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Acne Mega Thread

Yikes, sorry for assuming my acne 'beat' yours as it sounds like the reverse is true :/ Sorry you had to go through all that; mine's not that bad, but I do notice people staring so I can at least imagine. I'm glad to hear things have improved now though!

I actually just did a bunch of reading about Accutane because I was going to write something like "Accutane is only prescribed for a few months usually, what sort of long-term side effects are you referring to?" then realized maybe I should look that kinda thing up for myself...

Aaaannd yikes. There is tons of shit that can happen, and a fair amount of it is long-term and WAY worse than acne. Joint/muscle (particularly back) pain, hair thinning/bald spots, rosacea (sp?), persistent flaky skin, and thin skin seem to be the most common.

Don't think risking that stuff is worth it, even if it would clear up my face. Truth be told the problem is mostly self-esteem issues; it's not like the acne is really doing anything other than making me look worse.

I'll definitely look closer into how what I'm eating might be causing it all. I definitely notice when I eat certain things like lots of cheese or chocolate, or not enough water, that I break out badly. And yeah, I've heard that "food doesn't cause acne, that's a myth" and I just want to scream. Whether or not you want to say food causes most or all acne, pretty much anyone who's had it knows it DOES affect it...

Once I settle in for the summer it'll be easier to eliminate things from my diet to start trying to find a possible culprit. Will also be able to get more exercise outside and sunshine, which will be nice and should help a bit.

Any other suggestions for possible food culprits other than wheat?
 
And just looked in the photo thread, and you look rather radiantly gorgeous these days, so at least all's well that ends well, eh?
 
SpelunkingTheMind said:
Yikes, sorry for assuming my acne 'beat' yours as it sounds like the reverse is true :/ Sorry you had to go through all that; mine's not that bad, but I do notice people staring so I can at least imagine. I'm glad to hear things have improved now though!

I actually just did a bunch of reading about Accutane because I was going to write something like "Accutane is only prescribed for a few months usually, what sort of long-term side effects are you referring to?" then realized maybe I should look that kinda thing up for myself...

Aaaannd yikes. There is tons of shit that can happen, and a fair amount of it is long-term and WAY worse than acne. Joint/muscle (particularly back) pain, hair thinning/bald spots, rosacea (sp?), persistent flaky skin, and thin skin seem to be the most common.

Don't think risking that stuff is worth it, even if it would clear up my face. Truth be told the problem is mostly self-esteem issues; it's not like the acne is really doing anything other than making me look worse.

I'll definitely look closer into how what I'm eating might be causing it all. I definitely notice when I eat certain things like lots of cheese or chocolate, or not enough water, that I break out badly. And yeah, I've heard that "food doesn't cause acne, that's a myth" and I just want to scream. Whether or not you want to say food causes most or all acne, pretty much anyone who's had it knows it DOES affect it...

Once I settle in for the summer it'll be easier to eliminate things from my diet to start trying to find a possible culprit. Will also be able to get more exercise outside and sunshine, which will be nice and should help a bit.

Any other suggestions for possible food culprits other than wheat?
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For me, it's wheat, corn, soy and dairy. Wheat is definitely the biggest trigger. I gave it up for a year before the others and healed a lot but was still getting some breakouts. I'd say giving up wheat alone took me from severe acne to mild to moderate acne. When I gave up the other stuff, my skin went from blah to RADIANT (if I do say so myself, which I think I deserve to after what I've been through to get here, hehe). I don't get breakouts at all, unless I mess up and eat one of my "no" foods by mistake, which doesn't really happen.

I eat a great diet too, it's not like I'm suffering without food. Lots of big yummy salads, good soups, tons of yummy spicy curries, rice, sweet potato dishes, steak, chicken and fish, and tonsssssss of raw fruit. I especially love raw fruit smoothies with avacado. I don't eat any processed foods anymore and my skin (not to mention my BODY) has never looked better. It's really not hard to live without whatever food is bothering you. Just takes adapting. :)
 
Wow, between wheat, corn, and soy, you were getting destroyed by American food :\. I'm going to jump on the organic bandwagon this summer and up the fresh fruits and veggies which will hopefully help. Hope it's not too many foods causing this, as I've recently given up non-fish meat and already know I'm lactose intolerant.
 
I actually saw major improvements when adding meat back into my diet. I was a vegetarian for three years and that was when my skin got the worst, but of course it was because without meat, my meals were centered around wheat, soy and corn, lol. FAIL.

People will tell you so many things like take this vitamin, that vitamin, fish oils, this skin cream or that skin cream, exercise, this that blah blah blah. The best advice I ever got was that people with severe skin issues don't need MORE (vitamins, minerals, blah blah) but rather, much LESS of something. They are reacting to something, not to lack of something.

