Since it seemsunlikely to me that most people who suffer from chronic skin conditions like acne are not also dealing with some other systemic or localized illnesses or unexplained symptoms, I wondered if (in the spirit of putting the "holistic health" back in the "Diet & holistic health" board) anyone would be interested in sharing their health history here. Also, what (if any) foods seem to trigger symptoms for you or lend themselves to healing. Creating a timeline of overall health problems can sometimes help shed light on specific conditions like acne and help with connecting the dots. And perhaps we will also see a common thread or two in our histories...

For me, in addition to acne in all of its splendid forms (cystic, inflammatory, hormonal, folliculitis, seb derm, candida, etc.), my health history includes the following:

• Autism spectrum disorder with severe sensory processing disorder (finally diagnosed at age 25 with Asperger's but misdiagnosed all throughout my life--including ADHD,anxiety and mood disorders among others)
• Chronic and severe Migraine (from age 6 on); chronic tension headaches
• Chronic staph infections in a myriad of presentations. It began with Scarlet Fever at age 3 (and twice more before the age of 27), and also included many staph-related skin infections in addition to many other chronic yeast and fungal infections
• Parasite infections (starting at age 7)
• Dental problems starting from childhood
• Mercury toxicity from the many amalgam fillings resulting from said dental problems
• Dysmenorrhea, ovarian cysts, ovarian torsion
• Temporal lobe seizures
• Eating disorders (both typical and atypical)
• Leaky gut, enzyme deficiency, and gastroparesis
• Chronic insomnia which resulted in severe adrenal fatigue
• Histamine intolerance; food and chemical sensitivity

Family history: I did have a vaginal birth and breast fed for at least 2 years, but I was a sugar baby by every definition. My mother is also on the spectrum and suffered from a myriad of reproductive health issues all throughout her life finally resulting in a full hysterectomy at age 45. Neither parent ever had acne, and out of seven children, only one other sibling and I continued to struggle with it after the age of 18. Though just about everyone in my family suffers from some form of autoimmunity and many of my siblings have suffered their whole lives from retroviral illness starting from early childhood (PANDAS, Lyme, Mono, Epstein-Barr, HSV-1 etc).

Anyone else want to share?