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Lean PCOS - Acne won't stop

MemberMember
1
(@igallo)

Posted : 02/16/2017 7:51 pm

Hello everyone!

After lurking for quite a while, I finally decided to post here to seek help, since dermatologists have failed big time with me. I want to know if there's someone here with symptoms similar as mine and if so, if they managed to find a solution to acne. I'm a 27 yo female, and when I was 16 a gyn diagnosed me with PCOS and put me on the pill. It wasn't until I was 24, had depression and my skin was dry as the Sahara no matter what I did, and after seeing in some exams that I had 0 testosterone, that I decided it was time to let go of the pill. So, I will do this with a more 4chan narrative style:
- 24 yo: off the pill
> initial acne breakout, nothing serious again, I can stand a few pimples or even a cyst
> menstruation came every 40 days or so
> before menstruating about 3 - 4 thick black hairs came on my chin (totally removable)
> good mood, no depression
> no acne (ocasionally a very small pimple just bf menstruating)
- 26 yo (August 2015): had pyelonephritis with renal abscess, which led to 2 moth antibiotic treatment
> fair fell off
> no acne
> didn't lose my period (still the same as before)
> stopped eating meat because it made me feel ill after this
> started taking probiotics daily to the day
> started to get regular yeast infections
> developed a huge intolerance to antibiotics and meds in general (gave me yeast infections asap and felt generally bad)
- 27 yo (June 2016): ate soy for a month to get proteins since I stopped eating meat
> defended my thesis (a lot of stress)
> had just done Alexandrite laser hair removal in whole face, they told me I could get a few pimples but nothing serious
>period didn't come for 60 days (oh you damned phytoestrogens, I wish I knew you before), and when it came some big cysts came on my face
> had minocycline prescribed, and this was the worst thing ever: it was like hell broke loose on my hormones, got a yeast infection the whole time, and my acne got worse than it had ever been in my whole life, I had huge red cysts all over my face, used BP 10% which only made irritation worse, I swear I was the exemplar to put in a dermatologist magazine for a severe acne case
> dermatologist said she didn't want to put me on accutane since I was reacting so much to meds in general
> started low glycemic diet after being diagnosed of PCOS again by another gyn (I weight 50 kgs and am 1.60 mt tall)

Ever since, I haven't been able to have the skin I had before June 2016. I have tried zinc, magnesium, calcium, vit D, together and on their own only to make my testosterone reach sky limits (thick chin hairs and crazy sex drive) and get sadistic cysts on my face, so ultra proved they don't work for me. I also tried doing the same things I did before, eating the same way, I started having chicken (the farm kind without the hormones) and it has helped a bit but I still break out and feel this isn't my skin.

Sorry for the wall of text, kind regards,

Isidora

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MemberMember
0
(@alyleiii)

Posted : 02/25/2017 12:22 am

On 2/16/2017 at 7:51 PM, Igallo said:

Hello everyone!

After lurking for quite a while, I finally decided to post here to seek help, since dermatologists have failed big time with me. I want to know if there's someone here with symptoms similar as mine and if so, if they managed to find a solution to acne. I'm a 27 yo female, and when I was 16 a gyn diagnosed me with PCOS and put me on the pill. It wasn't until I was 24, had depression and my skin was dry as the Sahara no matter what I did, and after seeing in some exams that I had 0 testosterone, that I decided it was time to let go of the pill. So, I will do this with a more 4chan narrative style:
- 24 yo: off the pill
> initial acne breakout, nothing serious again, I can stand a few pimples or even a cyst
> menstruation came every 40 days or so
> before menstruating about 3 - 4 thick black hairs came on my chin (totally removable)
> good mood, no depression
> no acne (ocasionally a very small pimple just bf menstruating)
- 26 yo (August 2015): had pyelonephritis with renal abscess, which led to 2 moth antibiotic treatment
> fair fell off
> no acne
> didn't lose my period (still the same as before)
> stopped eating meat because it made me feel ill after this
> started taking probiotics daily to the day 
> started to get regular yeast infections 
> developed a huge intolerance to antibiotics and meds in general (gave me yeast infections asap and felt generally  bad)
- 27 yo (June 2016): ate soy for a month to get proteins since I stopped eating meat
> defended my thesis (a lot of stress)
> had just done Alexandrite laser hair removal in whole face, they told me I could get a few pimples but nothing serious
> period didn't come for 60 days (oh you damned phytoestrogens, I wish I knew you before), and when it came some big cysts came on my face 
> had minocycline prescribed, and this was the worst thing ever: it was like hell broke loose on my hormones, got a yeast infection the whole time, and my acne got worse than it had ever been in my whole life, I had huge red cysts all over my face, used BP 10% which only made irritation worse, I swear I was the exemplar to put in a dermatologist magazine for a severe acne case
> dermatologist said she didn't want to put me on accutane since I was reacting so much to meds in general
> started low glycemic diet after being diagnosed of PCOS again by another gyn (I weight 50 kgs and am 1.60 mt tall)

Ever since, I haven't been able to have the skin I had before June 2016. I have tried zinc, magnesium, calcium, vit D, together and on their own only to make my testosterone reach sky limits (thick chin hairs and crazy sex drive) and get sadistic cysts on my face, so ultra proved they don't work for me. I also tried doing the same things I did before, eating the same way, I started having chicken (the farm kind without the hormones) and it has helped a bit but I still break out and feel this isn't my skin. 

Sorry for the wall of text, kind regards,

Isidora
 

Ugh, I'm sorry you have been struggling so much. Hugs. 

Doxy made me have the same violent reaction you described, but Mino has worked to keep the worst of my acne under control atm...so weird. I hate how acne is like a game of roulette. I highly recommend that you switch derms since if you have severe acne, accutane could be the best option for you to prevent irreversible scarring or depression. I don't understand why they're automatically assuming that it's going to fail. (Back to my ex., I did so badly on Doxy but my derm didn't assume all the cyclines would destroy my face. Mino ended up helping a lot.)

Until you take any supplements, pills, etc. you should try and get your labs tested. I had a very caring derm who urged me to get tests done because she believed it was internal, not just some random breakout I was meant to get for no particular reason and she was right. I have high DHEA-S and slightly high total T as a result of that adrenal androgen overload, and that's the root of my acne. Also, my progesterone was pretty low in comparison to my estrogen for being in the luteal phase of my cycle which also points to PCOS. Certain drugs other than birth control like metformin, dexamethasone, etc can treat this condition. The high DHEA-S has also given me cysts from hell, so it really could be that for you. Also get your prolactin, LSH/FH ratio, iron, ferritin, progesterone:estrogen ratio, a full thyroid panel, morning cortisol/ACTH and a panel done for late onset congenital adrenal hyperplasia [ask your doctor about this]. Doing it on day 3 of your cycle is a good idea before your hormones start changing. 

Zinc also made my T go up and worsened my acne. If you're at all deficient, it will raise T. :( Magnesium actually helps PCOS/hormonal acne esp. when taken at night since it promotes better sleep and normal progesterone levels. I don't think the magnesium caused your acne. I recommend eating as many omega 3s as possible, from salmon to chia seeds to flax seeds, as they lower T. I've been doing Licorice the first 18 days of my cycle and white peony tea every day and I've already seen some results with hormonal acne/stomach hair growth which is promising. 

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