Terrible Acne. I've Tried Everything, But Nothing Has Worked. Help?

[nick93 15]

So, I have terrible acne, my face is completely covered. I've had it since I was 13 and it gets worse every year. Now I'm 18, almost 19, and well everyone I know that has had acne is clearing up, I'm still getting worse.

Note: my face gets almost completely clear during the summer. It is the best ever! I thought maybe vitamin D would help, so I tried that for a couple weeks, but there was zero improvement..

I have read some things about "the regime", but I'm not sure that will work for me. I was on BP for nearly a year and my acne just kept getting worse..

Edited April 8, 2012 by nick93

[gia1 13]

have you been to a derm and considered antibiotics or accutane. try washing your face with only bottled water, i use poland spring. sometimes tap water has very high ph and can cause havoc on the skin. personally i tried the candida diet and took pro biotics and it cleared all of my cystic acne but it doesnt work for everyone.

Edited April 4, 2012 by gia1

[nick93 15]

I've been to the derm, but I think I have to go see another one because this guy was a joke. It was a bad operation: equipment from the70s, the place was dirty, the Dr was dirty and he didn't listen to me. I have been on antibiotics and they didn't do a thing. I was thinking about accutaine, but after reading up on it, I decided not to do it since the possible side effects can be really serious. That's helpful, I guess the bottle water is worth a shot. Do you not let your face go under during the shower then? I'Il look into those other things too.

If anyone else has any information, I would like to hear what you have to say. If anyone has any information on vitamins that I'm taking or should be taking that would be great. Also, the fact that I clear up a lot during the summer makes me wonder if there is something that I get in the summer that I should be getting in the winter as well?

[gia1 13]

i take an over sized plastic mug with the poland spring water in the shower and use that to wash my face. i tried taking zinc and it broke me out. the best vitamin d to take for acne is liquid vitamin d3 from what i have read. Instead of beta carotene try taking vitamin A. You really should see another derm or even a nutritionist. have blood work done get checked for food allergies. I understand what you are going through my face was covered in cysts last year but i am clear now. I always cleared up in the summer when i would go to the beach (years ago) Probably from the sun and salt water/air. Have you ever tried sulfur products. when i had cysts i used dermify, you can order it off the internet and it worked great for me. If i think of anything else i'll let you know.

[Rachelx7 16]

Glycolic acid helped my cystic acne decrease substantially. It exfoliates and helps to keep my pores from clogging. You can find glycolic acid on ebay or amazon. 20% or higher is what I recommend. (I'm trying salicylic acid now at 20% and it too has helped me. Stings like crazy though. Leave it on for 3 or 4 minutes and rinse off).

[nick93 15]

Thanks gia! I think some of that stuff is definetly worth looking into. I'm a little scared to take vitamin a, I did it a little but I had to take doses of about 120 000IU a day for it to have any effect, and then it only helped some, but wasn't even close to solving the problem. Beta carotene is a derivative of vitamin a and I think it will help too with less chance of serious side affects, but I'm not a professional.

Thanks Rachel, I think I'll look into researching that a little more and trying it. Sounds like a disinfectant. Does it dry out your face at all? As in, for like, an extended period of time? Because I think that would be really helpful for me since I get really oily skin.

[Guest]

vitamin e can cause breakouts in some people, mine included. I stay away from products containing vitamin e like supplements, moisturizers, etc. If you want to know whether you're allergic to vitamin e or not, try not to take it for 1-2 weeks. you'll see the changes. A year ago, a day after I took vitamin e, I woke up and saw my acne got worse. if your acne is severe, go to a derm and ask their opinion. I was on antibiotic before accutane, but it made little improvements, esp doxy (it literally did nothing to my face) so I'm on accutane now and it works.

I also notice that my skin is allergic to facial cleanser in liquid form or in foams, I don't know what ingredients I'm allergic to.

Trial and error will let you know to understand your skin.

