1 hour ago, GrumpyPainter said:

Another experiment I have done is taking Bacillus Subtilis for several weeks to decolonize my gut from Staph (based on this study https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-finds-probiotic-bacillus-eliminates-staphylococcus-bacteria ).This did not help and I still had white pustules so I had to go back to my trusty routine of BP andazelaic acid.

Yeah I ran into the same study as well, tried the same thing with no result.

Quote

I am still pursuing other solutions to thisproblem and will update the thread if I can find a cure. According to one study, 36 dogs with Demodex infestation went into remissionby taking 1000 IUs of vitamin E per day for8 weeks ( https://wavd.org/wp-content/uploads/diagnosis-and-treatment-of-demodicosis-in-dogs-and-cats-mueller-et-al-2020-veterinary-dermatology.pdf ). I have already tried taking vitamin E in the past, but now I am taking a higher dose of a quality vitamin E supplement for 8 weeks to see if it canreduce demodex population.

This seems interesting, please keep us updated.

1 hour ago, GrumpyPainter said:

Also it is really interesting that when people gettheir pustules swabbed and cultured it comes back as Klebsiella or other gram-negative folliculitis. These bacteria should be in your colon and noton your face causing breakouts.

This is interesting, and I think it can be explained with antibiotics destroying skin microbiome and removing the good bacteria.Klebsiella is actually known to be bacteria that travels intosmall intestine and cause SIBO. I never swabbed pustules, but did a swab fromnostrils and came back negative for any pathogenic bacteria.

You guys are lucky that you even can use those topical solutions even temporary. My skin is so dry and sensitive, that pretty much all of those products are making my skin flake, so there's no point in further damaging it.

1 hour ago, UnkemptGround said:

Yeah I ran into the same study as well, tried the same thing with no result.

This seems interesting, please keep us updated.

This is interesting, and I think it can be explained with antibiotics destroying skin microbiome and removing the good bacteria.Klebsiella is actually known to be bacteria that travels intosmall intestine and cause SIBO. I never swabbed pustules, but did a swab fromnostrils and came back negative for any pathogenic bacteria.

 

You guys are lucky that you even can use those topical solutions even temporary. My skin is so dry and sensitive, that pretty much all of those products are making my skin flake, so there's no point in further damaging it.

Yep... for sure this is connected to gut health. Andas you say the most plausiblehypothesis is past antibiotic usage which induces a semi-permanent dysbiotic shift in the gut and skin microbiome which is "impossible" to fix.

Not joking but I must have tried ALL strains of probiotics available (even weird exotic ones that I had shipped over from overseas), and I have triedantibiotics and natural antimicrobials to treat SIBO (once again too many to list), and I have tried all different diets (e.g carnivore, vegan, no starch, no dairy, no gluten, going "all in" and eating everything, blah blah blah), I've tried countless other supplements, vitamins and minerals, eventhyroid supplementation, I go to sleep at 9 PM every night... no freaking change in white pustules lol. Maybe carnivore diet helps a little but it's the worst diet ever if you want to feel like a normal human being.

I have yet to try a FMT but again I don't have any high hopes it will be permanent solution as gut microbiome seems to revert back eventually.

I'm sorry to hear your skin does not agree with effective topical treatmentslike BP and azelaic acid. In the past I have really destroyed my skin barrier using tretinoin,tea tree oil, harsh chlorhexidine washes, antifungal washesetc, etc.

Have you ever tried avoiding all cleansers/moisturizers and only using short contact therapy BP and azelaic acid alternating every other day? Initially this made my skin flake but now my skin is calm and moisturized. I have found I need to leave my skin alone most of the time for it to be happy.

30 minutes ago, GrumpyPainter said:

Yep... for sure this is connected to gut health. Andas you say the most plausiblehypothesis is past antibiotic usage which induces a semi-permanent dysbiotic shift in the gut and skin microbiome which is "impossible" to fix.

 

Yep, there's a study - https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.abd8077 . When you think about, it's really horrible they just destroyed skin microbiome of probably many people.

36 minutes ago, GrumpyPainter said:

I have yet to try a FMT but again I don't have any high hopes it will be permanent solution as gut microbiome seems to revert back eventually.

