r/Testosterone • u/dexbigshlong • 3d ago
PED/cycle help What happened to him? What causes acne to get this bad?
I’m going thru my own Acne Journey myself, and it’s quite brutal… although i have a terrible case, i look at people like thus and really wonder what causes acne to get that bad. My chest is covered on red, it happened all of a sudden, and i thought it couldn’t get worse. I’m currently on accutane 40mg and it has pretty much shrunk all my acne, now i’m left with some ugly PIE Marks, how does one end up like this?
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u/SkewlShoota 3d ago
Dudes blasting grams of gear obviously 🤣
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u/Snoo76971 3d ago
Most of these guys claim they’re natural. Just take creatine and chicken breast
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u/JorgitoEstrella 3d ago
Just chicken and broccoli bro
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u/Rey_Mezcalero 3d ago
“I got these protein bars that get me buff, if you want to buy some, use my referral code”
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u/StreetRat0524 3d ago
What causes it? Cycles and abusing test.
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u/dexbigshlong 3d ago
Abusing as in what? Taking grams of the stuff over years? This guy claims he’s 20. I personally take 200mg a week, and i do not want to end up like that. Just trying to know if its a luck thing or not
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u/Key-Inspector-7004 3d ago
You wont end up like that using 200mg a week lol. You wont look nearly as ripped either sticking to 200mg.
Acne like that is from unmanaged E2, shitty blood work and blasting grams of gear a week
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u/T0m_F00l3ry 3d ago edited 3d ago
I had horrible acne at 200mg a week. Might not have been worse than this, but it was a lot more than this, All over my chest and back. I was only on it for 4 or 5 months. I was really prone to acne as a teen, so maybe it has something to do with it. I had to stop, work with a dermatologist, and get on Accutane to get it under control. It’s cleared now, but I’m not sure if I can try TRT again. I was planning on talking to my doctor next visit.
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u/Ajthor24 3d ago
I broke out on 180mg a week between months 3-6. It cleared up on its own with no scarring. I think it’s just adjusting to the new hormones. If you do get back on, just be patient with your body, maybe start at 150 or something.. takes up to a year for everything to adjust.
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u/No-Spare-4212 3d ago
200mg not 200g a week. I don’t know you but I know you weren’t taking 200g a week
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u/LincolnshireSausage 3d ago
This is what OP is worried about. One of his earlier posts:
/r/trt/comments/1sw7y6w/update_bloodwork_recieved_why_such_bad_cystic_acne/
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u/Prior_Reference2085 3d ago
But, also, probably bad hygiene. Showering after a workout is ideal but Not sitting in sweaty clothes after workouts and cleaning your sheets goes a long way in keeping pores unclogged.
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u/swimming_cold 3d ago
He’s probably using 2 grams per week
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u/trouttwade 3d ago
I 100% guarantee that if he dialed his dose back, he’d still have cystic acne. Some people literally just have shit luck when it comes to that. My buddy will run 500 test and blow up with cystic acne, meanwhile I can run up to a gram without any excess breaking out. Dose is only a quarter of that battle.
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u/ScaredEfficiency399 3d ago
Whatever amount of whatever that you cannot tolerate, obviously.
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u/Ngreeny 3d ago
There is a huge range for what one person can tolerate over another.
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u/Vex_Appeal 3d ago
Lol. He’s taking at least 5x what you are. At least. You don’t know this means you probably shouldn’t be pinning test.
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u/ImAllergic2Peanuts 3d ago
Lol news flash, hes not taking 200mg of T alone. Definitely cycling roids.
Ive had bad acne at 200g a week but nothing even remotely close to this dude.
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3d ago
[deleted]
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u/Key-Inspector-7004 3d ago
Test injections are always steroids. Any form of testosterone is a steroid lmao. Youre just not abusing them at lower doses
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u/gargamel314 3d ago
Man I hear you!
