Im a 26 year old female. I have been on the birth control Yasmin for 8 years to manage mild acne. It worked wonders, until about 5 months ago, I started getting stressed with final exams and developing acne along my jaw. It progressively got worse until it covered my entire face: cheeks, forehead, chin, etc. When the benzyl peroxide I had been using did not work, I switched to more natural topical treatments, but so far, nothing has worked to manage it, and it continues to progress even worse.
I finally got my blood levels checked, and they showed my cortisol being twice the normal range and my estrogen and DHEA-S being extremely low. I had an ultrasound done to check on my adrenal glands, but everything seemed normal. My doctor told me the next step would be to get a CT Scan. My diet is clean, and I work out at the gym regularly.
Is there anyone else that has experienced an issue similar, and if so, what did you do???
My doctor has not prescribed me anything until I can get my CT test in a few months, I have been taking natural herbs to take care of my recent hot flashes and night sweats (symptoms of low estrogen), and they have helped immensely.
Please, any advice would be appreciated and helpful.
Hi ok your situation sounds a lot like what i went through this year. i started getting very stressed out around january (for reasons too complex to go into here), and i had a saliva test show my coritsol was double the normal range. i was having insomnia basically every night for a couple of months. have you been sleeping? insomnia and high cortisol are a vicious cycle. you start having insmonia because you're stressed - then your cortisol gets high- then you can't sleep because of the high cortisol, and it's a never ending cycle. Also, during this time, i stopped getting my period for 3 months due to the stress and my estrogen levels on my blood tests were very low- i also had night sweats, no libido, other symptoms of low estrogen etc.even my skin lost it's elasticity.. BEFORE THIS PERIOD OF STRESS I DID NOT HAVE ACNE. my acne started from this stress. you have to realize that high cortisol depletes essential vitamins/nutrients in your body- most importantly magnesium and vitamin c. i can honestly say those two made a huge difference in how i was feeling. i took magnesium glycinate from pure encapsulations and a vitamin c powder made from whole foods (not ascorbic acid) from the brand Pure Synergy (called Pure Radiance C ). magnesium is essential for proper hormone production and high cortisol depletes your magnesium stores. vitamin c helps your body make estrogen from what i understand (it also just made me feel normal again.) eventually i started sleeping again, feeling more normal, and my periods did come back- i thought the acne would calm down because i was back to feeling normal with my menstrual cycle and sleeping habits, however the acne did not stop and was basically ruining my life. my derm perscribed me spironolactone 75 mg and i've been taking it for 2 weeks. i do see a decrease in acne, however my skin is kinda dry and thin, not youthful like it used to be. i'm worried about. i haven't had any cysts since starting it which is a miracle. i'm usually very anti-med because i like to be a natural gal but i was desperate to stop the acne, and i do think the spiro is helping. i don't have any other side effects from the med so far.
Hi, I've been on Yasmin for over 12 years. I'm 31 and I've had acne since I was 13. Recently, after many courses of various antibiotics, 2 rounds of accutane, 1 round of aldactone, I finally convinced my doctor to check my hormones... my estrogen was WAY down...menopausal level down and my cortisol was through the roof. I was referred to an endocrinologist who then blew me off because "it's very common for Yasmin to do that and when you quit the pill, it'll go back to normal." and shooed me out of his office. I'm very curious if low estrogen has always been my issue and Yasmin just exacerbated it. I was told Yasmin was the best to keep my acne down... but wondering if it lowers estrogen so much whether other people have had it make acne worse?
On June 2, 2016 at 0:05 AM, dragonsong said:Hi, I've been on Yasmin for over 12 years. I'm 31 and I've had acne since I was 13. Recently, after many courses of various antibiotics, 2 rounds of accutane, 1 round of aldactone, I finally convinced my doctor to check my hormones... my estrogen was WAY down...menopausal level down and my cortisol was through the roof. I was referred to an endocrinologist who then blew me off because "it's very common for Yasmin to do that and when you quit the pill, it'll go back to normal." and shooed me out of his office. I'm very curious if low estrogen has always been my issue and Yasmin just exacerbated it. I was told Yasmin was the best to keep my acne down... but wondering if it lowers estrogen so much whether other people have had it make acne worse?
I am wondering the same thing - I recently received my hormone tests back and I am extremely low in Estrogen and in the mid-high range with Testosterone, and mid-low range for Progesterone. I too think being on Beyaz/Yasmin and Spironolactone for most of my life has exacerbated my already low Estrogen. I am now 25. My naturopath thinks that is what may have happened, that I was always low in Estrogen, and overtime that increased my Testosterone levels, because they will try to increase in order to bring up your body's Estrogen. Which is obviously not working, body!!!