So recently I've been reading up on fiber, probiotics and how restoring the good bacteria to the gut has been some people's acne cure. This naturally got me very excited, specifically because I've noticed a strong correlation between my diet and acne in the past year or so. Lately I've also been experiencing fatigue, dermatitis, a foul smell in my nose, really bad dandruff and very runny stool, and in the past I've always experienced breakouts from certain foods - sugars, dairy, red meats, caffeine (the "usual suspects"), but also what I imagined to be benign foods like salmon and grapefruit, as well as exceeding the DV on seemingly any vitamin.
Anyhoo, right now I have pimples on my chin and around my lips, as well as on my cheeks and along my jawline. Some of them are clogged pores caused by wearing concealer, which I've been doing for the past couple weeks (it keeps me sane). However, the real problem ones are the super-painful red inflamed ones that come and go in my mouth and jaw region, simply because they hurt every time I speak or chew.
As per the recommendation of another forum member, I ordered NOW Foods GR-8 Dophilus probiotic and a NOW Foods fiber supplement. So far the fiber hasn't come in (probably won't for another week), but the probiotic came in last evening, and I couldn't wait to get started so I decided to just kick off with the probiotic and add the fiber in later (I still get extra fiber, but not in supplement form - I just eat a fiber cereal morning & evening, about 10g fiber each time).
One forum member said that it took only 3-4 days for him to see results. Others, 2-3 weeks. Some never saw results, period. Personally, I went into this hoping this would be my cure, seeing as how I've pretty much exhausted my options (aside from Accutane, but I don't think my acne is severe enough for any doctor to let me on it).
Day One:
So last night at around midnight, three hours after my previous meal, I popped one probiotic pill. Popped another today at 8 AM and another one at 4 PM. The 4PM one was between meals and might have been overkill, seeing as how I'd never taken a probiotic before... anyway, lunch at 1PM was pretty comfortable, but dinner at 6PM gave me a lot of gas and other stomach discomforts. I'm thinking tomorrow I might just take two pills to be on the safe side.
Positive effects I noticed... almost immediately, the foul smell that had pervaded in my nose for over a week was gone. I also seemed to have less dandruff after my morning shower. However, both these could be just placebos: one day is far too early to tell. Also, I didn't have any real diarrhea like I normally do (especially after eating carrots), although my after-dinner dump was pretty watery (TMI).
Negatives... well, aside from the stomach discomfort, this evening after I removed my concealer I noticed that a large red tender cyst was developing on my left temple, and three smaller bumps seem to be coming up on my mid-forehead. The reason I'm so bothered by this is because my forehead has been relatively clear for the past year or so. Sure, it hasn't always been smooth, but any acne that may have been underneath never really surfaced and never really became visible. I did get small clogged pores there after I started using concealer, but nothing like this. These seem like mini-cysts. If it's an initial breakout or some kind of purge from the probiotics, then I'm okay with it I guess... but if it's a bad reaction to the probiotics, and if it's just going to continue like this for as long as I take them, then I will be extremely disappointed, because I had such high hopes for this. I guess it's always better to go into a new treatment without any expectations to avoid being let down...
Well, I'm going to keep taking the probiotics... what I'm REALLY hoping for is that I don't get any more forehead acne, because then I'd be able to attribute it to a diet slip-up on Tuesday (I was out most of the day and had some pretty unhealthy food, a lot of ice cream specifically).
Over and out, for now.
Hey there! I don't really have much to say on the probiotic front (apart from the fact that they apparently make hangovers less... hangover-ee if you take them the night before) but about two weeks ago I started taking fibre supplements in the morning and night. My digestive system is shitty (no pun intended) and I was sick of being bloated and looking like I was five-months-pregnant most of the time. I have a lot of small bumps and acne on my forehead, but since I've been taking the fibre stuff, my skin has consequently looked much better. I'm also cutting back on dairy, so maybe they all go hand in hand, but yes, I can say the fibre is improving my skin.
I use natural psyllium husk fiber and mix it into water 1-2x a day, I've been doing this for about a year and it does help to reduce acne, my forehead rarely ever breaks out since I've been doing this (I still get jawline acne when I do breakout though). As for the probiotics, I was taking digestive advantage for a couple months which helped digestion but didn't make much of a difference in my acne so I decided to switch to a higher dose one, NOW 25 billion, and my face started breaking out horribly. I'd stop taking them and try taking them at a later point and they just kept making my acne worse so I don't know why that is. Your skin could be purging but if it's still doing that after 2 weeks then I would say stop taking them. My theory is that everyone's flora in their body is composed differently so what strains work well for some may not work well for others. I haven't gone back to taking probiotics and just eat yogurt for now. Hopefully you'll have better luck with the probiotic supplements!
Just wanna add something to this thread, being regular in the bathroom i.e. not constipated for 2-3+ days, helps with acne control. I've read about it a few years ago in lots of places and then after realizing this was an issue with me I started eating more fibre to be more, ahem, "regular" in the bathroom.
There was a noticeable difference from before and after, and even today if I go more than 2 days without getting rid of stuff in my body I'll have some breakouts.
You can read about it on the glorious Internet there's plenty of articles and threads about it.
Thanks for the feedback everyone! Except for solveacneforever of course... I have to say, it's kind of childish to dismiss something as "woodoo magic", even more so if you haven't even tried it yourself.
Day Two:
It would seem that I haven't gotten any new acne today. Maybe one tiny one on my chin, but that could be from yesterday when I was walking around with concealer and didn't notice. Also, the forehead acne I got yesterday has not gotten any worse, and has pretty much either stayed the same or even subsided a bit.
Even if the probiotics don't end up helping my acne, they're apparently doing pretty good things for me in other areas. Yesterday I mentioned that my dandruff seemed to be retreating. Well, it wasn't a fluke: it is. Normally no amount of shampoo would keep it at bay: everytime I scratched the side of my head, my shoulders would quickly be covered in snow. But today, there is barely any. Also I mentioned before, the inside of my nose doesn't smell bad anymore. This wasn't a fluke either. I'm thinking both of these might have had to do with some kind of yeast overgrowth? That the probiotics helped push out? But then again, I have no idea what I'm talking about.
Also, and perhaps most importantly, today I had the best bowel movements ever. Well, let's say bowel movement singular. Normally I'd feel the need to number two several times a day, oftentimes with diarrhea and stomachaches. Today, however, I only had to go once after dinner, and it was the most pleasant dump I've had in ages. The only discomfort during the day was a bit of gas, but that was because I'd been eating a lot of beans and peas as well as protein-fortified cereal.
My acne seems to come and go, lately (the past month or so) it's been worse, but so have my digestive issues. I can't help but hope that my acne breakouts may be linked to irregular / improper digestion, in which case a high-fiber and probiotic diet may indeed be exactly what I need. I ordered NOW Psyllium Husk today, so that hopefully down the line I'll be able to compare and contrast the efficacy of different modes of fiber intake.
EDIT: Well actually there is a new pimple on my lower right chin, looks cystic. Damn.
Skin's a little drier, not sure why. Didn't cleanse or apply BP yesterday. Overall my skin looks a lot less irritated since I didn't put on concealer yesterday, but I'll have to today, so we'll see how that goes.
What I thought was a cyst was just the initial inflammation that comes when acne is rising. The pimple itself seems pretty benign.
I think I may be experiencing a bit of die-off symptoms. But, I'm not complaining. Dandruff is almost completely gone. There are a couple dry, red patches on my lower chin that have been bothering me for a while, and I'm keeping an eye on those now to see if the probiotics can maybe kill them off as well while they're doing their thing.
I think I won't update daily just to avoid the stress that comes with analyzing every little mark on your face and every detail of your day.
Day Five:
So I have to say I am pleasantly surprised. No miracles so far, but there have been some interesting developments nonetheless. First off, for around a month I'd been getting the most annoying chin acne ever. Red, shiny, round tender clumps that would flare up, hang around for a couple days, then subside, only to come back in a slightly different area. Not only was it embarrasing, it HURT. Every time I moved my mouth, I would feel them, and it made me feel so self-conscious, even with concealer on. Well guess what? They have finally quieted down. I still have a little bit of pain / an uncomfortable feeling from acne that came up near the mouth, mostly last week, but the main problem seems to have been quelled.
