1 hour ago, bodysnxtcher said:

On June 6, 2016 at 5:34 PM, saraspoons said:

Hello! I got my test results back. I'm still a bit confused on them. Apparently I am incredibly low on Estrogens?! That seems very odd and worrisome for someone my age (25). My progesterone is apparently within normal range, which is what I thought was the problem with it being low. And my Testosterone is higher, but I'm hoping its just higher because there is not enough Estrogen to balance it out. Why would my body not be producing enough Estrogen? Does this mean there is something wrong with my pituitary or my ovaries? Oh my, what do you think of this? I'm going to make another post to ask more opinions!

Estradiol - 0.8
Progesterone - 112
Testosterone - 48
Ratio: Pg/E2 - 140

RANGES:
Estradiol: 1.3 - 3.3 (Pre-meno / Luteal)
Progesterone: 75-270 (Pre-meno / Luteal)
Testosterone: 16-55 (Age dependent?)
Ratio: Pg/E2: Optimal 100-500 When E2 1.3 - 3.3

hi! your results are indeed a bit puzzling.. but there could be several reasons for your low estrogen. I recall you mentioned you at some point were taking DIM, correct? this may have something to do with it, but I'm not too sure. also, we're you already taking vitex when you took this hormone panel? also, It could be that since your hormone panel only measured estradiol, you technically could still have high estrogen (in the form of estrone, which is deemed a "bad" estrogen of of the 3 main types, and low in good/neutral estrogens such as estradiol and estriol. doing a quick search through some forums has told me this is actually a common occurrence with women. specifically women with what is referred to as "lean pcos", meaning their main hormone imbalance comes from unopposed high testosterone levels, which cause a domino effect with all the other hormones, especially estrogen. I've also read that BC/Spiro can cause lowered levels of good estrogen (estradiol) and high levels of bad estrogen. again, I'm not sure what exactly could be going on with that buts this is what I think.. how are you fairing on the vitex by the way? I've recently started taking one 400mg pill everyday and I think I'm going to die. hah. my estrogen levels are def being stimulated right now, my ovulation breakout has started way earlier than usual and my face looks like garbage. also if the wind blows too hard, I think my breasts will fall off. so much pain. I hope this won't last too long, but I plan on giving it a whole 3.5 months before deciding whether to continue or not.

your knowledge of acne impresses me:)

On April 5, 2016 at 1:00 AM, lifelong confusion said:

I think I've noticed diminishing effects of birth control over time when it comes to acne. At first my skin would be very very clear whatever I ate. Years later I would get those large lumps on my jawline even though I was on birth control, exercising, and trying to eat healthy. Inositol ended up being a miracle cure for me. If you haven't tried it look it up, give it a chance. It comes with some minor side effects which to me were a small price to pay to now be back to 97% clear. I take 1.8 grams total, split in 2 dosages night and day. I take Jarrow's formula powder. There has been a study on this stuff that proved it reduced free testosterone in the blood, which is often a major acne culprit especially for people with hormonal acne. I eventually went back to no exercising (bad, I know), but that didn't bring acne back. Diet, however, still affects it somewhat, but still not nearly as much as Inositol. Standard dosage is 600mg but a lot of people take well over what I do. So if it helps for you and then it stops working, you have a lot of room to up the dosage. I did by 3x already to get almost completely clear. I take it along with Yaz. Good luck!

Hello! I actually ended up starting Inositol 1500mg 3 days ago (Jarrow's myo-inositol pills), split up into 2 doses - no side effects or any difference yet. I thought maybe I would feel some sort of effect the first day with just taking such a high dose - but nothing. It was a kind of last 'lets try this' suggestion from my Naturopath since we are so stuck on what the root is, so we thought Inositol if I actually have PCOS - which we have always disregarded because I have absolutely no symptoms other than high Testosterone. My hormone test came back with Regular Progesterone, low Estrogen and high Testosterone. My questions is how long did it take for you to see any change with the Inositol?

On April 26, 2016 at 1:31 AM, ElleEmme said:

Hi Sara,

Maybe stress might be impacting all of this?? I feel for you and I know how frustrating it is, trying to become chemists to figure out what the flip is going on with our bodies... I feel that sometimes just sticking with a healthy regimen without expectations, getting some sunshine & making ourselves happy impact all of this... It sounds too simplistic I know & it's hard not to stress about something so major that you see every time you look in the mirror or get a glimpse of yourself... Detach yourself from all the negativity if you can... Think Good & It Should Be Good...

