Hey Jenny -thanks for reading! :-)

I hear you on the cystic acne... unfortunately I never had success with anything topical as my skin just got dried out and flaky with the bumps still underneath. I think cystic acne is an internal problem and I swear what really helped me was cod liver oil. (Along with what I said above about replacing unhealthy fats with good ones like butter and coconut oil... plus I also cut out all soy products.) I guess I should update this post - I forgot to mention the cod liver oil!

I think why it works is because it has huge amounts of vit A - just like Accutane does - but since it's in food form it's safe and you can't OD on it or anything like that.

You shouldn't take just any cod liver oil though because only certain kinds contain high enough amounts of vitamin A (along with vit D) and in the right ratios. I ordered mine from this company in the US: http://www.greenpasture.org/retail/?t=products&a=line&i=royal
I take 2 capsules a day and it has honestly made a HUGE difference. You can read more about it here including brand recommendations: http://www.westonaprice.org/Cod-Liver-Oil-Basics-and-Recommendations.html

What's interesting is that I also ordered some for my dad and his blood pressure has dropped by 10 points!

I hope this helps - let me know if you try it! I know cystic acne can be a bit of a puzzle but at least with this option you're also doing something good for your health overall. (It would actually replace the need for vit D3 capsules which most of us take anyway.)