So, I posted a thread about how frustrated I was with eating healthy and the fact being that, I couldn't for the life of me get acne under control. I tried diets (raw, low glycemic, gluten free, low carb, dairy/sugar free, keto etc) and others. I am active, I play sports, I workout, and exercise. I do a fair bit of running. I recently incorporated meditation which I must admit, I need to do more of, and on goingly. I also have started doing yoga. I found these actives extremely peaceful and fun. I plan to keep on going.
Moving on, I have done this up and until I realized it failed or I couldn't overcome my genetic disposition. My skin broke out. I was insecure about a single blemish. It started just before puberty and has followed me up and until the present. I was tricked many times into believing, I found the diet, I found the trick, and I was frustrated time and time again. I used even lemon juice on my skin having heard the prospective cleansing ingredients and it was a natural remedy. I tried heating up a water and using a steam cleanse (once it cooled down of course). I tried many other unorthodox treatments before I entered my 20s. At this point, it got much much worse starting with adult acne. For starters, the body just doesn't heal the way it should, collagen is lost during a cystic or nodule pimple, and when I realized it was permanent, a pock mark or scar, I got extremely insecure, and depressed. At this point, I stopped going out, I became with drawn, anti social, avoided people, stopped socializing when I am naturally an extrovert, I refused going out or doing the things I love, and I began trying new things.
The first was proactive which I must admit, if you have just tiny blemishes, your acne will go away cause it has bp. If you have cystic or a bad nodule, you are out of luck. A lot of bp maybe needed or topical treatments. I went this route. Clindymycin, clindoxcyl gel, steviemycin, and differin or retin-a. My dermatologist wanted to try more topicals and I asked for accutane. He sent me to a cosmetic place to try laser before going to this route. Due to the cost and the fact, I have seen the ipl support forum for botched jobs, I declined this route, and went to accutane. Accutane is by far the most amazing drug anyone can do for their accutane. I haven't had a single break out since. Its amazing but it comes with a price. You get terrible side effects. I have been hospitalized on more then one occassion though, there is ano certainty that it was the cause. I got terribly dry eyes, eye infections, sore muscles, thinning or hair loss, haullucinations (nothing too intense but more like seeing shit out of the corner of your eye, and then, looking back to see nothing there), dry lips, peeling lips, sun burned skin, and tons of other crap. It is seeing my hair thin and alter has made me stop.
cliff notes - post accutane
-tried natural organic route
-temporary success before being frustrated with more acne
-mild acne until late teens, 20s
-began getting nodules, cystic acne, nodular acne
-noticed first scar
-got depressed, anti-social, isolated, introverted, stopped going out, stopped seeing friends,
-tried topicals
-couldn't afford laser
-also was scared of laser having seen ipl support forum
-took accutane for almost the entire term
-stopped once noticing side effects
-hair thin in some areas
-better since I stopped
-seeing dermatologist who said, side effects pass after the cycle
- dermatologist made the odd exceptions for those with the male pattern baldness genes
-seeing a natural path ASAP - appointment is booked
1) advice for hair? - I eat well, have some biotin in my multi
2) detox and cleanse info? colon? liver? other?
3) what more can be suggested?
This is how I feel: Accutane is amazing if nothing else works but, given my acne was not severe, partially mild though, I did get the odd cystic pimple here or there, I decided on the medication to prevent scars or future ones since, the first one made me depressed and insecure. I want to fix my hair. When it was short, it looked awful but, it seems to be okay. Its faded on a side a bit which is bother some. If it got worse, I am shaving it short, line up like black guys get but, I look better with hair. I appreciate advice.
So, I posted a thread about how frustrated I was with eating healthy and the fact being that, I couldn't for the life of me get acne under control. I tried diets (raw, low glycemic, gluten free, low carb, dairy/sugar free, keto etc) and others. I am active, I play sports, I workout, and exercise. I do a fair bit of running. I recently incorporated meditation which I must admit, I need to do more of, and on goingly. I also have started doing yoga. I found these actives extremely peaceful and fun. I plan to keep on going.
