Hi all. You might've seen me dabbling in a few other threads. I had went to a dermatologist, she prescribed me Epiduo, and I had the craziest reaction that I am now scared to trust doctors anymore. So that's what brings me here. I have been working on managing my gut problems. I was "diagnosed" with acid reflux but the doctors never officially tested me so I'm weaning myself off PPIs and eating healthy. By that, I mean that I have been eating almost completely natural, gluten-free, and low-dairy. I get the majority of my protein from fish and tofu. I eat chicken maybe once or twice a week (can't afford organic). My grains are gluten-free quinoa, brown rice, and rice noodles. Eat plenty of veggies and fruits. I don't eat junk food (though I cheated three times but nothing bad happened as far as stomach pains were concerned). For the first time in two years, my stomach pains are finally managed. I feel like I am in tune with my body and I pay very close attention now to what it likes (such as plain Greek yogurt) and doesn't like (spicy food! Darn!).

So now that I've been eating more healthy, I haven't really seen any noticeable changes in my skin. And so I purchased Paula's Choice Resist BHA 2% and that seems to be helping but my skin is horribly sensitive and becomes red easily. Dermatologists don't listen to me when I say this--instead they prescribe me a crazy retinoid. Oh! It'll also help to know the type of acne I have. I have comedonal acne, clogged pores, tiny bumps, and blackheads. My face looks like a bunch of sand is trapped beneath it! It's totally gross and I've had this since I was about 12. The only thing to clear me is amoxicillan and accutane. Of course, this stuff comes back after medication is stopped because I have oily skin. VERY oily skin. Which leads me to the supplements I have decided to take.

I have been taking a multivitamin for a while now: Alive once daily women's ultra potency. No difference in skin. I also take CVS brand probiotic 3 capsules a day (60 billion cells), and starting today I'm taking extra vitamin A and D3. Now, I have those vitamins in my multi so that makes a total of 3,000 IU of D3 and 11,500 IU of A. I do not think that's close to some of the "megadosing" I read about on the forums but I want to see if it will make any difference with the oil that I am producing. I think that if that was more in check, I wouldn't get so many clogged pores. I think sebum works like glue sometimes. Anything (bacteria, dirt, etc) can latch onto the sebum and easily get stuck thus resulting in clogged pores.

Today I also took an organic capsule of tumeric...and I wish I did more research because I later read that it can cause stomach pains due to its ability to increase stomach acid...which is what I am trying to avoid. I do not eat highly-acidic foods. I do not know if it is worth the risk. Kinda too late now though lol so I'll ride it out and see how it goes.

I also drink Bragg's ACV with the 'mother' when I remember to. I've already went through one bottle and haven't seen a difference in my skin... I don't know if that thing takes time or not. But now that I have so many acne-fighting supplements in my regime, it's going to be hard to tell what's helping and what's not.

I tone with Paula's Choice Resist Anti-Aging Toner (for oily skin). And I moisturize with Neutrogena's oil-free moisturizer for 'combination skin'. Don't know how important it is to tone though I feel 'cleaner' afterwards and it gets rid of excess oil, I think. At night, I apply BHA after toner either every night or every other night depending on how my skin is feeling.

I'll keep everyone posted on my progress. Please comment if you have tried a similar approach or struggle with the same acne as I do. Any information/story is helpful.