Acne all over but nothing is helping

[Thebirdsweredancing]

Hi I am hoping someone might be in the same boat as me. I have suffered with acne since I was a teenager, but since my 20’s it is not just on my face but in other places too. I’m in my 30’s now.

Problem areas:
Face
Neck
Scalp & Hairline
Chest
Back & Shoulders & Breast area
Occasionally I will get one inside my bum area and general underwear area. Not deep inside but around the edge of my bum. It can be quite painful.

If I take the combined pill it stops which is great BUT… the pill comes with it’s own issues. I’ve not found a pill that agrees with me and I also know women who have had blood clots while taking the pill, women who were in their 20’s and non smokers. So I am not a huge fan. I took them for many years and dealt with the constant bleeding as a side effect. I did this because I was embarrassed about acne all over my shoulders, especially in the summer when I couldn’t cover up.

I have spoken to the GP (AGAIN) and she is looking into my hormones. She gave me blood tests but depending on where you are in your cycle means that the results are always changing so I can’t interpret if they are too high or low. She’s booked me an internal ultrasound. Then she will look at the results together. I had a small fibroid 1-2 years ago so we will be checking on that too.

I’ve gone up from a size 10-12 to a size 16 in the last 5 years. I walk 10,000 steps per day as my job is active but nothing even helps. I was taking antibiotics for 1 year which got rid of the acne almost immediately. I stupidly didn’t realise that as soon as you stop taking then the acne returns. She’s prescribed me another antibiotic to take but I’m very reluctant to do so as I would rather not become resistant to them, in case I really need them one day and then they don’t work.

I have a cream but it’s bleaches everything so I can’t use it on my scalp/hair. Every time I brush my hair it’s painful and is opening up the sores. I tried the cream but it hasn’t made any difference but maybe I need to try for longer. Does anyone know of a shampoo I could use or a daily spray to keep the acne from my scalp? It’s so embarrassing because the hair can hide it but not always if it’s around the edges. My mum had back and shoulder acne when I was growing up I remember she would have been in her 40’s!!!! So clearly it’s not going away anytime soon.

Have you considered keeping a food diary. Going back to limited, natural/unprocessed foods, no sugar, omit dairy etc to see if it clears and then reintroduce things to see what triggers flares?

The symptoms of food allergies can appear as acne. Especially, cystic acne. This is when you have large, red, inflamed, and itchy acne welts

Limiting dairy and sugar really helped me. It's a pain but worth it.

Really?? I have heard this too. I love dairy (cheese) !!!! I suppose I could give it a go. Is there a milk alternative that I could have in my coffee, tea and cereal that tastes nice? I’m allergic to nuts so I don’t think almond would be suitable.

Oatly barista is the best alternative milk I've found. My skin improved a lot when I cut the dairy. Good luck OP.

Ps. I think just reducing dairy could still be beneficial - it's hard to completely eliminate!

I'm in my 50s and have these issues. Giving up dairy 20 odd years ago really helped, though it hasn't completely solved the problem. Dairy is in so many unexpected things. Recently I noticed it in a steak pie. I use oat or almond milk in my tea.

The spots on my scalp seemed more dependent on the brand of shampoo I was using, so tried lots until I found one my scalp didn't hate. Its a Yes To one with tea tree and sage, but it's quite drying so needs a good conditioner afterwards.

In the late 90s I used a Clinique spray on my back which was really good but they discontinued it. I think the wonder ingredient was salicylic acid.

Going dairy free didn't work for me and although I know people it did work for, it isn't evidentially supported.

The only thing that works for me is anti biotics.Given your weight gain, your gp is right to check your hormones as pcos sounds like a possibility. I would also insist upon a dermatology referral - don't wait, there'll be a waiting list.

Keep going back to the GP. I tried various creams and antibiotics. Antibiotics were making me bloated. Had a blood test for pcos, but were just about in normal range, but like you said hormone levels can change. Eventually got referred to dermatology who offered me spironolactone, which has really helped. Took exactly 8 weeks on a low dose to clear. I do find alcohol and too much dairy can still cause a few spots, but nothing like it was.

It's good your GP is investigating the hormonal link, could it be PCOS?

A dermatology referral is also indicated if you read the NICE guidelines to GPs dealing with acne. There's a long waiting list so it's worth asking your GP to do the referral now at the same time as investigating the hormonal issues.

Is it worth paying to see a dermatologist? I am not sure how much it would be but I could probably afford 1 consultation and see how that helps. I’m worried that if it’s hormonal then nothing will help long term from the dermatologist. How can I figure out who I need to see?