Also, I'd been getting big, deep, painful cysts all over my back in seemingly random areas (from mid/upper back all the way down to my butt). I haven't gotten any new ones since starting probiotics. My upper back is staying almost acne-free, except for little red bumps here and there (incidentally, these bumps have been coming up a lot on my face in the past month or so... at times they seem to resemble a rash more than actual acne).
Dandruff is not completely gone, but is almost unnoticeable now. Before starting probiotics I'd also been getting flakes / dandruff inside my eyebrows. This has vanished entirely.
Also, yesterday afternoon Psyllium Husk arrived in the mail, so instead of eating my fiber cereal I just popped three of those together with my probiotic, and did the same thing last night as well as this morning. And I have to say, I'm glad I made the switch. The gas that resulted from the cereal is gone... and if I thought my turds were looking nice before, this morning I had the most beautiful shit I've had in... months! This is certainly a nice change from having diarrhea after every meal.
Oh, also... the initial outbreak that I was so worried about has quieted down. I'm still getting little bumps on my forehead, but nothing worse than what is coming up elsewhere on my face. A lot of them aren't even red... I guess just "normal people acne". So, no worries on that front.
Overall, I think I was a bit too enthusiastic at the outset, expecting immediate results. But hey, nothing happens overnight. There's no doubt that the changes I've seen in the past five days have been positive, and I hope this continues. I'm definitely going to give this a good month or so, and even if my acne doesn't leave (in fact, after seven years of this crap, I'm pretty sure acne is my "friend" for life), there's no reason to ditch the fiber / probiotics simply because of the wonderfully regular bowel movements they've been giving me.
Day Six:
Acne seems better but what I've realized is that I'm dealing with cold sores on the edges of my lips. I've never had this many (heck, I don't think I had a cold sore before last month) so I'm thinking it's a part of the detox process. Either that or it's from a prolonged makeout session on Saturday, which I sincerely hope it's not. I'd mistaken these things for acne at first, but these are definitely sores. Red, shiny, tender and of course extremely painful. The one I mentioned yesterday seems to have increased in severity. There is also a new small one on my upper lip, one new one that seems about ready to come up, and one on my left lip that came up over a week ago and subsided but now seems about ready to make a comeback. Anyway, this morning I went to my local supermarket and a local pharmacy and picked up low-dose aspirin, L-lysine and witch hazel. Gonna take the lysine religiously for now, and perhaps keep on taking it minimally once (if) the cold sores subside (if I don't feel any negative effects) just to prevent a recurrence of the same problem.
In terms of how I feel... if I didn't have the cold sores I'd probably be on cloud nine, simply because the initial breakout from probiotics seems to have been almost entirely quelled, new acne has been minimal, old acne has faded nicely (albeit not entirely just yet)... my dandruff is at bay, most of my dry / red skin patches are gone and my turds this morning were BEAUTIFUL. Yesterday I didn't feel the need to number two even once throughout the day, and I was afraid that too much soluble fiber was making me constipated. But no, this morning I had the best shit, and most importantly, it was the first wipe-free turd I had in... probably ever? Beautiful, just beautiful. Too much information? Probably...
Anyway, the cold sores are what are bringing me down right now... super red, super annoying. I feel like they might not have been as red if I hadn't piled BP on them mistakenly. But hey, I guess I gotta get through the bad stuff to get to the good stuff. It's gonna be a pretty stressful rest of the week but I'll try to weather the storm as best I can... probably not gonna eat as much simply because chewing hurts like a mother, I'll just have some soup or something... water, tea, as much rest as I can afford and of course fiber / probiotics plus L-lysine... hoping for good times ahead.
I believe I'm constipated...or not eating enough and have low stomach acid.
I ordered Garden of Life Pro-biotics and various other top quality probiotics, but feel nothing different! I've been taking them for more than 3 weeks.
My skin has cleared up a bit, except when I tried some flax pancakes.
I did an oxy powder cleanse that helped with bloating. I take metamucil sometimes just for the hell of it, but it doesn't do anything currently.
I drink a lot of water!
I believe I'm constipated...or not eating enough and have low stomach acid.
I ordered Garden of Life Pro-biotics and various other top quality probiotics, but feel nothing different! I've been taking them for more than 3 weeks.
My skin has cleared up a bit, except when I tried some flax pancakes.
I did an oxy powder cleanse that helped with bloating. I take metamucil sometimes just for the hell of it, but it doesn't do anything currently.
I drink a lot of water!
Thanks for sharing your experience. It's a little early to tell for me, but I'm honestly not sure how much of the success I've had is from probiotics and how much is just from plain old fiber. This evening a pimple came up on my chin, in an area that I was hoping was clear for good, so I kinda died a little inside... looking at it and my numerous new cold sores, I'm wondering if the probiotics are actually doing anything other than making me feel miserable. But... I'll stick with them for a good three to four weeks, and if my skin just keeps getting worse, I might call it quits, as much as I'd hate to. Thank goodness I didn't decide to start this shit during the school semester XD
I believe I'm constipated...or not eating enough and have low stomach acid.
I ordered Garden of Life Pro-biotics and various other top quality probiotics, but feel nothing different! I've been taking them for more than 3 weeks.
My skin has cleared up a bit, except when I tried some flax pancakes.
I did an oxy powder cleanse that helped with bloating. I take metamucil sometimes just for the hell of it, but it doesn't do anything currently.
I drink a lot of water!
Thanks for sharing your experience. It's a little early to tell for me, but I'm honestly not sure how much of the success I've had is from probiotics and how much is just from plain old fiber. This evening a pimple came up on my chin, in an area that I was hoping was clear for good, so I kinda died a little inside... looking at it and my numerous new cold sores, I'm wondering if the probiotics are actually doing anything other than making me feel miserable. But... I'll stick with them for a good three to four weeks, and if my skin just keeps getting worse, I might call it quits, as much as I'd hate to. Thank goodness I didn't decide to start this shit during the school semester XD
Oh my gosh! I hate having bad skin in college! I hoped that I would at-least be clear by the time I was 20....nope! I'm a little better! I um...Think probiotics are helping, but not with pooping. Look at this girl! going from having sever acne, to being able to eat healthy but also unhealthy from time to time. WTF! Obviously diet does cause and contribute to acne, but if you are healthy! It should be controlled!
http://www.thelovevitamin.com/
This is her acne.org gallery! You can see how bad her acne was! http://www.acne.org/messageboard/gallery/image/41861-march-2010-beginning-of-journey/
She cleared up mostly from a healthy diet, but then a further hormone balancing natural supplement and liver herbs cleared her completely enough to even eat gluten and milk!
I believe I'm constipated...or not eating enough and have low stomach acid.
I ordered Garden of Life Pro-biotics and various other top quality probiotics, but feel nothing different! I've been taking them for more than 3 weeks.
My skin has cleared up a bit, except when I tried some flax pancakes.
I did an oxy powder cleanse that helped with bloating. I take metamucil sometimes just for the hell of it, but it doesn't do anything currently.
I drink a lot of water!
Thanks for sharing your experience. It's a little early to tell for me, but I'm honestly not sure how much of the success I've had is from probiotics and how much is just from plain old fiber. This evening a pimple came up on my chin, in an area that I was hoping was clear for good, so I kinda died a little inside... looking at it and my numerous new cold sores, I'm wondering if the probiotics are actually doing anything other than making me feel miserable. But... I'll stick with them for a good three to four weeks, and if my skin just keeps getting worse, I might call it quits, as much as I'd hate to. Thank goodness I didn't decide to start this shit during the school semester XD
Oh my gosh! I hate having bad skin in college! I hoped that I would at-least be clear by the time I was 20....nope! I'm a little better! I um...Think probiotics are helping, but not with pooping. Look at this girl! going from having sever acne, to being able to eat healthy but also unhealthy from time to time. WTF! Obviously diet does cause and contribute to acne, but if you are healthy! It should be controlled!
http://www.thelovevitamin.com/
This is her acne.org gallery! You can see how bad her acne was! http://www.acne.org/messageboard/gallery/image/41861-march-2010-beginning-of-journey/
She cleared up mostly from a healthy diet, but then a further hormone balancing natural supplement and liver herbs cleared her completely enough to even eat gluten and milk!
