Acne found me true love

I’m afraid this is going to be one of those walls of text; a miniature life story (hit backspace while you still have a chance).

Seventeen months ago I began chatting with a fellow org’er known as junebug1991. Soon enough we added each other as friends and shared messages on a daily basis ranging from silly banter to offering each other support through our bad breakout phases, (at that time we both had moderate and scarring acne).

Within weeks I could sense something special but I thought to myself that it would be ridiculous to even consider this more than just a friendship, especially since she was from Washington D.C and I lived in London. However, last summer she visited (she has a relative that lives in central) and invited me out as to “meet up” for the first time. After being in a long-distance relationship before with a…well… a bitch quite honestly, my guard was up and I was not going to let my emotions take the better of me (plus I had pretty bad acne at the time). I ended up almost completely ignoring her, I didn’t even refuse to meet, I stood her up; it was unforgivable. I regretted it deeply and by that time it was too late.

Time went by with contact being at an all time low but surely enough we began to talk again, it just came back naturally with very little effort. The pain I felt after standing her up wasn’t a complete waste though, it made me come to the realisation that I did have feelings for this girl, that she was more than just a friend to me and I pleaded for forgiveness, expressing my reasons and my newly discovered feelings.

The following year we stayed in very close contact, emailing every day and she offered me a lot of support whilst I went through a 7-month course of Accutane, she even stuck with me when I still had my doubts about ‘us’ and during my bouts of depression (attractive), whether this depression was related to tane or not I will never know. Soon enough we were using Skype every day with webcam and mics. Time passed quickly and we both fell deeper in love with each other and before I knew it - it was summer again and an opportunity for her to visit arose once more.

I still had some doubts though due to previous bad experiences of meeting up with someone who was completely different in person to the way I had known them for 18 months of contact. The relationship was in limbo; that was until we finally met in person. The girl I had fallen in love with online shortly became the girl I fell in love with in-person. Every aspect of her online personality I became infatuated with was just as prevalent in person, she was exactly as I had hoped and more. I’ve never shared such a close bond with anyone before.

“But what about the distance, are you crazy?” I hear you cry !

No, and you know why? Even though we must spend months apart at a time I no longer feel alone, I no longer have any doubts. I like to think that when it’s true love you are able to see such obstacles as only just that; obstacles to overcome. I have never, and don’t think I would ever feel satisfied with anyone else under these circumstances, but because of the fact that I am happy right now proves to myself that this is the real thing. Besides, we are both young and we have plenty of time to make a more permanent solution in the years to come .

I just want to thank Dan and the team for making all of this possible. If the org didn’t exist I would never have had the opportunity to meet who I now believe to be my potential soul mate. I’d also like to give a big shout out to a skin disease known as acne, without you I would not be in the position I am in now. God bless my inferior genetics.
P.s. Sorry for the soppiness, it’s inevitable!

Raggamuffin's Post Accutane Log

Before deciding to take Accutane, I would search the boards for user experiences and any success stories as to aid me in deciding whether to go on this acne drug which was originally designed for treating cancer. I appreciate these success stories and so I am adding mine to the little pile as I understand that when most people become acne free, they abandon the org and we mostly see the horror stories which realistically make up a very small percentage of cases instead of seeing the true side of things.

I began Accutane with moderate acne but would get around 5 nodules per year that would leave hyperpigmentation for something ridiculous like 6-18 months. After topical and oral antibiotics followed by topical retinoids, I finally decided to go on the drug.
My treatment was roughly 40mg for 7 months. I now only get around one or two minor spots a week whilst still drinking alcohol and occasionally eating all the bad foods I avoided pre-accutane (i.e. dairy, sugar...I really need to stop this soon). I don't want to put up a photo of myself pre-accutane because it would probably diminish the confidence I have now. I fear that as soon as the oil returns in a few weeks, so will my acne and my invisibleness.
My main point is to really reccomend moderate to severe acne sufferers to take accutane with an emphasis upon taking a low-dose course. I'm not going to rosey up the drug, there were many bumps during my treatment. These included insomnia, migraines, lack of concentration, waking up covered in sweat, emotional withdrawal (I must emphasise that it is not depression, just a kind of desensitisation), I also feel the need not to drink water, even though I should be drinking atleast 50% more. I also flush very easily now and hope for this to subside in the coming months. Despite all this, I must say that I finally have enough confidence to go out and enjoy life without settling for a night in front of the PC playing video games because a new nodule has reared it's ugly head to say hello.
I now have minor shallow scarring with a few icepick scars. Accutane has diminished the minor scars completely but has prolonged the time in which my skin heals, therefore red marks last up to twice as long as normal.

Day 14 Post-Accutane

I only have to moisturise my face a couple of times a week now and only need to vaseline up my lips once a day. My weird 'waking up in a puddle of sweat' thing has not happened in about 9 days which is a good sign, no migraines and no sleep issues. The only side effects bothering me now are facial flushing even when i feel minorly embarassed, forgetting that I am thirsty and my appetite has never been as ravage as it used to be. I'm relatively happy, 99% of my scars can only be seen in certain lighting.


FUN BENCHMARKS TO LOOK FORWARDS TO:

The return of Mr.Sebum with a subsequent blackhead party on my nose.
Possibility of acne coming back.

I'll keep you guys informed each 2 weeks or so.

Excuse the man boy bum fluff which I did not shave and the chipped tooth (British people are supposed to have bad teeth anyways).

Could this be the mischevious work of Accutane?

All the cool kids delete their threads

Is it just me but...

I think Da Foxx is a tool...

Anyone else get better liver tests as treatment progressed?

All the cool kids delete their threads