Anyone Else Have Achne Problems?

[Electra]

I never had ache problems as a kid, teen or young adult, and I MEAN NEVER!! As soon as I had my first child I started having major issues with achne. I've tried to figure out why and thought that it may be anything from my meds to eating chololate (but chocolate never did it before). There seems to be no link!! Is it normal for Celiacs to have achne problems? If so do you think it's the products I am using to clean my face? I certainly hope not UG!!

[blueeyedmanda]

I notice if I get glutened I get acne, and it is huge and painful...I never really had acne as a child either. I do get break outs before my period but if I get glutened in between...I get them on my chin and in my cheek area and sometimes around my chin/sides.

[Electra]

I mostly get them all over my chin, but they come all at the same time, so my chin is covered with them. They are usually very deep and painful, and they generally do not heal well. I actually have a small bump on my forhead from one that never healed. It doesn't hurt anymore, but it bothers me a lot because I know It's there. I also get smaller ones on the bottom of my jawline and in the middle of my cheaks occassionally!! I just hate it because I used to have perfect skin and now it really sucks!! I'm ready to throw in the towel here with all the problems that come along with Celiac. How very frustrating!!

[Mango04]

Yeah I have that problem too. I think I've read that it can be related to food intolerances. I hate to mention soy right now, but for me, soy triggers really horrible cystic acne. Also, the more natural and organic my diet and products, the less acne for me. But that's just me.

Don't throw in the towel quite yet...if you haven't been gluten-free for long, chances are that the longer you stick with the diet, the more you'll see random problems like this begin to heal.

[Michi8]

Yes! I used to have enviably clear skin as a teenager. Since having kids I now break out quite badly...but I'm not convinced it's typical acne. I get very painful acne spots mid-cycle that never really go away completely (even if I leave them alone), and then I have the constant acne on my jawline, chin, chest, back, behind my ears and on the back of my head that gets quite itchy and uncomfortable. I never had that growing up! I suspect it's either allergy or intolerance related...and wonder if it actually is DH. I also get occassional lesions on the typical DH areas, but the biopsy (done incorrectly!) came back neg. Sigh.

Michelle

[Mango04]

I also wanted to add (since I think maybe you were the one who started a bc pill thread??)...that's the only other thing I've found that helps with the acne cysts.

[Electra]

Yes! I used to have enviably clear skin as a teenager. Since having kids I now break out quite badly...but I'm not convinced it's typical acne. I get very painful acne spots mid-cycle that never really go away completely (even if I leave them alone), and then I have the constant acne on my jawline, chin, chest, back, behind my ears and on the back of my head that gets quite itchy and uncomfortable. I never had that growing up! I suspect it's either allergy or intolerance related...and wonder if it actually is DH. I also get occassional lesions on the typical DH areas, but the biopsy (done incorrectly!) came back neg. Sigh.

Michelle

Michelle,

How can you tell if a biopsy is done wrong? My daugher is going to the dermatologist tomorrow and I'm hoping they do a biopsy because she has DH and hasn't been diagnosed yet, so how can I tell if they do it right or not? Any suggestions?

[Michi8]

Michelle,

How can you tell if a biopsy is done wrong? My daugher is going to the dermatologist tomorrow and I'm hoping they do a biopsy because she has DH and hasn't been diagnosed yet, so how can I tell if they do it right or not? Any suggestions?

The biopsy I had done was taken from the lesion, rather than the healthy skin within so many mm of the lesion (I think it's supposed to be 3mm?) The dermatologist I was seeing at that time was a bit of an a$$ as well...he did the biopsy at my request, and said that if it was DH (which he didn't believe it was), I'd have to be on Dapsone forever and the gluten-free diet would too much effort to stick with. I've since switched dermatologists, and may request another biopsy from him at some point.

Michelle

[Electra]

The biopsy I had done was taken from the lesion, rather than the healthy skin within so many mm of the lesion (I think it's supposed to be 3mm?) The dermatologist I was seeing at that time was a bit of an a$$ as well...he did the biopsy at my request, and said that if it was DH (which he didn't believe it was), I'd have to be on Dapsone forever and the gluten-free diet would too much effort to stick with. I've since switched dermatologists, and may request another biopsy from him at some point.

Michelle

Thank you so very much Michelle. I knew the biopsy was suppose to be done from beside the legion and not on it, but if you didn't just tell me what your dermatologist did then I probably would not have even mentioned it to them if they started doing it wrong (just because I would assume that they must know what they are doing and that I may have misread the infomation I saw)!! Now if they try to do it wrong I will insist they do it correctly or I'll just leave and get a new dermatologist. We have to travel an hour just to get to the pediatric dermatologist and we've waited over 3 months for the appt. so I sincerely hope they know what they are doing!! Thanks again for your help!!

