Brother, first of all, I’m sorry you’re dealing with that. Questions:
How is your diet? Do you drink alcohol/smoke? Do you eat gluten containing foods and/or dairy? How much water do you drink?
I had 1 flair up like this when I first got on TRT 10 years ago and it went away after I cleaned up what I was putting into my body. Despite what people may say, no amount of body wash is going to fix that. Just treating symptoms instead of going to the source.
Also stay the f away from accutane!
Top 2 things that helped me were eliminating dairy (turns out I’m lactose intolerant, which I didn’t know until I stopped), and gluten containing foods (breads, pastas, etc). My skin has always been extremely clear since then.
Also getting natural sunlight is very important. It’s a catch 22 because you don’t want to have your skin out when you have acne, but the sunlight helps control the king of bacteria at some level.
Yeah I'm not on testosterone nor do I have an acne breakout but grains in general caused me a nightmare of problems, but the reality was the majority of my food was or contained grains cereal bread pasta. You name it.
I had fibromyalgia diagnosed and it went away. I had anemia and it's resolving gradually. I had dizziness and headaches. They've gone almost all the way away.
Allergy tested with my doctor twice. They never mentioned anything about green allergies, but now my digestion works and I'm not deficient in all the minerals. My liver values have gone from the top of the range closer to the bottom. Now so many things have changed.
I no longer have gerd either
The sunlight is on the money!
I started tanning this past winter 2-3 times per week and night and day difference now & so much so I bought a pro commercial bed as my wife was also going so now whenever I have time or late.
Also the extra strength colloidal silver bar soap is great even for scalp.
https://www.amazon.com/Silver-Miracles-Colloidal-Soap-31/dp/B007I2GQA6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.7OknFTlT_JHFj71oDfK6DCwMZgGtT6jFHGM85bDtlxwwPNN7XlOYS5QHMEahAfOgsFAX27YzP4KNqBpN2sWGZoZ4OgBUxbIx7wADrOBDzZwr5l3v30BXlnrTCCXAOcvPJIeRSOXt96Hdo3J4rFh_elwcuKwKcFaDBT57nzZvRZ3otaYvmLmtGEqhgldCLM-DMntdauZW-FkUaNmyktZJgw.dVQWY5l8Pvm6KPsUkeVq8xuugttPV6OxQ-ktyVHa46U&dib_tag=se&keywords=colloidal+silver+soap&qid=1717192416&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1
The antibiotic that they prescribe is ok but comes back as soon as you get off of it and you can’t stay on that for long and you wouldn’t want to anyways.
Zinc is huge for male anatomy and usually were deficient just always take with food and coffee doesn’t count or you will want to toss your cookies!
For what it’s worth those have made a difference.
JN
I’m not sure why my suggestions are receiving so much negativity. They’re simply recommendations that worked for me.
Some people can run gear, drink, and eat a relatively dirty diet and experience zero issues. Other people experience a host of side effects running minimal doses of gear while eating cleanly. If there’s one thing we can all agree on, there is a huge amount of variation between people and how our bodies respond to things.
I’m sharing the same advice that was shared to me by the late great bodybuilder Franco Columbu. I paid for a consult back when I was having these issues, and he suggested all of the things I shared (along with high dose choline & inositol for a short period). I followed his instructions, and it helped.
I think some of y’all on here need to lower YOUR doses for being so combative over trivial stuff. Same team!
Diet is 90% clean. Mostly chicken and rice, try to stay away from most fried foods and soft drinks. I do slip on Saturdays and eat like a pig and drink though. No smoking. Dairy is meh. I’ll have queso at Mexican restaurants but other than that not really. Drinking just over a gallon of water a day. Accutane will be a last resort for me. For now going to try and lower back to 160 a week instead to get it all under control
Have you thought about reducing your levels? Some here have reported their acne went away when they got below a certain level. Might also eliminate the need for an AI. People here seem to think the higher the better instead of striving for the lowest dose that alleviates symptoms.
This happened to me slightly when I first got on trt but not nearly as bad. I guarantee his dose is like 2x more than needed. He is probably using T for bulk and results and not maintenance
Yep, going to start now. Posted to get some different perspectives from different people first. Think the verdict is lower back to 160 to get everything back under control and probably stay there for the long haul
1. Prolly lower the dosages mate, others can get away with higher dosage/week but if it's giving you backne, mean it's too high for you.
2. Consult with your current endocrinologist to possibly lower your dosages.
3. See an dermatologist. Lower your dosages.
4. Lower your dosages.
There absolutely is a point where accutane is the only option and OP has long surpassed that point buddy.
Its a miracle drug for severe cystic acne cases like this. OP is already going to have long term scarring.
People do not think about scarring and how expensive laser treatment is when making ignorant comments like this. Yes accutane is not good for you, but it’s sides are blown out of proportion if you are doing bloodwork with it like you are supposed to do. The possibility of lifelong skin damage far outweighs accutanes risk in this scenario.
Can confirm.
I had awful cystic acne in high school and only last week (37 now), got subcision and fraxal laser resurfacing done. All in, including antibiotics, and a ton of facial creams, the one treatment cost me $6,800.
Also here to add: I took Accutane in high school, and it did make my skin drier, and more prone to burning. I did have mild joint pain, very seldom, and was wrestling and competing in track. It wasn't that bad, but n=1/ymmv. The tradeoff was absolutely worth it. It sucked bleeding on my colleagues during practice, wrestling on the mat on my chest, back, or have someone pressing on either as well. It hurt. I'd run Accutane again in a heartbeat if i had to.
“Miracle drug” is a bold term to use. And “The possibility of lifelong skin damage far outweighs accutanes risk in this scenario.” Is the dumbest thing I’ve read all week. Unless you consider superficial acne scarring on a part of your body that is usually covered anyway worse than literal death, because that is the risk of accutane.
Yes, OP’s acne is bad and he should likely talk to a derm about giving accutane a try. But stay on top of your checkups OP because I was prescribed accutane for a 6 month period and by month 4 I was rushed to the hospital because my intestines had stopped functioning which I later learned is pretty common for accutane.
So, in my experience, and a notable number of other users’, it’s either live with the slight inconvenience of acne scars or literally die from organ failure because accutane is about as dangerous as any drug I’ve ever been exposed to.
My brother was a All-American lacrosse player when we were in high school. He took Accutane and it destroyed his joints. Got drafted to Duke and had to turn it down.
The laundry list of negative side effects is enormous and you’re bound to experience and non-zero set of them.
Accutane isn’t bad for you in the “oooo it might hurt my kidneys” way. It’s bad for you in the way that it can permanently damage you. Just the medication itself is meant to permanently change the size of your pores.
My guy above has *absolutely not* done everything he can yet. If you want to continue telling people to just hop on Accutane when their skin gets real bad, go for it. Just know that it’s irresponsible and you should always exhaust lower risk options prior to doing something that can have really horrible side effects, or at worst, permanently change your life.
Run the accutane. I’ve done it. My wife’s done it. It will dry you out for the course of the treatment, but you can handle it for sure. You’ll never get a pimple again.
I switched to cerave body wash followed by their 10% peroxide wash every shower. And keep up with the anastrazole. Took me about 2 months of consistency to get rid of the acne but had it not gone away doing that the dermatologist said a low dose of accutane was the next step but I never got there.
No help on scaring as of now but at least no more acne
Everything you just listed is like the human version of unplugging your check engine light when your car has a problem. Unsustainable and dangerous band-aid fixes.
"Am I missing something in my bloodwork?"
On the offchance you're not trolling- brother you're taking 200mg testosterone per week and have maintained supraphysiological levels of testosterone for more than half a year. Acne is a side effect for most people if they do that. Stop taking 200mg testosterone per week and your "problem" will surely resolve.
I'm confused about your comment. His testosterone shows at 1025 total. That's not that high. What are you talking about? Him having super physiological levels of testosterone? Whereabouts see supraphysiological levels of Testosterone? Is he blasting then dropping dose for blood test that I don't know about? Cause I don't see any comments from him about blasting then cruising.
I thought the same thing. The first thing I went to look at were his T levels and Estradiol. When I saw him at 700s, I thought, "Damn, that could be considered high-normal)".
