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Parsley Health Helped Me Clear My Acne When Dermatologists Couldn’t

by
Parsley Health
Author
May 15, 2019

Robert had tried for almost a decade to get his acne under control. After years of prescription drugs, he decided to abandon the conventional route and look beneath the surface to discover the root cause of his skin issues.

Parsley Health member Robert E. learned that when it comes to your health, simple lifestyle changes can be powerful solutions to health concerns.

"Acne was really frustrating."

Like a lot of young teenagers, I started having difficult acne around 8th grade, but for me, it never went away. I was referred to a dermatologist who ultimately put me on antibiotics. I was on and off them throughout my entire high school career and some of college, even trying Accutane and other stronger drugs, but nothing did the trick.

The whole experience was really frustrating. Skin is outward-facing—it’s always apparent. When you’re in public, everyone can see it, and if you have acne, that really hurts your self esteem.

Looking at health differently

While I was in college, my mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The last treatment facility she went to was a functional medicine practice where they looked at her holistically, focused on her diet, and made sure she was taking time to focus on her mental health. Unfortunately, she passed when I was 22. What I learned from her experience was that instead of treating the symptoms, maybe I should look at treating the root cause.

I abandoned the conventional route and decided to try and fix my skin issues on my own. I started eating much healthier (or what I thought I was much healthier)—a plant-based diet with no dairy or gluten . But I still wasn’t getting the results I was looking for.

At that point, I knew I needed some guidance and wanted to find a functional medicine practice similar to what my mom found. That’s when I discovered Parsley Health.

Diving deeper

When I got to Parsley Health, it was so refreshing to sit with a doctor who really wanted to take the time to listen to my whole story and get to the bottom of the cause. There were no more conversations like, “OK, I hear on the surface level what’s going on, so take these drugs that I think could fix it.” Instead, they said, "We’re going to try different things and take the time to get to the bottom of it.”

Working with an expert team

I started working with my doctor and health coach to finally get down to the root cause of my acne. With clear data from the first round of thorough blood tests and then food sensitivity testing, I finally got the reassurance that something was wrong—I wasn’t going crazy!

The food sensitivities test was huge. I was still “eating healthy” for the first few months with Parsley and nothing was really changing, so we did sensitivity testing and within weeks, I could see a huge difference when I eliminated some of those sensitive foods .

Becoming an advocate

These solutions have been a huge burden off my shoulders. Finally getting to the bottom of my acne has helped my confidence tremendously.

The next goal of mine is to start helping others around me. This experience has really shown me that everyone is completely different. One diet might work for some people but might not work for others. I want to become an advocate and help others who are in similar situations, so they don’t have to go through 16 years of experiencing what I did.

Want to become a Parsley Health member? Schedule a free call  to learn more about Parsley’s virtual primary care  , how to use insurance  to pay for your Parsley medical fees, and more.

Parsley Health is the doctor that helps you live healthier, longer, by treating the root cause of symptoms and conditions. Our medical teams—staffed by leading clinicians and health coaches—spend more time with you, order the right tests, and prescribe food, sleep and movement alongside medications so you can get better—and feel better.

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