Have you changed your diet and saw an improvement in your skin ?

[cannotfuckingbelievethis]

I've always been prone to the odd spot and ended up on the pill as a teenager when I developed cystic acne along my jawline. It came back after the DCs but then went away. 3 weeks ago I started to see the bumps appearing on my chin again and my face now resembles a pizza. Now I will be honest and say my diet hasn't been the best lately but jeezo my skin hasn't looked this shit in years ! It's really getting me down actually. Have you overhauled your diet, cut out wheat dairy, booze etc and what results did you get ? I've been using Avene Cleanance and Triacneal for about 6 months and my skin is still in this state.

[coffeeinbed]

One tiny pack of crisps and I get spots everywhere.
Frankly it's not worth it.

[giraffeseatpineapples]

cheese = spots for me, this is not really the case with milk though so poss you might be able to reintroduce some dairy hopefuly. I do think the healthier my diet the better my skin usually looks.

[FrameyMcFrame]

my cystic acne has dissapeared after giving up all grains and sugar.

i eat a lot more fat (grass fed butter and coconut oil) and my dry skin bits are also better

[SarahDietitian]

It took me 14 years of acne to cop on that it is gluten causing mine. I've been spot free for 2 glorious years, when I have gluten unavoidably I get a horrible outbreak that takes weeks to clear up. Also take omega 3 fish oils, loads of veg and whole grains. Almost no sugary stuff or refined carbs. Everyone is different with regards to triggers.

[eslteacher]

Another one here who is in her 30s and still getting regular spots. Always in the same place : chin and moustache area. I could cope if they were just unsightly but the fact that they are often painful to the touch too really gets me.

I went on roaccutane in my teens, they cleared up for a while but ultimately came back. They were much improved on the combined pill (though didn't go away completely) and then flared up worse than they ever were when I was taken off said pill a few months ago. Settled down a bit now, but still making regular appearances.

I have lost 8kg since May by cutting back on carbs, sugar and dairy, and increasing exercise and fruit/veg. My cellulite is now all but gone, but I can't say I've noticed any effect on my skin, sadly. I don't have the desire or willpower to completely cut out things like dairy or sugar even if it got rid of my acne - ultimately I'd rather eat cheese and have spots, I think! Thank god for concealer and mineral foundation...

[cerealqueen]

Do you keep a skin diary, what you ate, how your skin was? You might see a pattern.

I take omega 3 oils, reduce sugar and carbs intake, use triacneal and add johoba oil (sorry, can't spell it) to my moisturiser as even acne.org suggest that in their regime. Skin seems better.

[Scarletohello]

I actually have dry skin so this may not help you but a few years ago I did a low carb diet so was eating a lot of fat, avocados nuts butter cream etc.My skin looked amazing! I had compliments like, have you been on holiday, stopped smoking etc..?

[cannotfuckingbelievethis]

Thanks for all the replies.

I can't think of anything major in my daily routine which has changed and could have caused this - don't smoke, not been on holiday, not changed make up or my skin care.

Interesting re the gluten which was causing your problem Sarah . My Mum was finally diagnosed with celiac disease a few years ago after about 8yrs of horrific problems (and a lifetime of constipation).

I've been eating more chocolate than usual lately and cheese too so I think I may have found the culprits...hopefully.

[Orangesarenottheonlyfruit]

On the flip side I have been laid up with a broken ankle for the past five weeks and have been living on what my DH can cook - basically ready meals and packet sauces etc as well as lots of 'get well' chocs.
Basically my skin, never really been a problem, has got awful, spotty and oily!
I am giving a crash course in cooking vegetables as a result.

[OhThisIsJustGrape]

I don't drink milk and the only milk I do have is in tea or coffee and as long as its organic then I don't react to it. I found that ordinary milk played havoc with my skin, it's the hormones in it that cause the breakouts and organic milk is hormone free.

Having said all that, cystic acne is almost always caused by a hormone imbalance and until that is remedied it will be virtually impossible to eliminate breakouts. An excellent skin care regime and healthy diet with plenty of water each day will definitely help but really, a trip to GP or even better a referral to a dermatologist is the only way to put a stop to the cysts. It cannot be cured by over the counter/drugstore spot creams etc.

It has taken me over 20yrs to get my acne under control, I am now on a contraceptive pill (co-cyprindiol) which has finally sorted it and I stick to a very strict skin care regime.

[SarahDietitian]

It's off the acne subject a bit, but I forgot to mention that if anyone thinks they have an issue with gluten, it's really important to get tested for coeliac disease before trialling gluten free. Medically, coeliac disease needs lifelong monitoring by a gastroenterologist as there are much more serious possible health consequences if gluten free is not adhered to. It is thought that 1 in 10 have CD, but it is massively under diagnosed.

rgpants - CD can also be genetic, so you should consider getting tested. Here's a short blog post I've written on coeliac disease diagnosis

[Worzel77]

I've had acne for over 20 years, can really recommend acne expert Elaine Mummery elainemummery.com/ she looks into what is causing acne for each individual as is different for everybody, and has helped me loads to clear my skin and her moisturiser is the best I've ever used by a long way!