 

Well at least it's encouraging that people are massively reporting positive changes related to skin and digestion, even though it might not be permanently, but we don't know that yet if that's thecase for all symptoms. I'm tracking what FMT recipients have written after going through the process with https://www.humanmicrobes.org/ . For example, one of the recipients had 60% of his body covered with eczema, whichwent into complete remission after 4 FMTs in 4 weeks.

47 minutes ago, GrumpyPainter said:

I'm sorry to hear your skin does not agree with effective topical treatmentslike BP and azelaic acid. In the past I have really destroyed my skin barrier using tretinoin,tea tree oil, harsh chlorhexidine washes, antifungal washesetc, etc.

 

Well my skin being sensitive is not the result of using those products, it's the result of antibiotics, but they make skin even worse. Anyway, when I want clean skin, I go on carnivore diet with some vegetables, but that can't last for long. I really hope we'll figure this out some day.

On 10/10/2021 at 9:37 AM, UnkemptGround said:

Let me guys update you, with unfortunately not so good news:

As soon I stopped takingundecylenic acid(I was taking it for 2 weeks), I started having these whiteheads again. It's good that is still like one zit in a week, but it's not gone completely. Also there was a side effect, the skin was much drier while takingundecylenic acid, that is now gone. The oilinessof the forehead was still present, so I wouldn't say that this addressed the root issue.

It's very much possible that we have both fungus and bacteria overgrowth due to lack of beneficial bacteria from antibitoics, and that we need to take care of both. Either way, I have finally received the supplements for the SIBO herbal therapy and officiallystarting tomorrow, hopefully this is the cure that we're all looking for.

Would you say that undecylenic acid (Thorne SF722) gave you some lasting results or did things just go back to normal once you stopped taking them?

As I mentioned I have tried a lot of antimicrobials/antibioticswithout any significant results but this one I have not tried yet. I am currently taking 3 pills x 3per day.There's definitely a fungal component to this for me as I have dealt with "fungal acne" in the past andsomething similar to tinea versicolor i.e skin discolourationever since taking antibiotics in my teens. It would be great if this couldknock down some SIFO colonies in the gut.

On 1/6/2022 at 4:18 PM, UnkemptGround said:

Well at least it's encouraging that people are massively reporting positive changes related to skin and digestion, even though it might not be permanently, but we don't know that yet if that's thecase for all symptoms. I'm tracking what FMT recipients have written after going through the process with https://www.humanmicrobes.org/ . For example, one of the recipients had 60% of his body covered with eczema, whichwent into complete remission after 4 FMTs in 4 weeks.

Yeah I agree I am probably being overly pessimistic.You are right that there are lots of awesome testimonials of FMT curing a bunch of different conditions. I guess I am just jaded from trying 1000 things and nothing seems to get to the root cause of this. But damn the money, time and logistics needed to find a FMT clinic and go through all of that... The cheap version is just getting poop from a health person and putting intoenteric coated tablets and hopethat it gets to the colon LOL.

Update on my skin:

I introduced a new moisturizer and started eating a lot of junk (milk, bread, restauraunt food)and got pustules again. Despite being strict with my BP and azelaic acid protocol. God damnit!

Was it the moisturizer or the gluten/casein proteins that caused the pustules? Difficult to say but I'm leaning towards it being caused by gut inflammation from poor diet.

I went back to gluten-free, dairy-free diet, stopped the moisturizer and pustules went away again.

I also decided to stopthe benzoyl peroxide washand instead swap it for sulfur masks which seems to be working just as well, if not better. Skin texture is always better when I am not using benzoyl peroxide.Honestly my skin has not been 'normal' ever since I did the acne.org regimen with large quantities of BP applied morning and night. BP is not great for skin health as it depletes vitamin E content. Perhaps the long-term use of BP created the conditions for Demodex and staph to take over?

I have also been putting some high quality vitamin E in my sulfur masks and that seems to have a balancing, smoothing effect on my skin. Especially my pores which tend to be enlarged and filled with hard keratin plugs, this has noticeably reduced since applying vitamin E topically.

7 hours ago, GrumpyPainter said:

Would you say that undecylenic acid (Thorne SF722) gave you some lasting results or did things just go back to normal once you stopped taking them?