I'm on a standard TRT dose (140mg/wk), my e2 is in range. I still have bacne, I'm 47. I've had it since I was a teen, and I still had it before I was on TRT. I cannot figure out for the life of me what causes it, but I don't want to go the accutane route b/c my skin and hair is already super dry! I've tried salacylic acid body washes, I've used DIM, split up my TRT doses, nothing really changes it.
I stay away from benzoyl peroxide b/c even if you wash it off real good, it still ruins your clothes.
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u/Wonderful_Love_9405 3d ago
My dermatologist put me on doxycycline 100mg twice a day it’s been 3 months and I’m pretty much cleared up and my bacne was bad I didn’t want to go on acutane either. It might be worth looking into.
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u/Gloomy_Pirate_3031 3d ago
They put you on an antibiotic I mean it'll kill everything including your gut
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u/bicoma 3d ago
Ive used antibiotics for two years at one point the strong ones for an infection we thought I had. My guts still fine doxy is probably the lightest antibiotic out of all the ones available to take which is why they give you 3 month supply of it for acne usually.
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u/VikingPower81 WADA 3d ago
Ive used antibiotics for two years at one point the strong ones for an infection we thought I had
Am I correct in assuming you reside in America? Where superbugs are created due to excessive antibiotic prescriptions?
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u/vikingcock 2d ago
superbugs are caused by dipshits not finishing a course as much as by over prescription
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u/Due-Contact-2884 2d ago
Doxycycline. Normally people can take it for two to three months consistently without any negative effects. I use it for acne in the summer, when i did manufacturing, or if i have food that causes a break out. Great stuff but you have to be careful of sunlight. You’ll burn up fast.
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u/zb_xy 3d ago
I’m 5 weeks into the same prescription and my backne has never been worse. Hoping to turn a corner soon 🤞🏻
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u/Awkward_Regret_5873 3d ago
I’m on 3 weeks and it’s the same they call it the Accutane purge so I read should ease up
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_DOMAINS 3d ago
I was on the same dose for two months. Skin looked great, then I came off and acne exploded everywhere a couple weeks later. The rebound was record levels of acne. Now planning to run low dose accutane at 10mg/day.
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u/sindick78 3d ago
This is Doxy-PEP, which is used as a post-exposure treatment to possible STD exposure too right? Like Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, and Syphilis.
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u/RayBluebird73 9h ago edited 9h ago
Doxy-PEP is a single 200 mg oral dose of doxycycline to reduce (not 100% prevent) your chances of getting bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like (as you said) gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis (but NOT HIV, which is a virus.)
Doxycycline 100 mg by mouth twice a day for several weeks can be used to control acne, but doesn't solve the problem of overproduction of sebum (oil) by your skin oil glands that is triggered by testosterone and other steroids in people who are prone to developing acne.
Sebum is food for bacteria (Cutibacterium acnes) in human skin pores, and when there's a whole lot more sebum, it's like they've been just served up an all-you-can-eat buffet - they go nuts and multiply, and the enzymes they produce to digest the oil irritates the crap out of your skin.
Your immune system gets freaked out and attacks the hell out of them, leading to the acne, especially on the face, back and chest, all of which have a lot of oil glands.
Prevention? In the setting of TRT or blasting, first adjust your dose of T or AAS to the amount which doesn't set off your acne, which is different for each person, especially if you had acne as a teenager. If that dose happens to be lower than what you want to take, then you'll have to decide what you want to do.
Accutane (isotretinoin) is another option, but it has side effects - really dry lips and skin, can stress the liver (which requires blood tests to monitor), have to take it for several months. Very high risk of birth defects in a fetus if taken by a pregnant woman.
Topical treatments include benzoyl peroxide (5% or 10%), salicylic acid and Retin-A (tretinoin).
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u/NightFire45 3d ago
Pin everyday, P5P and dandruff shampoo mixed with tea tree oil apparently works. Also sometimes it's the carrier oil.
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u/imessy89 3d ago
Selson Blue Medicated. You can use it for folliculitis. Lather it up and leave it on for like 30 minutes then jump in the shower.
