Hey everyone,
I've been a lurker on these boards for almost 3 years and am finally completely at my wit's end. I'm a 23 year old with incredibly severe hormonal acne. Acne started around 16 just small spots around the t zone - I went on antibiotics for 2 years which cleared it up perfectly! Skip forward to uni I was breaking out more but nothing major, around my second year I was getting loads of whiteheads all over my lower face and small spots but for some reason didn't seem to bother me too much.
Things definitely took the turn for the worse around when I turned 21/22. I was always thankful my skin wasn't cystic and saw a dermatologist who made me feel so depressed (literally the worst I've felt in my life) and said I needed accutane. I firmly was against that ajdlw and behold - cystic acne!
Now this is the worst part - I get absolutely HUGE cysts around my period now and nothing too bad in between. It's literally the week before and during my period and I have these cysts which are around a 50p coin shape, all under the skin that swell up and are SO painful, not going down for months. I really don't understand why my acne suddenly switched to this realty severe cystic type, and the fact im fine off period and then suddenly BAM worst acne ever? I've never seen anyone with acne like mine which scares me.
Now I'm on 50mg Spiro for about 2 months and things are absolutely hell. I am firmly against accutane and don't think Pharma is the answer.. but I just can't understand why my hormones and so out of whack. The only dietary thing which seems to make things significantly worse is soy, and too much sugar causes me to get whiteheads but apart from that I eat well and exercise etc etc.
I just want to know what's going on with my body without having a drug shoved in my face. I know many of you probably don't relate to my hideous acne but any opinions are appreciated so much.
Thanks for reading my spiel!
EDIT: I've added photos if that helps anyone give some advice
Hey there! First off, totally agree with your username, lol. Acne DOES suck. I'm sorry you're having such a hard time finding something that works for you. Where do you currently live? Reason I ask is, the regimen I use is unfortunately only currently sold in the states, Canada and Australia at the moment. It was my last ditch effort before I was going to get my doctor to prescribe me antibiotics - Accutane was a huge no for me...the side effects just weren't worth it to me; acne seemed like the better alternative. I've had cystic acne since I was 13 years old, so I most definitely can relate to your acne - but dont' be so hard on yourself!
4 minutes ago, klessard said:Hey there! First off, totally agree with your username, lol. Acne DOES suck. I'm sorry you're having such a hard time finding something that works for you. Where do you currently live? Reason I ask is, the regimen I use is unfortunately only currently sold in the states, Canada and Australia at the moment. It was my last ditch effort before I was going to get my doctor to prescribe me antibiotics - Accutane was a huge no for me...the side effects just weren't worth it to me; acne seemed like the better alternative. I've had cystic acne since I was 13 years old, so I most definitely can relate to your acne - but dont' be so hard on yourself!
Hey! Yep... its the worst, I can't quite believe I've been dealing with it for so long. I live in the UK unfortunately. I think the wealth of information is overwhelming.. seems to be so many causes and "cures" for acne it's so hard to trial and error yourself.. especially when it takes months for most of these things to take effect. 🙁
39 minutes ago, Acnesucks19955 said:Hey! Yep... its the worst, I can't quite believe I've been dealing with it for so long. I live in the UK unfortunately. I think the wealth of information is overwhelming.. seems to be so many causes and "cures" for acne it's so hard to trial and error yourself.. especially when it takes months for most of these things to take effect.
Perhaps 50 mg of spironolactone is too low? I think a lot of people need 100 mg. (I just moved up to 150mg and am finally seeing some improvement). It does take a while to kick in. I am so sorry you are going through this. It is awful to be going through this mentally AND have physical pain from the cysts. Prayers for you. 
1 hour ago, Acnesucks19955 said:Hey! Yep... its the worst, I can't quite believe I've been dealing with it for so long. I live in the UK unfortunately. I think the wealth of information is overwhelming.. seems to be so many causes and "cures" for acne it's so hard to trial and error yourself.. especially when it takes months for most of these things to take effect.
100% agree! The cause is so specific to some people, that what works for one person may aggravate another's acne. It's SO hard. Like Karen mentioned above, maybe your dose is a bit too low? See what your doctor thinks...I hope you figure out what works best for you soon! And if you ever need to chat, I'm here.
35 minutes ago, Btrezvant84 said:I use a product called DV Clear Balance that uses natural estrogen metabolizers vitex and diim to balance my hormones and got rid of my hormonal acne. Helped with mood swings and pms too lol. Mine wasn't quite that large but it's worth a try. You can get it on amazon or the website dimvitex.myshopify.com.
I suppose this isn't too different to the effect of spiro? I used DHT block for a little bit and did see some improvement, but went on spiro just after and figured it was doing the same thing but better so ending up stopping it!
1 hour ago, KarenM said:Perhaps 50 mg of spironolactone is too low? I think a lot of people need 100 mg. (I just moved up to 150mg and am finally seeing some improvement). It does take a while to kick in. I am so sorry you are going through this. It is awful to be going through this mentally AND have physical pain from the cysts. Prayers for you.
Yeah I was thinking that, but also it's confusing because I've heard it takes a while to kick in anyway and at 50 mg Ive already got a really bad breakout and my periods are all irregular so it's definitely doing something. I saw my dermatologist last week and he said to keep going for another 3 months and then we'll up the dose or change the medication. They have been really pushing me to go on accutane for ages but I just don't see the point. Firstly the effects it has on the body and then the fact that a lot of the time it doesn't really help with hormonal acne, and therefore tends to come back just makes it seem pointless. Thanks for the support though, really appreciate it! 
2 hours ago, Acnesucks19955 said:I suppose this isn't too different to the effect of spiro? I used DHT block for a little bit and did see some improvement, but went on spiro just after and figured it was doing the same thing but better so ending up stopping it!
Yeah I was thinking that, but also it's confusing because I've heard it takes a while to kick in anyway and at 50 mg Ive already got a really bad breakout and my periods are all irregular so it's definitely doing something. I saw my dermatologist last week and he said to keep going for another 3 months and then we'll up the dose or change the medication. They have been really pushing me to go on accutane for ages but I just don't see the point. Firstly the effects it has on the body and then the fact that a lot of the time it doesn't really help with hormonal acne, and therefore tends to come back just makes it seem pointless. Thanks for the support though, really appreciate it!
I hate when people feed on other people's distress and try and push their products! Shame on you Btrezvant84. Ridiculous.
My triggers are dairy, iodine(salt, seaweed...), peanuts, andvitamin B12 supplements. Maybe look into that. I wouldn't give up on Spiro just yet, it can take up to a year to see results. I know that it really sucks to have cystic acne, but you have to be really patient with Spiro or any other acne medication out there. Personally I think Accutane should be the last resort. Topically, I recommend trying both lactic acid and mandelic acidfor cystic acne.
6 minutes ago, Angelinna said:My triggers are dairy, iodine(salt, seaweed...), peanuts, andvitamin B12 supplements. Maybe look into that. I wouldn't give up on Spiro just yet, it can take up to a year to see results. I know that it really sucks to have cystic acne, but you have to be really patient with Spiro or any other acne medication out there. Personally I think Accutane should be the last resort. Topically, I recommend trying both lactic acid and mandelic acidfor cystic acne.
Thank you for your advice. I have a super limited diet already so I think I cant eliminate much else ! I think my face may slowly be getting better...fingers crossed it is and continues!
