Evening Primrose oil really helping my hormonal acne!
Yup. 500mg oil (45mg GLA) per capsule. Three in the morning and three at night. Have only been doing this for a month or so, but I can see definite improvement!
I read on this site and a PCOS book that something about primrose oil blocks testosterone effects. So I gave it a shot.
Also, my skin looks a bit more even-toned.
I have been trying to add a tablespoon of fresh flax oil (Spectrum Naturals), but I forget about it often, so I don't really think that is what is helping.
I will try to remember, though, 'cause I think it is worthwhile.
This is sill helping me, so I am still on it. NO CYCLE-related acne! Whoo-hoo! My face is finally as clear as it used to be.
However, my hair was falling out before the oil caps, and it still is (more than a few hairs when I brush, and especially after I wash my hair). So, I have the problem, too, but for me there is no oil connection.
Sorry this is no help to you. Please let me know what happens with you.
I decided to keep up with the EPO because i figured it would help with PMS acne. I've just gone through a cycle and no new jumbo cystic pimple showed up! Yay!
As far as the hair falling out, it's still coming out, but here's something interesting. I've been taking 8 capsules per day(according to my bottle directions) and maybe the last 3 days by accident, i realized that i was actually taking 16 capsules per day because i would take them in the morning and by nighttime i had forgotten whether i had actually taken them, so anyway, i would take the same dose again in the evening.
Now, this may be just my imagination but i think since i've been taking the higher doses, my shedding seems to have slowed a lot. I'm going to keep up the dose a bit longer and see if it's just a fluke.
Thanks for the tip (rushes over to her primrose bottle and downs some more)!
My skin has still been great, so continue I will...SO GLAD it is helping you too! Thanks for letting me know! The frustrating this is WAITING to see how/if/when these options will work, but thank god they have.
Anyway, yes, my hair is still falling out. I have tried Biotin (1mg morning and evening) for a week now and nothing. I am upping my primrose dosage to see if this will help. It can't hurt.
By the way, I am not doing the flax oil right now. I can't stomach tablespoons of oil. I decided to really commit to what I can do and admit that only sometimes taking other supplements is just a waste.
Hi,
MissPiggy, have you tried taking Flax Seed Oil in capsule form? That is how I take mine, 2ce a day. I can't take the oils by themselves.
I've been wanting to start taking Evening Primrose Oil, just haven't bought any yet. I've heard and read so much good things about it. I wish every vitamin and mineral I take and want to take can be crammed in one pill.......Instead of 20 pills a day...LOL...
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About that biotin you're taking. It's not near enough!
i take 4-5 thousand micrograms per day (tablets that melt under the tongue) and i think that may help as well. I've been doing that for almost 3 months now.
maybe you want to up your dose. Also, the sublingual(under the tongue are absorbed directly into the bloodstream therefore bypassing the digestive system. this ensures the maximum amount is absorbed.
best wishes with that
Deb
as for the flax, don't drink the oil if you can't stomach it. Buy the seeds in bulk and grind up with a cheap coffee grinder. Grind up 3 tablespoons of flax seeds and in a bowl mix with hot (not boiling water) stir around a bit. It makes a somewhat slimy porridge but subs exactly for the oil.
If you can't take the slimyness, like me, i just mix with a little cream/water mixture some sweetener and eat it like a cold cereal. I even add chopped nuts or unsweetened coconut and cinnamon and it tastes great.
I have added Maca root capsules (6x 500gm) per day too. About 1 week since i started this in addition to the others things. Biotin;EPO;Maca
I am half way through my second cycle without even a hint of monthly acne. No sore spots, no bumps nothing!
I'm looking into getting the maca in bulk as it's much cheaper that way. This is an adaptogen that is not a hormone replacer but helps the pituitary gland to manufacture or suppress any hormones that are unbalanced. Your own body does the adjusting, the maca just helps it do the job.
I'm also positive my hair shedding has also diminished noticably.
I hope this can help someone else out there who is maybe feeling at the end of their rope like i was until i heard about these things.
I've been through 3 cycles now with no hormonal acne appearing at all! Also, the excess hair on my chin has diminished to the point i only have to pluck a few hairs maybe once or twice a week. The hairs themselves are getting weaker and easier to pluck out too.
As for my falling hair, it too has almost stopped and at this point i would say that it is down to the normal 100 hairs a day or so.
