Hello, I just signed up
I've been reading some of the threads on this forum for the past few months. I'm 19 years old and have always been acne prone and struggled with digestion issues. Three years ago I developed hirsutism, insomnia, depression, irregular cycle and was found to have a cyst on one of my ovaries. Blood tests at the time showed high testosterone, low estrogen. I began researching PCOS and adjusted my diet over the years to one that involves eating huge quantities of vegetables, some fruit, legumes, occasionally fish and nuts, spearmint tea to lower androgens. No sugar, dairy, land meat, high GI foods, nothing processed. It worked at keeping the acne at bay but I had digestion issues, sleep issues, low energy, anxiety, kept losing weight, was always cold. I stumbled on this forum and decided to boost my caloric intake, eat lots of potatoes, oranges, dairy, rice, liver. I felt great, had lots of energy, was finally able to sleep and had no intestinal discomfort.
However! it completely ruined my skin. Sebum production was over the roof and every time I ate a high GI food I'd get hot flashes. For the first time ever cysts appeared and it greatly exacerbated my sebborrhoeic dermatitis.I've been fighting the breakout this diet induced for three months and to my horror for the first time in my life it started leaving atrophic scars. They are minor for now but distress me greatly, because every lesion is now a potential scar and I'm facing the possibility of being slowly disfigured by this. I visited a dermatologist- she said the location (chin, jawline, cheeks) indicates it is hormonal, she said to eat lots of greens, parsley, fish and walnuts and referred me to an endocrinologist. The endocrinologist was shocked that I weigh 4kg less than I did three years ago when I first visited her. She said my body is practically degenerating and I could do a three month birth control course or take a PCOS supplement that normalizes blood sugar. I chose the supplement as I feared that the birth control could result in an initial breakout and even worse scarring. I had my blood tests done and they indicated high androstendione, high DHEAs, high prolactin, low vit D (despite me supplementing for months and spending time in the sun), LH to FSH ratio of 3.5 to 1 instead of 1:1!, normal testosterone, low chlorides. TSH was 2, T4was low (11.59), T3 was within range (4.62). Glucose within range.
Currently I eat leafy greens, salmon, some fruit, some nuts, mussels, green and spearmint tea, occasionally rye bread and hummus. A spoon of gellatin every morning and evening. I started taking zinc, vit D, magnesium, B complex, B3, folic acid, selenium, chormium, hyaluronic acid, CO-Q10 in a desperate attempt to get this thing under control. So far it has worked to normalize sebum production and inflammation to some extent. I still get acne, but it's less inflamed. No more oral thrush. I am wondering if that is due to the (inevitabl) caloric restriction. However the scars are not healing and new ones are forming daily. I've also adjusted my lifestyle according to this regimen A Zinc-Less Zinc Regimen For Adults: Draft 5 in order to maximize ZSOD production. I go to sleep at 8:30, still struggle to fall asleep and wake up at 6. Spending almost the entire day outside at 5 deg celsius, that's how desperate I am at this point.
My question is, why am I not healing, is it because I'm hypothyroid? How do I stimulate wound healing while the atrophic scars are still fresh, be it internally or through topical application?
Thank you to whoever read all this, I know its a lot, but I'm really desperate and scared at this point and I don't know what to do.
I've been reading some of the threads on this forum for the past few months. I'm 19 years old and have always been acne prone and struggled with digestion issues. Three years ago I developed hirsutism, insomnia, depression, irregular cycle and was found to have a cyst on one of my ovaries. Blood tests at the time showed high testosterone, low estrogen. I began researching PCOS and adjusted my diet over the years to one that involves eating huge quantities of vegetables, some fruit, legumes, occasionally fish and nuts, spearmint tea to lower androgens. No sugar, dairy, land meat, high GI foods, nothing processed. It worked at keeping the acne at bay but I had digestion issues, sleep issues, low energy, anxiety, kept losing weight, was always cold. I stumbled on this forum and decided to boost my caloric intake, eat lots of potatoes, oranges, dairy, rice, liver. I felt great, had lots of energy, was finally able to sleep and had no intestinal discomfort.
However! it completely ruined my skin. Sebum production was over the roof and every time I ate a high GI food I'd get hot flashes. For the first time ever cysts appeared and it greatly exacerbated my sebborrhoeic dermatitis.I've been fighting the breakout this diet induced for three months and to my horror for the first time in my life it started leaving atrophic scars. They are minor for now but distress me greatly, because every lesion is now a potential scar and I'm facing the possibility of being slowly disfigured by this. I visited a dermatologist- she said the location (chin, jawline, cheeks) indicates it is hormonal, she said to eat lots of greens, parsley, fish and walnuts and referred me to an endocrinologist. The endocrinologist was shocked that I weigh 4kg less than I did three years ago when I first visited her. She said my body is practically degenerating and I could do a three month birth control course or take a PCOS supplement that normalizes blood sugar. I chose the supplement as I feared that the birth control could result in an initial breakout and even worse scarring. I had my blood tests done and they indicated high androstendione, high DHEAs, high prolactin, low vit D (despite me supplementing for months and spending time in the sun), LH to FSH ratio of 3.5 to 1 instead of 1:1!, normal testosterone, low chlorides. TSH was 2, T4was low (11.59), T3 was within range (4.62). Glucose within range.
Currently I eat leafy greens, salmon, some fruit, some nuts, mussels, green and spearmint tea, occasionally rye bread and hummus. A spoon of gellatin every morning and evening. I started taking zinc, vit D, magnesium, B complex, B3, folic acid, selenium, chormium, hyaluronic acid, CO-Q10 in a desperate attempt to get this thing under control. So far it has worked to normalize sebum production and inflammation to some extent. I still get acne, but it's less inflamed. No more oral thrush. I am wondering if that is due to the (inevitabl) caloric restriction. However the scars are not healing and new ones are forming daily. I've also adjusted my lifestyle according to this regimen A Zinc-Less Zinc Regimen For Adults: Draft 5 in order to maximize ZSOD production. I go to sleep at 8:30, still struggle to fall asleep and wake up at 6. Spending almost the entire day outside at 5 deg celsius, that's how desperate I am at this point.
My question is, why am I not healing, is it because I'm hypothyroid? How do I stimulate wound healing while the atrophic scars are still fresh, be it internally or through topical application?
Thank you to whoever read all this, I know its a lot, but I'm really desperate and scared at this point and I don't know what to do.
