Hi All:

I just returned from a week-long business trip to NYC and Chicago. The Alba SA products are no longer effective. I've been on the zinc for a couple of weeks, with no measurable improvement. Very depressed.

I'm firmly convinced that stress is my trigger, given that my diet does not regularly include many of the problem foods mentioned above.

What kind of specialist deals with hormone imbalances, as this is one area I haven't explored?

Thanks!

Regards,

Stefan

Endocrinologists are the specialists in this area. Most really only understand diabetes and to some degree thyroid disease. The level of scientific prejudice is remarkable and difficult to explain.

Since most docs don't know much about the endocrine system, they deny it's active role in many disease processes that aren't an immediate risk to your health. For example, many docs will deny the acne-hormonal relationship. This isn't surprising since they would have no idea how to address it anyway.

I suggest going to your primary care doc and ask for the lab tests I listed earlier. See where they go with it and post your results here.

What you can do now is change your diet. Initially you must eat properly 100 percent of the time. Meat, fruit, nuts, vegetables. No breading, deep frying or other delicious modifications. If you do this piece, then there should be at least some improvement.

It's not surprising you say stress is a trigger. When we are under stress, our adrenal system releases cortisol. This hormone makes glucose a available, increases blood pressure and is anti-inflamatory. Your system will attempt to also release DHEA in equal parts to balance the side effects. If you are under chronic stress and have a huge cortisol demand, your adrenals may not keep up and you will end up with too much DHEA or elevated cortisol and DHEA. It's the DHEA that converts to free testosterone and ramps up sebum production.

Lab work helps clarify the problem.

Hey , endicrinologists deal with hormonal imbalances.ive been there low on testosterone from too much daily protein now its fine.as far as your acne I mentioned many posts previously.take any one of these cephalosporin antibiotics duricef, cephalexin.omnicef.spectracef vantin ceftin ceclor cedax velosef all are great for severe or stubborn acne.most importantly take 400 mg of ibuprofen with each dose of antibiotic directly.and your acne will be gone trust me i didfor over 10 years.good luck u wont be disappointed

Hi Stefan,

Can I suggest you post your diet in as much detail as you can manage? There is no guarantee it will amount to a breakthrough, but there may be things in the diet that others may notice.

Have you had a diagnosis that it is just acne, is there a rosacea element?

The last dermatologist I went to prescribed a rosacea gel (can't rememeber the name right now), but it didn't have any effect on my breakouts.

As for diet, I eat pretty much everything in moderation. I can't think of anything I might eat today that triggers a breakout tomorrow (or next days). Limited sugar (use Splenda in coffee), limited dairy. Rice is a staple at home. Bread occasionally. Multivitamins, probiotic, zinc, and fiber supplements daily.

Thanks!

A diagnosis of rosacea is very useful, as the link between diet and the condition is more well established. Environmental factors also play a role, like cold weather.

Here's a quote on rosacea from a blog comment:

"Actually the histamine intolerance is what brings on the rosacea as well. Its a chicken and egg thing. If you have rosacea, you have the histamine intolerance. For me the histamines came first, then the rosacea developed but maybe I only knew that because I hunted out the problem. I doubt anyone could have rosacea without being histamine intolerant."

[Removed]

Histamine intolerance came up in a recent thread by MrMann1982 :

You've mentioned you've been tested for allergies and nothing found. From what little I've read recently, histamine intolerance does not show up in standard allergy testing.

There is also the conditions that lie behind histamine intolerance, gluten intolerance is one possibility.

Due to my own experience, I'm interested in the two way relationship between diet and stress. We're mostly aware of how stress can mess with the digestive system. I'm curious to learn if some of our food choices actually creates stress.

The stress I refer to is family and work-related, more so than food.

Stefan

I have tried every diet

prostate. i think both have the same culprit (au aceeasi cauza. esti roman?)

*ignore the bracket if it's foreign language

NO!

Most prostate issues (bph) are caused by estradiol not DHT. Using a reductase inhibitor may temporarily shrink the prostate gland, however reducing this enzyme will push the testosterone metabolism toward estradiol and your stroma cells that encapsulate the prostate gland (between the muscular shell of the exterior prostate and the internal prostate gland) can grow quickly, become hard and exacerbate urinary retention.

I have tried every diet thing going, apart from saturated fat maybe being a trigger i haven't really noticed any other correlation. I realize for some people it is simply a case of avoiding this or that, gluten or dairy etc, but maybe there are some of us where the "mental/psychological" factor is more significant than many consider?

How many of us acne on here are "emotional" [emo pussies lol] ?

I know personally i am a very anxious/easily stressed person [inside anyway], i may come across as very laid back but often my head is running inside. Also i have a very bad temper, although i don't think a bit of a temper tantrum now and then is significant. It is more long term state of mind.

I know my skin is better when i get to sleep earlier and i have a good long sleep, although getting this regularly, like avoiding stress, is easier said than done obviously. Also my skin is better when i am outside more - doesn't really mean anything either.

Sorry to go even more emo on you but maybe some us of don't have enough happiness etc to balance out the stress - "balance" in general. I am not as old as some of you yet but my acne seems to get worse the older i get, rather than the other way around and also my general state of mind seems to get worse really - taking less pleasure from life etc, more stress - i am not talking depression either. When i was younger i ate all kind of crap, took all kinds of crap, did all kinds of crap and my skin was fine. Now i eat generally what is considered "healthy" and live what is generally considered a "healthy" lifestyle, but my skin is crap. But is my mind "healthy" lol? Enough emo ramblings sorry.

Something to consider could be the whole gut connection - which is also linked to our state of mind though lol. As in, you are taking probiotics, which actually seem to break me out for some reason, also fiber can be a good thing but also a bad thing depending on how things are down there. Seems our guts play a large role in regulating our immune systems etc which is all connected to acne. There is a possible link between malabsorption of nutrients feeding the "wrong" bacteria or just too much bacteria and then this affecting our immune systems etc. Most likely just more bs though.

I don't understand you Riddled, in your sig you say that paleo is the way to go but you just said that diet hasn't affected acne in your experience? So why promote paleo if it don't have anything to do with acne?

Hi All:

I recently added Acuvir cream to my regimen and have noticed positive results, especially for reducing redness.

Stefan