11 hours ago, GrumpyGemini said:

I'm an 18 year old girl and I was on accutane for 8 months when I was 16. Due to a family history of blood clots and a close family member who died of one, when I was prescribed accutane for my cystic acne, my only birth control option was abstinence. Let's face it- I wasn't having sex anyway. My acne cleared up and for the first time since I was 13, I wore tank tops, spaghetti straps, and bathing suits without a tee shirt over it. I was so pleased with my skin and was confident for the first time in many years.
Now that I've started college, I figured little breakouts were due to stress and my menstrual cycle. It wasn't unusual to have a pimple or two when I was on my period, even with the accutane. So I just kept to my normal cleanser and vitamin A cream that my dermatologist recommended. I wash my face twice daily, wash my pillowcases, drink lots of water, and watch my diet as best I can with the food I get on my meal plan at school.
But now my cystic acne is back. On my shoulders, my forehead, my chin. It's familiar in all the worst ways. They hurt to touch and never come to a head. They become so large that they cast shadows on my face. They're hard, swollen, and red. I cried when I felt the first one on my upper back while applying sunscreen. I immediately thought about the scar it would leave, and I didn't want to go out that day. Soon I had another on my chin and I emailed my professors my homework instead of going to class. The cystic and nodular acne I thought I got rid of came back to haunt me and I'm devastated.

Have you tried alternative methods to clear your face? I think my skin got horrible when I began eating a lot of oats, grainy foods like quinoa and WHEAT. I wouldn't be surprised if I had a wheat and gluten intolerance. I had almost completely clear skin except for some hormonal zits or a pimple or two on my forehead from makeup until I began eating tons of wheat bread every day for 2 months. Also, taking b vitamins just made me worse as they tend to do for some people...oh, and dairy (yogurt, milk) with coffee every morning worsened my chin breakouts.

Diet has a bigger role in acne than pharmacists and dermatologists will ever admit. If they admitted it, people wouldn't need their services anymore.

It's worth trying a low-glycemic wheat-free, caffeine-free, and dairy-free diet for 4-6 weeks to see how that impacts your acne. Once you beat the cravings, it gets a lot easier. I broke my sugar addiction in a few weeks and haven't looked back since. Paleo is a good option as long as you are getting organic chicken and beef and making sure to not go crazy with the meat and poultry intake. I think it's best to balance the two since eating an abundance of meat and poultry can make your body too acidic whereas you want to be alkaline to prevent acne. I prefer eating fish when I can as long as it's the real deal. GMOs are a no-no for all conditions.