AND HERE WE ARE AGAIN! I CAN’T BELIEVE I AM STILL TALKING ABOUT CYSTIC ACNE, FIVE YEARS ON. FIRSTLY, LET ME JUST SAY A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED AND ENGAGED IN THIS ROLLERCOASTER RIDE. I CAN CONFIDENTLY CONFIRM THE ROLLERCOASTER HAS COME TO AN END. WE ARE HOPEFULLY, JUMPING OFF THIS RIDE ONCE AND FOR ALL.

IF YOU ARE NEW HERE THEn I RECOMMEND CHECKING OUT MY FIRST BLOG - THE USE OF ROACCUTANE. IT IS A DEEP DIVE INTO MY ACNE BREAKOUTS, MY JOURNEY WITH THE USE OF ROACCUTANE AND SOME NASTY SIDE EFFECTS THAT CAME WITH IT.

UNFORTUNATELY, THIS METHOD OF MEDICATION WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL AND I JUST HAD A GUT FEELING THERE WAS MORE TO IT (a pun to come - we don’t know what the pun is yet)

IF YOU FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM LeahJAY_ THEN YOU WOULD HAVE RECENTLY SEEN THAT I HAD EXHAUSTED MOST OF MY RESOURCES. FROM MEDICATION, TO SKINCARE, TO TREATMENTS, TO ANY Type OF DETOX OR CLEANSE’. MY LAST RESORT - TESTING OUT MY GUT HEALTH, HOPING TO FIND A CONNECTION TO WHY AT THE AGE OF 31 I AM STILL BATTLING WITH BREAKOUTS. HONESTLY, I CAN NOT, NOT, BELIEVE HOW MUCH BAD SKIN CONSUMED SO MUCH OF MY EMOTIONAL WELLBEING AND AFFECTED MY CONFIDENCE.

SO FIRSTLY, MY SECOND ROUND OF TESTS WERE ADMINISTERED BY ERIN REID FROM ALPINE NATURAL HEALTH. ERIN IS A QUALIFIED NATUROPATH AND NUTRITIONIST, WITH A BACHELOR OF HEALTH SCIENCE MAJORING IN NATUROPATHY, AND AN ADVANCED DIPLOMA OF NUTRITIONAL MEDICINE. MY PARTNER WORKS WITH ERIN FOR HIS HEALTH ISSUES AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED HER.

ERIN, MY FRIENDS, IS A WIZARD!

before i started my tests with erin, i already had a stool test, SALIVA test and blood test. my original stool test showed that there were indisrepencies in my gut but. however, it wasn’t specific or detailed enough. as for my blood test, i went through a company called kin. which PREDOMINATELY was to check my fertility but i was able to see my hormones as a whole.

now, im not entirely sure the exact meaning of my test results but i will do my best to explain.

below i have attached sections of the results which indicated problems areas, effecting my skin, my energy and my overall motivation.

loosely i can explain that i have a leaky gut. Leaky gut, also known as increased intestinal permeability, is a digestive condition in which bacteria and toxins are able to “leak” through the intestinal wall.

What is a leaky gut?

The human digestive tract is where food is broken down and nutrients are absorbed.
The digestive system also plays an important role in protecting your body from harmful substances. The walls of the intestines act as barriers, controlling what enters the bloodstream to be transported to your organs.
Small gaps in the intestinal wall called tight junctions allow water and nutrients to pass through, while blocking the passage of harmful substances. Intestinal permeability refers to how easily substances pass through the intestinal wall.
When the tight junctions of intestinal walls become loose, the gut becomes more permeable, which may allow bacteria and toxins to pass from the gut into the bloodstream. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as “leaky gut.”

When the gut is “leaky” and bacteria and toxins enter the bloodstream, it can cause widespread inflammation and possibly trigger a reaction from the immune system.

Supposed symptoms of leaky gut syndrome include bloating, food sensitivities, fatigue, digestive issues and skin problems.

As for the remaining GIT FUnctional markers there is inflammation, toxins and others factors which are not operating at there best capacity.

Firmicutes ( don’t worry i have never heard of this before) are a type of bacteria that live in the human gut. high Firmicutes make your body crave sugar so you consume more unhealthy food in order for firmicutes to survive in the gut. However, firmicutes may also generate inflammation, in which has an impact on slowing down your body's metabolism.

Firmicutes t species has been correlated with obesity and Type II diabetes which im not sure how that effects me exactly because i am far from that. however, This means that if you have a large Firmicutes population, more of your food will be converted to energy for the body to use or store as fat. This ultimately means you are consuming more calories than someone that has a higher ratio of Bacteroidetes, even if you are consuming the same exact thing. wild!

