Hi Emmie

I too suffered from cystic acne but for decades. I'll share my thoughts and experience on both meds and diet. FYI --- I am now clear.

MEDS --- like you I was prescribed many acne meds but this went on for decades. However it was always one or at most two at a time (i.e. an antibiotic or a topical or birth control, etc.) My current derm of 5 years who is an expert in adult cystic acne says that only a multi-prong approach will clear up resistant adult cystic acne. This means that being prescribed only one or two things at a time will not work and unfortunately this is what is usually done. To get clear you must do a multi-prong approach. You must use simultaneously something that opens pores + something that kills acne bacteria + something that removes dead skin + something that lowers androgen levels. For most adult sufferers it is a regime you must do forever if you want to be clear. Why? Some people genetically have pores that don't shed properly, in addition to being very sensitive to androgens, etc which makes the perfect environment for ongoing cystic acne. If you message me I can explain more. So the solution is to do things that help the skin behave in a more healthy way...without doing more harm (i.e. oral antibiotics). My regime is listed below in my signature but in summary it is using a BP cleanser, followed by a topical antibiotic. This combo is well researched and documented as being effective. I also take 50mg of Spironolactone which is an anti-androgen but is not a hormone itself. It just blocks androgens. I am actually weaning off of it as the other parts of the regime should keep my cystic acne under control. My derm has me doing once a month microdermabrasions (diamond tip...not the crystals) and this is to open pores and remove dead skin. It is amazing. All scars are gone and my pores are totally clear. This is essential to allow the BP and topical antibiotic to work well. The pores of people with cystic acne are usually so plugged up that meds don't get in well eneough to kill the acne bacteria. Please read the rest of my regime below in the signature area.

DIET - I have studied and tried many many anti-acne diets and have finally found one that really works. You are definitely on the right track. Please check out Dr McDougall's web articles on acne and diet. He advocates avoiding all fats, especially all processed fats. And avoiding dairy and flesh foods. He recommends eating whole natural foods such as whole grains, tubers, vegetables, and fruits. This is the diet of cultures that don't get acne. It is a sustainable diet and very filling. I love it. I admit that I personally still eat eggs and occasionally some wild fish. But my skin remains clear. For me what really got me clear diet-wise was avoiding all dairy, all fats (oils, margarine, etc.), fermented foods such yogurt, alcoholic beverages (I may have a bit of rosacea which is reactive to fermented foods), yeasted foods such as bread, vinegar (may be the rosacea issue) nuts and all sugary foods. My skin, digestion and energy levels are all much better...I feel great. I am 5'5" and weigh 120. I do marathons and hike all the time. Here is what I eat typically:

Breakfast --- huge bowl of oatmeal cooked with raisons, chia seeds and topped with fresh berries, banana and soy milk.

Lunch --- huge salad with fresh vegetables, potato or yam or leftover rice, any leftovers from dinner, etc. Or I make a vegie burrito with avocado and beans.

Dinner --- huge salad, lots of steamed vegies, rice or potato or yam

Treats --- my special homemade non-fat, non-sweetened banana apple bread

Condiments --- I like brewers yeast (it's not really a yeast but actually is a dried mushroom), garlic, cumin, lots of herbs, and herbed salt.

I am never hungry, eat tons of food and maintain a good weight. Love this diet. After about a month on this diet my usually oily skin was normal and my skin looked glowing.

I hope this helps you. I will follow your thread to see how you're doing. FYI -- diet alone may not get rid of really bad cystic acne. You may need to do a regime like I'm doing along with diet. And then after getting clear for a couple of years wean off any oral meds. With really resistant cystic acne you may have to continue with topical meds to stay clear.

Wow, CVD, what a wonderful, caring person you are to have written all of this out and shared your story. Thank you That's really helped me put things into perspective.

I've recently become aware of Dr McDougall and his advice, and a lot of it seems intuitive - we should be able to thrive on fruits and vegetables, as they grow all around us, simple as! And as tasty as fats can be, they are recommended as staples waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much in our society.

I will keep updating as time progresses.

I'd love to get microdermabrasion, even as an OCD type thing haha, just the feeling of it blasting on my face is such a nice idea. The reason why I haven't had it is because I'm paranoid about my face now, and when I googled microdermabrasion ruined/wrong (big mistake) i read some horror stories and am now terrified. Hehe! Good luck with your journey, maybe update here and let me know how its going weaning yourself off the meds?

Emma

Hey there.

