12 replies to this topic

[Kiat]

Hi all,

I'm Thai, 33 years old. I was introduced to Roaccutane when I was about 18 years old. I didn't have cysts but antibiotics didn't seem to work for me well enough so the derm gave me Roaccutane, 20mg, to take every 2 days for 6 months. Only 1 month after he stopped it, the acne came back so I decided to see another derm. She was using it too lol...she told me if I took it at a very low dose like 20 mg per week I can even take it forever. She lowered the dosage for me, from 10 mg per day to every 2 days, then every 3 days until it was one pill per week. After a while she told me to stop it to see how long will it go away.

I was cleared for 2.5 years. When it came back I got back on it again but this time I used Acnotic made in Thailand. So this is the 3rd course. And there was the 4th.

I noticed that this generic Acnotin made in Thailand by Mega We Care, did not work as well as Roaccutane because it could not stopped acne longer than 2.5 years but only about 1 - 1.5 years.

My last pill was taken in November 2011 and at the time I was taking 10 mg every 5 days. It's been 11 months now and I already have some acne, although not much but I'd like to prevent it in a natural way this time.

Sorry if this post is long but I do have problem with hair too. While I was on accutane, I did not lose so much hair as the past 6 months. I've searched for info online, both in Thai and English and I learnt that we can lose about 100 strands per day, which is considered normal. I am losing around 40-60 strands per day and I am getting worried.

My dad is 63 and at the middle of his head is getting thinner, but he is 63 so nothing to worry about. He has 5 brothers and 3 of them have less hair than him, and also thinner too.

I noticed that the hair seen on my pillow are mixed...thick and thin. I usually have thick hair so I am worried.

In the morning, I'd see around 5-20 strands. While shampooing, it'd be around 4-10. What I can hardly count is when I blow it dry. I'd sweep the floor after that and see around 10-15.

I shampoo twice a day. For the past 2 years, at night, I let my hair dry by itself before bedtime. I've learnt that it can cause hair loss so for the past 3 weeks I've been blowing it dry.

Okay, at this time...these are vitamins I'm taking.

Morning:
-Buffered C 500 mg
-Blackmores Nutri Multi

Night:
-Selenium 70 mcg (from yeast)
-Biotin 600 mcg (been taking this for 1 month, noticed a bit more acne but not sure)
-Buffered C 500 mg

I am going to order a lot more vitamins from Swanson so it'd be nice if an expert or those with experience here can guide me.

My face is oily but my body isn't. I'm also not sure if hair loss is from DHT? If so Saw Palmetto can help?

FYI - I masturbate quite often lol...about 6 times / week. I recently heard that it stimulates DHT too?

Okay here is the list of what I'm going to buy, please note that I have a bit of a sinus so I'd like to boost my immune system as well.



-CoQ10
https://www.swansonv...60-mg-120-sgels

-Hair, Skin & Nails
http://www.swansonvi...n-nails-60-tabs

-Beta-Carotene (Vitamin A)
http://www.swansonvi...00-iu-300-sgels

-Choline & Inositol
http://www.swansonvi...250-mg-250-caps

-AjiPure N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine, Pharmaceutical Grade
http://www.swansonvi...-600-mg-60-caps

-Full Spectrum Triple Mushroom Complex
http://www.swansonvi...complex-60-caps

-SeMSC Selenium
http://www.swansonvi...00-mcg-120-caps

-Cat's Claw
http://www.swansonvi...500-mg-250-caps

-Saw Palmetto Combo
http://www.swansonvi...combo-120-sgels

-Zinc Picolinate Body Preferred Form
http://www.swansonvi...m-22-mg-60-caps

-Standardized Lutein & Bilberry (for eye health)
http://www.swansonvi...20-mg-120-sgels

-Natural Dry Vitamin E
http://www.swansonvi...otherSize=SW131

What do think about this list? Is there anything that go against each other? I did not include Biotin due to mixed review that it causes breakout.

I plan to take half of those in the morning and the rest before bed but not sure which ones should be taken together.

Currently, I am using Sebamed Everyday Shampoo. For my face, I use Acne Aid gel to wash my face sometimes, but would use Jack Black 3-In-1 Clear Complexion Solution as a toner twice a day. Then I use Benzac 2.5% and Aloe Vera moisturizer from the derm at night.