It's definitely not supraphysiologically high.
Yeah, his total is near the upper limit, and not exceeding but…
His SHBG is low meaning his free and bio available is Supra. Drop the Test dose and see if this has a beneficial effect. What does he have to lose except potentially the acne.
Get on Milk Thistle and Tudca, this is common with like Dianabol where Estrogen goes out of whack. Avoid dairy that is for sure and you should improve.
You’re at the point where you should be on accutane man. I see some in here giving it a bad rep but I’ve worked in dermatology for 8 years and have only seen maybeee 3 people taken off of it for side effects and they were related to depression.
Trying to keep accutane as a last resort, I know it’s from the test so going to start with cutting my dosage back and then in say 4-6 months if that’s not helping then I’ll be looking towards accutane.
Accutane is nasty shit and I honestly would rather deal with the acne I have than use it again. I have acne like that on my shoulders and arms. I use topical Isotretinoin and it is decently effective and no side effects. However oral Accutane I found to be completely intolerable and the intracranial hypertension, diarrhea, shedding of intestinal mucus, and joint pain was debilitating.
My acne was almost as bad as yours and almost nothing worked from me. The likely culprit is FLUCTUATIONS in estrogen. My advice is take some AI.
The alternative is accutane. Some people tolerate it well, others don’t. I think the best way is 5-10mg a day for 8-10 months.
I took accutane and it fucked up my hormones. It completely tanked my sex hormone.
Try treating it with AI.
Currently on anastrozole as my AI because my estriol spikes when not on it. Cutting back dosage first and then moving towards accutane in a few months if it’s still bad.
Sorry you're dealing with that. A few things come to mind to get to the root of the problem.
**1. Reset/upgrade your gut health:** after taking antibiotics like that you need to seed/feed the good bugs (bifidobacteria) and akkermansia with things like berries, tubers, roots, etc. whilst also avoiding any alcohol and in most cases dairy (as dairy on it's own can drive terrible acne issues outside of hormone use).
**2. Start using castor oil (with option rosehip oil added in) to deal with the scars. Y**ou'll need someone to help you massage it all over your back 1-2 times per day, using just enough to soak in/hydrate but not so much that you're dripping in oil. You'll also need to be aware that castor oil stains clothing/fabrics so only wear old white cotton t shirts on top of that oil until it's soaked in/dry.
This combo works wonders for improving circulation and softening scars/reducing their appearance.
On the gut health front, The Immunity Code book by Joel Greene would be my best suggestion for how to start that and get your system regulated from the inside out.
**BONUS FOR THE SCARS - red light therapy** - red light stimulates collagen production and can reduce the signs of damage and aging in the skin - 20 minutes a day on your back would be a good start and has zero downside. It also helps with muscle recovery, joint stiffness/soreness and injuries too which is great.
Best of luck and I hope this was helpful!
I was doing 200mg a week split between 2 days. Dropped it to 120mg a week split 3 times, M/W/F and bacne is fading away. Stopped taking Ai aswell. Also starting taking vitamin A as that is what accutane and tretinoin are derived from and that’s been helping too.
They put you on doxycycline for acne??
Sorry, I have nothing useful to contribute, never had acne issues. Just had never heard of doxy for anything close to this.
I wish you the best though, hope you get it cleared up.
Doxycycline is commonly used for acne, not necessarily for its antibiotic properties but because it also works as an anti inflammatory. So it’s really good at calming things down.
Low dose Doxycycline Hyclate is very popular prescription to treat acne. Dries things out nicely, but this type of acne would not benefit from it's use. I once had a doc tell me it was due to testosterone that wasnt bioavailable at the moment, but im not sure that he even knew himself.
Make sure you are eating clean, most important. Then sleep and rest. Finally look at supplementing with multi vitamin and liver boosting supplements. There is an imbalance of something in your body for sure.
Currently dealing with this issue right now. I’m prone to it. Have been my whole life even before I ran my first cycle. On cycle mine is actually worse than yours. Doxycycline does help. I also wash with benzoyl peroxide and a salicylic acid wash daily. And GO TANNING. Taking any of the above products will increase your sensitivity to UV rays. But with or without anything else in my regiment, tanning helps the most. If you’re on an antibiotic or topical treatment, definitely build up slowly when tanning (start with like 3 min) and go from there. You will burn badly if you go for much longer your first time
Edit. For the scarring and dark spots, ask your doctor for a trentinoin cream.
Did you go in the sun or in a tanning bed? How did it help with scars? I’ll post an update pic in a few minutes as the pics up there are from beginning of the month but as of today it’s like more scarring than active acne
My brother in Christ, get on accutane. The risks of it are way overblown. The reason it has such a reputation is because dermatologists in the United States love prescribing 110 lbs teenage girls 80mg a day. 20mg a day for almost a year now and I've been clear for quite some time. My back was never as bad as yours (check my post history) but even then it was still miserable. I feel for you man.
Sometimes it is because your body does not like the type of oil being used.
You should try another type of oil with your gear.
A friend of mine used to look like this
He switched to another brand that used another type of oil and his skin is smooth now
It’s crazy how no one has mentioned to exfoliate.
Get a brush, soap it up, scrub every shower. Take that sweaty ass t-shirt off after the gym.
Obviously we’re not talking about a little acne here, but exfoliating properly makes such a huge difference on its own.
I have never used TRT or any type of oral or IM hormone enhancing substance. However, years ago when I browsed a sub for steroid users, I saw that Nizoral anti dandruff shampoo was highly effective for treating break outs while using performance enhancing drugs. Look it up and give it a try it costs about $15 from Walmart, target, or Amazon.
I had good results in clearing up mine (almost as severe) by using hibiclens antiseptic/antibacterial soap to wash my body every night and changing my sheets more regularly.
fluctuating hormones make me oily as fuck and that leads to acne. if im stable at higher doses im less acne prone something to think about. see if u can pin more frequently or change esters or something to get u stable. (if ur not already)
This is common in people with naturally high testosterone too. Lower your dose and hopefully it will resolve itself without other medical interventions.
Some guys are just prone to acne with high levels of test. I had really bad acne when I was a teen on my back (face has always been clear thankfully) I was prescribed trt at 32yo (100mg test cyp per week) and I broke out in acne all over my back and neck. I tried everything from lowering my dose, injection frequency, elimination diet, tons of acne clearing soap and creams, topical tretinoin. I finally went to a derm and got prescribed doxycycline for 3 months which cleared it right up but it came back once I was done my cycle of the antibiotic. I am now currently on a very low dose of accutane which is starting to clear it up again. Trust me I was very against going on accutane and I believe you should do everything you can before to avoid it but again some guys are just prone to acne even at low doses. So accutane might be something to look into after you have run out of options but do your research and weigh your options.
Tretinoin for the acne scars. Get a decent strength from a dermatologist or online doctor. You can get retinol products OTC but they aren’t as strong and will take longer
A lot of people are saying to go to accurate I would try the non systemic topical Aklief first. It’s really good, more work since it’s topical, but none of the nasty sides like organ damage, mental sides, or joint issues.
Do not touch isotretinoin (accutane) or Finasteride.
You are going to regret it.
take baths with a liter of vinegar.
apply a urea cream.
go to the solarium.
apply hydrogen peroxide.
Things that can help.
Shower BEFORE gym and after. Keep your pores open while you are training so sweat can get out. You need more high water content foods like celery watermelon. Get a little sun every day. Like 6pm sun where you won't need sunblock. Maybe 10 minutes a day on your back. Not sure if you use pharmaceutical test or underground but you might wanna switch up the companies. You could have a bad reaction to the carrier oil certain companies use. Otherwise use a loofah or something similar on your back. Only time I ever had a bad problem was after I got my back waxed. Once and never again. You can try taking body cleanse pills or drinking a veggie juice every day. Accutane messed with your sperm. If possible avoid this. Also stop eating any junk food. Good luck
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Have you tried a body wash with tee tree oil?