[VegasCeliacBuckeye]

I had it pretty bad as a teenager.

However, I went on Accutane and never looked back...The stuff is a harsh drug, but it gets rid of Acne...

[Fiddle-Faddle]

The only foods that ever gave me acne as a teenager were those with sodium nitrite: bacon, ham, smoked turkey, hot dogs, etc. I seem to have outgrown it, though.

[Guest cassidy]

My skin has always been a challenge. It was the best when I was on bc and when I went off it got pretty bad. Then, when I got pregnant it got worse.

The first poster that mentioned that her skin got bad after having kids, which makes me think it is a hormone thing. I was told that breakouts around your chin are related to hormones. I really think this is my problem because my skin has never been this bad. I don't want to go back on bc after our baby is born because I want to breastfeed and then have another child and I don't like the idea of taking it during that time. I think I'm going to ask my holistic doctor is there are specific hormones out of whack or what can be done to get it under control, but again I'm waiting until I have the baby.

I have cut out all the foods I feel that I'm intolerant too (along with gluten of course) and I haven't seen a change at all. I also haven't noticed a change when I get glutened, so unfortunatly I don't think this is something that I can blame on gluten or other foods.

[Michi8]

My skin has always been a challenge. It was the best when I was on bc and when I went off it got pretty bad. Then, when I got pregnant it got worse.

The first poster that mentioned that her skin got bad after having kids, which makes me think it is a hormone thing. I was told that breakouts around your chin are related to hormones. I really think this is my problem because my skin has never been this bad. I don't want to go back on bc after our baby is born because I want to breastfeed and then have another child and I don't like the idea of taking it during that time. I think I'm going to ask my holistic doctor is there are specific hormones out of whack or what can be done to get it under control, but again I'm waiting until I have the baby.

I have cut out all the foods I feel that I'm intolerant too (along with gluten of course) and I haven't seen a change at all. I also haven't noticed a change when I get glutened, so unfortunatly I don't think this is something that I can blame on gluten or other foods.

I think it is, in part, due to hormones. That's why the severity is cyclical in nature. I think that my hormones are out of whack, though, due to something else going on (thyroid, perimenopause, allergies, etc.) Unfortunately, I'm having a difficult time figuring it out, because all of my tests come back "normal." Acne is only one of a long list of health issues that I'm trying to figure out though.

In terms of bc after pregnancy, you are wise to wait and see what happens. You'll find that the first couple of months will be quite out of whack as your body starts returning to normal. If you're lucky, you may also not have a period for a stretch of time, and that may very well mean clear skin for you. Do remember that it takes about 1 year for the body to fully recover from pregnancy.

Michelle

[dionnek]

Yes, I just started getting the large painful acne on my chin, and lots of little bumps on my chest/back/neck recently, but now that you mention the pill, it was around the time that I stopped taking it and then immediately became pregnant, so it's probably a hormone thing and not a gluten thing (I've been gluten-free for 8 months and am only 4 months pregnant, so there were 4 months there that I didn't have the acne after dx).

[arc]

I had it pretty bad as a teenager.

However, I went on Accutane and never looked back...The stuff is a harsh drug, but it gets rid of Acne...

I did too (and have the scars to prove it). The Accutane knocked it back to a reasonable level but never eliminated it. I had constant breakouts until I went gluten free on my 42nd birthday. Avoiding gluten is the only thing that has ever given me a clear face. All that BS I was fed as a kid that nothing I ate would cause acne still ticks me off.

Even now, one of the signs that I have been glutened is my face breaking out.

[aikiducky]

In my case, going gluten free really improved my skin. The other thing is that soy really gives me baaad acne and I avoid soy products for that reason, though I don't worry about stuff like soy lecithin in chocolate. Chocolate BTW doesn't seem to affect my skin one way or the other...

Soy gives me the deep painful bumps, gluten and cow's milk OTOH sometimes give little strange pimples that aren't filled with anything their more like tiny blisters. They take forever to heal.

In the case of soy I understand it can be a hormonal thing...

Pauliina

[Aussie Peg]

Acne was the symptom that got me researching and discovering i was intolerant to gluten. I had perfect skin all my life until it freaked out a couple of years ago with acne on my face, chest, back and behind my ears. After stopping eating gluten it took about 3 weeks for my skin to be totally clear again, it was amazing and relieving seeing the improvement ! I think gluten messes with my hormones, darned gluten!

