Hey all!
Just wanted to get some feedback on going gluten free for acne. I've had deep cystic, hormonal acne for years and regular acne since I was about 11. The hormonal acne was controlled by spironolactone for about a year, but last fall it came back with a vengeance. Tried upping my spiro from 50 mg (maintenance dose) to 200 mg (prescribed dose)...didn't work and I started to have bad side effects.
Anyway, because I have tried everything but accutane and birth control, I decided to try to figure out why my hormones are out of wack rather than keep pumping my system full of drugs...
I started gluten free a little over two weeks ago after doing a lot of research. i'm still on 100 mg of spiro. The first few days I noticed some clearing, but for the past two weeks my skin has been horrible. I'm breaking out in places I don't usually get acne, and am getting clusters of the cysts.
Just wondering if anyone else who went GF for acne had similar stories. I can't seem to find anything about timelines, and I don't want to waste my time on something that's not gonna work. Two weeks of bad detox seems like a really long time from what I have seen, but just wondering other peoples stories!
Thanks.
Hey Mollie,
There are different types of antibodies that respond to allergens in your body. IGE antibodies are what respond to typical allergies like poison ivy or beestings and they produce an instant and obvious reaction when you are exposed. It's unlikely that your body is producing these types of antibodies because you seem to have a hard time figuring out if you feel better or worse when you cut gluten out. However, it is likely (according to many alternative doctors at least) that your body is producing IGG or IGA antibodies in response to gluten or some other allergen. Although it's still pretty debatable if the presence of these antibodies in your blood means anything at all, many doctors believe that these are indicative of a food sensitivity which it sounds like you have. I recommend ordering an allergy test to find out. With "food sensitivites" the effects are not immediate when you eat something and can sometimes take months to manefest. If you don't eat gluten for a week and don't notice anything, this really means nothing.
I suffered from terrible terrible acne for more than 8 years of my life and I tried all sorts of things: eavery face wash known to man, spending hours upon hours laying in the sun, salt water washes. I finally ended up going to a doctor who told me to go gluten free, dairy free, sugar free and I was very skeptical at first. Being in college I wanted to drink beer and go out to eat at restaurants and order food like a normal person. I tried it for a few weeks and gave up. Then I tried his diet for a month before melting down and eating a gallon of ice cream. In the past four months however, I have been really good with my diet. I have no gluten, no dairy, very little cane sugar, no processed food, no alcohol and no meat (but that's for moral reasons). Let me tell you, my skin looks fantastic and I feel great.
We are not "normal people" so don't pretend you are. You don't "deserve" to be able to eat whatever the hell you want and have perfect skin. You are going to have to make some sacrifices but please, please, please do. Your skin is reflecting the health of the rest of your body and it is telling you it does not like what you are putting into it! It's really late so pleae excuse my spelling and grammar. Hope this helps!