Things were going so well for a while there...

My acne started when I was 18. It got progressively worse until the skin on my face was seriously deformed. I started accutane when I was 24 in 1997. It worked! My skin has never been flawless, but for about a span of 7 years, it had gotten to the point where I didn't obsess about my skin anymore. I would still be bummed by the occasional pimple, but then my skin would clear again, and all would be right with the world.

My skin went haywire again for about a month when I was pregnant when I was 30, but it went away on its own when my hormones stabilized.

Then, last November, the breakouts came again. I had been using the murad system for about 5 years with great success, but suddenly, they didn't work anymore. I tried different OTC products for 3 months, but my breakouts were not subsiding at all.

I knew it was time to call a derm when it was getting to the point where I was avoiding people at work and avoiding social activities so that I wouldn't have to face anyone.

I met with the derm in March, and she put me on oral antibiotics (minocycline) and topical retin-a. It was not a good experience.

A week and a half into the minocycline, I started getting achey joints. The aches soon progressed to severe pain in every joint in my body. I was unable to turn door knobs, shampoo my hair or walk up and down stairs. I was almost completely bed-ridden and missed almost a week of work. My mother in law had to keep my baby girl for a week because I was in too much pain to care for her. It was awful. I had all kinds of blood tests done to see if it was a virus or some other disease, but they all came back negative. So, although we can't say with 100% certainty, we're pretty certain that my pain was the result of the meds.

It took about 3 weeks for my joints to return to normal. There are still some mornings where my joints are stiff until I walk around and lube them up a bit.

Breaking this up...

day 1:

hello! todays my first day taking accutane and im really nervous. dont know what to expect. any helpful tips or advice anything will help

today i saw a dermatoligist for the first time, and have just been subsribed accutane!!!! although some side affects look nasty, i only read half of the leaflet n decided not to read any more.

so who am i, well im a 15 year old male, 16 in november. i was 60kg, so my max dosage for accutane will be 60mg a day, and ill be taking max dosage in a month. i have acne affecting my my face - moderate, my back - moderate-slightly severe and my chest - light. ill be updating my journal a few times a week, so, wish me luck

nm

Well, as of now I've been on accutane for just a little over a month and I guess it's time to finally start posting a log. Or something. Gah, better late than never, right? eh? My current regimen is 2 40mg tablets 1 day and than 1 40mg tablet the next day. Also I've been cleansing my face with Cetaphil cleaner and been using the Cetaphil mosturizer. Yeah... really wish I had a recent picture of me before I went on the stuff to show you guys, but here's where I'm at now.

[attachmentid=1411] [attachmentid=1412] [attachmentid=1413]

other notes: My accutane really caused me to break out on my shoulders and my lower arms like crazy. I'd never had a pimple passed my elbow but damn did I break out there! That has started to heal up and fade pretty much entirely so I didn't bother to post pictures.

Okay, so I am a 20 year old female college student. The background on my skin: ive always had really oily skin. in highschool my acne wasn't toooo bad, but i also just figured it was normal for my age.

then, in my first semester away at college i started breaking out bad. i went to a few dermatologists, and they just put me on topical crap and antibiotics. the antibiotics did nothing, and the topical stuff dried the crap out of my skin!

i was so depressed and couldnt understand why i was having acne after high school! but, when summer came around, i was out in the sun a lot and my skin cleared up pretty nicely. of course, when fall/winter came back, so did my acne. i went to a different dermatologist this time, they were so cool! they recommended accutane, but i turned it down. however, after the antibiotics they gave me didnt work again, i started researching about accutane. my stepmom told my that my aunt went on it a few years ago and it worked for her, so i decided to try it. i was on it for five months, the first two were okay, and the last three my skin was perfect! i was sooo happy, i started partying really hard though b/c my confidence was back. i probably shouldn't have been drinking so heavily because i know it is bad for the liver.