 

 

2 Week Update:

1. Digestion very slow. Feeling bloated and had a couple of stomach aches the other day.

2. Feeling anxious/restless

3. Brain fog: forgetting things, confusing words.

4. No breakouts (except one, single spot on my forehead). Having tracked my nutritional levels on CronoMeter I don't seem to be lacking anything/endangering myself, so I assume that my symptoms are just my body adapting and transitioning, and aren't warning signs

5. An interesting article which might explain my current state: http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=change+gut+flora+diet&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr,ssl&ei=sGytVIW1JsuuU6GzgcgE

Based on the update, it sounds like your body is intolerant to some of those foods. See, I got a food sensitivity test, and my body basically just told me the foods good and bad to eat. Here are my results:

i'm sensitive to:

Almonds, Coconut, Filbert/Hazelnut, String Green Beans, Lima Beans, Green English Peas, Peanuts, Soybeans, Celery, Histamine, Buckwheat, Corn, Rice

I'm Barely sensitive to:

Eggs (white and yolk), Milk, Cinnamon, Garlic, Ginger, Pecan, Pistachio, Walnut, Black Food (wtf? black walnut?), Green Pepper, Mushroom, White Potato

And I'm Not sensitive to:

Oats, Rye, Whole Wheat, Poppy Seed, Apple, Orange, Peach, Tomato, Brazil Nut, Cashew Nut, Kidney-Pinto Beans, Carrots, Saline

I only eat what I'm not sensitive. Sadly, the list is small and it's so hard just to eat this crappy stuff everyday. I've been trying to get more tests, but as far as the results go, it has cleared my acne.

"Based on the update, it sounds like your body is intolerant to some of those foods. See, I got a food sensitivity test, and my body basically just told me the foods good and bad to eat."

Hey! Thanks for reading my post and for your helpful reply that's awesome that it's working for you, you must feel like you finally understand something about your body!

The thing is I never had digestive issues with those foods when I was on acne medication, which suggests that i'm not intolerant to them, in my opinion. I also can't think of what the intolerance could be to, it's literally soft fruits and leafy vegetables.

But you could be right. The only way to tell is to give this more time - I can't expect my body to perfectly transition from eating pretty much nuts all day for 2 years to eating carbohydrate.

If i ever get the money together I will go for an allergy test too, just to see what they say. It's all a learning curve!

Good luck to you and may your skin glow

@EmmasLifestyle

Yeah, Good luck to you too. Hope you find out what will work for you.

P.S.

I didn't pay. I know, I'm bad. My insurance told me they would cover it, but they didn't and I couldn't pay. I will pay them in the future, but for now I guess I'll take the shitty credit. Don't they have free health care in Europe? I guess that doesn't go for food sensitivities, huh?

Haha nice, I wish I could get one for free but no, you're right, there are no free allergy tests here. That wouldn't make enough money for big pharma

Hi Emma

Just want to allay your fears re: microdermabrasion and those horror stories --- my guess is that many of these stories are from people who had the diamond crystal spray kind of microdermabrasion done by poorly trained salon staff and/or they are confusing microdermabrasion with more invasive procedures which are also sometimes done by beauty salons. The diamond crystal spray microdermabrasion is the old fashioned method which sprayed crystals on the skin and then sucked up the crystals and dead skin. It was sometimes hard to gauge how intense the spray was, especially by those not properly trained, which resulted in abraded skin...hence horror stories! Unfortunately this method is still in use by beauty salons since it is cheaper to buy and operate the equipment.

I have microdermabrasions done at my derm's office by professionally trained and certified clinicians. The microdermabrasions are done with a diamond tip that is slowly rubbed over the skin and the dead skin is sucked up with a mild vacuum. There is no spray or anything that can abrade the skin. The microdermabrasion also dislodges plugged up pores and pulls out the plugs. My skin is nicely pink after a procedure and I go right to work. My skin feels great...like it can breathe! The first several times I got microdermabrasions while my skin was still recovering from the cysts I had a bit more redness but it was only where deeper plugs had been dislodged and it was totally tolerable...just redness that went away in a day. The only other thing I got in the beginning were a couple of whiteheads afterwards which the clinicians said were due to very plugged up pores coming to the surface. These were totally okay too since they were nothing like a cyst and went away in a day or two. I have not had any cysts...not even one...since starting the microdermabrasions along with the regime below. I feel very strongly that correctly done microdermabrasions are key to healthy skin for those of us who gets lots of cysts. My skin looks incredible now...smooth, clear skin. It is like my skin returned to how it was before I had acne. I don't think meds or diet alone would do this. It takes something like microdermabrasion to help the skin renew itself and build up collagen. My derm says that cystic prone skin does not function correctly...it does not shed properly and is prone to forming sticky plugs so getting regular microdermabrasions helps.

