I went from drinking milk (which caused me cystic flair ups) to drinking soy. I thought I was doing better but then I would have cystic flair ups every now and then drinking the soy milk. I stopped soy milk completely and dairy and now I have no issues with cystic acne. My dermatologist told me that my acne would need to be treated with accutane and that it was hormone related not diet related. Is she right? Will these issues come back? I've never had such a long stretch with no cystic acne before. I've had it off and on for 5 years now. I haven't had a cystic flair up in 4 months. I get the occasional pimple from makeup and that's it. I'm so happy now about my face, it's healing. I just worry about the future and if it's just wishful thinking that it's over. 🙁
I would recommend avoiding dairy products including cheese, cow's milk, ice cream, and etc. They have alternatives nowadays which can be good replacements for the dairy. Avoid soy milk as it's been found to have estrogen substances/hormones, or worse being genetically modified (GMO). Stay away from soy products unless it has a non-GMO label. It's better to use alternative milks like almond milk, coconut milk, and other nut milks. I would also advise limiting your sugar intake to see if you notice any improvements in your skin. Say no to Accutane as it is associated with many bad side effects and serious conditions. It is not worth it and many people have to take it two times or even three times because it's not effective in the long run. Diet and lifestyle can clear your skin.
Give the facts, there is a strong probability that you have an intolerance to dairy and soy. If you value your skin and health, let those two things go. Both have adequate dietary replacements and why would you want to put yourself of any meds if you can treat this beast holistically. Many of us here wish we were that fortunate.
My cystic acne was directly related to my diet. Dairy and refined sugar to be precise. I second not drinking any soy milk, many people have an intolerance for soy. I personally use any unsweetened milk substitute besides soy that I can find in my local tiny grocery store. I've tried rice, almond, coconut, cashew, they're all good : )
I had to cut out every drop of milk and sugar (even in things like crackers and other seemingly innocent foods) by closely examining labels and eating a very healthy diet basically without any processed foods. If you find you are sensitive to soy you might want to look at your food labels and avoid anything that has soy in it at all, lots of random foods contain soy lecithin for example.
That said, I still get some non-inflamed acne around ovulation and my period, which is hormonal in nature. But at least without the dairy and sugar it doesn't get inflamed and turn into cysts like it used to.
Hormone balancing supplements do seem to help with this for me, so if you find you still have hormonal acne; poke around with DIM, vitex, ashwaghanda or vitamin D, to name a few.
I would also advise that you don't do accutane if you don't really need to (and it sounds like you don't) because it can really mess with your overall health.