Quote from puddleduck on February 29, 2020, 4:55 pm

I am sorry you are dealing with this.

I’d suggest looking into vitamin and mineral supplementation, as deficiencies can become a problem on this diet. For people with acne, vitamin E, zinc, and biotin can be especially important.

This indicates that people with severe acne tend to have lower vitamin E and zinc levels than people who don’t:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23826827-evaluation-of-serum-vitamins-a-and-e-and-zinc-levels-according-to-the-severity-of-acne-vulgaris/

There’s some evidence that accutane can negatively affect biotin levels:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10325581

Also, Susan Owens (a researcher studying oxalate) suggests that people with acne may have a higher need for biotin due to increased demand for this enzyme: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propionyl-CoA_carboxylase

Food sources of vitamin E: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=111 🌻 Sunflower seeds are an excellent source! (I eat 1/4 cup daily for the vitamin E, and for B vitamins as well.)

Food sources of biotin: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=42  I take a supplement, because I don’t get much of this in my diet. I think it’s pretty safe to supplement if you don’t go crazy with it—this protocol suggests 150 ug daily.

Food sources of zinc: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=115  You can also take supplements, but it’s best to be tested first to make sure you need it. I can’t afford testing, so I’ve just been taking a smidge (I cut up the zinc citrate tablets I have into four pieces, and take no more than 1/4 per day—6.25 mg total—because I don’t want to overdo it). If you can get tested, though, you will know if you need more and can take it safely.

Hope you’re able to find something that brings you some relief!

Quote from Orion on March 1, 2020, 7:03 am

Hey @max-2

Since you are now converting stored vitamin A to retinoic acid for excretion, you will get acne and skin issues early in the detox.

I agree with @puddleduck  make sure you concentrate on getting beef, rice and beans as daily staples, you will need to keep B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, biotin, zinc, molybdenum, selenium, intake high to continue the excretion.  It might take weeks, month, but your skin will start to calm down.   I had the same issues, just need to be patient and stick with.

 

Quote from grapes on March 1, 2020, 1:03 pm

Hi Max, I'm a post accutane follower of this diet too.

Just to give you my experience, things that give me acne now are : supplementing with biotin ( commonly said reason is that biotin lowers B5, I don't know if that's true, you can google it) , bread, coconut water. 

Quote from lil chick on March 2, 2020, 8:42 am

Hi @max-2  This is all theoretical on my part, but here we go

I think some people do their best VA detox through the skin.  (Perhaps others are best at detox through the digestive system, or are very good at putting on weight to sock away excess VA)

I suspect I'm a skin-detox person.  It interests me that the places that get into an uproar are often places the SUN goes.  Face and hands, scalp...  Is the body sending the VA there to be degraded by sunlight?   I think gentle daily sunning is smart.  (Even in winter).  5 minutes is enough for me, how much you can take/ or need is probably different for everyone.

We have traditions that tell us to wash our face with soap.  Often this was done either in the morning or night or both.  I think soap is smart, as it takes away a bit of oil each day.  (And VA is a fat-soluble vitie)

I was told when I came here 9 months ago, suffering from long-term rosacea, to just stay the course, and not decide to early on whether the diet is helping or not!  I think that is probably good advice.  Especially since I'm not very stringent about my VA avoidance.  

Some here have talked about the theory that we are either in storage mode or detox mode, and perhaps you have switched modes.  Perhaps there is just some hell to pay now, LOL...

I experienced some really weird stuff in the first month or so, including the feeling that bugs were walking across my rosacea.  Also, some days my rosacea looked swollen.  My roscea areas have sometimes bled (which is new and weird).

My face still gets some pustules and still is thickened in the areas of rosacea, but both are less. 

My skin peels constantly, my lips peel and crack.  I have decided that this isn't actually DRYNESS but DETOX.  In the area of my chin, if I stretch it and squish it (just by making faces), and then gently take a fingernail across the area, stuff comes out of the pores.  Probably also good.  The Greeks or Romans? (can't remember, maybe both)  used a squeegee to clean the pores.

I find that putting coconut oil on my lips will give me deep acne in that area.  Lip balm doesn't, but it has lots of ingredients (who knows what all), so I use it sparingly.  I put nothing on my skin except TRADITIONAL, UNSCENTED BAR SOAP and water once a day.    My skin wants to work this stuff out without any complications!  And it is taking it's sweet time.

As for diet, I would say avoid more than a little bit of sugar in the diet (imo acne can be about sugar) and booze is also not a great idea (because it sends VA out of the liver into the tissues.)  Hormones can also be involved, and I would be these also get better over time on lower VA.  HTH

Quote from lil chick on March 2, 2020, 9:22 am

I posted a progress photo here

https://ggenereux.blog/discussion/topic/lil-chicks-log/?part=16#postid-7115

Writing my post above this made me also think about the importance of sweating, and it made me think I might try sauna again.  But very, very carefully.  Sauna takes some adrenal strength.