Hi,
I am starting a new thread for thin cysters who have suffered from pcos and acne.
please share your story and any natural remedies that had helped your acne.
My story:
I'm 25 and have suffered form acne since I was 13 after going through puberty.
I've tried everything fromover the counter,antibiotics and famouse accutane.nothing really worked for me except for accutane that really cleared my skin and I was able to enjoy my teen years with peace.now after 10 years of being on maintenance dose of accutane I decided not to take it anymore because of all the severe side effects. I went on different BCps and the only one helped was diane 35,however I had to discontinue the pill since I developed all sort of strange side effects.. it's been about 3 months that I have stopped all these medications and I'm hopping to cure my pcos symptoms which are severe acne on(face,shoulder and back),mild hirsutism and irregular periods(usually every 40 days).
list of herbs and supplement that I'm taking:
milk thistle:30 drops 3 times a day saw palmetto 320mg 1 every other day spearmint tea 3 cups a day omega 3/fishoil 500mg 4 a day external application of silica on pimples and also I drink a lot of organic vegetable juice 2 glass a day
results:
after 3 months of hardcore low carb/high protein organic diet and taking all the above supplements my skin is clearing up really fast except for the 1.5 month that my acne got crazy before eventually going down.I assume it was all because of liver detoxification. However I still breakout on my face and I'm trying to find a natural way of clearing it for good. I've decided to try another herb (sage) to see if this would work, my mom's oldest friend who is a doctor in paris told me to try it for 3 months.apparently this herb works like estrogen. I haven't tried it yet since I was waiting for my saliva test but after doing all the research on net and even realizing how my skin usually gets better on the 3rd day of my cycle,I think I know what the problem is. according to some pcos study which has been mentioned in another thread before: http://www.jarrettfertility.com/PCOS...%20handout.pdf
lean women with pcos have lower estrogen levels which would alter the ratio of their androgen vs estrogen(thats is why I always had normal androgen levels but still having problem with acne and hirsutism.)
I will keep you posted if this herb works and hopefully I wouldput an end to this acne nightmare for good.
Meanwhile I would like to ask anyone who has ever found a natural solution for their acne.
I've had acne since I was twelve. With a proper diet, (NO refined sugars) and taking proper care of your skin, (cleansing and moisturizing twice daily) you should be able to get it under control.
I get dermabrasion treatments for the scars, and use differin as a topical treatment if I'm having a breakout. I've also had laser rejuvenation treatments, which are addicting, they give you a youthful glow and smooth the surface of the skin.
__________________ -D-chiro-inositol
-Vegetarian / Organic Diet
-Morning Cardio / Two Hours
-Vitamins / A, B, C, D, E, K Books- Skinny B!tch(s), The Ultimate PCOS Handbook Treatments- Laser hair removal, Dermabrasion
Topical Prescriptions- Differin, Vaniqa
ok so finally my saliva test results came back.I did all 4 hormones
test/estradiol/progesteron/dhea
surprisingly everything was normal ven my dh,the onlything was out of range was my progesterone levels which is 15 and normal range starts from 50 -250 luteal phase.
I was totally wrong when I thought my estrogen is low.my test report has pretty good explaination of why there is acne and excess hair while the androgen levels are normal.the only thing I wasn't aware of that progesterone compete with testosterone for 5 alpha.
I think I might have an answer formy acne now.
I'm going to try npc and also vitex for 2 months..I hope this would be the answer never know
Just thought i would share my experience. I am a thin cyster and have had pretty bad acne for the last 2-3 years. I have a pretty good diet and am not entirely sure i am insuilin resistant but was put on metformin to regulate my periods which it seems to be doing (thus far am 32 days into a cycle in which i think i ovulated due to temp surge but still waiting for D Day!). I tried the natural way with supplements (I have been taking EPO (3000mg) and flax seed oil (2000mg) daily for about 3.5 months) for a while but grew impatient as my skin seemed to worsen every day and so i 'cracked' and went to my doctor for antibiotics and a topical cream called differin. The acne still took a long time to even start to show signs of improving but i have been taking the pills and the retinoid cream for about 12 weeks now and have started to see results in the last month. I am however now living in Spain and so the sun could be having some kind of effect also plus i am not sure if Metformin could also be responsible although i thought i read that it had no effect on clearing skin?
