ACCUTANE GALLERY

The main objective of this pinned thread is so that all of the Accutane users have an opportunity to post their Accutane before and after pictures in order to enable easier viewing by other members. We are hoping that this thread will facilitate locating the before and after photos, as well as alleviate some of the difficulties associated with the screening process in the original gallery.

Guidelines:

HELLO PEEPS

I've finally decided to go on accutane after much deliberation. I used to have really clear skin, all nice and soft and smooth with just the occasional one or two pimples that pop out and go away. My life was great! Good grades, awesome friends, an active lifestyle was involved in quite intensive sports, a not too bad social life. I also had a boy that I liked alot and the catch was he liked me too! I was pretty contented with my life. Until during April when I started breaking out like crazy. Initially it was the forehead, which then spread to the temples and then to the cheeks and jaw. It was so embarrassing. I shunned myself from all my old friends and never went out to socialize. I always walked with my head facing the ground feeling so self-conscious that I wanted the earth to swallow me. So I lost my social life (well except for a group of classmates in my current school - they're the best and have given me so much support! ), lost that guy I liked cause I pushed him away , lost my self-esteem, lost my confidence.

So I was on quite a lot of antibiotics (doxycycline, erythromycin, minocycline [the latest I've been taking is minocycline]) and topicals (erythromycin, some steroid creams, differin, BP, clindamycin phosphate lotion, clindoxyl etc.) Some of them had completely no effect on me, whilst some worked initially before losing its effectiveness after a month or so. It is very demoralizing. At first, I was pretty naive thinking that acne could be cured in a month or two with just one round of antibiotics. But I was so wrong, its been 7 months or so and no improvement.

I have oily skin. Gross gross oily skin. Its like just 2 hours after washing my face, I can feel the grease on my skin already. Gross. So imagine what it's like in school when you just feel so uncomfortable from all the oil that accumulates on your face. My face also gets RED easily. Especially after I'm in the sun like for a few seconds, or when I'm in school. Its strange cause at home I'm quite okay but in school it just flares up and looks really bad. EWW.

My acne is mostly comedonal acne. ALOT of comedonal acne that's all very very inflamed so I looked as if someone flung tomato sauce at my face. Also have lots of millia recently. Lots of whiteheads and blackheads and not to mention, gianormous pores. and RED MARKS. so my skin is really uneven and lumpish, skin tone is terrible too.

So anyway after reading all the logs and reviews here, I finally made the decision to get accutane. Went to my derm and he wasn't too keen on it and rather have me try Bactrim. But I insisted on going on accutane, cause it has been far too long. I've already reached the point where I don't want to waste any more time wallowing in self-pity and wasting my life away.

DAY 1

The sun is shining and the birds are singing! YAY HAPPY DAY ^.^ HAHAH so I'm given one month's worth of 20mg/day Isotretinoin (Oratane) - that's 28 capsules. I just popped the 1st capsule which reminded me of a really fat and obese red bean. Then went for a bath and came out feeling so HAPPY! I guess I'm really looking forward the the future, suspense and anticipation *drum roll!!!* hehehe oh yeah and I have the following:

Cleanzplus Antibacterial Cleanser (contains 1% Tricolsan)

Vaseline Lip Therapy (in preparation for DRY LIPSSS)

Aqueous Cream Moisturiser (for the DRY SKINNN)

WOOTS. So that's pretty much all for DAY 1. I'll try to update as much as possible :>

Anyways I have a major chinese exam tmr!!! Yep I know chinese WISH ME LUCK! After which, my classmates are planning to go to someone's house for some swimming and bbq-ing! EXCITING :] just hope that my acne won't scare them away HAHAHA Oh yes and I will be applying LOTS OF SUNBLOCK! YEP!

OKAY THEN PEACE OUT! ^.^V SEE YA SOON

Oh greetings!

After much hesitation, I've decided to start a personal log documenting my progress with Roaccutane. It probably would have made more sense if I began this 8 weeks ago, but being a true procrastinator, I've left it until now : ) I'll admit that I am terrible with blogs/journals though.. I'm one of those people who begin one only to cease updating after a week. My record is 12 consecutive days. Commitment issues? Possibly.

My acne is concentrated around my cheekbones and the side of my face. Around a year ago it gradually became cystic, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the bs under the surface have already celebrated their first birthday. As of today, I've successfully ingested 2280mg of Isotretinoin. I take two 20mg capsules daily. I will never eat peanut butter again once my Roaccutane course is finished.

My side effects to date include:

• Headaches during the first week.
• A sore throat during weeks 2-4.5. In fact, I got so used to it, I didn't even notice when it went away : )
• Dried out, sultana-like lips. The worst thing is the layer of dead lip skin which makes my lips look white. Either that, or peeling off a new layer of lip each morning. I can't decide.
• Lower back pain. Mostly experienced when bending or straightening out my back at the end of the day.
• Sweating. Just the slightest amount of physical exertion and my forehead and upper lip are covered with beads of perspiration. Especially annoying because it's summer here!
• Weight fluctuations. I gained 2kg in the first month, and this morning when I weighed myself I had lost 3kg.

And.. that's it.

I wash my hair every third day now, and I love it. However, my skin hasn't become totally dry and started to flake. Anywhere. Oh, with the exception of my earlobes, but they don't matter : P I actually still have to blot 2-3 times throughout the day if I am wearing makeup, but I am def not as greasy as before. While my lips are the driest part of my body, they have never actually cracked or bled or anything.. they just feel dirty and wrinkly. Is it normal to still be relatively oily at the end of 2 months?

I currently cleanse twice a day with 1% Clindamycin in 100ml Cetaphil Lotion prescribed by my derm, followed by some random oil-free moisturiser. I use Palmer's Cocoa Butter every night, and various Blistex and Palmer's balms for my lips.


Anyway, enough verbiage for today.
Good luck for others on this drug. I'm sure your eyes have had quite a work out reading through all this.

Hey everyone. My name is Anthony (20 years old) and I've been around the forum for a while, posting here and there. I've been on bactrim/tazorac and BP since January and it's been okay but just not good enough. I just got back from the dermatologist today, and without hesitation she gave me the green light on accutane. I don't have severe acne, but it's been anywhere from mild to moderate on my face and back/chest so it's time I end it for good.

I will have my blood test either today or tomorrow, and assuming the results are fine I will take my first pill of 40mg on Monday. I'm very excited, but quite nervous at the same time. Best of luck to everyone else taking accutane, and I am praying for quick and good results in the long run! I will try to update it everyday and show pics if I have the guts, lol. Oh, and for those wondering the main reason I am on accutane is for persistent acne overall and spots on my body. With other antibiotics and topicals I've been able to keep myself relatively clear, but whenever I come home to my parents place I break out pretty badly and I'm just sick of having to worry about it!

Cheers!

HELLOO!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sorry that I'm so ecstatic, but I'm finally on the medication I've been dreaming of for TWO YEARS. Yeah, guys! TWO YEARS!

I'll briefly tell you all my story:

When I was about ten years old, I started to get severe cystic acne on my face, neck, shoulders, chest, and back. I am now about to turn eighteen years old, and I still have the problem. After some very cruel teasing from my Nana (who isn't even my biological grandmother >_>) I finally gained the courage and self-respect to make an appointment with a dermatologist. I knew I would get Accutane. I had already been to two dermatologists previously within the eight year span, and as you all know, I had tried EVERY product the world offered for the treatment of Acne... Antibiotics, prescription topicals, Proactiv, Murad Acne Complex, Neutrogena, Clean & Clear, etc.