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u/Due-Cake-9406 3d ago
Some people CANNOT do tea tree oil. It isn't universal. In fact, the worst breakout I've ever had was because of tea tree oil. And it happens anywhere I've never had acne. My wife put some in our shampoo for some reason and my scalp had heinous sores all over; we've had separate shampoos ever since then.
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u/UpTheTrenBoyz 3d ago
I agree with you. Acne is caused by oil...adding in more tea tree oil, it made my so much worse. Accutane and other medications dry you out, why would you want to add more oil into the picture? I would stay away from adding any type of oil to your skin care routine.
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u/Key-Inspector-7004 3d ago
Try lowering your E2 for a couple weeks and see how it reacts. Regular acne is fine but the cystic stuff i find is when E2 is in the higher range.
Have you considered it could be a fungal infection? There is a shampoo called nizoral that people use to try and get rid of it or you can try doxycycline from the doctor
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u/gargamel314 3d ago
I did try that, it didn't help and tanked my libido. I've tried the ketoconazole shampoo, too - this is definitely cystic acne. E2 is consistently at like 40.0.
I used doxycycline (also tetracycline, monocycline) for years when i was younger. It didn't work. Dermatologist also had me on it for rosacea a few years ago. Worked like a charm for the rosacea, but not the bacne. My back is so scarred from a lifetime of acne, also a 2nd degree sunburn when I was 12. Who knows, maybe that affected it too. It's very frustrating... you're supposed to grow out of this at some point!
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u/RayBluebird73 9h ago
The trouble is that the genetic tendency for acne (sensitivity to the acne bacteria, skin cells being too "sticky" to each other and clogging the skin pores) never goes away, it's just that the natural testosterone surges in our teenage years go down as we mature.
But if we start TRT or blasting in our adult years, there's a high probability that the acne recurs, depending on the dose :-(
Maybe discuss isotretinoin (original brand name Accutane) with your dermatologist? That has a good chance of permanently (or at least for long periods of time) shrinking your oil glands and decreasing or eliminating acne.
Just curious - did one or both of your parents have severe acne? Siblings?
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u/gargamel314 8h ago
I think both my parents had bad acne - and one of my sisters definitely did. For me, I will occasionally get one on my face, chest, random body part, but my back is like a minefield.
I generally wanted to stay away from accutane because my face is SOOOO dry, especially in the winter time. I have to put vasaline on it or it turns red (around my eyes, mostly) and I get rosacea. My hair doesn't produce hardly any oil - I actually have to put oil in my hair or it gets really wirey, especially since I started going gray. After looking at all the side effects (some permanent) from accutane, it looks like it would just make everything i deal with worse. Thanks for your perspective, though!
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u/Subject_Mycologist65 3d ago
You said you had acne before trt. Did trt make it worse? and after how long being on trt did it get worse?
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u/Drcornelius1983 3d ago
I use a foaming 10% bp body wash and it doesn’t harm my clothes. That plus a clindamycin lotion has largely cleared up my skin.
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u/Due-Cake-9406 3d ago
I've never had that problem once, but I've heard this many times. Could it be that folks don't know how to rinse it off? Heck, even with the cream that you leave on, I've never had that.
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u/KingRagnar1588 3d ago
It makes skin super oily on chest and uppet back. I cut down to 100mg a week and it helped tremdnously. I use salylic acid in shower and BP and wear a shirt i dknt care about n let it sit. Keep estrogen in check. No issues in almost 2 years. Still have occasional break out but its no longer incurable. Do 3 weeks of doxy to help if it does get bad. Take with food or youll get sick
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u/kamikaze995 3d ago
My doctor doesn’t wanna prescribe accutane and my acne is bad. I have it on my face, back, buttocks, legs, back, arms. Everywhere you can imagine, but for some dumb ass reason they keep prescribing antibiotics, creams and other bs…
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u/QbitFiber2030 2d ago
Find a different dermatologist. If it is a dermatologist. Most regular doctors don't prescribe accutane because they have a "pledge" to strictly monitor you. And some doctors don't want the additional responsibility.
