14 replies to this topic

[dabepe]

i'm 28 years old and have had acne since i was about 20. when i first went to a dermatologist, i was getting 1 or 2 cysts on my chin. he told me that the only thing that would cure this was accutane. i thought he was crazy, and i stopped going to him. 8 years later, i'm finally on accutane. i wish i had done this a long time ago! i've been through tons of antibiotics and topicals. my skin is much worse now.


my doctor prescribed me 40 mg of accutane twice a day (80 mg a day). the first 8 days i only took 1 40 mg pill a day. i thought 80 mg seemed like a pretty high dose. i haven't been able to speak to him, since he is on vacation.


so, this is day 9 of accutane for me. i started taking 80 mg today. i've been extremely tired. i slept half the day today. i don't know if my body can handle the 80 mg. we'll see...

i've been having a pretty bad initial breakout. my skin and lips have been a bit dry, but not too bad. i've been quite oily, though.

here's some pics of what my skin looks like now:

[dabepe]

today is day 10...i can't wait for this ib to be over!! my face hurts so bad. it is painful for me to eat because of all the acne i have around my mouth. my lips are getting dry and are rather sore right now.

i have a new cyst forming on my eyebrow! so, my eye is in pain too. damn, my whole face is in pain!

i have a job interview for my dream job tomorrow morning. i just feel like they are going to look at my skin and there's no way i'll get hired. i'm such a mess.

oh well. i'm trying my best to stay positive.

[dabepe]

day 11:

i should add that i'm taking the generic, claravis...

my skin has some dry patches, but overall, i'm not too dry. no new breakouts today.

i have been getting dried blood in my nose the past few days. i don't know if this is from the heat because it has been quite cold.

i've also been quite constipated. i wonder if this is because of accutane or it may be a coincidence. this has been happening for about 4 days. i started taking some fiber pills last night. i've been trying to eat a fatty meal each day to take my pills with.

my face still hurts, especially from the acne around my mouth. it hurts to talk, eat, etc.

i have my job interview soon. i'm really hoping it goes well. i tried to cover as much as i could with make-up, but i still have some big bumps and a scabby cyst on my chin.

[dabepe]

day 11 (night):

my face has more redness and the acne around my mouth is getting worse. i just soaked in a hot bath and a couple scabs that i had came off. then the cysts started leaking clear pus and blood.

here's what it looks like now:



my skin has really never been this bad! ughhhhh! i couldn't go out tonite because i'm too embarrassed. i've been telling people that they need to go out and forget about their acne. but it's to the point that i can't do it myself!! there's usually people over at my house because i have a couple roommates, and i'm trying my best to hide. i've been lying and telling people that i'm sick.

i'm very lucky that my boyfriend has been so supportive. he says he loves me and loves my pimples too. he told me he would still love me, even if my face was one huge pimple. it makes me want to cry.

i came home today and slept for a few hours. this seems to be becoming quite common. also, i'm noticing that i'm having bad mood swings.

[dabepe]

day 13:

not much improvement - actually, it's getting worse.

one of my cysts had a white head on it, so i thought i should pop it - but nothing really came out. i'm very confused about this no popping while on accutane thing. i try not to pop, but when they look like they are ready...well...

so yeah...my face is a big mess...i get very depressed when i look in the mirror....i've been trying to hide out.

i still don't have any major dryness. some places where my skin is broken out are a little dry and flaky. but overall, my skin is still rather oily. my lips are a little dry, but i think that's probably from the cold weather.

i've been having some bad joint pains. my back and my legs are the worst.

i'm trying to hang in there. i tell myself that it will get better. but i don't know how long i have to wait...

here's today's pic:

[dabepe]

day 20:

i haven't noticed a lot of improvement yet. i still have a big cluster of pimples on my chin that do not seem to be going away. it's as if they flare up, then go back down. i've tried to pop a couple of them when they look like they have come to a head, but i've given up on that.

today is the first day that my lips have been SUPER dry. i've been putting aquafor on them all day, but it isnt helping. i just put neosporin on them because they hurt so bad.

i'm breaking out in weird places. i have a cyst on my neck, which is quite odd.

overall, my face isn't that dry, but where i have acne, the skin is peeling off. i have been using tweezers to peel the skin off.

i've also been very cranky and moody. i have been getting really easily aggrevated.

my nose has been filled with dried blood, and the skin in my ears is peeling off.

this is not fun.