Wow... that is amazing, considering it was entirely holistic. I don't think my acne was ever as bad as hers... heck, I don't even know how I'd cope with that. I already have enough trouble as it is.
My reason for going on probiotics was that I really wanted to go back to not having to stress over every single piece of food I put in my mouth. I got to the point where I'd look up every little thing I ate just to see if it was a known acne trigger. But the thing is... a lot of so-called "good skin foods"... like grapefruits, tomatoes, carrots, blueberries, almonds... seemed to make my situation worse. Some of them I wasn't even digesting properly. So I figured maybe it wasn't specific allergies but just something wrong with my digestive system as a whole. I really hope that I can someday get to a point where I don't have to worry about what I eat, although I'm not sure if that's possible.
Day Seven:
I realize that what I thought was cold sores may in the end not actually be cold sores... because most of them are developing heads, and cold sores aren't supposed to do that. Heck, this is confusing. But I guess I'm kinda glad I don't have the herp. I still feel the pain from them, although it has subsided somewhat since yesterday. Yesterday I could hardly chew. I'll keep taking the lysine though just in case... because you never know.
In the end though, it's only been a week of fiber / probiotics, well only three or so days since I started with the fiber supplements as opposed to fiber cereal. So it's kind of early to jump to any conclusions. I'm sincerely hoping this is just a case of "worse before it gets better"... a purge of all the bad stuff in my body. As I said, I'm willing to give it three to four weeks.
I believe I'm constipated...or not eating enough and have low stomach acid.
I ordered Garden of Life Pro-biotics and various other top quality probiotics, but feel nothing different! I've been taking them for more than 3 weeks.
My skin has cleared up a bit, except when I tried some flax pancakes.
I did an oxy powder cleanse that helped with bloating. I take metamucil sometimes just for the hell of it, but it doesn't do anything currently.
I drink a lot of water!
Thanks for sharing your experience. It's a little early to tell for me, but I'm honestly not sure how much of the success I've had is from probiotics and how much is just from plain old fiber. This evening a pimple came up on my chin, in an area that I was hoping was clear for good, so I kinda died a little inside... looking at it and my numerous new cold sores, I'm wondering if the probiotics are actually doing anything other than making me feel miserable. But... I'll stick with them for a good three to four weeks, and if my skin just keeps getting worse, I might call it quits, as much as I'd hate to. Thank goodness I didn't decide to start this shit during the school semester XD
Oh my gosh! I hate having bad skin in college! I hoped that I would at-least be clear by the time I was 20....nope! I'm a little better! I um...Think probiotics are helping, but not with pooping. Look at this girl! going from having sever acne, to being able to eat healthy but also unhealthy from time to time. WTF! Obviously diet does cause and contribute to acne, but if you are healthy! It should be controlled!
http://www.thelovevitamin.com/
This is her acne.org gallery! You can see how bad her acne was! http://www.acne.org/messageboard/gallery/image/41861-march-2010-beginning-of-journey/
She cleared up mostly from a healthy diet, but then a further hormone balancing natural supplement and liver herbs cleared her completely enough to even eat gluten and milk!
Wow... that is amazing, considering it was entirely holistic. I don't think my acne was ever as bad as hers... heck, I don't even know how I'd cope with that. I already have enough trouble as it is.
My reason for going on probiotics was that I really wanted to go back to not having to stress over every single piece of food I put in my mouth. I got to the point where I'd look up every little thing I ate just to see if it was a known acne trigger. But the thing is... a lot of so-called "good skin foods"... like grapefruits, tomatoes, carrots, blueberries, almonds... seemed to make my situation worse. Some of them I wasn't even digesting properly. So I figured maybe it wasn't specific allergies but just something wrong with my digestive system as a whole. I really hope that I can someday get to a point where I don't have to worry about what I eat, although I'm not sure if that's possible.
Day Seven:
I realize that what I thought was cold sores may in the end not actually be cold sores... because most of them are developing heads, and cold sores aren't supposed to do that. Heck, this is confusing. But I guess I'm kinda glad I don't have the herp. I still feel the pain from them, although it has subsided somewhat since yesterday. Yesterday I could hardly chew. I'll keep taking the lysine though just in case... because you never know.
In the end though, it's only been a week of fiber / probiotics, well only three or so days since I started with the fiber supplements as opposed to fiber cereal. So it's kind of early to jump to any conclusions. I'm sincerely hoping this is just a case of "worse before it gets better"... a purge of all the bad stuff in my body. As I said, I'm willing to give it three to four weeks.
Oh my gosh! Yeah! That's why I am taking HCL and Probiotics! I just ate baed beans and grilled burger (bunless). It actually tasted good and I was actually hungry. Something that hasn't happened in a while. I really use to be a carnivore but lately only eat fish, and barely even want that. Totally my body not absorbing anything or getting much out of what I eat. Jus totally lost my appetite.
I feel the same exact way with the food! I feel trapped by my own mind and food! I mean when we were young, most likely we had flawless skin. And ate anything. So we will have that again!
So by evening today, I've noticed two things. One: something is giving me a headache and diarrhea. Haven't had diarrhea since I started the fiber, so I'm guessing its too much lysine or something. Headaches and diarrhea are lysine side effects from what I gather. That's a damn shame.
Second, the crap around my lip is still coming in. It just kills me. If it were anywhere else on the face it'd be easier to hide. But no, it has to be along my damn lipline. Plus I can't tell whether they're pimples or cold sores. I figure, if they have heads, they must be pimples? But some people claim cold sores come to heads as well. I have no idea. All I know is, I'm as miserable as ever. Nothing seems to be going my way lately. Things were looking so good a month and a half ago, and then suddenly the region around my mouth erupted with these painful cyst-like things, and since then it's just been downhill.
Something that is interesting is that my acne seemed to actually be receding before I switched to psyllium husk in capsule form. My face was looking pretty decent on the 10th, relatively speaking. In the three days since, it's gone to hell. I even got some cysts on my upper-back, an area that has been clear for two weeks now. But anyway, I'm going to drop the probiotics / caps for a week to see if there is improvement, then try re-introducing the probiotic at a lower dose (maybe one a day or something) to perhaps avoid some of the worse die-off symptoms. Just gonna drink more V8 and eat a lot of carrots like I did in the good old days to perhaps help in the healing process a bit.
Something that is interesting is that my acne seemed to actually be receding before I switched to psyllium husk in capsule form. My face was looking pretty decent on the 10th, relatively speaking. In the three days since, it's gone to hell. I even got some cysts on my upper-back, an area that has been clear for two weeks now. But anyway, I'm going to drop the probiotics / caps for a week to see if there is improvement, then try re-introducing the probiotic at a lower dose (maybe one a day or something) to perhaps avoid some of the worse die-off symptoms. Just gonna drink more V8 and eat a lot of carrots like I did in the good old days to perhaps help in the healing process a bit.
What about omega 3s, reducing n6, and how many bowel movements do you have a day?
Something that is interesting is that my acne seemed to actually be receding before I switched to psyllium husk in capsule form. My face was looking pretty decent on the 10th, relatively speaking. In the three days since, it's gone to hell. I even got some cysts on my upper-back, an area that has been clear for two weeks now. But anyway, I'm going to drop the probiotics / caps for a week to see if there is improvement, then try re-introducing the probiotic at a lower dose (maybe one a day or something) to perhaps avoid some of the worse die-off symptoms. Just gonna drink more V8 and eat a lot of carrots like I did in the good old days to perhaps help in the healing process a bit.
What about omega 3s, reducing n6, and how many bowel movements do you have a day?
I haven't been taking omega-3's lately, although I did take two caps yesterday out of desperation. Mainly I avoid it because I'm paranoid of fish (the B12 in fish breaks me out in my moustache area every. single. time)... also, I've read a lot of horror stories about fish oil causing cysts, especially in guys. So I've never taken omega-3's for a prolonged period (although I have read that it helps probiotics to "stick").
