Acne Trouble

Hello Everyone:

I am a 29-year old female and have suffered from a severe case of acne on my face since April of last year.  I have never had any trouble before and have always had very clear skin.  Coincidentally, it is around the same time that I came off of the birth control medication that I was on since the age of 14.

I am unable to go back onto the birth control medication as I have had past issues with blood clots and I also want to start a family in the near future.

I went to see a reputable dermatologist today and I was told to modify my diet and refrain from eating any and all dairy products.  He told me that an enzyme in the milk causes the oil glands to "turn on".  I hate to question the doctor, but at the same time I really want to seek a second opinion before I ultimately change my lifestyle and avoid all forms of dairy.

Could you please offer some advice on where to turn or let me know if you think there is any correlation between acne and dairy?

Thank you so much for your time.

[raindomy]

Well, My mother had a problem like that as well and she went to the doctor. They told her that because she was in her 30's the body was making many hormone changes and could be having a hormone inbalance. The doctors can prescribe hormone pills but you could also try lots of soy milk and soy products. this is very good for women in menopause and hormonal inbalances
                                        -good luck!

[Sullenmoon]

My doctor AND dermatologist says diet has absolutely nothing to do with acne, not even dairy products.  Your dermatologist is a quack.  I've eaten almost everything I was introduced to my entire life, and has never had my acne change just because I ate something new or something too often.  Never heard of it.  I'm a huge milk drinker, and never had any acne problems arise from it.

[zoe82]

I've had exactly the same experience. I have taken ortho-tricyclen for 15 years. For a year, I was off it, and my skin was horrible. I went back on, and then last summer tried switching to a different, super-low-dose formulation (Lo-estrin). Again, my skin was terrible.  After a couple of months, I cut out dairy on the advice of a friend, and my skin was fine again. After about a week, I'd start getting skeptical and eat some ice cream or whatever--and within two days I'd have another terrible cyst.  I ended up going back to the ortho-tricyclen because diet modification seemed too awful to contemplate!  

I suspect that I've always been sensitive to dairy, but never knew it because the ortho-tricyclen has provided the necessary hormonal balance (blocking? I haven't really looked into why ortho-tricyclen works).  The other formulation didn't do enough in that department, and the effects of the dairy definitely came through.  It was pretty alarming how quickly the effects could be seen.

Oh--just remembered--I also switched to ortho-tricyclen Lo a few years ago, for about six months--again, terrible skin.  

I definitely recommend trying the no-dairy route.  It's depressing to contemplate, but worth a shot. It can't hurt (as long as you make sure to get calcium from other sources), and it will very probably help.

For the skeptics, here's a short New York Times piece on the subject: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=950CE3DE1130F932A25754C0A9609C8B63