Acne - Need Alternative

I am on test 500mg/week (2 jabs spread out) and 0.5 tablet (so 12.5mg) Arimidex EOD.

For 2 weeks my skin went very oily and then dried out leaving acne scars on my face. I’ve never had acne on my face in my life. My upper arms got inflamed and bumpy and I used all sorts of off the counter creams and washes to settle it. It did help but the skin is still not great and I’m wondering if I should come off the test entirely and using something else. I have naturally a low test I think hence androgenic roids tend to be bad for me. The skin still looks quite inflamed and sometimes hurt when I press but as my skin tone is not light it doesn’t ‘look’ as bad as it feels.

I also added 1 x 50mg tablet avanar daily, no improvement/not worse either. Planned on finishing that tub by EOD then stopping.

I went to the doctor who refused to send me to the dermatologist because I’m taking steroids and told me to just come off it and use clean and clear or something... I was reading about accutane but aparently it kills your sex drive which I don’t want either (as the acne is not terrible).

What should I swap over to or continue with the test / avanar? Goal is to build a little lean muscle tissue (at minimum keep what’s there), mainly loose fat, not look watery. Strength doesn’t need to be high or anything I’m not powerlifting.

I would never use accutane! From what I have read it is SUPER toxic.
Muscle mechanic will have some good ideas for you. I'm going to see what my doc will give me.

hopesanddreams said:

I am on test 500mg/week (2 jabs spread out) and 0.5 tablet (so 12.5mg) Arimidex EOD.

For 2 weeks my skin went very oily and then dried out leaving acne scars on my face. I’ve never had acne on my face in my life. My upper arms got inflamed and bumpy and I used all sorts of off the counter creams and washes to settle it. It did help but the skin is still not great and I’m wondering if I should come off the test entirely and using something else. I have naturally a low test I think hence androgenic roids tend to be bad for me. The skin still looks quite inflamed and sometimes hurt when I press but as my skin tone is not light it doesn’t ‘look’ as bad as it feels.

I also added 1 x 50mg tablet avanar daily, no improvement/not worse either. Planned on finishing that tub by EOD then stopping.

I went to the doctor who refused to send me to the dermatologist because I’m taking steroids and told me to just come off it and use clean and clear or something... I was reading about accutane but aparently it kills your sex drive which I don’t want either (as the acne is not terrible).

What should I swap over to or continue with the test / avanar? Goal is to build a little lean muscle tissue (at minimum keep what’s there), mainly loose fat, not look watery. Strength doesn’t need to be high or anything I’m not powerlifting.

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Get on doxycycline 20mg 2x a day or divide caps of 100mg doxy...
Take low 40-50mg a day doxy for 1 month.
Ceplex works great too.
But once u run any round of antibiotic by mouth even low dosed clindamycin works.
Get Clind/Benz Gel. It's a cream only good 60 days after u get it... run small amount of cream.
Use 2 months or as long as u want.
The topical Clind is low dose stops inflammation and kills bacteria and Benz peroxide drys and peels layers of scar tissue...

Accutane comes in cream too. Most of these meds, above can be ordered from overseas pharmacies and u not Gonna face trouble for it.... not in reasonable personal use for sure.

My reg Dr gave me cream after doxy. Used 1 tube in 2 months and gone. Filled 2nd tube last week and today Dr asked in I needed more. I told him may be in 2 months have full tube. This works!!
After years cystic acne from same spots recurring finally gone!!

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Muscle mechanic said:

Get on doxycycline 20mg 2x a day or divide caps of 100mg doxy...
Take low 40-50mg a day doxy for 1 month.
Ceplex works great too.
But once u run any round of antibiotic by mouth even low dosed clindamycin works.
Get Clind/Benz Gel. It's a cream only good 60 days after u get it... run small amount of cream.
Use 2 months or as long as u want.
The topical Clind is low dose stops inflammation and kills bacteria and Benz peroxide drys and peels layers of scar tissue...

Accutane comes in cream too. Most of these meds, above can be ordered from overseas pharmacies and u not Gonna face trouble for it.... not in reasonable personal use for sure.

My reg Dr gave me cream after doxy. Used 1 tube in 2 months and gone. Filled 2nd tube last week and today Dr asked in I needed more. I told him may be in 2 months have full tube. This works!!
After years cystic acne from same spots recurring finally gone!!

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My Dr knows u am on trt!! Tell Dr to fuck off and ask if he treats alcoholics with liver issues and high bp!!!??? They supposed to treat u regardless!!

