To ask if there is anything I could do with my skin (photo)

[ConfusedZebra]

I'm 26. I have pcos. And this is how my skin looks on my face. It's awful. I feel so uncomfortable. I hate wearing make up but have to to cover it up. I asked the GP to help but they just want to put me in the pill(I can't because of migraines and also don't want to). AIBU to ask if there is anything I can do? Or should I just accept it? Went through a bunch of products before but nothing made a massive change. I just want my old skin back like when I was 17 😢😢 before pcos and stressed life.

Increase your veg intake hugely to increase fibre, and also eliminate sugar. These both increase your sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) so binds up the higher oestrogen levels which contribute to the spots. Avoiding sugar also helps reverse the insulin resistance which is common in PCOS. Exercise and stress reduction also important.

Definitely a dermatologist job. After going through all other treatments I was put on isotretinoin/ roaccutane, skin now completely clear.

You've probably already been on the website acne.org if you've been trawling the Internet. But if not have a look. Lots of forums, blogs and reviews of products from other users. I got some really good advice from there.

@toomanydicksonthedancefloor1

I too spent so many hours (years) looking for some miracle cure. So much money on creams and lotions and supplements and eliminating things from my diet, stressing worrying feeling depressed and ugly

Try Clinique! Try Dermalogica! Liz Earle will cure it! There are 5 billion articles out there but they are talking about spots. Everyone gets spots. Not everyone gets acne. Acne is so detrimental to your mental health and the cosmetic and pharma industries have cashed in big time on people’s quest for perfect skin.

Once I had got to a specialist I just felt better overall. It’s not about the roaccutane (which was my choice) it’s about having someone look at you medically, and having the expertise to know what might be right for you. I’ve accepted mine might come back but hopefully I’ve has another few years free of the bastard cysts

I feel for you. Retinol treatment is very effective but you need a referral to a good dermatologist.

Best of luck.

I'm another who used to have terribly painful acne - mine was full T-zone, plus chest, shoulders & back. I have had 2 full courses of Roaccutane, about 5 years apart, after years of various antibiotics, topical treatments etc, & a disastrous experience with dianette. Roaccutane helped where nothing else did, but the side effects were no picnic (but worth the temporary discomfort). My skin is much better now, although not perfect, & I have learned a lot about decent skincare, & these days it's mostly ok & I rarely get any major spots.

Re: Saw Palmetto - if you're susceptible to migraines & cannot take the combined pill, I'd proceed with caution on these. I briefly tried them out as a possible remedy for my mild PCOS symptoms, however they made my migraines much worse. Migraines were initially triggered by Dianette, well over a decade ago. But, that's obviously just my experience - everyone reacts differently & I couldn't see anything to suggest that other people had reacted similarly when I searched online.

We could be the same person! Well, she wise and skin!
I had migraines when I was younger (an ear piercing sorted that out)
They still put me on dianette at that time, was amazing, my skin completely cleared up, couple of years later a different doctor was horrified I was taking it (I also have another of the other high risk factors, and a close family member who had DVT) and they changed it to lymacycline which caused awful daily migraines.

Switched to Yasmin, under strict supervision after I begged for dianette back, (my skin issues cane back with a force, face chest and back, one woman asked if I had scabies 😢) was fine again for a few years, then came off the pill entirely, and my skin slowly began to get worse.

I then had mixtures of antibiotics and the lovely bleachy creams, retanoid creams, tried the hormonal injection which was awful, and finally they settked on roaccutane, which I never got to try as I fell pregnant, and my skin was wonderful for about three months.

Baby is now a year old, skin is worse than ever and as BFing can't really do much about it yet, so I manage to keep it at its best-worse (I guess) with;
Vit E wash - body shop 3 times a week
Angels on bare skin scrub - Lush 3 times a week
Ocean salt - Lush every night
Face mask every other day (I'm currently using two lunsh ones I rotate a fresh and jelly one)
Toner water with tea tree
The super light moisturiser Lush do and then their dream cream at night as the oats in it really calm my skin
I use aloe gel over the horrid cystic ones that come up
And I've cut out dairy entirely which I've definitely noticed a difference

I've also been looking at some products from the ordinary today that seem to have helped people. I'm also taking marvalon as a trial, which has done absolutely fuck all!