anyways, it has now been about a year since I ended my treatment, and for the past few months my skin is getting worse and worse. my acne isnt as bad as it was before, YET. also, ive been in the sun a lot, and its not really working. i now live with my boyfriend, and he met me when my skin was good, so im a little self concious lately around him. he says he doesnt care what my skin looks like he loves me no matter what, hes great.

so this week i went back to my favorite dermatologist and asked if i should go back on accutane. she was a little hesitent at first because it is summer time, and it is bad to be exposed to a lot of sun while on accutane because it makes you skin way more sensitive.

im only on my second day, but i am optimistic because i already know accutane works! i know its not good for me, but its also not healthy for me to be moping around feeling sorry for myself because my skin sucks. right now my boyfriend is out having a good time without me because i dont want to leave the house! i am so lame. i will have clear skin, oh yes, i will have clear skin! i cant put any pics of my up b/c i have no scanner, but today i have about five really big swollen zits and a lot of bumps and blackheads around my chin forehead and nose. i would say im feeling:

check back with me, i will let you know how im doing in about a week!

Alright.. i'll share some details abt my 2nd accutane journey. I juz started the course, and on 2nd day right now.

Age: 18
Sex: Male
Weight: 60kg
Condition: Oily skin with white heads and several cysts(3-5) on the T-zone
Accutane: 1st time(10mg/day 6mths), 2nd time on going(20mg/day 9mths + 5%BP 3mths)

All these are precribed by doctors.

My dosage for the 1st course, is extremely low. It did not cleared out totally, but there's no cyst. The whiteheads come and go.. low oil to no oil skin.

Cysts and oily skin came back 6mths aft the 1st course. Thus, going on a stronger 2nd course.

BP is used to "kick off" the accutane for a faster recovery.

2nd Course
Day2: Reduction of oil, very minor drying. Cysts became slightly smaller.

i'm a 100% egg-lover~~ i normally consume 3-4 eggs per day~~~

i'm about to start my 'tane course on wed, can i still keep on that diet???

egg has always been a major part of my diet, i'm so worried that i may have to cut it out substantially >O<

My name is Jeffrey, and I have had mild acne for about 2-3 years now(I am 15 now, turning 16 July 11). I have tried a few different options to eliminate my acne, but to no avail. I tried Retin-A-Micro, Differin, Minocycline, Docycycline, Evoclin, and quite a few other over-the-counter medications. The acne seems to be resistant to these treatments. So after like 2 years of trying a ton of medications, my dermatologist finally prescribed the isotretinoin Amnesteem.
Today I began the course of Amnesteem. I took my first pill at 11:40 with about 14 ounces of water, and a can of spaghetti-o's. I plan to take the second pill tonight at 8:00. I must alternate my doses though. Today I take two pills, tomorrow I only take one pill. It averages out to 60 mg per day, or 1 mg per kg of my body weight. Today also marks the beginning of my usage of Aquaphor instead of Blistex. I really want to prevent my lips from getting too dry. I don't want to have to kiss my girl friend with dry cracked lips. Anyway, I am hoping to avoid the nosebleeds. I really dislike nosebleeds. With the Aquaphor, maybe, just maybe, I can avoid the dry lips too. I am going to take a picture today too, with a disposable camera. Just as a reference. I think that I will only take a picture once a month though, that way I don't get discouraged.
I am also going to be telling people to watch out for and alert me if the see any mood swings. I really don't want to end up being another Amnesteem suicide statistic. I highly doubt it though. I have a girlfriend who seems to be supportive enough, and few of my friends ever say anything about my acne to begin with. I am a bit worried about the initial breakout, my dermatologist says that nearly everybody who uses the medication experiences an initial break out. I have never experienced an initial breakout before, and hopefully I don't this time either. Anyway, I feel that this is the beginning of the end for my acne. Although a plethora of side affects await me, I feel it is ultimately worth it to be able to go in for a kiss, and not have to worry about my skin.