Moving on, I have done this up and until I realized it failed or I couldn't overcome my genetic disposition. My skin broke out. I was insecure about a single blemish. It started just before puberty and has followed me up and until the present. I was tricked many times into believing, I found the diet, I found the trick, and I was frustrated time and time again. I used even lemon juice on my skin having heard the prospective cleansing ingredients and it was a natural remedy. I tried heating up a water and using a steam cleanse (once it cooled down of course). I tried many other unorthodox treatments before I entered my 20s. At this point, it got much much worse starting with adult acne. For starters, the body just doesn't heal the way it should, collagen is lost during a cystic or nodule pimple, and when I realized it was permanent, a pock mark or scar, I got extremely insecure, and depressed. At this point, I stopped going out, I became with drawn, anti social, avoided people, stopped socializing when I am naturally an extrovert, I refused going out or doing the things I love, and I began trying new things.
The first was proactive which I must admit, if you have just tiny blemishes, your acne will go away cause it has bp. If you have cystic or a bad nodule, you are out of luck. A lot of bp maybe needed or topical treatments. I went this route. Clindymycin, clindoxcyl gel, steviemycin, and differin or retin-a. My dermatologist wanted to try more topicals and I asked for accutane. He sent me to a cosmetic place to try laser before going to this route. Due to the cost and the fact, I have seen the ipl support forum for botched jobs, I declined this route, and went to accutane. Accutane is by far the most amazing drug anyone can do for their accutane. I haven't had a single break out since. Its amazing but it comes with a price. You get terrible side effects. I have been hospitalized on more then one occassion though, there is ano certainty that it was the cause. I got terribly dry eyes, eye infections, sore muscles, thinning or hair loss, haullucinations (nothing too intense but more like seeing shit out of the corner of your eye, and then, looking back to see nothing there), dry lips, peeling lips, sun burned skin, and tons of other crap. It is seeing my hair thin and alter has made me stop.
cliff notes - post accutane
-tried natural organic route
-temporary success before being frustrated with more acne
-mild acne until late teens, 20s
-began getting nodules, cystic acne, nodular acne
-noticed first scar
-got depressed, anti-social, isolated, introverted, stopped going out, stopped seeing friends,
-tried topicals
-couldn't afford laser
-also was scared of laser having seen ipl support forum
-took accutane for almost the entire term
-stopped once noticing side effects
-hair thin in some areas
-better since I stopped
-seeing dermatologist who said, side effects pass after the cycle
- dermatologist made the odd exceptions for those with the male pattern baldness genes
-seeing a natural path ASAP - appointment is booked
1) advice for hair? - I eat well, have some biotin in my multi
2) detox and cleanse info? colon? liver? other?
3) what more can be suggested?
This is how I feel: Accutane is amazing if nothing else works but, given my acne was not severe, partially mild though, I did get the odd cystic pimple here or there, I decided on the medication to prevent scars or future ones since, the first one made me depressed and insecure. I want to fix my hair. When it was short, it looked awful but, it seems to be okay. Its faded on a side a bit which is bother some. If it got worse, I am shaving it short, line up like black guys get but, I look better with hair. I appreciate advice.
This is not what you want to hear, but don't be surprised if acne comes back in a year or two. Accutane shrinks the sebaceous glands but does not get rid of them. Your sebaceous glands slowly grow back. If you still have wacky hormones when your sebaceous glands are in full force again, they will have the oil they need to create acne.
1) Hair. Biotin is a good start. I noticed on 5000mg biotin that my hair grew faster but it made me irritable. I also noticed that my hair and nails grew faster on MSM (can't remember dosage) with no real side effects. Secondly, your shampoo does make a difference. This is only because most shampoos contain sulfates. Sulfates have been studied and shown to be not only a skin irritant but an irritant to the hair follicle. Enough prolonged irritation to the hair follicle will cause hair loss, just like constantly pulling and tugging at your hair will pull it out. Get a nice sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner. (SheaMoisture is a great brand).
