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I Need Help Deciphering This Acne

MemberMember
0
(@getsomegreene)

Posted : 08/24/2014 11:31 pm

Hello out there. I've been fighting body acne for the last 7 years and I'm getting nowhere. I'm a 25yo female, diagnosed with PCOS. I know that I have higher testosterone than I should and I'm looking into that. I also know there are a few options left, as i have not tried everything in my power to make it stop. I'm sure there are dietary changes I need to be making and that's something I'm taking very seriously because it's clear this is a very internal issue, be it hormones or allergies or whatever else. Which brings me to why I'm here. I was hoping to find somebody who might have similar breakouts who have found out at least WHAT form of acne this is. Is it hormonal? Is it folliculitis? Am I possibly allergic to dairy or something else? Is it fungal related? I've only been to 2 derms in the last year and half and both said it was "most likely" hormonal. This latest doctor prescribed me spironolactone which I've only been on about a month, so there's still hope for that. Anyway, I really just want to know if this is a common form of acne or if I have some strange unknown skin condition. I've included a few (awful) photos depicting the horror that is my body. Any opinions will be appreciated.

 

The first few pictures are my forearms and shoulders, and then my chest.

Most the breakouts ar very slightly raised red spots with a tiny head. Most the ones on my arms are whiteheads. I will every so often develop cysts on my shoulders and thighs. ?

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MemberMember
10
(@lus4279)

Posted : 08/28/2014 5:22 pm

I'm no expert but to me this looks like a hormonal/dietry type of acne, especially with where you are breaking out. I was prone to bad cystic acne on my neck and tried everything! I eventually cut dairy out and after a few weeks. No more cysts. I still have marks left over from them but they are fading now my necks clear. The majority of dairy products contain hormones, a lot of them and this seemed to be my problem. Try cutting all dairy out your diet for a month or so, it's hard but trust me it's worth it. Just a heads up though that it didn't do anything for my pimples just my cysts so I'm still working on that but give it a go and see how it goes.

 

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. Good luck. Hope you find something that works for you.

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MemberMember
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(@getsomegreene)

Posted : 08/28/2014 10:22 pm

Thanks a lot! Yeah, I'm more than 50 percent certain that it's at least mostly hormonal. I've been working on diet changes slowly. I don't drink actual milk, I've been doing flax seed and almond milk, but boy can I eat the hell out of cheese.

 

Time to to discipline myself!

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MemberMember
10
(@lus4279)

Posted : 08/29/2014 11:19 am

Glad I could help.

Just try and cut out all dairy though, even the milk like you say you need to discipline yourself which is hard but once you start seeing the results its easy to stick too. Let me know how it goes :)

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MemberMember
9
(@somedayistoday)

Posted : 08/29/2014 12:00 pm

Last year I developed body acne as well. Im pretty sure its because I had cut gluten from my diet and was eating more dairy. I then decided to cut out dairy too and the body acne began to disappear. So yeah definitely try that out. Good luck

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