I think you are definitely right about your acne being hormonal! I mean, the fact that is cleared up on the pill and during pregnancy is a dead giveaway. I have a feeling that doctor's offices often miss a lot when it comes to testing hormones. I'm not sure if it is because they aren't looking at the right stuff or if the timing of your visit (in relation to your cycle) significantly affects it, but I've heard so many stories of people whose doctor's told them they didn't have hormonal acne when they did. I got blood work done at my doc and they also said everything came back normal, but when I went on the pill my acne completely cleared up!

If you aren't interested in conventional hormonal treatments (Going back on the pill or trying an anti-androgen like Spironolactone) then you should look into supplements. There are a lot of supplements out there used for balancing out hormones and there is a lot of online info about it. However, you just have to be careful & make sure you know what you're doing before diving into anything. If you have the money, you should see a Naturopathic doctor - they specialize in using supplements and other natural treatments. They will likely be able to help you pinpoint the cause of your acne and can offer some better guidance on what supplements to take as opposed to you just doing your own research.

Your acne looks similar to mine [in the chin area]. It seems your androgens are either too high, which means your free T levels could be elevated or you are just androgen sensitive without a major imbalance. That's why it's kind of a waste of time to get a full pricey hormone panel run because you might read as normal, but still have androgen sensitivity and therefore could benefit from hormone balancing drugs.

Here is something that might give you hope. I'm taking Spiro 50 mg/day [split into 2, one in the AM and one at lunch]; it's an androgen blocker similar to what you find in Yaz/Yazmin without any estrogen. If you're sensitive to BCPs like I am, it could be your best option. It seems to be helping so far even though I have not stopped breaking out in the chin area completely. I'm 6 days in and the oil production in my face has decreased 75%. It's kind of a miracle. I was so oily before I had literal dots of oil on my nose every hour, and my entire forehead was greasy no matter what I did, no matter how many times I rinsed it. This goes to show that my acne was definitely hormone-fueled, or else this androgen blocker wouldn't be working so immediately. I also had other symptoms that made me a candidate for an androgen blocker, like excess hair growth on my right cheek, navel and chin, and it might help that too [I hope]. Inositol and Saw Palmetto are all natural supplements similar to Spiro but it's really hard to try and predict what dosages for those will work, and I am against self-medicating now since it never helped me personally.

I would give Spiro a try. Good luck.

Thank you both for answering so quickly! I'm relieved to see you both seem to agree that my acne is hormonal. Like i mentioned before, i already had a strong suspicion of it being hormonal, but being waved aside by doctors again and again made me doubt myself. But like Kelbell812 said, the clearing of my acne on the pill and during pregnancy is very remarkable to say the least.

@ Kellbell812, Thank you for your explanation of hormone testing in relation to the timing of my cycle. That makes sense!  If i understand correctly, it was the anti endrogens in the birth control pill that helped clear my acne? So therefore, Spironolactone could achieve the same results? But i assume there are some downsides to this method,since you mention supplements instead of Spiro?

And could you tell me what a naturopathic doctor is exactly? I'm from the Netherlands and i've never heard of that specialism. Is it the same as or similar to an homeopathic doctor?

@ Cloudydreamer, the information about androgens is very interesting, i've never heard of that! From your response, i gather the culprit could be either androgen sensitivity or excess androgens and therefore also elevated testosterone. I never realized is was a combination of the two, I always thought the problem was just testosterone. So when i went to see the endocrinologist, i expected to see elevated testosterone levels that would be the cause of my acne. But my testosterone levels were normal. Because they were normal, am i correct in assuming that it is more likely my problem might be androgen sensitivity instead of excess androgen?
I understand there's a difference between testosterone and free testosterone? And the androgen sensitivity, how does that work exactly?

And i have the same problem with oiliness, my forehead is always oily! I blot it about 10 times per day, but it never seems to do anything. It's only my forehead though, very weird.
The excess hair growth is something i also struggle with. I've always had a light mustache above my upper lip that would only be visible in certain light. It didn't bother me that much. But the hairs are getting darker lateley. I've noticed the same with the hair around my navel. I had no clue it could be related to endrogen imbalance. But it's amazing you've had results so fast!