When my new dermatologist took one look at me and saw my chest, she apologized and said I would be starting Accutane after my two negative pregnancy tests, and until that time she gave me doxycyline to hold me over. It helped a lot. When I went back for my Accutane prescription, she told me I should expect a major purge and prescribed me prednisone for the first 16 days.

I had a bit of a hard time getting the Accutane. I was never mailed my username and password, so my dad and I had to wait on the iPledge line for about two hours before a woman was able to assist us. I always thought red tape and government involvement in private matters would be a pain in the booty. This is my first run-in with it, and my assumption was correct. Anyway, I digress...

I was supposed to start Accutane on the 29th of January, but the nurse had entered me in for the 5th of February. That didn't work out because the weather was bad and we couldn't take the prescription to the pharmacy, so we took it on Saturday, February 6th. They said they had to order it and get registered with the iPledge program to be able to give it to me, and that I'd be able to come back and pick it up on Monday.

Well, today is Monday! This morning I started out by taking four 10mg prednisone pills, and my mom was nice enough to pick up my Accutane on the way home. I just took my first Accutane (Claravis, actually, I read that Roche no longer produces the original brand Accutane) and I'm feeling SO hopeful!!

My dermatologist said I'll have clear, beautiful skin before I go to college in August. I can't wait!!!

By the way, I have a low dosage. 40mg once a day after dinner. I'm uploading pictures in a few hours, so stay tuned!

Well, talk about a tough spot in life. On top of twelve months of a bad relationship with a guy that ended terribly,First love.. Ouch ... my acne has been literally controlling my life for the past year. I've avoided mirrors, cameras, and friends and family..I've stayed in my room for a week because of my skin. I realize there are people who have it worse than me, therefor I should not complain, but this skin condition....noone really knows the internal damage it does until they have had it..and thats why I joined this site; we are all in this together.. as cliche as that sounds. I've missed out on so much because of this persistent skin disorder. To make matters worse, my sister's skin is gorgeous and she only gets a pimple every now and then; AND my friends with amazing skin complain to me...are they BLIND. ugh.

Anyways, I'm starting accutane tomorrow after my mild acne turned into moderate, VERY persistent, scarring acne. I've stocked up on Dr Dan's lip balm (recommended by my derm,) and cetaphil lotion. With my mother's input, I opted for the shorter course (with a greater chance of side effects ), but I'm just lucky my family cares enough to jump through the governmental hoops and get the many tests required for me to take accutane. Well, the shorter course is four months, two 30mg capsules everyday. I'm 16,125lbs and 5ft4. I will cry if this medicine works for me. I've read many stories on here about accutane--both good and bad--and I can only hope I am fortunate enough to have the amazing results that many have experienced...but I'm scared of getting my hopes unreasonably inflated.

I think I'll be documenting monthly instead of daily. If I scrutinize my face daily, I'll only make my situation worse for me. I'll most likely post pictures as well. AHHH I start tommorow....I dont think I could be more anxious.

Hello All. I am a 28 year old female. I have been suffering from acne since I was approximately 12 years old. While I have had some years of clearness, the acne always comes back. I have moderately severe cystic acne that scars even though I don't pick at my skin. I am sick of dealing with this, so I've finally decided to take the plunge and go on Isotretinoin. I picked up my prescription today and plan to begin taking the pills tomorrow. I'm excited to finally be starting this medication and regret not doing it sooner.

I've been nervous about taking this medication, but my dermatologist did a lot to ease my fears. She has prescribed 40mg, which I am to take twice daily with food. My dermatologist said it won't matter if I choose to take both pills together or if I break it up during the day. She explained that there is no such brand as Accutane anymore, and that I would end up getting whatever brand the pharmacy happens to have. I was given Amnesteem, which I've never heard of before. I'm a little surprised to be starting at 80mg a day, thought maybe she would ease me into to it... but I'm glad to be getting into the nitty gritty of things! I shall try to keep up a log of my experience for those of you who are curious. And I'll try to post some pics too. Wish me luck!!

Hi, I've been wanting to make one of these since like the end of November since my friend got accutane! Finally got my little redish brownish pills!

I guess i'll post this incase anyone cares to read it

I'm 19 years old and have had acne since about 16. I'm 6ft tall and weigh 130lbs...What can I say my whole family has super natural metabolisms, life sucks( when your a guy, being this skinny is not attractive). So I have been trying to gain weight, but having acne is not helping this process! Reading all the theories about how ones eating habits cause acne I would stay away from a lot of food, like peanut butter, milk, etc. Basically I wouldn't eat as much because I never wanted to have a bad breakout. Got to love stressing...

I go to a community college and currently in the last semester of my 2nd year. In the fall I am going to Suny Albany!!!! I guess that's the real reason I am really praying accutane works!


Social life: Well, I mean I have good friends, I go out when asked etc. But I go out around my acne schedule....Breakout means I will make an excuse to not hang out, sorry. Any party I go to I never really have a good time because I constantly think, shoot will this beer make me breakout. ( I know, I read all the time, acne should not stop your life, live your life to the fullest blah blah! ) I'll start my life once I feel I am ready, and that will be once I have clear skin.

My acne was never severe but is always there! Ever since I started getting acne I would have to every morning and night apply this crap thinking it would finally work, heh 3 years later and probably worse. My face is extremely oily, but because of the products I use, dry in the morning, so moisturizer for dryness but then the oilness kicks in and bam! Pat down my face every, hmmm, 6 minutes 5 seconds.

I guess I should put in some other general info: I am in perfect health. The reason I am saying that is because I read all these logs about people getting back pains etc. Well, I have not been sick, meaning I have not had to go to the doctors office for about 2 years, and I'm not allergic to anything...


Products used:
-Ziana
-Tazorac
-Proactiv
-BP
-SA
-Ret
Yea you get the point I've tried everything, well enough.

Well, I think I added enough to satisfy myself

Feel free to post anything you like, I will use this forums and thread for my Accutane expierience throughout my 5-6 months. My derm said I will prob upgrade from only two pills a day of 20mg to like 40mg....

WELL HERE WE GO: DAY 1 TOOK ONE PILL!
[attachment=24656:Snapshot_20100118.jpg]
[attachment=24657:Snapshot...100118_1.jpg]
[attachment=24659:Snapshot...100118_4.jpg]
[attachment=24660:Snapshot...100118_5.jpg]
[attachment=24658:Snapshot...100118_2.jpg]

Was debating if I would post pictures but I guess I just don't care, clear skin in the future!!! Sorry for the wet hair, just got out of the shower and was like, F it DAY 1.

I think i'll be able to get much better feedback on here than in the 'blogs' section-
http://www.acne.org/messageboard/forums.html...logid=2421
that is my old blog and if you, for w/e reason, want to know what my last three weeks have been like you can find it there!

Anyway, today is day 22 of my accutane treatment. If you don't feel like looking at the blog I'll summarize everything - I have mild acne but everything started leaving red marks and minor scarring, but the fear was that I would begin to get bad scarring. Tried nearly everything - cyclines, retin-as, tons of other topicals .. nothing worked.. at least nothing worked well. I had really oily red skin on retin-a. I stopped taking it when I started accutane and almost immediately the oil on my face greatly reduced and so did my redness.

Fast foward a week -

blackheads blackheads blackheads - my tzone really exploded with blackheads. My chest is also covered with blackheads. It seems like they are started to dry up. I broke out last week and that is kind of going away .. I think this might be the 'IB', but I might just be slightly paranoid and blame any breakout I get on the IB.

As far as side effects, dry skin, dry lips, muscle aches at times.

