I've been searching the boards for answers to my cystic acne woes, and I stumbled across a theory that clicked for me. Some people think that anti-depressants cause acne! Could it be? If this is true, I could have saved my face so much trauma.
I didn't start having acne problems until after I went on Paxil (20mg) for depression. I took that for about 4.5 years until I switched to Prozac (20mg) this year. Since taking Prozac, I've experienced a flare in my acne. I'm getting 1-2 cysts a day. (If you have cystic acne, you know that each cyst stays around for awhile, so my face is looking like a battlefield.)
I stopped taking Prozac last week, and I can't wait to see if my skin gets better. Then I'll just have to deal with the scarring.
Has anyone had a similar experience? Do you know if there is a connection between acne/cystic acne and SSRIs/anti-depressants? Are there any recent studies to link this?
Thanks so much for any insight you might have! 
Kim
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I HAVE to get on an Anti-depressant, Is its true or no that they cause acne?
i have taken many MANY MANY years of antidepressants and
NO they do NOT cause acne. they CANNO'T cause acne. If anything...they should help because it lowers your stress levels.
I currently take clonazepam for panic attacks and there is no change in how it affects my skin. Nor was there any difference when i was on prozac/paxil.
I did some VERY thorough investigation into wether theres a connection via doctors and dermatologsits and the answer is no.
ANTIPSYCHOTICS like lithium however, do have a link to acne.
hope this helps!
oh by the way stopping prozac is a VERY BAD IDEA. you have to taper it off or you get wicked-bad withdrawl (trust me i did this)...prozac has a half-life of over 6 weeks so it will continue to be in your system for at least another month after you stop it cold turkey....then you'll start to really feel sick, visual distortions it all depends on the dose you're on.
Clinical depression causes acne. I know.
My acne started when I was 40. My weight plummeted and 6 months later I was diagnosed with clinical depression, chronic (headless chicken) anxiety and insomnia.
Anorexics suffer from acne, due to zinc deficiency its theorised. I'm struggling to gain weight now.
I still reckon its unusual eating patterns whilst depressed and anxiety causes huge adrenaline surges. I'm talking cant sit still, trying to run away from urself. These hormonal surges cause breakouts. This is borne out by a study which showed stress does cause breakouts. So the zit before the hot date or interiew is cos of the anxiety.
I tried SSRIS for a short time 8 weeks, hated it, came off.
Ditched the valium, it was like candy to me did nothing.
No withdrawal probs from valium but weaned myself off SSRI, bit shakey.
Luckily my SSRI had a short half life Celexa (48 hours). Paxil is long I think. Prozac is long 6 months.
Anyway eat healthily take a multi vit supp and omega 3 and probiotic.
I took up running which helped immensely.
I do regimen on here for acne whilst I try to put weight on.
The regimen is a walk in the park compared to SSRIS
You take care
theres lots of different things to try redseven. I've been battling OCD/BDD/Panic disorder for years and years. Giving up on meds is NOT the answer..if there is a medical reason for your lack of seritonin then it needs to be treated or else it will only reoccur.
I'm sorry, I should clarify - I have mild seasonal depression, so I don't need to be on prozac. I am in no way saying that if you have a serious condition like OCD or severe depression that you should quit taking your meds because it can cause acne. 
ahh in that case ya its okay not to be on meds constantly! just be careful with the tapering off...
have you ever considered trying SAM-E? i hear its all natural and can help. Also there are these lightbulbs you can buy to put in your room that mimic natural light that can help with the SAD (seasonal affectiveness disorder)
But don't worry about your acne..its not the meds i'm pretty postive of that
have you ever considered trying SAM-E? i hear its all natural and can help. Also there are these lightbulbs you can buy to put in your room that mimic natural light that can help with the SAD (seasonal affectiveness disorder)
I've never heard of SAM-E, I'll have to look it up. The light sound promising! Thanks for the tips.
theres lots of different things to try redseven. I've been battling OCD/BDD/Panic disorder for years and years. Giving up on meds is NOT the answer..if there is a medical reason for your lack of seritonin then it needs to be treated or else it will only reoccur.
I'm doing fine off em. Avoidance is the hallmark of anxiety. Here in UK, GP's have been advised now to use SSRIS as a last resort and prescribe aerobic exercise and cognitive behaviour therapy.