Oatly Barista is what I use. I don't eat cereal or drink tea but I put it in my coffee. Cheese is the kicker! But I do have it sometimes. Just choose something else if there's something I'd like just as much.
I forgot to say that I changed my shampoo to L'Oreal Clay as my hair used to be really greasy (also helped by reducing dairy!), and stopped regularly using conditioner in my hair and fabric softener on clothes. Very very few back and chest spots now. I know that my bad skin is hormonal as I had beautiful skin in pregnancy. I think the dairy probably contributes to hormonal stuff.
I moisturise with sudocrem about 4/7 times. It seems to help my skin be less greasy rather than more. The other days I use Nivea soft. For cleansing i use clearasil wipes

Salicylic Acid Scrub Soap, Pore Exfoliating, Softening Skin, Anti-Blemish amzn.eu/d/eDKfh7n

This cleared my back acne when even duac from the GP hadn't worked. I lathered it up as the last thing in the shower and left it on my skin for a min before rinsing
Only suggesting it as it's cheap, and if it doesn't work for you then you still have a soap to use so it's not a waste (that was my theory trying it)
It's got exfoliating bits so I used a sponge to lather it as it's a bit scratchy

I would see a dermatologist, as your acne sounds quite severe and I think they are only doctors that can prescribe Roaccutane which is a tablet that permanently cures acne after a course of treatment. It has some side effects and liver risks so is reserved for severe cases.

I would start with the inside out first. Definitely cut out dairy but also look into other allergies and vitamin and mineral deficiency, in particular zinc deficiency.

Definitely echo other posters..
I had hormonal acne (not as severe as yours but severe enough to upset me) until about five years ago. The single thing that worked was cleaning up my diet. I didn't eat dairy for two years. I can eat it now no problem.

The other thing is look into your micro biome - the antibiotics helps but destroy all the good bacteria as well which keep your body in balance. Another reason to focus on inside out.

If you Google the anti-acne diet it tells you the foods to avoid and the best things to eat. You need to give it a go for at least three months.

Hi OP. I also really struggle with acne. It was controlled whilst I was on the combined pill but had to come off due to migraines. That was about 5 years ago and still struggling.

I paid £200 to see a consultant dermatologist privately about a year ago. She said it was severe hormonal acne. As I have already tried antibiotics and all kinds of typical treatments she said she would recommend roaccutane. She said she was confident this would sort it. But I am TTC (at the time was planning to start) so it is not suitable for me.

I asked her what else she would recommend and she said Benzoyl Peroxide face wash is good to use to treat inflamed areas (I'm guessing you already use that as you said about bleaching fabrics) - I can look up the name if this if you like.

I asked her about diet and she said that there is not much to do. There is some evidence that following a low GI diet is helpful to manage inflamed acne. There is also evidence that diets with a lot of junk food / sugar / sat fat can exacerbate acne, although she mentioned it is usually teenagers she sees with this issue and if your diet is relatively balanced with junk food and sugar in moderation then not to worry. I also asked her about dairy; she said there is no good evidence to show this helps although there is a lot of anecdotal evidence (especially if you google). I have tried it before myself and it did not help. May be worth a try for you but don't get your hopes up too much!

Would recommend seeing a dermatologist soon, if you can afford to go private. If not then persevere with the GP. It's good that they're doing tests etc but agree you really need a referral to dermatology which could take a few months. Avoid the "next quick fix" you find via Google. I have wasted so much money on supplements and skincare in my time.

Sorry - "typical" = "topical"

Thanks everyone, great tips!!!!! Just bought some Tea tree shampoo to try. I’m also taking a probiotic every day. I need to try and lose some weight too, I’m wondering if that might help. Great point about the fabric softer as well.

Hi,

so sorry you’re going through this, us women don’t have it easy!
I know everyone’s different but I definitely notice a big improvement on my skin when not eating dairy, I can tolerate a chocolate bar every now and again but if I have cheese or a substantial amount of chocolate I know I have a breakout on its way.

Also I have noticed during my pregnancy, when I introduced probiotics specifically this brand my skin has been really happy and healthy, again not sure if it’s pregnancy related but I was having hormonal breakouts at the beginning of my pregnancy and then when I started these it completely stopped so I will definitely be carrying on with them even after baby has arrived. www.optibacprobiotics.com/uk/product/probiotics-for-women?gclid=CjwKCAiAzp6eBhByEiwA_gGq5JmtyiTyXuJaaSlM07orJYyBIhBEFQb5t5nXTiJKaDo9lNj_eDGDvxoCURsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Finally, I couldn’t recommend this spray enough, I am really not a fan of strong products like acids or whatnot I just find them irritating or drying but this spray I came across feels really natural and calming.
clinisoothe.com

Hope this helps!x

Ask for a dermatologist referral.

Roac might be a good fit for you.

It's not as scary as some people make out. I did a short low dose course for cystic acne, the most severe kind, and it really made a difference.

Bit of an afterthought, if you do try going dairy free for a bit please consider a calcium supplement. I had a bone scan a couple of years ago and the consultant said given that I cut out dairy it's a good job I've been taking mine.

Would you mind sharing what dosage you're on? My DD was on 100mg but in the past 3 months it seems to have stopped working.....

I'm only on 50mg.

That's odd it's stopped working for your dd, I guess a trip back to the doc?

Thanks. She's upped the dose to 125 but no effect 😢. It's so odd as 100 was working fine but then her periods came back and so did the acne. Apparently the max dose is 200mg but the GP said blood tests would be needed before she could go that high.