Fast forward to today ...

Dry lips, a little tired. I shaved two days ago (been trying not to shave more than I have to) And I have some little bumps (not ingrowns) that are really hard to see. Wonder if this is irritation from shaving. I don't think I have ever gotten them before. I've been using my cetaphil cleanser as shaving cream because I am kind of afraid to use shaving cream as I think it might break me out. I did just get a new shaving cream that is supposed to be great for sensitive skin and dermatologist recommended (idk if that really means much)

My routine: Wash face in morning with cetaphil, apply moisturizer
Wash face after gym, apply moisturizer: Usually 6 hours after I wake

Now my dilemma is do I was before I go to bed which is usually about 10 hours after I go to the gym. Let me know if you think washing my face three times a day is bad.. my skin doesn't feel overly dry.

also, I'm on 40mg claravis and at the end of the month im going up to 80mg

Hey guys, my name is Mike. This is my first post.

A little bit about me...I am a competitive natural bodybuilder, 20 years old, presently in my junior year in college.

I have dealt with acne since high school. I have been on just about every antibiotic, pill, cream, done ever laser treatment, chemical peels, hollistic approaches....you name it, I did it. Nothing has worked so after shuffling my feet for so many years about Accutane, I finally gave in.

I will be starting on 60mg and increasing the dose under doctor's supervision for a period of 5-6 months.

This will be a good way to keep tabs on my progress, feelings, etc.

I also look forward to meeting some of you all on these message boards!

DAY 1

Not much to say here. Started off with my 30mg at breakfast and I will follow up with another 30mg at dinner.

Edit: Just got done working out and I see a few new pimples forming...when does the initial breakout start? After the first dose??

I will be getting some pics up as well so stay tuned.

- Mike

My accutane crusade will begin next week and will start my log next week...keep in touch. Much love

Hello,
I have suffered with acne for 22 years and spent thousands on peels, creams, antibiotics, BCP, ect to no avail. My derm prescribed 40Mg of accutane and I am so afraid of the IB and side effects. I am currently on meds for anxiety which is pretty much under control and depression related to my acne and a divorce that I am going through.
I have mild but very persistent acne which for the past year has turned cystic. At the moment my skin is peppered with dark marks and a couple of small cyst. I may take my first pill tonight or tomorrow morning and I am so afraid of everything I have read on this board about the possible permanent effects.
I did not want to start at 40Mg but my derm said she wanted me off of it in 5 months but I am wondering if I should take it every other day (Mg) to test how my body will react to it. Btw, I weigh 132 lbs. and I am 5'6" tall.

My question is: has anyone suffered permanent side effects on my dosage? if yes, what were they? (I do not think I will go higher than this no matter what my derm says.)

I would love some support and guidance through this becsuse I am such a chicken butt about this.

Just wondering am I "allowed" to dye my hair while on accutane? I have dirty blonde hair and was just planning on going a couple of shades lighter...

if yes, anyone have any tips? (first time dying my hair)

Little background first:

I'm a 17 year old male that has had highs and lows with acne. After I turned 12, I developed mild acne. I eventually went to a dermatologist when I was 14 or so because my back and neck had gotten so bad when I would workout, the whole area would hurt to the touch. He prescribed Evoclin foam and Differen cream. This worked like a charm, gradually clearing my back up. At this point I wasn't seeing my dermatologist for my face, just my back/neck.

Skipping to last year, (when I was 16) my acne started to flare up in my face. Now I've seen some of the bad pictures of people with moderate to severe acne, but mine was usually just mild to moderate. I would randomly breakout one day and then a different spot another day while the other breakout was dissappearing.

My dermatologist first put me on Tetracycline pills then prescribed some creams that I cannot remember. They did almost nothing. He then prescribed another pill I can't recall because it didn't affect my acne at all either. He then tried Retin-A which had an interesting effect. It dried my face out quickly, and made my face beat red, but did little to rid me of my acne.

Now skipping to January 26th of 2010, my dermatologist put my on Claravis which is a strain of Accutane I guess. I'm on the iPledge system which isn't too bad but seems irrelevant to males since it has to do with precautions in getting pregnant. I'm about to end my first 2 weeks of taking 40mg every night and I've seen the effects of this medicine already.

EFFECTS SO FAR: (THE IMPORTANT STUFF)

After about the first week, I noticed there was hardly any oil being produced on my face now. I used to be able to look in the mirror and see my shiny forehead and face. Now, it has virtually no grease/oil on it. My acne is looking ok, not much different than before but it seems I'm not having as many breakouts.

Some other side effects I've experienced are:

-Dry lips (fixed with CARMEX or pretty much any chapstick applied frequently, especially before bed!)

-Dry nose (fixed with A + D Diaper Rash Prevention. This sound ridicoulous, but when I got bloody noses lastyear in the winter due to dryness, this was recommened to me. I found it at my local drugstore and only apply it at night and in the mornings with a cue tip worth in each nostril.)

-VERY itchy head/Dandruff (this is very annoying, especially if you keep itching it. I've kind of fixed this with just some Gillete Anti-Dandruff Shampoo but I'm sure any other kind of brand of anti-dandruff shampoo will work. I've got a short, buzzcut "hairstyle" by the way)

-Sore back/shoulders (I workout 4 days a week and run at least 3. I don't find this soreness too crippling, I just work through it. Tiger Balm works well if you want some relief for your muscles as well. I do heavy workouts with heavy weight and it doesn't bother me when I'm working out, just after when the day is ove.)


I hope to update this constantly and thanks for reading!!!

DAY 2

Hey ya'll!

So basically this is another one of those Accutane logs that are so popular on this site! =p

I guess I'll start with a brief background on moi!
I've had acne ever since I was ten years old, I'm now 17 (18 in July). The WORSE period for my acne was when I was 13. It was basically as bad as it gets. Thankfully, ever since I turned 17 it's started to clear up A LOT. In fact, I'm sure once I post the pictures of my skin your all going to go "why are you even on Accutane?!" because right now my skin is honestly the BEST I've seen it in seven years.
The reason for this is that my derm was like "the clearer your skin is when you start Accutane, the better the outcome will be and you could even skip over the inital breakout!" Of course, because a huge fan of skipping over the IB lol I said I'd give anything a shot to get my skin semi-clear, which I have!
I'm happy with how far I've come in just a year but I started all this solely for 'tane, therefore I plan on still using 'tane.

Sooooo... welcome to day 2 of my Accutane journey!
I currently only have three actives I guess you could say... they're kinda tiny and just starting to come through the skin, you know? and their on my forehead -_- but one is on the right side of my face... kinda close to my hair line on my cheek (you can actually see it in one of the pics I'm gonna post).
I also have a BUNCH of like gathered little.. almost like bumpy white spots, along my chin. I've had these FOREVER, so it's nothing new but I'm hoping 'tane will make them disappear! I tried to take a picture of them as best I could but they don't really show up well in pics.
I also have blackheads EVERYWHERE, but again, they're hard to see in pics and their kinda almost under the skin. They're really annoying, they look like just big pores but my derm told me they were blackhead so *Shrugs* whatever lol
Also my face can get really red and my derm says that's because I have acne rosacea.. and apparently Accutane can help with the rosacea too sometimes, so hopefully it will!

I currently get about one to two crysts every two weeks or so. I know this isn't as bad as everyone else, but again, my skin is pretty clear right now. I use to get about three to four crysts every week! And I'm scared that'll start happening again but lets hope not!

Um... I also have a lot of red marks, like scars, left from acne and I'm currently using Derma E Scar Gel three times a day every day for that but I've only used it for a week and it says it takes about three months! to see results, so I'll wait.

