adult acne and type 1 diabetes.

[DIVA1987]

hi, does anyone know wether type 1 diabetes causes acne. i have been diabetic since i was 12 and never had acne as a teenager, then when i turned 21 after i had my children i started getting severe acne. i have terrible scarring from this and really want to find out the cause. my blood sugars arent out of control and i can safely say they was out of control when i was a teenager and yet i still didnt get acne. from blood tests my doctor told me i have very mild kidney damage but nothing that needs medication yet. does anyone else have this and if so is there a cure. my last hba1c was 5.6 and for the past 3 years or so it hasnt gone above 6. i sometimes have a lot of lows which can happen 3 or 4 times a day. my dermatologist has started me on roaccutane but it doesnt seem to be doing anything after 3 months. HELP!

 

[cugila]

Diabetes doesn't always appear to be listed as a cause of Acne from what I can see........however there are some links about it. This is what one website which is all about Acne in it's various forms says :

There is no single, identifiable cause of acne. Instead, there are a number of different causes of acne, each of which causes acne of a particular clinical type. The process by which acne develops is a bit like a chain reaction. At the end of the chain is the development of spots on the skin of the acne sufferer. An acne spot is the the result of body's inflammatory reaction to the presence of a comedo, a sticky mass of dead skin cells, bacteria and sebum which blocks a hair follicle. It is not known what triggers the body's inflammatory reaction to comedones, which may have lain dormant for months or even years, and causes acne spots to develop. What is known is that the development of comedones is the result of a combination of factors, which together produce conditions within the hair follicle which encourage comedones to form. The factors implicated in the development of comedones are:

Link : http://www.acne-control.org.uk/information/causes.asp

Then this from another which links it to hormonal imbalances :

http://www.isletsofhope.com/diabetes/pr ... cne_1.html

 

[Elc1112]

Sounds like you have just been a bit unlucky. My skin was always fine as a teenager but I started to notice problems in my early 20s; not acne but a lot more breakouts than I had ever had before. I started using a treatment by Malin and Goetz and that really helped. You can buy it online or at shops such as Space Nk

 

[eabhamurphy]

Hey,

I was diagnosed with type1 a little under 2 years ago. I am now 25. I always had great skin but in the last year its gotten pretty bad and I had really bad acne on my back. My face is much more susceptible to breakouts than it ever was before. I use duac gel on any spots as soon as they develop. It completely cleared the acne on my back in about 6 weeks and on my face its makes the spots clear up in about 4-5days instead of the 4-6weeks that it was taking the scars to heal.
I really believe that in my case its my diabetes that causes my skin problems. Absolutely. Eating lower carb and therefore having less variation in blood sugar levels has def helped my skin. Duac is great!
Good luck!
Eva

 

[snydercharles425]

I heard that eating organic food really helps out with acne, is that true?

 

[iHs]

Some time ago I met someone who had very bad acne and was using Retin A Gel prescribed. It was also being used to deal with aging skin and was known to have a tightening effect. It does have some side effects as causi ng patchy marks so I was a bit dubious in using it.

What does seem to work is eating more in the way of the green leaf veg and a bit less of the biscuits etc and using a face pack once a week. Gram flour made into a thickish paste with some water is a very good cheap face pack

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[oldgreymare]

I am another who had relatively mild acne as a teenager which worsened in my 30's including involvement for the first time on my back. (During period of very high stress at work). My dermatologist at the time did prescribe Roaccutane which if I recall correctly (back in 1980's!) did more or less work but I remain very sensitive to UV thereafter andI no longer tan (just burn). Occasional breakouts did continue until menopause then seemed to cease. I was diagnosed with Type 1 after 2 years into menopause and I have noticed my skin is noticeable greasier with odd breakout since since starting insulin use - it is a very complex hormone. You have great control but is there any way you could reduce your insulin use - maybe experiment with low carb? Acne is an inflammatory condition and there seems to be growing evidence that carbs can really raise inflammatory states in sensitive individuals. Hang in there.