I still have scarring which i am hoping will fade but for the most part my skin is clear and i am the happiest i have been in a long time.
Please do keep me updated on your progress as i tried the natural way for quite a while and never managed to keep the acne under control but i do not want to be on medication for long periods of time and am worried that it will come back when i stop. At least for now i am minimising scarring and if it starts to creep back again i can try your regime!
The metformin lowers androgen levels, and that is supposed to help with acne and hair growth. I saw a little bit of improvement in my skin when I started on met, but it also made my skin really dry and very sensitive to the sun. What really helped my skin was going on birth control. My skin isn't 100% clear, but I'd say it has improved at least 80%.
I just want to let you know I gave up ...can't take this **** anymore.acne is driving me crazy.its not getting better and I noticed I'm getting some scars from these damn pimples on my cheeks....I decided to go backon accutane actually I satrted yesterday 20mg a day.
this has been a crazy journey for me phisically and psychologically.
I'm so depressed ,I know its something wrong with me my skin is not oily neither my hair,I've done all kind of tests and it shows nothing even tho my progesterone was too low but I doubt it would change anything.
I just can't take it anymore my confidence is ZERO right now and I hate myself ,keep telling myself why did I even bother stopping accutane after all it was doing great for my skin.except the stretch marks ...hell I dont care anymore
well what did I achieve NOTHING...seriously nothing
acne everywhere dont get me wrong,some days was fine and I was so happy and thought that's it I found a cure but no I'm not that lucky.
I'm sorry if I sound really pessimistic ..for me is over.
I just hope ,really hope that these scars just fade away and I'm not talking about my face only its all over my back and shoulders plus 3 months of lovely BCPs did wonder and now I have acne on my jaw line and neck.how nice
anyway I wish you all luck.
ahhh, dont beat yourself up, least you gave it a try. Theres always a silver lining, you've just got tolook for it, easier said than done I know, treat yourself. Get your nails done, or look at holiday brochures. I know spots are irritating to say the least but dont let the bast**ds grind you down. Keep on Trying honey. Em
I feel so bad for you as i know this is where i was at a few months ago. I tried acupuncture and chinese medicine and was so positive it was going to help me...i did see some improvement in the first 4 weeks but then i started to go backwards and my positive attitude plummeted. I stuck with it for about 15 weeks and then i too cracked and went to the docs for antibiotics. They offered me Accutane but i wanted to avoid it all costs. I was put on Trimethoprim and Differin topical cream. Through reading up about both treatments i knew it was going to take some willpower to get through the initial breakouts and that i had to give it at least 12 weeks. It was hard, so hard to remain sociable but lo and behold after about 11 weeks i noticed that new spots were becoming few and far between instead of getting news ones every day. It literally got better withing a week after 11weeks of waiting and now i am just hoping the scars will fade over time but for the moment at least i rarely get new ones (only around the time of period and ovulation).
Perhaps now you have started with the Accutane, use that to halt the acne and when it is at a point you feel ok with come off. Then if it starts to come back try to get Trimethoprim and Differin....it really does work you just have to be patient.
I have had the acne and oily skin problem for years. Back at the end of last year, I started drinking spearmint tea 3 times a day. This has been working for me. It took time and I am not taking any other prescriptions which stunned me but I keep on. I even noticed when I dropped off for a few days on vacation, the oily skin started coming back. I try and buy the full spearmint tea but in a pinch get the mint medley. I just add another glass to the regimen. Don't give up, these things take time. It has also slowed the hair growth a bit but it is still there. ARGH!
See, I know that I've always had PCOS - ever since puberty. My cycles have always been crazy. I did NOT have ance though until right around 5-6 years after starting my period. I thought it was odd (and I felt SUPER lucky) to go through middle school and early high school with NO ance issues. I loved it!
Then all of a sudden end of high school/beginning of college hit and there it was - ALL over my face and I couldn't get rid of it OR hide it! Been here ever since.
In March/April I took two cycles worth of Yaz (just to try to regulate for TTC). With that my face was a LOT better - most of the ance went away all together. I have since stopped (end of April I think) and it has come back a bit, but not nearly how it was before I went on BCP's.