Im only going to skim over the highlighted bacteria here.

morganella species originates from the gill and skin of fish. It is possible that it may cross-contaminate during handling of fish in processing plants and restaurants. Diarrhea has been associated with infection of this organism. fun!

high streptococcus species meaning my gut flora is INFLAMED.

citrobacter freundii. is brought on by taking antibiotics, in my case roaccutane, which can mess up your gut. Citrobacter is a bacterium that is a normal part of our gut flora. When given space to grow it can become a problem.

So more on the gut. before we proceed futher, i APOLOGISE if i have very lightly touched on this. i am still not entirely sure of the TERMINOLOGY but i am doing my best. to be fair, who even invented these words, i can barely PRONOUNCE them.

so lactobacillus rhamnosus is a bacteria that lives in your intestines. It belongs to the genus Lactobacillus, a type of bacteria that produce the enzyme lactase. This enzyme breaks down the sugar lactose — which is found in dairy — into lactic acid. as you can see mine is just slightly measuring red on the scale.

CLOSTRIDIUM species is flying of the chart! this may result from reduced digestive capacity or constipation.

overall, my gut health was a bit of a mess. i was not DIGESTIng or ABSORBING nutrients effectively. although it may not seem like may factors are out of whack, the slightest (and combination) very much impact the gut health. so in my case, toxins were not being processed through my gut and moreso just RECYCLING around until they purged through my skin. …. (need so summarise more)

overall, there was Not enough variety in beneficial bacteria - we want as much variety as possible to help reduce systemic inflammation, control harmful bacteria/parasites/viruses, support immune function, optimise nutrient status/absorption, and support the synthesis of our brain chemicals that make us sleep well, stay happy and motivated (just to name a few things)!

adding to my results, i was low in iron and zinc.

treatment plan

my treatment plan runs off a 4 to 6 week course of SUPPLEMENTS and dietary changes. so ill just touch on what i have been taking as a whole and not the exact schedule.

Gut Rx

Orthoplex White Gut Rx is one of my favorite suppliments. it takes gut healing to a new level. this yellow powder Gut Rx repairs the gut lining, protects the integrity of gap junctions, improves epithelial integrity and relieves inflammation. there is a somewhat lemon like taste to it, nothing bad. it also helps me sleep better.

custom gut/ skin/ gut detox

also included is a custom powder full of herbs and ingredients specifically tailored for my particular issues. erin makes thes up and im not entirely sure what is in it but the taste is horrible.

yeah so there are lOTs of SUPPLEMENTS and powders i am taking. in combination with a diet improvement. to be fair, my diet was pretty good as. i ate RELATIVELY healthy, lots of fruit, veg, seafood and chicken. however, i was lacking variety and eating certain foods which were causing more inflammation in my gut.

so for the first month, maybe two, i added Chlorophyll to my water. Chlorophyll is the green pigment in planets which helps plants get their energy from natural sunlight; and eventually produce oxygen and glucose. It reduces inflammation, boosts your detoxification pathways, HAS POWERFUL antioxidant properties and helps to flush toxins from the body. i actually loved the taste and added something INTERESTING to my 2 + litres of water daily.

eating wise, i did that i only really stick to afew vegetables that i like. so i set a goal of having 40 different types of vegetables a week. to my SURPRISE this was actually easy to achieve. usually every monday i would make a chicken and vegetable soup and added in 10-12 different types. so i got a big hit in one meal.

i limited my red wine intake, gluten intake and refined sugar, struggled with this.

in all honesty, im sure a few little spots will popup from time and time. however, the change in my skin QUALITY has DRASTICALLY improved. i HAVEN'T suffered from a giant painful cysts since i have IMPLEMENTed my improved gut strategy. and truthfully, i HAVEN'T felt happier and healthy. besides my skin physically showing that i am healthier, i just feel overall better.

beauty sleep - acne drying lotion

now’s the perfect time to slot in my acne drying lotion. since i no longer have raging CYSTs, but the occasional spot does pop up. i have been working on an acne product for years and years. it was the ORIGINAL motivation to start Unclogd. so this is it! the beauty sleep dries our spots over night, reducing the size, redness and increases healing time. this is beause of the incredible INGREDIENTS. highly recommend having is on standby.

heres not to say that i most likely will slip up. i will eat chocolates, i will drink red wine and i will most definetly eat gluten. but overall, the issues that were causing my cystic acne were reflective of an INFLAMED, leaky gut.

i do believe that taking roaccutane (not once, but twice) did CAUSe a number of harmful factors. my mindset didnt even understand what i was putting in my body. i looked at roaccutane as a ‘quick fix’. when in fact, it was a 6 month course of instensive medication. looking back on the over experience, i wish i had a relatable blog which could have helped me. and after only 3 month of a gut journey, less than. half the time of roaccutane, i have done a compete 180.

so on that note, if you are reading this and you can relate, than i hope you take away something useful.

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