And yes, you pretty much end up having to avoid all food in America, lol. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, America likes to inject all normal food with soy or corn additives, why is beyond me. Something that was a big wake up call to me was when I went backpacking through the Thai/Laos/Cambodia area. I was already gluten free at that point but I didn't know yet what other things were bothering me. When I was over there I ate hamburger, salads, curries, rice.. eggs. I noticed when I was there, my skin was perfect. It was tripping me out how perfect it got... so I started thinking, what was I eating at home that I'm NOT eating here? And it dawned on me.. corn. I don't think I ever had one corn containing meal in Asia... and the soda over there doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup. I came back to America and within a week I was breaking out (I don't drink american soda but I was eating corn tortillas and what not). Then, I knew. Figuring out soy came later, when I gave up soy for awhile after doing some reading about how toxic it is, then I tested it and sure enough, big pussy boils on my face. The shit is pure poison. I'm not saying it's necessarily any of these foods for you, but if your skin is constantly breaking out, it's something you're exposing yourself to, and for you, whatever that is = poison. It could be anything, so keep an open mind. I knew a person who eventually found out their acne was being caused by a severe food allergy to oranges, of all things. But that is rare, and something like wheat, which so many people have problems with, is much more likely.

Just remember, less of something, not more. Eating foods which you react to, and then trying to help the problem by eating MORE good foods, vitamins and what not is basically like starting a fire with gasoline and trying to put it out by squirting it with a squirt gun every few minutes... it's not gonna happen, especially when you throw more fuel on the fire the very next meal.
 
Are you a celiac by any chance?

I can understand the connection between carbs and hormone fluctuations, but milk? What does milk have to do with anything?
 
Milk is hard to digest for most people. Some can tolerate it, some can't. But if something is hard to digest and you already have damaged/leaky gut, it's going to cause an autoimmune response. Basically any proteins that are difficult will continue to flare the gut and cause reactions (in whatever way they present themselves in an individual). But everyone is different so what foods do that is a unique thing and it takes some work to figure it out.

Everything in the body is connected. It's not the individual food directly altering hormones (although some think that may be possible because of hormonally treated cows and what not), it's the entire system being out of balance because of the inflammation from the bad foods and leaky gut issues. Once the auto immune system begins flaring up and your system begins attacking itself, everything else falls out of balance. It's a nasty cycle.

I just want to repeat something I said earlier: Acne is NOT caused by OIL the way dermatologists say. They don't know wtf they are talking about. Everyone's skin makes oil and some people have very oily skin who do not have acne. Anyone with skin problems shouldnt waste their money on derms. I spent thousands on dermatologists over a period of a few years only to learn that they basically know nothing whatsoever lol. A huge waste. I also nearly destroyed my skin with their horrible harsh creams like Retin-A micro and what not that did zero to help. Just don't bother. Western medicine is completely based around making money by treating the symptom and it sickens me how much cash there is to be made off of desperate, depressed people with horrible skin problems (90 bucks for a tiny tube of cream, ftw). I am so passionate and outspoken about this because I don't want anyone else to have to suffer the way I did for so long without realizing that diet is the cause.
 
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Yeah. Very common food allergy. Maybe the most common aside from gluten. Casein and lactose is one nasty hardcore combo that wages war on the gut. I am not sure if I am actually allergic or intolerant to it the same way I am with gluten, but it definitely makes things worse.

Btw, for anyone interesting in going dairy free, don't think you have to give up all your favorite foods. Like I said it just takes adapting. I make a delicious garlic broccoli fettuchini alfredo using coconut milk. Coconut milk/oil is a lifesaver. I've ever found coconut milk yogurt before that tasted just as yummy as regular yogurt.
 
Celiac's often have problems with other antigen sources like milk.

Are you sure you're not a Celiac?


I just want to repeat something I said earlier: Acne is NOT caused by OIL the way dermatologists say. They don't know wtf they are talking about. Everyone's skin makes oil and some people have very oily skin who do not have acne. Anyone with skin problems shouldnt waste their money on derms. I spent thousands on dermatologists over a period of a few years only to learn that they basically know nothing whatsoever lol. A huge waste. I also nearly destroyed my skin with their horrible harsh creams like Retin-A micro and what not that did zero to help. Just don't bother. Western medicine is completely based around making money by treating the symptom and it sickens me how much cash there is to be made off of desperate, depressed people with horrible skin problems (90 bucks for a tiny tube of cream, ftw). I am so passionate and outspoken about this because I don't want anyone else to have to suffer the way I did for so long without realizing that diet is the cause.
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From what I've gathered the cause and treatment of acne can be pretty complex. People with "severe" acne don't respond well to typical treatments and end up using Accutane or perhaps diet like you have done. The BP treatment does work for most people but it makes the acne worse before it makes it better and it comes with side effects of their own. To me the peeling and sensitivity to sun were just as bad as the acne so I stopped the treatment, but it did work. If I had stuck through the treatment I would have probably built up a tolerance to the stuff though.
 
Oh no, I am a celiac, hyper-sensitive celic, I'm sorry I forgot to answer you. :) I'm so allergic to the gluten that I can't even use shampoos or skin stuff that contain it, I can't even be in the same room where there is flour because microscopic bits in the air can get breathed in and cause a horrible reaction that lasts for weeks. It's pretty scary, but I've learned to live with it ok. I just can't do certain things, like work on farms where there is wheat straw for the animal beds (found this out the hard way when I got sick on a wwoofing trip) or work at a pizza restaurant like I used to (sucks).

I've used BP, it definitely helps treat the symptom when you do get a breakout. It's no cure though. And yes, you build up a tolerance to it over time, but not for anything above 2.5%. The 5 and 10% formulas are insanely irritating and don't treat the infection any better than the 2.5.
 
horrible reaction that lasts for weeks.
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What kind of reaction?

My girlfriend was recently diagnosed a Celiac but she has other medical issues with confounding symptoms.
 
The symptoms went so far beyond anything I would have even known was a "symptom". There was so much that cleared up after I went gluten free I was amazed. I was doing it because of the skin problems but had no idea other things, such as er, not being able to use the toilet with any regularity, constantly bleeding and infected gums no matter how my oral hygeine was, feeling like I had no energy, feeling "blah" (or depressed, anxiety) all the time, aching joints, trouble sleeping, weird "electric shock" sort of pains radiating through my bones, underdevelopment (small breasts, no curves), constantly feeling cold...that's just a few off the top of my head. I later found out that in a lot of celiacs, the gluten antibodies attack the thyroid so that, in combination with the fact that I grew up drinking fluoride water, eating food sprayed with bromide pesticides, iodine deficiency, etc all had really fucked up my thyroid and it didn't work properly. It took over a year gluten free to really begin healing this.

So... what happens when I get glutened... well.. it's scary shit. I thankfully don't get glutened anymore as I now know how to stay the hell away from it but the entire first year I was constantly injesting hidden gluten in processed foods and in hell... as soon as I'd heal from the last glutening I'd eat some chips that had been processed in the same facility as wheat and Id be sick again for a month.

For me, the reaction is immediate. I'd say I know within 5 minutes something is wrong. Although it's not painful at first; more of a "weird" feeling that reminds me a bit of the start of a fever. Strange thought patterns (unnatural thoughts that I should slit my own throat and things of that nature, or just really weird depressed or even almost schizophrenic type shit-totally out of nowhere) that don't feel natural, flushed feeling face, tingly, shivers. Then the stomach pain begins. It literally (and I am not exaggerating at ALL) feels as if I ate shards of glass and they are slowly moving through my stomach and intestines and slicing and ripping my flesh on the inside. Then I bloat up with gas which just adds to the stabbing pain. I have looked 6 months pregnant before after a glutening.

It takes about 15 minutes for the skin reaction to begin. Some people say it takes a pimple days to form and what not and that is total crap because 10-15 minutes after I ingest something bad the stabbing pain (similar to what I feel in my gut) begins on my face. It feels like... if someone broke off a needle under your skin and you can't move your facial muscles without it stabbing in deeper. From there it swells up into a huge cyst and over the next 3 weeks or so the cyst fills up with so much pus and then pustule after pustule rises to the surface and bursts and drains. And then they scar and the scars take about 6 months to get better and never have gotten better all the way, although with some miracle scar treatments now they are little more than freckles...

After a reaction, Id say the stomach pain gets better after about 3 days (and after 3 days I can usually shit again-ugh), the psycho/schizo/depression madness gets better after about 3 days too-but the SKIN reaction takes 4 weeks to completely stopped). I have studied this and measured it many times after gluten accidents. 4 weeks before my immune system stops going mad and attacking itself. From as little as a crumb of gluten getting into my food. Thats how powerful this shit is. It's insane.

These facial cystic acnes I'd get were horribly painful. In fact, that was one of the things that made me keep fighting and fighting and not listen to people who would constantly tell me to "just accept that I didn't have good skin". It infuriated me when people would keep telling me to give up (although they were just trying to help, they'd seen me go through every single treatment in search of a cure and be hurt and disappointed over and over). I wasn't going to give up. I knew that there MUST be a reason for something so severe and painful to be happening. I couldn't even smile or eat at times because it hurt so much to move my face, and people were telling me I should sit back and accept that!? I don't think so. I wasn't accepting anything other than the truth of WHY this was happening to me.

