8 minutes ago, bellacat said:Hey, I have acne similar to yours and i got a hormone test last month that said i have low progesterone as well, but also raised testorone and dht, apparently low progesterone can also be a sign of pcos so that could be with looking into.
Thanks for your reply, I've scheduled an appointment with my gp to ask for an ultrasound to see if I have pcos. But is your acne mainly on one side?
What are you taking now? My breakouts were in a similar in location to yours. I'd already done a round of accutane a few years ago that mostly cleared me, but now it seems its come back with a vengeance. After a relatively clear year my skin just completely erupted this past September after starting a new job. Im talking bad, bad cluster breakouts on either side of my chin, up my jaw onto my cheeks. It was horrific. I had NEVER seen anything like it before. I panicked and ran to my derm who took one look at me and immediately started me on 100mg Spiro and told me to try yoga to rope in the stress. She also put me on the generic of Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo and thats been helping with preventing the weird periods that Spiro can cause. At 13 weeks in, spironolactone has improved my chin/jaw breakouts considerably but I'm still breaking out on my cheeks. It's frustrating to know that you have this imbalance but not what is causing it. Spiro is just blocking the production of testosterone, not fixing whats causing the excess testosterone production to begin with. Stress is a huuuuge trigger for me as well. Stress affects the thyroid. Thyroid regulates hormones. Coincidink? Probs not.
After doing tons of online research like many of us acne sufferers tend to do, I asked my OBGYN about PCOS as a possibility and she said because my periods are mostly regular (i.e. not 2+ months apart) and had no other symptoms other than the acne that PCOS was unlikely. She did say that some women are super sensitive to minute imbalances they may have (undetectable by blood tests) and that can be what causes their symptoms. Lucky us.
7 hours ago, bellacat said:yes actually, my right side is severe, my left side is mild.
I'm not 100% sure i have pcos, I'm here looking for solutions like you, so let me know if you have any ideas or if anything is helping you.
Thats the exact same for me, it's all on the right side!
Since I found out about my low progesterone levels I've been taking agnus castus (Vitex) and I've been doing a castor oil cleanse every night and for the first time in ages I'm seeing some improvement so might be worth a try for you?
5 hours ago, dagumdone said:What are you taking now? My breakouts were in a similar in location to yours. I'd already done a round of accutane a few years ago that mostly cleared me, but now it seems its come back with a vengeance. After a relatively clear year my skin just completely erupted this past September after starting a new job. Im talking bad, bad cluster breakouts on either side of my chin, up my jaw onto my cheeks. It was horrific. I had NEVER seen anything like it before. I panicked and ran to my derm who took one look at me and immediately started me on 100mg Spiro and told me to try yoga to rope in the stress. She also put me on the generic of Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo and thats been helping with preventing the weird periods that Spiro can cause. At 13 weeks in, spironolactone has improved my chin/jaw breakouts considerably but I'm still breaking out on my cheeks. It's frustrating to know that you have this imbalance but not what is causing it. Spiro is just blocking the production of testosterone, not fixing whats causing the excess testosterone production to begin with. Stress is a huuuuge trigger for me as well. Stress affects the thyroid. Thyroid regulates hormones. Coincidink? Probs not.
After doing tons of online research like many of us acne sufferers tend to do, I asked my OBGYN about PCOS as a possibility and she said because my periods are mostly regular (i.e. not 2+ months apart) and had no other symptoms other than the acne that PCOS was unlikely. She did say that some women are super sensitive to minute imbalances they may have (undetectable by blood tests) and that can be what causes their symptoms. Lucky us.
Thanks for your reply! I try to do things holistically so I've just started taking agnus castus (Vitex) and this does seem to be working. I'm the same really in terms of PCOS my only symptom is acne I do think it's unlikely but I just think it's worth look into.
On 1/24/2017 at 7:21 AM, MandyWebb said:So finally a month later I have my results and they have come back positive for PCOS.
I am just beginning to look into what this means and how I can go about treating it but just thought I'd let you's know.
Thanks
amanda
How did you know you were positive for PCOS?
I typically have a 30 day cycle and I got labs done on day 19. My progesterone was only 1.6. I wonder if that indicates possible PCOS. My DHEAS was also elevated at 500 [a healthy range is like mid-300s]. Serum estrogen was almost 400, on the higher end of normal in comparison to the low progesterone. I'm beginning to suspect either adrenal-based PCOS or late onset congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
Anyway, I was wondering what your progesterone levels looked like specifically and how they compared to mine. I'm going to get more labs done in the next few weeks.