With the psyllium husk, I was down to maybe one bowel movement a day, and I don't know if it was a healthy one or not. Seemed like a bit of a constipation case to me. I've been thinking a bit, and maybe because of my limited bowel movement, I was unable to eliminate enough toxins through my stool, so they started purging through my skin? Who knows. All I do know is, the probiotics never really inflamed my lip / chin acne to begin with, in fact like I said in my first post, my red, inflamed, painful acne seemed to subside at first. It was only after I started psyllium husk that things took a turn for the worse.
Either that, or perhaps it's some allergen in the psyllium husk capsule itself (gelatin? who knows). Maybe that's why I always seem to break out in painful pimples whenever I take supplements.
I'm not sure what N6 is... could you clarify?
Something that is interesting is that my acne seemed to actually be receding before I switched to psyllium husk in capsule form. My face was looking pretty decent on the 10th, relatively speaking. In the three days since, it's gone to hell. I even got some cysts on my upper-back, an area that has been clear for two weeks now. But anyway, I'm going to drop the probiotics / caps for a week to see if there is improvement, then try re-introducing the probiotic at a lower dose (maybe one a day or something) to perhaps avoid some of the worse die-off symptoms. Just gonna drink more V8 and eat a lot of carrots like I did in the good old days to perhaps help in the healing process a bit.
What about omega 3s, reducing n6, and how many bowel movements do you have a day?
I haven't been taking omega-3's lately, although I did take two caps yesterday out of desperation. Mainly I avoid it because I'm paranoid of fish (the B12 in fish breaks me out in my moustache area every. single. time)... also, I've read a lot of horror stories about fish oil causing cysts, especially in guys. So I've never taken omega-3's for a prolonged period (although I have read that it helps probiotics to "stick").
With the psyllium husk, I was down to maybe one bowel movement a day, and I don't know if it was a healthy one or not. Seemed like a bit of a constipation case to me. I've been thinking a bit, and maybe because of my limited bowel movement, I was unable to eliminate enough toxins through my stool, so they started purging through my skin? Who knows. All I do know is, the probiotics never really inflamed my lip / chin acne to begin with, in fact like I said in my first post, my red, inflamed, painful acne seemed to subside at first. It was only after I started psyllium husk that things took a turn for the worse.
Either that, or perhaps it's some allergen in the psyllium husk capsule itself (gelatin? who knows). Maybe that's why I always seem to break out in painful pimples whenever I take supplements.
I'm not sure what N6 is... could you clarify?
N6 is just the lazy name for omega 6. I was really affraid of rancid fish oils too! I take Green Pastures fermented cod liver oil, which I need for the Vitamin A, and helped clear up my Keratosis pilaris, and then I take krill oil, even-though expensive, it's not rancid and very stable. If one already has acne, anti-inflamitory can only help calm the inflammation I was watching a documentary about babies all over the world, and was interested int he African /Namibian tribe, that doesn't seem to eat much, but they have a diet of raw MILK, legumes, corn, some bugs, and some meat when they get it, and they had very nice skin! So why do we have acne?
we eat way more, soy, processed dairy, and omega 6 than a lot of cultures. You would never just eat 100 olives, to make olive oil, or the amount of peanuts it takes to be in peanut-butter. I mean those oils can't be stable. I just don't trust them anymore. If I have them every now and then, no biggie, but my body should be mostly omega 3 and 6 balanced, so that it has the correct fuel to reproduce healthy cells. If your body is flooded with bad stuff, it will build from an unstable foundation, but if it's flooded with good than it will build a strong foundation! At-least give your body some good building blocks. Also, chia seeds are way better than flax for omega 3 cause they don't have hormone influencing properties like flax seed! They make a cool gel when put in liquid, that is soothing for digestion!
http://www.facingacne.com/foods-prevent-acne-reading/ <---->western world poison
Also, constipation severely causes acne, especially for me. Whenever I travel, I eat really healthy, but will get wierd acne cause I will be constipated. I've been constipated on and off for months now! Regularity with pooping would be amazing! People take it for granted! If I don't poo, I will get the weirdest spots!
I like drinking cold ice water more than room temp. I find that even 8 cups isn't enough for me. I need at-least 16 or my poo is dry. My body is just using a lot of water these days, and i'm not really helping it out enough.
Something that is interesting is that my acne seemed to actually be receding before I switched to psyllium husk in capsule form. My face was looking pretty decent on the 10th, relatively speaking. In the three days since, it's gone to hell. I even got some cysts on my upper-back, an area that has been clear for two weeks now. But anyway, I'm going to drop the probiotics / caps for a week to see if there is improvement, then try re-introducing the probiotic at a lower dose (maybe one a day or something) to perhaps avoid some of the worse die-off symptoms. Just gonna drink more V8 and eat a lot of carrots like I did in the good old days to perhaps help in the healing process a bit.
What about omega 3s, reducing n6, and how many bowel movements do you have a day?
I haven't been taking omega-3's lately, although I did take two caps yesterday out of desperation. Mainly I avoid it because I'm paranoid of fish (the B12 in fish breaks me out in my moustache area every. single. time)... also, I've read a lot of horror stories about fish oil causing cysts, especially in guys. So I've never taken omega-3's for a prolonged period (although I have read that it helps probiotics to "stick").
With the psyllium husk, I was down to maybe one bowel movement a day, and I don't know if it was a healthy one or not. Seemed like a bit of a constipation case to me. I've been thinking a bit, and maybe because of my limited bowel movement, I was unable to eliminate enough toxins through my stool, so they started purging through my skin? Who knows. All I do know is, the probiotics never really inflamed my lip / chin acne to begin with, in fact like I said in my first post, my red, inflamed, painful acne seemed to subside at first. It was only after I started psyllium husk that things took a turn for the worse.
Either that, or perhaps it's some allergen in the psyllium husk capsule itself (gelatin? who knows). Maybe that's why I always seem to break out in painful pimples whenever I take supplements.
I'm not sure what N6 is... could you clarify?
N6 is just the lazy name for omega 6. I was really affraid of rancid fish oils too! I take Green Pastures fermented cod liver oil, which I need for the Vitamin A, and helped clear up my Keratosis pilaris, and then I take krill oil, even-though expensive, it's not rancid and very stable. If one already has acne, anti-inflamitory can only help calm the inflammation I was watching a documentary about babies all over the world, and was interested int he African /Namibian tribe, that doesn't seem to eat much, but they have a diet of raw MILK, legumes, corn, some bugs, and some meat when they get it, and they had very nice skin! So why do we have acne?
we eat way more, soy, processed dairy, and omega 6 than a lot of cultures. You would never just eat 100 olives, to make olive oil, or the amount of peanuts it takes to be in peanut-butter. I mean those oils can't be stable. I just don't trust them anymore. If I have them every now and then, no biggie, but my body should be mostly omega 3 and 6 balanced, so that it has the correct fuel to reproduce healthy cells. If your body is flooded with bad stuff, it will build from an unstable foundation, but if it's flooded with good than it will build a strong foundation! At-least give your body some good building blocks. Also, chia seeds are way better than flax for omega 3 cause they don't have hormone influencing properties like flax seed! They make a cool gel when put in liquid, that is soothing for digestion!
http://www.facingacne.com/foods-prevent-acne-reading/ <---->western world poison
Also, constipation severely causes acne, especially for me. Whenever I travel, I eat really healthy, but will get wierd acne cause I will be constipated. I've been constipated on and off for months now! Regularity with pooping would be amazing! People take it for granted! If I don't poo, I will get the weirdest spots!
I like drinking cold ice water more than room temp. I find that even 8 cups isn't enough for me. I need at-least 16 or my poo is dry. My body is just using a lot of water these days, and i'm not really helping it out enough.
Thanks! I've been going a lot more today, after dropping the fiber I guess. I really feel like constipation was the issue here. Despite going a lot more, there hasn't been any diarrhea - and I've been consuming some of the same foods that used to give me trouble, aka V8 and raw carrots. It seems that the only new stuff that came up today was a couple tiny red bumps in my moustache region, which I don't really mind THAT much. Would be better off without them, but hey, all I really want is to be rid of these big old painful cysts. Other than that, not really anything to report, just old stuff to deal with. My face is looking a little redder today because I smeared on BP yesterday, and also because I spent maybe two and a half hours in the sun today. At this point, I'm just looking to stop over-examining my face, take it easy and hopefully heal up a bit before next weekend.
