugar and dairy). I ate cookies every night. And I loved pizza and anything with cheese. This is in my past. No more shit food. However, I'm a fitness junkie so I'm definately living up to that part of the diet. I exercise 6 days/week. I teach various group fitness classes. To that point: I've always maintained a good BMI and my weight is consistent. Over the last 2 weeks I lost 5 lbs. If you're trying to keep your skin clear.......you'll get the added benefit of weight loss. Good luck.

[Mardiapn]

My typical diet is low glycemic, moderate protein (with the occasional cheat, of course) and a couple of years ago I went dairy free for a year. Maybe there was a little difference, but not enough to give up ice cream forever. I'm just starting to try to exercise again and as far as the 8 hours of sleep a night, I think I'm going to have to settle with 7.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm wondering if the Whole Foods type stores sell any natural remedies that may work . . . I'm going to try the Aleive and start doing some more research.

This really is all my boyfriend's fault because he had just commented on how clear my skin had been for a while.

[davidtheskinking]

My recommendation would be to stop trying anti-biotics and harsh chemicals with benzoyl peroxide.

If you really want to see results, you have to stop attacking and aggravating your acne with all these harsh chemicals.

You want to heal and balance the body. The PH of the skin & body, balancing the hormones & balancing blood sugar levels.

If you focus on these 3 things through diet & using the right skincare products during this time... you will see results much faster and the results will last.

Hope this helps,


David

[changedmynamefinally]

wow..feel for you

none of us are doctors tho, we can only offer opinions,. go to derm

[gia1]

I am also 45 and can relate... I took antibiotics which made my acne worse and then i tried spirinolactone for about a week or two and my face freaked out and was never the same ( also the devil for me). So I started taking pro biotics and some other supplements and cut out dairy, carbs and sugar and my face started clearing up, look up candida it is a fungal infection that can be caused by taking to many antobiotics, bith control etc. which can cause acne. I also started using DERMIFY, you can order it on amazon.com. When i started the supplements and diet my face cleared about 80% in a little over a week and then i started using DERMIFY and i have about 2 pimples left as opposed to 15 to 20 cysts, pustules etc... the dermify is also clearing up all the marks and let me tell you my face was loaded with ugly red marks and it is treating the pimples that are left AMAZINGLY. I was very skeptical about all of this because it is all natural including the dermify, there is no salicylic acid, bp etc.. in it but i was out of options so i figured what the heck. If you have tried everything give this a shot i did and its working. I am so happy FINALLY.

[cvd]

You have my sympathy! I've also struggled my whole adult life with this. You may want to try spearmint tea. My derm recently took me off spiro so I'm trying it since it's an anti-androgen...but of course is natural. I mix it with chamomile tea for my nerves. Another thing to avoid is toothpaste withflouride, SLS, and strong peppermints. Aggrevates existing acne and if you have cystic acne can cause flare-ups. Instead use a health food one like Walleda that has soothing ingredients in it. I think avoiding dairy is important and will help if done along with other changes. Dairy is very inflammatory for people with acne. Also all sugary foods. Actually ice cream is most likely the worst thing since it is both dairy and sugar! Sorry...

[Vanbelle]

For most of the active users (I say most, not all), we are still struggling with acne. Best not to take most of our opinions as gospel, for we still haven't conquered the beast so to speak. It's a bit of the blind leading the blind. Best place to start is to find the users who are completely clear and have stayed clear for a long time. That's the best place to start.

Here's your problem (if you ask me): you've tried and tested the best of the remedies a derm has to offer, and now at 45, you're still stuck--so clearing your acne is something you probably can't realize with a simple OTC NSAID. It's obvious your skin isn't a simple troubleshooting error. It's something you haven't even thought of.

What you need is a deep intensive look at your lifestyle, individually cultivated and culturally cultivated, and how this affects your skin. You have to look through and exhaust the incredible endless list of acne's causes, and work from the bottom up.

If you want some help, PM me. Good luck. At 45, you DESERVE clear skin. You have paid your dues.

[cvd]

Well said! I could use some advice too...always open to new ways of approaching the problem! May I PM you for input?

[gia1]

hey cvd i have ONE pimple left on my face from doing all of this and i also got my vitamin d level checked didnt get the results yet but if its low it can cause acne (i have an underactive thyroid). The dermify is really clearing up all the marks AMAZINGLY and watching what i eat, trying to avoid carbs, dairy and sugar as much as i can. Try the candida diet and see what happens.

[cvd]

Thanks Gia! I saw a dietician yesterday who put me on a regime very much like the candida diet. She put me on zinc picolinate and strong probiotics. Also got me to admit I hadn't been following my allergy diet too well (sigh) so am getting back on that. I checked out dermify - thanks! Getting back on my diet and avoiding soy and wheat seems to be making a difference.

[Vanbelle]

Be careful with Dermify! It use to be a little too much for my skin (5% sulfur was too high). I strongly recommend Dermify to users who don't have a problem with sensitivity. My little sister cleared her skin from it (her mild, garden variety zits are gone!).

[cvd]

Ah --- good to know...my skin is super sensitive!

