SebumSucks

Those are not whiteheads, those are inflammatory pustules and hence why the antibioitcs worked to clear them up. Antibioitcs and BP only work on inflammatory acne (ie. infected lesions) and have no effect on whiteheads. Your only options are antibotics or accutane. If you are afraid of taking systemic antiobiotics long term have your derm perscribe a topical antibioitc, it is likely to have very good effects although it would be difficult and perhaps messy to apply on scalp and back.

Yes, I agree, sun exposure is not the answer, for the following reasons: At most latitudes in the northern hemisphere (North America & Europe) during winter, your skin cannot produce ANY vitamin D, regardless if the sun is shinning or no. The angle of the sun is too steep and UVB rays that are responsible for producing vitamin D are blocked by the thickness of the atmosphere. So even if you live in a sunny climate your skin cannot produce Vitamin D during winter so pretty much everyone's

My understanding it Mino is one of the worst for you long term. Can really mess up your teeth too. If you are going to take antibiotics and haven't tried it already, go on Bactrim. It's much safer. I was on it off it for years with little to no side effects and it is one of the most effective at controlling acne. Still not ideal to be on any antibiotic long term but some are better than others when there are no other options.

Tell your derm at your next visit or if it gets worse call him immediately. Do not take pain lightly. Especially since you work in construction you will have a higher tendency to bruising/pain. You may want to consider and discuss decreasing the dosage and instead increase course length to alleviate the side effects. I had some mild occasional lower back pain in my last course that luckily went away after treatment but for some it doesn't so be careful (which seems to be correlated with long

I don't claim this will work for everyone. It is likely acne can result due to many different types of deficiencies and/or abnormal gene expression in the skin. In any case, what dosage are you taking? If you are truly deficient, then you should be taking a fairly large dose to correct that. From what I have researched, general guidelines seem to converge on 1000-2000IU per day as maintenance dose to maintain levels during winter and 4000IU/day or even more to bring your levels up from a

That's because your probably getting little to no Vitamin D (from the sun) in the winter and your body is likely deficient. You need to supplement with Vitamin D during winter. Doing so has completely cleared me.

Have you ever been to a doc and been evaluated for PCOS? Hormones way out of wack and excessive facial hair for females can be symptoms of it. Aside from that you should concentrate on looking at solutions to balance your hormones. From what you have described, topical treatments will never get you where you want to be. An imbalance of hormones is the root cause of acne. I have been essentially cured of severe acne by taking Vitamin D (a prohormone). Take a look in the Vitamin boards under

No, your hypothesis is wrong. I have a weak immune system and catch all sorts of colds every year that last a long time and had severe acne for decades. One would rather have a strong immune system to fight off infections from inflammatory acne.

I am assuming this post is directed to me. You are right, there is no cure for acne. There is no cure for most diseases but people will refer to treatments as cures if/when their symptoms reduce to such a low level as to be not existent or almost non existent. I debated whether on not to use the word cure and in the end decided it was warranted as it meets the definition I have stated above. I also wanted folks to read this thread and take interest enough to try it themselves. Saying "Vita

I am assuming this post is directed to me. You are right, there is no cure for acne. There is no cure for most diseases but people will refer to treatments as cures if/when their symptoms reduce to such a low level as to be not existent or almost non existent. I debated whether on not to use the word cure and in the end decided it was warranted as it meets the definition I have stated above. I also wanted folks to read this thread and take interest enough to try it themselves. Saying "Vita

Have to echo prior post, 3 times just in HS is hard core. Wonder what kind of dosage you were taking. I have taken 3 courses myself, but over much longer periods of time in between. I sincerely wish you the best of luck with this course, but I'm curious as to why you think the 4th course will "cure" you now?

yes melmel87. It couldn't hurt to boost your levels higher. Some researchers think the optimal range is in the 50-70 range or even higher but like everything this is disputed what level is need for optimal health versus merely sufficient levels. I read somewhere life guards that are out in the sun all day have average readings around 110-120 and they show no ill side effects.

Jekester - It appears then that your Cod LIver Oil is providing all the Vitamin D you need. If you have oily skin then the Cod LIver oil is probably exacerbating that. If I consume larger than normal amounts of oil/fats in my diet (via food or supplements) I get more oil production. Now CLO is supposed to be a beneficial, non-inflammatory type oil but you might want to consider dropping it if you feel you are not getting much result from it. I have tried it before, in addition to straight fi

This is not 100% accurate. Antibiotics have some specificity of the bacteria they kill off. That is why some antibiotics work better and are prescribed for certain conditions over others. This is not to say they don't kill off beneficial bacteria in the gut, but they all act a bit differently, have different modes of action, and affect various species differently. I do recommend taking probiotics will still on antibiotics. If you wait until after a course of treatment, it may be too late

If you are taking that much Cod liver oil (and have for a long time) it is possible you have raised your Vitamin D levels that way. Also, if you consume a fair amount of milk and yogurt fortified with Vitamin D, that may be helping your levels as well. Also, it depends on what time of year you were checked. Highest levels for most folks would be end of summer when most people are getting more sun and by then Vitamin D levels have built up from sun exposure during the summer months. Levels dr