Um.. what else? .... oh!! my 'tane dosage is currently 40mg every morning. My derm is kinda taking this by the month so we don't know if my dosage will be uped or how long I'll be on Accutane. However, my derm did say he expects to keep me on 'tane for about 4 to 5 months because he knows I've been fighting the battle of acne forever and really wants it to be gone pretty much just as much as I do, which I'm glad about actually.
Also I'm currently not really seeing any side effects from 'tane.. which I didn't think I would on day 2! haha, however I'm over thinking things and therefore I keep thinking my skin is really dry and itchy but I think it's fine =)


okay... I just tried uploading some pictures on here but it won't let me upload ANY... is this why most people use photobucket to show their pics? =/

Okay, well I have homework to do so I'll get back on the pictures sometimes this weekend, promise! I just need some time to fiddle around with photobucket then because I don't want anyone finding my pictures that I don't want to see them kinda thing, eek! that'd be embrassing, I never go outside without makeup on!
If anyone has any tips on how to help me make my photobucket thing private but still allow people from here to see, that'd be great!

Also, if anyone has any tips for using Accutane that'd also be great

oh yeah! I'm also NOT using a generic brand of 'tane. I refuse to and therefore my pharmacy promised me to give me the Accutane brand every month


Umm.. so yeah, that's about it =) sorry for the longness of this post and I promise others will be shorter! =p
I look forward to reading others logs and hopefully getting some followers of mine lol

ps. my name is Gillian =)

So.. hellooo. After checking this site almost daily for three months I have finally decided to start my own blog. I'm having a tough time with my accutane right now and I could use the support of this community.

About myself- I am 21 years old, I have had acne since I was 14. Throughout the years I have been on every antibotic and every topical and nothing has ever worked for me. Two years ago my derm wanted to put me on accutane, I freaked out at the side effects and didn't go back to see her for 2 years. Over the summer, my boyfriend of 6 years broke up with me and my face exploded. I decided it was time to get on accutane. In Sept I went back to the derm and once again got scared of the side effects, and she put me on Spiralactone (sp?) for 2 months. It didn't work out and I decided to brave accutane.

I took my first pill Nov 30, I'm on day 25. I HATE accutane already. The first 2 weeks I had severe back pain, but that has subsided. Right now, I have horrible cysts on my forehead and chin. I have gotten cysts before, but usually one at a time. I have never had 5 at once. I also have these strange small bumps all along both sides of my mouth from my lips down to my jawline. The look like they could be whiteheads beneath the surface or something. Anyway, it's Christmas Eve, and I was at my cousin's house and he took a picture of me. I have about 5 pounds of makeup on, which I thought was cleverly masking my huge breakout. When he showed me the picture, I was shocked to see how bad my skin looked. When I was at church tonight talking to a family friend, I could see him staring at my breakout along the side of my mouth. Whenever I talk to my brother, I can see his eyes scanning my face looking over all my blemishes. I'm really getting sick of this.

I would like some advice from people who are past the 25 day mark. How long has everyone's IB lasted? Do you have another IB when your dosage is increased? Oh, and I'm on 30mg a day. Seems kind of low compared to what I am seeing on here. Also, I have seen a few people talk about putting neosporin on their pimples at night. What kind of pimples does that help, cysts or just zits?

Since I am on this site almost daily checking everyone else's blogs, I am sure I'll be posting on the reg. Have a good Christmas everyone!

Why does acne have to be so difficult? I don't think anyone understands the trauma it causes until they deal with it.

In high school, my acne got pretty bad just after puberty and I saw a dermatologist my Junior year. I got some treatment and started to forget that acne was ever an issue. I thought I was done with my acne problems until I got pregnant at age 26. While pregnant with my first daughter, my face broke out like nothing I had ever dealt with before. It looked like I had a rash everywhere. I was travelling with work at the time and my customers wouldn't even look me in the face. I had a hard time looking people in the eye when I talked to them as well and started to see a change in my personality (not wanting to go to social events, see old friends or allow pictures). I went from clear skin to severe acne almost immediately, then as quickly as it came, it cleared. In my 4th month of pregnancy, my acne vanished. It was a frightening situation, but I was so relieved that I wasn't going to have to continue to deal with it. Over the last 7 years, I've had 4 children. With each child, my acne would come and go. It was never consistent, so I wasn't able to predict when I would get it. I had my last child in early 2009. During and after my last pregnancy, I had minimal, controllable acne. Unfortunately, as soon as I stopped nursing, my face started spiraling out of control.

I began to have consistent, severe acne. I prayed that it was hormonal and would clear. I got on Yaz birth control to "help" the problem with no results. It was mortifying. My face had huge cysts that hurt as badly as open sores all over my face. It woke me up in my sleep because it hurt. In addition to the large zits, I also had many small pimples all over my face. I believed it would clear, but it has been almost 5 months and it hasn't let up at all. My friends started giving me advice about using a particular face wash or changing my pillow cases as if one small change would magically solve my problem. No one understood how embarrassing or hard on my self esteem this change in my face has been.

My dermatologist immediately recommended Accutane (Amnesteem) when she saw me. I have such high hopes for this medication. My out of pocket expenses are over $1000 between monthly consultations, blood work and medication. That is a huge chunk for me since I'm currently staying at home with 4 kids under the age of 7.

I had trouble with my dermatologist because they don't understand the iPledge program and that has been a pain. They told me that I needed to come back every 31 days for blood work, then wait an additional 2 days for results every month. Ummmm....hello? A 30 day prescription and a 33 day wait means that I would be out of medication every month for 3 - 5 days, depending on the day of the week the visit fell. The dermatologist assured me that I would be "fine" without medication for a few days every month. If I'm dealing with this awful problem and spending $1000 out of pocket to solve it, I'm not "fine" with being out of medication every month. I called the iPledge program and was told the 31 day wait is only between the first and second blood test. After that time, a blood test can be taken at any time during the month. I switched to a new dermatologist who I will begin seeing next month to continue treatment. They assured me that they won't allow me to run out of medication.

So, here I sit on day 13 of Amnesteem 40 mg treatment. My only side effects so far are dry lips. My face is a little dry but not terrible. My breakouts are still there and the large cystic pimples are still staring me in the face. Last night, my scalp started itching which is odd, but I would deal with little men crawling from my ears right now if it meant that my face would clear.

I look forward to the day that I can feel good about my skin again. I want to be able to pull my hair back and not feel like a teenager who doesn't care about my skin. I want to have people ask me for beauty advice rather than the chronically clear skinned folks offering me a simple solution to a problem they don't understand. I've had every ridiculous piece of advice you can imagine from organic eating to putting toothpaste on my face.

I think younger people get a break when it comes to acne. It is more socially acceptable. I don't believe it is easy to deal with at any age, but I think there is more empathy for younger people with acne. At my age (34), I think people assume that my 4 children have taken my focus away from my personal hygeine and that I must just be "letting myself go". It is really hard to deal with. You just can't hide your face like you can hide your body or other problems. Acne is a horrible and painful problem that could use more empathy from others.

Wish me luck. I'm hoping that I will feel much better about my skin in another month or so. This site is a great source of support from people who are dealing with the same problem.

Well im starting accutane... AGAIN, but dont worry the first time i took it i only lasted about 11 days into it. This time im going all the way. Yes i wimped out, i wasent expecting or aware of an IB so i stopped, but that was 4 months ago.

Well here goes.