Try Dianette for the the acne. You don't have to be on it long term but it's had great results according to the PCOS forums.

Age wise* sorry, typing too fast. I'd like to add to that, I definitely need something prescribed, as this is hormonal and even trying my hardest with skincare and diet, it's still bloody awful. But I thought it's worth passing on, if any of it can help.

Have you tried Kefir? Look on a website called Chuckling Goat and it has loads of information and you can email or ring and they can answer any questions. I have been drinking it as I suffer from spots (at the age of 36!) and it seems to be helping.

Dermatologist, don’t mess around with herbal products or diet changes. Get the professionals in.

I was prescribed a benzoyl peroxide gel that worked very well on my acne rosacea. Be careful though, it is a bleach and bleaches your pillowcases. Also you need extra sun protection whilst using it as it makes your skin more sensitive. You have to use it all over your face, not just on the spots.

A dermatologist will not consider isotretinoin unless you have been on tetracycline antibiotics or erythromycin for up to 6 months

I tried pretty much every cream under the sun, drank my body weight in water every day, cut out sugar, cut out dairy....and the only things that have ever helped my skin are pharmaceutical

Dianette (the pill) helped enormously, but doctors are very very reluctant to prescribe it. Yasmin, the replacement, made me feel like shit and didn't work.

When I moved to the US, I was prescribed spirolactanone (a hormonal drug that isn't the pill but works like a dream for me), plus a topical antibiotic gel (clindamycine) and a topical retinoid (to help with scarring and get rid of the very few spots that I have). I can recommend a conversation with your GP specifically about the options other than the pill, or ask for a referral to a specialist if they can't help.

I think spiro might be helpful for PCOS - men can't take it because it's an anti-androgen and reduces body hair too

Yasmin, Dianette or failing that Roaccutane are the only things that will really get it sorted.

I did used to take oral oxytetracycline for years and I before I started on Yasmin i tried Lymecycline and had a massive reaction to it called Steven's Johnson Syndrome.

Apparently the years of taking oxytetracycline caused this to happen but I don't really see how.

I have never been able to have penicillin-based antibiotics and now I cannot have any tetracycline-based antibiotics either which is a pain in the neck when you need an antibiotic for something else.

I've had cystic acne on an off since I was in my teens. The last bout I had was about four years ago, where it was so bad my face would stick to the pillow overnight and I'd have to peel it off in the morning. I am in my forties and overweight, so hormonal treatments weren't an option, and I didn't want the side-effect risks of things like roaccutane.

I started double cleansing (aka washing twice) with Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel (soap free and gentle), I then used to put warm water into an egg cup and drop a few drops of tea tree oil into the water, and then use that to soak a cotton pad in the tea tree solution, wring it out and then wipe over my face. After that I would use Moogoo Blemish Cleansing Moisturiser, and their tamanu oil at night (has a kind of burnt smell, but is really healing). I would also use their MSM cream at night sometimes.

It took about three weeks, but my skin started to heal. I keep the same routine now, and the only pimples I get are tiny whiteheads around the crease of my nose and on my chin, around a week before my period is due. I don't get acne at all now. I did have to have some microdermabrasion to get rid of the hyperpigmentation, but I've not had that in about a year, and my skin looks great.

Good luck with whatever you choose. I completely understand how skin troubles can be very distressing.

Look up Caroline Hirons for general skincare advice.
Book an appointment with Dr Sam Bunting if you can. She's a dermatologist who specialises in acne

Lymecycline is the only thing that has ever helped me. I came off it for a while and it erupted again. My acne was so agonising I couldn’t even lie on my side with my cheek on the pillow (pic). Now it’s clear.