Also I've been keeping an acne diary since March, when I broke out really bad, and I can't help but notice a slight correlation between eating a lot of almonds and acne. There were times when I'd eat fifty a day because I figured they were a "magic" skin food. The correlation is not the strongest though, and is thrown off a bit considering I kept adding and dropping them to my diet (as well as carrots and V8, these were the three foods that I thought were perhaps causing my acne to flare up despite being touted as good for the skin). However, in retrospect there's really no reason for carrots and V8 to be a problem, as I was clearing up nicely while drinking a ton of V8 and eating a bunch of carrots a day. It's just that when I break out bad, I tend to go into panic mode and can potentially blame almost anything as the culprit.
EDIT: The reason for bringing up almonds is, I found out they have an extremely high omega-6 to omega-3 ratio... I was eating them to smooth out my skin, unaware of this fact. Hmm... something to consider!
The one thing that really bothers me is shaving, namely because I can't really rock a stache or a beard without looking somewhat homeless, but also because shaving usually reveals that I have a lot more bumps under the facial hair than I thought AND because any bumps that I do have become irritated. But oh well. I'll have to shave sooner or later. Probably when my acne has quieted down a bit though.
I really wish I'd never switched to psyllium husk... I can't imagine what my face would look like now if it wasn't for that... probably a whole lot better. I'd probably still be able to go out this weekend, but as things stand right now, I don't really want to show my face or bother with concealer (just to avoid any unnecessary irritation). Plus it's kind of hard to conceal big raised cysts on your lipline 
Also, seeing as how probiotics don't really cease to function after you stop taking them, I figure if it was the probiotics in and of themselves causing this, then the acne would still be coming in. Hence I blame psyllium. After (if) I clear up, I'll probably re-introduce the probiotics at a lower dose (maybe one pill a day).
Something that is interesting is that my acne seemed to actually be receding before I switched to psyllium husk in capsule form. My face was looking pretty decent on the 10th, relatively speaking. In the three days since, it's gone to hell. I even got some cysts on my upper-back, an area that has been clear for two weeks now. But anyway, I'm going to drop the probiotics / caps for a week to see if there is improvement, then try re-introducing the probiotic at a lower dose (maybe one a day or something) to perhaps avoid some of the worse die-off symptoms. Just gonna drink more V8 and eat a lot of carrots like I did in the good old days to perhaps help in the healing process a bit.
What about omega 3s, reducing n6, and how many bowel movements do you have a day?
I haven't been taking omega-3's lately, although I did take two caps yesterday out of desperation. Mainly I avoid it because I'm paranoid of fish (the B12 in fish breaks me out in my moustache area every. single. time)... also, I've read a lot of horror stories about fish oil causing cysts, especially in guys. So I've never taken omega-3's for a prolonged period (although I have read that it helps probiotics to "stick").
With the psyllium husk, I was down to maybe one bowel movement a day, and I don't know if it was a healthy one or not. Seemed like a bit of a constipation case to me. I've been thinking a bit, and maybe because of my limited bowel movement, I was unable to eliminate enough toxins through my stool, so they started purging through my skin? Who knows. All I do know is, the probiotics never really inflamed my lip / chin acne to begin with, in fact like I said in my first post, my red, inflamed, painful acne seemed to subside at first. It was only after I started psyllium husk that things took a turn for the worse.
Either that, or perhaps it's some allergen in the psyllium husk capsule itself (gelatin? who knows). Maybe that's why I always seem to break out in painful pimples whenever I take supplements.
I'm not sure what N6 is... could you clarify?
N6 is just the lazy name for omega 6. I was really affraid of rancid fish oils too! I take Green Pastures fermented cod liver oil, which I need for the Vitamin A, and helped clear up my Keratosis pilaris, and then I take krill oil, even-though expensive, it's not rancid and very stable. If one already has acne, anti-inflamitory can only help calm the inflammation I was watching a documentary about babies all over the world, and was interested int he African /Namibian tribe, that doesn't seem to eat much, but they have a diet of raw MILK, legumes, corn, some bugs, and some meat when they get it, and they had very nice skin! So why do we have acne?
we eat way more, soy, processed dairy, and omega 6 than a lot of cultures. You would never just eat 100 olives, to make olive oil, or the amount of peanuts it takes to be in peanut-butter. I mean those oils can't be stable. I just don't trust them anymore. If I have them every now and then, no biggie, but my body should be mostly omega 3 and 6 balanced, so that it has the correct fuel to reproduce healthy cells. If your body is flooded with bad stuff, it will build from an unstable foundation, but if it's flooded with good than it will build a strong foundation! At-least give your body some good building blocks. Also, chia seeds are way better than flax for omega 3 cause they don't have hormone influencing properties like flax seed! They make a cool gel when put in liquid, that is soothing for digestion!
http://www.facingacne.com/foods-prevent-acne-reading/ <---->western world poison
Also, constipation severely causes acne, especially for me. Whenever I travel, I eat really healthy, but will get wierd acne cause I will be constipated. I've been constipated on and off for months now! Regularity with pooping would be amazing! People take it for granted! If I don't poo, I will get the weirdest spots!
I like drinking cold ice water more than room temp. I find that even 8 cups isn't enough for me. I need at-least 16 or my poo is dry. My body is just using a lot of water these days, and i'm not really helping it out enough.
Thanks! I've been going a lot more today, after dropping the fiber I guess. I really feel like constipation was the issue here. Despite going a lot more, there hasn't been any diarrhea - and I've been consuming some of the same foods that used to give me trouble, aka V8 and raw carrots. It seems that the only new stuff that came up today was a couple tiny red bumps in my moustache region, which I don't really mind THAT much. Would be better off without them, but hey, all I really want is to be rid of these big old painful cysts. Other than that, not really anything to report, just old stuff to deal with. My face is looking a little redder today because I smeared on BP yesterday, and also because I spent maybe two and a half hours in the sun today. At this point, I'm just looking to stop over-examining my face, take it easy and hopefully heal up a bit before next weekend.
Also I've been keeping an acne diary since March, when I broke out really bad, and I can't help but notice a slight correlation between eating a lot of almonds and acne. There were times when I'd eat fifty a day because I figured they were a "magic" skin food. The correlation is not the strongest though, and is thrown off a bit considering I kept adding and dropping them to my diet (as well as carrots and V8, these were the three foods that I thought were perhaps causing my acne to flare up despite being touted as good for the skin). However, in retrospect there's really no reason for carrots and V8 to be a problem, as I was clearing up nicely while drinking a ton of V8 and eating a bunch of carrots a day. It's just that when I break out bad, I tend to go into panic mode and can potentially blame almost anything as the culprit.
EDIT: The reason for bringing up almonds is, I found out they have an extremely high omega-6 to omega-3 ratio... I was eating them to smooth out my skin, unaware of this fact. Hmm... something to consider!
The one thing that really bothers me is shaving, namely because I can't really rock a stache or a beard without looking somewhat homeless, but also because shaving usually reveals that I have a lot more bumps under the facial hair than I thought AND because any bumps that I do have become irritated. But oh well. I'll have to shave sooner or later. Probably when my acne has quieted down a bit though.
I really wish I'd never switched to psyllium husk... I can't imagine what my face would look like now if it wasn't for that... probably a whole lot better. I'd probably still be able to go out this weekend, but as things stand right now, I don't really want to show my face or bother with concealer (just to avoid any unnecessary irritation). Plus it's kind of hard to conceal big raised cysts on your lipline
Also, seeing as how probiotics don't really cease to function after you stop taking them, I figure if it was the probiotics in and of themselves causing this, then the acne would still be coming in. Hence I blame psyllium. After (if) I clear up, I'll probably re-introduce the probiotics at a lower dose (maybe one pill a day).
Yeah! I am also experiencing cysts only on my friggen left cheek! So mad! I just got a new one about ten mins ago! I dunno where it came from, I dunno if flax could still be breaking me out...I stopped eating it monday.