I have also really tried to cut down on what I use on my face. I started trying all kinds of face wash items years ago when I started breaking out. I was on ProActive for a long time with no success (only dried out my face). I was on perscription things, which did work ...nothing worked. SO, I had a collection of items to use up, which I have been and I've made up my mind that I'm not going to use anything on my face after a while..and see what happens. I know that it takes your face months to adjust to a new routine, so I'll give it some time. I know I'll break out in the beginning, but we'll see how it goes after that.
Right now I'm using Biore face wash in the shower in the morning (actually only as a shaving cream and I don't leave it on long). It's amazing to shave with, so I guess I doubt I'd give that up. Then I just rinse with water at night. I AM using an Olay product, which I randomly tried and LOVED it. It's just a face cream, but it works great - not necessarily for clearing up acne, but it doesn't make me break out more, yet it makes my skin look bright and pretty...and I think it may have even been lightening up some of the scaring. I might continue to use that as well. Other that that, I'm done with face products to see what happens.
That's my story so far. As for my hormone levels, I believe the only one that was off was my testosterone, which was high. Yuck. Makes me feel like a man. lol
__________________ Me (26) DH (26) Married 1.17.09 TTC since 10.12.08
Self Dx '99 Official Dx 7.29.08
Metformin 500mg Since 11.12.09 Pre-Seed Sometimes Since 7.17.09 Yaz 3.11.09 - 5.4.09 PNV's + 1g Fish Oil
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Thank you guys...you are really giving me hope...but I think I've done more harm than good to myself since last three months.I was so determined not going back on Accutane.I was on it for almost 10 years,but I dont know what is going on with my body.I thought its my testosterone but it's not I'm also experiencing alot of shedding since 4 weeks ago.and thanks to this form everyone seems to get some positive results from sawpalmetto and spearmint so I gave it a try and here I am after 3 week of 320 mg sawpalmetto my hair got really thin its almost like a baby hair and also the scalp is too dry and the shedding is all from top of my head.
I'm going crazy what ever I do seems worsen everything for me.
to those who don't know if their test or dht are out of balance DO NOT TRY THIS,
I know for sure since my diet is very healthy alot of protein and dark veggies basically a perfect diet plan.but no matter what I'm doign the acne is still there and my hair is falling.
I just wanna be myslef again.going out have some fun for god sake I cant enjoy life anymore.I know I should be strong but thinking of myself only 8 months ago drive me crazy.perfect skin of course thatnks to accutane but also my hair was full and I was happy.now I'm depressed can't look at anyone out there just remind me of my old days .
my Bf lives in london and I'm sooo scared of meeting him again.I keep postponing my trip...don't want him to see me like this ..acne,scars,hair loss
I hope I get through this
thank you all for your support
You WILL get through it you just have to believe and try to stay positive. As for the boyfriend issue....i would perhaps just be honest with him and say that you are feeling down, otherwise he may think yu are avoiding him for other reasons. I gather you still talk to him so if he is still with you he must like you for more than your physical presence.
I know how hard it is to be sociable and am super lucky with my boyfriend who has always been supportive of me. I just used to promise him i would make it up to him when i had my problems under control....and now i am trying!
Good luck.....will be thinking of you and i hope something kicks in and starts to work soon!
what worked for me.... birth control and an anti-androgen... like metformin or androcur or spirolactone. had to get off metformin after 6 years due to new side effects but it worked great in conjunction with a BPC.
i am a thin cyster and have had acne since i was 14. i don't get acne on my face, but i do get it severely on my back. birth control (estrostep and yasmin) clear my skin to the point where i hardly ever need to use any topical treatments. however, last year i went off birth control because i began ttc. within 6 weeks of going off the pill, my acne flared up like i was 14 again. without knowing what else to do, i recently began using a microdermabrasion peel made by oil of olay, and this has helped my acne tremendously because it shrinks the pores (which is what i believe accutane does too). the peel is $23 at walmart (by far the cheapest since cvs charges $30!!!) and you get many peels out if it. the trick is to leave the peel on for a while (10 minutes should do it) and to do a peel every other day. Honestly, it's working wonders for me and I've tried everything under the sun. you have ot keep on doing the peel every other day in order for this method to work, but it works.
calling all thin cysters with acne! 
Yuck. Makes me feel like a man. lol
