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How To Know If You Have Hormonal Acne Or Pcos

MemberMember
12
(@anotherstar)

Posted : 11/16/2014 1:30 pm

I went to the derm on friday and all she did was look at my face and say I have hormonal acne because it's cystic/nodular in the chin/jawline area. However I can get blemishes elsewhere all over the face if I don't keep up my skin.

Anyway I'm just wondering if you really have a hormonal imbalance wouldn't there be other signs besides just acne? I don't have any of the other symptoms associated with PCOS. I've never been over 125 pounds (I'm 24), no excess hair, my periods came back like clockwork after I went off Ortho Tri Cyclen earlier this year and they've stayed normal. And while I was on Ortho Tri Cyclen I honestly can't say it helped a ton with my acne. Since going off it about 6 months ago I actually have more energy and NO headaches. The only negative things seem to be some hair shedding but that's evened out now and some slight back acne.

My face was also 100% clear up until this month. I've been using Dan's regimen (however not nearly the amount of BP he calls for, I can get away with a little glob morning and night and stay good) since going off BCP but this month has been hard because of the dry weather and BP drying the skin out. I think I may of induced an acne outbreak by dehydrating my skin and slathering on more BP than needed.

But anyway.. I'm just wondering, how exactly do you know if the acne is hormonal? The dr said even if we tested my hormones they may come back normal. That just doesn't make sense. Why would your body break out in horrible painful large acne unless something was majorly wrong? And can your body ever grow out of this?

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(@framboise)

Posted : 11/17/2014 9:37 am

Even if your hormone levels are normal in tests, your sebum/skin cells might be sensitive to some of the hormones. I think that's what your doctor was talking about.

I think cysts tell something for sure: your problem is internal, not topical.

I know mine is hormonal becaue Yasmin worked wonders on it.

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(@anotherstar)

Posted : 11/17/2014 11:14 am

Hmm maybe. I just know I NEVER ever had a cyst until I actually started birth control (ortho tri cyclen). That's what is so weird to me. Since I've been off it I haven't had a single cyst until this last week when I really, really irritated my skin.

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(@a97)

Posted : 11/17/2014 3:53 pm

All acne is hormonal and should be treated in the same way. For the dryness you can use a more emollient moisturizer. Look at paula's choice skin recovery and moisture boost.

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MemberMember
36
(@user143021)

Posted : 11/17/2014 4:45 pm

Hmm maybe. I just know I NEVER ever had a cyst until I actually started birth control (ortho tri cyclen). That's what is so weird to me. Since I've been off it I haven't had a single cyst until this last week when I really, really irritated my skin.

Why is that weird to you? You took something that altered your hormones and that alteration made you start breaking out. It's also super possible that using Dan's regimen broke you out because BP is very irritating.

To answer your initial question, acne can either be hormonal or bacterial, or a combination of both. If you keep your skin clean (without overdoing it), and you don't have other factors like hair hanging down on your back, dirty pillowcase or phone, etc. then it's probably hormonal. BP and other topicals usually don't help hormonal acne in the long-run either. I strongly believe that no hormonal "test" can tell you exactly what is going on. All of the tests have "normal ranges" for different hormones, but what it comes down to is you and your hormonal levels/ratios are specific to you. Like Framboise said, even if all levels are "normal", you can still have problems. For example, one person with a slight hormonal imbalance may react differently than the next person. Also, you can have PCOS without all of the symptoms... there are lots of PCOS women that are a normal weight (or even thin), etc.

Your derm told you that you have hormonal acne because it's common to have acne in that area with that type, and it is almost always hormonal. My advice is to leave your skin alone and see if it calms down from the BP and if after enough time it doesn't improve, reevaluate and decide which hormonal route to take. Good luck!

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MemberMember
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(@a97)

Posted : 11/18/2014 9:49 am

 

 

 

Hmm maybe. I just know I NEVER ever had a cyst until I actually started birth control (ortho tri cyclen). That's what is so weird to me. Since I've been off it I haven't had a single cyst until this last week when I really, really irritated my skin.

Why is that weird to you? You took something that altered your hormones and that alteration made you start breaking out. It's also super possible that using Dan's regimen broke you out because BP is very irritating.

To answer your initial question, acne can either be hormonal or bacterial, or a combination of both. If you keep your skin clean (without overdoing it), and you don't have other factors like hair hanging down on your back, dirty pillowcase or phone, etc. then it's probably hormonal. BP and other topicals usually don't help hormonal acne in the long-run either. I strongly believe that no hormonal "test" can tell you exactly what is going on. All of the tests have "normal ranges" for different hormones, but what it comes down to is you and your hormonal levels/ratios are specific to you. Like Framboise said, even if all levels are "normal", you can still have problems. For example, one person with a slight hormonal imbalance may react differently than the next person. Also, you can have PCOS without all of the symptoms... there are lots of PCOS women that are a normal weight (or even thin), etc.

