31 replies to this topic

[worn-out from acne]

Yay! Today marks exactly one month until Accutane! I do have a couple of questions though.

1. How long does it take to see a reduction in oil? 30 minutes to 1 hour after applying make up my face looks like I washed it with cooking oil... not something I love lol. I'm greatly looking forward to that not happening!

2. How long does it take for blackheads to fall out? My nose is full of them and I can't stand it!

And thats about it.
Thanks so much in advance!

It takes about a week and you'll start to notice some chapping of the lips...then soon after your face dries up and I mean dries up. It's crazy, because after going from having an oil slick of a face it's weird to have like no oil glands at all. I use totally different products...Moisterizer is a must now, where as I never wore it before. Now instead of looking for products to soak up oil, I am looking for some to put it back in. It's really crazy, but awesome to not have to worry about blotting my face all day to get rid of the shiny skin. Your makeup will look great all day. Just got to get past the possible initial break-out--it was/and still kind of is a rough one. Some people don't have an IB though. Good Luck!

[hopingitworks]

Day 17

Hi all. Well theres not too much to report. Lips are doing fine so long as they are coated in Aquaphor/Burts Bees as I mentioned earlier. Skin isn't drying out too much, nothing moisturizer can't fix! Other than that I can't really tell if my skin is getting better. The acne is less inflamed, but as far as the number of active spots I have I don't think its changed at all. However, I know Accutane usually takes a couple months to clear skin up so I'm not worried at all.

I am nervous though! I leave for vacation with my boyfriend and his family in 4 (or 5?) days now! AHHHHH! My boyfriend has never seen me make-up-less when my skin has been this bad before, and his family (immediate or extended) have not seen without it and NEVER EVER will! So I'm still trying to figure out how all of that will work out Pray pray pray that the derm will agree to perscribe me Prednisone just for the trip!

Thanks and until next time, have a lovely day!

[hopingitworks]

Day 19

YAYYYY! I got the prednisone!!! I'm very excited!

Thats all for now! Nothing else has changed.

Until next time, Merry Christmas!

[hopingitworks]

Day 26 (3 1/2 weeks)

Hey! I know your all dying to know how my vacation went so I'll relieve your anticipation now! It went wonderfully I had a ton of fun (way more than I thought I would haha).
The only downside was I had to share a room, which meant I had to sleep with my make up on for 4 nights. Yuk! And if it couldn't get worse than that, I forgot my moisturizer and had to use one I had never used before. Oh yes, my skin is angry at me.
Fortunately, the prednisone worked its magic and my skin actually looks better than when I left! Go figure right

Ok speaking of my skin its doing alright. I haven't really got a bad IB but my skin was moderate to begin with so I'm very happy that I didn't! OH FUN! So I know that when your on Acctuane your blackheads "fall" out. Well mine did! I took a shower and started squeezing on my nose (as is custom for me) and all of them came out with just the slightest pressure! My nose has NEVER EVER been this blackhead free! IM SO EXCITED!

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas and have a fantastic New Years!!!

[Vyana]

Good luck on your course!! I hope you have amazing results.

I got your message on my board and thought I'd come over and say hi!

So...

Hi!

Aren't guys funny like that? I have yet to understand them, maybe one day it will happen.

Glad to hear your vacation went well.

[hopingitworks]

Day 29 (about 4 weeks!)

Hello! I hope everyone had a fantasic New Years!!! I know I did haha.

Thanks Vyana!

Ok well my skin is not a happy camper right now. My acne is not improving at all yet, but still it is early and I have hope. Ugh.. yesterday I had a really bad headache (I know what your thinking but it was not a hangover headache! I dont drink which makes getting a hangover impossible lol). But anyways, its gone today, thankfully. Other than that dry lips is really my only symptom. I did lose a couple of pounds though (which I'm not going to complain about ) I went from 115 to 110 and I'm 5'2, however I am concerned about losing anymore weight because I don't want to waste away! So I've added some higher calorie foods into my diet.

So to sum up:
->Acne= red, inflammed, mildly tender, and making itself nice and cozy on my face
->Symtoms= dry lips
->Me= HOPEFUL!

