I came across it on reddit a while back and it's basically solved my acne problem. You get a super dry face and chapped lips, but there are lots of products to help mitigate that.
The Accutane subreddit is full of tips and before/after photos - https://www.reddit.com/r/Accutane/
The customer who didnt research?
The physician who gets lunch twice a year from Accutane?
The government for stopping freedom?
Note: none of this is /s, I would like to discuss why this happens, and if there are any solutions.
Accutane worked amazingly, and very fast. Acne gone in a week, and never returned. I stayed on Accutane til I hit the target dose (maybe 3 months, I forget exactly). Twenty years later, I'm still acne free.
Though without a doubt, Accutane is the strongest drug I've ever taken. I needed a liver function test before starting, and monthly during the treatment. My nasal lining and lips were unbelievably dry. I carried lip moisturiser and creams with me everywhere, used them several times an hour. I remember my dermatologist telling me to avoid the sun, and treatment was over the winter months.
To anyone on long-term courses of tetracycline, I suggest trying Accutane. Be prepared for the side effects. And only do it under medical supervision.
It's also been linked to increased suicide rates https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM200102083440616
Remained acne free until suddenly getting cystic acne in my early 30s.
Here's what helped me:
- Do laundry more often ( Increase the rate you clean your: sheets and pillow cases!, face cloths, clothes. If this is impractical you can simply buy more pillowcases and swap out clean ones more regularly; especially if you're a prone to sleep drooling or have greasy hair. )
- Stop washing your face with soap ( Just use water and a wash cloth on your face; use firm pressure to get into pores but light enough to avoid giving yourself 'rug' burns or tears. This is great for exfoliating dead skin and removing surface oil. Do this twice a day; morning and evening. Buy multiple face cloths and use newly cleaned ones regularly; every 2-3 days. )
- Apply moisturizers twice a day; morning and evening ( My skin had an amazing response to Sea Buckthorn: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5438513/ . Its coloring is very intense so for my twice daily moisturizer I cut it with Rosehip Oil usually only putting 5-10 drops per 2 oz of Rosehip; experiment for your skin color. To increase my skin's recover time and the effectiveness of the Sea Buckthorn I will take a regular long bath where I apply it directly, almost like a mask, and wipe it off after the bath. It has proved great at reducing redness and blemishes as well as healing open wounds such as exfoliated dead skin and bleeding pores. )
- Spot care for cystic acne with pure Salicylic Acid ( Only rub this on cystic pores. Avoid trying to pop any pores without a clear white 'head'. )
- Cold showers ( Or at the very least end the shower by holding your face under cold water to close your pores. )
- Exercise ( General health will aide skin health. Also great for hormone balance which can be a cause factor for acne. )
- Wrangle your hormones ( Through masturbating less, and eating a hormone nutrition informed diet. For example, if male, eat more cruciferous foods for Testosterone maintenance. )
Hope these suggestions can make the difference they made for me for you too.
I appreciate these tips and I do follow most of these so I can vouch for their value as they do seem to help. I will try the more unique suggestions...!
What do these words even mean?
Helping your body's androgens ( Testosterone ) to maintain ( maintenance ) their natural levels.
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Also, cruciferous plants are good sources of vitamins and minerals that appear to positively affect testosterone levels; for instance, Vitamin K and A and zinc.
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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruciferous_vegetables
For a list of cruciferous plants.
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[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testosterone#Regulation
> Nutrients: Vitamin A deficiency may lead to sub-optimal plasma testosterone levels. The secosteroid vitamin D in levels of 4001000 IU/d (1025 µg/d) raises testosterone levels. Zinc deficiency lowers testosterone levels but over-supplementation has no effect on serum testosterone. [2]
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[3] http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=9
> A third area of increasing research interest involves the metabolism of vitamin D. Broccoli is not a source of this vitamin, but it is an excellent source of vitamin K and also of vitamin A (in one of its precursor forms, beta-carotene). Many individuals have large vitamin D deficiencies that cannot be remedied through diet alone, and these deficiencies require sizable amounts of vitamin D to be provided through dietary supplementation. When large supplemental doses of vitamin D are needed to offset deficiency, ample supplies of vitamin K and vitamin A appear to help keep our vitamin D metabolism in the proper balance.[3]
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[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aromatase
> In particular, aromatase is responsible for the aromatization of androgens into estrogens.[7]
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[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Androgen
> Testosterone, the major androgen.