Thank you both so much! i'll start reading up on the information you gave me.
 

@IsoldeofCornwallYes, I think the spironolactone could give you similar results! It does, like all medications, have potential side effects. I only mentioned the supplements because I got the impression that you wanted to look into other options aside from the traditional medical route. Yes, a naturopathic doctor is pretty much the same as a homeopathic doctor! I think homeopathy is a subset/type of naturopathy.

I don't have any personal experience with supplements being successful for me, I've only heard from people on the internet, etc.. I had positive results from the pill with clearing my acne, and have been on spiro for a little over a month now as well to help balance out my excessively oily skin (things are going well so far!). Considering what you are saying about your skin also being very oily and experiencing the hair growth, spiro might work really well for you. It all depends on what you want to do!

On 11/8/2016 at 3:42 PM, IsoldeofCornwall said:

Thank you both for answering so quickly! I'm relieved to see you both seem to agree that my acne is hormonal. Like i mentioned before, i already had a strong suspicion of it being hormonal, but being waved aside by doctors again and again made me doubt myself. But like Kelbell812 said, the clearing of my acne on the pill and during pregnancy is very remarkable to say the least.

@ Kellbell812, Thank you for your explanation of hormone testing in relation to the timing of my cycle. That makes sense!  If i understand correctly, it was the anti endrogens in the birth control pill that helped clear my acne? So therefore, Spironolactone could achieve the same results? But i assume there are some downsides to this method,since you mention supplements instead of Spiro?

And could you tell me what a naturopathic doctor is exactly? I'm from the Netherlands and i've never heard of that specialism. Is it the same as or similar to an homeopathic doctor?

@ Cloudydreamer, the information about androgens is very interesting, i've never heard of that! From your response, i gather the culprit could be either androgen sensitivity or excess androgens and therefore also elevated testosterone. I never realized is was a combination of the two, I always thought the problem was just testosterone. So when i went to see the endocrinologist, i expected to see elevated testosterone levels that would be the cause of my acne. But my testosterone levels were normal. Because they were normal, am i correct in assuming that it is more likely my problem might be androgen sensitivity instead of excess androgen?
I understand there's a difference between testosterone and free testosterone? And the androgen sensitivity, how does that work exactly?

And i have the same problem with oiliness, my forehead is always oily! I blot it about 10 times per day, but it never seems to do anything. It's only my forehead though, very weird.
The excess hair growth is something i also struggle with. I've always had a light mustache above my upper lip that would only be visible in certain light. It didn't bother me that much. But the hairs are getting darker lateley. I've noticed the same with the hair around my navel. I had no clue it could be related to endrogen imbalance. But it's amazing you've had results so fast!

Thank you both so much! i'll start reading up on the information you gave me.
 

You're welcome. I just remember my doc said to me, you could have seemingly normal T levels and you could still have a sensitivity to androgens. Meaning, you don't necessarily need to have off the charts T production and high androgens to be sensitive to androgens and get acne from it.  I'm sorry I do not know more about it precisely in the medical sense. Androgen dominance really sucks, that's why it is just good to go ahead and try Sprio if you're in good health and have signs of androgen dominance. Good luck.  

Thank you both for answering. It helps me so much!

It's true that i like to try the more gentle, natural options first. But i'm not confident that it 'll clear my acne this time. The problem seems to be deep rooted and i'm afraid that healing my acne will take much more time with natural options than if i tried conventional medicine. 

The spiro sounds very interesting. I've googled it for about an hour now, and have seen amazing transformations with it. It gives me hope!
I've found out that here in the Netherlands its usually prescribed for high blood pressure and edema. Weird.
I do have naturally low blood pressure, so that might be a problem since the spiro lowers it even more.