Day 1: I took my first pill about 7 hours ago and I can already feel my lips drying out??? I can also feel on the left side of my chin that annoying pounding heart beat feeling. Although im not entirely convinced its the medication taking effect already.

Well heres a little history... Im a 20 year old male, 6'3 140 pounds. I go to college but because of accutane and my previous experience i thought it wise to drop my classes and take only one class this semester... i work part time at a retail store which is gonna sucks BA***. Oh yea, and im taking claravalis? not sure if i spelled that right, 40 mg a day. I have moderate acne, not severe.

It has been 11 days since I began my journey, and I suppose I am seeing a little improvement to the existing breakouts I had before I took the plunge. However, I continue to get new, little bumps occasionally which seem to go away quickly. As I have read in other blogs, and I feel the same way, these "little bumps" would probably amount to something more evil and grotesque had I not been on accutane, so I guess that's a way of looking at the glass as half full, eh?

Face and lips are extremely dry...I use Eucerin maybe twice daily and medicated chapstick all the time to keep things controlled...guess this is a daily routine I will grow to love.

Next, I have a few questions for you countless readers (if any at all.) One: Where did you get the impression that you can't drink at all? I specifically asked my derm if I could indulge in a weekend libation, and he said no problem, as long as I wasn't downing the pill with a beer. He was very nonchalant about the response, and it didn't seem to be an issue at all. I have read other blogs saying that their weekend life has been impacted by accutane, and I'm wondering why. Then again, I may get a blood test done next month just to find out the alcohol has doomed me!

Also, is there anyone else out there that was prescribed epiduo in ADDITION to accutane (claravis)? For some reason I feel like these two shouldn't mix. But thats just me.

More updates to come!

Hello all!

I've been a frequent lurker of Accutane logs since I joined acne.org. It seems a little voyeuristic, but I was so mesmerized by the transformation people seemed to go through. I've desperately wanted to go on Accutane for two years now, and it appears my time has come!

Some history:

I've had mild acne since I was 11/12. I got my first spot when I was 9, but it was just like one or two here and there until I hit puberty full-on. Then it was pretty much mild all through junior high, high school, and into college. I tried different products, but nothing really helped. I was extremely self-conscious about it. I hadn't gone without makeup since the age of 13. I realize now, looking back, how much my skin ruined my self-esteem. Draping my hair ever so subtly in the hopes it would distract people from my spotty appearance. But I was loathe to do anything about it, because I was a teenager - I would "grow out of it."

Ha.

College is when it really hit the fan. A little over two years ago, my mild (but annoyingly persistent) acne exploded into moderate bordering on severe. In my mother's words, "Your poor face!"

So I went to the dermatologist for the first time, and was sent away with antibiotics, Retin-A Micro, and Benzac, with the promise that if that didn't clear me, we could consider Accutane.

Well, minocycline cleared me - for about a month. Best month of my life. I went outside without makeup! Such a luxury clear-skinned people don't realize they have. In the last month of my course (I was only on it for a couple of months), it stopped working, ever so slowly. A spot here, another there...I was still fairly clear at the end of my course, but depressed because I could literally FEEL the acne returning.

My dermatologist, though puzzled that it was already coming back, was confident we could maintain it with Retin-A and Benzac. Ha.

My skin never got used to Retin-A. I peeled, I flushed, and it never really cleared me. Just made me oilier, if anything.

So he added Duac into the mix. Which worked fairly well for a few months...until it didn't.

By this point I had changed insurance companies, and my dermatologist didn't take my new insurance. So I said good riddance and decided to do it alone.

I managed to keep things moderately under control with a BHA, BP, and occasional exfoliation.

My skin was more or less mild, with breakouts on my chest and shoulders in addition to those all over my face. About once a month, though (gee, guess when?), my face would go over to the moderate side. And I would retreat. I called in sick to work, stayed home from parties.

Over the last 6 months or so it's gotten progressively worse, to the point that my GP recommended a new dermatologist who was setting up his office in her healthcare complex.

I made an appointment, and walked out with approval for Accutane! He didn't even let me get through my entire history before he told me my options, basically saying it was between Solodyn, Spironolactone, Differin, or Accutane. And since he assumed I was sick of having to maintain a regimen every day of my life, he recommended Accutane.


So, here's where we stand. I'm one negative pregnancy test down. I can take my next test on January 8th. And then, Deity willing, I will start what will hopefully be a life-changing experience for the better!

I'm prepared for the negative side effects. I'm a pessimist by nature. I always say, expect the worst and you'll never be disappointed. I hope that that will carry me through.

My birthday is June 8. I'm turning 24. 24 has always been my lucky number. How fortuitous that I should be able to start my 24th year with the best birthday present ever!

Hi, my name is Jake and i started taking accutane 2 weeks ago. In June I saw my dermatologist and up until 2 weeks ago, I was repeatedly prescribed different anti-biotics but none of them worked. My acne is affecting me way too much not to go on accutane.

So he started me on 40 mg twice a day and see how my body reacts to it after a month. So far my acne has gotten a bit worst which I expected. On the 4th day I got extremely itchy, and it was hard to sleep but that went away after 2 days. The day after the itching started i got severe headaches and I never get headaches but those also went away after a day. Im currently on my 15th day and the only side effects are dry lips.

I'm really hoping that I will start to see improvement within the next 2 weeks. My derm told me that i would start seeing improvements from a month to 2 months. Sorry if this wasnt entertaning enough, its a work in progress.

This is me in my first week, most of my acne is on my cheeks though so its hard to see the severity of it
[attachment=23100:me_week1.jpg]

About Me

I am a long time user of this website, but never posted anything and as I am just starting a course of Roaccutane, I thought it would be a good time to share my experiences. I am a 24 year old male from the UK who has suffered with acne for many years. I have tried lots of things in the past, antibiotics, creams, diet and holistic approaches but nothing has completely cleared my acne. The best thing I have found is a combination of diet and Dans regime. I have tried lots of cleansers, moisturisers and products containing benzoyl peroxide, but have found that Dans products are by far the best. It can be a little expensive ordering these from the UK but I would definitely recommend it. For my diet, I try to eat healthily including fruit and veg, good home cooked food, hardly any take aways or greasy foods and cut out dairy, wheat and gluten products. After being very strict with my diet and being on Dans regime for a good few months my skin looked the best it had done for years - I was not totally clear though. After being almost clear for a few more months, I then decided to go down the holistic approach to see if this would get me completely clear. I even went to see a homeopath, as nice and as helpful as she was, I regret this so much. I stopped Dans regime opting for a 'greener' approach, using natural products like tea tree oil face washes. I also took a couple of homeopathic remedies. Over the space of a couple of months this broke me out really badly and my acne just got worse and worse. I decided to see my GP and try to get a referral to a dermatologist, in the meantime I started back on Dans regime and started to see an improvement. I chose to go down the private route as I have health insurance, so I am partly covered although I have had to pay for the Roaccutane. I think it is worth it as within less than 2 weeks since my appointment with my GP I have seen the dermatologist twice, had a blood test and got Roaccutane. I have just had my first couple of tablets tonight and I am so excited. I really hope this works. I will stop Dans regime and have been trying to find what I should use as a face wash and moisturiser. My derm recommended aqueous cream so I will go with that as I have read about quite a few people using this. What do you think? What products would you recommend using?

Anyway, sorry for the long post and ramblings but this is just a snippet of what I have tried over the years and I have become slightly obsessed with my skin. I can't stop looking of different ways to treat acne and what products are best to use. In the past I have been put off from Roaccutane due to the possible side effects, but my acne started to really get me down so I felt I just had to give it a go!