[Vintage Modernity]

Keep going - head up! I started december 9th and trust me its a ride but it works. It's hard but we are all here to support you!

Tanya

[dabepe]

Keep going - head up! I started december 9th and trust me its a ride but it works. It's hard but we are all here to support you!

Tanya

thanks so much! i'm really trying to stay positive, but it has been so hard. i'm getting my 2nd prescription next week. i'm just hoping that all of this will be worth it!

[dabepe]

day 28:

i'm still breaking out pretty badly...i have 3 new big cysts on my chin...2 are connecting to form a monster cyst, and they are right in the corner of my mouth...so, i now look like i have an std...i came home today and the skin on the monster cyst was peeling off...i peeled off the dead skin and tons of pus started flowing out of it...

a new cyst is forming between my eyebrows...it's still under the skin and hard to see, but i can feel it and it hurts so badly...

oh yeah, and there are 2 cysts on my forehead now...when i run my finger across them, it feels like they are mountains with a valley in between them...

i can't even explain how miserable i am...i was supposed to go to school tonite, but i just couldn't do it...i have blood and pus oozing out of my face...my boyfriend and i haven't had sex in about 2 weeks...i know it's because i look disgusting...i'm not really even interested in sex, as i don't feel attractive at all...

my skin is so horrible that i feel like a monster...all of my breakouts are huge cysts...at work, they started putting me in the basement in a room by myself, away from anyone that could possibly see me...

[-terry-]

Stay strong girl, those area aren't bad comparing to cheek area. They should heal much faster so don't worry about it. I just started another round of Accutane about 10 days ago , I'll be fighting along with you! Wear a baseball cap if it bothers you that much, but seriously no one will ever stare at you. You've a boyfriend and he doesn't mind it, that's all it matters .

[dabepe]

i haven't kept up with my log as much as i would have liked to...i was breaking out so badly and was so miserable because of it that i couldn't really bring myself to write about it...

well, it's day 60 now...

the horrible breakouts seemed to have stopped...im still breaking out a little here and there, but it's manageable....i have lots of red spots, but i can put on some make-up and deal with it...

i should add that i switched from claravis to amnesteem because of my pharmacy...

i also finally got a digital camera and don't have to take crappy cell phone pics anymore...so here's where i'm at now...

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[dabepe]

Stay strong girl, those area aren't bad comparing to cheek area. They should heal much faster so don't worry about it. I just started another round of Accutane about 10 days ago , I'll be fighting along with you! Wear a baseball cap if it bothers you that much, but seriously no one will ever stare at you. You've a boyfriend and he doesn't mind it, that's all it matters .

i don't really get acne on my cheeks very much...i hope it heals fast! i did have to wear a hat for a while because i had a huge cyst between my eyes! thanks for the words of encouragement!

[peridottie]

Hey, stay strong! I'm about to go on accutane myself, though only 40mg a day I think. But I have to wait that damn 30 day period. Did you also have to wait 30 days before getting accutane?

[dabepe]

Hey, stay strong! I'm about to go on accutane myself, though only 40mg a day I think. But I have to wait that damn 30 day period. Did you also have to wait 30 days before getting accutane?

yes, i did have to do the 30 day waiting period, which was very frustrating...i kept thinking about whether i was making the right decision by going on accutane...i certainly hope this is all worth it! good luck to you!

[dabepe]

ok...so i had another dry spell in keeping up with my log...im now back on claravis...and i am CLEAR! this is month 3 of accutane for me...

i still have some red marks, but they are fading...overall, im pretty happy with my skin right now...of course, it could be better...but NO CYSTS!!

ive been sick for the past 2 weeks, and it's taking me a long time to get better...i assume because of accutane...

oh yeah...and the thing in the corner of my mouth resulted from having a crack there (which i mistook for a cold sore)...i kept applying cold sore medicine to it, and now it's all irritated...trying to figure out how to make that go away...

my birthday is in a few days, and i really wanted to be clear by my birthday...

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