So continue the same roids? I thought changing gear would be better?

hopesanddreams said:

So continue the same roids? I thought changing gear would be better?

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Normally when I change gear or anything it gets worse
Trt acne even bad when it's going on.

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Sometimes a little Nandrolone can help. But .....
Acne is from dht at skin surface and lack of enzyme to break down thick oil it makes us leak... gear acne!!
Pregenolone fights dht

So stay on test / anavar but just try to control the acne is the recommendation here?
Would winstrol be better or worse for the goal in the original post?

I still seem to have inflamed small red spots on my face, sometimes white ones, even off cycle so it may not be the gear after all.
I went to the doctor and my blood work was all good. So its not medical.
I am trying charcoal soap which is supposed to help, but other than that, any ideas what is causing this? I've never had face acne, not even as a kid.

hopesanddreams said:

So stay on test / anavar but just try to control the acne is the recommendation here?
Would winstrol be better or worse for the goal in the original post?

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What I mean is too much estro or dht both can cause problems.
Unstable hormones will cause problems too.
Change your diet, try vitamin b5, take multi vitamins and get body cleaned helps as well.
Sadly in some of us gear just aggrevates acne. I never had trouble until past 4 years. Shaving body hair makes it worse too.

They say it's a co-enzyme we lacking that causes thicker subacious oils to clog from inside!!! Dht really makes more oils secrete and get thicker from all my reading.

Changing gear??? Finding a combo better but during the swope or coming off it gets worse before better is all I meant. But most say testosterone and other androgenic gear make it worse...



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Salicylic Acid works great to treat acne.

Ashop said:

Salicylic Acid works great to treat acne.

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I use it to wash. My problem is like OP I never had acne never not even as teenager!! I never got much of it cycling, except some spots at same places..

Been on TRT for prolly 5-6 years, it has gotten worse on TRT for whatever reason. I don't know if I am lacking something from not using HCG sometimes???

I get cystic type acne at same places over and over. The bumps are hard and thick oil stopping up from within!! Low dose doxycycline 20mg 2x a day did great but only had 20 days worth maybe, but Dr gives me Clind/Benz Gel cream now. I have no zits anymore but still hard bumps that either peel or clear out!! A hot shower helps clear it out, but I am using cream daily. The cream is low amount of Clindamyn Phosphate 1.2% and Benzoyl Peroxide 5% per 45 gram tube. So I figured it out and it's not much Clindamycin at all.
Would have to re-figure but think it's roughly only a little over 1000mg Clindamycin so that's a good oral daily dose in while tube. Tube of 45 grams last me 1 month!! And Pharma Grade Benzoyl Peroxide is not even close to OTC stuff!!!

If I am figuring out Clindamycin mg per 45 grams at 1.2% please let me know.

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hopesanddreams said:

I still seem to have inflamed small red spots on my face, sometimes white ones, even off cycle so it may not be the gear after all.
I went to the doctor and my blood work was all good. So its not medical.
I am trying charcoal soap which is supposed to help, but other than that, any ideas what is causing this? I've never had face acne, not even as a kid.

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Check this article out I posted for u bro and anyone else too.
Acne Remedies

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Tried virtually everything over the years (except acutane) and the best I've come up with is Retin-A combined with benzoyl peroxide (for spot treatment).

If you do Retin-A, which I highly recommend, note that it will take anywhere from 2-6 weeks to kick in and stabilize.

Good luck.

Differin worked for me in past glad I found active ingredient in it and it's Adapalene!! It was in RX sample packs I had grabbed at garage sell. Lmao!! It was combo with something else it was approx. 3-4 years ago, it worked by causing peeling and cleared my cystic acne!!![emoji123][emoji123][emoji109][emoji109]

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NAIR said:

Tried virtually everything over the years (except acutane) and the best I've come up with is Retin-A combined with benzoyl peroxide (for spot treatment).

If you do Retin-A, which I highly recommend, note that it will take anywhere from 2-6 weeks to kick in and stabilize.

Good luck.

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That is it. Adapalene with benzoyl peroxide was RX sample packs I had grabbed at garage sell. Lmao!!
Looks like Differin OTC has that in it well the Adapalene anyway!!

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Thanks everyone!

The issue is, in all my previous cycles I never got aggravated skin, just some spots on my upper arms which remain pigmented. This time even when off the gear I have forehead bumps and red dots and it’s just not going away. I’m also not using anything I don’t used before so it is strange.