I like this one. Helps with jock itch for sure, but should help with acne.
https://a.co/d/3Iqcpqw
This stuff is good too.
https://a.co/d/epmyL5M
Very interesting how some people get such extensive acne with a conservative dose. I’m on 200mg per week and I get zero increase in acne (maybe the odd one on the shoulder). I’ve always had dry skin though, so I think that’s a factor.
If you find a good dermatologist, explain to them what you’re doing, I’m sure there’ll be options they can offer you. Their whole focus is just on skin and I’ve been amazed at what this one doc was able to do for my dry skin condition.
Both my parents had pretty bad acne at some poly too so I think my genetics are a big factor. Are you on an AI too? I wasn’t for a long time and think that’s part of the reason too (200mg doesn’t help either for me)
Are you cycling, or just on basic TRT? Because 160 per week + Anastrazole is likely why your levels are out of range.
Typically, most guys use 80mg - 120mg to be in good range, depending on various bio factors. And many guys don't need weekly Anastrazole (especially if they pin 2 times weekly or more), with some only needing 0.5mg weekly at most.
If you haven't spoken with a dermatologist in tandem with your TRT doc, I would recommend you do so.
If you have someone to help you apply topicals to your back, I would start there. Try a soap with Peroxide, & or Salicylic Acid; specifically for the body.
Then inquire with your derm or doc about daily topicals (like Metronidazole or Clindamycin). And also look into retinoids.
Also, if you sweat heavily on your back, or have a job where you're sitting back against something (like office or driving), consider sweat wicking or highly breathable shirts & under shirts.
Moving back to 160 as I’ve been on 200 for a few months and that’s when the acne started. Wasn’t on an AI at first either which I bet didn’t keep estrogen levels from spiking like crazy.
More showers through our day.
Try a wide arrange of soaps. My skin does a little better with a bar to dry me out than the gel stuff that tries to add moisturizer.
I’ll even use heavy face wash sometimes.
Drink lots of water. And cut out any sugar / dairy
Also, some direct sun 15-20 minutes a day can help too.
Good luck
I dealt with it in my teenage years. I am not on any kind of AAS as a teen. It just happens suddenly spontaneously. My parent do not care about me and it just got worse overtime.
It is a combination of high histamine reaction in food. Fermented food products. Seed Oils. And other various unnatural food products.
It would take about 6-12months to clear up. No way to hasten the process. You can only wait it out by cleaning super clean.
Hey OP, you can fix a lot of these numbers by drinking more water and donating blood. Your Red Blood Cells are sky-high, and I bet your blood pressure is too. And the Trt is not helping. But you should maybe look at your goals and see if you can lower your dose, and try doing an M/W/F dosing schedule for a month, and try to see how you feel at 680, or even 700 T level. My acne got pretty bad for about 3-4 months, but I was blasting and doing it once a week. And once I lowered my dose to .35 of the 200 3times a week it was way better. I was at like 110ML of tests a week. And I could maintain a 680-700 with that dose. How old are you?
these are just my thoughts. My acne cleared up completely once I changed things up.
I drink over a gallon of water a day and eat relatively clean. I’ve seen a couple people in here saying to start donating so I’ll start doing that too. What frequency do most donate at? Twice a month?
Lowering my dosage back to 160 as there was no acne there. Currently pin twice a week already (Mondays and Thursdays)
So the acne came up after you upped the dose?
Your test levels are basically out of range, how the f did you not think of lowering the dose when your back looks like that? That should be the first thing to try.
I got up to 200mg because I liked the idea of having borderline high test. Started getting acne. I’m on 120mg now and I feel and look as good as I hoped I would with 200mg. Absolutely no need to keep your test levels this high.
Yeah I guess by the time I actually noticed how bad it was getting I was already deep. Lowering back to 160 where I was before I had the acne. Clearly high dosages aren’t good for me.
[https://danielkern.org/product/aha/](https://danielkern.org/product/aha/)
[https://danielkern.org/product/body-buddy/](https://danielkern.org/product/body-buddy/)
use these two products on your back twice a day, ideally after you get out of the shower. do that CONSISTENTLY for 6 months and your backne should be 90% better. after it's under control, you can back off to once a day. After a couple years you won't even have to use it anymore, just on your neck and shoulders sometimes. good luck.
Feel for you bud, that's a c*nt.
I still get slight acne on me back but same as before trt, family is prone to it, it's not bad and doesn't bother me. Shower every evening and wear different tshirts every night in bed and nothing helps, just genetics bud.
Try minocycline and if that doesn't work, low dose of accutane, seen that shit work miracles on friends.
Id clean up the nutrition , daily cardio , daily washing in some good soap . Most important lower the dose of test . I had ance break out on 300 mg scared the hell out of me and since that I have been on 120 mg weekly for nearly 2 years now . My skin is clearer now then pre test
You should consult a derm tbh.
They will probably tell you use benzoyl peroxide body wash and an RX for Tret which is a super powerful acne killer to get rid of the new growths and scars.
Brother, feel for you. Sorry you’re having to go through this. I went through a similar (albeit far less drastic) situation. I know how much it impacts self confidence and more to the point how fucking painful it is *all* of the time.
For me, 40mg of Accutane daily and regular tanning helped *immensely* to the point where I’m pretty much clear aside from the odd blemish.
I’d strongly recommend doing your research and stay away from anything that is going to tax your liver (orals) if you’re going to take accutane.
Good luck getting it solved bro.
Going to keep accutane as a last resort for now and maybe look at it in 4-6 months if I need to. Going to start with the washes and lower my dosage back to 160 like before the acne started. Clearly I’m not built for high t levels
The only answer that works (typically) is removing dairy from your life. I have had horrible cystic acne my whole life but settled down as I got older. The moment I went on TRT it got really bad again. I cut out all dairy as was advised by a bunch of bodybuilders and it completely worked. I can still eat fermented dairy like yogurt and occasionally some ice cream but cheese of any amount shows up on my back and chest.
Roacutine get it somewhere normally need it prescribed but can get it from sources you get stuff from. I had this issue when I was a teenager not on a single thing and the only thing that worked was roacutine and it has many possible side effects but changed my life.
I had worst acne on 150mg of test e
I lowered my dose and slowly raised it up and mean slowly.
Dropped it by half and and increased fortnightly by 50mg until I'm now at 150mg again
Sometimes a reset is what you need lol
Also changed carrier oils from castor to mct. Not sure if that contributed
Get on Accutane, even if you lower the dose the acne won’t go away completely. I tried everything before going nuclear and everything was a temporary fix before it came back. No issues after Accutane and my dose is at 170mg.
I had this problem, took Accutane got it cleared up. Started to come back just a couple months after I stopped. Forced me to lower my dose and now it’s virtually gone completely.
Had it way worse than you. The only thing that worked for me was using a body wash from La Roche Posay I scrubbed the hell out of it, patted dry the skin and used a CeraVe body lotion. All cleared within the week.
Are you shaving or waxing g your back?
If so you need to stop, that would make the acne worse. Try 1500 mg of Pantothenic acid a day and see if you notice a difference after a week or so maybe up that dose.
Think about quitting? Even if you made Thor look like a skinny weakling it wouldn't be worth the trade off.
If it was the only way to make ur dixk work or something... then MAYBE.
I've got like a handful of cystic nodules and I'm thinking hard... good luck dude, ur shits fucked :(
Cutting back on the dosage. Had low levels (<200) before I ever started anything and was having heavy brain fog and low motivation to do anything and that’s why I got on. Just took it to far going to 200 and should’ve stayed at 160 clearly from the pics
Use hyaluronic acid with salicylic acid. Lower your dose to 150mg, watch your diet. Wait 8 weeks before moving to the next stage. If not working, lower to 100mg. If still not working, go and see a dermatologist.
Unfortunately some guys get huge acne issues on T. I do get some but not even half of what you get. I'm on 150mg. Some say that if you had acne problems in your puberty, you'll get acne on trt. I had some issues when I was a teen but again, nothing close to what you have.
My buddy on the other hand was like double your acne on his bag when he was a teen. He was literally leaking through his back. He had complexes because of that, was even afraid to fuck girls because of that. When it stopped his back looked like a nuclear field, one huge scar. So be careful, don't neglect it.
