For almost 8 years now I have been battling ACNE with no real success. It is completely ruining my life in all aspects.
Things I have tried for acne:
- not eating gluten for 1 whole year
- eating beef liver 3x a week for 2 months
- eating beef liver 1x a week for a month
- being out in the sun lots and lots (getting tanned helped reduce the visibility of the acne but nothing beyond that)
- swimming in sea water every day for a week
- gelatine 30g every day for 3 months
- collagen 30g every day for 6 months
- avoiding fruit
- not eating pork for 10 months
- not having any pufas for 1 year
- taking cyproheptadine for 2 weeks every day
- taking vitamin d3+k2 daily for 6 months
- consuming seaweed for iodine every 3 days for 1 month
- topical vitamin c serum for 2 months along with red light chicken lamp before bed
- topical pure aloe vera gel after shower for 8 months
- avoiding dairy completely for 8 months (did make a difference)
- avoiding dairy except raw milk (raw milk made my acne worse)
- drinking quality spring water 2l+ per day
- gym almost daily
- taking eggshells for calcium
- checking ferritin for possible iron overload (was on low end of normal)
- no seed oils for a year (not even EVOO)
- supplementing pantethine (didnt rly make a difference)
- taking zinc daily (25mg zinc, 1mg copper)
- no cheat meals for a year (if anything a cheat "meal" for me is to not eat)
- tried katialis ointment for 2 months
- avoiding nuts & seeds for a year
- buying commercial shower filter
- avoiding cooked/processed red vegetables
- supplementing copper
- taking MSM for a year
- avoiding creatine
- i dont smoke nor drink. both make my acne worse.
Things that help my acne to an extent:
- 7 to 8 hours of sleep seem to reduce the acne a bit. Anything under/over makes it worse. Under moreso.
- Sweating a lot
- Hot showers
- Avoiding dairy
Spending lots of time in front of the computer dries my skin out and increases the acne.
Other health problems/symptoms I have:
GERD symptoms, nose is constantly stuffed with very thick white muccus, white tongue, bad breath in the morning, excessive sweating with strong smell, low appettite, low blood flow, bad lung health, skinny (but buff), very vivid dreams waking me up sluggish, histamine issues.
My diet consists of eggs, meat(ground beef, chicken breasts), fruit, rice, potatoes, butter, coconut oil, dark chocolate and honey. Every night before bed a cup of chamomille tea with 40g collagen and tsp raw honey. Occasional parmigiano, egg shells, orange juice.
- Fruits in the morning and throughout day
- Eggs and rice for breakfast
- Beef and rice for lunch
- Cbreasts and rice for dinner, 40g collagen, honey
- 2+ liters spring water daily
Supplements I currently take:
- 3000 IU Vit D3 + K2 drops
- Thiamine 3 x week, 100mg
- Zinc 25mg + Copper 1mg daily
- Creatine
I do not use any products. 6 years ago when my acne started I first tried the mainstream face washes with no success, then dermatologist prescribed me Epiduo Forte (Adapalene/Benzoyl Peroxide combo) which completely destroyed my skin barrier. Now my cheeks and jawline are much more dry and sensitive.
Did hormone test in October 2023, skin looked almost same as now. Estradiol was at lower reference range, prolactin at upper refference range (9.90 ng/mL). Cortisol at upper refference range (17.4 µg/dl) . FSH very low (1.90 mU/ml), TSH was 2.7, free testosterone high, total test upper middle of reference range. IGF-1 was at 260 ng/mL
The acne has caused scarring as well, especially on the cheeks. The acne seems to come and go in waves. There is no exact pattern that triggers these waves.
Here are images of the acne currently: https://imgur.com/a/ReoZyXH
I am out of ideas anymore. I have no clue what to try and it is driving me insane. Help me peaters.