Yeah, too much omega 6 can really affect people with acne! I got some neutrogena makeup, at-least this way, I can cover up most spots and not constantly look in the mirror. I really wish one day I could not worry so much about what I eat and my skin! Geesh!
Just gotta healllllll and stay calm!
Something that is interesting is that my acne seemed to actually be receding before I switched to psyllium husk in capsule form. My face was looking pretty decent on the 10th, relatively speaking. In the three days since, it's gone to hell. I even got some cysts on my upper-back, an area that has been clear for two weeks now. But anyway, I'm going to drop the probiotics / caps for a week to see if there is improvement, then try re-introducing the probiotic at a lower dose (maybe one a day or something) to perhaps avoid some of the worse die-off symptoms. Just gonna drink more V8 and eat a lot of carrots like I did in the good old days to perhaps help in the healing process a bit.
What about omega 3s, reducing n6, and how many bowel movements do you have a day?
I haven't been taking omega-3's lately, although I did take two caps yesterday out of desperation. Mainly I avoid it because I'm paranoid of fish (the B12 in fish breaks me out in my moustache area every. single. time)... also, I've read a lot of horror stories about fish oil causing cysts, especially in guys. So I've never taken omega-3's for a prolonged period (although I have read that it helps probiotics to "stick").
With the psyllium husk, I was down to maybe one bowel movement a day, and I don't know if it was a healthy one or not. Seemed like a bit of a constipation case to me. I've been thinking a bit, and maybe because of my limited bowel movement, I was unable to eliminate enough toxins through my stool, so they started purging through my skin? Who knows. All I do know is, the probiotics never really inflamed my lip / chin acne to begin with, in fact like I said in my first post, my red, inflamed, painful acne seemed to subside at first. It was only after I started psyllium husk that things took a turn for the worse.
Either that, or perhaps it's some allergen in the psyllium husk capsule itself (gelatin? who knows). Maybe that's why I always seem to break out in painful pimples whenever I take supplements.
I'm not sure what N6 is... could you clarify?
N6 is just the lazy name for omega 6. I was really affraid of rancid fish oils too! I take Green Pastures fermented cod liver oil, which I need for the Vitamin A, and helped clear up my Keratosis pilaris, and then I take krill oil, even-though expensive, it's not rancid and very stable. If one already has acne, anti-inflamitory can only help calm the inflammation I was watching a documentary about babies all over the world, and was interested int he African /Namibian tribe, that doesn't seem to eat much, but they have a diet of raw MILK, legumes, corn, some bugs, and some meat when they get it, and they had very nice skin! So why do we have acne?
we eat way more, soy, processed dairy, and omega 6 than a lot of cultures. You would never just eat 100 olives, to make olive oil, or the amount of peanuts it takes to be in peanut-butter. I mean those oils can't be stable. I just don't trust them anymore. If I have them every now and then, no biggie, but my body should be mostly omega 3 and 6 balanced, so that it has the correct fuel to reproduce healthy cells. If your body is flooded with bad stuff, it will build from an unstable foundation, but if it's flooded with good than it will build a strong foundation! At-least give your body some good building blocks. Also, chia seeds are way better than flax for omega 3 cause they don't have hormone influencing properties like flax seed! They make a cool gel when put in liquid, that is soothing for digestion!
http://www.facingacne.com/foods-prevent-acne-reading/ <---->western world poison
Also, constipation severely causes acne, especially for me. Whenever I travel, I eat really healthy, but will get wierd acne cause I will be constipated. I've been constipated on and off for months now! Regularity with pooping would be amazing! People take it for granted! If I don't poo, I will get the weirdest spots!
I like drinking cold ice water more than room temp. I find that even 8 cups isn't enough for me. I need at-least 16 or my poo is dry. My body is just using a lot of water these days, and i'm not really helping it out enough.
Thanks! I've been going a lot more today, after dropping the fiber I guess. I really feel like constipation was the issue here. Despite going a lot more, there hasn't been any diarrhea - and I've been consuming some of the same foods that used to give me trouble, aka V8 and raw carrots. It seems that the only new stuff that came up today was a couple tiny red bumps in my moustache region, which I don't really mind THAT much. Would be better off without them, but hey, all I really want is to be rid of these big old painful cysts. Other than that, not really anything to report, just old stuff to deal with. My face is looking a little redder today because I smeared on BP yesterday, and also because I spent maybe two and a half hours in the sun today. At this point, I'm just looking to stop over-examining my face, take it easy and hopefully heal up a bit before next weekend.
Also I've been keeping an acne diary since March, when I broke out really bad, and I can't help but notice a slight correlation between eating a lot of almonds and acne. There were times when I'd eat fifty a day because I figured they were a "magic" skin food. The correlation is not the strongest though, and is thrown off a bit considering I kept adding and dropping them to my diet (as well as carrots and V8, these were the three foods that I thought were perhaps causing my acne to flare up despite being touted as good for the skin). However, in retrospect there's really no reason for carrots and V8 to be a problem, as I was clearing up nicely while drinking a ton of V8 and eating a bunch of carrots a day. It's just that when I break out bad, I tend to go into panic mode and can potentially blame almost anything as the culprit.
EDIT: The reason for bringing up almonds is, I found out they have an extremely high omega-6 to omega-3 ratio... I was eating them to smooth out my skin, unaware of this fact. Hmm... something to consider!
The one thing that really bothers me is shaving, namely because I can't really rock a stache or a beard without looking somewhat homeless, but also because shaving usually reveals that I have a lot more bumps under the facial hair than I thought AND because any bumps that I do have become irritated. But oh well. I'll have to shave sooner or later. Probably when my acne has quieted down a bit though.
I really wish I'd never switched to psyllium husk... I can't imagine what my face would look like now if it wasn't for that... probably a whole lot better. I'd probably still be able to go out this weekend, but as things stand right now, I don't really want to show my face or bother with concealer (just to avoid any unnecessary irritation). Plus it's kind of hard to conceal big raised cysts on your lipline
Also, seeing as how probiotics don't really cease to function after you stop taking them, I figure if it was the probiotics in and of themselves causing this, then the acne would still be coming in. Hence I blame psyllium. After (if) I clear up, I'll probably re-introduce the probiotics at a lower dose (maybe one pill a day).
Yeah! I am also experiencing cysts only on my friggen left cheek! So mad! I just got a new one about ten mins ago! I dunno where it came from, I dunno if flax could still be breaking me out...I stopped eating it monday.
Yeah, too much omega 6 can really affect people with acne! I got some neutrogena makeup, at-least this way, I can cover up most spots and not constantly look in the mirror. I really wish one day I could not worry so much about what I eat and my skin! Geesh!
Just gotta healllllll and stay calm!
Oh my gosh you know what? I'm soooo glad you brought up the Omega-6 thing! Because, as I said earlier in this "log", I'd started getting reoccurring cysts in my chin / mouth area around a month and a half ago, and since then they've come and gone pretty much regularly. It was right after a day where I was so determined to get clear skin that I did the stupidest thing ever - bombed it with a lot of new things that I hadn't tried before. I ate a bunch of apples, drank a lot of grapefruit juice, took a zinc supplement... but most importantly... an Omega 3-6-9 cap! Plus I'm pretty sure I ate a bunch of almonds! Almost immediately my chin started breaking out in these painful lumps... but of course I didn't make the connection at that time, and since then the cysts have come and gone, never really disappearing though... and only now I'm realizing that I hadn't really been eating almonds until a month and a half ago, at which point I decided to add them to my "skin-care" regimen...
Maybe that's why, despite me being so paranoid about the fish oil caps I took yesterday, I haven't had any adverse effects... it's the Omega-6 that bothers me, not the Omega-3... and perhaps the fish oil is just balancing out whatever Omega-6 excess may remain...
My god, could this really be it? I've been so stressed out this past month and a half... always having to put on concealer before I go out... never really clear, plus I could never even pretend I was clear, seeing as how the cysts on my chin were just too painful to ignore... heck, why not test it and see? I think the last almonds I had were either on the eighth or the ninth. I'm going to avoid almonds and eggs for a bit and see what happens. Nothing to lose at this point, my skin looks shittier than it has in aeons (well, a little better today than yesterday, but still...)