I have to admit that it took me a couple of months before I was brave eneough to do the microdermabrasions because I too had read all those horror stories! And some of them were even current horror stories. But after talking with my derm I learned more about the different kinds of procedures and hence the confusion...which is too bad because correctly done microdermabrasion is wonderful. And he says it is an outright lie that microdermabrasion does not help acne...another internet myth that is often cited. He says microdermabrasion is good for acne prone skin, especially skin that has had the ravaging effects of cysts.

Hope this helps!

Hi Emma

Just want to allay your fears re: microdermabrasion and those horror stories --- my guess is that many of these stories are from people who had the diamond crystal spray kind of microdermabrasion done by poorly trained salon staff and/or they are confusing microdermabrasion with more invasive procedures which are also sometimes done by beauty salons. The diamond crystal spray microdermabrasion is the old fashioned method which sprayed crystals on the skin and then sucked up the crystals and dead skin. It was sometimes hard to gauge how intense the spray was, especially by those not properly trained, which resulted in abraded skin...hence horror stories! Unfortunately this method is still in use by beauty salons since it is cheaper to buy and operate the equipment.

I have microdermabrasions done at my derm's office by professionally trained and certified clinicians. The microdermabrasions are done with a diamond tip that is slowly rubbed over the skin and the dead skin is sucked up with a mild vacuum. There is no spray or anything that can abrade the skin. The microdermabrasion also dislodges plugged up pores and pulls out the plugs. My skin is nicely pink after a procedure and I go right to work. My skin feels great...like it can breathe! The first several times I got microdermabrasions while my skin was still recovering from the cysts I had a bit more redness but it was only where deeper plugs had been dislodged and it was totally tolerable...just redness that went away in a day. The only other thing I got in the beginning were a couple of whiteheads afterwards which the clinicians said were due to very plugged up pores coming to the surface. These were totally okay too since they were nothing like a cyst and went away in a day or two. I have not had any cysts...not even one...since starting the microdermabrasions along with the regime below. I feel very strongly that correctly done microdermabrasions are key to healthy skin for those of us who gets lots of cysts. My skin looks incredible now...smooth, clear skin. It is like my skin returned to how it was before I had acne. I don't think meds or diet alone would do this. It takes something like microdermabrasion to help the skin renew itself and build up collagen. My derm says that cystic prone skin does not function correctly...it does not shed properly and is prone to forming sticky plugs so getting regular microdermabrasions helps.

I have to admit that it took me a couple of months before I was brave eneough to do the microdermabrasions because I too had read all those horror stories! And some of them were even current horror stories. But after talking with my derm I learned more about the different kinds of procedures and hence the confusion...which is too bad because correctly done microdermabrasion is wonderful. And he says it is an outright lie that microdermabrasion does not help acne...another internet myth that is often cited. He says microdermabrasion is good for acne prone skin, especially skin that has had the ravaging effects of cysts.

Hope this helps!

Gosh, you've swayed me! That sounds incredible, I'm so glad that you've had such amazing results good for you! If I ever get enough money I'm putting myself down for one of those treatments - after all, as you indicate, it seems pretty unlikely that just one session of microdermabrasion could do any significant damage...some of the negative reviews I'd read were from women who'd gone overboard and been doing them bi-weekly for years, which is OBVIOUSLY not a good idea!!! Anyway, thank you for your feedback

One month update:

Hey guys!!! The time is here. It's been just over a month on this diet, let me update you all.

POSITIVES:

1.: I haven't had a breakout!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Literally, a MONTH of just carbohydrates (and protein from beans) and my skin hasn't gone crazy. This is madness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. All of my digestive problems have gone!!!!!!!!! I'm burning through my food like never before, and I haven't been bloated in over 2 weeks. Wake up to a flat stomach every day

3. I no longer feel exhausted!!!!! At the beginning of this diet I felt really, really tired in the mornings, and completely anxious/spaced out throughout the day. Now I feel normal again!

4. I've lost a significant amount of weight in a short amount of time: this isn't necessarily a good thing, nor was it a goal of mine, but it has happened nonetheless. I've lost around half a stone already.