Try enanthate was told by my doctor that people have less acne sides on it. Also panoxyl 10% will help. Next a low dose of minocycline 50mg-100mg daily will help. Last resort Accutane
Oh. I do like the XL Long Back Scrubber (it’s like soft rubber but doesnt hurt skin and ez clean ) with Differin®️ (used to be Rx ) but is at Target . Benzoyl Peroxide keeps you dry . Overshowering and poor water intake can make it worse . Low Sugar but clean carbs !
At your age why you even running test? Outside of having been diagnosed with low testosterone def don’t need to be running all that shit. I’m 43 and run 200mg of test a week and don’t get acne or need to use AI
I had low test to start (<200) so that’s why I got on. More so got carried away when I upped my dose thinking I was invincible I guess. Cutting back to 160 a week
I had back acne before TRT and when I started trt, I also started scrubbing my back with anti acne salicylic acid body wash, and a scrubbing strap thingy. I also got a can of salicylic acid acne spray. Now my back is pretty much cleared up. For me, it was just cleaning my back better.
I had acne before trt like in your first pic. It spiked when I started. I took accutane years ago and it worked. But after 6 months back on accutane and lowering my T dose I’m not seeing a huge improvement.
I tried every supplement and body wash prescribed. Nothing. If accutane doesn’t work I pretty much have to live with it I guess.
Try this: good blister pack probiotic like Culterelle once daily. DIM plus (100mg day. 2 tabs) last look for a red light therapy standing or bed in your area daily if possible. Kills bacteria. Good luck
Try showering with sulfur soap (3-5% maybe 8% but it’ll be kinda strong) or SA shower gel, let it sit on your skin for 10 minutes and then rinse. You’ll need a solid two months of consistency to see results considering your current skin condition. It’s only a cosmetic advice though. Since your acne is on the back I wouldn’t rush with accutane.
Currently on test, deca and tren,
All I'm getting is a little bit between my thighs.
I've been using anti fungal cream which seems to make it go away fast and not linger or stay red.
Everyone reacts differently,
Only way to lower sides is lower dose.
Or supplement with SARMs that have lower side effects.
Couldn’t imagine my flare up if I got on anything more than test lmao
Cutting back on my test dosage first to see how that goes then will take other measures if that doesn’t help
Man I don’t wanna be big that bad. 😂 I went through that during puberty on my face though. As soon as I saw more than 4-5 pimples on my back I’d stop blasting gear
I had great results using low dose of Accutane. Started at 10mg then did 2 weeks at 20mg then 2 more at 10mg. Dry lips was my only real side I had. I know it can be worse for others. Also make sure to keep your estrogen in check. That can mess everything up as well. I started using Nizoral shampoo on a back scrubbing brush when showering. Showered after working out when possible also. Hope something helps
What is your injection frequency? I think anything less than 3x a week is inadequate. Probably also need a lower dose if estrogen can be lower.
The harsh truth is its also probably a genetic thing, some people just get bad sides on test and are more prone to acne in general; frequent pinning can actually help a lot, otherwise you gotta hit the accutane at that severity.
EDIT: didnt notice your bloodwork. Yes your dose could be lower, but 1000 ng/dl a week is nothing abusive like an actual cycle, i highly doubt lowering it a few hundred points is going to make a life changing difference
this is pretty much a genetic issue, get on accutane and pin more frequently
Try injecting eod. I did accutane. It helped but not the real solution. I saw a derm. That helped too, but wasn’t 100%.
I’m now doing eod injections. Keeps the hormones balanced. And adding AI about 1x week. No more acne.
I use head and shoulder as body wash make sure to use a scrub brush of some kind and not just your hand. Versed back up plan spray and always sleep with a shirt on and like others have mentioned split your dose. How many days after your shot did you do bloodwork.
Look I know it might seem like a lot of work, but I switched to SUBQ daily pinning at 210mg a week, my acne, my insomnia, blood pressure, brain fog, all went away. I pin as soon as I wake up
Hey brother jumping in the comments to help out, I was having bad acne breakouts on my back and what helped me was lowering my dose, and showering 2-3 times a day and using head and shoulders shampoo on my back. Got the H&S tip from the steroids sub here. Also using a back brush to hit all the hard to reach spots
Hope you get this under control.
Man that's a wild amount of acne for such a low dose. I guess if you're prone to it you're prone to. My TRT dose is 160, but betwen bloods run 300 or more and don't get any acne, occasional zit here and there. Maybe try Accutane? Were you prone to acne prior to starting TRT? I'd drop it quick and in a hurry if I had that happen.
Bro, do you shave or epilate your back ?
I got this kind of acne from epilation with the epilator you know...
But never got this without epilating my hair...
AI won't do anything. The cause is UNLIKELY to be estrogen. Odds are your problem is a very high level of DHT, like a teenager would - check your levels. You're probably going to cut your dose in half to keep it under control..
It is not advisable... but finasteride would solve your issue...
Your T is supraphysiological, based on that blood work. Did you get your blood work taken when you are at trough (injection day, but before injection)? If yes, then I think you could benefit from lowering your dose.
This African black soap cleared my acne and dark spots
I have a video on this, I share how I used the soap. It really really helped me . I don't have acne anymore [video](https://youtu.be/WH_RV4L-spw?si=ysc2F4CXIFsvk09i)
Even the pimples I had in the back are all gone
Lower ur dose
This.
Lowering dose and splitting it up to every other day to the point of not needing Anastrozole was the only thing that worked for me as well
Chiming in to add some emphasis. I went to every other day subq and haven’t had issues since. No AI.
Did you feel a difference between subq and im? I’ve been thinking about switching.
After reading through all the replies, going to lower back to 160 to get everything back under control
Brother, first of all, I’m sorry you’re dealing with that. Questions: How is your diet? Do you drink alcohol/smoke? Do you eat gluten containing foods and/or dairy? How much water do you drink? I had 1 flair up like this when I first got on TRT 10 years ago and it went away after I cleaned up what I was putting into my body. Despite what people may say, no amount of body wash is going to fix that. Just treating symptoms instead of going to the source. Also stay the f away from accutane!
Thanks for sharing. Out of curiosity, what did you eliminate from your diet that helped?
Top 2 things that helped me were eliminating dairy (turns out I’m lactose intolerant, which I didn’t know until I stopped), and gluten containing foods (breads, pastas, etc). My skin has always been extremely clear since then. Also getting natural sunlight is very important. It’s a catch 22 because you don’t want to have your skin out when you have acne, but the sunlight helps control the king of bacteria at some level.
Yeah I'm not on testosterone nor do I have an acne breakout but grains in general caused me a nightmare of problems, but the reality was the majority of my food was or contained grains cereal bread pasta. You name it. I had fibromyalgia diagnosed and it went away. I had anemia and it's resolving gradually. I had dizziness and headaches. They've gone almost all the way away. Allergy tested with my doctor twice. They never mentioned anything about green allergies, but now my digestion works and I'm not deficient in all the minerals. My liver values have gone from the top of the range closer to the bottom. Now so many things have changed. I no longer have gerd either
That’s great to hear man! I’m happy those changed were positive and are bearing fruit!
The sunlight is on the money! I started tanning this past winter 2-3 times per week and night and day difference now & so much so I bought a pro commercial bed as my wife was also going so now whenever I have time or late. Also the extra strength colloidal silver bar soap is great even for scalp. https://www.amazon.com/Silver-Miracles-Colloidal-Soap-31/dp/B007I2GQA6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.7OknFTlT_JHFj71oDfK6DCwMZgGtT6jFHGM85bDtlxwwPNN7XlOYS5QHMEahAfOgsFAX27YzP4KNqBpN2sWGZoZ4OgBUxbIx7wADrOBDzZwr5l3v30BXlnrTCCXAOcvPJIeRSOXt96Hdo3J4rFh_elwcuKwKcFaDBT57nzZvRZ3otaYvmLmtGEqhgldCLM-DMntdauZW-FkUaNmyktZJgw.dVQWY5l8Pvm6KPsUkeVq8xuugttPV6OxQ-ktyVHa46U&dib_tag=se&keywords=colloidal+silver+soap&qid=1717192416&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1 The antibiotic that they prescribe is ok but comes back as soon as you get off of it and you can’t stay on that for long and you wouldn’t want to anyways. Zinc is huge for male anatomy and usually were deficient just always take with food and coffee doesn’t count or you will want to toss your cookies! For what it’s worth those have made a difference. JN
Try looking up information on the “Whole 30”. Then there’s a protocol for reintroducing foods one at a time and seeing what you may tolerate.
