Hi All,

I just want to post my acne success story, with the hope that it might help someone else out there. I'm a regular reader of this forum, though a first-time poster. Thanks everyone for your advice and support!

I'm female, early 30's, battling hormonal acne since I stopped birth control pills at age 26. Doctors have since put me on variations of Minocycline-type antibiotics, switching them around when one stops working. They told me that at some point I could taper off the drugs and the acne would stop on its own. I tried tapering many times, but the acne always came back. For the past 8 months, I've been working with my diet to eliminate the acne. It hasn't been easy, but it has worked! Here's a summary of my diet.

These are the staples in my diet: Fish, Chicken, Vegetables, Sweet Potatoes, Avocado, Ginger, Quinoa, Pumpkin Seeds, Hummos

I avoid these things 99% of the time: Dairy, Refined Sugar, Bread

All other foods fall in between as sometimes-foods. I generally avoid grains and replace them with quinoa. I eat beans/lentils fairly often. I eat fruit in small quantities, and usually cherries, berries, and apples. I drink beer and wine sometimes. Red meat, eggs, and soy require further testing. Essentially, I'm following a low glycemic index diet and I've also eliminated dairy.

I've started Vitamin D supplements in the past month. I think they're helping (definitely not hurting), but that's still inconclusive. I wash twice per day with a gentle skin cleanser. I use lotion a few times per week.

The battle is not over. I'm still phasing foods in and out, changing, testing, and trying to slowly expand my diet. It's tough to be scientific when there are so many other variables like stress, time-of-the-month, etc. My acne scars are still healing, and I still get zits sometimes. But the huge, painful hormonal nodes are gone, and I'm drug-free.

It's a daunting road. The most important thing is that, even in the depths of acne frustration, you keep trying.

All the best!