Also, I'm just now reading that excess dandruff is a symptom of an Omega imbalance... and I now realize that the worst dandruff of my life has been occurring just within this past month or so. I blamed it on yeast overgrowth or candida up until now... but honestly I never really thought I could have that serious of a gut imbalance, seeing as how the last antibiotic I took was three years ago, and since then I've had kefir and homemade sauerkraut more times than I can count, all good sources of live bacteria...
Thanks so much... Crystal? I think you've given me a degree of hope that I haven't felt in a looong time! These new breakouts were such a mystery to me... but this is definitely something to try! Heck, maybe I should change the title of this log to "avoiding excess Omega-6 for a while"...
Something that is interesting is that my acne seemed to actually be receding before I switched to psyllium husk in capsule form. My face was looking pretty decent on the 10th, relatively speaking. In the three days since, it's gone to hell. I even got some cysts on my upper-back, an area that has been clear for two weeks now. But anyway, I'm going to drop the probiotics / caps for a week to see if there is improvement, then try re-introducing the probiotic at a lower dose (maybe one a day or something) to perhaps avoid some of the worse die-off symptoms. Just gonna drink more V8 and eat a lot of carrots like I did in the good old days to perhaps help in the healing process a bit.
What about omega 3s, reducing n6, and how many bowel movements do you have a day?
I haven't been taking omega-3's lately, although I did take two caps yesterday out of desperation. Mainly I avoid it because I'm paranoid of fish (the B12 in fish breaks me out in my moustache area every. single. time)... also, I've read a lot of horror stories about fish oil causing cysts, especially in guys. So I've never taken omega-3's for a prolonged period (although I have read that it helps probiotics to "stick").
With the psyllium husk, I was down to maybe one bowel movement a day, and I don't know if it was a healthy one or not. Seemed like a bit of a constipation case to me. I've been thinking a bit, and maybe because of my limited bowel movement, I was unable to eliminate enough toxins through my stool, so they started purging through my skin? Who knows. All I do know is, the probiotics never really inflamed my lip / chin acne to begin with, in fact like I said in my first post, my red, inflamed, painful acne seemed to subside at first. It was only after I started psyllium husk that things took a turn for the worse.
Either that, or perhaps it's some allergen in the psyllium husk capsule itself (gelatin? who knows). Maybe that's why I always seem to break out in painful pimples whenever I take supplements.
I'm not sure what N6 is... could you clarify?
N6 is just the lazy name for omega 6. I was really affraid of rancid fish oils too! I take Green Pastures fermented cod liver oil, which I need for the Vitamin A, and helped clear up my Keratosis pilaris, and then I take krill oil, even-though expensive, it's not rancid and very stable. If one already has acne, anti-inflamitory can only help calm the inflammation I was watching a documentary about babies all over the world, and was interested int he African /Namibian tribe, that doesn't seem to eat much, but they have a diet of raw MILK, legumes, corn, some bugs, and some meat when they get it, and they had very nice skin! So why do we have acne?
we eat way more, soy, processed dairy, and omega 6 than a lot of cultures. You would never just eat 100 olives, to make olive oil, or the amount of peanuts it takes to be in peanut-butter. I mean those oils can't be stable. I just don't trust them anymore. If I have them every now and then, no biggie, but my body should be mostly omega 3 and 6 balanced, so that it has the correct fuel to reproduce healthy cells. If your body is flooded with bad stuff, it will build from an unstable foundation, but if it's flooded with good than it will build a strong foundation! At-least give your body some good building blocks. Also, chia seeds are way better than flax for omega 3 cause they don't have hormone influencing properties like flax seed! They make a cool gel when put in liquid, that is soothing for digestion!
http://www.facingacne.com/foods-prevent-acne-reading/ <---->western world poison
Also, constipation severely causes acne, especially for me. Whenever I travel, I eat really healthy, but will get wierd acne cause I will be constipated. I've been constipated on and off for months now! Regularity with pooping would be amazing! People take it for granted! If I don't poo, I will get the weirdest spots!
I like drinking cold ice water more than room temp. I find that even 8 cups isn't enough for me. I need at-least 16 or my poo is dry. My body is just using a lot of water these days, and i'm not really helping it out enough.
Thanks! I've been going a lot more today, after dropping the fiber I guess. I really feel like constipation was the issue here. Despite going a lot more, there hasn't been any diarrhea - and I've been consuming some of the same foods that used to give me trouble, aka V8 and raw carrots. It seems that the only new stuff that came up today was a couple tiny red bumps in my moustache region, which I don't really mind THAT much. Would be better off without them, but hey, all I really want is to be rid of these big old painful cysts. Other than that, not really anything to report, just old stuff to deal with. My face is looking a little redder today because I smeared on BP yesterday, and also because I spent maybe two and a half hours in the sun today. At this point, I'm just looking to stop over-examining my face, take it easy and hopefully heal up a bit before next weekend.
Also I've been keeping an acne diary since March, when I broke out really bad, and I can't help but notice a slight correlation between eating a lot of almonds and acne. There were times when I'd eat fifty a day because I figured they were a "magic" skin food. The correlation is not the strongest though, and is thrown off a bit considering I kept adding and dropping them to my diet (as well as carrots and V8, these were the three foods that I thought were perhaps causing my acne to flare up despite being touted as good for the skin). However, in retrospect there's really no reason for carrots and V8 to be a problem, as I was clearing up nicely while drinking a ton of V8 and eating a bunch of carrots a day. It's just that when I break out bad, I tend to go into panic mode and can potentially blame almost anything as the culprit.
EDIT: The reason for bringing up almonds is, I found out they have an extremely high omega-6 to omega-3 ratio... I was eating them to smooth out my skin, unaware of this fact. Hmm... something to consider!
The one thing that really bothers me is shaving, namely because I can't really rock a stache or a beard without looking somewhat homeless, but also because shaving usually reveals that I have a lot more bumps under the facial hair than I thought AND because any bumps that I do have become irritated. But oh well. I'll have to shave sooner or later. Probably when my acne has quieted down a bit though.
I really wish I'd never switched to psyllium husk... I can't imagine what my face would look like now if it wasn't for that... probably a whole lot better. I'd probably still be able to go out this weekend, but as things stand right now, I don't really want to show my face or bother with concealer (just to avoid any unnecessary irritation). Plus it's kind of hard to conceal big raised cysts on your lipline
Also, seeing as how probiotics don't really cease to function after you stop taking them, I figure if it was the probiotics in and of themselves causing this, then the acne would still be coming in. Hence I blame psyllium. After (if) I clear up, I'll probably re-introduce the probiotics at a lower dose (maybe one pill a day).
Yeah! I am also experiencing cysts only on my friggen left cheek! So mad! I just got a new one about ten mins ago! I dunno where it came from, I dunno if flax could still be breaking me out...I stopped eating it monday.
Yeah, too much omega 6 can really affect people with acne! I got some neutrogena makeup, at-least this way, I can cover up most spots and not constantly look in the mirror. I really wish one day I could not worry so much about what I eat and my skin! Geesh!
Just gotta healllllll and stay calm!
Oh my gosh you know what? I'm soooo glad you brought up the Omega-6 thing! Because, as I said earlier in this "log", I'd started getting reoccurring cysts in my chin / mouth area around a month and a half ago, and since then they've come and gone pretty much regularly. It was right after a day where I was so determined to get clear skin that I did the stupidest thing ever - bombed it with a lot of new things that I hadn't tried before. I ate a bunch of apples, drank a lot of grapefruit juice, took a zinc supplement... but most importantly... an Omega 3-6-9 cap! Plus I'm pretty sure I ate a bunch of almonds! Almost immediately my chin started breaking out in these painful lumps... but of course I didn't make the connection at that time, and since then the cysts have come and gone, never really disappearing though... and only now I'm realizing that I hadn't really been eating almonds until a month and a half ago, at which point I decided to add them to my "skin-care" regimen...
Maybe that's why, despite me being so paranoid about the fish oil caps I took yesterday, I haven't had any adverse effects... it's the Omega-6 that bothers me, not the Omega-3... and perhaps the fish oil is just balancing out whatever Omega-6 excess may remain...
