PCOS & Insulin Resistance - It's a start

I am on to researching PCOS and insulin resistance....  The reasoning behind it is because I am still having terrible acne breakouts along my jawline and chin when I eat gluten, dairy, yeast, caffeine & sugar.  It isn't an allergy at this point since I have done the allergy desensitization and had several follow-up appointments showing no reactions.

If you read about how gluten, dairy, yeast, caffeine & sugar affect your adrenals which in turn affects your hormones it is quite an interesting subject.  I am just starting my research on this topic.

There is a blog that I found and felt bad for the gal struggling with acne, PCOS and being pregnant.  I felt as though I should write about some of my experiences to her even though she started the blog a few years ago and might not need the help now but others that come across her page might find the information helpful. Here is a link to her blog:
https://essexgirlwithpcos.wordpress.com/

Below is what I posted on her blog:

Hi- I am new to PCOS but figured I would pass on some helpful information I have found since I have struggled with hormonal acne for years.

Try bentonite clay masks for your face. I mix the bentonite clay with apple cider vinegar (ACV) and a bit of purified water. You could also mix it with witch hazel for the antibacterial piece. (I saw your post on green clay and that is a good one as well.)

https://www.aztec-secret.com/clay.html

At night if I have horrible cystic acne I use Christopher’s Black Ointment to draw out the infection. Sometimes this ointment has caused the cystic acne to go away without drawing out the infection. Warning this stuff stinks!

http://www.drchristopher.com/products/ointments/black-drawing-ointment/

I use coconut or avocado oil on my skin and try to stick to the oil cleansing method.
You could also get a small spray bottle and spray witch hazel on your face throughout the day to keep bacteria down. I do this before and after I put on makeup because the brushes harbor bacteria no matter how well you clean them.

Staying away from gluten, dairy, sugar, caffeine and yeast is huge. I can tell when I have had any form of these things things. Something to research insulin resistance since it goes hand and hand with PCOS. There are a lot of gluten free options on the internet. I have also adopted eating a lot of Indian and Asian (Thai, Laotian & Vietnamese) foods. A lot of their food is very basic, simple to make and good for you. Researching and adopting more of a raw food diet has also helped as well. I don’t think I could ever eat a complete raw food diet! Below are some websites I follow to get raw food ideas.

http://www.fullyraw.com/

http://meganelizabeth.com/

I also eat a lot of ginger and turmeric because they are both natural anti-inflammatory. I make a lot of bone broth soups because of their health benefits.

It might be worth trying some essential oils you can use topically to help calm down your acne. My massage therapist makes a mixture of the oils listed on the below website with avocado oil. It is wonderful.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/73382-top-ten-essential-oils-mature/

If you need a topical antibiotic you can get a doctor to prescribe Clindamycin Pledgets.

http://www.drugs.com/pro/clindamycin-pledget.html

I hope this helps. The more we all share the better!

Frustrated

Here I am again with new symptoms and frustrations.  My health is continuing to deteriorate and currently I have swollen lymph nodes, bad acne, achy joints, loosing hair, chronic fatigue, anxiety, irritability, peeling lips and let's just say it seems like every symptom under the darn sun!  It is back to the drawing board.

Dial Soap and Acne. Who knew?

The other day an esthetician made the suggestion  to try using Dial soap to wash my face because of the antibacterial qualities that could help clear up my acne.  If you purchase the Dial Gold it does not appear to have parabens (possibly hidden in the fragrance), there is no Tocopherol/Vitamin E present (which can be derived from wheat) BUT it does have a sulfa component.  I am allergic to parabens, gluten and sulfa.  When it comes to sulfa the worst thing it could do is cause an allergic reaction which tends to happen on a regular basis from other things.  So, I figured I would try it.

I have been using the Dial Gold as a face wash for about a week.  The acne seems to be clearing up at this point in time with the exception of a few problem spots.  The Dial Gold is very drying and I am still searching for a good moisturizer I can use in the future.  I don't want to put too many new things into the mix at this point in time, but when I find a good moisturizer that doesn't aggravate my acne I will blog about what I have found.  I will keep everyone posted on the progress.

If anyone reads this and decides to try using Dial Gold as a face wash for their acne please let me know your results.  Remember your acne might get worse before it gets better and the esthetician had told me try it for at least a month before giving up on the regimen.

One major plus is Dial Gold is reasonably priced and you can find coupons for it online or in the Sunday paper. People who are gluten free, paraben free and sulfa free know how important it is to find good deals because it gets extremely expensive!

http://www.dialsoap.com/products/gold-with-moisturizer-antibacterial-liquid-hand-soap

Disclaimer-

The opinions expressed on my blog are based on my own thoughts, knowledge, and experiences. Please keep in mind that I am not a Doctor or other health professional so please consult the appropriate professional before making any changes to your diet, health, or other applicable areas. 

Any views or opinions represented in the blog comments are accredited to the respective commentor and do not necessarily reflect my own views or opinions. I reserve the right to moderate comment suitability in support of respecting racial, religious, personal, and political sensitivities.

Acne - Accutane

Acne, Acne, Acne - ARGH.

Acne has by far been one of my worst enemies over the years.  I have always suffered from cystic acne that would get so painful and utterly embarrassing I would want to craw under my bed and not come out until it was all gone. Real realistic when cystic acne can take weeks to go away.

So, my mother, bless her heart, a nurse that thought and still thinks everything little sniffle can be cured by pill popping started the journey dealing with my acne by means of pill popping.  We tried sulfa drugs, tetracycline, doxycycline, birth control, topical gels and let's just say if you name it I probably tried it.  After awhile nothing was working.  She finally took me to a real dermatologist.  The solution:  ACCUTANE!  If you know nothing about Accutane let's just say it is one of the worst drugs out there.  It is used in cancer treatments.  Not just once did I take Accutane but FOUR times.  You would think if you have acne come back over and over you are NOT part of that small percentage of people that will never have acne again. I would think a dermatologist would suggest other options rather than push more drugs at you.  That didn't happen and I went through several dermatologists that still claimed Accutane was the best solution.  Don't get me wrong, I had beautiful skin when I was on Accutane and for about six months after but the acne always returned.  Knowing what I know now I wish I would have gone to a nutritionist or naturalpathic doctor for help with my acne but at that time in my life nutritionist and naturalpathic doctors were not as prevalent as they are today.

 I still wonder to this day how much damage Accutane has caused my body and I don't think it ever will be "normal".  My healthcare professionals and I are still working on damage control. There is a lot of Standard Process Purification Programs in my future to keep candida manageable and keep my body cleansed of toxins to try and maintain a healthy body/immune system.

I will add more to this or do a follow-up blog to take the acne issue further.  There is a lot of things I have tried that I have not even touched upon yet.