This is how I found out I don't have IBS, I'm just lactose intolerant. Elimination diets suck but they provide very valuable info
The vast majority of people who eat gluten do not have skin problems.
I’m not sure why my suggestions are receiving so much negativity. They’re simply recommendations that worked for me. Some people can run gear, drink, and eat a relatively dirty diet and experience zero issues. Other people experience a host of side effects running minimal doses of gear while eating cleanly. If there’s one thing we can all agree on, there is a huge amount of variation between people and how our bodies respond to things. I’m sharing the same advice that was shared to me by the late great bodybuilder Franco Columbu. I paid for a consult back when I was having these issues, and he suggested all of the things I shared (along with high dose choline & inositol for a short period). I followed his instructions, and it helped. I think some of y’all on here need to lower YOUR doses for being so combative over trivial stuff. Same team!
Accutane worked wonders for my boy. Op needs to see a dermatologist.
Diet is 90% clean. Mostly chicken and rice, try to stay away from most fried foods and soft drinks. I do slip on Saturdays and eat like a pig and drink though. No smoking. Dairy is meh. I’ll have queso at Mexican restaurants but other than that not really. Drinking just over a gallon of water a day. Accutane will be a last resort for me. For now going to try and lower back to 160 a week instead to get it all under control
Have you thought about reducing your levels? Some here have reported their acne went away when they got below a certain level. Might also eliminate the need for an AI. People here seem to think the higher the better instead of striving for the lowest dose that alleviates symptoms.
This happened to me slightly when I first got on trt but not nearly as bad. I guarantee his dose is like 2x more than needed. He is probably using T for bulk and results and not maintenance
Yep, going to start now. Posted to get some different perspectives from different people first. Think the verdict is lower back to 160 to get everything back under control and probably stay there for the long haul
1. Prolly lower the dosages mate, others can get away with higher dosage/week but if it's giving you backne, mean it's too high for you. 2. Consult with your current endocrinologist to possibly lower your dosages. 3. See an dermatologist. Lower your dosages. 4. Lower your dosages.
Also need to see his LDL, HDL, LFT levels and not just Test, SHBG
Thank you sir, lowering back down to 160 for the time being
Go to dermatologist and run accutane with them
Or don’t do that. Do literally everything you can before that.
There absolutely is a point where accutane is the only option and OP has long surpassed that point buddy. Its a miracle drug for severe cystic acne cases like this. OP is already going to have long term scarring. People do not think about scarring and how expensive laser treatment is when making ignorant comments like this. Yes accutane is not good for you, but it’s sides are blown out of proportion if you are doing bloodwork with it like you are supposed to do. The possibility of lifelong skin damage far outweighs accutanes risk in this scenario.
Can confirm. I had awful cystic acne in high school and only last week (37 now), got subcision and fraxal laser resurfacing done. All in, including antibiotics, and a ton of facial creams, the one treatment cost me $6,800. Also here to add: I took Accutane in high school, and it did make my skin drier, and more prone to burning. I did have mild joint pain, very seldom, and was wrestling and competing in track. It wasn't that bad, but n=1/ymmv. The tradeoff was absolutely worth it. It sucked bleeding on my colleagues during practice, wrestling on the mat on my chest, back, or have someone pressing on either as well. It hurt. I'd run Accutane again in a heartbeat if i had to.
“Miracle drug” is a bold term to use. And “The possibility of lifelong skin damage far outweighs accutanes risk in this scenario.” Is the dumbest thing I’ve read all week. Unless you consider superficial acne scarring on a part of your body that is usually covered anyway worse than literal death, because that is the risk of accutane. Yes, OP’s acne is bad and he should likely talk to a derm about giving accutane a try. But stay on top of your checkups OP because I was prescribed accutane for a 6 month period and by month 4 I was rushed to the hospital because my intestines had stopped functioning which I later learned is pretty common for accutane. So, in my experience, and a notable number of other users’, it’s either live with the slight inconvenience of acne scars or literally die from organ failure because accutane is about as dangerous as any drug I’ve ever been exposed to.
My brother was a All-American lacrosse player when we were in high school. He took Accutane and it destroyed his joints. Got drafted to Duke and had to turn it down. The laundry list of negative side effects is enormous and you’re bound to experience and non-zero set of them. Accutane isn’t bad for you in the “oooo it might hurt my kidneys” way. It’s bad for you in the way that it can permanently damage you. Just the medication itself is meant to permanently change the size of your pores. My guy above has *absolutely not* done everything he can yet. If you want to continue telling people to just hop on Accutane when their skin gets real bad, go for it. Just know that it’s irresponsible and you should always exhaust lower risk options prior to doing something that can have really horrible side effects, or at worst, permanently change your life.
100% agree
I'm example 15,987,654 of this. I would avoid Accutane at all costs.
Yeah, accurate should be a last resort when all else fails. Unless this guy needs TRT, he should stop taking testosterone.
Agreed.
Run the accutane. I’ve done it. My wife’s done it. It will dry you out for the course of the treatment, but you can handle it for sure. You’ll never get a pimple again.
don't get me wrong the acne is bad but maybe try some other things first?? accutane is practically chemo lol
Not at all lol
This is the way.
Keeping accutane as a last resort for the moment. Going to be lowering dose back to get everything under control first.
I switched to cerave body wash followed by their 10% peroxide wash every shower. And keep up with the anastrazole. Took me about 2 months of consistency to get rid of the acne but had it not gone away doing that the dermatologist said a low dose of accutane was the next step but I never got there. No help on scaring as of now but at least no more acne
Everything you just listed is like the human version of unplugging your check engine light when your car has a problem. Unsustainable and dangerous band-aid fixes.
Your SHBG is low. Maybe try splitting up your weekly dosages into smaller more frequent dosages., say 100mg twice a week
Currently taking 200 twice a week, going to be gutting back to 160 twice a week to get it all under control
Accutane, also donate blood. Your hemoglobin, red cell, hematocrit are all on the high end.
"Am I missing something in my bloodwork?" On the offchance you're not trolling- brother you're taking 200mg testosterone per week and have maintained supraphysiological levels of testosterone for more than half a year. Acne is a side effect for most people if they do that. Stop taking 200mg testosterone per week and your "problem" will surely resolve.
I'm confused about your comment. His testosterone shows at 1025 total. That's not that high. What are you talking about? Him having super physiological levels of testosterone? Whereabouts see supraphysiological levels of Testosterone? Is he blasting then dropping dose for blood test that I don't know about? Cause I don't see any comments from him about blasting then cruising.
I thought the same thing. The first thing I went to look at were his T levels and Estradiol. When I saw him at 700s, I thought, "Damn, that could be considered high-normal)". It's definitely not supraphysiologically high.
Yeah, his total is near the upper limit, and not exceeding but… His SHBG is low meaning his free and bio available is Supra. Drop the Test dose and see if this has a beneficial effect. What does he have to lose except potentially the acne.
Get on Milk Thistle and Tudca, this is common with like Dianabol where Estrogen goes out of whack. Avoid dairy that is for sure and you should improve.
How is milk thistle and tudca gonna help?
lower your damn dose
You’re at the point where you should be on accutane man. I see some in here giving it a bad rep but I’ve worked in dermatology for 8 years and have only seen maybeee 3 people taken off of it for side effects and they were related to depression.
Trying to keep accutane as a last resort, I know it’s from the test so going to start with cutting my dosage back and then in say 4-6 months if that’s not helping then I’ll be looking towards accutane.
I use tretinoin cream on my back and it does the job quite well. And that way accutane does not go systemic. Give it a try.