SSRIS are just a crutch like any drug.
OCD is serious shit, I have it mild. This is the only condition CBT recommends drugs being used in conjunction. However I didn't need drugs cos like I say I'm mild. It got worse (everything does inc acne) with me when anxious.
All anxiety responses facilitate endorphin production.
So when someone constantly pulls hair out, does OCD rituals, starves themseleves, they are releasing endorphins. Thats why it becomes addictive. I would pace around house once for 72 hours.
Heroin (morphine) and other opiates release endorphines.
These drugs are safe and work well on depression and anxiety. Europe has trials with registered users holding down jobs and leading successful lives.
However because they are illegal the only way for us to manually raise endorphines is to do exercise.
The hypocrisy of USA's war on drugs whilst guzzling crap loads of SSRIS makes me laugh.
IMO SSRIS are crap, they are little better than placebo in trials.
The horrific side effects anorgasmia, further anxiety, impotency, even developing breast milk (in men as well) are distractions which take your mind off anxiety. I read arsenic helped with anxiety LOL. Guess you feel so bad it takes your mind of depression.
MAOI's work well but diet is a problem, however the newer MAOI's dont have this problem.
A friend of mine did well on German Pharmacy prescribed St Johns Wort.
Doping up children on Ritalin is a disgrace. Instead of sitting in front of TV guzzling fast food (and ritalin) these kids should be running around laughing with other kids and eating a balanced diet.
Getting thru my anxiety wasn't easy, when I had a bad attack I was a mess, but I forced the bedraggled mess to put on his running shoes. Once I had my kit on back to front only realising after run I was such a mess. After a few minutes running, peace! Every month I got better. After 3 months no panic attacks. And a year later I am far less anxious. In fact I haven't had a run for a month (lazy me ) Slowly putting on weight. And acne on my non regimen neck area is subsiding
I dont know a lot about antidepressents because I havent ever been on them but one of my best friends was put on them, zoloft or paxil i cant remember and her skin got really bad and she gained some weight. it can mess with your hormones i assume. and when two years she got off them, she was able to lose the weight and her skin got better.
crazy coincidence? i dont know.....
maybe it doesnt happen to everyone but i think its definately a possibilty
I've been on a lot of anti-depressants over the years and my skin never got worse. Actually it wasn't till I stopped taking then that my skin problems started.
People are different and react to different things so I have no idea if a medication will have a sideeffect of a specific person.
very true fearlessbunnylove
i'm not on SSRI's right now because i haven't found one that works. Prozac stopped working for me so i was put on effexor (heart palpitations put that to a stop) and then Remeron (which made me comatose and slightly psychotic as everything was surreal)
Right now the only thing that works is clonazepam. So i'll stick with that.
Never notcied a difference with my skin but i'm sensitive to meds in other ways
I had horrible acne around my mouth for 8 years. So painful. So ugly. I was a pretty girl, but always felt disfigured, and people often would stare at my acne when i talked to them, instead of at my eyes. It was so embarrassing, and ruined my self esteem through high school and college. My junior year of college, I went on birth control. And over the course of 2 years, my acne steadily got worse and worse, but I didn't know that the birth control was causing it. Then, a little over a year ago, I went off of it for an unrelated reason, and I also stopped eating dairy, and started drinking a lot of water. and over the course of 2 months, my acne was gone. 100%. It was a miracle! I was finally free! I was beautiful with a new face.
Then a year later, 3 months ago, I went through a breakup and it broke my heart. I had mild depression and mild anxiety. My doctor put me on prozac, just 10 mg per day. And about 3 weeks into it, I got a zit. My first zit in a year. And it didn't go away. 2 weeks after that, I got another zit. Now I have 3, big painful ones, that have been here for weeks and weeks, right on my mouth like before, and it hurts to smile, to eat, to talk. And looking in the mirror makes me feel disgusted.
I went on this website, and saw the link: prozac. Okay. I'm stopping it today! I feel a LOT better about the breakup. So I think I'll be fine. I'm going to taper off this week. Then hopefully, a month from now, I really hope I'm all clear. I'll post again and let you know! I'm praying this works!