Acne 7 months after cycle, any ideas?

[sweetnsour]

I am 25 years old, i did my first cycle of 500 test E for 12 weeks last year, it ended around september or so. I did not take an AI or anything else with it, just the ethanate alone.

Toward the last week of my cycle i started to get moderate acne on my face, chest, back, and shoulders. I did a PCT with nolva/clomid for 4 weeks. The acne got very bad but a few weeks after my back/chest/shoulders have cleared for most part. I now occasionally get pimples on my back/chest/shoulders, but its nowhere near as bad as before. Just a pimple here or there, not covered, and no more cysts.

The problem is mostly my face, ive had bad acne for almost 7 months now after my cycle. I've been on aczone, retin-a, and doxycycline. It was HORRIBLE acne during my pct, afterwards with the prescription meds it calmed down but its still moderate. Just no more cysts.

I'm getting my DHEA, and testosterone levels checked tomorrow. I didn't tell my doctor about my AAS use (for insurance reasons) so he decided not to have my estrogen checked. I also screwed up by not getting my levels checked before my cycle. I'm nervous it could be imbalanced estrogen that i'm not going to know about. Though my libido is fine, my energy is normal, i'm not emotional like during my pct either.

Does anybody have any idea why this acne won't go away? I had acne a few years ago but some mild anti-biotics and differin cleared me up quick. Now that i cycled im on some stronger presciption meds and it wont clear up.

 

[luckypaul]

I hear good things about proactive bro. I know I had it when I first started using AAS. bummer.

LP

 

[bushleaguechew]

Your body hasn't completely reached homeostasis and/or your predisposed to acne.

 

[RamboTheDog]

I am 25 years old, i did my first cycle of 500 test E for 12 weeks last year, it ended around september or so. I did not take an AI or anything else with it, just the ethanate alone.

Toward the last week of my cycle i started to get moderate acne on my face, chest, back, and shoulders. I did a PCT with nolva/clomid for 4 weeks. The acne got very bad but a few weeks after my back/chest/shoulders have cleared for most part. I now occasionally get pimples on my back/chest/shoulders, but its nowhere near as bad as before. Just a pimple here or there, not covered, and no more cysts.

The problem is mostly my face, ive had bad acne for almost 7 months now after my cycle. I've been on aczone, retin-a, and doxycycline. It was HORRIBLE acne during my pct, afterwards with the prescription meds it calmed down but its still moderate. Just no more cysts.

I'm getting my DHEA, and testosterone levels checked tomorrow. I didn't tell my doctor about my AAS use (for insurance reasons) so he decided not to have my estrogen checked. I also screwed up by not getting my levels checked before my cycle. I'm nervous it could be imbalanced estrogen that i'm not going to know about. Though my libido is fine, my energy is normal, i'm not emotional like during my pct either.

Does anybody have any idea why this acne won't go away? I had acne a few years ago but some mild anti-biotics and differin cleared me up quick. Now that i cycled im on some stronger presciption meds and it wont clear up.

7 months is fucking long time to recover.. you should go to a doctor asap and get bloodwork see your hormone levels.. odds are they arent very good and you didnt recover from the cycle :/

 

[sweetnsour]

Im going for bloods tomorrow, im just kind of disappointed my doctor didn't give me a paper for estrogen levels. I didn't want to screw up my insurance for life by telling him i took steroids. If i'm not experiencing itchy nipples, fatigue, irritability, etc. Does that mean im probably ok estrogen-wise?

 

[sweetnsour]

7 months is fucking long time to recover.. you should go to a doctor asap and get bloodwork see your hormone levels.. odds are they arent very good and you didnt recover from the cycle :/

Are you sure? I had bad acne a couple years back but it cleared up after 5 months or so with prescription meds from a dermatologist. I have a great sex drive and feel normal. Could steroids just permanently alter your oil glands? Is accutane the only solution?