I definitely agree - I think there could be something going on with my Cortisol, but I can't understand if its actually too high or too low, the symptoms are very similar. I plan to get this tested soon. But yes I think because I work from home it is hard to detach myself, and keep myself really busy. I think if I could just find something that could make my skin SLIGHTLY better and give me a little hope would really lift a lot of weight off my shoulders and then I could try harder to just 'not care'. I try so hard and envy the people I see walking around with such terrible skin but haven't a care in the world about it really. Where here I am stuck inside the house because I just cannot get myself to start the task of looking at myself in the mirror and putting on makeup. I never know where to start - I have to try and do it in sections, keep other parts covered up with some cream/clay mask so I don't overwhelm myself by seeing it all at once. It takes HOURS to get my makeup on to leave the house. I'm really just exhausted with this. I feel like a totally different person now.

On May 3, 2016 at 11:11 AM, bodysnxtcher said:

hi Sara! we've spoken thru email on a couple of occasions regarding this issue. I'm sorry to hear you are still dealing with this. unfortunately for me, Im also still dealing with acne despite being on 75mg of spiro.. (Im slowly titrating off) I can't remember if I asked you this previously, but have you been evaluated for PCOS? i would consider getting a home hormone saliva test panel, because then atleast you'd have a clearer look at what you're dealing with. if your estrogen-progesterone ratio is off, pcos could be the cause of your persistent hormonal acne. I was diagnosed with pcos despite not being overweight, no irregular periods nor having excessive facial hair, which are all the typical markers of the syndrome. it's always a possibility.. Also, have you looked into vitex? I've read a couple of reviews of the herb on here, some people have been able to switch from taking spironolactone to vitex and their skin cleared significantly. I've recently started taking it every other day, and no adverse effects noted thus far, skin wise. it does take 1-3 months to see its full potential..

Hey! I am starting to think possibly PCOS now, and yes I do not have any of the symptoms besides high Testosterone. Did you have cysts on your ovaries? How were you diagnosed? I did do Vitex for several months, it only seemed to kind of mess up my period - it did nothing for my skin, possibly made it a bit worse. So my Naturopath decided I should get off it. I've been off now for about a month and no change. I am trying Inositol now if the possibility is PCOS - 3 days at 1500mg so far.

I'm sorry to hear vitex didn't quite work for you.. but I've heard great things about inositol for pcos cases with low estrogen /high T. I believe I've read that it raises estrogen slightly, which may help you. I myself tried it previously and got a breakout and freaked out and quit after about a week, hah. it may have been it's estrogen raising properties and the fact that I already have it in excess,or i mayve just been paranoid. I got diagnosed with PCOS after a visit to my gynecologist. they did an ultrasound on my ovaries to see if I had any cysts. at the time (last year) I had a minor recession of my pcos symptoms (including acne) so on the ultrasound, I did not have any cysts, only my right ovary was slightly enlarged. my MD said that not all women with pcos have cystic ovaries, and that I current had a mild case because my acne was mild, no excessive body hair, average weight, my only symptom then was head hairloss. I haven't been back to see if I've developed cysts on my ovaries since my symptoms have worsened . vitex seems to make my acne worse for the time being, but that is to be expected. I've only been on it for about 1.5 months and i plan to stay on it for a full 4 months before trying something else. my skin actually cleared up for about a week recently, I'm not sure if it's the vitex or not.. hmm.

On 7/7/2016 at 10:10 AM, saraspoons said:

Hello! I actually ended up starting Inositol 1500mg 3 days ago (Jarrow's myo-inositol pills), split up into 2 doses - no side effects or any difference yet. I thought maybe I would feel some sort of effect the first day with just taking such a high dose - but nothing. It was a kind of last 'lets try this' suggestion from my Naturopath since we are so stuck on what the root is, so we thought Inositol if I actually have PCOS - which we have always disregarded because I have absolutely no symptoms other than high Testosterone. My hormone test came back with Regular Progesterone, low Estrogen and high Testosterone. My questions is how long did it take for you to see any change with the Inositol?

I think it actually took about 2 weeks for my acne to be reduced by 50%, then by another 50% of that 2 weeks later. I do have to retract my previous statement about exercise not affecting it... I did start breaking out again, so far not as bad as before, but I started eating healthier again and working out and I think it's finally SORT OF getting better, but still I once again have deep (though medium sized) acne on my jaw second time this month after a few months being totally clear. The comedones came back raging all over my jaw and upper neck near my ears, took me like a month and 3 weeks to start seeing improvement with those. I was about to increase Inositol dosage again but I do see it getting a little better so I'll try to just do diet and exercise thing for now. I'll keep you updated.

