I havent been on this site in years, but I have the same story as this poster. Had done three rounds of Accutane many years ago which helped, but what I needed to change was my behavior, diet, choices andlife style. I couldve saved so much time rather than trying this treatment or that treatment and draining finances, time and emotional energy.

Before I get into this, let me assure you Im not trying to sell you anything but your own clear skin through your own changes. I wish I had someone who could explain this to me when I was a teenager rather than suffering from adult acne for many years. I speak from experience. I may not have all your answers but I can promise you, you will find some help through what I write.

Ill post a very brief summary of the most important things I found out regarding cystic acne that I suffered from, and what can be done about it.

So cystic acne is caused by an inflammation, and whats causing the inflammation? Do you think people just magically get inflamed or inflamedfrom nothing?

If you get into medical journals from the early part of the previous century, youll actually find out. It was the diet that people were eating, and also food sitting too long in the colon. The reason they dont tell you that these days is because they cant make any money off of getting you better.

WhenI say they, Im referring to the pharmaceutical industry and the medical establishment. As far as the pharmaceutical industry its a profit driven industry, so they want you taking their pills as long as they can have you on the line hooked into it. they dont give an F about you, Just your money.Not every dermatologist is like that, but a good many of them simply dont know any better. Some for example have actually done studies on dairy products and how they contribute to theirpatients acne, so there is hope, but relying on one or two dermatologists to affect the whole profession or the entire pharmaceutical industry is not going to happen.

There are doctors out there who really care and dont want to fail their patients. Im not knocking them all, just their level of understanding. It would be better if they understood this disorder toallowothers to go on with their lives rather than suffering from adult acne well into their 20s,30s and beyond. So heres what Ive learned, and thank you for sticking with me this far. If you find this of value please share it far and wide, and heres hoping you find relief.

Back to inflammation, Im going to reference skin the way some doctors do as the, Third kidney. In other words, it filters out impurities and toxins. The breaking out of your skin cysticallyis a reaction to something youreingesting in your body over nine times out of 10.

Yes some people do have oily skin, some people go through puberty and have a bout with degrees of acne. Theres also a rare disorder called Cushings disease that causes people to break out. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cushing-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20351310

In my case ananti-inflammatory/caveman diet almost completely eliminated my cystic acne. This is a diet thats high in fat and protein, and low carb. If theres one place I would suggest you start it is this one. I have a low carb diet, and eliminated sweets a long time ago. No candy, chips, packagedcarbohydrates or any of the common garbage you find in the western diet.

I also had to pretty much eliminate dairy. If youre worried about a calcium supplement you can add one. Almond milk is not bad and has more calcium in it than regular milk.

What else was key? Iusually fast one day every 5 to 7 days. No food, just liquids for 24 hours. Why? It allows my digestive tract to rest and clears out the colon. I dont want food in there for too long or waste. Why? It contributes to acne, especially cystic acne.

I found the following out from a friend whos a psychologist that specializes in eating disorders and it may shock you. Here it is. Our bodies are programmed to gorge because food was not plentiful up until the last couple of centuries. So a bunch of food backs up in our G.I. tract and is not being expelled regularly because we are programmed to stuff it all in there.

Our bodies evolutionhave not caughtup with our the abundance of our food supply in the Western world. So how do you get rid of all that food in the colon thereby preventing it from contributing to your acne? As I stated above, I recommend fasting, as well as an enema.

Enema? Yep, and the more water the better. They seem to be pretty smart about enemasin India, not so much the United States. We tend to wanna have a magic pill solution for everything. I dont really have to do an enema these days because I fast regularly, but if I had a outbreak I would do an enema ASAP with 4 to 6 quarts of water in an enema bag. Thats a gallon to a gallon and a half just so you know. Whenever I would do an enema my skin would improve over the next 48 hours, but if I wasnt fasting or more importantly eating right as to what Ive listed above, the improvement to my skin would not last. So again, its not just what we eat but us eating too much in the Western World.

We eat too much, but not everyone who eats too much breaks out. Sucks doesnt it? And not everyone who eats too much gains weight. Sucks doesnt it? Everyone is different, different metabolic type, different skin type, different frame, different nutritional needs etc. etc.. What works for one doesnt necessarily work for another, but I think within the treatment of cystic acne theres a huge overlap due to the inflammation. Again its called InflammatoryCystic Acne. Look it up.

Another curious thing I would add that is somewhat rare is food allergies that can contribute to cystic inflammatory acne. There are posters on the Orgwho have said as much, but its not very common. Wynne Is the profile of an Acne.Orgposter (may still postI dont know) whosuffered from a food allergy to citrus (especially oranges)that caused cystic acne. Cutting out citrus eliminated over 80% of their breakouts.

As far as other things that help that I think are of value are some supplements. theyll be listed down below in order of importance.

1. Vitamin Afrom FISH LIVER OIL NOT BETA CAROTENEDo not take this whentaking Accutane!!!!!!!! Toxic and do not take too much of this.

2. Fish oilIts an anti-inflammatory, if you have any reaction you could try and substituteflaxseed oil.

3. Zincgood for skin repair

4. Vitamin Eagain good for skin

5. There are others that people have found that are good for treating the inflammation. Acne.org used to have a nutrition and holistic forum for people to post these solutions in. Do they still? I dont know. You can probably do an Internet search and find other things.

As far as any lifestyle recommendations and changes, there are the old tried-and-true which I will list below.

1. Exercisedont argue with me or find excuses, just get off your F***ing ass and go exercise OK? Get out of your head in your feelings and go reset yourself through physical exertion, its not that hard. Go out and get some sun and get off your video games, tablets, and smart phones. Everything in moderation.

2. Drink plenty of water. Thats a minimum of a half gallon to a gallon a day. MINIMUM. Water helps your body and flushes out your skin.

3. Get plenty of sleep and a regular sleep schedule. Get your rest and keep it regular, very important. Take care of your body and your body will take care of you.

4. Lower stress, take a stress management class, search online, meditate, find a faith or spiritual path, build deep relationships with people, volunteer, have a community around you, find love, romance, get laid, you know, the stuff that makes life worth living.

Well there it is everyone, thats everything I could put in there and I hope it helps. If you have any questions send me a DM, Ill try and answer it as soon as I can. In the meantime keep doing things different and be disciplined.Theres something above there that can help you as a cystic acne sufferer. Now show the will power, resolution and guts to be self disciplined enough and do something different with the faith and knowledge that your skin can improve or completely clear up. Take care and love yourself no matter what!

https://www.amazon.com/Clear-Skin-Diet-Alan-Logan/dp/1581825749

https://www.amazon.com/Clear-Skin-Diet-Beautiful-McDougall/dp/1602865655