Quote from 40stinks:

I hope there is someone out there that can help. I am a 40 year old woman with acne on my face, neck and back. I believe it is related to hormones, and to support that theory here is some info about me. As a teenager, I NEVER had zits. I had my first child at 30 and had some acne on and off after that. I had my last child at 37 and have had horrible problems ever since. I recently had lumps in my breasts and after 3 very scary months I found out that I did not have breast cancer, just cystic breasts. The thing about that is when I start my cycle they disappear. Then as the month progresses they come back and are unbearably sore by the time I start my period again, and they disappear. I also have very bad men. cycles, lasting 10-14 days with bad bleeding, cramping and flu-like symptoms for the first 3-5 days. I went to my ob/gyn a few months ago and she suggested I try a low dose bcp. (she recommended a low dose bcp because of the risk factors at my age). I first tried Yaz (little sister to Yasmin) and I bled for 1 1/2 months. She then switched me to Loestrin 24Fe and I am about 3/4 of the way through my first pack. My acne seems to be getting worse. (Oh, I have also been to a dermatologist who had prescribed minocyclene and Retin-A, which I have used for approx. 1 year). I really feel that this has to do with my age and hormones, but I can't really find any website that addresses my problem specifically. I wondered if anyone out there has had similar problems and has had luck with any other bcp, or possibly any other hormone therapy. HELP!

Hi there, there is a lot on this board about hormones, bc pills, Yasmin. Click on the search button and type in your search word. I am always on here blathering on bc pills and hormone therapy so here I go again and will probably continue till somebody tells me to shut up. :mad: Years ago my acne went away with homone therapy and now my child is having the same issues and the same cure is what is helping her.

Yes, you have a hormone problem. The fact is that all female acne is caused by hormones. Even if your hormones are normal your skin can still be affected. I would recommend you get Dr. Geoffrey Redmond's book called The Hormonally Vulnerable Woman. He also has a web site that has a ton of info on it. I can't give you the address here so, again, you can do a search. I am also fascinated by the bio-identical hormones that seem to be all the rage now but I know little about them. For now, in my family, Yasmin and low dose spironolatone seems to be working when even accutane, diet changes, colon therapy, antibiotics, no sugar, peels, topicals, pillow case changing, towel changing, screaming, yelling, no anything, did not.
For women who cannot take bc pill, they can still just take spironolactone. 100 mg - 200 mgs. is a normal dosage for control I hear/read.

BTW, acne can get bad at first and then straighten out with continued use.

I just found this written by heartsicle (hope you don't mind my copying it here, but its very useful and informative!) on this website:

"Yasmin has 30mcgm of estrogen, and 3.0mg of progestin called "drospirenone". You might recognise the "spir" in it is similar to "spironolactone", which some women use to control their acne. Spironocultane (also known as "aldactone") is a potassium-sparing medication that was initially used to treat heart and liver failure. It was then discovered that spironocultane also had anti-androgenic properties. Some women take spiro. alone in high doses. In low doses it has no effect; i.e., Yasmin pills have a very low dose of spiro. But the Spironolactone derivitive WITH estrogen in the Yasmin pill is the magic potion that helps combat hirutism and other crappy side effects of androgens/male hormones, i.e., acne!"

If your Doctor won't prescribe Yasmin because she feels the estrogen is too high (though its still classed as 'low dose'), maybe you could try a combination of one of the pills with lower estrogen and low androgen activity, and spironolactone as well, as suggested by skimom? There are lots on discussions on this board about spironolactone on this board - just search for "spiro".

Good luck!

PS To skimom in particular, and everyone else on here who posts, this board is an incredibly useful resource, thank you thank you thank you! Here's hoping that Yasmin works for me!!