I just want to have the least acne and lose the least hair possible. What do you think about these supplements and can you tell whether my acne and hair fall come from DHT?

I always have acne on my nose, chin and jaw.

Thank you for you help in advance. Will check this thread later.

[alternativista]

What's your diet like? Sleep? Stress?

[Rawhide]

Going gluten- and dairy-free and supplementing zinc gave the biggest improvement I've experienced from natural methods. I suggest starting from there.

[tuffluck]

I would hold off on that mushroom supplement you're taking. If you have some sort of fungal infection like candida which is possible since you have taken antibiotics before, then it will only aggravate your problem. Try cutting this out for awhile and see if there is any improvement. Thats the first thing that comes to mind.

[Kiat]

What's your diet like? Sleep? Stress?

I used to drink fresh coffee with milk, yogurt and dairy product when I was on accutane and of course no problem. Since January 2012, after I quit accutane I thought I should go off dairy product so none of those were taken regularly but occasionally. One bad thing is I don't drink enough water, just about 5 glasses a day. Trying to improve that. And I go to bed late, about 3-5 AM and wake up about noon or 1 PM. Since I have my own business I can afford to do this. I try to get 7-8 hours sleep. Stress? Yes sometimes I do get stressed but I'm good at letting things go so no prolonged stress.

Going gluten- and dairy-free and supplementing zinc gave the biggest improvement I've experienced from natural methods. I suggest starting from there.

Yes I've never really tried Zinc in a long run as it can accumulate in our body? How long do you take it before stopping for a while or you've never stopped? Do you take Multi B too? I feel that it causes me acne but that was a long time ago, not sure if I should give it another try. How's your acne now? Are you just taking supplements and go for nice natural food?

I would hold off on that mushroom supplement you're taking. If you have some sort of fungal infection like candida which is possible since you have taken antibiotics before, then it will only aggravate your problem. Try cutting this out for awhile and see if there is any improvement. Thats the first thing that comes to mind.

I used to take Sulfa and Tretracyclin (sorry if I misspelled). But that was since 1999 or 2000. Since the derm put me on accutane I never have them again but when I had sore throat the doctor gave me Amoxy. I now take Triple mushroom in a soup form like chicken soup in a bottle. I've heard that mushroom is really good for us and can boost immune system. Should I go off it really?

About my hair fall, I just started using Sebamed PH5.5 everyday shampoo and hope to see some improvement. I'd really like to try B5 but after reading this message board, I have to step back since it causes hair fall for some people. What about Vit A, should I go for it? I did not experience excessive hair fall while on it.

[tuffluck]

Yes I would highly recommend taking the mushrooms out. Just try it for a month and see if there is any difference. If your issue is candida or gut related there is a high chance it is causing you problems. When it comes to supplements and most foods, nearly everything is "good" for you. But the everyone reacts differently to everything.

Any use of antibiotics will put u at risk of causing candida overgrowth and bacterial imbalance.

Vitamin A is great but I would recommend you start juicing vegetables several times day. Something like broccoli,tomato, and cucumber to start. You will get loads of vitamin A, vit c, and other nutrients that your body will be able to absorb much better this way.

I would also highly recommend eliminating dairy, sugar, bread, and spices from your diet.

[Rawhide]

Going gluten- and dairy-free and supplementing zinc gave the biggest improvement I've experienced from natural methods. I suggest starting from there.

Yes I've never really tried Zinc in a long run as it can accumulate in our body? How long do you take it before stopping for a while or you've never stopped? Do you take Multi B too? I feel that it causes me acne but that was a long time ago, not sure if I should give it another try. How's your acne now? Are you just taking supplements and go for nice natural food?

Zinc is rather safe despite being a metal. It's excreted well and doesn't accumulate in reasonable doses. In studies it has been used 90-135mg for several months and sometimes it has beaten common antibiotics as acne treatment. I dosed around 100mg and it cleared me up quite miraculously in a couple of weeks when I first tried it around two years ago and I was able to maintain the condition for several months. It did start to make me lethargic and some other side effects so I had to take breaks and keep the dosages low with mixed results. I've included zinc in my regimen most of the time until now last 6 months my type of acne has somewhat changed (cysts/bumps on my back and some around my jawline but otherwise quite mild) and it hasn't provided any help anymore. One thing to note is that proper vitamin D levels are required for proper function of zinc. I supplement 5000 IU every other day.