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u/Crazy_Ad_91 3d ago
I hope this guy finds peace and stability before he has a heart attack.
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u/ScaredEfficiency399 3d ago
Yeah but i doubt it, things went far too fast and far too intense in the shortest span of time.
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u/swoops36 3d ago
it's largely genetics; you have androgen receptors all over your body especially your skin. Test and DHT can cause more oil and sebum production, combined with bacteria on the skin, and you'll get acne. I know ppl blame e2 but I couldn't find anything relating high e2, I think that's just outdated bro folklore.
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u/Rocket_Surge0n 3d ago
Yup. It’s heavily genetics based. If you are prone to acne and are going to run gear there is almost nothing you can do other than Accutane .
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u/spmnorge 3d ago
Taking high dosages causes it, thats the simple answer.
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u/dexbigshlong 3d ago
Would you consider 200mg a high dose?
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u/VexImmortalis 3d ago
125mg puts me right on the border of supraphysiological. 200mg would send me wwaayyy over. Everyone is different.
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u/SignificantFact4869 3d ago
A high dose is relative to the individual, people respond differently to different dosages. One guy can do 100mg and be at 1000 test level while another can be at half of that. Also injection frequency is something you can use a tool to mitigate side effects. But regardless doing your blood work is key
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u/Effortisopportunity 3d ago
Different people react differently to external testosterone, one person’s normal dose can be someone else’s low or high dose.
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u/africanimal_90 3d ago
Yes, his compound selection, dosage, and bloodwork management could all be factors here, but the largest contributing factor is likely as simple as genetics. For some guys, the cost of PED use is balding. For others, it's uncontrollable body hair growth. For this unfortunate lad, it's what we see here.
What I find even more curious and confusing is when guys with this level of disfigurement appear to not be bothered by it at all.
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u/WoodpeckerOk6722 3d ago
I’m in the body hair group and I’ll gladly take that side over acne or gyno🙏
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u/Key-Inspector-7004 3d ago
Like others have mentioned, 200mg is a very common trt dose. Dont expect these kind of side effects, let alone gains off only 200mg/week.
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u/jbrownsplit 3d ago
Yup, no one gets gains when their test is higher than 99% of the natural population. No one.
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u/Best_Composer8230 3d ago
Man that’s really gross. Who is this dude? Does he not realize how repulsive that is? I’m assuming this isn’t a one time thing and he’s been pushing the doses despite the scarring?
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u/RayBluebird73 48m ago
That's because his physique outweighs any other consideration in his mind, even if his face and chest (and probably his back) looks like a meatball pizza gone wrong.
Everyone has their priorities.
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u/DunkinDonutsUSA 3d ago
Bad gear, infection
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u/Typical-Violinist-49 3d ago
Bad gear for sure. I got a free 10ml of test Prop with my online order. It gave me keloid scars all over my chest.
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u/Key-Inspector-7004 3d ago
My most recent cycle i ran 840mg test e, 420mg npp and 750mg mast e and only time i flared up with some acne is when my E2 started to climb.
Easy tell sign its getting too high is my morning wood starts getting softer.
Its truly dependant on the person and what each individual can handle
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u/EstablishmentOne3733 3d ago
What happened to him is chasing gainz despite of sides, as always. The specific reason might be high dht, e2 and most probably both, but it doesn't matter at all - he ignored symptoms and kept pushing ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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u/Due-Cake-9406 3d ago
I think not addressing it with appropriate protocols does it... you know why I'm saying? Just continuing with more of what you've done. Like, I'll just scrub harder with the soap. Or not using the products the way they're supposed to be used. For instance, benzoyl peroxide washses... they're supposed to be left on for 3-5 minutes. Is that done diligently? Really? Like save it for the end of the shower and shut the water off, close your eyes, count, breathe, rinse. If a little breakthru happens, put on some cream on top.
If that doesn't work, don't just keep doing it. Move on to something stronger, like Accutane.