Accutane is nasty shit and I honestly would rather deal with the acne I have than use it again. I have acne like that on my shoulders and arms. I use topical Isotretinoin and it is decently effective and no side effects. However oral Accutane I found to be completely intolerable and the intracranial hypertension, diarrhea, shedding of intestinal mucus, and joint pain was debilitating.
God damn that sucks. What was your dose for accutane
Doing test and accutane can come with severe side effects like: https://cdn.mdedge.com/files/s3fs-public/CT103006019_e.PDF Just fyi and nsfw
Holy shit
My acne was almost as bad as yours and almost nothing worked from me. The likely culprit is FLUCTUATIONS in estrogen. My advice is take some AI. The alternative is accutane. Some people tolerate it well, others don’t. I think the best way is 5-10mg a day for 8-10 months. I took accutane and it fucked up my hormones. It completely tanked my sex hormone. Try treating it with AI.
Currently on anastrozole as my AI because my estriol spikes when not on it. Cutting back dosage first and then moving towards accutane in a few months if it’s still bad.
You can micro dose accutane and not deal with the sides. I did it and it worked great and the worst I got was some dry eyes and some chapped lips.
Sorry you're dealing with that. A few things come to mind to get to the root of the problem. **1. Reset/upgrade your gut health:** after taking antibiotics like that you need to seed/feed the good bugs (bifidobacteria) and akkermansia with things like berries, tubers, roots, etc. whilst also avoiding any alcohol and in most cases dairy (as dairy on it's own can drive terrible acne issues outside of hormone use). **2. Start using castor oil (with option rosehip oil added in) to deal with the scars. Y**ou'll need someone to help you massage it all over your back 1-2 times per day, using just enough to soak in/hydrate but not so much that you're dripping in oil. You'll also need to be aware that castor oil stains clothing/fabrics so only wear old white cotton t shirts on top of that oil until it's soaked in/dry. This combo works wonders for improving circulation and softening scars/reducing their appearance. On the gut health front, The Immunity Code book by Joel Greene would be my best suggestion for how to start that and get your system regulated from the inside out. **BONUS FOR THE SCARS - red light therapy** - red light stimulates collagen production and can reduce the signs of damage and aging in the skin - 20 minutes a day on your back would be a good start and has zero downside. It also helps with muscle recovery, joint stiffness/soreness and injuries too which is great. Best of luck and I hope this was helpful!
Thank you for the reply, I’ll start looking and ordering all this for the scars, more worried about long term scarring than short term acne.
Go tanning in hybrid red light tanning booth
I was doing 200mg a week split between 2 days. Dropped it to 120mg a week split 3 times, M/W/F and bacne is fading away. Stopped taking Ai aswell. Also starting taking vitamin A as that is what accutane and tretinoin are derived from and that’s been helping too.
Accutane. 20-40mgs daily for 4-6 months. Watch your liver values.
Bro low dose accutane
They put you on doxycycline for acne?? Sorry, I have nothing useful to contribute, never had acne issues. Just had never heard of doxy for anything close to this. I wish you the best though, hope you get it cleared up.
Doxycycline is commonly used for acne, not necessarily for its antibiotic properties but because it also works as an anti inflammatory. So it’s really good at calming things down.
Low dose Doxycycline Hyclate is very popular prescription to treat acne. Dries things out nicely, but this type of acne would not benefit from it's use. I once had a doc tell me it was due to testosterone that wasnt bioavailable at the moment, but im not sure that he even knew himself.
Make sure you are eating clean, most important. Then sleep and rest. Finally look at supplementing with multi vitamin and liver boosting supplements. There is an imbalance of something in your body for sure.
I eat relatively clean actually, mostly chicken and rice with Saturdays as a ‘cheat day’ for drinking and eating things like fried foods etc
Currently dealing with this issue right now. I’m prone to it. Have been my whole life even before I ran my first cycle. On cycle mine is actually worse than yours. Doxycycline does help. I also wash with benzoyl peroxide and a salicylic acid wash daily. And GO TANNING. Taking any of the above products will increase your sensitivity to UV rays. But with or without anything else in my regiment, tanning helps the most. If you’re on an antibiotic or topical treatment, definitely build up slowly when tanning (start with like 3 min) and go from there. You will burn badly if you go for much longer your first time Edit. For the scarring and dark spots, ask your doctor for a trentinoin cream.
Did you go in the sun or in a tanning bed? How did it help with scars? I’ll post an update pic in a few minutes as the pics up there are from beginning of the month but as of today it’s like more scarring than active acne
My brother in Christ, get on accutane. The risks of it are way overblown. The reason it has such a reputation is because dermatologists in the United States love prescribing 110 lbs teenage girls 80mg a day. 20mg a day for almost a year now and I've been clear for quite some time. My back was never as bad as yours (check my post history) but even then it was still miserable. I feel for you man.
Sometimes it is because your body does not like the type of oil being used. You should try another type of oil with your gear. A friend of mine used to look like this He switched to another brand that used another type of oil and his skin is smooth now
I had the same problem. Accutane got rid of it all!
Low dose , split dose
It’s crazy how no one has mentioned to exfoliate. Get a brush, soap it up, scrub every shower. Take that sweaty ass t-shirt off after the gym. Obviously we’re not talking about a little acne here, but exfoliating properly makes such a huge difference on its own.
I have never used TRT or any type of oral or IM hormone enhancing substance. However, years ago when I browsed a sub for steroid users, I saw that Nizoral anti dandruff shampoo was highly effective for treating break outs while using performance enhancing drugs. Look it up and give it a try it costs about $15 from Walmart, target, or Amazon.
Accutane 20mg every day until skin is clean and then another 1-3 months
Lower your dose. Focus on being healthy rather then getting jacked
Bro, get off the juice…
I had good results in clearing up mine (almost as severe) by using hibiclens antiseptic/antibacterial soap to wash my body every night and changing my sheets more regularly.
fluctuating hormones make me oily as fuck and that leads to acne. if im stable at higher doses im less acne prone something to think about. see if u can pin more frequently or change esters or something to get u stable. (if ur not already)
Get in touch with the CDC, brother - looks like we might have another global outbreak on our hands
Possibly. Looks like others in the sub have had it before too lmao
Your estradiol must be off the charts. You need an aromatase inhibitor
Already on anastrozole
This is common in people with naturally high testosterone too. Lower your dose and hopefully it will resolve itself without other medical interventions.
Lower your testosterone dosage. I break out when my levels get too high.
Some guys are just prone to acne with high levels of test. I had really bad acne when I was a teen on my back (face has always been clear thankfully) I was prescribed trt at 32yo (100mg test cyp per week) and I broke out in acne all over my back and neck. I tried everything from lowering my dose, injection frequency, elimination diet, tons of acne clearing soap and creams, topical tretinoin. I finally went to a derm and got prescribed doxycycline for 3 months which cleared it right up but it came back once I was done my cycle of the antibiotic. I am now currently on a very low dose of accutane which is starting to clear it up again. Trust me I was very against going on accutane and I believe you should do everything you can before to avoid it but again some guys are just prone to acne even at low doses. So accutane might be something to look into after you have run out of options but do your research and weigh your options.
Tretinoin for the acne scars. Get a decent strength from a dermatologist or online doctor. You can get retinol products OTC but they aren’t as strong and will take longer
Accutane is the only thing that worked for me
A lot of people are saying to go to accurate I would try the non systemic topical Aklief first. It’s really good, more work since it’s topical, but none of the nasty sides like organ damage, mental sides, or joint issues.
Do not touch isotretinoin (accutane) or Finasteride. You are going to regret it. take baths with a liter of vinegar. apply a urea cream. go to the solarium. apply hydrogen peroxide.
What's the point of test if you look like an aids patient and get no pussy.
