Posted by Noa on February 17, 2001, at 12:04:59
In reply to Re: acne and meds???, posted by MarkinBoston on February 15, 2001, at 12:23:15
I was just at Barnes and Noble last night, reading a book on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, and hair growth and acne are both signs of this. I have signs such as these, although when lab tests were done, they were negative. Still, my gyno recently put me on Alesse28, an oral contraceptive, and my skin is MUCH better.
As for the AD or lithium connection, I don't know. I certainly have heard a lot here about that. But it also seems plausible to me that if one is near the threshold for too-high levels of androgen, taking some medications could lower the threshold by increasing certain hormones which leads to the increase of other hormones, etc. Also, if the medications lead to weight gain, fat cells also store androgens, which again can lead to the increased hair growth and acne.
The book also talked a lot about insulin resistance, which is common and which I have, and how it can cause hairiness and acne, too, possibly because it leads to increased fat in certain parts of the body (the abdomen, especially) where estrogen and androgens are stored. The author of the book said it is still unkown what causes pcos, and that one possiblity is that insulin resistance causes it, but they don't really know how these are related.
poster:Noa
thread:53940
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010212/msgs/54242.html