I will post updates weekly with pictures to let you know how my skin is going, how bad the side effects are (if there are any) and how I am dealing with them. If you have any questions along the way or have any tips to share, just get in touch. I hate having my picture taken, but here I am before I took the first dose - acne looking very bad. (Sorry about the pictures by the way, the quality isn't the best).

[attachment=22946:Front.jpg] [attachment=22948:Right.jpg] [attachment=22947:Left.j
pg]

So, I know I am starting the log a bit late. I guess the first few weeks are pretty uneventful anyways so here I begin with a brief summary of what has happened until now.

I am 23 and will be 24 in 5 weeks.

Quick background

Got acne at around 20-21. I usually have 1-4 small-medium nodules at any given time and a few healing. Sometimes more. Sometimes a few pustules in addition. My face - especially my cheeks - is pretty crowded with red marks so without makeup I look pretty bad.

For the first year or so, I took only minocycline and topicals, which did not really work. Then at 22 and 23 I really became desperate and I tried everything - including spironolactone (did not work), every antibiotic and topical and home remedy. I sometimes worry that I have put to much rubbish in my body.
My acne remained mild-moderate and persistent.

I wish that my doctors had agreed to give me accutane sooner. I know there are many who have more severe acne than I do. Nonetheless, I has been pretty bad at times and it was absolutely devastating this past year when it reached its peak.

My dosage is an average of 60mg a day, alternating 40 and 80 every other day. That is a total of about 45 40mg pills per month.

Month 1- up and down, not miraculous but I looked better than i did before. There would be times that I thought " this WILL be my last pimple, and it will all be healing from now on". Not so.

I am now on month 2 and have about 19 more pills before my next pack. and I did slow down my dosage for a while just because I became paranoid that my joints were hurting. They are fine now so I should finish my meds this month on time with the proper average dosage. I don't know if I will have slowed down my possible results, I never took less than 40 a day (other than for three days between filling my script).

My doc told me to get two topicals, one is neo-medrol and the other is a custom compound involving a few things (antibiotics mainly). They have been good I think, I have not gotten another pustile since starting the compound; the neo-medrol helps keep the red nodules from becoming really red and inflamed.

SO

DAY 52


My overall tone is pretty good. Two or three days ago I got one papule/nodule on my jawline which may or may not stick around as long as its twin on the other side of my face. Its very strange how my pimples are usually concentrated on either side of my face at any given time and that they seem to crop up in similar places. I also have one hard nodule on my cheek which I am not at all happy about. Other than these two actives, I have some small healing pimples around my face.

Side effects: dry lips (whatever), mild headaches. I don't know if they are related or if I should be concerned.


I really hope the pimples I have now don't last forever, as they usually do, and that I dont get more! Still, I think I am doing better than I have on anything else I have tried. I like that you can actually feel accutane at work.

I have been reading all of your logs for ages and thought I would jump in! Been wishing you all well!

Hello everyone

Just a quick description about my current situation

Ok, so my name is Jade, Ive suffered with mild (at times severe) acne since I was 10 years old (Yep, I did say 10) And i am now 16 years of age. Its severely paralyzing to my self confidence, especially at my age whilst being at school with all the pressure about everything. When i wear makeup, i am such a social butterfly (im sure many can relate), but when i dont wear makeup (which is pretty much everyday) I keep my glued to the floor, i dont talk to many people apart from close friends, and i cannot talk to anyone and look them in the eyes. It feels like they are examining the craters on my face. Dont get me wrong, my acne isnt the worser ive seen in my life, but it is the worst ive seen in my school, & i have had horrible comments about my skin, your pretty much on a permanent downer whilst having acne

Ok so i took some pictures, (none of which i will EVER have makeup on btw, just so you know its only MY skin) Didnt realise the flash made my skin look better than it actually was, i have scars and cysts covering most of my skin which i dont think you can see, and i also have acne on my chest and near my breasts (which im obviously not going to take a picture of) which can be pretty painful.

[attachment=24263:before1.jpg]NOTE: I never take my picture without makeup, or smiling, or doing my hair nice, so i find these pictures utterly disgusting, as may most of you, BE KIND!
^ This is a picture of my face the day i got accutane after my blood results came back (As i dreaded, acne cleared up right before i went to my derm app. however she kindly told me my face was bad enough to be on accutane, yay) And compared to the accutane logs ive read, I should consider myself lucky because so many other people have it worse than I do.

I have been on accutane/isotretinoin since the 18th of dec, so about 2 and a half weeks ago, and ive been taking pictures every few days and writing some brief notes about side effects, improvements, and drawbacks. As my computer is broken at present, I just wrote it on paper with the intention of putting it up on here. I hope i havent droned on too long, and here is my official log!:

DAY 1
After taking my first pill, I had an upset stomach, and a bit of a bad head, however, both were hardly anything to ride home about, very low in severity. I have been told to moisturise, drink alot of water, and keep my lips vaselined so that is what ive started doing! No big difference in complexion, as expected!

DAY 2
Drank loads of water yesterday, kept that up today. nothing new to report.
*picture below*
[attachment=24262:before2.jpg]


DAY 3
7 white heads have all just popped up overnight. Really out of the blue. Didnt do anything different yesterday. Might be an initial break out, then again, My face does do this at times a. Lips seem to have formed a crispy layer, and i have also developed a trout pout as lips are slightly swollen. face is not dry though.

DAY 4
(I popped all white heads yesterday, then cleaned them by the way, sorry if thats too much info haha) 2 or 3 of the new whiteheads from yesterday have went read and irritated, the others have shrivelled up and dont look as bad as the white heads would have.

DAY 5
Dryed my hair as normal today with my normal hair dryer on the normal settings, and afterwards, my hair felt soo brittle, and normally, my hair is the only thing (sometimes my eyes) that i get complimented on. Never "oh your pretty" its always "...oh.... you have nice.... eyes and hair" haha i dont mind, at least i know they arent lieing. Also, had really bad back pain today, just put it down to sleeping in a funny position, or "growing pains" as my doc says (I grew 6 inches in months, and i normally get a bad back and cant bend in certain ways) Face developed a rash also today, making my acne look inflamed.

DAY 6
Ive been using an oil free moisturiser to prevent getting clogged pours and aggrivating acne, so my skin has not got dry, however it feels almost rubbery? and its developing a shine, not the shine a person with oily skin normally gets, like you need alot of toilet roll to dab on your face, but oily like stiff and stretchy, rash still here, and its making my face feel hot even though im cold (its winter here)

DAY 7
Wowza. 5 whiteheads have developed around the immediate area around my lips. I suspect its the grease from the vaseline im using on my lips. Other than that, rash still exists.

DAY 8
Whiteheads are slowly disapearing, rash is still here, and infact i think its getting worse, a huge big non-poppable spot has appeared on my cheek and my forehead. looks like a huge red blister. I can almost see both if i look up or i look to the left. GREAT.

DAY 9
The two blisters on my face seem to have flattened, they arent painful anymore but my back is starting to really hurt, and i mean really hurt. You know when you pick up something heavy like a washing machine and you use your back instead of your legs and your in agony, thats what it feels like, off an one for the whole day. Derm says its probably just joint pain and if it becomes too agonising i have to stop taking it. PFFT. nothing is too agonising with a 97% success rate of getting rid of acne in my opinion! Sorry, i tend to waffle...

DAY 10
Ok, best day to date since being on accutane. My face has really started to dry up the acne, without drying out my face. It feels really itchy though and stings when im outside and the snow/wind hits it. Face still feels like its burning too,
*Picture* [attachment=24271:100_2281.JPG]


*be back with the next 8 days after ive done some homework lol*

My name is Matt. I'm 21/m and started my second course on accutane on February 4th.

