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.

[Middleagedteen]

Interacting?? Interesting!

I also think ibuprofen is great for those really angry throbbing buggers. Also bathing in hot water really soothes them.

[IvanaCake]

I'm 33 and have suffered with acne for 20+ years. Dianette and yasmin worked really well but I can't take them anymore. I've had duac, zineryt, erithromycin, retin a cream, quinoderm, and probably a few more! Nothing works

All I can hope is that the menopause sorts it out. How depressing.

[Ruprekt]

Low carbing, no alcohol is the key for me.

Had flu this week, eaten carbs and Boom! Terrible skin!

[cannotfuckingbelievethis]

Low carbing...I could just about handle ...

No alcohol............................................................................................................................(I'm thinking that after the wine I can't even see the spots so perhaps they aren't really a problem !)

[Specialbrew]

Not sure I had acne, but I got really painful spots on my jawline, upper lip and esp forehead. I tracked it back to starting to drink a daily latte after I had DS. I had always been a tea drinker (with a splash of milk) until then.

I did a bit of research on the internet, and lots of foods seems cause spots in different people. As coffee, and large quantities of milk, was the only change to my diet, it was pretty easy to identify milk as the trigger. I swapped it for soya milk, and the effect was almost instant. The spots ached less, and within a week I would say, the spots were gone.

My skin isn't totally clear, I get the odd spot every couple of months now, but ten times better than when I was drinking milk.

Up until then I didn't think that what I ate could affect my skin so much. I'm a lot more careful about what I eat now.

As I said I'm not sure I had acne, and I know that for lots of people it's not about diet, but my spots were def diet related.

Good luck in trying to find what trigger your acne, I know how terrible it makes you feel.

[minipie]

long term (20 years) acne sufferer here. pretty sure it's PCOS related.

I went dairy free for unrelated reasons earlier this year. it made no difference to my skin at all. neither did being alcohol free while pg and breastfeeding. I eat very little sugar anyway so doubt that's the cause. I haven't tried low carb.

[notasausage]

This site has lots of great advice on diet and acne

www.acne-advice.com/about/

[Safmellow]

I've had spots for 25 years and the only time I was spot free was when I was fat! Usually a size 8 or 10 but I once went up to a 14 - this is big for me as I have a small frame - and my skin was perfect. I usually get spots on my back or chest but even they disappeared. So I have a choice of acne or flab! :(

[ziggiestardust]

Actually yes. I went low carb, and my skin has 'dried up' for want of a better phrase. I used to get horrible, volcano like under the skin spots that were huge and super sore, all the time.

I just haven't had it since LC-ing. Not even a baby one! And I feel great. I genuinely believe how that it is sugar that does it.

[ziggiestardust]

BTW, I find that alcohol actually am especially very little difference. I tend to stick to low carb, pure alcohol like gin, vodka etc, with sugar free mixers. Dry white/red wine sometimes too, but more when I'm with friends.

[ziggiestardust]

alcohol makes, I do apologise.

Low carb is the easiest, most satisfying thing EVER after the first week spent getting the hang of it and getting rid of the sugar cravings.

[daisystone]

Spots around the chin are always always hormonal. If you have break outs on your chin you have a hormone imbalance. Diet does play a part in hormone imbalances. Our diet has a big impact on insulin levels and they can cause havoc with hormones.

About a year ago I went a bit crazy and cut out a load of things and stopped drinking alcohol as well and my skin really cleared up - but I didn't sustain the diet and the spots came back. I wish I knew what had made my skin better and if I had eliminated things gradually I would know for sure. Although maybe my body does not tolerate dairy, sugar, wheat, alcohol or too much meat - that would be just my luck!

I think you have to first work out if it is a hormone imbalance or something else and then go from there.

I've been on various types of contraceptive pill, erythromycin, clindamycin and loads of others but don't want to take pills any more. Now I use Retin-A which helps enormously and stops you getting wrinkly too.

Double cleanse your skin and use natural products where ever you can. Don't touch your skin throughout the day (v hard) and drink a shit load of water.

The more research I have done (and I have done loads) the more I realise that it is most definitely diet that plays the biggest part in getting rid of spots though.

[SundaySimmons]

I have drunk more water, less water, ate this, didn't eat that and nothing has altered my skin!

I have given each trial 3-6 months and found nothing that I consume helps or makes things worse!

[MrsOsbourne]

I discovered I was lactose intolerant 4 years ago- within weeks of giving up dairy products my spotty chin cleared up.
I had years of avoiding social occasions/photos - it really affected my confidence.
My skin is perfect now

[CerealMom]

I've been suffering from the 'big boy throbbers' on my chin and jaw line for years. In February I went on Lighter Life (weight loss programme - low carb/sugar/calorie. No food/milk/alcohol etc... only the 4 LL food packs per day) and for those 5-6 months had the peachy skin of a ten year old. Seriously, I only needed mascara and lippy.