I'm hoping that in 6 mos. or so that i will see significant hair regrowth.
I'm very happy and relieved that something seems to be working for me as i've been fighting this for about 22 years now.
Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I am still taking the EPO and liking it...no acne. I get mine from Whole Foods and it is their brand. I think the specific brand doesn't matter so much as it is "cold pressed and hexane free." This means that they extract the oil so it doesn't go rancid from heat and hexane is a nasty solvent. Taking large amounts work for me... I take 6 capsules now (that's 3,000mg), in the morning and evening. I am not worried about taking too much. Lucy, I am not a doctor, but I think 1,000 mg wouldn't have been enough for me. I guess it also depends on your acne, but I started with 1500mg twice a day and saw the results the next month. I later upped the dosage and have noticed no bad effects. I hope this works for you, too. My skin looks great (if I do say so myself). And, like Deb, my facial hair is less than before. Yipee!
Anyway, I still cannot stomach that flax oil, though I know I should. I have not taken extra biotin but I am going to start that again...my hair loss is really bothering me. For me, the EPO did nothing about my hair loss.
I have started taking probitotics, which is the healthy bacteria for your gut. I noticed positive changes in skin tone and mood (Did you know most of our serotonin is stored in the gut??? Who knew?). I take Enzymic Therapies "pearls" for this. I am not sure at all if this helps PCOSers, but I am benefitting from it enough to really want to take it every day, so I thought I'd pass it on!
"
I have started taking probitotics, which is the healthy bacteria for your gut. I noticed positive changes in skin tone and mood "
I too have started taking probiotics(to counteract a prescription antibiotic for double ear infection). I had no idea that it could affect skin or mood.
Please let me know what changes you've experienced and where you saw your information. I would really love to read what you did. It sounds really interesting. My skin tone is very pale(not glowing) and i would love to have it become nice again.
I'll do a search on the brand you are using in the meantime and maybe i'll get the same info....
hey, i want to start taking the primrose oil also. i have the skin, nail, hair vatimins at home just wondering if it would be ok to take all at once?
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I can't tell you what to do with your supplements as that would be like dispensing medical advice(i'm not a doctor) but i also have many vitamins and natural supplements that i take myself and i'm not sure it causes any problems to take a lot of them at the same time.
I've done so for many weeks and months with no adverse effects that i've noticed. I have to insert the caution though that it probably all depends on what you would be taking.
It probably would be a good idea to do some research on interactions of vitamins and supplements. Maybe http://supplementwatch.com/ would be useful to you.
Thought I'd post in response to the latest messages.
First, I think adding primrose oil to a hair, skin, and nails formula (or any multi) can only help. I don't see taking primrose oil to be any different than borage or flax; you don't have to worry about overdose or toxic levels. Again, this is just my opinion. I have also added 5mg biotin 2x a day and am seeing great results! Yes, I do still comb out hair after I wash it, but it is FAR LESS than before. I can even accept this longterm because I know that even the healthiest of people shed every day.
As for the probiotics, from the research I have read on the web and from a great book that I LOVE ( "The Truth About Beauty" from Kat James) the balance of healthy bacteria is important to your body (go to Kat's site www.informedbeauty.com and check out the article on probiotics and the skin). We are born with healthy bacteria, but processed food and sugar create an imbalance that can lead to yeast infections and "leaky gut" syndrome. Food allergies also cause problems (and if you have eczema, a food allergy is highly possible). The healthy bacteria cannot protect the intestines as it should. The intestines then become permeable and bits of food can enter your system and try to find another way out of your body, leading to acne, eczema, psoriasis, etc.
Deb34, I found from different sources that antibiotics upset the healthy bacteria in the gut, so probiotics are expecially helpful here...I hope your ear is feeling better!
The Enzymic Therapies is a great option for me because the stomach acid doesn't destoy the healthy bacteria before it gets to the intestines. I sometimes have problems getting this brand because it is always out of stock. However, I do recommend the Vitamin Shoppe because you can get up to 30% off, depending on their monthly sales.
This is just a bit about what I have learned and what I am thinking to be true based on my experience. Most information I googled on my own...probiotics and leaky gut (sounds pretty, huh?) being two of my search words. In case you cannot tell, I think I have food allergies. I stopped eating wheat and two eczema like patches began to go away after a week of so.
Evening Primrose oil really helping my hormonal acne! 