 

Yeah it went back to normal unfortunately. I did recently a very thorough gut test, where intestinal candida was identified together with the list of medications that they tried in a lab on that particular stool sample and they found that Nystatin/Berberine/Garlic/Uva-Ursi were all equally effective against candida in my gut, with undercylenic acid having very low inhibition.

I must say that I didn't pursue this candida angle because I was taking a few months ago Berberine supplements and it didn't help. I strongly believe that you cannot get rid of candida, only temporary put it under control, unless you have good bacteria which we all probably lack. 

7 hours ago, GrumpyPainter said:

Yeah I agree I am probably being overly pessimistic. You are right that there are lots of awesome testimonials of FMT curing a bunch of different conditions. I guess I am just jaded from trying 1000 things and nothing seems to get to the root cause of this. But damn the money, time and logistics needed to find a FMT clinic and go through all of that... The cheap version is just getting poop from a health person and putting into enteric coated tablets and hope that it gets to the colon LOL. 

 

Well there is a really wholesome guy on reddit who started FMT project to find and screen the best possible donors in the world and connect them with recipients. It's still early phase and there's only one donor from my understanding but it has huge potential.

7 hours ago, GrumpyPainter said:

I went back to gluten-free, dairy-free diet, stopped the moisturizer and pustules went away again.

 

Ah yeah, the never ending cycle  

Just to review the product that @ElaineAsuggested a couple of pages before,HOCl spray.

So I've been using it for a few days, just spraying aroundchinand nosearea 4-5 times a day and leaving it on the face to be absorbed,after washing and the drying the face. It seems to have really positive effect, after a few days my face was clean, and that area didn't flake like before which really surprised me. So I stopped using it and and after a couple of daysthe magic disappeared. It seems like a good product to temporary give your face some relief, I'm not sure if using it constantly would be a smart idea due to possible resistance.

On 1/6/2022 at 8:48 PM, UnkemptGround said:

Yep, there's a study - https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.abd8077 . When you think about, it's really horrible they just destroyed skin microbiome of probably many people.

Well at least it's encouraging that people are massively reporting positive changes related to skin and digestion, even though it might not be permanently, but we don't know that yet if that's thecase for all symptoms. I'm tracking what FMT recipients have written after going through the process with https://www.humanmicrobes.org/ . For example, one of the recipients had 60% of his body covered with eczema, whichwent into complete remission after 4 FMTs in 4 weeks.

 

Well my skin being sensitive is not the result of using those products, it's the result of antibiotics, but they make skin even worse. Anyway, when I want clean skin, I go on carnivore diet with some vegetables, but that can't last for long. I really hope we'll figure this out some day.

I totally agree with you. There are cases where people have cured their malesizia folliculitis with the use of FMT. The fact that what we eat affects or decides the severity of our condition clearly shows that our gut microbiome has been completely destroyed which is manifesting itself in form of this condition. It's definitely not just a skin condition, read more about gut-skin axis. Ever since I have got this condition I'm having soft stools, food intolerances, alcohol intolerances. There have been posts on this thread where people have got this condition under control, even though temporarily, by using psyllium husk, celery juice, etc which shows that improving the gut health improves this condition too.

It's not about trying 1000 wrong things but getting that one thing right and none of us on this thread has done it yet. Doing FMT by using the right donor will definitely send this condition into remission. While doing FMT it has to be kept in mind that not all the donors are going to give us results and even in the case of those who do, we'll have to perform several sessions of it to change the microbiome of our gut for long term.

I'm convinced at this point that my water was the primary cause of my issues. I have hard water (well water).

I had seen some positive results attempting the 'caveman routine', but only for the 1st few days (after that I would get a disgusting amount of dead skin buildup).

But I think I've found my holy grail: Micellar water

I've been doing NOTHING but gently wiping my face with a micellar water soaked cotton pad once or twice a day (and then applying moisturizer) for the past 1-2 weeks, and my skin is calmer than it's been in a long time.

On 1/30/2022 at 11:17 AM, UnkemptGround said:

Just to review the product that @ElaineAsuggested a couple of pages before, HOCl spray.