There is something not entirely clear to me. Does spiro fix an existing hormonal imbalance, or does it supress the symptoms of it? I'm afread that if i get on it, i might clear the acne, but when i stop taking it to become pregnant again, the acne will return. It would be great of course if spiro really fixes the hormonal imbalance! Do any of you know whether this is the case? I know you're not doctors, but it seems you know more about this than i do   

Anyway, i'll talk to my doctor and hope he will refer me to the dermatologist, who ten in turn will hopefully prescribe spiro.

I'll keep you posted!

@IsoldeofCornwallYes, Spiro is actually a blood pressure medication that is also prescribed for hormonal acne because of it's anti-androgen effects! So, I would definitely see what your doctor says if you already naturally have low blood pressure - just to be safe. And unfortunately it does not fix the problem. It is the type of medication that only works while you take it. But perhaps by the time you have to get off the medication your hormones will have balanced out on their own over time. You never know!

"I can't do anything else for you other than offer you Accutane. It's your decision not to try it, but i cant help you anymore. Good luck! "

cant say im surprised. alarming majority of these 'professionals' are imposters. most really dont know what theyre doing but more concerning is the fact that most do not give a single shit. ultimately its up to each individual to find out what works for them then share their own success to potentially help others.

Hi Kelbell,

Thanks, that clears it up for me! Last week i got a referral from my doctor to see a dermatologist, so that's one hurdle already taken. We'll see what he/she says about Spironolactone.

BTW, last week the acne calmed down a little bit, meaning less breakouts and reduced redness of old scarring.
This lines up perfectly with my cycle, as soon as my menstruation is over, my skin will settle down for like 1 week and then the build up of new acne begins again. For me, that's a clear indication of hormones affecting the severity of my acne. I think if my hormones could stay in the range they are in for that 1 week, my skin could finally begin to heal itself. Now it just doesn't get a chance, it's one week of relative calm and three weeks of inflammation.
 

@ e.e

Thanks for your response! I feel the same way about medical professionals usually not caring very much. I mostly get the vibe they feel themselves annoyed to be bothered by me, with what seems in their eyes to be a very small and irrelevant problem.

In my 10+ years of experience with several dermatologists, they've made me wait for over 2 hours to see them, spent at the most 5 minutes with me, don't pay attention to my story and ideas about the possible cause of acne and usually prescribe medication in a way that seems to be trial-and-error based. Above all, the lack of people skills is just astonishing.

This time around, i hope i've come prepared when i see the next dermatologist. We'll see

Btw, Kelbell, do you know if accutane would be helpful in my case since the acne is most likely hormonal? I can't get a clear idea of that.

I don't know if anyone still follows this thread, but here's an update:

Today i had my dermatologist appointment, we spoke about my acne in combination with my wish to conceive in the (possible near) future.
He discouraged the use of spironolactone for my acne because it interferes with the hormonal pathways, and thus might cause problems when i want to conceive later. He preferred to treat my acne with accutane because it doesn't interfere with hormones and shouldn't cause problems with conceiving later on.

So in all, he gave me 3 options:

1. Try different oral antibiotics . I need to stop this treatment immediately when i become pregnant.
2. Try anti-bacterial/drying skin gel. I need to stop this treatment immediately when i become pregnant.
3. Start accutane and avoid pregnancy for a year of treatment including 3 month post treatment waiting period.

I'm mostly leaning towards taking accutane because i hope i'll be done with acne once and for all. The antibiotics and skin creams/gels haven't worked for me in the past. Anyways, I have a week to think about it.

This may seem crazy, but I read about it last night. I suffer from cystic acne as well and am at my wits end! I saw a youtube post about how one 33 year old woman cleared her acne with Desitin . That's right, the baby diaper rash cream! I tried it for the first time on a nasty cystic pimple that I have had for a month. Applied it before bed (yes it does get all over your pillow case, small price to pay at this point) When I woke up in the morning the swelling had reduced by half and it had come to a head and I was able to pop it. Just one night and I saw a HUGE improvement. Can't wait to do it again tonight and see more results. apparently the Zinc Oxide that is what does it. I hope this helps! I have been dealing with it for 4 years since my youngest was born and it is terrible. I long for a day I can go make up free with clear skin!