Hi there, I am a 21 year old girl and I've been struggling with harsh PMS breakouts for the last two years. I have regular periods-to the exact day- but I always experience a cystic chin breakout (only on my chin) about a week before my period starts. After my period ends, I normally get about two weeks of being clear before the cycle starts again.
Here is what Ive been taking that has helped a lot but hasn't cured my acne completely:
-vitex (2X per day in AM)
-evening primrose oil (3 x per day, morning, afternoon, night)
-burdock root (3x per day, 2 pills each, morning, afternoon, night)
-milk thistle (6 pills daily, 3x per day)
-vit. D3 (whenever I can)
here's my face routine:
-make up remove with coconut oil (also use as face moisture)
-wash using African Black Soap
I also follow an extremely clean diet: little grains (bread rice, etc.), no dairy, no coffee (only teas), no oils, no junk food
and I work out pretty much daily (bike, run, and hot yoga)
is there anything you guys can recommend to cure or greatly reduce PMS breakouts? thanks!!
Treatment for low progesterone and pcos are basically identical. Natural bio-identical progesterone cream is the safest and most effective route. After a few months, the testosterone and androgens should lower as a result. Using the cream should help any existing cysts shrink and prevent new ones.
I'm not a health professional, but you can do the research yourself...
I've been preparing myself to take the hormone test. (Day 20 is a week away) I already started progesterone cream (Emerita from Walgreens website). I'm certain I have low P and that the tests will confirm it, the cream alleviated a ton of mild symptoms I was having from day one.
There are also a ton of really good videos on YouTube about how to dose the supplements (Inositol & NPC) and optimize your diet.
Good luck!
On 12/20/2016 at 11:49 PM, dagumdone said:What are you taking now? My breakouts were in a similar in location to yours. I'd already done a round of accutane a few years ago that mostly cleared me, but now it seems its come back with a vengeance. After a relatively clear year my skin just completely erupted this past September after starting a new job. Im talking bad, bad cluster breakouts on either side of my chin, up my jaw onto my cheeks. It was horrific. I had NEVER seen anything like it before. I panicked and ran to my derm who took one look at me and immediately started me on 100mg Spiro and told me to try yoga to rope in the stress. She also put me on the generic of Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo and thats been helping with preventing the weird periods that Spiro can cause. At 13 weeks in, spironolactone has improved my chin/jaw breakouts considerably but I'm still breaking out on my cheeks. It's frustrating to know that you have this imbalance but not what is causing it. Spiro is just blocking the production of testosterone, not fixing whats causing the excess testosterone production to begin with. Stress is a huuuuge trigger for me as well. Stress affects the thyroid. Thyroid regulates hormones. Coincidink? Probs not.
After doing tons of online research like many of us acne sufferers tend to do, I asked my OBGYN about PCOS as a possibility and she said because my periods are mostly regular (i.e. not 2+ months apart) and had no other symptoms other than the acne that PCOS was unlikely. She did say that some women are super sensitive to minute imbalances they may have (undetectable by blood tests) and that can be what causes their symptoms. Lucky us.
I can relate so much to this ! I had breakouts only in right side of my face then all of a sudden my breakouts I think We're triggered by stress and sugar. Now I have huge breakouts on both sides and now huge ones up on my cheek . Insulin has the biggest affect on triggering breakouts so if anyone has any suggestions other than eating clean, carb cycle and do not yet on high fat diet but only my carbs since i weightlift .
Also , is it recommended to do hormone sting before making assumptions about our symptoms? My period we regular and don't really have any PMS symptoms just fatigue that unbeliever was my adrenals burned out from over exercising and taking preworkout which I stopped now turned more to holistic remedies . Can elevated cortisol or fatigue be related to th see breakouts ?
On 26/01/2017 at 11:03 PM, cloudydreamer said:How did you know you were positive for PCOS?I typically have a 30 day cycle and I got labs done on day 19. My progesterone was only 1.6. I wonder if that indicates possible PCOS. My DHEAS was also elevated at 500 [a healthy range is like mid-300s]. Serum estrogen was almost 400, on the higher end of normal in comparison to the low progesterone. I'm beginning to suspect either adrenal-based PCOS or late onset congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
Anyway, I was wondering what your progesterone levels looked like specifically and how they compared to mine. I'm going to get more labs done in the next few weeks.
