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I'm 30 years old.
I developed Cystic Acne in my preteens. It got so bad and painful that I could not sit or lay down. It started on my face, neck and shoulders. I thought it was bad then...no. It got only worse. I had just entered middle school in a new town that was unkind to minorities especially new comers (drastically different from my old town) but in the beginning I stood up to it, but when the acne came, naturally I gradually became more recluse with my "oddity". I didn't want anyone to find out. I was ashamed and embarrassed. I couldn't stand the thought of going to Highschool like this so I convinced my parents to skip it (Yes I did it). I also convinced my parents to take me to the doctor (my family literally stood by and watched it and said it was normal).
Anyways, I went on ALL TYPES of medicine. Medicine that made me sleepy (I didnt realize at the time that it was the meds) and medicine that bleached my skin. It would briefly work then I would break out again after 1 month or so while still on it. So the docs would switch me to a new antibiotic. I listen to my body now as an adult and when I went on Minocyline Antibiotics as an adult I discovered it made me severly tired and dizzy...so looking back I remember how I used to feel and my parents would call me lazy which made me feel guilty but it was the meds!
The main thing that pisses me off now that I know what I know is how the doctors responded to the first thing my father asked them "Could it be something he is eating?"
The doctors "Educated" us; that it is a big misconception that food gives you acne. They treated my father and I like we were idiots and didn't know anything (in otherwords, they me expensive meds and told us to scram and not come back for 30 days and stop asking so many questions).
Fast forward some 15 years later.... I still have it. In fact it is worse but this time I have BAD scarring all over my chest, neck, all down my back and it has started to invade my thighs (inner and outer). VERY EMBARRASSING.
I finally had enough, and Well GUESS what I discovered?
ACNE IS DUE TO FOOD SENSITIVIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I'm finding out I'm not the only one that knows this, which gives me more confidence that I'm on the right path.
I've been on food elimination diet twice. The first time it was on accident and it cleared me up 100%. Then it came back to my bewilderment after the diet ended. I realized it was diet that did it. So for the past 3 years I tried to find what part of the diet cleared me up. Turns out it was a bunch of things. Last week, I found success and became acne free again! No chemicals, no scrubbing/cleaning my skin for 1 hour like I used to. Not only that, I dropped a bunch of weight in the process effortlessly.
Then the end of last week I was tempted to eat the poisonous foods again (parents the friends pressured), and now 3 days later I'm breaking out. The funny thing is I was clear for 1 week! And when you are clear people tell you that you don't know what you are talking about, that they don't see anything on your skin and you look fine! I'm in PAIN right now. 2 on my back, 3 on my neck and one on my leg. HUGE painful cysts and I know what is next (the bursting, the blood, the stains, the purple scars and finally the permanent scars). Now those people are like "Eww".
The list of foods i have found to cause me acne (through both Immune testing and through my own trial and error) are as follows:
1. Dairy (Milk, butter, cheese, Pastries etc)
2. Yeast (+3 sensitivity)
3. Wheat/Gluten (especially bread!)
4. Pork (+2 sensitivity)
5. Strawberry
6. Soy
7. Almonds (+3)
8. I'm suspecting now food preservatives, but dont know how to test it
Theres more I'm sure as I go through life I'm sure the list will grow (sadly).
It is very difficult to change your eating habits, and it sucks when you can't share the same food with a friend or family because they think it is boring. Last week, I ate lots of bread, butter, and YEAST. Today I went out for lunch with a coworker too and ate oily dairy based food.
When you go out to eat, you better believe they use Butter and LOTS OF SOY product in their processed foods. I remember I told a friend once what I was avoiding and he looked at what HE was eating and said none of that was in his dish, but I looked and could see melted butter, fried food (soybean oil), and ranch all over his food not to mention cheese. So it is really difficult to train how to spot it in your normal diet and then not to eat all that. And when you finally can see it and cut it out, your food becomes BORING!
Anyways, sorry for the novel. I want to share some pictures here. Today I'm in pain
( I don't look forward to the next few days.I feel like writting a book on the subject. Dermatologists are CROOKS.