5. I can eat happy foods i like carbohydrates, I like the taste of rice, potatoes, etcetc.

*DISCLAIMER*

1. I binged once through poor preparation: I have to be honest with you all, around 9 days ago I was in London and had forgotten to plan ahead. There was literally NO food available to cater for my diet. It got to the end of the day and i was STARVING. I had a moment of madness and bought some celery and almond butter thinking I could indulge in a tablespoonful of the butter and get away with it.....a few hours later and I'd eaten it all. I felt horrible, and made my next 2 meals high-fat for fear of breaking out if I followed the almond butter with carbs. The next day I woke up and came to my senses, feeling sluggish and awful. I apologise to you (and my body) all for making this mistake, as I said, it was a moment of madness but I think it had to happen for me to realise that high-fat just isn't what I want any more. Nevertheless, even though it's been 9 days I guess there's a small possibility that it could have caused a breakout that will come to the surface in the next week or so - therefore, keep an eye on my updates on the next two months as that will give you a much better overall analysis of this diet.

NEGATIVES

1. Too much fruit in a cold country during winter doesn't work for me. Over the month i've had to adjust my meals slightly, as I think a lot of the issues I had at the beginning were a direct result of too much fruit. I was very bloated and gassy, and as fruit digests so quickly I found myself hungry a lot and felt like I "crashed" a lot throughout the day when my blood sugar was low. Now that I eat more starches and vegetables (only 2 portions of fruits in a day on average) I feel MUCH better. In fact, I feel amazing.

If anyone's interested, i've uploaded a couple of videos onto youtube - one of them is very long, and is basically my story. The other is a sum-up of this update!

*Mod Edit: URL Link removed*

good luck to you all

So happy to hear your diet is working! Yeah! If you get a strong reaction to eating too much fruit you may be somewhat sensitive to fructose. Which means you lack the enzymes needed to digest fruit well so you feel bloated and can get an acne flare-up. I was tested for fructose after feeling sick from sugary foods and too much fruit. Way to figure this out without the test is to do what you're doing...eat mostly vegies and whole starches and see how you feel. People sensitive to fructose (which by the way is in most processed foods, too) can usually eat berries and some banana without problems. Also tubors (yams, potatoes, etc) are okay. Biggest mistake people make when giving up meat and junk food is to gorge on fruit. Some researchers think that people from northern climates are genetically unable to eat much fruit since fruit was not historically available except for tart berries and little hard apples available for only a short time each year. Instead these people got their Vit C from root vegetables (yes, potatoes have Vit C) and berries in season, etc.

2 Month Update

Guys!!!! The time is here - it's the day of my 2 month update. I cannot believe the results. I want to tell the world!!!!

I haven't had a single breakout whilst doing this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not one!!!!

My food intake yesterday would have scared the life out of me back when I was combining sugar and fat, but now it's not a problem! Here's what I ate:

1. Breakfast: 3 bananas, 5 dates

2. Snack: 6 apples

3. Lunch: lentil and bean stew with white potatoes

4. Snack: salad with corn and black beans

5. Dinner: brown rice with sweet potatoes and garlic

6. Snack: spinach and tomatoes cooked with garlic and chili

I'm still losing weight, my skin is vibrant, radiant and glowing, and I've never felt so amazing and happy!

I will of course update when it gets to 3 months. If any of you have any questions don't hesitate to ask good luck on all of your journeys.

**p.s. contrary to my last post I can now eat fruit as much as I want to, it doesn't bother my digestive system at all. in fact, i'm digesting at the speed of light!

I started this diet about a week and a half ago, so I'm completely thrilled that you've had success. I went vegan for the animals, but looking around Youtube I came across videos by Dr. McDougall and everything he had to say made a ton of sense. Plus, since becoming vegan I was breaking out worse than even usual. I started keeping track of my diet through [removed], and I noticed I was eating a lot of fats .. stuff like avocado, peanut butter, and processed vegan foods. Almost alf of my dietary intake was coming from oils! So it all came together!

So far .. well the first three days my skin remained kinda yucky, but then it cleared up almost 100 percent, until yesterday. I have a chronic case of itchy red folliculites, which I used to believe was acne, on my forehead. That's come back once more with a vengence for some reason and I have a couple smallish zits on my chin. I guess it's not so bad but I sure was hoping for an overnight miracle cure. I'm silly.

But reading your post has given me a lot of hope that if I just stick it out, it will all be worth it. This is after all the most natural and nutrious diet there is. I can say that my LIFE-LONG digestive issues have completely cleared up and I have a ton more energy! Yay for starches! I think I'll probably stay HCLF even if it doesn't fix my skin. There are so many benefits.

Anyway I hope you post here again with good news.