Adult Acne

T

thundercat

Active Member
Has anyone else had a problem with their skin as a result of very intense workouts? I think my hormones may be a bit out of balance. When I get sick and cannot workout for several days my complexion seems to clear up. I'd trade good skin for a strong body, but I wonder if there's something that can be done. Skin care doesn't do a lot and I've done it all! I was even on acutane at one point and it failed me. It also drained my energy. Help!

Lena
 
Some suggestions

Topical treatments like Retin-A and Renova? Or low-dose birth control pills as an estrogen supplement? They take about 30-60 days to work, but then your skin looks great. I quit them though, because they made me puffy and to me skin is less important than body size also!
 
Thanks

Any advice is useful. I'm currently trying some herbal remedies for my underactive thyroid and adrenal glands in hopes of some success.
 
going out on a limb..

I thought it was crazy too, but I did order the Proactiv system off of television. I was desperate..tried everything. And you know what..it worked! It really did. I can't imagine life without it now. I will never look back.
 
Didn't totally work for me...

I tried Proactiv, and it while it worked better for me than did anything the doctor's office ever gave me (antibiotics, Retin-A, other topicals - I refused to consider Accutane; I'm a pharmacist, and quite frankly, I'd rather have bad skin), it didn't solve the problem. But it might be worth a try. I don't like the mask, and seem to do just as well with Cetaphil as with the cleanser, but I love the toner and repairing cream.

The most luck I've ever had has been a combination of low-dose birth control (though the ones "designed" to improve skin made mine the worst it'd ever been, so it can take trial and error)and finishing grad school. Stress and hormones. What a combination.

Karen
 
Thanks!

I'll see if my herbal treatment does anything. If not I may try the Proactive stuff. Thanks for the advice.

Lena
 
re: the pill

Because I was VERY aprehensive about going on the pill, I tried nearly everything else for my peristent acne (including ProActiv which, in my case, didn't help). At my annual check-up, my OB/GYN did a thorough assessment of my medical history and said that there was nothing wrong with my at least trying the pill (Ortho Tri-Cyclen, specifically) and so, feeling that I had nothing to lose, I did. During the first pill pack, I had the worst breakout of my life. I called the doctor's office in a huff only to be told that I ought to wait it out thru three pills packs to see what the ultimate result would be. By the middle of the second pack, my skin had cleared and has looked pretty great ever since. I just thought I'd post in case the ProActiv or herbal remedies don't work for you. If that's the case, maybe it's worth talking with your doctor about the risks/benefits of the pill. Good luck!
 
Karen is that you??

the R.ph who wrote a letter to the editor of OXYGEN magazine in the Jan/Feb issue about acutane??
 
yep, that was me

I'm amazed they printed it, since it was highly critical of THEM for not mentioning problems that could readily occur in their target audience (ie. women of childbearing years). Hmm. Maybe I should photocopy that and put it in my performance review binder (work evaluations are next week...).

They did cut a paragraph out of my letter which cited JAMA studies talking about the birth defect issue, but at least they printed most of it. Too bad I wasn't officially done with my PhD yet; tacking that title on with the RPh might have gotten the whole letter in print, but I doubt it.
I just hate when magazines make all medicines sound so safe. They do this with herbals all the time, too.

Karen
 
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