Im a 20 years old male and started suffering from cystic acne at the age of 18. I only get them on my upper cheeks and they are extremely painful! i struggled with them for 2 yrs but in November 2013 I finally saw a dermatologist that got me on 40 mg accutane ( I weigh 139 lb ) I went through the IB twice and had terrible time coping got depressed and didn't want to leave the house. I stopped eating food and developed this phobia from food. I got conditioned Food -> Pain!
My face lookss horrible at the moment so last week i decided to eat salad only for 3 days and my face did seem to get better but I'm an architecture student and salad didn't give me energy at all and i got really bored of the bland taste. I was still breaking out adter 3 months of accutane so I decided to change my dermatologist and see another one which after visiting her decided to up my dose to 60 mg as she thought 40 is too low and after explaining her what am going through she told me I should eat whatever I want and not be too harsh on myself as food doesn't cause acne. I am an arab, so rice and bread are main portions of our diet so wherever I go to eat there's nothing that can be eaten without those too and finding gluten free bread and substitutes is very hard ! Yesterday I finally decided to have sushi and chocolate for dessert with some friends but I'm so scared I'll break out. This is taking a toll on my life.
Im a 20 years old male and started suffering from cystic acne at the age of 18. I only get them on my upper cheeks and they are extremely painful! i struggled with them for 2 yrs but in November 2013 I finally saw a dermatologist that got me on 40 mg accutane ( I weigh 139 lb ) I went through the IB twice and had terrible time coping got depressed and didn't want to leave the house. I stopped eating food and developed this phobia from food. I got conditioned Food -> Pain!
My face lookss horrible at the moment so last week i decided to eat salad only for 3 days and my face did seem to get better but I'm an architecture student and salad didn't give me energy at all and i got really bored of the bland taste. I was still breaking out adter 3 months of accutane so I decided to change my dermatologist and see another one which after visiting her decided to up my dose to 60 mg as she thought 40 is too low and after explaining her what am going through she told me I should eat whatever I want and not be too harsh on myself as food doesn't cause acne. I am an arab, so rice and bread are main portions of our diet so wherever I go to eat there's nothing that can be eaten without those too and finding gluten free bread and substitutes is very hard ! Yesterday I finally decided to have sushi and chocolate for dessert with some friends but I'm so scared I'll break out. This is taking a toll on my life.
I was in the same situation as you, when I went on Isotretinoin I ended up going from 12 stone down to 10 stone. I became very scared of food, especially fatty food. However it's actually benefical to eat fatty food when you take Accutane as it helps with absorption, this is something I'd wish I'd known beforehand. I wouldn't worry about not being clear after 3 months, I didn't start clearing up until month 4 and 5 after my dosage was increased. By the end of month 5 I could eat whatever I wanted, pizza, sweets, fizzy drinks, alcohol and not breakout, it was great! Good luck anyway, I hope you get clear soon!
Some people can eat whatever they want and others can't. Some people get clear after accutane and others don't. I was one of those who didn't --- even after 2 rounds of accutane. Now I'm on the regime below and it is keeping me clear. Diet can help. What matters is what you eat on a daily basis. Messing up once in awhile shouldn't cause too much problem. You're still very young so your hormones are going full strength...this may make it hard to get totally clear for awhile. Follow what your derm says regarding medications...even after finishing accutane. The reason for this is that even if you get clear your skin is still prone to acne and you want to keep the pores from clogging up again. The following diet will help by changing the stickiness of the sebum in your pores and by lowering inflammation which also clogs up pores.
Diet:
Eat whole foods. This means apples instead of apple juice (which has been processed)...whole potatoes instead of french fries (fried in cheap oils). Eat whole grains such as oatmeal or cooked whole grain cereals instead of processed cereals from a box (full of sugars, etc.). Think before eating if the food is whole or not. This means you can eat vegetables, fruits, grains, meats and fowl as long as it hasn't been processed. Eat fresh whole baked chicken instead of processed chicken mcnuggets.
If you think wheat is causing a reaction then avoid it but substitute yams or potatoes or rice. Rice is fine...even white rice which has been eaten forever by Asian cultures. However they also add lots of fresh steamed vegetables to their rice.