I first went on accutane when I was 15, almost 7 years ago (I'll be 22 next month!). I had bad inflammatory cystic acne which was completely destroyed on my first course. About a year after, the acne returned in a mild course. I treated with over the counter products for a while, which worked out fine. Before I went to college, i started breaking out a bit more, so I went back to the derm and stated on doxycyline. This cleared me for about a year and a half, upon which my acne returned in a mild form. I continued with the doxy and tried all sorts of over the counter products without much success. Over the next year and half, my acne gradually got worse, but was still manageable. This past December, I basically cleared up completely, which got me extremely excited. However, come January, I had the worst breakout since I was 15. I thought it would pass, but it has persisted. So i ventured back to the derm, and now I am trying round 2 of accutane.

So I would like to think since this is the second time going through this that I would be *pro* but this just is not true. When I was 15, my skin was quite literally horrid. I don't think I looked in the mirror once until I was completely cleared. Granted, I was much, much worse back then. But today, i am much more concerned with the side effects. I didn't put anything on my face then, i just left my skin dry and let my lips peel.

Anyways, I am concerned with the excessive dryness because my skin is already quite dry. I use a lot of moisturizer after I shower, and yet I feel like my skin creates very little oil...and this is before I even start accutane!

So now the goal: I graduate from college mid june. I'm on a 5 month course at 40 mg 2x a day (80 mg/day). I'm hoping to be completely clear by then!

I'm going to use this log as a way of just venting about everything in my life. I hope my life is too boring =)

Pictures coming soon!

One question for anyone reading: Any suggestions for a good moisturizer for dry skin? I've tried so many but I haven't found one that has really moisturized super well.

Hi all,

Here is my story..

Im 27 yrs old. i've had acne since teenage years..used to be occasional or once in a while kind of flareups.
About 4 years ago, bad acne started when my gran passed away. I guessed i was depressed back then.. often thinking about her. N i think it sort of caused my breakouts.
Seen a doctor and was prescribed with retin/steiva A and other topical acne creams/lotions. Things began to look up about 5 mths after starting on this regime. I was really happy and constantly reminded myself not to take the good skin for granted. Watched my diet and avoided all "acne contributing foods".

Then recently, about october last year, i started to break out very badly. Esp at my lower cheek and chin area. I have never changed any skincare products and used retin/steiva religiously but i was still breaking out. About November last yr, i visited another doctor and was prescribed with roaccutane. The dosage pattern i was suppose to take was 20mg pills per day for only 7 days per month. Meaning, i would take roaccutane pills for 1 week, and then stop for 3 weeks, and take for another week.. and it goes on..

I followed my doctor's instructions and took this dosage pattern for about 3 mths. But my breakouts became more n more persistent and i was having clogged pores all over my face..
So my doctor changed my prescrption to 30mg per day. Now im taking 30mg everyday and m suppose to continue with this for 6 mths..

Just only 12th days on roaccutane.. im already having millions of clogged pores and zits esp at my chin n area. When i cleanse my face, it just feels so bumpy and its a pain to wash my face now..
I wonder how long would the purging stop... i already feel like giving up.. But i know i cant.. feeling very confused and depressed now.......

Hope i dont give up and keep this roaccutane log here active..... pls give me some encouragement peeps.. im really really really so sad now.. ='(

Hey everyone! After a really long time of waiting, I’ve finally managed to get myself on the glorious nuclear weapon, Accutane! (Claravis, actually.) I’m a 17 year old female, 5’9” and weigh 110lbs. My derm is going to start me for the first month with 40mg once a day and I will be on a 5 month course.

I’ll start off by saying that I’ve been suffering from acne for the past few years. I’ve always had a few zits here and there but it was nothing much. About two years ago the small zits turned into a few cysts every once in a while. I was on Proactiv for most of my younger teenage years and after a while it just didn’t seem to work. Instead tossing away money on over the counter products, I went to the dermatologist. She put me on every antibiotic and topical medication that you can imagine. Nothing seemed to work. I’ve tried every homemade remedy and other products on the market with no true success. Mostly I started to believe that my acne was genetic and hormonal. The gene pool didn’t necessarily bless me with great skin. Both of my parents had fairly bad acne as kids. Yaaay me!

About…oh 4 or 5 months ago my dermatologist thought I should try a birth control pill to see if it would help. Sooo I went on the “fabulous” Yaz. At first, my skin started to really clear up. Between my visits with an esthetician and the pill, my skin seemed to be decent! Oh man what a trick that was! After a little while my skin became EXTREMELY irritated and I truly believe this was because of Yaz. What a scam!

So I’ve recently switched to the BCP Loestrin 24fe and my skin isn’t as annoyed. The damage is still done though and I have red marks all over from past breakouts. I can’t wait until they fade! My dermatologist and I both agreed that I should also start Accutane so my skin can stop being a never-ending pimple fountain of doom. I was pretty psyched! I waited roughly two months because of the pregnancy tests that were needed and….oh wait! It wasn’t that easy! Thanks to my luck, the dermatologist messed up my paperwork and I needed to take ANOTHER blood test and wait ANOTHER month. (Seriously, anyone who is considered Accutane, PLEASE annoy the hell out of your dermatologists and make sure that all of the paperwork is done correctly.)

After 3 months of waiting, on December 31, I at last got my prescription but…oh god it was New Years Eve! My derm couldn’t register me until 5pm. After that, I had to call iPledge and answer a bunch of questions to even activate my prescription. I was running around like crazy hoping that my pharmacy wouldn’t be closed. By the time I got to the pharmacy, they didn’t have the drug in stock. Luckily, the girl was nice enough to call another pharmacy and they happened to have exactly what I needed. PHEW! (I can’t believe what a hassle Accutane is! Jeeeez!)

So! Here we go! I took my first pill on January 1st, 2010. So, at the moment. I’m on day 3. I don’t really have any side effects right now and I hope it stays that way haha. There really hasn’t been a change in my acne yet either. We’ll see what happens!


I’ve included some photos to show you all the change in my skin over the past few months. It went from lovely to ugly! Woohoo!

(Just copy and paste the link. Anyone know how to make photos work on here?)


March 2009 (with makeup): "Heeey! Pretty nice skin!"
http://img686.imageshack.us/i/march09.png/


June 2009 (no makeup): "W-what...are those red things?"
http://img710.imageshack.us/i/june09.png/


August 2009 (no makeup): "Hey! It's clearing up again!"
http://img710.imageshack.us/i/august09.png/


December 31st 2009 (pre-tane, no makeup): "OHGOD! Did someone take a flamethrower to my face in my sleep?!?"
http://img686.imageshack.us/i/preaccutanedec31.png/
http://img30.imageshack.us/i/pretanedec31.png/

How embarrassing, eh?
With makeup on...I can cover the redmarks up pretty well at least.
December 2009 (with makeup):
http://img163.imageshack.us/i/pretanemakeup.png/


For the record, my forehead is kinda the same...not that bad.
Alright! That's all for now guys! I'll update this every few days or so! With photos too!
I'll also maybe make a post just to show you guys all the crap I've been on for the past few years. My bathroom is STUFFED with products! Hahaha.

Hi Guys,

I've been lurking around here for the past week or so, finally thought I'd come out and start my own little Accutane log- you all are so supportive of one another it feels like a great place to be. Especially since no one else I know has skin like mine- even my parents don't understand. My mom always says I wear too much makeup but I just tell her that she would too if she had skin like mine. It does break her heart to see me getting so upset over how my skin is.

