That is A LOT of vitamin A. Be careful with it. It gets stored in your liver and is not water soluble, so the risk of toxicity is much higher. You don't need to take so much vitamin A - your body will store it and use it as needed.

Hi guys,

I'm struggling with acne since 12, I'm actually 21. I took accutane at 16, and it clears me during 3 years, but the cystic acne came back..

I've read hundreds of studies and several books on diet, acne, hormones etc..

I think that acne is due to :

lack of gut flora => unable to digest sugar/carbs => inflammation on the gut => damage the gut lining (leaky gut syndrome) => chronic inflammation

I'm pretty sure about that because my acne wasn't that bad (lots of pimples but no cysts) in february, then I got a jaw surgery and they put me on antibiotics and other anti-inflammatory drugs, and after 2 weeks I broke out so bad with cystic acne, and since this event, I got cysts whereas I haven't got cystic acne since I took accutane. What an amazing coincidence...

I followed the GAPS diet during the last 3 months, and I can get almost 100% clear if I only eat protein and fat (meat, butter and coconut oil basically). The more I add carbs (even fucking carrots or broccoli), the more acne I got.

I was constipated all my life (less than 3 BM a week and really hard to pass)

I'm eating homemade raw milk kefir, kombucha and sauerkraut everyday, my BM are OK right now (one or two a day, really soft, etc..).

I still have bloating whenever I eat carbs

I'm currently taking 240-300 mg of zinc a day during 1 month (my zinc got copper with it), because I think that's the reason zinc does work for some people : it seals the gut, but the results are always seen after at least 1 month, and up to 3 months. So for a moderate case of leaky gut, 50mg should probably work, but I think I got a severe case. (because of the huge chronic inflammation).

I'm not patient enough to wait 2 months to see if Zinc is gonna work, so I started Vitamin A one week ago.

I'm taking 150 000 UI a day, and started 200 000 UI today. I will reduce to the minimum dose possible if I see i'm getting clear.

Yes I know, this is 10* the RDA but so is Accutane. So if I have to die, I will to it with a clear skin.

I'm pretty confident about the Vitamin A, the thing is, it's probably a temporary fix like accutane is, so i'm gonna continue to try to rebuild my gut flora (if it's even possible), i'm gonna try different fermented foods, try some soil-based probiotics, cures leaky gut, maybe treat a SIBO case..

If you have any suggestion concerning the rebuild of the gut flora and repair the gut lining, or if you already tried supplements etc.. Just share )

BTW, sorry for my poor English, I'm not a native speaker (French guy checking in !).

Before you destroy your body and/or cause reputable harm because you are 'impatient' you should keep in mind regardless how old you are that you are not invincible..especially to the side effects of self medication of dietary supplements.

"Excessive zinc can cause GI distress, bleeding, ulceration, pro inflammation of the lower GI tract. People have died from ingesting 1 penny that was made before the conversion to the newer pennies. Then, an American penny roughly had 2g of Zinc in it. You are taking enough zinc 6 days to make up for that and you are continuing with it over and over...

Excessive absorption of zinc suppresses copper and iron absorption. There is evidence of induced copper deficiency at low intakes of 100“300 mg Zn/day.

Copper deficiency can produce anemia-like symptoms, neutropenia, bone abnormalities, hypopigmentation, and impaired growth, increased incidence of infections, osteoporosis, hyperthyroidism, and abnormalities in glucose and cholesterol metabolism."

You are not only suppressing copper, but also iron. Therefore, you are at risk for becoming anemic which will not help your case. You cannot take iron and zinc together as they compete for absorption. Iron is poorly absorbed roughly 5-10% through oral route.

Vitamin A? There is enough information on this forum + the internet to feed that discussion that you should also read before going crazy on supplements that you know very little about. Accutane is a derivative of vitamin A, but not the same.

Also, A needs a high fat content to be correctly absorbed. Problem with this is that high fat diets to adequately absorb that dosage increase your risk in several other diseases later in life-colon cancer and coronary artery disease to name a few. Supplementing omega 3's will only throw off your 3-6-9 balance leading to increased inflammation as the fat oxidizes causing free radical damage.

There is always a consequence. Be informed and be ready to accept what may happen to your body from your choices.

^^ Absolutely right! You may actually be worsening the issue of gut flora by megadosing like this. Overloading your body with large quantities of supplements isn't going to make those supplements more effective, it will just make your body less efficient in processing them. Eat healthy and be patient with the supplements.