So I've been using it for a few days, just spraying around chin and nose area 4-5 times a day and leaving it on the face to be absorbed,  after washing and the drying the face. It seems to have really positive effect, after a few days my face was clean, and that area didn't flake like before which really surprised me. So I stopped using it and and after a couple of days the magic disappeared. It seems like a good product to temporary give your face some relief, I'm not sure if using it constantly would be a smart idea due to possible resistance.

 

I don't think resistance to HOCl spray should be possible as it's the same chemical our own neutrophils produce when fighting off pathogens. 

I used HOCl spray for several weeks and did not notice any benefits whatsoever

On 2/7/2022 at 2:11 PM, Scorpy said:

I'm convinced at this point that my water was the primary cause of my issues. I have hard water (well water).

I had seen some positive results attempting the 'caveman routine', but only for the 1st few days (after that I would get a disgusting amount of dead skin buildup).

 

But I think I've found my holy grail: Micellar water

I've been doing NOTHING but gently wiping my face with a micellar water soaked cotton pad once or twice a day (and then applying moisturizer) for the past 1-2 weeks, and my skin is calmer than it's been in a long time.

 

Thanks for sharing that. I recently moved from a place with hard water to a place with soft water and my skin quality is definitely much better and more even. Will keep the micellar water in mind whenever I go back home.

I've found that the only thing that keeps me clear consistently is using benzoyl peroxide and rubbing chlorhexidine or alcohol in my nose (like others have reported earlier in this thread @silverlight22 @Canucklehead12).

I am done trying to fix this holistically, I'm not going to waste any more time or energy on this. Thousands of dollars spent on supplements and countless experiments with different diets, skincare products, and so on. I'm going to eat healthy and have a good skincare routine to mitigate any damage done by the BP.  I only use it 5 minutes per day so can't be that bad. Damage done by the inflammation from white pustules is likely 100x worse for skin. 

TL;DR: I can't live with the white pustules (miserable, depressing life) and the BP and staph nose decolonization seems to be the best long-term solution. 

If I figure this out I will report back here but until then, peace out! 

For those who are trying to fix this with a holistic approach, which had been my approach too for a long time, we are making a big assumption that a healthy human does not have acne, and therefore any human who has acne must have some underlying health issue and need to be "fixed." Is this assumption true? What if acne, a "disease" unique to humans, actually serves an evolutionary purpose? From an evolutionary perspective, the head of human infants grew bigger and bigger and were born more prematurely. There is a possibility that sebum production in the head, chest, and back area co-evolved with a larger head, serving its purpose as a lubricant for giving birth. If that's the case, should we approach this problem from the perspective of the first principles of the pathogenesis of acne instead? That is: sebum production, microbial flora change, abnormal keratinization, and inflammation. From this perspective, we stop trying to find a long-term fix for a presumed underlying health issue that causes acne, because acne is just inherent for some of us.

On 4/10/2022 at 4:59 PM, kutkut1997 said:

For those who are trying to fix this with a holistic approach, which had been my approach too for a long time, we are making a big assumption that a healthy human does not have acne, and therefore any human who has acne must have some underlying health issue and need to be "fixed." Is this assumption true? What if acne, a "disease" unique to humans, actually serves an evolutionary purpose? From an evolutionary perspective, the head of human infants grew bigger and bigger and were born more prematurely. There is a possibility that sebum production in the head, chest, and back area co-evolved with a larger head, serving its purpose as a lubricant for giving birth. If that's the case, should we approach this problem from the perspective of the first principles of the pathogenesis of acne instead? That is: sebum production, microbial flora change, abnormal keratinization, and inflammation. From this perspective, we stop trying to find a long-term fix for a presumed underlying health issue that causes acne, because acne is just inherent for some of us.

I have had this issue for pretty much my entire adult life. It got worse when my beard came through. I also get it on my chest, scalp and back.

Its nothing to do with health imo, in fact when im full of energy, sleeping well and eating well i get MORE. The only times they have completely cleared is when I was dieting and my entire body was sluggish.

I also have oily skin and large pores. Living in a sunny climate by the sea also helps the problem, which makes me think its bacterial, some form of folliculitis

The other thing I have which I think contributes is I shed a lot of dead skin, every time I come out the shower I need to wipe dead skin off with a cotton ball. If I let the dead skin build up the spots go away but I get blackheads. Its tough

It could be caused by antibiotic use, I have used them a lot when I used to go to the GP as a teen for acne. I also read that those prone to acne have better detox pathways and longer telemeres. All my family had a period of acne although none have kept it like myself into adulthood.