I've been an acne sufferer since I was 16- I'm 22 (today actually- Happy Bday to me) and I feel as if I've tried everything to get rid of the bumps and lumps on my face. I'd say my acne is moderate, but constant. At first I didn't really do anything special for my face, I used drug store brand scrubs and facials- I figured it was just a phase I was going through. Flash forward to over 5 years later and I don't really think it's a phase anymore.

I finally got tired of slathering on layer upon layer of foundation (hello, cake face) and went to see my doctor. He gave me a few prescriptions for lotions and potions and they did nothing but make my face extremely dry and tender, so tender that warm water on my face felt like acid. He then sent me off to a great dermatologist here in Vancouver (forgot to mention that, I'm Canadian and yes I do say eh) in 2007 and she put me on new birth control (Diane 35) and gave me a slew of things to do to my face- I'm talking at least 7 steps morning and night. After being on that for 6 months I was happy with the way things were going, and I *gasp* stopped going to my derm thinking all my problems had been solved. Uh... nope!

Another 6 months later I went back and we both decided it was too much work and not enough action. She gave me a few prescriptions (sorry I'm so bad with what everything was called...) one was basically water pills, the other something to help control the acne. Well those worked for the first couple months and then my body decided to get used to them and stop allowing them to work. I was put on Clenziderm (hooray something I know the name of) and that worked wonders, I was still getting a few breakouts around that time of the month.. and blackheads still ruled my nose, but for the most part my skin was smooth- which was all I wanted.

I'm a girl who always wears makeup, at first it was because I loved putting it on and making myself pretty- but then it got to the point where putting it on felt like a chore. It was used to hide all my scars and spots. With the Clenziderm it got to the point where I had zero bumps and lumps and I could go out with very little makeup. This lasted 3 or so months and now it's decided to stop working. Fed up and defeated I went back to my derm and she said it was time for Accutane.

Now Accutane is something I've been told about before, but terrified to start. I knew it had to get worse before it got better, but I really didn't want it to get worse. I'd stay it so-so skin to avoid the pimply mess I knew it would bring. I'm also terrified of blood tests FYI- terrified, fainting, shaking the whole nine yards. But I figured I was (at the time) almost 22 and was tired of being so damn shy and self conscious of my face.

So I got blood work done (and I had to pee in a cup- that was an odd thing, as I had never done that before) on the 23rd. The nurse used the needle they use on infants and I still got the shakes, the feeling of throwing up and almost fainted (going to get a test each month is going to be a real treat). Went back to my derm on the 28th and got my prescription for Accutane (the box says Accutane Roche, so I don't know what that really means). Took my first pill on Friday the 29th.

I'm on 40mg a day for the first month, and we will see how that goes (I'll be on it for about 5.5 months). I'm currently on day 6 (6th pill tonight). I've noticed a bit of drying, my chin and around my nose especially. My back has been sore and I've been really tired- though I don't know if that's the Accutane or the fact that I sit at a desk all day and I've always been tired, even before taking it. I don't know if it's too soon or not, but I've noticed on the tip of my nose the blackheads seem to be gone or at least faded- just the tip though, not the rest of my nose. I'm also slightly less oily than I have been before. My forehead seems to have exploded so I'm wondering if that's the start of the IB- thankfully I can hide most of it with my bangs. Also got a major bump under my chin on my neck, can't see it until I tilt my head up which is nice.

Anyways, I will try to update as much as I can- should be pretty easy since I'm always at my computer. I thank you if you've read all this, even if you've skimmed that's really nice of you as well. I'll most likely have questions so if you guys know the answer I'd appreciate the help.

Hey everyone!

My name is Brian and I am almost 19. I have had acne since I was maybe 15 or 16. I have mild or moderate acne on my face and back.

The acne on my face was never a huge problem until I went away to university last September. All of a sudden, my forehead (where I hardly ever got pimples previously) was horribly broken out. Since getting back home two months ago however, my skin has cleared up a lot. At school I was eating really unhealthily, did little to no exercise and I had terrible sleeping habits. I definately cleaned up my act once I came home and next year at school I plan to live a much healthier lifestyle.

Although my facial acne cleared a bit on its own when I came home, I decided I would still like to try Accutane. The acne on my back is very persistant and I'm really embarrased of it. I was just on vacation down south and I wouldn't swim with my family. I made excuses and waited until they were done so I could swim by myself. Even then I only swam for like 20 minutes in a one week vacation. I feel like its holding me back so much... I don't take my shirt of in front of friends and its hard to lie about why I don't want to swim or participate.

I had tried the Proactiv system, the Clinique system, prescription topicals and also minocin (which I was allergic to). Everything is so expensive and complicated, I just want to be rid of my acne forever.

My derm originally recommended Accutane for me about 18 months ago and it really offended me. I thought it was rude to suggest my acne was bad enough for accutane, which was definately stupid considering how much worse my acne got over the next year. So now I am going back to the derm and I'm on the tane!

I weigh about 65 kgs and am on 60mg/day of brand-name Accutane. I started on June 13/08 so that made today Day 16.

I have a few questions for all you resident experts though! I've been told by 3 different doctors that a 3 month course should be fine. If I take 60 mg/day for 3 months, I will only reach 83mg/kg by the end of my course. That doesn't seem to be enough, I thought I was supposed to take 120mg-150mg/kg. So I've been thinking that maybe I should ask to be bumped up to 80mg/day for my last 2 months? That would put me at 101mg/kg. Slightly better but still not there! So then I thought maybe I should stay on for another month, but the issue is that I don't want to be on Accutane while I am away at school. I want to be able to drink and have fun without having sickly dry skin and lips. This summer I am already being very disciplined and not drinking on my 19th birthday (legal here in Canada). Then what I considered is taking a smaller dose for my last month so the side effects would be lessened. Perhaps 40 mg a day for Sept? That would FINALLY put me at 120mg/kg.

So what do you all think? Should I take a chance and go with what the doctors say (3 months) or does my 4 month plan of 60/80/80/40 sound any good?

I really don't want to be on accutane at school, I'm not even telling any of my friends that I am on the drug. But I feel like my acne and bacne NEED to be gone soon or I will go crazy.


Day 16

So far the side effects haven't been horrible. I have chapped lips, dry skin and a very sore lower back when I go to bed at night. I think I have recieved two waves of an IB, neither was THAT bad, nothing I haven't dealt with before. Right now I feel like my skin is clearing, hopefully it won't be cyclical with the breakouts. Two is enough! I felt a big zit under the skin between my eyes 2 days ago and thought it would be smart to pop it (against all common sense). In the end, the zit wouldn't even pop and I literally took a layer of skin off so the scab between my eyes looks worse than any zit.

A few days ago I felt really bloated and had a sore stomach (like pressure of something) but I feel fine now. I think maybe it was just my guts getting used to the tane?

Depressing note of the day: My cousins (5 of them) are visiting at the end of July and I really want my face to be clear by then. They are all under the age of 10 and always make comments about my acne (Like "whats on your face?", "why do you have so many?" etc) They obviously don't mean to hurt me but it's so embarrassing.

To make my log a little more interesting, I think I'll do a song of the day or joke of the week or something!

Song of the Week: A Rush of Blood to the Head (Live) by Coldplay. This song is just great and I'm getting ready to be clear by the time I see Coldplay at the end of the summer!

Okay, that's it. Sorry for the encylopedia but I had a lot to say. I can't wait to be clear and I know Accutane will be what gets me there!

Thanks in advance for any input and advice, I'll try to put up pics asap!

Brian