2) There is some evidence that a lot of acne patients suffer from a leaky gut and lack gut flora. This can start in infancy if you were formula-fed, or your mother didn't have a great diet. Ideally a baby is breastfed by a mother with a great diet, and the baby is able to seed its own gut with the proper bacteria through breastmilk. Unfortunately in our Westernized lifestyles this rarely happens. Getting formula-fed as a baby guarantees that you have very low gut flora.
Your gut is supposed to contain billions of good bacteria and over a hundred strains of bacteria. This isn't something you can fix with some yogurt (many yogurts don't even contain probiotics after processing, and the ones that do only have three strains) and avoiding sugar. You need to use some massive, multi-strain probiotics and possibly some digestive enzymes or Betaine HCL to get your digestion and absorption back in working order.
See this post: http://www.acne.org/...ar/page__st__40
Also see Dr. Ayer's Blog, Cooling Inflammation. He's done a lot of hard science on this topic.
3) I wouldn't bother with the naturopath unless you're going to one that specializes in leaky gut. If they prescribe you a bunch of herbs and supplements, those won't do you any good if you can't absorb them properly. I would get #2 on this list under control and see how you fare first.
4) Honestly I believe that the leaky gut stuff can fix not only the cause of acne but increase your body's ability to heal itself after Accutane. After that if you are still experiencing some problems, you may have an underlying hormonal imbalance. At that point I would recommend some natural anti-androgens such as saw palmetto and stinging nettle, at a high dosage (500+ mg a day). Excess androgen activity is often responsible not only for acne but for hair loss.
So, I posted a thread about how frustrated I was with eating healthy and the fact being that, I couldn't for the life of me get acne under control. I tried diets (raw, low glycemic, gluten free, low carb, dairy/sugar free, keto etc) and others. I am active, I play sports, I workout, and exercise. I do a fair bit of running. I recently incorporated meditation which I must admit, I need to do more of, and on goingly. I also have started doing yoga. I found these actives extremely peaceful and fun. I plan to keep on going.
Moving on, I have done this up and until I realized it failed or I couldn't overcome my genetic disposition. My skin broke out. I was insecure about a single blemish. It started just before puberty and has followed me up and until the present. I was tricked many times into believing, I found the diet, I found the trick, and I was frustrated time and time again. I used even lemon juice on my skin having heard the prospective cleansing ingredients and it was a natural remedy. I tried heating up a water and using a steam cleanse (once it cooled down of course). I tried many other unorthodox treatments before I entered my 20s. At this point, it got much much worse starting with adult acne. For starters, the body just doesn't heal the way it should, collagen is lost during a cystic or nodule pimple, and when I realized it was permanent, a pock mark or scar, I got extremely insecure, and depressed. At this point, I stopped going out, I became with drawn, anti social, avoided people, stopped socializing when I am naturally an extrovert, I refused going out or doing the things I love, and I began trying new things.
The first was proactive which I must admit, if you have just tiny blemishes, your acne will go away cause it has bp. If you have cystic or a bad nodule, you are out of luck. A lot of bp maybe needed or topical treatments. I went this route. Clindymycin, clindoxcyl gel, steviemycin, and differin or retin-a. My dermatologist wanted to try more topicals and I asked for accutane. He sent me to a cosmetic place to try laser before going to this route. Due to the cost and the fact, I have seen the ipl support forum for botched jobs, I declined this route, and went to accutane. Accutane is by far the most amazing drug anyone can do for their accutane. I haven't had a single break out since. Its amazing but it comes with a price. You get terrible side effects. I have been hospitalized on more then one occassion though, there is ano certainty that it was the cause. I got terribly dry eyes, eye infections, sore muscles, thinning or hair loss, haullucinations (nothing too intense but more like seeing shit out of the corner of your eye, and then, looking back to see nothing there), dry lips, peeling lips, sun burned skin, and tons of other crap. It is seeing my hair thin and alter has made me stop.