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[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrogen
> All of the different forms of estrogen are synthesized from androgens, specifically testosterone and androstenedione, by the enzyme aromatase. [6]
> Quantitatively, estrogens circulate at lower levels than androgens in both men and women. [6]
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[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23090135
> The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of white cabbage and sauerkraut juices of different origin and indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and diindolylmethane (DIM) on expression of CYP19 gene encoding aromatase, the key enzyme of estrogen synthesis. [7]
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[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26840393
> indole-3-carbinol and diindolylmethane. These compounds occur as glucosinolate conjugates in cruciferous vegetables and are released when one chews or otherwise macerates the vegetable.
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[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19524224
But of course this is nutritional science so there is lots of conflicting and grounding counter research.[9]
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My take away from all of this is that having a varied diet is the most important.
I said 'cruciferous plants' to actively avoid listing a single item as a cure all.
Also, my guess is that our diets have narrowed as we have stopped seasonally cooking for ourselves and buy processed foods with a lot of ingredient overlap likely confusing our bodies which were designed to function on the ingredients found in the varied foods we ate.
I hope this is less bleak than it reads.
If you are already in a healthy and happy relationship is hope you’d stay rather than seek a ‘new’ relationship solely to manipulate your T levels.
If you are instead implying that a single person should ‘get a new’ relationship I would hope you would get into that relationship for other reasons than to manipulate your T levels.
Unless I suppose you lead with that and both people are into it?
I want to note that ‘girlfriend’ is an unnecessary specificity.
Most of the literature simply refers to ‘sexual activity’.
Also, the link between sexual activity and Testosterone is rather varied.
Most of the literature tests on older populations where it is already widely known that age reduces T levels.
Also, there is still debate on which is the cause.
Some say less sex leads to low T levels. Some say low T leads to less sex. Others suggest it is feedback loop.
Either way it seems the results tend to peak and be short lived.
But anyone with an otherwise healthy, functioning, body is guaranteed through exercise and a varied healthy diet to set up their body for optimal Testosterone maintenance.
I think it was a tongue in cheek comment about how a man’s brain has a huge influence over their testosterone levels. Men see their testosterone levels drop after being in a relationship for a while, and drop further when they have children. Although, I guess it could be argued that they are likely having less sex in these situations.
Look, I agree with almost everything we’ve both said in this discussion. I even created a website that shows my agreement (http://max-testosterone.com - not designed to make money, rather to market the domain name which is for sale). I think I just didn’t like the phrase “testosterone maintenance”, implying it’s something that’s broken that can be fixed. For most men, low testosterone can’t be dramatically improved (double or triple) by simply improving their diet.
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-47952076?intlink_from_url=ht...
I approached my GP after suffering with acne who put me on tetracycline which has some horrible side-effects such as staining your teeth and it didn't work for me at all.
I bypassed my GP and bought accutane online. The side-effects are some of the worst I've had from a medicine, dry skin and eyes, regular nose bleeds, sensitivity to the sun etc. Nothing mental though. That said. It works.
Before I used accutane I had several acne spots turn into keloid scars which I have been treating over the last decade with corticosteroid injections.
Accutane makes the “horrible side-effects” of Tetracycline look like a mild headache. Aside from being a powerful teratogen (i.e. it causes nasty birth defects), Accutane is linked to suicidal tendencies, liver damage, heart damage, and more. It’s not a drug anyone should be taking without supervision.
I also wasn't used to chap stick before, but now I carry it all the time.
Update: Spironolactone (Aldactone) is an androgen blocker drug that, at a lower dose, can help with hormonal acne.