Eat organic and wild foods when possible.
Eat extra virgin cold pressed olive oil in tiny amounts for cooking only. Eat whole foods that naturally have fats such as avocados, free-reange chicken, etc.
Avoid dairy...all kinds...including cheese. Dairy has natural hormones (cow is lactating) that can cause inflammation and hormone reactions in acne prone people.
Avoid sugary foods, added sugar and processed fats. Sugary foods cause insulin jumps that cause inflammation. Most fats (canola, sunflower, etc.) are made with solvents and cause sebum to get sticky and the face to be more oily.
Minimize alcohol. Causes inflammation.
The above diet will help your skin to calm down. Be patient. It takes time. You will get more clear as you get a bit older. Many people have raging hormones into their 20's and then things calm down.
Treat your skin very gently. No harsh scrubbing. While on accutane use a lotion developed for acne prone skin. I like DML lotion (can be ordered online). It was specifically developed for post surgery and acne patients. It was recommended by my derm who is an expert in adult acne.
Hope this helps! Don't be afraid to eat...just eat whole unprocessed foods in abundance with joy!
Dont be so restrictive.
The number one thing to remember about diett & acne, (and every other health condition,) is to avoid high glycemic impacting meals, drinks and snacks. So don't eat or drink sugar or refined carbs except in small amounts after or in combination with whole odds high in fiber and/or fat. So I wouldn't worry about rice with your meals for now. Or bread, although I would limit it. And ths is one thing you should do fr life for reasons far more important than fear skin. Humans cannot be eating the amount of sugar and empty carbohydrates as have crept into our diet in the past century. Start this now.
Two is to make your Meals mostly real, whole, nutrient dense foods. Vegetables, fruit, beans, fish, meat, eggs. Ideally, make them organic, pasture rised, etc. but if that's hard, work on it later.
3) try to figure out any food intolerances you may have. This is where you try avoiding gluten. And you might not notice improvement for many months and might need to avoid all grains. Especially since you mentioned IBS. I believe cystic acne tends to be caused by a food or other intolerance based on my experience and what I've been told by many others here. A citrus intolerance causes my severe cystic acne. and accutane won't help with that.
another thing, I suspect stress is a major factor. You say your acne began at 18. Is this when you started university? Is it stressful? Think also about diet and lifestyle changes that occurred like your sleeping habits, alcohol, etc.
There are so many things to eat besides bread and rice. It boggles my mind that people think they can eat only salad if they are to give up excess carbohydrates.
"I can't eat sugar, milk bread, or rice! What can I eat????"
Me: "Literally EVERYTHING ELSE"
This is a normal meal for me:
Salmon cooked in butter with lots of spices. Broccoli and mashed sweet potato. Quinoa with parmesean and butter on top. (I do eat small amounts of fermented dairy like yogurt or cheese but no straight-up milk). I also still use butter because it causes no problems for me, unlike milk.
Does that sound restrictive or like I only eat salad? Please... If I only ate salad, I would be the world's hungriest, most unhappy girl and it would be truly abhorrent to find yourself in my presence for even the smallest amount of time. About gluten-free stuff: gluten-free cookie, bread, etc substitutes are made with different types of white starches and are all very high glycemic index. Usually they are low in fiber as well. You are (probably) not gluten intolerant given your ancestry, so I would look at grains as potential problems just from the high glycemic index, and not from the gluten allergy aspect. For example: I can occasionally eat bread with butter or cheese or whatever. It does not cause me gastrointestinal upset in the same way it would for someone with, say, celiac disease because I am not allergic to wheat. However, if I were to consume half a baguette, I would certainly break out. Why? The carb load... not the gluten.
Bottom line: If your diet is overall low-carb and you've gotten your acne under control, it won't kill you to have some bread or rice with a family meal. Just don't overdo it.
Gluten free processed foods are also usually made with other foods that do similar harm to intestines. They are less harmful, but if you already have a problem, you might not notice any improvement if you simply switch from gluten processed foods to gluten free processed foods.