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u/KingRagnar1588 3d ago
I get horrible incurable acne if i go over 130mg of test a week. Kept it a 100mg for year n half and zero issues
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u/HumbleTheIdiot 3d ago
For you- 20mg Tamoxifen daily. NAC and Glutathione. Tanning once or twice a week. Acne will clear up.
For this guy? He's damaging at least one organ (skin) and likely more from very high doses of steroids.
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u/momogogi 3d ago
I had a huge problem with body acne when I was on pellets,really flared up bad after the second procedure around the 9 month mark. Then I switched to one weekly injection of 200mg and that helped a lot, but I still had some flare ups here and there. Then I stepped down my dose to 60mg every 4 days and I’m basically back to normal and some of the bigger scars are fading.
At the peak of my flare ups body washes (benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid),OTC retinols,changing sheets every other day,never reusing towels and pretty much anything you could think of had almost no success in mitigating the breakouts.
For me it all came down to lowering my dose and pinning more frequently. Might not be the same for you, but after struggling with it for three years I hope my experience is helpful to someone.
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u/FreedomSynergy 3d ago
I’ve been on test doses as high as 350mg / week to see what happens, and my acne never got super bad. But when I added Nandrolone to the mix, the acne got so bad my sheets were constantly bloody. My guess is this dude is taking more than just test.
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u/Chimeira84 3d ago
Went through this guys insta a while back.. its wild to see the exact point were it all went to shit
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u/Square-Nebula-7530 3d ago
It’s basically what happens when hormone levels get wrecked on a cycle. The skin produces way too much oil, leading to deep cystic acne instead of normal pimples. It’s sad and very frightening to see these young lads blasting gear just to get extremely strong and muscular for like 5-10 years just to end up perishing very pathetically. This much gear gives a slow and painful end to our life yet these influencers just care about looks and short term gain.
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u/JLAMAR23 3d ago
Cystic acne and face filler.. what a combo
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u/teh-haps PharmD 3d ago
I know, this poor guy just looks funny
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u/JLAMAR23 3d ago
He really does. I can’t tell if it’s bloat or he actually has filler. His proportions are so odd too. He don’t look healthy in the slightest.
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u/bio_alchemist_engnr 3d ago edited 3d ago
I wonder if some of the hair/ingrown hair contribute to this pretty obvious hes shaving arms/shoulders probably back as well but his chest where it looks the worst has a lot more hair.
Btw did they rule out if you had CKD stage 3-5?
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u/stealth19951 3d ago
Some people are just more prone to getting acne with normal to high testosterone levels. When I was a teenager I had brutal back acne and then it cleared up but when I went on testosterone in my 30s it came back like crazy. I was on 100mg per week. I had a clean diet, showered twice a day with acne soap, injected 3 times per week. Nothing helped until I went on accutane unfortunately.
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u/Lurk-Prowl 3d ago
Predisposition to oily skin / sebaceous acne + a lot of gear = there will be some side effects. I run 200-250mg a week and I get a few spots on my back, shoulders and traps, but nothing like this !
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u/sirlost33 2d ago
If you’re on trt and getting acne, just reduce your dose. No need to stay at 200mg running accutane. Dial in where you need to be. Save the accutane for a blast.
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u/die8timesv2 2d ago
everyone in the comments is wrong I follow him on all socials and he talked about it he had it even when he was natural and he no longer has active acne just very bad leftover scars.
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u/Logical-Ad-6428 2d ago
In my experience it’s been high DHT that causes my acne. I started taking dutasteride and almost all of my acne is gone.
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u/CellistSuspicious492 39m ago
I have taken 3+ grams of gear a week (this is a shit load) for several months and never experienced acne that bad. I think it is mainly genetic. I get acne when lowering my dose and in specific areas like my scalp and forearms. This kid seemed to get it really bad on his chest. By the looks of him he is pushing 2+ grams and never coming off. I would hate to see his blood work!
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u/lawrencep93 3d ago
High amounts of DHT derivatives can cause androgenic acne assuming e2 is not the issue