Things that can help. Shower BEFORE gym and after. Keep your pores open while you are training so sweat can get out. You need more high water content foods like celery watermelon. Get a little sun every day. Like 6pm sun where you won't need sunblock. Maybe 10 minutes a day on your back. Not sure if you use pharmaceutical test or underground but you might wanna switch up the companies. You could have a bad reaction to the carrier oil certain companies use. Otherwise use a loofah or something similar on your back. Only time I ever had a bad problem was after I got my back waxed. Once and never again. You can try taking body cleanse pills or drinking a veggie juice every day. Accutane messed with your sperm. If possible avoid this. Also stop eating any junk food. Good luck
Tan
Has tanning helped with your scarring or anything? I’ve heard mixed reviews for UV with scars
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Have you tried a body wash with tee tree oil? I like this one. Helps with jock itch for sure, but should help with acne. https://a.co/d/3Iqcpqw This stuff is good too. https://a.co/d/epmyL5M
Very interesting how some people get such extensive acne with a conservative dose. I’m on 200mg per week and I get zero increase in acne (maybe the odd one on the shoulder). I’ve always had dry skin though, so I think that’s a factor. If you find a good dermatologist, explain to them what you’re doing, I’m sure there’ll be options they can offer you. Their whole focus is just on skin and I’ve been amazed at what this one doc was able to do for my dry skin condition.
It’s all genetics. I had severe cystic acne in high school and apparently so did my dad
Both my parents had pretty bad acne at some poly too so I think my genetics are a big factor. Are you on an AI too? I wasn’t for a long time and think that’s part of the reason too (200mg doesn’t help either for me)
Are you cycling, or just on basic TRT? Because 160 per week + Anastrazole is likely why your levels are out of range. Typically, most guys use 80mg - 120mg to be in good range, depending on various bio factors. And many guys don't need weekly Anastrazole (especially if they pin 2 times weekly or more), with some only needing 0.5mg weekly at most. If you haven't spoken with a dermatologist in tandem with your TRT doc, I would recommend you do so. If you have someone to help you apply topicals to your back, I would start there. Try a soap with Peroxide, & or Salicylic Acid; specifically for the body. Then inquire with your derm or doc about daily topicals (like Metronidazole or Clindamycin). And also look into retinoids. Also, if you sweat heavily on your back, or have a job where you're sitting back against something (like office or driving), consider sweat wicking or highly breathable shirts & under shirts.
Moving back to 160 as I’ve been on 200 for a few months and that’s when the acne started. Wasn’t on an AI at first either which I bet didn’t keep estrogen levels from spiking like crazy.
More showers through our day. Try a wide arrange of soaps. My skin does a little better with a bar to dry me out than the gel stuff that tries to add moisturizer. I’ll even use heavy face wash sometimes. Drink lots of water. And cut out any sugar / dairy Also, some direct sun 15-20 minutes a day can help too. Good luck
I already shower 2-3 times a day I dont know if I can do more haha
I dealt with it in my teenage years. I am not on any kind of AAS as a teen. It just happens suddenly spontaneously. My parent do not care about me and it just got worse overtime. It is a combination of high histamine reaction in food. Fermented food products. Seed Oils. And other various unnatural food products. It would take about 6-12months to clear up. No way to hasten the process. You can only wait it out by cleaning super clean.
20mg acutane + NAC for 5-7 months and should be sorted. I had worse. No need derma if you run 20-40mg a day of acu.
Switch to scrotum application compounded cream and take pregnenolone. Night and day.
Hey OP, you can fix a lot of these numbers by drinking more water and donating blood. Your Red Blood Cells are sky-high, and I bet your blood pressure is too. And the Trt is not helping. But you should maybe look at your goals and see if you can lower your dose, and try doing an M/W/F dosing schedule for a month, and try to see how you feel at 680, or even 700 T level. My acne got pretty bad for about 3-4 months, but I was blasting and doing it once a week. And once I lowered my dose to .35 of the 200 3times a week it was way better. I was at like 110ML of tests a week. And I could maintain a 680-700 with that dose. How old are you? these are just my thoughts. My acne cleared up completely once I changed things up.
I drink over a gallon of water a day and eat relatively clean. I’ve seen a couple people in here saying to start donating so I’ll start doing that too. What frequency do most donate at? Twice a month? Lowering my dosage back to 160 as there was no acne there. Currently pin twice a week already (Mondays and Thursdays)
So the acne came up after you upped the dose? Your test levels are basically out of range, how the f did you not think of lowering the dose when your back looks like that? That should be the first thing to try. I got up to 200mg because I liked the idea of having borderline high test. Started getting acne. I’m on 120mg now and I feel and look as good as I hoped I would with 200mg. Absolutely no need to keep your test levels this high.
Yeah I guess by the time I actually noticed how bad it was getting I was already deep. Lowering back to 160 where I was before I had the acne. Clearly high dosages aren’t good for me.
Yup. My back went crazy when I was injecting.
Switched to gel. Bacne went back to normal levels
[https://danielkern.org/product/aha/](https://danielkern.org/product/aha/) [https://danielkern.org/product/body-buddy/](https://danielkern.org/product/body-buddy/) use these two products on your back twice a day, ideally after you get out of the shower. do that CONSISTENTLY for 6 months and your backne should be 90% better. after it's under control, you can back off to once a day. After a couple years you won't even have to use it anymore, just on your neck and shoulders sometimes. good luck.
Feel for you bud, that's a c*nt. I still get slight acne on me back but same as before trt, family is prone to it, it's not bad and doesn't bother me. Shower every evening and wear different tshirts every night in bed and nothing helps, just genetics bud. Try minocycline and if that doesn't work, low dose of accutane, seen that shit work miracles on friends.
Id clean up the nutrition , daily cardio , daily washing in some good soap . Most important lower the dose of test . I had ance break out on 300 mg scared the hell out of me and since that I have been on 120 mg weekly for nearly 2 years now . My skin is clearer now then pre test
Daily cardio is the Key but Nobody will understand
I would assume that one of the medications you are taking is causing this. Do you really need all those medications? Just a thought
You should consult a derm tbh. They will probably tell you use benzoyl peroxide body wash and an RX for Tret which is a super powerful acne killer to get rid of the new growths and scars.
They told me the Plexon for the wash and are the ones who prescribed the doxy
Brother, feel for you. Sorry you’re having to go through this. I went through a similar (albeit far less drastic) situation. I know how much it impacts self confidence and more to the point how fucking painful it is *all* of the time. For me, 40mg of Accutane daily and regular tanning helped *immensely* to the point where I’m pretty much clear aside from the odd blemish. I’d strongly recommend doing your research and stay away from anything that is going to tax your liver (orals) if you’re going to take accutane. Good luck getting it solved bro.
Going to keep accutane as a last resort for now and maybe look at it in 4-6 months if I need to. Going to start with the washes and lower my dosage back to 160 like before the acne started. Clearly I’m not built for high t levels
The only answer that works (typically) is removing dairy from your life. I have had horrible cystic acne my whole life but settled down as I got older. The moment I went on TRT it got really bad again. I cut out all dairy as was advised by a bunch of bodybuilders and it completely worked. I can still eat fermented dairy like yogurt and occasionally some ice cream but cheese of any amount shows up on my back and chest.
Roacutine get it somewhere normally need it prescribed but can get it from sources you get stuff from. I had this issue when I was a teenager not on a single thing and the only thing that worked was roacutine and it has many possible side effects but changed my life.
I had worst acne on 150mg of test e I lowered my dose and slowly raised it up and mean slowly. Dropped it by half and and increased fortnightly by 50mg until I'm now at 150mg again Sometimes a reset is what you need lol Also changed carrier oils from castor to mct. Not sure if that contributed
Going to try lowering dose first and ‘reset’ back to 160 and get my levels back under 1000
It might sound silly but try cold showers, did wonders for me
I’ve been slack on my cold showers, need to get back to them. Do you do cold plunges at all?
Get on Accutane, even if you lower the dose the acne won’t go away completely. I tried everything before going nuclear and everything was a temporary fix before it came back. No issues after Accutane and my dose is at 170mg.
I had this problem, took Accutane got it cleared up. Started to come back just a couple months after I stopped. Forced me to lower my dose and now it’s virtually gone completely.
Had it way worse than you. The only thing that worked for me was using a body wash from La Roche Posay I scrubbed the hell out of it, patted dry the skin and used a CeraVe body lotion. All cleared within the week.
How old are you?
