17/Male Accutane Log. 70mg/Day

Well since I was pretty much using my other post

Here!

As a log of sorts, I decided to take the leap and post a fully-fledged log!
All the history of my Acne can be read in my post over in the Accutane forums if anyone is interested.
One thing I did notice about here is there does seem to be a lot of people in the 20-30 bracket suffering from Acne, they certainly get all of my sympathies, In a way, I suppose acne is expected in the teen years, and a lot of what I have read discourages people my age from taking Accutane however, after seeing my derm it was confirmed that what I did not have was "Standard teen acne" it's something that's been incredibly persistent, and after researching the drug for the past 3 months or so, I think taking it was the best thing to do

Enough digressing I think. I started my course of Isotretinoin today (28th July) and as the title mentions, I got started on 70mg/day which for me seemed slightly strange, not only because of the high beginning dose (I am 70kg, so that's meant to be the most my body can take) but also the odd number, I hear of people starting on 40/60 even 80mg, depending on weight, but never 70. This makes actually taking the drug more difficult considering I need to take 3 20mg capsules and 2 5mg capsules at once time. But whatever, i'm not complaining!

As it stands now, I took the first dose about 8 hours ago, and I haven't felt any different, not that I expect too in the first day but i've braced myself for it all, so it's just the waiting game now ^^

Pictures!:
Right Side
Left Side

These were taken post-shower since it's way more apparent then
(Sorry for crazy hair!)

If you've managed to make it this far, thank you for bearing with the wall of text :]
Until Tomorrow!

Wondering about Accutane. & a history!

Hey there, i'll try and make this as quick as possible but I do tend to digress alot and end up typing way more than needed!

Where to start, i'm currently 17 and i've had what I would personally consider mild-moderate acne for about 18 months now, although now it's certainly more into the moderate category.
At first I was told it was just a phase, that I would grow out of it. Fair enough, this could be the case, I waited on this for about 4 months, after that I started using numerous topical treatments, to no avail. Another month passed and I went to see my GP, he prescribed me Oxytetracycline which I took for probably about 2-3 months; at first I really did see an improvement, however this only lasted for, at most, 3 weeks, yet I continued to take the treatment. I was told by my GP that taking any form of antibiotics for a prolonged time can lead to an upset stomach, I got, at some points, probably the most painful stomach cramps i've ever had, not just this but around the same time my appetite completely diminished (i've been told that it had nothing to do with the antibiotics, but I still today think that is the case)

After a further month or two still taking Oxytetracycline, not caring what it was doing to my appetite and stomach, it got to the point where I really was not seeing any improvement and wanted to stop taking them. Went back to GP and got given Erythromycin to take for a further 4 months, things were looking better on this, skin looked *slightly* better, but nothing major. At least I wasn't getting as bad side effects as with the tetracycline. 4 or so months passed, same thing happened - Couldn't see any effect of them, went back to GP and got given a reference to see a derm. With me being in the UK, this consisted of the NHS as I wasn't in a position to pay for private treatment. Alongside the derm appointment, I got given minocycline this time. However, 2 weeks after being put on this I found out that the derm appointment wasn't going to be for another 2 months (as I write this, it is 6 days away; gives you an idea of how great the NHS is) because of the time scale, I decided to go down the route of herbal medicine as I have a friend this worked for, basically got told that the acne was related to my general wellbeing? Got given a herbal medicine to take 2 times a day, cut out wheat and dairy from my diet, told to exercise regularly - the usual stuff. Still adhering to these rules seeing as they're the best shot I have until I can see the derm (next monday)

I realised i've overkilled on this enough as it is, but hopefully one or two people will be able to stick with me through it, and finish reading.

The acne itself has mostly been facial, particularly on the cheeks/underside of face, with some spreading to the neck. However more recently (last 5-6 months) i've had some appear in the center of my chest, with painful lumps beneath the skin, but almost exactly the same type of acne as that appearing on my face, and, to a lesser degree on my back.
Anyway, been told to take a list of everything i'm taking/have taken to the dermatologist when I go, which will be a list of the things mentioned here, aswell as the topical stuff i've been using (haven't yet gone on the regimen, as the appointment is so near!) Currently using 'Freederm' which seems to work to a minor degree.

Where i'm going with this is; will I be expected to get offered Accutane (or whatever variation) on my first visit? My acne is pretty bad right now, not the worst it's been but definitely up there. If I do get offered it, i'll certainly take it. It's gotten to the point now where I almost feel defeated by the acne, and I do see taking accutane as a final attempt. If anyone could share what happened on their first dermatologist visit, if they were offered Accutane right away, or some other treatment first? I really don't want to be given something that *may* not work and have to wait another 4 months for another appointment.

Sorry for the huge wall of text i've created, hopefully some people made it this far
Any other advice anyone can give would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance!