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Just Started Saw Palmetto This Morning

 
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(@chelslaw)

Posted : 10/11/2012 6:09 pm

Wish me luck!

 

28 year old female with mild-moderate inflamed acne on chin area.

 

Anyone else taken this with any luck? Im not a spiro candidate and I'm already on birth control.

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(@green-gables)

Posted : 10/11/2012 7:20 pm

I know a couple users who cleared on saw palmetto and stopped coming to acne.org...

 

 

I struggled with this prescription, because I believed in the theory behind Saw Palmetto preventing hormonal acne; however, it took a very long time to see results (approximately three months). After month one and mediocre results, I doubled my dosage to 640 mg/day. I have not had a single cyst for over one month now. I am amazed that my face is completely turning around from a single supplement. Guys, if you have done your research, and you are sure that your acne is indeed hormonal, this is totally worth it. But, be patient!

 

 

My battle with acne started at 15.Back then the acne was the worst on my forehead,but my cheeks and chin were clear.I tried proactiv and it cleared everything up.Everytime i got off of proactiv my acne would come raging back,so i assumed i would have to depend it it the rest of my life,which irritated me thinking of all the money they make off of me.

Now fastforward to 28 yrs old:about a year ago i started breaking out on my cheeks and jawline(somewhere i NEVER broke out before)and proactiv was doing zilch in getting rid of them.After doing tons of research,i came to the conclusion that if proactiv works for you,great,dont mess with it.But if topical stuff does nothing,you've got an internal problem,either your hormones are out of wack or your liver isnt functioning properly and the toxins are working out through your skin.For me,it was my hormones,hence the jawline acne.Anyway i bought the saw palmetto standardized 160mg for 6 dollars at walmart(spring valley brand) and take one in the morning and night.I also take a multivitamin and zinc,in case anyone is interested.After two weeks,i wasnt getting any more acne but the existing ones ran their course as usaul.Now two weeks later,im TOTALY clear.I just cant believe it!Every morning i look in the mirror and expect to see a huge red cyst but its just CLEAR.Any women out there that suspect their acne is hormonal,try it.It is changing my life!This isnt the cure for everyone maybe,but hope i can help someone whose acne is similar to what mine was!

 

 

Not sure if this helps... but I've been taking it for awhile, I take two 450mg capsules a day, and I have had no negative side effects. The important thing is that I have had SOME improvement in my face, but the acne on my shoulders and back has nearly VANISHED over night! I can hardly believe it! I have been researching dht blockers and I'm going to try taking a supplement for hair loss (I don't have hair loss, but blocking dht = less oil = less acne). If this works, I plan on confronting my derm about spiro... I have tried EVERYTHING for my hormonal acne (DIM, vit B5, EVERYTHING) and I'm guessing my problem is DHT since the saw palmetto is working!!! I would go ahead and try it, at your own risk. If you experience any side effects, I would stop. The hair loss supplement I am taking has saw palmetto it in (I believe around 300 mg/capsule) and it says that it is suitable for women. Good luck!!!!

 

 

I am a healthy 24yr old women who had acne for 15 years, with failed attempts of clearing my skin, I happened to find a video from [link removed] about saw p. For hormonal acne. I take saw p three times a day along with Maca (regulate hormones) as well. This is a killer combo if you have PSOD like me. I checked w/ mr dr before taking these herbs, so good idea. Good luck and do your research on these two herbs if you can't get you hormones in balance, def worth a try!!

 

 

I tried the whole B5 / Panthothetic Acid thing that people reviewed on here and it didn't work for me. I also tried zinc and fish oil pills (made my skin softer but no reduction in acne). I now take Saw Palmetto once in the morning and once at night. It has been FABULOUS. I went from lots of those cystic, red, large zits that take weeks to go away to 1 super tiny zit every so often. Saw Palmetto essentially is like birth control pills in that its an anti-androgen without the estrogen boost. I don't need the estrogen boost (or side effects) so Saw P is the way to go for me!!!!

 

Hello Everyone!

I'm 24, female and I've suffered from acne since I was 12. I have tried everything to cure my acne (except accutane). I was on Diane-35 for a few years and it controlled my oily skin and helped with my acne quite a bit..but I came off of it last year after I became more health-conscious and realised that it was not good for my body. I had a terrible acne flare-up when I came off of it and I've been trying everything since to cure myself.

I had read a lot about saw palmetto and how it might help with acne in women who have polycystic ovaries. I bought a bottle of the standardized version by Swiss vitamins. I took it religiously for 3 months but it never really altered my skin any. So I gave up on that. Recently however I came across a post here on Curezone by AudreyGirl and how Saw Palmetto..specifiically the GNC brand had dramatically changed her skin. SO I decided to give saw palmetto another try. I've now been taking it for one month...and I'm a bit hesitant to praise it too much yet...but my skin is so changed! It is so smooth and soft and so much less oily..i can hardly believe that it's my skin! Even my constant nose blackheads are going away. And the spots on my chest have cleared up. So far so good. I'll post back in another month to update...hopefully it will still be working and this won't just be a fluke. I will be really upset if it is! Even my boyfriend has noticed...even though he's loved me no matter what I look like..the other day in the bright morning sunshine (which i usually hate for people to see my skin in) he said that my skin looked so beautiful and that i looked radiant! This is doing wonders for my confidence smile.png

I have been taking a total of 320 mg Saw Palmetto/day. 160 mg. in the morning and 160 mg. at bedtime.

I just hope that this is my cure...or at least that it will continue to keep my acne under control. I used to have big painful cysts that would come up..and I would just want to hide away. I haven't had one since i've been taking the saw palmetto. So if at the least it keeps the cysts at bay..then I'll be very very happy.

Hopefully this will help someone else who is suffering too.

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(@chelslaw)

Posted : 10/11/2012 11:06 pm

WOW. Thank you SO much for posting all those comments!!

 

What a motivator! I'm going to be taking it religiously day and night 160mg (the kind i got is standardized 85%-95% fatty acids, also includes 160mg flax seed oil and 120mg pumpkin seed oil)

 

if after a month i see no change maybe ill add a third one in the middle of the day too.

 

I am very excited!!

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(@chelslaw)

Posted : 10/12/2012 9:34 am

PS

Had the weirdest dreams last night! Wonder if its saw p. induced :)

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(@daftfrost)

Posted : 10/13/2012 8:08 am

It is said that coconut oil also has a similar effect by blocking dht converting enzyme. Same with black tea, however, several studdies shows that greentea increases dht.

 

Anyways, white tea or black tea are far better.

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(@chelslaw)

Posted : 11/06/2012 2:47 pm

ive been on Saw P for now almost a month. ive just recently upped my dosage from 320mg/daily to 480mg/daily.

 

so far so good. not going to judge the results until 3 months in!

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(@jarrit)

Posted : 11/06/2012 3:56 pm

Is there any research available on why saw palmetto would cure acne for women who have hormonal acne? I'm just curious, because my goal is to figure out if acne can really be "isolated," rather than tied to a series of health problems or dietary deficiencies.

 

I'm starting to lean on "no" as an answer to this question. The current cause and effect checklist of acne is so large, that people become overwhelmed. Several topical treatments and oral treatments later, the person is back to ground zero because all they did was try something that someone on the internet regurgitated as fact and raved it as "the cure". The acne sufferer is then left to evaluate their current causality and correlations based on their reflection in the mirror.

 

This has become the basis for why I question everything I've ever been told about acne. I've been told by a doctor that diet doesn't heal acne, and so I never ever cared to change my diet. After all, isn't a doctor's job to be knowledgeable and heal you? 17 years later, I'm clear by eating well.

 

Question everything, even the mysterious charges on your next auto-bill. Some of them will list 3 oil changes and floor-mat adjustments as part of the fee.

 

I'm beginning to feel that to treat a person's acne, their acne must first be categorized. I feel like acne can be a large indicator of what is going on in the body, and the type can be associated with a problem (e.g. cystic acne vs. surface acne).

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(@chelslaw)

Posted : 11/06/2012 11:19 pm

the research would be the same as spiro. spiro is a synthetic anti-androgen and saw palmetto is a natural anti androgen. there is TONS of information on saw p on this site if you search for it on the search tool.

 

im also using the DRK regimen and i have completely cut gluten out of my diet as well, i exclusively drink water, almost no alchohol at all, rarely caffeine (just in green tea) , exercise 3-4 times a week, stay away from as much processed food and sugars as i can....

 

all my acne is inflamed/under the skin kind. not sure id call it cystic but its persistent and inflamed. started about 2 years ago, i *think* after i took the plan b pill.

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(@jarrit)

Posted : 11/07/2012 3:24 am

Sounds like you hit all of the spots. I'm just glad to see I'm not the only one who cured acne through a gluten-free diet!

 

I'm tempted to create a "holistic flow chart" for acne. Obviously it'd start off with MALE or FEMALE :)

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(@dc-girl-3)

Posted : 11/18/2012 4:04 pm

Wow, chelsaw, I'm facing the same exact thing. My face is flawless except for my chin where I have 1 for sure cyst and 2 big under the skin inflamed ones I'm trying to keep from coming up.

I just got my derm to give my spiro, 50mg a day and in addition I'm taking chaste tree, DIM and sometimes saw palmetto.

I have realized that I got rid of regular style acne but when I get super stressed and/or deviate from my diet I get these awful huge ones on my chin/jawline so for the 1st time ever I'm focusing on balancing my hormone. I also just started a bio-identical progesterone cream which I'm excited about.

I've heard that sam palmetto is most effective with nettle and beta sistoral. Are you taking it with that as well?

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(@chelslaw)

Posted : 11/18/2012 11:57 pm

nope. the only things im doing that is new (and having fantastic success with) are:

 

450mg daily of saw palmetto (the kind that is stabilized to 85-90% fatty acids)

 

dans regimen (except in the morning i substitute 1% clinidsol cream for BP)

 

complete removal of gluten.

 

its been 5 weeks on saw p, 7 weeks on the regimen and 4 weeks without any gluten at all.

 

not sure which is helping the most, or if its a combo of them all but im really happy :) i monitor my progress on a calendar by simply writing "good skin, ok skin, bad skin" for the week so i have an idea when i look back.

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(@gman89)

Posted : 11/24/2012 12:10 am

Any update on this?

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(@acnegoaway54)

Posted : 11/25/2012 3:16 am

good luck.

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(@chelslaw)

Posted : 11/25/2012 10:09 pm

hi there!

 

gman89: im having great success. im not sure if its the saw palmetto combined with complete gluten removal (or one or the other) but my hormonal acne has completely calmed down, even the week before my period when it would normally flare up with the cysts.

 

lchance: its just an anti androgen blocker, its not doing anything else to your hormones. i also take birth control pills, which regulate my hormones as well but didnt do much for my acne. lots of men take this for prostate health so i wouldnt be concerned about taking this at all. i discussed with my dr first and she had zero concerns.

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(@gman89)

Posted : 11/26/2012 5:43 am

I started taking my first Saw P supplement today. It's actually a Saw P Complex supplement that has a bunch of other things in it (B6, Pumpkin Seed, Lycopene and Zinc). So I hope it works the same.

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(@chelslaw)

Posted : 11/26/2012 11:06 am

from what i understand it must be the kind that is stabilized to 85-90% fatty acids.

 

also if you dont already, try removing gluten for 4-6 weeks.

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(@cleaarly)

Posted : 12/28/2012 11:43 pm

I have occasional acne (mostly along chin/jaw line) and extremely oily, greasy skin, which is hormonal. (Skin improves right before and during period; BCP improved skin conditions in the past). My extremely oily face was really getting to me the other day so I was on acne.org and found saw palmetto, decided to give a try, bought a bottle of 450mg capsules from a local Walgreen's, and took 1 capsule a day yesterday and today. I'm posting this to share my experience with it.

 

Side effects (!!!!!!!): Irregular heartbeat (as if I chugged a large cup of strong coffee), extremely cold feet and hands like never before, slight nausea

 

I'm not a coffee drinker because I'm very sensitive to caffeine and it makes my heart beat super fast. Saw Palmetto had the same effect... And the cold feet!!!! I already have pretty cold feet and hands but this time, they were *icy* cold and wearing socks didn't help at all.

 

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(@chelslaw)

Posted : 12/29/2012 11:32 am

i think that might be a bit of anxiety vs actually speeding up your heart beat. thats happened to me with antibiotics but they dont speed up heartrate, they just make me anxious...

 

saw p doesnt do anything except block your androgens...

 

i have consulted my doctor- who said that a) it probably wont work (which it did) and b) it could in theory interact with birth control (but probably not)

 

otherwise its just a natural anti androgen. its a diruetic. thats about it.

 

maybe you are taking too much? im just taking 320mg/daily. ive seen some people on here taking 1000mg daily who have no issues... (i think thats way too much personally)

 

also, you have only taken it for 2 DAYS.

 

you cannot evaluate something like this (hormonal) for months.

 

i believe its anxiety causing your symptoms (all of those are things i get when anxious) but you should always consult your doctor BEFORE taking something.

 

you definitely need to eat when you take it so you dont get nauseas....

 

are you taking the stabilized kind? 85-90% fatty acids?

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(@acnegoaway54)

Posted : 12/29/2012 4:25 pm

does anyone think men can take this?

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(@zitarella)

Posted : 04/25/2013 8:42 pm

HI Chelslaw:

Ihave been taking Saw Palmetto since September 2012. I had horrendous acne hit me right after I went off the BC Pill.

The saw Palmetto was a mirical!! I took a large dose about 1800mg/day. It immediatly calmed my cystic acne. It would kill them over night. I have been taking it for about 8 months now, but it seems to not be working as well as before...It remained to keep me acne free till about February. So for 5-6 months.