I just ende 8th grade. I was on accutane all last year and it worked miracles for me, but just less than a year later, im breaking out again. Ive been on Retin-A Micro for 2 months and it has done nothing. I have an appointment the 17th and will hopefully be starting accutane again. I'll be keeping this thing updated day to day.

MAY 23, 2005

My name is Jeffrey, and I have had mild acne for about 2-3 years now(I am 15 now, turning 16 July 11). I have tried a few different options to eliminate my acne, but to no avail. I tried Retin-A-Micro, Differin, Minocycline, Docycycline, Evoclin, and quite a few other over-the-counter medications. The acne seems to be resistant to these treatments. So after like 2 years of trying a ton of medications, my dermatologist finally prescribed the isotretinoin Amnesteem.
Today I began the course of Amnesteem. I took my first pill at 11:40 with about 14 ounces of water, and a can of spaghetti-o's. I plan to take the second pill tonight at 8:00. I must alternate my doses though. Today I take two pills, tomorrow I only take one pill. It averages out to 60 mg per day, or 1 mg per kg of my body weight. Today also marks the beginning of my usage of Aquaphor instead of Blistex. I really want to prevent my lips from getting too dry. I don't want to have to kiss my girl friend with dry cracked lips. Anyway, I am hoping to avoid the nosebleeds. I really dislike nosebleeds. With the Aquaphor, maybe, just maybe, I can avoid the dry lips too. I am going to take a picture today too, with a disposable camera. Just as a reference. I think that I will only take a picture once a month though, that way I don't get discouraged.
I am also going to be telling people to watch out for and alert me if the see any mood swings. I really don't want to end up being another Amnesteem suicide statistic. I highly doubt it though. I have a girlfriend who seems to be supportive enough, and few of my friends ever say anything about my acne to begin with. I am a bit worried about the initial breakout, my dermatologist says that nearly everybody who uses the medication experiences an initial break out. I have never experienced an initial breakout before, and hopefully I don't this time either. Anyway, I feel that this is the beginning of the end for my acne. Although a plethora of side affects await me, I feel it is ultimately worth it to be able to go in for a kiss, and not have to worry about my skin.

Hey, another roaccutane/accutane user here, just started on the 23rd May. I've had moderate acne for 2 and a bit years, and I've been on a various antibiotics including oxytetracycline, 2 different types of erythromycin and doxycycline. I took the erythromycin last summer which did clear me up a lot, but i guess my body just became immune to it cos my acne reappeared. So now I'm on accutane and hopefully this will clear me up completely.

Well I've been on it for a week now, and it was only yesterday when the dry face and lips side effects really kicked in cos my face at the moment is flakey as hell. Also, I'm feeling quite tired most of the time and a little back pain, but nothing too unbearable.

I also think that I'm having the initial breakout because my acne has been fairly calm for the past week, and now I've got 3 cysts growing along with a couple of whitheads and a several bumps that will most likely lead to more cysts.

Like I said I really hope this will clear my acne shit because I can't stand being in the house all the time any longer, and especially in the summer.

what up new member here

im nick whats goin on... i have acne like alott of other people on here, maybe not as bad but its still there... i went to the derm. and she tells me to go onto accutane. now i know a couple of kids who went on this stuff, and i used to messs around wit them and their chapped lips.. well guess what?? yea i know sucks for me.. so now im deciding if i should go on this stuff or not. ive been on mostly everything and my skin just wont stop its so annoying as most of u know. my actual number one problem is with the alcohol. i do go to parties and drink, along with drinkin with friends and i heard that you shouldnt drink while on accutane because of the liver damage.. does anyone know if you can drink while on accutane??? well id like if i can get some feedback on me taking accutane or not and the drinking alcohol situation.. thanks alot

_nick

Does anyone know if i have to move up to Panoxyl 10% BP?? since i have been use Panoxyl 5% BP for 7 weeks now,will the 10% clear me up for good?

so it's (verb) post accutane logs here?
not post-accutane logs here?

LOL just got confused....