[WhoNickedMyName]

A fellow cystic acne sufferer here, aged 35.

I've tried eliminating all kinds of things from my diet, nothing works. I'm currently on a huge daily dose of Erythromycin after a particularly bad breakout, and my GP is going to keep me on this for six months now.

I have found one thing last week that helps though - Ibuprofen! Several of the spots on my chin were throbbing really badly and I took some Ibuprofen tablets for the pain. Then realising that it is an anti-inflammatory, and thinking my skin couldn't look much worse, I smeared my chin with Ibuprofen gel. There was an amazing difference in the size and redness of the spots the next morning.

I've also stopped with all of the harsh 'spot fighting' face washes and oil free moisturiser. I'm using Liz Earle's stuff for combination/acne prone skin, and although it's too soon to see if it's really helping my skin, (Plus being on antibiotics is the main reason my skin is improving), my face feels really... comforted, is the only way I can describe it. Not sore and tight.

Anyway, sympathies to all you fellow sufferers. I'm told by one particularly unhelpful GP that in 30 years time I'll be reaping the benefits of oily skin, I'll be 65 but will only look 45 apparently .

[MrsMarigold]

My mother has very oily skin and still gets the odd spot in her 70s. Her skin is still oiler than mine and I'm only in my late 30s.

But I'm also plagued by spots but apart from roaccutane which is a total miracle and sorted me out for a few years in my 20s.

In recent years I've found panoxyl aqua gel 2.5 worked wonders - although unfortunately they stopped making it - apparently it should be back by December but in the meantime I've had a bad skin year. It's benzoyl peroxide based and it only worked when I used it daily. The stronger versions 5 and 10% just dried out my skin too much. Neutrogena on the spot from the states works the same but you can't get it here

Diet seems to have no effect imho.

[Tugstonia]

Someone told me that too WhoNicked and yet I have wrinkles as well (am mid-30s)! Lots of sun in my teens and 20s in a foolish attempt to help my skin...

I too took Dianette for years and years and it was amazing, but I can't stay on it forever. Also tried roaccutane in my 20s but because I had to take the pill at the same time it was hard to know what worked.

That's a v interesting blog post Sarah. I've often wondered about coeliac disease but don't have any digestive problems. Is it possible to be sensitive to gluten without having full-blown CD?

[lilaloves]

Start taking soya milk with coffee for last few months and have seen massive improvement.

[jemjabella]

Had to cut out dairy nearly 9mo ago as my son has CMPI and it did bugger all for my spots. I think mine is hormone-related though as only appears when I'm ovulating.

[Summergarden]

Another 30 something acne sufferer here, only on my chin and jawline. I mostly manage to keep it under control with topical cream Zineryt, which is an antibiotic which I like because it doesn't dry or irritate the skin like other topical creams I've tried.

I've never found diet changes to make a difference tbh.

[Middleagedteen]

Ooh I'm glad I've seen this post! I have also been suffering so bad with nasty spots/blackheads/cysts these last 6 months and am seriously considering a major diet overhaul too, but find the thought daunting as dont know what ill actually end up eating - if anything! Can anyone recommend a diet book or website or is it just trial and error? I have been prescribed a topical cream from drs as I'm also ttc so can't go down roaccutane route and anti b's at mo, so am very interested in hearing more advice.

[Summergarden]

Middleagedteen I only switched to Zineryt when got pregnant and was relieved to find it worked well, have you been on it long enough to see if it works for you?

I know it does for me because if I forget when 5 weeks is up and have to get a new one my skin worsened because the antibiotics don't work after the 5 weeks.

[giraffeseatpineapples]

[http://www.primalpalate.com/category/blog/page/3/] there is some stuff on diet (paleo/wap/grain free and dairy free) and skincare on this page - scroll towards the bottom .

[giraffeseatpineapples]

try again www.primalpalate.com/category/blog/page/3/

[cannotfuckingbelievethis]

When I was on Dianette and then Yasmin my skin was like a porcelain doll but I came off it to try for DCs and then found out whilst pregnant that I have a condition that means I can't ever take the pill again !

Worzel I actually saw Elaine Mummery give a talk in Borders a few years ago and it was really interesting what she had to say about diet. Just had a look at her rates though and don't think I could cough up £280 for a consultation even if I looked like Ploppy Son of Ploppy (that won't mean a lot unless you're a Blackadder fan....)

[Middleagedteen]

Summergarden - I'm on duac cream at mo, although have tried zynert a few years ago but can't remember if it worked well or not. I have a long history of rubbish skin - on and off - even took roaccutane about 9 years ago which worked like a dream until about a year after my DD was born. Ill see how the duac goes (v drying so far), then maybe ask to try zynert.

Thanks for link on paleo diet Giraffe - very interacting, I will look into more.

Ryang - good luck with your skin and hope something works for you very soon. Love blackadder btw!