Hormonal cystic acne sufferers - I've given up dairy... and it's really helped!!!

[HepburnKNotA]

I'm usually on here asking for advice so for once I'm in a position to give some; about time I returned all the favours tbh!

I'm 43 and for the last year(ish) have suffered really bad outbreaks of cystic acne, particularly in the 2 weeks running up to my period.

As the spots are so HUGE and DEEP and painful, they really don't go anywhere, just rumble horrible and boil-like deep below the surface for about 10 days, then take about 10 days after that to recede, and them my cycle hits the mid-end point and it all starts up again. Joy.

I noticed a big improvement in the summer when for random reasons I had no dairy produce for about 10 days.

Back on the dairy produce after that - cystic lumps all over again...

So, for the last month, I've had absolutely NO DAIRY, as an experiment.

And... (drum roll)

...My period is due tomorrow and I have just ONE medium-sized spot, right on my jawline.

It's easily squeezable (sorry TMI) rather than deep deeeeeeep below the surface and I've been able to easily cover it with concealer (previous spots are so lumpy that even if concealer hides some redness, skin is distorted beneath it so it still looks terrible).

It's a massive, massive improvement. Past months I'd have about 4 huge boils by now, on chin and near mouth, that would bubble up over about 5 days then linger for another 10.

Not sure what to do next as I love and miss my dairy produce - I love a yogurt, me, and I don't want to just cut out a whole food group - but maybe others who've tried this have further advice? Perhaps I can go back to small amounts.

I will probably need a calcium supplement too, I guess, if they're any good.

Anyway, I just wanted to put this up here as I know there are users of this board who have cystic acne too. I had it far worse in my late teens/20s and ended up on Roaccutane which was a godsend but as recently it's been obviously hormonal I didn't want to go down that route yet.

Thank you for sharing. I have PCOS and the usual awful cystic acne in the run up to a period. But I really fucking.love.cheese

Marzipan, I’m with you on the cheese front too actually...
eat cheese... or avoid boils... it’s a tough call and I wish it was ANY other foodstuff!!!!!

Thanks for sharing! I might have to try it, would be so worth it if it worked.

I’m allergic to cows milk and still ended up on roaccutane for cystic acne.

You need a calcium supplement and vitamin d.

If I had the choice of having dairy again I’d do it. Honestly I would.

Fluffy, can I ask why you'd have dairy if you could? Because you miss eg cheese SO MUCH or because you don't thinkk it's possible to be healthy without the calcium/Vit D it provides?

Dd1 hates any form of dairy and doesn't eat it. She still ended up on roacctaine. I think its bollocks, sorry.

She now eats cheese, because she's worried about osteoporosis when older.

As a pp said, you will need a calcium supplement to keep your bones strong as you approach the menopause.

Trewser, oh for sure, I’m not saying it’s the cure-all for everyone!! It just happens to be a very very drastic improvement for me personally. I have friends who find the same if they avoid wheat but that personally makes zero difference to me. So I don’t think it’s bollocks as such, I think it’s just something that CAN be a big help for some people. I’m not a fad-diet person at all, so I’ve been amazed at the effect tbh.

Sorry, I shouldn't have said bollocks. I wish it had worked for dd1!

Gawd trewser, don’t apologise!! I should have said in my OP that it seems to be a fairly hit and miss thing; works for some but not all. X

I wonder if it matters what age you are. The give up dairy success stories I hear are from older women (usually?mostly?). The teens go on roaccutane.

I would have a hard time giving up butter myself.

Ah banivani, I wonder too... I certainly had to use Roaccutane (twice) in my late teens and 20s as literally nothing else worked. I've been wonderfully blemish-freee, I think largely thanks to those Roaccutane doses, ever since... UNTIL the age of about 42 a year ago when the huge lumps began to come up at the same time each month on the chin and jaw. So yes, I wonder if there's something in the age/hormone combo.

My plan is to try and reintroduce smaller amounts at the very start of my new cycle (after the usual time-period in which I would usually get spots) and see if I can tolerate small amounts. I'd happily eat 3 yogurts a day (and often used to!) so it might just be that I was having way too much.

Glad it worked for you OP, though one month I think could be a coincidence. I'm forever finding things that I think have worked and then 6 weeks later back with skin not as clear as I'd like. Hormones are a pain. Fingers crossed the no dairy works long term for you!

Yes it's so difficult to tell for sure, isn't it? I significantly reduced my dairy for a while, and while I wasn't completely dairy free it should IM completely unscientific O have meant some sort of difference if there was a difference to be had - but not so I noticed. But maybe completely dairy free might have helped, or in combination with something else ... no way of knowing without extensive testing which I was not prepared to do haha.

I’d have dairy again if possible for the calcium and vitamin d BUT for the freedom too.

No more checking labels on food.
No more asking for the allergy menu in restaurants
I could have coffee and cake when I’m out shopping with dh.
Family could cook for me without panicking.
I could go to any takeaway and order what I like.

Roaccutanes great though, love that stuff. I wash with Lidl face wash now & wake up spot free every morning & my make up doesn’t go shiny by 9am.

I’d go on it again in a heart beat.

I suffer with this too but quitting dairy didnt help me. The only thing that sorted it for me was going back on the pill. I also started using effaclar duo and I’m convinced that has helped a lot too

Worked for me too. Never really liked dairy, except butter and ice cream.

I find I tolerate ghee/clarified butter pretty well and so I can have a buttery baked potato or toast. That really helps. Or homemade popcorn.

Also try to keep an eye on fructose (especially fructose syrups) in things and that sorted the last few stragglers out.