Vitamin A Taken Orally
CurlyCasey
Registered Users Posts: 224
Has anyone had any luck with this? I refuse to go on Accutane right now because it scares the living crap out of me and my mom doesn't think it's a good idea. She's a nurse and I trust her judgment. I asked the doctor I go to for allergy stuff what she thought about tamer forms of vitamin A/retinoids and she suggested some oral vitamin A. She prescribed 100,000 IUs of it, but I started at a lower dosage; 50,000 to 75,000. She's a general practitioner, but she's also an OBGYN and she has naturopathy training. She's not a dermatologist, but she seemed to think it might work for me.
Has anyone had experience with taking vitamin A? I got the natural form, beta carotene, and so far it hasn't upset my stomach so I think I'll keep taking it. The doctor said to take it for two months and then discontinue use. Will it make my skin worse before it gets better? I've been using Proactiv for years, but I don't think it works for me anymore. The only reason I still use it is because I'm afraid that going off of it will make my skin even worse. It's not terrible acne--mostly some white heads and clogged pores. I have very pale skin, however, and you can see it really clearly. I've been taking the vitamin A for four days, spreading out the dose between the morning and the evening. I stopped using the Proactiv yesterday. I bought a neutral PH cleanser with a scrub and a blemish stick which is mostly witch hazel, tea tree oil, and soothing ingredients like burdock and comfrey. To moisturize I usually use a blend of almond and other oils. I got it all from the health food store where I work, so it's not going to hurt my skin...I'm just not sure if it's going to make it any better. And I have very sensitive skin that is prone to eczema, though not usually right on my face. It's just one big pain in the butt, basically.
To top it all off my allergies have been horrible this year and Zyrtec just isn't cutting it. I've been doing allergy testing, but it takes several weeks to do everything. So far I'm allergic to all of the trees I was tested for, (16) as well as cats, dogs, (mildly) dust, dust mites, wool, and feathers. I'm still waiting to be tested for grasses and molds. Once it's all finished I will have weekly allergy shots to prevent reactions, but until then it's not very pleasant.
My mom says there's something called an allergy threshold, where your immune system gets overwhelmed with irritants and it starts to show up in your skin. That's why I'm undergoing the testing, because the allergies have been so bad that they are affecting my eczema; which has barely bothered me since I was little. I keep getting red patches on my neck that only go away with cortisone cream. And I'd much rather prevent them in the first place. I just feel gross right now and I'm hoping to get all of this cleared up before college.
I also found out that I'm very sensitive to candida, so eating sugar, dairy, and yeasty foods are not that great for me. I consider myself fairly healthy besides that--I don't have any deficiencies and my liver, cholesterol, and blood sugar are fine. I take a multivitamin every day, along with vitamin C, D, A, borage oil, omegas, and boswellia for the allergies. It's just getting sort of ridiculous. Unfortunately, I happen to work around all sorts of yummy food and gourmet chocolate. Ughhh. This was supposed to just be about the vitamin A but it turned into a rant. I just want to have good skin! :thumbdown:
Has anyone had experience with taking vitamin A? I got the natural form, beta carotene, and so far it hasn't upset my stomach so I think I'll keep taking it. The doctor said to take it for two months and then discontinue use. Will it make my skin worse before it gets better? I've been using Proactiv for years, but I don't think it works for me anymore. The only reason I still use it is because I'm afraid that going off of it will make my skin even worse. It's not terrible acne--mostly some white heads and clogged pores. I have very pale skin, however, and you can see it really clearly. I've been taking the vitamin A for four days, spreading out the dose between the morning and the evening. I stopped using the Proactiv yesterday. I bought a neutral PH cleanser with a scrub and a blemish stick which is mostly witch hazel, tea tree oil, and soothing ingredients like burdock and comfrey. To moisturize I usually use a blend of almond and other oils. I got it all from the health food store where I work, so it's not going to hurt my skin...I'm just not sure if it's going to make it any better. And I have very sensitive skin that is prone to eczema, though not usually right on my face. It's just one big pain in the butt, basically.
