My skin is a mess - hormonal acne

[Anonymous]

I was 40 when my dermatologist mentioned Spiro. All those years and I had such awful skin. My self esteem was so low and this medication worked within a month or two. I don’t even wear foundation everyday anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spironolactone.

This x a million. None of that other stuff is going to do anything for you OP, except dry your skin out unnecessarily. Topicals will not work on hormonal acne. Get some spironolactone, STAT.

No, topicals can work for some people. Plexion cleanser, Onexton gel and regular facials with extractions has cleared me up from my monthly cystic breakouts without the need to go on an oral medication longterm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Another one here with chocolate-induced hormonal acne (and I know it is hormonal because it is the jawline and chin cystic stuff). And I don't think it is the sugar, because the breakouts also occur if I have high quality/low sugar dark chocolate. Very, very sad, because chocolate is one of my great joys.


The chocolate doesn't cause your hormonal acne. You crave chocolate *because* of your hormones. If you start taking a hormone-blocking medication, like spironolactone, or BC, your acne will go away. And you can continue eating chocolate.

Nope -- no chocolate = no acne, even if I have a multitude of other PMS symptoms. If I eat even a little chocolate, I get a huge cystic pimple within a few hours. And that includes dairy free chocolate. You can be skeptical, but it is what it is.

[Anonymous]

Topicals didn’t work for me. I wanted to stop the acne before it erupted all over my face, not treat it after it was already there. Spiro has gotten rid of it completely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As others have said, spironactone is a temporary solution. Your acne will come right back when you stop it. I think mine actually came back way worse once I stopped taking it. And you’ll have to stop if you want to get pregnant ever.

This is why I'm scared to start taking it at age 38. If I want clear skin am I looking at taking this medication daily for 50 years?? Or would one hope that my hormones change as I age and go through menopause so it's really only 10-15 years to worry about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was 40 when my dermatologist mentioned Spiro. All those years and I had such awful skin. My self esteem was so low and this medication worked within a month or two. I don’t even wear foundation everyday anymore.

Same here - I hardly ever wear foundation. It has worked so beautifully.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Topicals didn’t work for me. I wanted to stop the acne before it erupted all over my face, not treat it after it was already there. Spiro has gotten rid of it completely.

Exactly. Topicals will only dry out your skin if you have hormonal acne. The issue isn't on the surface of the skin, it's internal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Work on your hormones. Once i got my hormone levels into normal range i had ZERO acne. I didn't even need to wash my face at night and I never had a single black head.

I went on metformin for PCOS and that changed everything. Even helped me get pregnant.

+1

[Anonymous]

OTC Differin. I was tolerating it well with great results (also cut added sugar and packaged food to near 0). Switched to a stronger Retin A and have acne again. Now I’m alternating Retin A and Differin until I can see my derm.

[Anonymous]

Surprised no one has mentioned Aczone yet! Maybe it’s a newer medication but it’s a prescription gel for hormonal acne my Derm put me on. Haven’t had a breakout since I started it 6 months ago.

[Skittles]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get acne when I eat too much sugar, specifically too much chocolate (because I really don't eat that much sugar apart from chocolate).

Do you have a food trigger?

It's hormonal acne - no diet changes will get rid of it. As someone who suffers from hormonal acne and has tried everything, including elimination diets, it's very annoying to get "suggestions" like this or have people think I must eat poorly therefore I have acne.

Wrong. Eating too much sugar/carbs can affect your insulin which affects your hormones. Reduce your carb/sugar intake and you'll see results.