Hi, have you heard of spironolactone? Its used alone or with birth control. There's also bio identical hormones but they may not be covered by insurence. I have PCOS and I'm worried I will likely be on birth control till I'm like 50... But I started Spiro and my skin is a lot less oily.

How is your diet?

Hi - yeah, I have a script for spiro. I actually didn't take it for awhile b/c (like an idiot) I thought I didn't need it after accutane cleared my skin, but once the acne started coming back I got the script filled again. I have been on 100mg for about 1.5 - 2 months now.
I would say my diet is fairly healthy - I only weigh about 125 lbs and am 5ft 2in, I probably could work out more than I do, but I don't eat a lot of bad things. I've been trying to cut out carbs now too, but I eat a lot of chicken and cod normally. I just bought almond milk to cut out cream since I read that dairy can cause acne/inflammation. I was on Yaz for more than a decade but went off of it due to some problems and now have IUD instead - but I'm wondering if it's worth just going back on the pill.

I also read drinking spearmint tea can help, so I started doing that this week. I also bought a high frequency facial machine but I live in an old apartment and it makes an alarm go off in my unit when I use it! Maybe too much (static) electricity being produced? I know that sounds odd. It is the type of wand they use when you get a facial and supposed to help kill p. acne bacteria. Like I said, I am desperate and trying everything I can think of.

1 hour ago, CoolCat1 said:

Hi - yeah, I have a script for spiro. I actually didn't take it for awhile b/c (like an idiot) I thought I didn't need it after accutane cleared my skin, but once the acne started coming back I got the script filled again. I have been on 100mg for about 1.5 - 2 months now.
I would say my diet is fairly healthy - I only weigh about 125 lbs and am 5ft 2in, I probably could work out more than I do, but I don't eat a lot of bad things. I've been trying to cut out carbs now too, but I eat a lot of chicken and cod normally. I just bought almond milk to cut out cream since I read that dairy can cause acne/inflammation. I was on Yaz for more than a decade but went off of it due to some problems and now have IUD instead - but I'm wondering if it's worth just going back on the pill.

I also read drinking spearmint tea can help, so I started doing that this week. I also bought a high frequency facial machine but I live in an old apartment and it makes an alarm go off in my unit when I use it! Maybe too much (static) electricity being produced? I know that sounds odd. It is the type of wand they use when you get a facial and supposed to help kill p. acne bacteria. Like I said, I am desperate and trying everything I can think of.

hi, I think that's a good start. I have been reading a theory that says you must add good foods in as well as cutting out bad ones. For me, dairy and soda cause issues but I haven't really noticed anything else does. But some people are bad with grains/ gluten.
I found a really cool website that I think gives a lot of great info. There's no need to get the e book cause the guy gives most of the info out in the articles.

http://supernaturalacnetreatment.com/

Here's the main ideas: low grains, low sugar little to no dairy, lots of sweet potato's, veggies, fruits ( unless you're allergic) fish and meat is OK but grass fed is ideal. Ok and dark chocolate and wine are fine. Tells which additives and chemicals to avoid.
Adding antioxidants, chelated zinc, vitamins A D C and E and green tea.
I've been using green tea extract+ sea buckthorn oil and my skin looks good. I also wash my face with ground oatmeal for about a month and had a big improvement. All that + Spiro us working great.

I totally get the not wanting to have to take meds but I'll provpbably be on birth control or Spiro for a long time.

Thanks, I will definitely check this out. I would try anything, any natural method and any medicine that is out there to fix this. I think what's so hard is that in addition to the acne and the redness and bumpiness on my skin, I am just so so sad. I cry every night and feel like no one can understand unless they've had acne. I've also never posted on a forum before, and was so surprised and happy someone responded that I can relate to. Thank you for that

Hi, I went through years with cystic acne and it was really fustrating. I think using too much over the counter treatment even made it worse. I finally tried a few VI Peels. They were a little pricey but so worth it! The dermatologist also gave me a gentle cleanser plus a spot treatment for pimples. Please don't be sad, there are remedies out there. My skin is so sensitive, but now it is free of break outs for once! Also cutting sugar from my diet helped with inflammation. Now I also eat Chinese cabbage every day to help clean out toxins from my system. I hope you feel better soon 🙂

If Accutane worked, why not try it again? I've never been on it, but have talked w/ my doc about it and he said sometimes you need a second round. Maybe you should talk to your doc about it?

What are you using right now? Any topicals?

BTW, I've tried every "health" and diet remedy out there...imo it's a lot of nonsense. If you have chronic acne, I really don't think it helps, and it becomes a slippery slop...before you know it, you're restricting so many foods it becomes like a boarder line eating disorder. But that's just my experience, if you try any I'd say don't get too invested in it and use common sense. Most claims about this or that food effecting your acne has no scientific basis.

You can try this alternative Solgar dry vitamin A tablet form before going accutane your last resort. Dont buy those softgel or capsule vitamin A because the oily form of vitamin A lead to acne since it has some degree of oil inside.

Avoid any oily food, dairy products, sugary stuff and spicy food where possible.

You can crush the vitamin A tablet and use it as topical scar treatment and apply it with hot water compressed in cotton ball 60-70degree and leave it 1-2minutes. Wash it thereafter.

Dont use any BP as it will only worsen the acne. Just pop the acne with sterile needle and squeeze the pus out. If stubborn acne doesnt come to head (no whitehead) apply hot compressed or take warm bath several times a day until it can readily be popped (either whitehead appears or retry squeezing but first you must use a needle to open up a small hole so that the pus can come out).

Yes AHA is good at clearing clogged pores discontinue use if too drying combination with BP is not a good idea. You could try Nixoderm

Cystic acne is usually caused of internal problem which is not easily come to head (no whitehead). So you must diagnose your internal problem first

Did you change to the IUD recently? About two years ago, I changed birth control pills (from Sprintec to something called Nortrel),and my skin went nuts. Cystic acne for the first time in my life. After a year, I switched back to Sprintec and started taking spironolactone, and after ~6 months my acne was completely gone. If you just changed your birth control sort of recently, it could be that, especially if you didn't have acne before. Some hormones just seem to disagree with some people!

Good luck!

To add to Snarkygirl's great insight, I'd suggest seeing a nutritionist or other diet professional specifically to identify food sensitivities. What's great for one person might be harmful for you. A specialist can strategically determine whether there certain foods which break you out!