[flowergirl]

I've had bad skin ever since I was 12 yrs old and since I've discovered that I'm gluten intolerant not much has changed. However, I've realised over the last yr that I have a sluggish liver and whenever my liver is doing well, my skin is suddenly much better. I used dandelion coffee and milk thistle on and off during the last yr (with good results) but for the last week I've been drinking dandelion/burdock coffee every morning and the change on my skin is sudden and significant. I'll keep drinking it because I feel much better and energised. I think it's because the detox pathways of the liver is opening up again.

Flowergirl

[cchhrriiss]

I developed (acne ??) at the age of 34. I have been to 8 doctors. They have all had a different approach to my rash-acne. I've tried steriods, creams, lotions, ointments, anti- fungals 8 months of antibiotics. I got the flu, and my face some what cleared up. I knew it had to be something I was eating. After trying so many combinations of foods,I went gluten free, and it cleared up. Some where in this discovery I starting seeing my 8th, and last doc....he has me on accutane. My face is now flawless. two moths ago I ate wheat and gluten for three days before my appt. to show him my rash. He couln't believe it. Must not be classic DH or DH at all .In two more weeks I'll do it again, just to prove that this is caused from wheat and gluten. Now this doc is supposed to be one of the best in our area. Gluten can do crazy things not only internally but externally aswell.

[DingoGirl]

Am I the only one whose face hasn't improved going gluten-free? I've been gluten-free for exactly one year and two days, and sometimes I think my skin is even WORSE. I just saw dermatologist again, he put me on a foamy cream, and also had me continue with Tazorac (a nightmare - constant peeling). I am 45 years old, for God's sake!

I am wondering if I should try Acutane. I don't think it's severe enough that he'll allow it, but maybe begging him will help. I have no plans of becoming pregnant, at this age.

Or......God forbid - - maybe it's dairy? I don't eat a lot of soy products at all - hardly ever, in fact. I'll just die if I have to give up dairy.

Let me eat some M&M's while I ponder that.............

[cchhrriiss]

With my derm, I had to have a treatment of antibiotics before going on Accutane. This course was 5 months. He did not count my first derm 3 month treatment. I'm 36, and I know my insurance has a cut off paying for Accutane over 30. I not sure, but for some reason their paying for most of mine. It cost roughly 500.00 a month for generic if you insurance won't cover it. My body is extremely sore. Every muscle and joint aches. I love to run and most days its not a problem, but its constantly there....nagging me.... I can't imagine what it's doing to my body. Are you sure your not getting any gluten? I know when I would drink vodka, I would walk up with a new under the skin pimple. I found a vodka (occasional drinker) that was distilled by potatoes. Still Some say any distillation kills Gluten, but I have my doubts. My health food store specialist ( name tag ) said, Acne below nose is gluten, above could be dairy.

[DingoGirl]

hmmmmmm....I'm not getting ANY gluten, the proof is in the poop. I just don't know what's going on. Maybe I'll try antibiotics for a bit.....I don't know what else to do. So - - your body aches from accutane? wow......I don't know which is worse to be on - antibiotics or acutane.......

[Michi8]

hmmmmmm....I'm not getting ANY gluten, the proof is in the poop. I just don't know what's going on. Maybe I'll try antibiotics for a bit.....I don't know what else to do. So - - your body aches from accutane? wow......I don't know which is worse to be on - antibiotics or acutane.......

DingoGirl, if you even have an inkling that it might be dairy, I'd suggest eliminating it for awhile and see if it makes a difference! Much better than going the antibiotics or accutane route.

Michelle

[Cottage-Soul]

At 47 I'm still dealing with acne which seemed to get worse after I had my daughter who's almost 18 now. I did have pretty bad acne as a teenager, but had good skin throughout my 20's and 30's (but was on the BC pill most of that time too). I've tried all the folk remedies, creams and 'magic' potions. Asked my doctor for Accutane once and he gave me the third degree - told me it was too dangerous ( they'll give it to 16 year olds, but not a 40 year old woman??). It really kills me to see teens and 70 year olds that have better skin than me. The only time I've seen any improvement in the past 20 years was while I was on the 'Fat Flush' diet (for over a year) which omited wheat and most Dairy, even then the improvement was minimal.

Not on a Gluten/wheat/dairy free diet yet but plan to be soon. I had an Elisa 96 food blood test for food intolerance.

[flowergirl]

Be careful of Accutane. It messes up your liver.