Multivitamins and B-complex vitamins can aggravate or help. High amounts of biotin, vitamins B6 & B12 and iodine for example are linked to worsening of acne. I don't currently take a multi.

My current regimen is:
No gluten or dairy and minimal sugars - mostly my diet is chicken, fish, meats, eggs, rice, potatos, vegetables, olive oil and coconut oil

Vitamin D 5000IU every other day
Curcumin - anti-inflammatory
Gotu Kola - stimulates blood flow to the skin and improves healing, anti-inflammatory
Rhodiola - adaptogenic herb, minimizes stress and improves energy & mood
Ashwagandha - adaptogenic herb, anti-inflammatory
Evening primrose & Borage oil - supposed to help balance hormones

BP 5% shower wash

I have overall good control of my acne altough those random cysts/bumps still keep emerging. I'm hoping curcumin will help with this - I only started using it couple days ago. Overall my skin seems to keep getting progressively better. I may give zinc a new try soon.

Edited by Rawhide, 19 October 2012 - 07:36 AM.

[Kiat]

Yes I would highly recommend taking the mushrooms out. Just try it for a month and see if there is any difference. If your issue is candida or gut related there is a high chance it is causing you problems. When it comes to supplements and most foods, nearly everything is "good" for you. But the everyone reacts differently to everything.

Any use of antibiotics will put u at risk of causing candida overgrowth and bacterial imbalance.

Vitamin A is great but I would recommend you start juicing vegetables several times day. Something like broccoli,tomato, and cucumber to start. You will get loads of vitamin A, vit c, and other nutrients that your body will be able to absorb much better this way.

I would also highly recommend eliminating dairy, sugar, bread, and spices from your diet.

Thanks a million. Here in Thailand you can get antibiotics quite easily. I walked into a pharmacy, told them I have a sore throat, they would give me Amoxy 500. I took that once a year. Since I take Vit C regularly I have never been sick.

Since you stated candida I think it is possible due to antibiotics I took.

One more thing, in 2008, after reading about Apple Cider vinegar here on this board, I bought BRAGGS, mixed it with cold water and honey and drank it twice a day. Once I got to the 3rd bottle, one day while using computer at night, I felt really tight around the reed of the pipe and felt nauseous as well. I thought ACV is acid and could have caused a damage to my stomach so I stopped it right away. Up till today, I have a stomach problem, but that could come from my bad eating habit of different timings.

I have a very busy lifestyle. I drink bottled juice everyday. I try to pick one that is not from concentrate and keep switching them. I also like tomato juice. And if I could I'd go for salad. I love cos lettuce.

My acne is not bad at this time since accutane is still working but I do see small new ones every single day. I would squeeze it, and it'd remain red for a few days and all will be just fine. However, I'm sure in the future a lot more will come so I'd like to start preventing it now.

Going gluten- and dairy-free and supplementing zinc gave the biggest improvement I've experienced from natural methods. I suggest starting from there.

Yes I've never really tried Zinc in a long run as it can accumulate in our body? How long do you take it before stopping for a while or you've never stopped? Do you take Multi B too? I feel that it causes me acne but that was a long time ago, not sure if I should give it another try. How's your acne now? Are you just taking supplements and go for nice natural food?

Zinc is rather safe despite being a metal. It's excreted well and doesn't accumulate in reasonable doses. In studies it has been used 90-135mg for several months and sometimes it has beaten common antibiotics as acne treatment. I dosed around 100mg and it cleared me up quite miraculously in a couple of weeks when I first tried it around two years ago and I was able to maintain the condition for several months. It did start to make me lethargic and some other side effects so I had to take breaks and keep the dosages low with mixed results. I've included zinc in my regimen most of the time until now last 6 months my type of acne has somewhat changed (cysts/bumps on my back and some around my jawline but otherwise quite mild) and it hasn't provided any help anymore. One thing to note is that proper vitamin D levels are required for proper function of zinc. I supplement 5000 IU every other day.

Multivitamins and B-complex vitamins can aggravate or help. High amounts of biotin, vitamins B6 & B12 and iodine for example are linked to worsening of acne. I don't currently take a multi.