My god, could this really be it? I've been so stressed out this past month and a half... always having to put on concealer before I go out... never really clear, plus I could never even pretend I was clear, seeing as how the cysts on my chin were just too painful to ignore... heck, why not test it and see? I think the last almonds I had were either on the eighth or the ninth. I'm going to avoid almonds and eggs for a bit and see what happens. Nothing to lose at this point, my skin looks shittier than it has in aeons (well, a little better today than yesterday, but still...)
Also, I'm just now reading that excess dandruff is a symptom of an Omega imbalance... and I now realize that the worst dandruff of my life has been occurring just within this past month or so. I blamed it on yeast overgrowth or candida up until now... but honestly I never really thought I could have that serious of a gut imbalance, seeing as how the last antibiotic I took was three years ago, and since then I've had kefir and homemade sauerkraut more times than I can count, all good sources of live bacteria...
Thanks so much... Crystal? I think you've given me a degree of hope that I haven't felt in a looong time! These new breakouts were such a mystery to me... but this is definitely something to try! Heck, maybe I should change the title of this log to "avoiding excess Omega-6 for a while"...
YAY! So glad I could give you hope! Yep, it's Crystal! Yeah, it's really weird, but I find that us healthy people tend to get caught up in the wrong kinds of foods! Like nuts can really mess up your omega 3 to 6 balance, veggie oils, soy, flax (which also mess up hormones). I mean a lot of us health conscious people take these things thinking they are good, and they are just messing us up more! I mean, what cultures actually eat flax seeds...none, lolz!
And when I obsess about food...like all the time! I am stressed, and stress really can't be good for your skin! That's why makeup is so awesome, cause it helps, and yoga and running is so relaxing! I mean, when I was little, I never ate bread really, or nuts. I hated sandwidges, and peanut butter. Nuts were just a hassle to eat. But I mean these days people over consume ..I don't really ever hear of many really natural tribes eating nuts (Like African, this is what I base like every acne diet correlation on...
!)...they more so eat legumes. I just don't think nuts are that great for us, unless we are squirrels!
I really wonder about eggs...I mean I ate them when I was a kid, but I dunno about now. I never really crave an egg, and sure I can go without!
The only things diff this week were eggs, flax, and some baked beans. Hmmmmmmmmm and I have cysts.
Why flax is the devil: http://butterbeliever.com/are-the-benefits-of-flax-seeds-worth-it/
Why chia is better: http://butterbeliever.com/should-you-eat-chia-seeds/
YAY! So glad I could give you hope! Yep, it's Crystal! Yeah, it's really weird, but I find that us healthy people tend to get caught up in the wrong kinds of foods! Like nuts can really mess up your omega 3 to 6 balance, veggie oils, soy, flax (which also mess up hormones). I mean a lot of us health conscious people take these things thinking they are good, and they are just messing us up more! I mean, what cultures actually eat flax seeds...none, lolz!
And when I obsess about food...like all the time! I am stressed, and stress really can't be good for your skin! That's why makeup is so awesome, cause it helps, and yoga and running is so relaxing! I mean, when I was little, I never ate bread really, or nuts. I hated sandwidges, and peanut butter. Nuts were just a hassle to eat. But I mean these days people over consume ..I don't really ever hear of many really natural tribes eating nuts (Like African, this is what I base like every acne diet correlation on...
I really wonder about eggs...I mean I ate them when I was a kid, but I dunno about now. I never really crave an egg, and sure I can go without!
The only things diff this week were eggs, flax, and some baked beans. Hmmmmmmmmm and I have cysts.
Why flax is the devil: http://butterbeliever.com/are-the-benefits-of-flax-seeds-worth-it/
Why chia is better: http://butterbeliever.com/should-you-eat-chia-seeds/
I think one or two eggs a day shouldn't be too bad? I eat them on occasion and don't notice any serious issues.
I'm thinking it was the flax... a lot of beans have omega-3's in them from what I know... I eat kidney beans all the time and they've only been good for me... plus I notice that when I eat more protein, I tend to break out less for some reason...
I was never that big on nuts on their own, it's just that when I heard they were a good source of fatty acids I started eating them to smooth out / moisten my skin a bit... bad idea haha. Sometimes I'd eat a couple nuts as part of something (maybe a cake or a muffin) but I never stuffed my face with them until recently.
Anyway, as per the "log"... this morning I was very pleased, because as far as I can tell there's only been one pimple this past day and a half, and it's a tiny little whitehead... basically "normal people acne". Not these crazy painful cysts I've been dealing with. There's still some pain and soreness around my mouth, but hey, can't expect miracles overnight! I'm not too concerned at the moment tbh, as long as the acne is on its way out and not on its way in I'm fine.
I'm going to try cutting out V8 temporarily as well... it's got a lot of vitamin A and C, but I've noticed that it tends to give me tiny little rash-like breakouts (perhaps vitamin overload) so I'm gonna go without for now. I already drink cranberry juice twice daily so maybe it's just too much for my system. Plus I hadn't really been drinking V8 these past two weeks or so and the small amount of bacne I had completely vanished.
YAY! So glad I could give you hope! Yep, it's Crystal! Yeah, it's really weird, but I find that us healthy people tend to get caught up in the wrong kinds of foods! Like nuts can really mess up your omega 3 to 6 balance, veggie oils, soy, flax (which also mess up hormones). I mean a lot of us health conscious people take these things thinking they are good, and they are just messing us up more! I mean, what cultures actually eat flax seeds...none, lolz!
And when I obsess about food...like all the time! I am stressed, and stress really can't be good for your skin! That's why makeup is so awesome, cause it helps, and yoga and running is so relaxing! I mean, when I was little, I never ate bread really, or nuts. I hated sandwidges, and peanut butter. Nuts were just a hassle to eat. But I mean these days people over consume ..I don't really ever hear of many really natural tribes eating nuts (Like African, this is what I base like every acne diet correlation on...
I really wonder about eggs...I mean I ate them when I was a kid, but I dunno about now. I never really crave an egg, and sure I can go without!
The only things diff this week were eggs, flax, and some baked beans. Hmmmmmmmmm and I have cysts.
Why flax is the devil: http://butterbeliever.com/are-the-benefits-of-flax-seeds-worth-it/
Why chia is better: http://butterbeliever.com/should-you-eat-chia-seeds/
I think one or two eggs a day shouldn't be too bad? I eat them on occasion and don't notice any serious issues.
I'm thinking it was the flax... a lot of beans have omega-3's in them from what I know... I eat kidney beans all the time and they've only been good for me... plus I notice that when I eat more protein, I tend to break out less for some reason...
I was never that big on nuts on their own, it's just that when I heard they were a good source of fatty acids I started eating them to smooth out / moisten my skin a bit... bad idea haha. Sometimes I'd eat a couple nuts as part of something (maybe a cake or a muffin) but I never stuffed my face with them until recently.
Anyway, as per the "log"... this morning I was very pleased, because as far as I can tell there's only been one pimple this past day and a half, and it's a tiny little whitehead... basically "normal people acne". Not these crazy painful cysts I've been dealing with. There's still some pain and soreness around my mouth, but hey, can't expect miracles overnight! I'm not too concerned at the moment tbh, as long as the acne is on its way out and not on its way in I'm fine.
I'm going to try cutting out V8 temporarily as well... it's got a lot of vitamin A and C, but I've noticed that it tends to give me tiny little rash-like breakouts (perhaps vitamin overload) so I'm gonna go without for now. I already drink cranberry juice twice daily so maybe it's just too much for my system. Plus I hadn't really been drinking V8 these past two weeks or so and the small amount of bacne I had completely vanished.
Also, Juice, is just really not that good. Spikes your insulin, and people with acne realllyyyy shouldn't have that! Juice just really isn't good for you! It's like drinking straight up sugar! Why not just eat the fruits or...add some fiber to it. To prevent an insulin spike! Does your V8 have fiber in it? I would just add these things to a smoothie, so that they have less of an insulin impact. Most people with acne are slightly insulin resistance from poor eating!
Yeah, I'm going with the flax. cutting out eggs toot hough, cause I just don't even like them. I only eat them...again because of my skin.
My knew fave thing is tuna with organic (no high fructose cron syrup ketchup).