acne and vitamin b5

It all started about 5 months ago when I was searching for some relief from my acne. I was so tired of it, and I was extremely desperate at this point. I came across the suggestion of using pantothenic acid(vitamin b5) in an old archived message on this site to cure acne. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I gave it a shot. As the message suggested, I started off with 8 grams of pantothenic acid daily. The results came quickly and very impressively. I was extremely happy with what I had discovered, and I was very willing to sacrifice the money to pay for this "wonder vitamin" every month.

I continued this dosage for about 2 and a half months with consistent positive results, then--also according to the original message's suggestions--I attempted to cut myself down to 2 grams per day. Within a week my acne had come back, so I went back up to 8 grams, thinking that it would be okay to stay on this dosage. I maintained this dosage up until 3 days ago, which gives a total of about 5 months of pantothenic acid usage.

A few days ago I was in the doctor's office due to some severe cuts on both sides of my mouth(the left and right part where both lips meet). I had had these irritating cuts for almost a month, and they refused to heal. It seemed as though they would slowly get better over the course of a few days, and then I would wake up the next morning to find the wounds reopened and bleeding again. I finally gave in and made a doctor's appointment because of these things(They were more than just a nuisance. It was very painful to talk, laugh, eat, etc., and they were VERY noticeable and unattractive. They were actually quite large gashes).

The doctor told me they were due to one of two things: a food allergy, or a vitamin deficiency. As soon as he mentioned the second possible cause I finally realized what was going on. By megadosing on pantothenic acid, I had given myself a deficiency in several other vitamins. I stopped taking the b5 3 days ago. Right now my cuts are almost completely healed.

This may not seem like a big deal, but the cuts were really only the surface of what the pantothenic acid was doing to me. I had slowly become increasingly frail, fragile, and diseased over the past five months. I was always very tired and very nauseous. I had developed severe gastrointestinal problems whenever I ate anything at all. My skin had become extremely dry and rough. I would get dizzy after walking even the shortest distances. I had developed a case of insomnia. I was always angry and irritable. Most importantly, I had developed a prostate problem. I was constantly urinating(this is probably why my skin was dry. I think the pantothenic acid was dehydrating me). I had extreme muscle tension in my groin area making it very hard to sleep or exercise(as if I had the strength in the first place). I was just incredibly sick in too many ways to describe. I felt plain awful.

Every single one of these symptoms has either completely vanished or vastly improved over the past three days. I am confident that in a week or two I will finally be back to my normal, healthy self.

You may wonder why I didn't notice any of this was happening over the past five months. I also wonder. I suppose I was so hypnotized by the results of my complexion that I completely ignored what I was doing to the rest of my body. The idea that thse things were happening to me because of the vitamin b5 never occured to me, or--if it did--I had completely ignored that terrifying notion.

It's not easy to get off of this vitamin. Sometimes I feel that my looks are all I have going for me, and now I won't even have that.

The reason I'm writing this message is not to scare anyone off of pantothenic acid. However, in case you're going through what I was going through, you need to open your eyes. Anyone who is meticulous enough to eat a whole foods diet, and then megadose on a B vitamin is severely missing the point. Even if you supplement with other B vitamins to make up for the potential deficiency I believe you are harming yourself. I still, more now than ever before, stick by my original theory that b5 cures acne not by metabolizing fats as the scientific report states, but because of its drying side-effects.

If you are thinking about starting to supplement with pantothenic acid, please be aware of my warning. Take special care to keep track of what is going on with your body so that you can stop usage if things get too serious.

Now I see people who, while never having supplemented with pantothenic acid, are recommending it to newcomers asking about accutane. Similarly, these same people warn against accutane without ever having used it themselves(I know this argument has been done to death, and I guess I'm jumping on the bandwagon). I have taken both of these, and pantothenic acid made me far sicker than accutane did. I'm not suggesting that this is the case for everyone, or even for ANYONE else, but I think we should think twice before blindly recommending a treatment. Then there is always the added comfort that accutane is meant to be taken under the supervision of a doctor.