To top it all off my allergies have been horrible this year and Zyrtec just isn't cutting it. I've been doing allergy testing, but it takes several weeks to do everything. So far I'm allergic to all of the trees I was tested for, (16) as well as cats, dogs, (mildly) dust, dust mites, wool, and feathers. I'm still waiting to be tested for grasses and molds. Once it's all finished I will have weekly allergy shots to prevent reactions, but until then it's not very pleasant.
My mom says there's something called an allergy threshold, where your immune system gets overwhelmed with irritants and it starts to show up in your skin. That's why I'm undergoing the testing, because the allergies have been so bad that they are affecting my eczema; which has barely bothered me since I was little. I keep getting red patches on my neck that only go away with cortisone cream. And I'd much rather prevent them in the first place. I just feel gross right now and I'm hoping to get all of this cleared up before college.
I also found out that I'm very sensitive to candida, so eating sugar, dairy, and yeasty foods are not that great for me. I consider myself fairly healthy besides that--I don't have any deficiencies and my liver, cholesterol, and blood sugar are fine. I take a multivitamin every day, along with vitamin C, D, A, borage oil, omegas, and boswellia for the allergies. It's just getting sort of ridiculous. Unfortunately, I happen to work around all sorts of yummy food and gourmet chocolate. Ughhh. This was supposed to just be about the vitamin A but it turned into a rant. I just want to have good skin! :thumbdown:
3a/3b mix of ringlets and spiral curls
BWC Rosemary Mint Tea Tree Conditioner,
Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner,
***Aloe Vera Gel***
Simplicity is best, at least for my hair. I co-wash every two days or so with the BWC and use the AOHR as a rinse-out when I need moisture. On other days, I just water wash, and I use AV gel every day to style. I air-dry and don't brush or comb my hair.
Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner,
***Aloe Vera Gel***
Simplicity is best, at least for my hair. I co-wash every two days or so with the BWC and use the AOHR as a rinse-out when I need moisture. On other days, I just water wash, and I use AV gel every day to style. I air-dry and don't brush or comb my hair.
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Comments
Accutane is a derivative of Vitamin A. The effects (and possible side effects) are not entirely unlike taking a monster dose of Vitamin A. Except that Vitamin A is over the counter, so people can take overdoses of it while not having their liver enzymes or birth control monitored.
Sources:
http://www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_diseases/accutane.html
http://www.pdrhealth.com/drugs/rx/rx-mono.aspx?contentFileName=Acc1003.html&contentName=Accutane&contentId=05
No, I know that. I mean, it was prescribed by my physician, so I trust that the dose isn't going to harm me. I made sure that it wouldn't harm my liver like Accutane and that I wouldn't have to do any blood tests for it. Also, since it's food-derived, doesn't that mean it's safer? The capsules themselves are 25,000IUs each.
Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner,
***Aloe Vera Gel***
Simplicity is best, at least for my hair. I co-wash every two days or so with the BWC and use the AOHR as a rinse-out when I need moisture. On other days, I just water wash, and I use AV gel every day to style. I air-dry and don't brush or comb my hair.
It's possible that your allergies are contributing to your acne, but I looked at your prom pics, and it just looks like you have typical teenage acne. I really think you would be greatly helped by having a healthy skin barrier and using an active salicylic acid.
I don't buy into all the "yeast sensitivities" that so many of the naturopaths talk about. They seem to tout a carb/sugar/fermented-foods restrictive diet for just about every ailment, but all it seems to do is deprive their patients of some really good stuff. It won't hurt you to try it, but in the meantime, I'd get some better cleanser and an active SA if I were you. The cleanser you got from your healthfood store is probably detergent-based, and witch hazel is a known skin irritant.
Well, she didn't say beta carotene specifically, just any vitamin a. I just got the BC because it seemed like it would be less likely to cause problems. Anyway, I am sensitive to Candida. She didn't just tell me, I had a blood test done for allergens. The cleanser isn't detergent-based, I don't think. I don't know if the witch hazel will irritate my skin, but so far my skin feels pretty moisturized and it wasn't dry after I washed it. I don't know, I'll just see what works. The salicylic acid is a good idea...would you recommend a certain percentage or method of application?
Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner,
***Aloe Vera Gel***
Simplicity is best, at least for my hair. I co-wash every two days or so with the BWC and use the AOHR as a rinse-out when I need moisture. On other days, I just water wash, and I use AV gel every day to style. I air-dry and don't brush or comb my hair.
I would suggest a 2% SA from either DianaYvonne.com or PSFskincare.com, applied twice a day after cleansing, leaving it on and waiting 30 minutes before applying anything else.
Do you have the brand name or ingredients of the cleanser?
I did research and followed the recommendations of a dietician/researcher I highly respect. (The science behind why it works is interesting to me.) Every time I follow her recommendations whatever health problem I'm experiencing has been resolved.
Now that I'm using a skin care regimen RCW recommended for me I don't take as much vitamin A as I did before but there are seasons where I benefit from a higher dose.
EDIT: I misread cynaminbear's post, and didn't realize that she had actually tried Accutane and became suicidal on it. Instead, I thought that she had never tried Accutane because she was overly worried about becoming suicidal. Because of my error, the rest of my post (which I've left unedited) makes me seem like a terrible, terrible person. I'm sorry, cynaminbear! I'm not that terrible!
This side effect is pretty much a myth. Both acne and depression are likely to emerge during the teen years. When a teen does happen to develop depressive tendencies while on Accutane, it's generally considered to be correlation, not causation.
Accutane, like any medication, can have some bad side effects. Since it's not going to save anyone's life, people shouldn't jump right into taking it. However, the fear of becoming suicidal has almost gotten to the point of urban legend.
You can take toxic levels of supplements, but you risk cooking your liver, especially taken long term. Accutane is basically a controlled short-term toxic-level of Vit A, and that's why it's closely monitored with monthly blood tests. The thought of people popping Vit A pills for years on end without carefully monitoring the liver is a bit scary.
Yeah, I'm not too keen on the idea of someone "taking their health into their own (non-MD) hands" if they're not just talking about weight loss or something.
I'm OK with people taking care of their own health. There are lots of areas where people really do need to make their own decisions. For instance, my newly diabetic son has to make his own insulin decisions all day, every day. When it comes to taking toxic substances on your own though (and high levels of Vit A are toxic), I think one has to be very careful, and very well-informed. I don't know enough about it to give more than my skeptical jaded answers. If I was looking for info on Vit A and acne, I'd be looking elsewhere than this particular message board though. I'd be reading real peer-reviewed bona-fide medical studies, not just naturopath and crackpot websites.
I became suicidal on this medicine. I don't fully blame the medicine, as I have chronic depression and hadn't been diagnosed at the time I was taking Accutane.
edited cause we kissed and made up.
I missed the part where you wrote that you had actually tried Accutane, so I didn't realize that "becoming suicidal because of Accutane" was something you had dealt with. I thought that you wrote that you chose not to take Accutane because you were worried about becoming suicidal, despite not being at risk for that effect. I was wondering why my post had been interpreted as a personal attack, until I went back and reread your first post. I'm sorry if I pressured you into revealing more about your personal life than you wanted to (since you were originally less specific). I would not have written my first post had I properly read your first post, and I'm sorry about the way it turned out.
Just to clarify, what I was writing about is the massive exaggeration (not in cynaminbear's post) of the ubiquity of suicidal feelings as a side effect. There is a widely believed myth that Accutane makes nearly everyone suicidal. Unfortunately, the fear of Accutane pushes quite a few people to continuously overdose, unsupervised, on vitamin A. Even though sustained vitamin A overdose carries the same risks as Accutane, the former is mistakenly viewed as safe because it's "natural." I've checked out the Acne.org forums a couple of times, and a lot of the posts there are a nightmare of dangerous misinformation and terrible advice. That's the kind of thing that I was reacting to in my first post--not cynaminbear's actual experience with Accutane.
I didn't know this side effect was widely known or that there has been discussion of it elsewhere. I reacted out of the deep emotions I felt at the time I was taking the med, rather than reasoning that Eilonwy didn't intend to hurt me.