My current regimen is:
No gluten or dairy and minimal sugars - mostly my diet is chicken, fish, meats, eggs, rice, potatos, vegetables, olive oil and coconut oil

Vitamin D 5000IU every other day
Curcumin - anti-inflammatory
Gotu Kola - stimulates blood flow to the skin and improves healing, anti-inflammatory
Rhodiola - adaptogenic herb, minimizes stress and improves energy & mood
Ashwagandha - adaptogenic herb, anti-inflammatory
Evening primrose & Borage oil - supposed to help balance hormones

BP 5% shower wash

I have overall good control of my acne altough those random cysts/bumps still keep emerging. I'm hoping curcumin will help with this - I only started using it couple days ago. Overall my skin seems to keep getting progressively better. I may give zinc a new try soon.

Okay I will sure take zinc. I heard that it works well with biotin. I really want to lose less hair.

About curcumin, we use it a lot here. I have it at home too. We know it as something that helps with flatulence. When I eat too much I would take it. I also heard that it's good for skin. Since you mentioned it, I went on Swanson again but their price is too high.

Link

I've attached a photo here. It's 500 mg. and costs $3 for 100 capsules. Do you think I should add this to my future regimen? And how many capsules should I take? Morning or night?




Gotu Kola - I drink it sometimes. Very tasty. I just read about it in Thai and they said it can help with hair problem so I'll add this into the basket. I think my future regimen is getting too large now )

Edited by Kiat, 19 October 2012 - 11:26 AM.

[Rawhide]

I can't say about the quality of that supplement. Is it non-extracted turmeric? Curcumin tends to be expensive when it's standardized to high percent (>90%) total curcuminoids but this is where it becomes very effective agent - in fact it's even used in cancer treatment because of its qualities. I use Doctor's Best Curcumin - it is standardized to 95% total curcuminoids supplying 500mg per capsule and it's combined with Bioperine which increases curcumin's bioavailability significantly. I paid 32$ for the bottle of 120 capsules so it's indeed not cheap. I go up to 6 capsules a day at the moment (3 capsules being the recommended dosage). Curcumin should actually protect you from some of the harmful effects of accutane.

Anyway at 3$ for the bottle it really can't hurt to try even if it is not the most potent extract. I would go by the suggested dosage and see how you feel. It is rather safe to take in a bit higher quantities though if you feel like it.

About Gotu Kola I've heard that you have culinary use for it in Thailand which sounds great. I can imagine it being better experience to enjoy the plant served as a drink instead of taking boring capsules. I use normally 2-3 grams of Gotu Kola a day but can go up to 8 grams. In higher doses it induces slight flushing of the skin and gives me a healthy glow. It definitely aids in healing and keeps the inflammation more bearable. I can imagine the blood flow stimulating and other qualities helping with hair too - in fact I think it does make my hair quality better. The mood enhancing, nootropic and anxiolytic effects are the best quality of it though. Definitely my favourite herb.

I know the feeling of supplement stacks getting too large I have a lot of herbs and other supps "in stock" that I may include in my regimen from time to time. But I do find these a lot better investment than let's say spending money excessively in bars or buying expensive stuff that I don't really need.

[Kiat]

Hi Rawhide,

I'm not sure about the curcumin whether it's standardized to more than 90%. However, I bought one from Swanson.

I have plenty of supplements on my table now and having a headache deciding which ones to be taken together in the morning and night.

Many Thai people take Curcumin for skin. I'd see if these's any changes.

[Binga]

quit masturbating.

[dejaclairevoyant]

Hmm...that's a LOT of stuff you're thinking about taking there... be careful not to try too many new things at once. Why not add in one supplement at a time and see how they affect you? Taking too much stuff at once is the path to confusion. Then if you break out, you don't know what to take out and then you have to start over entirely from scratch. I did that a lot when I was younger... now I'm incredibly careful to introduce new things in a controlled way so I can see how they affect me.

[Kiat]

Thank you. I am now taking these, to be honest I worry about hairloss more than acne now. So confusing.



Morning:
Buffered C
CoQ10
Zinc
Synergistic Eye Formula Lutein & Zeaxanthin
Choline & Inositol
Hair, Skin & Nails

Night
Buffered C
Hair, Skin & Nails
Selenium
Biotin

I'd like to add Vit A and E (dry form), can any of you recommend if I should include these 2 in the morning?