I take vitamins already and eat clean - don’t think it’s diet related as there isn’t anything I’m doing that differently. Also it is strange it’s just in those areas still nowhere else on the body. Shaving can’t be causing it as I don’t shave me forehead and in my beard area I have no issues not even 1 spot. Upper arms don’t get hairy either but I get the spots there’s only.

I’ll try the Salicyclic acid solution for my face and the charcoal soap for my body and hope that helps. Still need to solve the pigmentation though... if anyone knows what I can do to quickly even out the skin and get rid of the pigment that would be great!

I wanted to avoid taking skin steroids in general as it will pigment the skin further I think. If I can solve it naturally / with off the shelf stuff it would be better. It’s not terrible but noticeable and having it on the face is annoying.

Also, I feel 'dry' quite a lot when off cycle - have to drink much more water and when I put cream on my body it soaks it up like I have put nothing. On cycle I don't have such issues. Any ideas?

hopesanddreams said:

Also, I feel 'dry' quite a lot when off cycle - have to drink much more water and when I put cream on my body it soaks it up like I have put nothing. On cycle I don't have such issues. Any ideas?

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I cannot use any lotions at all!!
If i do acne starts up.

hopesanddreams said:

Thanks everyone!

The issue is, in all my previous cycles I never got aggravated skin, just some spots on my upper arms which remain pigmented. This time even when off the gear I have forehead bumps and red dots and it’s just not going away. I’m also not using anything I don’t used before so it is strange.

I take vitamins already and eat clean - don’t think it’s diet related as there isn’t anything I’m doing that differently. Also it is strange it’s just in those areas still nowhere else on the body. Shaving can’t be causing it as I don’t shave me forehead and in my beard area I have no issues not even 1 spot. Upper arms don’t get hairy either but I get the spots there’s only.

I’ll try the Salicyclic acid solution for my face and the charcoal soap for my body and hope that helps. Still need to solve the pigmentation though... if anyone knows what I can do to quickly even out the skin and get rid of the pigment that would be great!

I wanted to avoid taking skin steroids in general as it will pigment the skin further I think. If I can solve it naturally / with off the shelf stuff it would be better. It’s not terrible but noticeable and having it on the face is annoying.

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My cystic acne is upper arms, chest, face, and head. All I shave although I get huge zits on forehead and little ones too and don't shave forehead. Shaving aggrevates areas where I shave because hair gets stuck in scare tissues and any inflammation the start of thicker oil not getting to flow freely!!!

Aging has alot to do with it... Steroids and dht cause subacious glands to secrete more oils and thicker oils often are from a lack of Co-enzyme in body to break down fatty acids. Vitamin b5 helps with diet changes!! Eating clean doesn't mean getting everything body needs like this Co-enzyme!!!
And steroids along with other hormone changes with age make it worse in some of us!!!
I eat alot of things I shouldn't I admit!! And I used all gear never got acne till in later 30's almost mid 40's now. I even get it only with Pharma Grade TRT especially when I use more because the way it's dispensed I end up with more than prescribed... alot more!!! Its nothing to do with where gear is from.
Although I test, eq, mast cause more acne than lower test, Primo, and deca!!!
I balance of pregenolone also are good for skin and acne and alot of it is made from our testes which steroids shut off while on them and some of us shut off completely more than others on or off!! Meaning TRT candidates who are shut down for good!!!
I know people who go to dermatologist and get vitamins and are told to either keep hair short or long as it aggrevates pores and oil flow. They also get creams or low dose doxycycline for longer term. It stops inflammation rather than killing bacteria really true. High estrogen will cause more inflammation as well. When inflammation is present the bacteria flourish as our defenses at surface are down..
I know other guys who dermatologist told ha ha ha!! U wanna use steroids take it with the territory and helped zero!!!
Women go thru changes too with age and cystic acne. Genetics play role in men and women!!!
But minor acne from dirty oily skin, shower 2x a day, use saliac acid soap and cream and avoid lotions and perfumed alcohol based soaps!!
Keep skin clean!!
My acne is cystic not little white heads. When I can get it to bust it feels like something still inside. If i get black head remover push hard and pull even though pain is bad, I hear a pop sound and I little hard seed looking white piece of crap comes out! That there is problem from within, everything used only stops inflammation and causes peeling affect that releases it that way, or softens.... it's from within with me it's what is naturally secreted out as oil is thickened... and steroids affect it!!! I have had to remove surgically 2 subacious cysts that grew and grew and grew and was only a zit from start!!!

Anything with Benzyl Peroxide in it always made my acne much worse.

Ashop said:

Anything with Benzyl Peroxide in it always made my acne much worse.

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What kind of stuff is that in?