Taking vitamin B5 for acne

Hello all,
I first learned about taking large doses of vitamin B5
(pantothenic acid) as a treatment for acne right here on
usenet, so I figure I'm now obliged to post my own experience
with taking it.

The short story is... It worked astoundingly well for me. I am
virtually clear of acne now!

Here's the longer more detailed story for those who are
interested... I'm a 33 year old male and I have had CONSISTENT
light/moderate acne since I was a teenager. I first learned of
B5 here on usenet and after weeks of research I finally
decided to try it. I choose to purchase the AcneMiracle brand,
mostly because they sell it in powder form and I hate
swallowing pills. I take a total of 8 grams of B5 a day, which
is split up equally among breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime
(that's a heaping half teaspoon 4 times a day). I also take a
dose of a B complex 50 vitamin, because it was suggested in
the usage sheet I got with my B5 order as a way to avoid any
possible deficiencies in other B vitamins that might occur
when taking a large dose of just a B5 vitamin.

After a week of taking B5 there was already a difference...
There was a little less oil and what there was seemed to have
a different consistency to it. After about 2 weeks there was
less surface acne, BUT I started breaking out with that deep
long lasting cystic type of acne! I absolutely believe
this was caused by taking the B5. I had made no other
changes... no diet changes, no environmental changes, etc. And
it absolutely wasn't a normal breakout, either. Normally, I
use to only get 1, or maybe up to 3, of these type of deep bad
zits a MONTH, but in week 3 and 4 of taking B5, while my
surface acne was less than usual, I had like 4 of these deep
zits a WEEK! Anyway, this breakout must have been B5 related.
I've read it might be due to a purging of contaminates and a
flushing of the pores in the skin or something. I don't know
if any of that is true or what, but it did happen. Luckily
though, by week 5 that temporary breakout had pretty much
stopped and since then things have only gotten better and
better with every week that goes by.

It's been almost 5 months now since I first started taking B5
and I am virtually clear! By 'virtually clear' I mean like 95%
clear or so. I still (very rarely) get some very small
problems, but they're barely even visible. Oh, and I'm 100%
clear from any of those darn deep pimples I use to get!
Wahooo! It really is a dramatic result. I'm pretty much
astounded that some vitamin that I found out about on the
internet is working this well!

I should take a minute to mention that I'm not taking any
other medication... just the B5 vitamin and the B complex
vitamin. Oh, and a Flintstone multivitamin if that matters.
YabbaDabbaDo!

As for topical acne products... I'm using Clearasil daily face
wash, Clean and Clear oil free dual action moisturizer(only
once a day in the morning now), Oxy maximum cleansing pads
(only once a day at bedtime now), Clearasil maximum vanishing
cream(I barely use this at all anymore now! Just a tad here
and there.). I've been using all of this stuff for many years.
It certainly helped, but it NEVER came close to having an
effect like B5 has.

I should also mention that the acnemiracle place includes a B5
topical gel with every order of the B5 powder they sell, but I
don't use it. Mostly because I still use the other topical
items that I listed above that I've been using for years. So,
the great results I have had have all come from the B5 I've
been taking orally, nothing topical.

I guess that covers everything I wanted to say. Oh, side
effects... I heard some people mention diarrhea and headaches
being possible side effects to taking B-5. I have not
experienced those at all. In fact, I haven't noticed any side
effects since taking B-5.

To sum things up, I'm unbelievably happy with the results I've
gotten with B5! And I'm not even following the suggested
instructions to the letter. The usage sheet I got with my
order of B5 suggest taking 10g of it a day, I'm only taking
8g. It list a whole bunch of foods that should be avoided, but
I haven't changed my diet at all. I'm also not even meticulous
about when I take my doses of B5, sometimes before I eat,
sometimes after, sometimes hours off my normal time for taking
it. I suppose I should try following their directions more
closely and see what happens, but frankly, I'm so happy with
the way things are right now, I can't imagine things getting
better.

Since I've been clear for months now, I do plan on starting to
cut back on my B5 dosage and see what happens. Hopefully, I'll
be able to take much less that 8 grams a day and still remain
clear. I'm also planning on starting to take a little Biotin
and Niacin too.

Anyway... My advise to anyone who decides to try B5 to clear
up their acne...
1-Take enough of it(10 or more grams if need be). You can try
slowly backing down the dosage after you're clear.
2-Spread it out over 4 times a day(at mealtimes and bedtime).
3-Take it consistently everyday.
4-Don't give up too soon. Give it at least 3 or 4 months to
work. It may take that long to give you good results.
5-Please don't stop taking it if you experience a breakout a
few weeks into taking it. I got discouraged and almost quit
myself. I'm so glad I didn't!

Well, that's it. I hope someone out there finds reading about
my B5 experience helpful. Like I said earlier, the usenet is
how I found out about B5, so I felt I was obligated to pass on
my B5 results.

One last thing... I wish I knew about B5 years ago!!!
Kevin (growtep@yahoo.com)

PS: I get my B5 from AcneMiracle because it's powder, it's
cheap, and it works for me. But there are lots of other places
that offer it too. Some even have special blended formulas
which contains lots of things other than B5, while others are
just pure B5. Here's a list of the ones I know of...
AcneMiracle - http://www.acnemiracle.com
Evolution-X B5 Supplements - http://www.b5supplements.com
Acne-Rid - http://www.acnerid.com
Clear Skin Image - http://www.coenzyme-
a.com/clearskinimage.html
VitaCure B5 ClearSkin - http://www.store.yahoo.com/vitacures
Plus, You can do a search for pantothenic acid on google to
find B5 for sale on lots of vitamin shop web sites.