Hello everyone. I thought I would become a member of acne.org so I could share my journey with acne and possibly help those who are struggling.

I am 18 years old and suffered with acne for the past 5 years. I tried everything, had numerous appointments with dermatologists and doctors and went on a number of different antibiotics and nothing would clear it. I genuinely thought that I was going to be living with acne for the rest of my life!

Last year I went on the birth control Dianette - which is prescribed to those fighting moderate acne. I was amazed when my skin completely cleared up within about three months, however I began to get migraines and had to come off it. Oh and guess what - the acne came back fiercer than ever!

I then was prescribed another birth control pill - Cilest - and the antibiotics Erythromycin. As I was told that it would take several months to make any difference to my acne, I had to try and help it myself. I am a firm believer that the hormones in dairy products can aggravate some peoples acne and I cut most of it out my diet for several months. After about four months my acne had completely gone. I have now been acne free for about 5 months. I have attached before and after pictures to show you guys that it is possible to banish that acne and the scars that accompany it!

I don't know what to put the results down to, probably a mixture of erythromycin, cilest and my dairy-free diet.

I now no longer take erythromycin, still take cilest and have incorporated a small amount of dairy into my diet again.

Good luck guys, you just need to find what works best for you and you will kick that acne in the butt one day!