[Mardiapn]

I've been really busy, and just catching up on this topic, as my homemade Mac and cheese is cooling. Maybe it's time to go dairy free again. . . Anyone have any good evidence that supports how dairy is bad for acne? Thanks

[cvd]

Google "dairy acne" and the studies will come up. It seems humans may not react well to hormones that are naturally present in cow's milk, in addition to extra iodine that may be present in the milking process. If one is predisposed to acne then the cow hormones interact with our hormones causing a cascading effect for people sensitive already to hormone issues...which any of us with adult acne is. At least this is the way I understand it. Also people with acne may be more sensitive to milk proteins which are inflammatory for many people. It doesn't hurt to lay off dairy for awhile and see what happens. As I understand it from my dietician, the idea is to avoid as many inflammatory foods as possible in order to give the skin a chance to calm down. The diet route takes time though and is not a quick fix like antibiotics.

[gia1]

just an FYI my skin is super sensitive also and i have very light skin but the dermify works great for me

[Summer5150]

I read this and just sobbed, because I understand so completely. My face (chin) has been on such a downward spiral that I feel like I am losing my mind. It robs me of my self-esteem. I haven't ate with my coworkers in over a month, I've stopped socializing, I can barely tolerate my husband looking at me, I cry every day. I see no light at the end of the tunnel. At 40, I just feel so ashamed and embarrassed. I have one cyst or something on the jaw/chin line that is so large it looks like 4 connected and it hasn't moved or changed in 3 weeks. It is disgusting. The rest of my chin has about 10 "minor" cysts - and I only say minor because if I didn't have this THING on my face, those would be bothering me SO much more, but next to that, they almost seem tame. But the fact that I have so many is making me feel hopeless. Every morning there are more.

In desperation I went to the derm, despite the fact I didn't have the $. She of course wanted to put me on Accutane, which I refused because 15 years ago I got keloid scars all over my jaw line from it. Then she gave me antibiotics and two topicals, Aczone and Atralin ($400!!!!) and they made my skin 600% worse. I couldn't even take it. I was ready to hang myself. I went for a facial and was told my skin was so irritated and dry and made worse by these topicals that it was overreacting. I knew it was true. I don't want to go the antibiotic/harsh treatment route!

About mid-October, I stopped dairy again. I have since stopped coffee/caffeine, am doing almost zero sugar, tons of veggies, tons of water, exercise every day, zinc, ACV internally, tumeric internally, probiotics, antioxidants, drinking spearmint tea, stopped using flouride toothpaste, started using gentle cleanser...and yet, still, not only no better, but new ones daily?? My reg doc tested my thyroid but says there is no good test for perimenopause. I am at a loss and more hopeless than I have ever been. How do I just let go and accept myself? Please, what have you done?

[Rachelx7]

I take Minocycline every day. It's the only thing that keeps my cystic acne from getting out of hand. I get occasional cycts, but nothing like it was before. I know it's not good for me, but I tried everything short of Accutane. I gave up dairy and it didn't help. I'm 49 and have super oily skin. Glycolic acid helps as an exfoliator. BP kills bacteria. I doubt I'll ever have perfect skin, but I keep reading here to try new things. I'm currently drinking lemon water every day. I'll update later as to it's effectiveness.

[gia1]

summer 5150
If you think it is perimenopause are you on birth control? There is also a blood test my ob gyn tested me for it was testosterone free and total, dhea sulfate, luteinizing sulfate and fsh serum he said if they come back abnormal it could be why i have acne but it is rare for those tests to be abnormal (i believe he said it could be cysts in my ovary not sure it was awhile ago). i also had my vitamin d levels checked the blood test is called vitamin d 25 hydroxy, and mine was low so i take vitamin d 1000 iu in liquid form. I read an article that a doctor treated about 80 patients with acne with liquid vitamin d and more than 80% of his patients were acne free from the vitamin d.

Also if you are taking probiotics there are other supplements you should be taking with it. I had candida and about 2 months ago i started the candida diet and i have been clear of all cysts, pustules etc.... for awhile now. i believe it was from antibiotics etc... we also had our well water tested for bacteria because our well is only 48 feet deep and the town called us and said stop drinking or even boiling it for cooking, it came back positive for bacteria so i only use poland spring water to wash my face (not sure if you have well water). this is what i have been taking for 2 months now and i am completely acne free and have been battling it for years.

AM- Probiotics 2, vitamin c, coconut oil pill, vitamin d liquid, vitamin e
PM- probiotics 2, grapefruit seed extract, oregano pill, L glutamine, bromelain, vitamin a, chewable papaya tabs.
Pm bed time- 2 probiotics, garlic pill, tumeric pill

The health food store i go to told me to take more than i should of the probiotics for awhile. the bottle says 2 a day but i take 6 a day. If you believe it is candida look up candida diet. there are so many options. Go get tested for food allergies also. i have been looking for years and i finally found my cure 2 months ago and i cant believe it was a bacteria/fungal infection. Go online and start looking everywhere thats how i found my cure. Look up everything ei: if you feel sluggish look up sluggish and acne etc... thats what i did. keep me updated. Gia

Edited by gia1, 12 December 2011 - 07:05 PM.