Edited April 5, 2012 by Guest

[Guest *Spiro*]

I would agree with trying the accutane if you have tried everything else. Worth a shot, if you start to experience bad side effects you always have the option of stopping the medication. Its helping me now and hundreds of thousands of other people. Its not so scary if you pay attention to your body and what it is telling you. Also like someone else has mentioned to you, you could have food allergies. You should try and get tested for that too! Good luck I hope you are able to find something that works for you!

[nick93 15]

I guess the acutaine is an option, but that isn't something I want to start. Summer is close and my acne goes from severe to more mild to maybe at the most medium, so I can deal with that. I read the health book (soooo boring aha) and thats where I got the idea to try some of these vitamins and stuff. I'm taking so many now though I don't know what might be working and what might be making it worse. I think I'll just try the liquid omega-D3 the next couple of weeks and see whether or not there is any difference and then maybe try somethign new.

[gia1 13]

Try taking one vitamin at a time that is the only way you will know if it is helping or not. cut out acne related foods soy, dairy, eggs, sugar, gluten, CAFFEINE etc... there are so many but it is worth a shot. Its hard to cut them out but worth it if it works. I found im allergic to caffeine and eggs, makes me break out. It's all trial and error.

[nick93 15]

Thanks, definetly worth a try. I'm already off all fat and greasy foods for nearly a year and don't consume dairy either. I hope to give some of these a try and then maybe talk with my doctor about some of the remedies I can try. The problem is, I don't know if I can really afford to keep going and asking for a derm and everything because I don't have coverage through my parents and I'm a student, so it adds up pretty quick.

[nick93 15]

Also, here is a link to pics. I don't know if that can help determine what I should use for treatment. The acne isn't the worst it has been, but its still pretty bad.

http://imageshack.us/g/443/img0560au.jpg/

Also, my hair isn't greasy there is just a product in it right now.

[gia1 13]

Also some people are allergic to fluoride so they use toothpaste w/out flouride and they cleared up. some people are allergic to anti perspirant because of the aluminum in it so they buy deodorant. There are so many different things it could be. i will keep posting if i think of anything else.

[KillAkne 3]

toothpaste what??? How could that possible be tricking acne?? You brush your teeth, drink water and spit it out again???

[nick93 15]

toothpaste what??? How could that possible be tricking acne?? You brush your teeth, drink water and spit it out again???

There is a post in the forums about someone who stopped using flouride and their acne cleared up because they were alergic to it. That's the problem there are so many things you can be alergic to that can triger your acne, its hard to know what to cut out and what to keep in.

Thanks again gia1, helpful post.

[SDR WellnessCoach 13]

toothpaste what??? How could that possible be tricking acne?? You brush your teeth, drink water and spit it out again???

There is a post in the forums about someone who stopped using flouride and their acne cleared up because they were alergic to it. That's the problem there are so many things you can be alergic to that can triger your acne, its hard to know what to cut out and what to keep in.

Thanks again gia1, helpful post.

You undestand Acne is a allergic reaction. Understanding that is the hardest part. Getting blood tests for food IgG's is a very good start because that will narrow down your allergies a lot. After that if you still have Acne it will be easy to identify the culprit, something you use/consume everyday. Also know, everyone who visit's this site has atleast 1 food allergy (very rare for only 1) whether it causes Acne or not.

[gia1 13]

toothpaste what??? How could that possible be tricking acne?? You brush your teeth, drink water and spit it out again???

Try reading up on something before you discard it as a possible cure.

[nick93 15]

toothpaste what??? How could that possible be tricking acne?? You brush your teeth, drink water and spit it out again???

There is a post in the forums about someone who stopped using flouride and their acne cleared up because they were alergic to it. That's the problem there are so many things you can be alergic to that can triger your acne, its hard to know what to cut out and what to keep in.

Thanks again gia1, helpful post.