On 4/15/2022 at 9:49 AM, folliculiting said:

Its nothing to do with health imo, in fact when im full of energy, sleeping well and eating well i get MORE. The only times they have completely cleared is when I was dieting and my entire body was sluggish.

 

yeah I've had a similar experience

I recently ended up becoming close to underweight, so started eating more (but still healthy) and doing resistance training, and I started getting breakouts again

@Scorpy@GrumpyPainter@kutkut1997@underdog

Have you tried triple antibiotical ointment (neosporin)? This kills gram-negative bacteria which are causing our types of pustules. However I suggest putting it in your nostrils as that is the place these bacteria come from (thats why we only get pustules on chin and above lip and cheeks). Everyday for a month and then everything should be dead and flora can regrow correctly.

I never took antibiotics btw and still developed this pustule condition. Probably due to stupid dieting (I used to eat only raw milk and meat in huge quantities for some months and avoided fruits and vegetables like the plague). Also I scrubbed my face a lot with a towel, probably bad bacteria had the chance to invade my face, coming from the nostrils.

Also eating 0 carbohydrates cures this completely. Just eating meat, eggs and vegetables works but is not very sustainable. I am currently trying to eat 0 carbs for 2 months, so that all carb dependent (our pustule bacteria are for sure) bacteria die. Afterwards I'll try eating normal again.

20 hours ago, Scorpy said:

yeah I've had a similar experience

I recently ended up becoming close to underweight, so started eating more (but still healthy) and doing resistance training, and I started getting breakouts again

it could be that the body is readjusting. Try to stick a healthy weight and healthy habits for at least 6 months straight.

Also avoid all these restrictive diets that dont include certain food groups. It will set you up for big issues later on. The only thing id try to avoid is processed food

The antibiotics up the nose doesnt sound like a great idea, as it could permeate into the brain.

57 minutes ago, folliculiting said:

 

it could be that the body is readjusting. Try to stick a healthy weight and healthy habits for at least 6 months straight.

Also avoid all these restrictive diets that dont include certain food groups. It will set you up for big issues later on. The only thing id try to avoid is processed food

The antibiotics up the nose doesnt sound like a great idea, as it could permeate into the brain.

 

With this condition it is impossible to not exclude certain food groups. Milk for example will cause 20 new pustules and inflammation 2 days after consumption. Same with high sugar foods. Starches also feed the bacteria.

I really think if you hang in there and cut out starches, dairy and sugar completely for 1-2 months your skin has a chance to heal completely/the pathogenic bacteria starves completely.

The antibiotical ointment is pretty safe in the nostrils, just don't go deep. Here is a thread of someone who cured his pustules with Triple Antibiotical Ointment everyday in his nostrils for a month or so. Apply with a cotton swab and NOT deep into the nose!

2 hours ago, Eevs said:

With this condition it is impossible to not exclude certain food groups. Milk for example will cause 20 new pustules and inflammation 2 days after consumption. Same with high sugar foods. Starches also feed the bacteria.

I really think if you hang in there and cut out starches, dairy and sugar completely for 1-2 months your skin has a chance to heal completely/the pathogenic bacteria starves completely.

The antibiotical ointment is pretty safe in the nostrils, just don't go deep. Here is a thread of someone who cured his pustules with Triple Antibiotical Ointment everyday in his nostrils for a month or so. Apply with a cotton swab and NOT deep into the nose!

ive tried that in the past, it doesnt work.

you get into a horrible cycle of getting rid of them, then making them come back 2x as worse, then getting rid of them. the same with antibiotics

the way forward has to be sustainable, i think its done by 1) regulating hormones that means maintaining a healthy weight, a healthy sleep schedule and keeping active...anytime your hormones fluctuate you are setting yourself up for breakouts

2) improving hygiene; that doesnt mean doing more, in most cases it means doing less becasue as mentioned the more you scrub the weaker the skin barrier becomes. also avoid actives and heavy moisture, especially in summer

On another note, do people in your family also have it? do you get lot of dead skin buildup? do you have course hair? oily/ thin skin combination?