Hi, I'm so sorry for this delayed response. I didn't realise anyone had commented on my post.
To be honest, my main symptom that made me think of pcos was my acne, my cycles were / are fairly regular however after my blood test results and then an ultra sound it showed pcos.
My progestorne level was at about 3 I think, my level (like yours) indicates that there has been no ovulation, however it is still possible to have a period even when you haven't ovulated and that seems to be what I am having every month.
I have started using bio-identical progesterone cream on the second half of my cycle day this does seem to be helping reduce my acne.
I hope some some of this has helped.
On 05/03/2017 at 1:27 AM, sassybanana4 said:Hi there, I am a 21 year old girl and I've been struggling with harsh PMS breakouts for the last two years. I have regular periods-to the exact day- but I always experience a cystic chin breakout (only on my chin) about a week before my period starts. After my period ends, I normally get about two weeks of being clear before the cycle starts again.
Here is what Ive been taking that has helped a lot but hasn't cured my acne completely:
-vitex (2X per day in AM)
-evening primrose oil (3 x per day, morning, afternoon, night)
-burdock root (3x per day, 2 pills each, morning, afternoon, night)
-milk thistle (6 pills daily, 3x per day)
-vit. D3 (whenever I can)here's my face routine:
-make up remove with coconut oil (also use as face moisture)
-wash using African Black SoapI also follow an extremely clean diet: little grains (bread rice, etc.), no dairy, no coffee (only teas), no oils, no junk food
and I work out pretty much daily (bike, run, and hot yoga)is there anything you guys can recommend to cure or greatly reduce PMS breakouts? thanks!!
I found vitamin A quite helpful, you do have to be careful with how much you take so I suggest some reasearch but it should definitely help.
I dont know about you i you I know everyone raves about coconut oil for the face but whenever I use it I just notice my skin doesn't take to it that well. I take my make up off with castor oil and jojoba.
It sound though Iike I are doing a lot of good things to try and help, if I think of anything else I'll let you know
I also suspected that I was developing cysts. If you are nearing, or in perimenopause small imbalances in the hormones can make things show up on your face.
I had my hormones tested and for my age/stage of life, it was all in the normal range. But progesterone dipping and testosterone going slightly elevated are normal in your 40s, due to the beginning of perimenopause...hence, the acne.
It can also cause more cysts on the ovaries to occur at this time, which further contributes to acne.
Progesterone is an androgen inhibitor, but too much elevates testosterone and you get wicked acne/oily skin (hello Aunt Flo breakouts).
The past two months, I've had little to no acne and no cysts. I'm going to post my regime shortly to share, I think it will help a lot of women on here in similar situations as mine.
On April 17, 2017 at 6:41 PM, MandyWebb said:Hi, I'm so sorry for this delayed response. I didn't realise anyone had commented on my post.To be honest, my main symptom that made me think of pcos was my acne, my cycles were / are fairly regular however after my blood test results and then an ultra sound it showed pcos.
My progestorne level was at about 3 I think, my level (like yours) indicates that there has been no ovulation, however it is still possible to have a period even when you haven't ovulated and that seems to be what I am having every month.
I have started using bio-identical progesterone cream on the second half of my cycle day this does seem to be helping reduce my acne.
I hope some some of this has helped. I found vitamin A quite helpful, you do have to be careful with how much you take so I suggest some reasearch but it should definitely help.
I dont know about you i you I know everyone raves about coconut oil for the face but whenever I use it I just notice my skin doesn't take to it that well. I take my make up off with castor oil and jojoba.
It sound though Iike I are doing a lot of good things to try and help, if I think of anything else I'll let you know
Hi! i just got hormonal tests back that said I'm very low in progesterone. I was wondering how your skin is getting on? what are you doing/taking?
I started taking natural progesterone prescribed days 7-28 of my cycle but it seems to be breaking me out like mad, so I'm really upset, but thats what my naturopath prescribed so I'm really confused and don't know if i should quit the progesterone and focus on leaky gut (another thing i have) or stick through this breakout in hope it'll get better?