[MerDub]

Hey! Glad to hear that your skin is drying up! You should be taking your pill with something high in fat because it will increase the absorbtion, and that should help with your weight too. Just make sure it's good fat (nuts, avocado, etc) and not just a slab of butter haha. Don't worry it does take a little while for your skin to totally clear up, but you really shouldn't sleep with make-up on. I'm sure if your boyfriend knows you're on Accutane, he won't be terribly bothered if you were to sleep without make-up. As for nose bleeds, some vaseline or baby oil gel on a q-tip (especially in the winter) should really help things. Baby oil gel is also great for chapped lips. As for your headache, make an effort to drink 2 glasses of water before you go to bed and another 2 when you get up in the morning. It will prevent your skin from getting super dry, and should help the headaches. Moisturising is better done from the inside out! But don't worry just give your tane some time to work, you wont notice a difference overnight, but take a picture of your face once a week, and then when you lok back to the first one, you'll see how much better it's getting! Keep us updated!

[hopingitworks]

ONE MONTH!

Yayy!! So excited! Not much to report besides that! My derm appointment is not for one more day, so I'm not going to be taking an Accutane pill tomorrow. I don't believe that will cause any type of setback in my treatment though.

Thank you so much for all the info and support MerDub! I'm definately going to try what you suggested for moisurizing from the inside out, and nosebleeds (although I haven't gotten any the past 2 days *knock on wood*). And I never thought of baby oil for lips but it sounds like a very good idea! Trust me I know its bad to sleep with make up on (and it feels awful). My boyfriend knows I'm on Accutane and is very supportive, however, it was the rest of his entire family I didn't want to see my face Since I was sharing a room with a couple other female members of his family (and not him) who would wake me up in the morning, I didn't feel comfortable going bare faced.
Thanks so much again for your response! Keep your fingers crossed for me! haha.

[hopingitworks]

33 days

Ok so I had my derm appointment and he knocked my doseage up to 60mg a day. So thats one 20mg pill in the morning and two 20mg pills at night. Sounds like a lot of pills haha, but I say bring it on! The more the merrier!

Everything else remains the same... and so I wait.

[hopingitworks]

Day 39 (about 5 1/2 weeks)

Hi again! Ok well life has been going good, my face has been ehh. I do believe it is starting to get better though *knocks on wood*. My face doesn't "look" much better due to all the red marks, however when I touch it does feel smoother. The red marks are beginning to look less angry though which I'm thrilled about!

Everything else remains the same. My skin isn't too dry, my lips are chapped (I ALWAYS have a coat of moisturizer on!), oil is gone , and thats about it.

Cool side note! I just ordered jojoba oil and I'm so excited to use it haha.

Until next time!

[hopingitworks]

Day 52 (about 7 weeks)

Hey everyone! Sorry its been so long since I've updated. I got a sinus infection I get about one every year and let me be the first to say they royally suck!!!! So on top of my dry skin/lips, nose bleeds, and headaches, I had to persist through a mean fever, even worse headaches than before, sinus congestion (sp?), and everything else that goes along with sickness! Ok ok now the complaining is offically over for me! haha.

My skin, however, does seem to be getting better. While its still heavily dotted with red marks the number of actives around my mouth has decreased substantially. Weird side note though, my forehead/very sides of head (right next to the ear area) acne have gotten worse and don't really look like they want to clear up anytime soon. I don't care I'm just happy I can finally kind of see it working. Plus I know I've still got quite awhile to go so no worries yet!

Until next time have a fantastic day!

[hopingitworks]

Day 64 (9 weeks)

Hey! Well nothing too much has happened over the past 2 weeks. My skin does seem to be on the "healing" end of this whole process though which is awesome! Most of my actives are flattening out, so I mostly just have red marks now. Although I do still get active acne much more than is desirable.

I had my derm appointment a couple days ago and he kept me at 60mgs, but said that next month it will probably be bumped to 80mgs, which I'm fine with. So long as I have clear skin when all is said and done, I'll take whatever doseage is given to me!

Oh side note! I bought Dan's Jojoba oil and am LOVING IT! I still haven't mustered up enough courage to put it on my face, but I mix it with my "all-over" moisturizer and my skin loves it!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!!!