4 hours ago, folliculiting said:

ive tried that in the past, it doesnt work.

you get into a horrible cycle of getting rid of them, then making them come back 2x as worse, then getting rid of them. the same with antibiotics

the way forward has to be sustainable, i think its done by 1) regulating hormones that means maintaining a healthy weight, a healthy sleep schedule and keeping active...anytime your hormones fluctuate you are setting yourself up for breakouts

2) improving hygiene; that doesnt mean doing more, in most cases it means doing less becasue as mentioned the more you scrub the weaker the skin barrier becomes. also avoid actives and heavy moisture, especially in summer

On another note, do people in your family also have it? do you get lot of dead skin buildup? do you have course hair? oily/ thin skin combination?

 

 

What you said about the cycle and that it comes back- did you mean when putting the ointment into nose? Or was that about the diet I mentioned?

Also I do get a lot of dead skin buildup if I dont exfoliate after 2-4 days. Mainly on chin, above lip, nose creases, and between eyebrows. I just rub it off with my bare hands as that is the most gentle method.

No one in my family has it despite me. I have it since I was 19/20, which is 3 years ago.

I don't have course hair, I have fine and straight hair and 0 dandruff. Scalp is clear, also body skin is 100percent clear. The pustules only develop on the face. Face is oily.

The condition is clearly an infection and has not much to do with genetics really. Also I don't think hormones play a part. It is literally just what you eat that feeds the bacteria. One just has to get rid of the bacteria completely. There has to be a cure for this. I'll try the 2 months 0 carb + antibiotical ointment in nose and will update then.

20 hours ago, Eevs said:

What you said about the cycle and that it comes back- did you mean when putting the ointment into nose? Or was that about the diet I mentioned?

Also I do get a lot of dead skin buildup if I dont exfoliate after 2-4 days. Mainly on chin, above lip, nose creases, and between eyebrows. I just rub it off with my bare hands as that is the most gentle method.

No one in my family has it despite me. I have it since I was 19/20, which is 3 years ago.

I don't have course hair, I have fine and straight hair and 0 dandruff. Scalp is clear, also body skin is 100percent clear. The pustules only develop on the face. Face is oily.

 

The condition is clearly an infection and has not much to do with genetics really. Also I don't think hormones play a part. It is literally just what you eat that feeds the bacteria. One just has to get rid of the bacteria completely. There has to be a cure for this. I'll try the 2 months 0 carb + antibiotical ointment in nose and will update then.

i used to have just the mouth area, after anitbiotics i started getting on the scalp. accutane cleared it completely but its come back. Bare in mind i only get them when i am gaining weight, which makes me think hormones are a big cause becasue my testosterone levels double

i will try topical too, i only get them under the mouth and very rarely in the beard. i think its oil + dead skin and then the bacteria and immune response. Finer hair should be less of an issue, thicker hairs will mean bigger follicals and more space for infection

im going to ask my gp for mupirocin

On 4/20/2022 at 8:16 PM, Eevs said:

There has to be a cure for this. I'll try the 2 months 0 carb + antibiotical ointment in nose and will update then.

I'll have to disappoint you, but I tried both things and it only helped to keep my face clear until I ate cheese. Wish you luck though.

19 hours ago, ShyShofar said:

I'll have to disappoint you, but I tried both things and it only helped to keep my face clear until I ate cheese. Wish you luck though.

Well.. don't eat cheese then! And damn it, I just had a little bit of cheese.. my skin clears up so fast on 0 carb it is great. Hopefully the piece of cheese won't do anything.