12 hours ago, bodysnxtcher said:

I'm sorry to hear vitex didn't quite work for you.. but I've heard great things about inositol for pcos cases with low estrogen /high T. I believe I've read that it raises estrogen slightly, which may help you. I myself tried it previously and got a breakout and freaked out and quit after about a week, hah. it may have been it's estrogen raising properties and the fact that I already have it in excess,or i mayve just been paranoid. I got diagnosed with PCOS after a visit to my gynecologist. they did an ultrasound on my ovaries to see if I had any cysts. at the time (last year) I had a minor recession of my pcos symptoms (including acne) so on the ultrasound, I did not have any cysts, only my right ovary was slightly enlarged. my MD said that not all women with pcos have cystic ovaries, and that I current had a mild case because my acne was mild, no excessive body hair, average weight, my only symptom then was head hairloss. I haven't been back to see if I've developed cysts on my ovaries since my symptoms have worsened . vitex seems to make my acne worse for the time being, but that is to be expected. I've only been on it for about 1.5 months and i plan to stay on it for a full 4 months before trying something else. my skin actually cleared up for about a week recently, I'm not sure if it's the vitex or not.. hmm.

Thats true. PCOS should be called by its other name I think its Stein Leventhal Syndrome cause not everyone has the cysts. I was underweight with no blood sugar issues but had irregular periods, excess hairs, and oily skin.

On July 8, 2016 at 9:57 PM, snarkygirl said:

On July 8, 2016 at 8:57 AM, bodysnxtcher said:

I'm sorry to hear vitex didn't quite work for you.. but I've heard great things about inositol for pcos cases with low estrogen /high T. I believe I've read that it raises estrogen slightly, which may help you. I myself tried it previously and got a breakout and freaked out and quit after about a week, hah. it may have been it's estrogen raising properties and the fact that I already have it in excess,or i mayve just been paranoid. I got diagnosed with PCOS after a visit to my gynecologist. they did an ultrasound on my ovaries to see if I had any cysts. at the time (last year) I had a minor recession of my pcos symptoms (including acne) so on the ultrasound, I did not have any cysts, only my right ovary was slightly enlarged. my MD said that not all women with pcos have cystic ovaries, and that I current had a mild case because my acne was mild, no excessive body hair, average weight, my only symptom then was head hairloss. I haven't been back to see if I've developed cysts on my ovaries since my symptoms have worsened . vitex seems to make my acne worse for the time being, but that is to be expected. I've only been on it for about 1.5 months and i plan to stay on it for a full 4 months before trying something else. my skin actually cleared up for about a week recently, I'm not sure if it's the vitex or not.. hmm.

Thats true. PCOS should be called by its other name I think its Stein Leventhal Syndrome cause not everyone has the cysts. I was underweight with no blood sugar issues but had irregular periods, excess hairs, and oily skin.

Agreed, it can be misleading to call it PCOS. There are several "types" of PCOS, many cases are induced by the birth control pill, some are the classic insulin resistant type, and others like us don't exhibit many symptoms but still fall under the vague category.

I had the exact same experience with Spironolactone. I've struggled with acne since i was 13 and I'm now 25 as well. I went on Spironolactonewhen i was 15 and it immediately worked beautifully for two years until I was 17 - it was honestly a miracle from the worst acne to 100% clear with no breakouts whatsoever for two years. Then all of a sudden I woke up one day and had the worst acne primarily just around my jaw line, chin and around my mouth, lower half of my face. Since then I've tried several rounds of accutane which worked for awhile, but devistatingly haven't been a permanent solution for me. Most recently Doxycylone then worked great for about 6 months, but now that's stopped working and it's back again. Feeling incredibly lost and not sure where to turn. I've now started spiralactone once again as i thought perhaps since I haven't been on it for years it might miraculously start working again. However, no such luck yet. I know a lot of people say it takes months to tell for sure, but I feel like everything that has worked for me in the past generally shows an affect pretty quickly and I either see results immediately or it doesn't work at all. Thinking of trying photodynamic therapy next, but a bit terrified of the process and the down time required. Please let me know if you find a solution as it sounds like we have similar skin types