Your derm told you that you have hormonal acne because it's common to have acne in that area with that type, and it is almost always hormonal. My advice is to leave your skin alone and see if it calms down from the BP and if after enough time it doesn't improve, reevaluate and decide which hormonal route to take. Good luck!

All acne is both hormonal and bacterial. Hormones increase oil production which leads to clog pores while bacteria causes inflammation. Killing bacteria is going to clear up your inflammatory acne as long as you are not irritating your skin.

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MemberMember
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(@anotherstar)

Posted : 11/18/2014 2:41 pm

 

Hmm maybe. I just know I NEVER ever had a cyst until I actually started birth control (ortho tri cyclen). That's what is so weird to me. Since I've been off it I haven't had a single cyst until this last week when I really, really irritated my skin.

Why is that weird to you? You took something that altered your hormones and that alteration made you start breaking out. It's also super possible that using Dan's regimen broke you out because BP is very irritating.

To answer your initial question, acne can either be hormonal or bacterial, or a combination of both. If you keep your skin clean (without overdoing it), and you don't have other factors like hair hanging down on your back, dirty pillowcase or phone, etc. then it's probably hormonal. BP and other topicals usually don't help hormonal acne in the long-run either. I strongly believe that no hormonal "test" can tell you exactly what is going on. All of the tests have "normal ranges" for different hormones, but what it comes down to is you and your hormonal levels/ratios are specific to you. Like Framboise said, even if all levels are "normal", you can still have problems. For example, one person with a slight hormonal imbalance may react differently than the next person. Also, you can have PCOS without all of the symptoms... there are lots of PCOS women that are a normal weight (or even thin), etc.

Your derm told you that you have hormonal acne because it's common to have acne in that area with that type, and it is almost always hormonal. My advice is to leave your skin alone and see if it calms down from the BP and if after enough time it doesn't improve, reevaluate and decide which hormonal route to take. Good luck!

Ah I guess I mean I was always told Ortho Tri Cyclen was good for acne but it seems like once I started that, then my acne became larger and more cyst like. Everyone's body is different so I must just be an unlucky one. And I guess I kind of think all acne is hormonal too like what A97 said.

Also even if everything is normal with your hormone levels, when how do you know what to treat it with without just blindly taking supplements and seeing if there's improvement? I see some women on here say saw palmetto was the best thing ever and other says it was the worst and on and on with different herbs and such.

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2
(@jennybella)

Posted : 07/09/2015 3:10 pm

If your hormonal acne is very mild, you may not have other noticeable hormonal symptoms, but most people have at least a few. Hormonal acne presents itself because of an underlying hormonal imbalance, so its rare that it will present itself in isolation without other symptoms.

The range of hormonal symptoms that can occur is massive. Your hormones are very powerful and certainly have the power to make your life miserable in many ways.

The most obvious hormonal symptoms that most women experience are that of PMS anxiety, mood swings, irritability, bloating, sore breasts, cravings, etc. Believe it or not, PMS symptoms are NOT just a normal thing that everyone has to go through.

Then theres period troubles cramps, pain, heavy periods, irregular or absent periods.

You could also experience things like fatigue, low libido, lack of energy, brain fog, infertility, depression, digestive problems, hirsutism, hair loss, stubborn weight gain, insomnia, and so much more.

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MemberMember
25
(@glb2130)

Posted : 07/09/2015 5:14 pm

 

If your hormonal acne is very mild, you may not have other noticeable hormonal symptoms, but most people have at least a few. Hormonal acne presents itself because of an underlying hormonal imbalance, so its rare that it will present itself in isolation without other symptoms.

The range of hormonal symptoms that can occur is massive. Your hormones are very powerful and certainly have the power to make your life miserable in many ways.

The most obvious hormonal symptoms that most women experience are that of PMS anxiety, mood swings, irritability, bloating, sore breasts, cravings, etc. Believe it or not, PMS symptoms are NOT just a normal thing that everyone has to go through.

Then theres period troubles cramps, pain, heavy periods, irregular or absent periods.

You could also experience things like fatigue, low libido, lack of energy, brain fog, infertility, depression, digestive problems, hirsutism, hair loss, stubborn weight gain, insomnia, and so much more.

perfect explanation

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