On 4/23/2022 at 11:45 PM, ShyShofar said:

I'll have to disappoint you, but I tried both things and it only helped to keep my face clear until I ate cheese. Wish you luck though.

thats the issue with specific diets, all you are doing is going further down the rabbit hole, the longer you dont eat specific foods your gut adapts as it doesnt need to digest certain foods so when you try to reintroduce, you get even more severe symptons and bigger skin breakouts. You can even develop allergys from it

there needs to be a long term, sustainable approach or you will just go round and round in cirlces like i have been for years. i am convinced if you stick with "normalised" habits for 6 months+ the condition will just taper out

the worst thing you can do is get a few spots and revert back to xyz approach whether its cutting foods, reducing calories, taking medicine etc

6 hours ago, folliculiting said:

thats the issue with specific diets, all you are doing is going further down the rabbit hole, the longer you dont eat specific foods your gut adapts as it doesnt need to digest certain foods so when you try to reintroduce, you get even more severe symptons and bigger skin breakouts. You can even develop allergys from it

there needs to be a long term, sustainable approach or you will just go round and round in cirlces like i have been for years. i am convinced if you stick with "normalised" habits for 6 months+ the condition will just taper out

the worst thing you can do is get a few spots and revert back to xyz approach whether its cutting foods, reducing calories, taking medicine etc

 

 

 

Are you trying to have normal eating habits for 6months+ right now? If so, please update us if the condition really does taper out!

I just think it is super hard to live with inflamed pustules all over for such a long time again.. bad for mental health, bad for relationships, bad for everything! Also a good chance of scarring... Although the pustules never leave more than hyperpigmention that stays for a few weeks. Even that bothers me though.

I am one week into a ketogenic diet and everything cleared up. Just 2 tiny tiny pustules under lip and on chin. Probably because I allowed myself to eat a handful raspberries yesterday? Or the piece of cheese?

Pustule safe meals consist of the following: meat or fish+ non starchy vegetables and a salad. High protein, high fat and super low carb. Theoretically lactose free dairy should be possible too but I think even casein is a problem. So only butter and ghee are pustule safe, although I'm not sure.

On 4/25/2022 at 2:28 PM, folliculiting said:

there needs to be a long term, sustainable approach or you will just go round and round in cirlces like i have been for years. i am convinced if you stick with "normalised" habits for 6 months+ the condition will just taper out

 

Could you elaborate what do you mean bynormalised ? I'm pretty sure I react to cheese, it's pretty much confirmed, I don't see how this "allergy" lets call it can go away with a diet if I continue to eat it.

On 4/25/2022 at 8:51 PM, Eevs said:

I am one week into a ketogenic diet and everything cleared up. Just 2 tiny tiny pustules under lip and on chin. Probably because I allowed myself to eat a handful raspberries yesterday? Or the piece of cheese?

 

Yeah similar story here, I was on keto(dairy free) for 2 weeks recently, I even drank coke zero while on it, no pustules at all. I was craving cheese, had one tiny piece and it started again. I simply don't believe anymore this can be permanently cured with a diet. The only thing I haven't tried is FMT, for which I'm saving money to try in August. FMT should be able to re-introduce good bacteria that we probably miss and cure all foodsensitivities.

6 hours ago, ShyShofar said:

Could you elaborate what do you mean bynormalised ? I'm pretty sure I react to cheese, it's pretty much confirmed, I don't see how this "allergy" lets call it can go away with a diet if I continue to eat it.

Yeah similar story here, I was on keto(dairy free) for 2 weeks recently, I even drank coke zero while on it, no pustules at all. I was craving cheese, had one tiny piece and it started again. I simply don't believe anymore this can be permanently cured with a diet. The only thing I haven't tried is FMT, for which I'm saving money to try in August. FMT should be able to re-introduce good bacteria that we probably miss and cure all foodsensitivities.

2 weeks is not enough. Try 5 weeks and then reintroduce foods. If you still break out then opt for a permanent ketogenic diet (unless your FMT approach is legit and heals you), at least thats what I will do when everything fails.

Btw the piece of cheese did not affect me at all. Right now I have 0 pustules, skin is super smooth, calm, 0 redness and looks like I never even had pustules (although I had them on and off for 3 years!). Yesterday I drank two glasses of dry red wine, let's see if I react- doubt I will since it has 0 sugar and almost no carbs.

I'm on my second week ketogenic diet (dairy free with the exception of ghee for cooking purpoases).

My gut bacteria is actually good, I did a check up for it at a very good holistic dermatologist. So there may and there may not be any connection to gut bacteria. Also I never have digestion problems or gut discomfort.

So I will continue this ketogenic diet approach for 3-4 weeks more and then try to reintroduce foods that used to be very triggering such as fruit, raw milk, yoghurt, rice and bread.