cliff notes - post accutane
-tried natural organic route
-temporary success before being frustrated with more acne
-mild acne until late teens, 20s
-began getting nodules, cystic acne, nodular acne
-noticed first scar
-got depressed, anti-social, isolated, introverted, stopped going out, stopped seeing friends,
-tried topicals
-couldn't afford laser
-also was scared of laser having seen ipl support forum
-took accutane for almost the entire term
-stopped once noticing side effects
-hair thin in some areas
-better since I stopped
-seeing dermatologist who said, side effects pass after the cycle
- dermatologist made the odd exceptions for those with the male pattern baldness genes
-seeing a natural path ASAP - appointment is booked
1) advice for hair? - I eat well, have some biotin in my multi
2) detox and cleanse info? colon? liver? other?
3) what more can be suggested?
This is how I feel: Accutane is amazing if nothing else works but, given my acne was not severe, partially mild though, I did get the odd cystic pimple here or there, I decided on the medication to prevent scars or future ones since, the first one made me depressed and insecure. I want to fix my hair. When it was short, it looked awful but, it seems to be okay. Its faded on a side a bit which is bother some. If it got worse, I am shaving it short, line up like black guys get but, I look better with hair. I appreciate advice.
This is not what you want to hear, but don't be surprised if acne comes back in a year or two. Accutane shrinks the sebaceous glands but does not get rid of them. Your sebaceous glands slowly grow back. If you still have wacky hormones when your sebaceous glands are in full force again, they will have the oil they need to create acne.
1) Hair. Biotin is a good start. I noticed on 5000mg biotin that my hair grew faster but it made me irritable. I also noticed that my hair and nails grew faster on MSM (can't remember dosage) with no real side effects. Secondly, your shampoo does make a difference. This is only because most shampoos contain sulfates. Sulfates have been studied and shown to be not only a skin irritant but an irritant to the hair follicle. Enough prolonged irritation to the hair follicle will cause hair loss, just like constantly pulling and tugging at your hair will pull it out. Get a nice sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner. (SheaMoisture is a great brand).
2) There is some evidence that a lot of acne patients suffer from a leaky gut and lack gut flora. This can start in infancy if you were formula-fed, or your mother didn't have a great diet. Ideally a baby is breastfed by a mother with a great diet, and the baby is able to seed its own gut with the proper bacteria through breastmilk. Unfortunately in our Westernized lifestyles this rarely happens. Getting formula-fed as a baby guarantees that you have very low gut flora.
Your gut is supposed to contain billions of good bacteria and over a hundred strains of bacteria. This isn't something you can fix with some yogurt (many yogurts don't even contain probiotics after processing, and the ones that do only have three strains) and avoiding sugar. You need to use some massive, multi-strain probiotics and possibly some digestive enzymes or Betaine HCL to get your digestion and absorption back in working order.
See this post: http://www.acne.org/...ar/page__st__40
Also see Dr. Ayer's Blog, Cooling Inflammation. He's done a lot of hard science on this topic.
3) I wouldn't bother with the naturopath unless you're going to one that specializes in leaky gut. If they prescribe you a bunch of herbs and supplements, those won't do you any good if you can't absorb them properly. I would get #2 on this list under control and see how you fare first.
4) Honestly I believe that the leaky gut stuff can fix not only the cause of acne but increase your body's ability to heal itself after Accutane. After that if you are still experiencing some problems, you may have an underlying hormonal imbalance. At that point I would recommend some natural anti-androgens such as saw palmetto and stinging nettle, at a high dosage (500+ mg a day). Excess androgen activity is often responsible not only for acne but for hair loss.
Thanks so much for the lengthy response. It will take me a bit to dissect this message and make up the most of what I can.
Just so you know, I met with my dermatologist, I have booked an appointment with a natural path, I purchased a book about health, I exercise, doing meditation, and yoga, huge fan and follower of David Wolf.