You undestand Acne is a allergic reaction. Understanding that is the hardest part. Getting blood tests for food IgG's is a very good start because that will narrow down your allergies a lot. After that if you still have Acne it will be easy to identify the culprit, something you use/consume everyday. Also know, everyone who visit's this site has atleast 1 food allergy (very rare for only 1) whether it causes Acne or not.

Yeah, I had blood work done for my summer job and I asked that they send it to my doctor at home. I'll book an appointment after I'm done exams and hopefully the doctor finds something helpful! That's a pretty surprising stat, the more you know I guess aha

[SDR WellnessCoach 13]

toothpaste what??? How could that possible be tricking acne?? You brush your teeth, drink water and spit it out again???

There is a post in the forums about someone who stopped using flouride and their acne cleared up because they were alergic to it. That's the problem there are so many things you can be alergic to that can triger your acne, its hard to know what to cut out and what to keep in.

Thanks again gia1, helpful post.

You undestand Acne is a allergic reaction. Understanding that is the hardest part. Getting blood tests for food IgG's is a very good start because that will narrow down your allergies a lot. After that if you still have Acne it will be easy to identify the culprit, something you use/consume everyday. Also know, everyone who visit's this site has atleast 1 food allergy (very rare for only 1) whether it causes Acne or not.

Yeah, I had blood work done for my summer job and I asked that they send it to my doctor at home. I'll book an appointment after I'm done exams and hopefully the doctor finds something helpful! That's a pretty surprising stat, the more you know I guess aha

Milk, Soybean, and Wheat (gluten) are the most common. People discovering Gluten Allergies are on the rise (which also explains Gluten Free labeling).

http://www.foodrenegade.com/the-rise-of-gluten-intolerance/#comment-1178257

[nick93 15]

Yeah, hopefully my doctor is able to help or I can see a nutritionist or homoeopath or something..

[gia1 13]

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/index.php/topic/313938-sharing-my-success-clearing-persistent-mouthjawline-cysts/

here is a good read about water and fluoride and acne

Edited April 9, 2012 by gia1

[KillAkne 3]

Thanks.. but as my acne is placed on cheeks I shouldn't worry about toothpaste? Some say the cheek-area" is a result of diet. Would my doctor be able to point out the sort of foods I can't tolerate with a simple blood test??

[nick93 15]

I think so, but I'm not entirely sure. Unfortunately, I can't see my doctor for a few weeks yet because I have exams. It is definitely worth a try though I think!

[Esperanza Moreno 0]

So I went all the way past all those comments people are leaving you cause I HAVE to tell you to try the regimen!!! PLEASE! I looked at your pics and we have thw same severe acne! I waS so skeptical ans afraid to use the bp in the system because of my past horrible experiences with it, but i swear....I am so extremely happy I tried it and im now in my 3 rd week! My skin is not complwtely clear but has improved drastically! I'll have to post pics! I went from 15-20 cysts on my face to 4-5 cysts at the moment!! It's very drying but if you follow rule for rule and use jojoba oil with the moisturizer, you will be fine! Please give it a shot! And follow it religiously! Good luck!! -Esperanza

[nick93 15]

So I went all the way past all those comments people are leaving you cause I HAVE to tell you to try the regimen!!! PLEASE! I looked at your pics and we have thw same severe acne! I waS so skeptical ans afraid to use the bp in the system because of my past horrible experiences with it, but i swear....I am so extremely happy I tried it and im now in my 3 rd week! My skin is not complwtely clear but has improved drastically! I'll have to post pics! I went from 15-20 cysts on my face to 4-5 cysts at the moment!! It's very drying but if you follow rule for rule and use jojoba oil with the moisturizer, you will be fine! Please give it a shot! And follow it religiously! Good luck!! -Esperanza

Thanks! I have used BP before, but I have never used the regime, so maybe it could work for me too! I'm so happy for you that your skin is improving!! I would give it a try, but I finally think I found something that is working for me, I'm so, so, happy right now! ahaha. Nice to know that there is something else I can try if I get immune to what I'm taking now though!