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Accutane failed, this worked [39-year-old female]

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(@thesloth1000)

Posted : 11/05/2016 5:53 am

I'm a 39-year-old woman who's been dealing with acne for 20 years - I've been on four rounds of Accutane, which lasted for a while [up to 2.5 years] but then the acne came back...for a female, there's no easy cure - our hormones are more changeable [and subject to change] than a male's, and accutane is usually only a temporary [albeit effective] fix when acne issues are hormone-based.
About 18 months ago I went to a dermatologist here in New Zealand to get a refill for my long-term low-dose accutane prescription - I was taking about 20mg per week and my skin was excellent  - I was suddenly informed that I'd reached the 'lifetime limit' for Accutane, and that I wouldn't be getting any more - as you can imagine, it was very bad news :_(   ....he told me to use an AHA cleanser and Retinol...I did, but my skin went seriously downhill, FAST. A few months in to this 'regime' saw me with cystic acne on my chin/jawline and upper neck...so bad sometimes that I called in sick to work because I felt so freaking hideous.
Fed up, and quickly running out of sick days, I went to a naturopath - here's what she prescribed after muscle-testing:

-Cut out wheat as much as possible {I was eating it everyday, sometimes with every meal...now I try to eat it just a few times each week}
-Chastetree/Vitex every morning
- Bioceutical's Lymphaderm supplement [Cleavers/Burdock/Echinacea/Yellow Dock/Vitamin A/Zinc]
- An ADEK vitamin supplement

Reducing wheat and taking chastetree definitely helped, but the later addition of the Lymphaderm supplement was what really made a difference for me - my skin is almost 100% clear on this regime, I honestly can't recommend it enough!

For a 39-year-old  woman, dealing with acne AND the "first signs of aging" [gag] is hard - ditch the Accutane if you can and try to find the root cause of your skin problems :) Easier said than done, I know...

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(@jenschin)

Posted : 11/07/2016 1:52 pm

Is Lymphaderm just Echinacea?

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(@letsmakeitagoodworld)

Posted : 11/17/2016 2:18 am

Oh wow im from NZ too and have reached breaking point with deep acne in the same area as you (chin and occasionally upper neck) i wish there wernt so many pills needed, but im desperate enough that maybe ile give the combo a go

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(@shmilym)

Posted : 11/17/2016 3:30 am

@Thesloth1000congrats on your progress.
Wheat --> OK
Chastberry/Vitex --> can buy on amazon
Bioceutical's Lymphaderm supplement ---> THIS ONE IS NOT OK. I attempt to buy it but this company (Bioceutical) does not let you buy its products as an individual unless you are a doctor, naturopath...
How can you buy it? Doctor's prescription?

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(@letsmakeitagoodworld)

Posted : 11/19/2016 11:54 pm

What exactly is lymphaderm? @Thesloth1000 it seems very hard to find (the website doesnt even seem to sell it anymore)

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MemberMember
56
(@shmilym)

Posted : 11/23/2016 9:31 pm

@letsmakeitagoodworld, lymphaderm is a product of Bioceuticals Company. Their drugs are specialized for clinic, doctor's prescription only :( You have no way to buy this unless you arrange a consultation meeting with health practicioners, doctors & they allow you to buy it. 

The superior quality, high strength, almost pure make their products a bit pricey (but not too much). Sadly, we can't buy....

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(@thesloth1000)

Posted : 02/03/2017 6:50 pm

Hi, apologies for not replying to your questions earlier!  Lymphaderm is not simply echinacea, but contains other
medicinal herbs for skin and lymphatic health:
Echinacea pupurea
Cleavers
Yellow dock
Burdock root
Pokeroot
zinc and Vitamin A

The Bioceuticals website is HORRIBLE, and finding information on this supplement is especially difficult, because members of the public can't log-in to their website to view or purchase; there's also not much information, because it's a relatively new supplement - my naturopath first heard of its release about 15 months ago.  You'll need to get it through a practitioner such as a dietician or naturopath, but I'd suggest seeing a naturopath anyway, because chronic acne is not normal, and your skin is only reflecting a deeper bodily issue.
The recommended dosage of lymphaderm is 3x tabs per day, which would be rather costly considering a bottle contains 60 tabs and is NZ$56 - but my naturopath put me on one tab daily, and it works very effectively  [for me] at this dosage.
I absolutely recommend seeing a reputable naturopath and getting to the bottom of your skin issues, not simply masking them with accutane.  If you're in NZ, and you're a woman with hormonal acne, you're eventually gonna hit that lifetime limit and need to find another salve anyways...plus accutane is, unfortunately, poison for your body :_(
I posted two photos below [crappy quality though, sorry].  The first shows my skin at the very beginning of my time with my naturopath, and it looked like that on both sides...hard to tell from the photo, but the acne was deep and lasted forever.  Second pic taken today, no makeup - one pimple on jawline, two days ago I'd been clear of any acne for about 6 weeks.

skin2.jpgskin.jpg

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(@thesloth1000)

Posted : 02/03/2017 7:10 pm

Just wanted to add:
medicinal herbs such as chastetree and burdock/cleavers take a while to build up in your system and become effective. They're not a quick fix like many prescription medicines are, but if your acne is hormonal, then these herbs can work for you - it's a long-term, far-sighted gameplan.

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(@max5000)

Posted : 04/17/2017 4:16 am

Made an account just to ask how are you doing?

I'm currently seeing a naturopath now. I've just started taking Lymphaderm now as well and this was the only thing that really showed up on google. Reading your thread here has me optimistic so thank you for that.

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MemberMember
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(@thesloth1000)

Posted : 05/21/2017 2:25 am

Hi Max5000
There's very little info out there on Lymphaderm isn't there? How are you finding it?

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