I've been on management (food) since July and gradually the boys have been coming back. Apparently it (good skin) is a recognised side effect of the programme. Something about the low cal/carb/sugar affects your hormones. Really should look into it more...

[SarahDietitian]

Tugstonia - many people with coeliac disease experience no gut symptoms. You can certainly be sensitive to gluten and not be coeliac. This is called non-coeliac gluten sensitivity, acne can be one of the symptoms. It is thought that 6-10% of the general population are gluten sensitive, often with vague symptoms of chronic ill health that are difficult to medically diagnose. Gastroenterologists are becoming more accepting of the condition, GPs, in my experience are more dismissive/skeptical. Here is an interesting article from the British Medical Journal on gluten sensitivity.

[ArtemisatBrauron]

Yep - had moderate acne for years from age of 10-21. Gave up dairy products due to lactose intolerance (IBS related) and within 4 months had almost perfect skin. Have a couple of fading acne scars now, but otherwise, I almost never get spots.
If I accidentally eat dairy, I always get a couple of big spots.

[Elenkalubleton]

ryangoslingspants my dh had a rash on his forehead pustule type pimples
For about 5years they appeared after a particularly stressful time at work.
He was self consicience about them and used to put my foundation on to disguise them. We went to Australia when he retired and I thought the sun would improve them but it made them even more angry looking then before.He tried lots of different creams some off doc,all no good.Then I read about oxy10,he put it on once and they disappeared!! Like a miracle.
Worth a try.

[Missbopeep]

One of my DDs had acne in her early 20s and was prescribed Roaccutane by a dermo she saw privately. Her acne wasn't that bad compared to some, but she was told that aggressive medical treatment is always offered if there is any evidence of scarring- ( pitting or redness) which there was. So don't assume you can't be treated. her acne is hormonal and after clearing up has now come back and she is possibly facing another dose of Roaccutane but the dermo is trying oral antibiotics first ( again.)

I think you should ask for a referral to a dermo tbh.

[Missbopeep]

Sarah- that link you provided is very interesting and I am sure the patient is a MN who has written about his experience on the general health forum here, quite openly.

[cannotfuckingbelievethis]

If at all possible I want to avoid taking any kind of drugs for my skin. As I'm not able to take the pill the only other thing the doc could possibly give me is Roaccutane (tried topical antibiotics before and all they really did was dry my skin out).

I'm going to have a good try at sorting out my diet for a few months and if that does no good then I'll see what the doc says. At least then I can go and say I've tried to eliminate dairy etc but it's not helped.

[StickyFloor]

I am 38 and had terrible spots and greasy patchy skin since I was a teenager. In January I started a low calorie diet to lose weight and an unexpected side effect has been the transformation in my skin.

I still have a bit of chocolate or a biscuit most days, but I have largely elminated ready meals, take-aways, pasta, rice, white bread, red meat, rich sauces, cakes, desserts, pastries.

For the last 4 or 5 months I have just had one spot each month before my period and that is it, and the greasiness is gone too. So now I have 2 reasons to keep up the healthy eating!

[MoaningMinn]

I have had persistent cystic acne for all of my 30's coupled with really sensitive skin. I have tried Dianette, long term antibiotics, Obagi, duac etc - all worked ok until I stopped taking it.

I was lucky enough last year to have a referral to Prof. Chu @ Hammersmith hospital for laser treatment, it took 6 months to notice a difference but OMG, my skin was completely transformed, the scarring and pigmentation marks went and it was free of those horrid, hard, lumps that just sit under there brewing! Haven't had a treatment for 9 months and after a long period of stress, long hours and very bad eating, they are back with a vengeance so will definitely be trying low carbing!

[ppeatfruit]

Another thing to try is avoiding burnt food like barbecues etc. I usually have very good skin because of a healthy diet; but had a horrible acne type spot on my nose after eating some barbie food. I control it with MSM silver facial cream but I can't get effin' rid of it completely.

[PeaceAndHope]

I've never cut out dairy, but I generally avoid White sugar and processed carbs. I do this because of other health issues and I can't really say it has helped my acne.

Here's what did help me-

Eat carrots. Seriously. Vitamin A is very good for acne!

Vitamin E capsules. One everyday.

Go oil free when it comes to toiletries. If you've got cash to spare, try the oil free ranges by Shiseido or Clinique. Otherwise, Neutrogena has some excellent oil free cleansers and moisturisers. Don't use anything greasy on your face. Look for the label "non comedogenic" on any makeup or cream that you use on the face.

I haven't found acne systems like Proactive etc. very useful. They actually make my skin worse because they work by bringing all the infection out to the surface which turns the whole process into a vicious cycle.

Also, wash your hair regularly. Don't let your scalp get oily! It will give you pimples on the forehead. I wash my hair every alternate day and this really helps me.

I might try the no-dairy diet myself. I was lactose intolerant as a child, so maybe it hasn't gone away completely? I'll keep you posted