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 so the severity of it


This post has been edited by jakefromcleveland: Nov 6 2009, 06:27 PM

Welcome to the accutane lifestyle. You'll see improvement in a while I'm sure. Good luck with your treatment.

This post has been edited by kimminz: Oct 23 2009, 01:19 PM

The last 2 days which would be the beginning of my 3rd week, I have had a horrible break out. I woke up and the whole right side of my face was covered with new acne. I have never had a break out this bad even when not on any medication. Im not doubting accutane cause its only been 2 weeks and I expected to get worse before it gets better but I really hope these breakouts stop soon.

19th Day - I woke up with new acne on the right side of my face. Face is still dry and i have to add lotion to it every day before class. So dry lips and face are the only side effects im feeling right now.

Day 23 - lips still chapped but my face isnt oily at all. my arms are starting get really dry too but im not having any psychological problems. I'm having random lower back pain from time to time but its all manageable. I meet with my derm on Thursday so hopefully he'll give me an optimistic view

I feel for you with the antibiotics crap. Hopefully I am prescribed Accutane too. Good Luck

So i saw my derm today and he wants me to start taking 2 pills in the morning and 1 at night and he also prescribed azithromyocin to help control the breakouts i've been having. So ill be taking 120 mg a day and he said that he expects to see me really clear up these next few weeks which was nice to hear cause i haven't seen much improvement yet.

So my blood work came back and my cholestrol was a bit higher so now I really need to buckle down on what Im eating. Does anyone have any advice as to what my accutane diet should consist of? I was thinking of just eating chicken, drinking water and i hear oatmeal is good for you too. any ideas would be appreciated

Hey buddy,

You will definitely clear up soon. It looks to me from that picture that you had mild acne. A lot of whiteheads and oily skin right? It didn't look like you had cysts or anything, right?
This will definitely clear up in no time. My acne was very similar but slightly less than yours. How come such a high dosage since your acne is not that severe at all? Does your derm say this is still the best way to treat it?

Best,

Adam

Well yes my skin is very oily but my acne is really bad on my cheeks, ill post a picture soon of that. My face was consistently breaking out all summer and my derm decided that i should start accutane given the severity of it plus it's affecting me way to much not to go on it.

This post has been edited by jakefromcleveland: Nov 6 2009, 05:05 PM

o ok i gotcha Jake. I think it's a good idea that you started accutane already because its the only that will give long lasting remission. The other stuff like antibiotics only clear you up temporarily. And then the effect evenutally wears off and you break out again. I lived it for many years. All i'm asking tho is, is the acne on your cheeks whiteheads or are they cysts, it looks like inflamed whiteheads to me. i'm just asking because i know i can definitely help you if you have any questions throughout your course because i had similar acne. You will be clear in about 3 weeks is my guess.

well im not sure what kind I have but heres pictures of my cheeks where its really bad

Day 31

Well i started taking 120mg/day two days ago and yesterday the itching i had in the first week came back but has seemed to gone away pretty quickly. Im still getting new acne just about every day although my face is less red though. Hopefully I'll start seeing some improvement really soon so I dont have to hide for the holidays

Hey man, how much do you weigh? 120 mg seems like alot. I'm 190lbs, and on 80mg a day.

wow, 120 mg a day, eh? that should ensure that you never see another pimple after your treatment. I'm doing only 40 mg, I hope my derm ups it to 60 or 80. I'd rather have a few months of really bad side effects and ensure I never see another breakout. I like your skin tone, I can already imagine the after results.

I hear ya about watching food though, ever since I started I've been craving baaaaad food and I can't control myself. Must be my oil deprived body yearning for chicken wings and fries

I'm about 165 lbs.



yea i just started going grocery shopping so all i eat now is chicken, wheat bread, some fruits,veggies and oatmeal. So far i havent seen any improvement and im on my 36th day or so and I'm just getting new zits and in places where i never get them but my derm kept me optimistic so Im really looking forward to the next few weeks