Anonymous wrote:+1 on the spironolactone. This cleared me up 100% after two failed rounds of accutane. I have also suffered from depression and anxiety and the spiro did not exacerbate that at all. Good luck OP.

I used spironolactone as well and it cleared up everything within 2-3 months. Haven't had an issue since. What you have is hormonal - you need something to decrease the testosterone in your body. That is exactly what this drug does . Worth trying. Just don't use it if you are trying to get pregnant. it can have negative affects on baby boys ( sexual organs )

I have bad acne on my neck, chest, and back since 12. I am in my 30s and never owned a tank top. Pretty much every bcp clears my skin for some time, but acne returns after a couple of months. The clearest skin I've had was during pregnancy.

If you think it is hormonal, I would definitely try birth control first. It cleared up my skin very nicely.

Secondly..Acutane is definitely something to take time to consider but is it possible your skin is contributing to your anxiety and depression? I would seek more info about this!

Anonymous wrote:Fresh air and yoga aren't going to fix cystic acne. These posts make me sad because they imply that if only the OP lived a more healthy lifestyle, the acne would be gone, and that's just not true. Diet changes and stress reduction are always good ideas, but they aren't going to cure her.

Different people has different definition of healthy lifestyle. Some people eat Subway sandwiches and boxed process cereal and consider it healthy. There are several yoga poses that affect endocrinology system and help to balance hormones in your body.

Out of curiosity -- what kind of yoga have you tried to practice, how long and how often before you came to a conclusion that it doesn't help with cystic acne?
I 've met a lot of yogis (not just in states, but did couple retreats in Sri Lanka and India) and never seen any with bad skin.

I've had this problem as well. I'm 41 and am just starting to get relief these past months. Some things that helped over the years (but didn't cure, just really helped) are using an antibacterial soap on my face (like cetaphil) because it kills the bacteria causing the acne, Clinique scrub and acne gel, and just recently I started using pevonia after I went to a day spa in England that used it on me and I liked it. It's pricey but doesn't aggravate my skin. I can even put moisturizer on my chin w/o waking up to more zits the next morning.

Basically, this is a hormone thing and changing what you eat, how much you sleep or do yoga etc probably isn't going to change the acne much. Killing the bacteria living on your skin might help.

Anonymous wrote:Fresh air and yoga aren't going to fix cystic acne. These posts make me sad because they imply that if only the OP lived a more healthy lifestyle, the acne would be gone, and that's just not true. Diet changes and stress reduction are always good ideas, but they aren't going to cure her.

I completely agree with this. I am in my 50's and had cystic acne throughout my teens and into my 30's. I was on every topical preparation and antibiotic out there. I did NOT want to take Accutane, but finally relented. I had to complete two courses (maybe 1-2 years apart) and it gave me major relief. Even in my 50's though, I still get zits! Chocolate is a trigger for me, but I definitely would never have been able to control my acne with diet/exercise. No fracking way. I also have scarring from the cysts, but am not too concerned about it.

Anonymous wrote:Try to track what you eat. I would remove all common triggers first -- dairy, gluten, sugar, eggs. Try to go without it for 30 days and see if your skin will improve. Then, reintroduce it back to your diet, one in a time to see what your skin is reacting to. I know for me it is milk, cheese ( no problems with kefir or yogurt), gluten and nuts in a larger then 10 amount. My skin is not ideal, but much better if I remove those triggers from my diet. Stress can be a big trigger to the cystic acne. Before I will jump to anything serious like Acutane, try 30 min daily walks in a fresh air, yoga classes, running.

+1. This is what I did and it worked for me.

I had adult cystic acne from 25 onward. Retain A and antibiotics helped tremendously but then after I had a baby (at 38) it went away - so far 4 years and no recurrence.

I have used a supplement called DIM (there's a long name for it) with success for my cystic acne. It helps the body process estrogen more efficiently or something like that. All I know is that it works for me!