I had celiac related problems since birth but the time length from when my health problems became severe to the time I finally found my cure was five years. Five of the most frustrating, discouraging, traumatic years of my life. I still remember sitting in front of two bottles of aspirin, crying and begging God, or SOMEONE, to just help me. Sobbing because my friends and family didn't want me to kill myself but no one could give me an answer. I don't know how I found the strength to not take those bottles but somehow I did- and to have survived that is probably the greatest accomplishment of my life so far. It's beyond a miracle that I am here at all, let alone that after being on the correct diet a few years now, my curves filled out, my skin is soft and clear, I have abundant energy, I am happy and not depressed, and people actually consider me an attractive female. I am not bragging about how awesome I am (ok maybe a little) but it's more that I want people to hear my story, for all the people who get told diet doesn't have any effect on us. I would be dead now if I hadn't found out I was celiac and changed my diet. There is no doubt of this, the infections were getting worse and worse and my immune system was shutting down all together. Truly a miracle! I was meant to be a survivor, I feel, so I could help others.

A few weeks ago I was checking a woman out at my work, and she was buying some skin cream, we were chatting about it a moment and then she made some comment like "Well, I'm sure you wouldn't need anything like this, you obviously have naturally gorgeous skin."

Ha. Imagine how that made me feel. If only she knew. I didn't tell her, I just smiled and said thanks. :)
 
I'm glad you finally figured it out. The symptoms are mysterious in that they seem to touch alot of systems in the body. The frustrating thing is we could have figured this out years ago with a simple blood test. It's too easy for a doctor to say it's ulcers, or whatever.

Do you eat foods certified gluten free or do you not risk it?
 
I never had any sort of test, I just figured it out on my own. I had already gone into "fuck doctors" mode (for obvious reasons) long before I figured this out.

Yeah, if a food is gluten free, it's gluten free. But I can't eat 99% of gluten free foods because most of them are not corn or soy free.

Enjoy life is a good brand.
 
I've had a lot of issues with acne. I tried so many rx stuff when I was a teenager but I have had good luck with Salicylic Acid and a face wash with 10% Benzoyl peroxide.

Did you know that Salicylic Acid is Aspirin?
Here is a trick to try.
Take 2 or 3 uncoated Aspirin, add a little water so they break down. Then add a tablespoon of honey and apply to your face. Let dry. Then wash off. It works as exfoliating scrub when you go to wash it off.
 
As far as topical stuff goes, I made a really yummy facial treatment once with celtic sea salt and avacado. Just mix the two together into a paste (use a really ripe avacado thats smushy so it's easier to mix) and scrub your face gently with it (very gently). It exfoliates and I've yet to find anything as yummy for the skin as avacado. :)

note- if you're acne is severe, don't do this, it could irritate the infection worse... wait til you're healing and want to start fading those scars.
 
Just wanted to update you guys a bit...

I understand some of you may have tried the regiment I provided, but the mixing of the 3 things I talked about really does work.

My peeling is basically non-existent, and the regiment I'm using is literally getting rid of pimples over night. My face is clearing up completely and I'm talking about only after 1-3 days, it's awesome to say the least!

Now I just started the antibiotics (doxycycline) and I know people say that it's bad to take them for a long time, and I completely agree.

However doxycycline, out of the antibiotics prescribed for acne specifically, is actually not that bad to take long term - check out even Wikipedia has information on it. Doxycylcine is actually been known to be OK to take over longer periods of time than other antibiotics because it doesn't seem to really build up an immunity in your body (at least not as fast as other antibiotics).

Like I said though talk to your doctor about everything.

And whomever asked me, my BenzaClin is not over the counter (I don't believe there is anything like it over the counter since it has an antibiotic in it), but I'm using a generic and it was still very expensive unfortunately.

-dp
 
One of the simplest, and usually pretty effective, things that you can do to help clear up your complexion is to put a clean towel over your pillow every night when you go to sleep. Give it a shot for a few weeks and see if it helps you. This simple solution really helped out two close friends of mine. If you use this method in tandem with a cream/medication it may help even more. Just think about how much grease and bacteria get transferred on and into your pillow/pillowcase when you sleep every evening.

I see that someone insists that dermatologists somehow do not know anything about what causes acne, but I have to disagree: dermatologists have the education and training necessary to really understand what causes skin conditions and how to help improve them.
 
I see that someone insists that dermatologists somehow do not know anything about what causes acne, but I have to disagree: dermatologists have the education and training necessary to really understand what causes skin conditions and how to help improve them.[/QUOTE

Absolute crap. Perhaps something has changed in the last few years and derms are now aware of everything but in my experience, dermatology is just like the rest of the medical industry; they only know how to "treat" the symptom but do nothing to address WHY we are getting skin problems in the first place. If you've found a derm who understands that everything in our diet and lifestyle effects our skin, more power to you, hold onto them, because it's rare.
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