Anonymous wrote:My DD has had success using a B5 supplement daily. It took about a month, but her skin cleared up quite well. She has also started to add chikory root to her diet (inulin). Apparently it's a prebiotic that is good for gut health and therefore skin

This is OP. Thanks for all of the support and ideas. DS is going to do two more months of accutane at a low dose, and the derm does not want him to go beyond that (8 months total).

To the above poster, why does B5 help acne? Also DS has been taking a high quality refrigerated probiotic for years, and the whole time he has been on accutane we bumped it to two capsules a day since accutane can mess with the gut. This does not seem to have any effect on his acne.

He’s tried cutting dairy before and it hasn’t made a difference in his acne. He hasn’t tried cutting sugar but as a teen it is hard to get him to commit to large diet changes unless “required” (like an allergy).

I’ve already heard dairy was a huge culprit.

Anonymous wrote:Accurate does not address the root cause of acne. First thing, eliminate all seed oils from his diet. All. Of. Them. Seed oils are in everything that is processed and almost all fast and restaurant food.
Second, decrease or eliminate oxalate in his diet. For the Live of God, don’t let him have spinach or almond milk, those two are among the highest in oxalate.
Third, consider a an aminos based diet.

Try these three things for one week, your son will see results.

OP, I'm not normally someone who recommends a naturopath or an integrative medicine physician, but i think it's worth a try. I had to take Accutane twice and the second treatment was much longer than what was normal at the time. So a consultation for a second opinion could be helpful.

But what I found helped me the MOST was cutting out sugar. And while sugar itself doesn't seem to contribute, wild fluctuations in blood sugar levels do.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/hormonal-acne-diet#diet-tips


So eating higher fiber, lower processed/refined sugar foods can't hurt and possibly could help. But a good naturopath or integrative medicine professional would look to diet as well as other possible treatments.

Wishing your son all the best.

Anonymous wrote:My 15 year old DS did AviClear treatments Nov/Dec/Jan and has had amazing results! He was a candidate for Accutane but I wanted to try the laser first and am so happy we did. It is unfortunately expensive but Accutane is no joke (I took 2 courses back in the day) and it was worth it to me.

DP. Do you mind telling me the Dr and the total price for 3 ? Thanks!

Stating the number of months on accutane isn’t a way to compare with what others are doing, because the cummulative dose is what matters - as said upthread, some doctors prescribe a course of treatment low and slow and others do shorter and higher, usually depending on how the patient tolerates side effects. For those saying that their child is on accutane 8-9 months, are they exceeding the “suggested” cummulative dose? My understanding is that is necessary sometimes- perhaps in the case of OP’s teen.

Anonymous wrote:My 15 year old DS did AviClear treatments Nov/Dec/Jan and has had amazing results! He was a candidate for Accutane but I wanted to try the laser first and am so happy we did. It is unfortunately expensive but Accutane is no joke (I took 2 courses back in the day) and it was worth it to me.

Can you do aviclear while being treated for acne with topicals and antibiotics? Can you be out in the sun? Considering it for my 15 year old, but wondering if we should wait until summer is over. Thanks!

My 15 year old DS did AviClear treatments Nov/Dec/Jan and has had amazing results! He was a candidate for Accutane but I wanted to try the laser first and am so happy we did. It is unfortunately expensive but Accutane is no joke (I took 2 courses back in the day) and it was worth it to me.

My DC is currently on accutane and will be on it at least 8 months. We are on month 7. We are going to Tamjidi Skin Institute. I know people are saying it's toxic, but acne was impacting my kid's mental health. If you want to try lasers, which does work IMO, I recommend Nova Medical Skin Care in Falls Church. Dr. Sheik is amazing. Her prices are also reasonable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I know this isn't what you've asked about, but I swear Proactiv works. It's harsh as crap, but really cleared up my DS's acne. We were just too worried about the side effect to try Accutane.

Proactiv is an expensive brand name and expensive celebrity endorsements around generic product.

I remember when it first came out, celebrities who were already famous were lying that Proactiv gave them their skin looks.

https://www.google.com/search?q=proactiv+&oe=utf-8

I'm familiar with it's history as I'm a child of the 80s, but that aside, the stuff seems to work. My sister used it in her teens, I used it on and off in my 20s/30s, and now my teen DS has used it with success.

Isn’t it just benzoyl peroxide?

Yes.

So why not just buy benzoyl peroxide? It’s a great treatment for mild/moderate acne. It’s not going to help OPs son though.

My DD has had success using a B5 supplement daily. It took about a month, but her skin cleared up quite well. She has also started to add chikory root to her diet (inulin). Apparently it's a prebiotic that is good for gut health and therefore skin

Accurate does not address the root cause of acne. First thing, eliminate all seed oils from his diet. All. Of. Them. Seed oils are in everything that is processed and almost all fast and restaurant food.
Second, decrease or eliminate oxalate in his diet. For the Live of God, don’t let him have spinach or almond milk, those two are among the highest in oxalate.
Third, consider a an aminos based diet.

Try these three things for one week, your son will see results.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not sure if they put males on spirolactin. But it is considered another effective treatment due to higher testosterone levels (maybe just in females) it can be taken forever with regular blood monitoring (every three months).

they emphatically do not - but there is a $500 / tube topical version of this same drug that is new and created essentially for males. Spironolactone messes with the male endocrine systems so it's a no-go

My kid uses Winlevi and it is $40. we have the federal BCBS basic. Also, the term has coupons if it is really expensive with insurance. it works pretty well.

Anonymous wrote:Is this hereditary? I don’t think I know anyone closely you has had this.

Yes. A lot of the time it is hereditary to a degree.

I never had acne as a teen. It drove my siblings crazy since the both suffered from it. I had the more olive skin. They were more fair and suffered for awhile.

My firstborn has acne that got really bad when we had to wear masks. He still has it at almost 18. My husband had it as a teen. My younger son 15.5 has olive clear skin like me and never gets a zit.

Is this hereditary? I don’t think I know anyone closely you has had this.