I will not bitch, complain, moan, and do nothing to help myself. I will do everything in my power to get myself back to where I should be. I have tried msm but, I did not notice much. I may try it again. I do notice caffeine and some meals tend to run through me. I immediately have to poo. Revita shampoo and conditioner I am looking into.
I may consider rogaine and those big 3 for hair growth. The thing is that, I am a fan of mma, seeing guys like Shogun or Vitor who have short faded hair who look like and are bad asses. I may go this route. I tried medication and it fixed one thing and fucked up another. I imagine trying medications may do that. Bring back hair but, fuck me up in other ways. I am hoping my natural path can get me centered and help me alleviate a lot of this crap. My scalp is very itchy. I fear its hair loss. I have not washed my hair in a week. I will once I get 1) Revita or 2) something all natural as most shampoos will effect dht = balding or more thinning.
I am still noticing hair loss and its been a week or more since I stopped accutane. I imagine its in my blood. The hair is thick more so at the base and thinner near the crown and sides but thick on top? Its so weird. Its spoty on my one side. I would post pics but, I am already self conscious with reasons. With acne, with even a few scars, shaving my head is not something I am particularly fond of but, I do not want to lose my libido or erections so, I have little choice in the matter. I heard that precilla medication can do that to me so, its all up in the air at this point.I am ocd so, i keep checking my hair in a three way mirror nonstop. Its quite neurotic. I am trying to keep myself in grounded and just to relax. I need to chill but, its one fucking thing after another. Pardon my french.
Its interesting the mention of probiotics. How long after getting off accutane can I take probiotics and supplements? Should I contact my pharmacist first? I was taking msm, probiotics, a multi vitamin 3x a day since we piss most of it out, creatine monohydrate for workout, protein supplement whey isolate, iron and digestive enzymes. There were tons of supplements I was taking but, it only did so much and to be honest, I noticed very little. I know they have their use to supplement in areas I am deficient however, its more important to get it through natural foods. This isn't always possible so, its better to supplement then, to not at all, and miss out on important micro and macro nutrients.
Well, I want to thicken my hair, focus on, a detox, cleanse of liver, colon, preferably full body, center my body as best I can, and address my gut issues. You are now the second person to mention this. Genetically speaking, we have a long history of gut issues starting with acid reflux so, I can imagine there is merit here but, there is still only so much that can be done right?
Thanks for your time, advice, and support. Its greatly appreciated. I will look into these tips and do my best to center my body. I will keep in touch and update this. I am doing my best. A few have attacked my choice for taking accutane but, if you suffer from a blemish once a blue moon, these people wouldn't understand. Those who suffer from even mild acne and never experience a cystic pimple have no clue how damaging it is both mentally, psychologically, and physically in leaving scars. The purpose was to prevent being scar face. I have a few scars and some large pores. The plan was to prevent further damage. Its not easy being a guy so, its shit I don't need in my life. I take a step forward and get knocked side ways with life or circumstances. Its rought sometimes but, I am toughing it out.
Alright so, I have been going through my diet, looking to make some changes, and tweak some things in order to find the right balance. I have recently purchased a new book called the younger thinner healthier you diet. I have only gotten into the first couple of chapters. It talks a lot about seratonine, dopamine, gaba, and acetylcholine. The doctor's contention on health and youth is based upon those four and placing them into a optimal range through proper sleep, diet, and exercise. Its mostly a high protein, low carb, no refined sugar or trans fats. Its a best seller so, if anyone is interested, I highly recommend checking it out. Even if you only gain a bit out of it. It offers some tests to find a relative idea of where your levels are at. I think you will gain much.
