9 replies to this topic

[Zevcat]

Just joined, need some advice re: adult acne. I am a 49 yo female who is experiencing a nasty acne flare up.
My skin feels pretty oily too, and my hair thinner than usual. I'm pretty sure it's hormonal.

I take an antidepressant and a mood stabilizer. On higher doses of these things I get the same symptoms,
they send my hormones out of wack. In this case I'm on very low doses of both, which haven't caused
problems in the past. Now I'm getting the oily skin, acne, and hair loss all over again.

This combo of meds has been working for me and if I don't take my meds I become suicidal and non-functional.
Changing things up at this point would not be the appropriate solution..

I'm wondering if this is happening because of my age. I just turned 49 a couple of months ago.

As an aside, I haven't had a period in years, and last year (August) I had a partial hysto - supra-cervical + one ovary removed.
My skin didn't go wacky right after that, however.

I don't know what to do. The usual stuff I use (Benzaclin, Retin-A, glycolic acid cleanser) isn't cutting it.

Some ideas: a peel and then BLU-light therapy. A few years back my dermo suggested the BLU-light
to control the skin problems that were created by the higher doses of the meds.

My diet is really clean, no sugar, dairy, or gluten, and I take a multivitamin + magnesium/calcium supplement daily.

[cln]

Is your acne cystic or moderate persistent or mild hormonal? Blu Light works great for me in conjunction with a dairy free, sugar free, high veggie/fruit, lean protein diet. However, I have mild, sometimes moderate hormonal acne. And I'm very strict with my diet. I also sleep 8 hours and exercise every day. See my signature for the supplements I take. I'm on 24 days with no new pimples. I didn't even get the normal flare-up before my period. I use the handheld acne light by Lightstim (got it from the skinstore online). You have to use it everyday, which I do. Each section of your face takes 5 minutes. I love it. For me, it's like meditation. I use it while I'm watching TV.

[Zevcat]

My acne is moderate hormonal. Mostly pustules/cysts around the chin and jawline (especially the chin).
My skin feels really "itchy"/oily.

[Carrie8793]

Before you go to any drastic solution, you might wanna try Dermify. It is an organic acne solution that has been working great for me when I was completely desperate. None of the OTC products really worked, my stomach could not handle antibiotics and my face was so horrible that I always had to cover. But, looking for a natural solution, I discovered Dermify through a friend and have stuck with it since. Check it on Amazon, it is really worth giving it a try and you can also see other users' reviews. Hope that helps!

[Zevcat]

Thanks, I'll check it out. My skin/hair hasn't felt this lousy in a long time.The creepy-crawly itchy feeling is actually more
disturbing than the pustules and cysts themselves at this point.

[kidego]

Zevcat, on 04 December 2011 - 10:06 PM, said:

Just joined, need some advice re: adult acne. I am a 49 yo female who is experiencing a nasty acne flare up.
My skin feels pretty oily too, and my hair thinner than usual. I'm pretty sure it's hormonal.

I take an antidepressant and a mood stabilizer. On higher doses of these things I get the same symptoms,
they send my hormones out of wack. In this case I'm on very low doses of both, which haven't caused
problems in the past. Now I'm getting the oily skin, acne, and hair loss all over again.

This combo of meds has been working for me and if I don't take my meds I become suicidal and non-functional.
Changing things up at this point would not be the appropriate solution..

I'm wondering if this is happening because of my age. I just turned 49 a couple of months ago.

As an aside, I haven't had a period in years, and last year (August) I had a partial hysto - supra-cervical + one ovary removed.
My skin didn't go wacky right after that, however.

I don't know what to do. The usual stuff I use (Benzaclin, Retin-A, glycolic acid cleanser) isn't cutting it.

Some ideas: a peel and then BLU-light therapy. A few years back my dermo suggested the BLU-light
to control the skin problems that were created by the higher doses of the meds.

My diet is really clean, no sugar, dairy, or gluten, and I take a multivitamin + magnesium/calcium supplement daily.

I'm willing to bet your allergic to Soybean/Peanut. Allergies can "kick in" @ any age.

[cvd]

Hi Zavcat --- all acne has a hormonal base and your meds could also be adding to the problem but regardless there may be another way to tackle this problem. That's what I found out. I also had really itchy skin, especially in the area that breaks out, and it was my regular doctor who finally talked me into getting formal allergy testing last year. I had both a skin prick test and a blood panel done. The results were surprising. I had some idea of things I might be allergic to but discovered other things that I never would've guessed on my own, i.e. celery! At that time I was supposed to talk with a dietitian but didn't because I thought I could figure out how to do the new diet on my own. Big mistake! I ended up fudging all over the place on my diet and consequently continued to have flare-ups, along with really oily skin and lots of itching. Finally I saw the dietitician this last month after another flare-up and she has been hands down a real godsend. She got me back on the diet and put me on an array of suppliments designed to build up my gut (...the place where inflammation starts...). Since following my dietitian's recommendations my skin has totally calmed down (all clear), the itchiness has gone and something else has happened...my mood has improved. I thought I was just sad in general (time of life, changes, etc.) and even considered meds but literally 1 week into strictly following the diet and supplimentation my mood lifted like magic. I am not kidding. It was as if my body had been laboring under all this inflammation and was suddenly free...which I guess is what happened. And the better mood has continued. In addition my skin is less oily which is a nice benefit.

I hope this helps you. I started a thread titled "My Dietitian's Recommendations" or something like that...anyway in it I outline the suppliments she recommended...all designed to heal the gut and lower inflammation.

I strongly recommend you seek out formal allergy testing. Ongoing mental health issues and skin problems can both be signs of a body struggling with allergies. Google allergy symptoms. Very interesting. If nothing else you may be able to lower meds even further when the body feels better!

Good luck!

[Zevcat]

Thank you so much! I'm feeling a little more hopeful. I'm going to check out your thread. I do feel the itchy-ness is from my skin cranking out
sebum though....touching my skin, it feels oily, much more so than usual. (I know, I'm not supposed to touch, just wanted to see how bad things are).
My scalp is oily too (trying to manage with vinegar rinses).
As an aside (this may be an important aside!) I've been getting folliculitis, scalp-zits I've never had before in my life, scary! Makes me think
that my system is really out of balance....
CVD, your stuff looks really good, gotta review it more carefully when I finish work....

[gia1]

i to had cysts, pustules etc and oily skin but it ended up being candida. did you ever try taking probiotics and all the other products the candida diet recommends. candida is a fungal infection due to bad bacteria. look it up i started it 2 months ago and i have ZERO acne on my face and was battling it for years. worth a try it worked for me. i am 45.

[Zevcat]

I'm definitely going to be adding things to my diet and subtracting some stuff. I'll let you guys know how it goes.
Also lifestyle changes. cvd, I added some comments to your nutritionist thread....

Edited by Zevcat, 05 December 2011 - 09:46 PM.