 

[SamSport]

Are you sure? I had bad acne a couple years back but it cleared up after 5 months or so with prescription meds from a dermatologist. I have a great sex drive and feel normal. Could steroids just permanently alter your oil glands? Is accutane the only solution?

Accutane is last option, don't go this way yet. Try benzyl perozide based acne product; 50mg/100mg zinc everyday; vit b5 3-5g; nizoral shampoo 2% (saw this method on another forum, I've try and it seem to clear a little bit of it). There's also proactive that is a little bit more expensive, go that route if nothing works

 

[sweetnsour]

Accutane is last option, don't go this way yet. Try benzyl perozide based acne product; 50mg/100mg zinc everyday; vit b5 3-5g; nizoral shampoo 2% (saw this method on another forum, I've try and it seem to clear a little bit of it). There's also proactive that is a little bit more expensive, go that route if nothing works

Benzyl Peroxide never did anything, neither did 10g of vit b5. I tried zinc but barely at all so ill start trying that again. Nizoral shampoo i've heard about and haven't tried either ill give it a go. I did try accutane for like a week and a half but I got slight headaches and dry eyes so I stopped, was only 20mg a day too.

I'm hoping this Doxycycline, Aczone, and Tazorac I just got prescribed help. I was using Retin A for 6 months but it didnt do much. I dont have cysts like I use to but I have persistent moderate acne.

 

[SamSport]

Benzyl Peroxide never did anything, neither did 10g of vit b5. I tried zinc but barely at all so ill start trying that again. Nizoral shampoo i've heard about and haven't tried either ill give it a go. I did try accutane for like a week and a half but I got slight headaches and dry eyes so I stopped, was only 20mg a day too.

I'm hoping this Doxycycline, Aczone, and Tazorac I just got prescribed help. I was using Retin A for 6 months but it didnt do much. I dont have cysts like I use to but I have persistent moderate acne.

ah if you got prescribed stuff its even better, you doc definatly knows whats up.. its weird that its still there 7 months after cycle.... no idea what's the deal here

 

[doesntevenlift]

Witch hazel to reduce inflammation and redness. Fuck proactive.

 

[PrinceDianabol]

It has nothing to do with your recovery. Even if your e2 is a little high it wont make a scap of difference. The only time e2 becomes a problem with acne is at supraphysiological levels.

What happened during your cycle is the increased androgenic (and also possibily estrogenic) activity has "woken up" dormant sebaceous glands. These glands produce a substance called sebum which does a tonne of things for your skin like aiding in recovery, lubricating it, keeping it healthy etc. when you have high levels of androgens in your body the glands go into overdrive and produce much more sebum then normal. Hence why alot of people get oily skin from cycles. Increased sebum production is absolutely a great enviroment for acne to grow. Not to mention the actual pinples you get along with acne are usually sebum trapped beneath the dermis in a hair follice.

My suggestions to you:
1. Make sure you shower 2-3 times daily, and exfoliate the affected area once daily.

2. Get some Zinc (chelated zinc or zinc piccolate are absolutely the best.) Run it at 50mg daily, split into two doses 25mg morning 25mg night. Zinc is amazing for acne, especially androgen induced acne. You should see results within 2 weeks.. And depeneding how bad your acne is may be completely clear within 4-6 weeks.. More if its bad. If your not getting results your happy with, go as high as 100mg zinc daily... But if you go that high with zinc you will need to supplement with copper aswell to avoid lethargy/fatigue from depleted copper levels.

Good luck with your acne.

 

[PrinceDianabol]

7 months is fucking long time to recover.. you should go to a doctor asap and get bloodwork see your hormone levels.. odds are they arent very good and you didnt recover from the cycle :/

Also this guy is an idiot. There is no need to stress about not recovering OP. Absolutely get bloodwork (you always should) to make sure, but don't stress about it because thats not the cause. Recovery has very little to do with acne, especially acne lasting 7months post cycle. My bet is you will be fine, just follow the protocol I gave you in my above post.