I read online what doses others take an no one was taking as much as me. My knees started bugging me and I got paranoid that it was the saw palmetto doing something to my joints, since thats such an insanely high dosage.

I have cut back to taking the 3 pills spread out during the day, instead of all at once, but it seems that my it isnt stopping my crazy hormonal acne from coming through.

I have ran out of the kind I was taking and need to order more online. This is it http://www.vitacost.com/natures-herbs-saw-palmetto-berries

I wanted some right away so went to my pharmacy and got some more saw palmetto that is in a gelcap and with pumpkin seed extract. Each pill is only 160mg, I have been taking 2, each day for 2 days, so im not really sure if its working yet.

But yeah anyways to conclude, saw palmetto is the only supplement that I have truly notice actually doing anything!!! Im almost 30 now and have suffered from this shit since I've been a teen. Im getting pretty ticked off!!! lol.

Wanted to go workout tonight, then saw how many nasty pimples I had even on my body and decided to stay in. Its ruining my life. I guess I will just need to order more saw palmetto and try again with the large dose all at once.

Also I noticed that while even taking the large dose I was getting acne on my body like crazy!! I have never had it like this ever, I dont know if maybe thats my body reacting to such a large does. My face was fine, but my body was going nuts.

I hope that it continues to keep working with you! Keep us posted.

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(@chelslaw)

Posted : 04/29/2013 12:42 pm

thanks for the update! i actually only took it for a few months then weened myself off of it to see if it was really helping.

ive now been off of it for a couple of months and my skin is still good (the odd breakout but nothing cystic or infamed)

its definitely been the gluten removal that has helped me :)

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(@mikito)

Posted : 05/02/2013 7:37 am

Congratulations Chelslaw for your success with saw palmetto. I am female, 43 years, still suffering from cystic acne since I was teen, but It,s better than before because of Diane 35 + zinc gluconate 30 mg. But I still have acne.

I am considering taking Saw Palmetto capsules or increasing to 45 mg of zinc but I am afraid about combining Diane 35 with Saw Palmetto, because of the increase of strogen. Chelslaw, you said you were also taking BCP? Which one? Does anyone take Diane35 + Saw Palmetto?

Please, keep updating.

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(@chelslaw)

Posted : 05/03/2013 10:58 am

I take ortho tri cyclen. i believe they took diane35 off the market. i know they did here in canada recently...

i dont take saw p anymore though. i did for a few months, then weened off of it.

for my it was gluten removal and cutting down on sugar that really did help me. its been 7 months now without gluten and its amazing that results ive seen with my skin. i encourage you to give it a shot for at least a couple of months before judging if it helps or not.

good luck!

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(@ghost08)

Posted : 05/03/2013 11:27 am

"Birth control pills (Contraceptive drugs) interacts with SAW PALMETTO

Some birth control pills contain estrogen. Saw palmetto might decrease the effects of estrogen in the body. Taking saw palmetto along with birth control pills might decrease the effectiveness of birth control pills. If you take birth control pills along with saw palmetto, use an additional form of birth control such as a condom."

Just in case you did not know.

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(@maskedone)

Posted : 07/11/2013 7:31 am

Bumping up to re-ask the question... has anyone taken Saw Palmetto for at least one month? What was the dose? I had been taking Spiro (50 - 75mg), and it worked wonderfully but I ended up with painful side effect so I've stopped (I had horrible bladder pains. I think it's something to do with effect on potassium on the body). Anyway - I'm looking into Saw Palmetto and it only affects DHT! This could be a huge deal for me. I don't need BP medication or diuretic or bigger boobs... but if I'm understand everything I read - this affects both the estrogen AND testosterone. I'm so hopeful this will work for me. I've order a bottle and plan to start at 160mg/day, 2x/day. I also love that it's natural.

Can anyone offer recent success stories? Did you change anything else in you diet? I'm on BC pills and also take Cod Liver Oil pills, 50mg Zing, 500mg Mg, and a multi-vitamin. I really want this to work, and it theory, it sounds like it could. I'm not expecting some overnight miracle. Spiro took a good 1-2 months to work, so I will try to be patient. I'm petite so I'm not sure I high dosage would be the way to start.

Further disclosure: I eat fairly healthy and my acne has come back after being 98% clear after 6 months. I stopped Spiro 4 months ago, stopped BC three weeks ago an cysts came back :( I was so upset so I"ve started BC pills and Spiro again, even with the painful side effects. I cannot take having these horrendous cysts. When I get the Saw P. I'll stop the Spiro (25mg daily, btw, and I STILL am getting reactions). I would like to be able to eat fairly healthy and not freak out on a "cheat day" when I want to have a GD pretzel.

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