I also purchased a book called first rate madness. Its another best seller. It argues that mental health isn't always the best for leadership. They pointed to guys like FDR, JFK, Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King jr, and tons of other crisis leaders that were mentally unhealthy who stepped up to run a nation. It goes onto argue that, they had succeeded due to their mental predisposition, and how their maybe a just reason for why things are the way they are? I find this hard to comprehend with acne, acne scars or accutane side effects, possible hair thinning or other consequences. Its tested my character and me as a person. I have felt mentally ill at times, depressed, and extremely low. It left a lasting impression that, there maybe something to all this, to what I have been experiencing most of my life, and what I can do about it to be a leader, maybe not of a nation but, in my own life or to the lives around me. These great leaders didn't let it stop them so, why would I let my circumstances stop me?
I have also contacted and met with a natural path. Before I begin, let me remind you, I have no coverage, that supplements as you may already know are not cheap, and natural pathic doctors study for over 12yrs with the intentions of making good on that following their success. We discussed personal issues, stresses, the things I have been doing like reading (self help, health books, best sellers, and nonfiction), meditation, yoga, exercise, and jogging. The natural path and I discussed hair loss from medication. He told me that, it could be a case of mpb (male pattern baldness) that is induced or sped up by accutane. He suffers from mbp too so, he knows what I fear. My hair is currently spoty, I get a cow lick at the crown which is upsetting when I sleep but, its fine and goes away. I stopped accutane for over a week now. Hairloss continued on after stopping but, it slowed down and its not fully stopped though, its much less then when I was on it and lesser even now to almost not at all. I brought up my thoughts about a colon and liver cleanse. He suggested supplements and wanted to steer me away from detox since, he didn't feel it was in my best interest and its also very hard on the body.
Supplements I took are: thistle milk for liver as he suggests getting it to work fully functional will be practically a detox or so he suggested, probiotics, fish oil, and a herb for my immune system. The plan now is to meet back in the next month or so and to follow up on how I have progressed. I am not sure what to do about my hair. As of now, its not great as I have a perfect head of hair prior to accutane. Doc said it could force gradual mbp if I have the genes or it could be all at once. Nobody knows and the exact causes for it are questionable. The main being it predisposed due to genetics if at applicable. I have been on different forums finding and seeking advice. There is rogaine and the big 3 but, this would steer me away from natural path and organics. Going the accutane route has fixed acne temporarily or for now. The long term effects of accutane are bound to reveal themselves with time. My hope is that, I am resilient, I can bounce back, and overcome all this.
The supplements and natural path ran me up a couple hundred dollars. Its not cheap but, its nice having someone who can help me along the way. If I eventually do a detox, I will need help, and I know its very dangerous without a specialist. Please tip me off guys and share advice.
I wouldn't say doing a detox is dangerous without a specialist. Anyone telling you that is just trying to make money.
Maybe you shouldn't jump into a 30 day water fast without knowing what you're doing. But of course there are tons of detoxes you can do at home without medical supervision. Believe in yourself. You are capable of taking care of yourself. Don't let these "specialists" drain your cash.
It's been awhile.
Since Accutane, my skin is amazing. No break outs or scares I w/orry about. I dated over the holidays. I had casual sex a bunch of times. Accutane changed my life.
Accutane did affect me long term. I had hairloss. I was fatigued during and I am fatigued now. It's like a wave. It comes over me. I haven't seen Dr dermatologist in ages. Great doctor too. He gave free samples.
I am tryin to heal. Drinking filtered water. Taking supplement to counter the poison. I am into a trade school. I moved on with my life for the better. I workout three times a week. I gained muscle too.
I rarely sign on since the site changed to Twitter sign in. Don't give up guys. If you can clean up your diet, meditate, supplement, I suggest that. If you have done that stuff and your face is scarring, Accutane it. Just know you may alter your life forever as the side effects are serious. My eyes are dry as is my lips. I stopped four months in on 80mg and nothing has been this great.
I now want to fix this damage.
I wouldn't say doing a detox is dangerous without a specialist. Anyone telling you that is just trying to make money.
Maybe you shouldn't jump into a 30 day water fast without knowing what you're doing. But of course there are tons of detoxes you can do at home without medical supervision. Believe in yourself. You are capable of taking care of yourself. Don't let these "specialists" drain your cash.