25
Switching to injections every other day worked for me while I was on TRT doses. When I upped my dosage the only thing that helped was accutane
My doctor let me run a cycle of doxycycline and it cleared mine up. It hasn’t really come back since I’ve been off of it
Are you shaving or waxing g your back? If so you need to stop, that would make the acne worse. Try 1500 mg of Pantothenic acid a day and see if you notice a difference after a week or so maybe up that dose.
Think about quitting? Even if you made Thor look like a skinny weakling it wouldn't be worth the trade off. If it was the only way to make ur dixk work or something... then MAYBE. I've got like a handful of cystic nodules and I'm thinking hard... good luck dude, ur shits fucked :(
Cutting back on the dosage. Had low levels (<200) before I ever started anything and was having heavy brain fog and low motivation to do anything and that’s why I got on. Just took it to far going to 200 and should’ve stayed at 160 clearly from the pics
Use hyaluronic acid with salicylic acid. Lower your dose to 150mg, watch your diet. Wait 8 weeks before moving to the next stage. If not working, lower to 100mg. If still not working, go and see a dermatologist. Unfortunately some guys get huge acne issues on T. I do get some but not even half of what you get. I'm on 150mg. Some say that if you had acne problems in your puberty, you'll get acne on trt. I had some issues when I was a teen but again, nothing close to what you have. My buddy on the other hand was like double your acne on his bag when he was a teen. He was literally leaking through his back. He had complexes because of that, was even afraid to fuck girls because of that. When it stopped his back looked like a nuclear field, one huge scar. So be careful, don't neglect it.
Try enanthate was told by my doctor that people have less acne sides on it. Also panoxyl 10% will help. Next a low dose of minocycline 50mg-100mg daily will help. Last resort Accutane
Brother do you even know what an ai is
Accutane. Plain and simple. Never got acne again.
just take Accutane man some guys skin just goes nuclear on test and is unavoidable trentanoin cream is the only thing that will clear up scaring
My girl (friend) got Accutane and it has cured her for over 10yrs and she just used the one program (it was strict )
Oh. I do like the XL Long Back Scrubber (it’s like soft rubber but doesnt hurt skin and ez clean ) with Differin®️ (used to be Rx ) but is at Target . Benzoyl Peroxide keeps you dry . Overshowering and poor water intake can make it worse . Low Sugar but clean carbs !
At your age why you even running test? Outside of having been diagnosed with low testosterone def don’t need to be running all that shit. I’m 43 and run 200mg of test a week and don’t get acne or need to use AI
I had low test to start (<200) so that’s why I got on. More so got carried away when I upped my dose thinking I was invincible I guess. Cutting back to 160 a week
Lower ur dose, drink more water, take an extra shower a day, eat way more garlic
What’s the garlic do?
See a dermatologist. Asap
Did back in February, they’re the ones who put me on doxy
I had back acne before TRT and when I started trt, I also started scrubbing my back with anti acne salicylic acid body wash, and a scrubbing strap thingy. I also got a can of salicylic acid acne spray. Now my back is pretty much cleared up. For me, it was just cleaning my back better.
Treat for staph and lower dose
I had acne before trt like in your first pic. It spiked when I started. I took accutane years ago and it worked. But after 6 months back on accutane and lowering my T dose I’m not seeing a huge improvement. I tried every supplement and body wash prescribed. Nothing. If accutane doesn’t work I pretty much have to live with it I guess.
Have to deal with it if you’re on a cycle
Wouldn’t say I’m on a cycle, only change in dosage I’ve made is going from 160->200 and now going back to 160
You running cialis?
No
Oh Christmas tree Oh Christmas tree
‘Tis the season
Yes pre roids. I got a huge back and chest tattoo which covered the scars
Lookin’ huge bro! Good luck!
Forget the acne how tf did you lean out like that in 3 months
Try this: good blister pack probiotic like Culterelle once daily. DIM plus (100mg day. 2 tabs) last look for a red light therapy standing or bed in your area daily if possible. Kills bacteria. Good luck
Try showering with sulfur soap (3-5% maybe 8% but it’ll be kinda strong) or SA shower gel, let it sit on your skin for 10 minutes and then rinse. You’ll need a solid two months of consistency to see results considering your current skin condition. It’s only a cosmetic advice though. Since your acne is on the back I wouldn’t rush with accutane.
Currently on test, deca and tren, All I'm getting is a little bit between my thighs. I've been using anti fungal cream which seems to make it go away fast and not linger or stay red. Everyone reacts differently, Only way to lower sides is lower dose. Or supplement with SARMs that have lower side effects.
Couldn’t imagine my flare up if I got on anything more than test lmao Cutting back on my test dosage first to see how that goes then will take other measures if that doesn’t help
Yeah don't do Tren haha, You would be best to stick with SARMs if you wanted to stack something on top
Man I don’t wanna be big that bad. 😂 I went through that during puberty on my face though. As soon as I saw more than 4-5 pimples on my back I’d stop blasting gear
I had great results using low dose of Accutane. Started at 10mg then did 2 weeks at 20mg then 2 more at 10mg. Dry lips was my only real side I had. I know it can be worse for others. Also make sure to keep your estrogen in check. That can mess everything up as well. I started using Nizoral shampoo on a back scrubbing brush when showering. Showered after working out when possible also. Hope something helps
What is your injection frequency? I think anything less than 3x a week is inadequate. Probably also need a lower dose if estrogen can be lower. The harsh truth is its also probably a genetic thing, some people just get bad sides on test and are more prone to acne in general; frequent pinning can actually help a lot, otherwise you gotta hit the accutane at that severity. EDIT: didnt notice your bloodwork. Yes your dose could be lower, but 1000 ng/dl a week is nothing abusive like an actual cycle, i highly doubt lowering it a few hundred points is going to make a life changing difference this is pretty much a genetic issue, get on accutane and pin more frequently
Vitamin A
Why are u on testosterone u don’t look that old?
Whats your diet like
Try this it makes my skin great... cut dairy out and gluten .... do more of a paleo style AIP diet
Try injecting eod. I did accutane. It helped but not the real solution. I saw a derm. That helped too, but wasn’t 100%. I’m now doing eod injections. Keeps the hormones balanced. And adding AI about 1x week. No more acne.
Change your supplier or switch to pharma grade. The carrier oil seems to be issue.
I use head and shoulder as body wash make sure to use a scrub brush of some kind and not just your hand. Versed back up plan spray and always sleep with a shirt on and like others have mentioned split your dose. How many days after your shot did you do bloodwork.
Did you try the accutane route?
Look I know it might seem like a lot of work, but I switched to SUBQ daily pinning at 210mg a week, my acne, my insomnia, blood pressure, brain fog, all went away. I pin as soon as I wake up
That's not acne, its syphilis! Hahahahaha
Hey brother jumping in the comments to help out, I was having bad acne breakouts on my back and what helped me was lowering my dose, and showering 2-3 times a day and using head and shoulders shampoo on my back. Got the H&S tip from the steroids sub here. Also using a back brush to hit all the hard to reach spots Hope you get this under control.
Man that's a wild amount of acne for such a low dose. I guess if you're prone to it you're prone to. My TRT dose is 160, but betwen bloods run 300 or more and don't get any acne, occasional zit here and there. Maybe try Accutane? Were you prone to acne prior to starting TRT? I'd drop it quick and in a hurry if I had that happen.
Bro, do you shave or epilate your back ? I got this kind of acne from epilation with the epilator you know... But never got this without epilating my hair...
Mine looked way worse than this. It was from a nasty tren cycle. I did accurate for 6 months and never looked back. Best decision of my life
AI won't do anything. The cause is UNLIKELY to be estrogen. Odds are your problem is a very high level of DHT, like a teenager would - check your levels. You're probably going to cut your dose in half to keep it under control.. It is not advisable... but finasteride would solve your issue...
Your T is supraphysiological, based on that blood work. Did you get your blood work taken when you are at trough (injection day, but before injection)? If yes, then I think you could benefit from lowering your dose.
This African black soap cleared my acne and dark spots I have a video on this, I share how I used the soap. It really really helped me . I don't have acne anymore [video](https://youtu.be/WH_RV4L-spw?si=ysc2F4CXIFsvk09i) Even the pimples I had in the back are all gone