Hello everyone! Im a 28 years old woman stuggling with skin issues since I was 15. Its been quite a long journey and believe me I'm not done here but at least I know now what is causing my acne. My acne started when I was a teenager so everyone thought it was just teenage hormones messing up with me and that my skin would get clear again when I become an adult....NOPE!
Well its not how it worked for me, but every kind of acne is different for some teenager it is actually just a bad phase but for me it was just the beginning of a long and painful battle with my hormones.
At 18 years old I was so depressed I tried everything, cream, antibiotics, and I was on birth control but nothing was working so I decided to talk to my doc about Diane 35 a birth control pill specifically for people with acne because it contains cyproterone acetate wich blocks the androgens.
And it Worked ! Oh yeah I was a new person again. By the sixth month I was almost cleared up completely, I mean I had some occasional zits but no crazy breakout like before. After 1 year on Diane 35 I started noticing that I was less hairy, like my body hair were paler and finer and my acne still on control so it was pretty much a good time for me.
Result=Disaster!!!! Breakouts, facial hair, body hair, I was shocked I felt like I had no control over my body
So I went back on Diane 35...yep. It was just OK after 3 month less hairy and no more breakout just like the first time. I tried to get off Diane another time when I was 24 but it was just the same, I went back on it 3 month after because my skin was so bad!
At 26 years old I decided to stop Diane 35 for real when I read studies on how it was a dangerous BCP. Higher blood clot risks than the other pills, liver damage etc. Actually France took it off the market because it was too dangerous and I think FDA never approved this BCP in the US that's why they don't have Diane 35. So I was pretty scared of this pill and I went off before the damages were too big.
I was in a period of my life that I wanted to go all natural and eat well and to take care if my health too so, this is what happened. I became a vegetarian, I eat very healthy, I take vitamins, saw palmetto, quit cigarette and you know what. IT's NOT WORKING!
Not for me, for some people it will but like I said earlier every kind of acne is different, mine is hormonal. ItS been almost 2 years I went off Diane 35 and my skin has never been worst, even in my teen years it was better than now. It's just a disaster, as soon as I went off Diane I started seeing the changes, breakouts, BACKNE all over my back big huge cyst that actually hurts and I'm hairy AF! I am very depressed an unhappy because on top of acne I feel that if it continues to grow I could grow a beard in 1 or 2 years. I mean it's just awful my peach fuzz is just getting thicker aand darker everyday.
I literally went to my doctor 6 months ago and said: its enough ! There is a problem with me I want to know what it is so I want to do all the test to check my hormones. I had a blood test and a pelvic echo, to check my ovaries.
but here in Quebec you have to beg your doctor to have a surgery unless it's cancer, our health care system suc*s! They prefer to put us on pills.My aunt died from ovarian cancer and it started with cysts so I wanna get these bastards removed for my skin, for my health, for my mood, for my feminity...I just can't take it anymore it's been 13 years! 13 years I'm battling with that, is it gonna end ? I'm very tired and depressed I just wanna be normal.
I take spiro now and I'm waiting for my doctor to decide if they remove the cysts or not. If one day I finally have my surgery done and it improves my condition I'm gonna tell you. We re not born like that, there is an imbalance and something is causing this imbalance. Pills are just hiding the problem but the problem is always coming back after there's gotta be a better way! To anyone with hormonal problem I know how it is frustrating and how you feel powerless but remember you are still beautiful you are not your zits or your facial hair you are yourself and one day all those problems can go as fast as they came but you have to find the problem and cure it.
If anyone has similarities in their stories or just want to share about hormonal imbalance i would be happy to read you. Dont give up !
🙂
https://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/condition/hirsutism
These nutritional tips may help women stay at a good weight, which may help lower androgens in the body:
- Eat antioxidant foods, including fruits (such as blueberries, cherries, and tomatoes) and vegetables (such as squash and bell peppers).
- Avoid refined foods, such as white breads, pastas, and especially sugar.
- Eat fewer red meats and more lean meats, cold-water fish, tofu (soy, if no allergy), or beans for protein.
- Use healthy oils in foods, such as olive oil or vegetable oil.
- Reduce or eliminate trans fat, found in commercially-baked goods, such as cookies, crackers, cakes, French fries, onion rings, donuts, processed foods, and some margarines.
- Avoid alcohol and tobacco.
- Drink 6 to 8 glasses of filtered water daily.
- Exercise at least 30 minutes daily, 5 days a week.
The above recommendations is pretty much the same as the newest research in acne* suggest we should eat. Low in glycemic load/index, low in saturated fat, high in fiber, no milk, more fish.
*Well it is pretty much the same recommendations for a lot of metabolic diseases and symptoms like type 2 diabetes, high vLDL and triglycerides, insulin resistance, PCOS, Alzheimers, cardiovascular diseases, obesity etc.
The above diet recommendations will not only raise SHBG and therefore lower dihydrotestosterone, it will also upregulate FOXO1, downregulate mTORrc1 (I have written several posts in this topic, the last months, all backed by scientific research) and therefore will lower the risk of all those diseases and symptoms and have a positive influence on how long we live.
Okay. But the diet does the same thing as Spironolactone for your hormones, but without any risk of side-effects. We pretty much know the hormonal imbalance is caused by wrong diets. Do you know your blood cholesterol numbers? Are vLDL, LDL and triglycerides too high, is HDL low?
We also know people can be lean and have insulin resistance.
Hi CatBinc,
First of all, I'm sorry that you are finding your situation difficult. I wish your doctor was more understanding. Have you considered getting referred to another doctor? A naturopathic doctor might also be a good idea. I don't have much money either, but I reached the point where I would do anything for clear skin. It brings your stress levels down soooo much when you know you're in the hands of a professional. The bill wasn't as expensive as I thought, it actually helped me save money on supplements and skin care products.
Anyways, I think you're suspecting PCOS, so I would try natural treatments in conjunction with the first-line treatments you already have (i.e. birth control, surgery, etc). Herbs recommended for PCOS are Green tea egcg extract (DHT blocker), Spearmint (DHT blocker), Chaste Berry (progesterone support), etc. They're slow acting but with less side effects. I really recommend red clover. It's a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor (it turns off the enzyme that converts testosterone to DHT), a powerful blood/liver purifier and an antioxidant, so it's doing 3 jobs with one capsule. It's a phytoestrogen though and there's a lot of controversy whether that's helpful or not.
Modifying your diet like Esney3 suggests is also a good idea, however considering you've already been a vegetarian with no results, it's also understandable that you're unenthusiastic. A gluten, dairy and soy free diet helped me a ton by the way, but still I wouldn't say diet is everything. I still had to manage my hormones and stress levels. Only when I approached acne from multiple perspectives (physical, mental, diet, hormones) my skin really started to show a difference.