29 replies to this topic

[second_movement]

Hey guys,
After many years of suffering and failed routines, my doctor has put me on low dose accutane in a final attempt to control my rosacea and moderate acne. After checking out some of the other accutane logs + youtube journals + research history/ success stories im rrrreeally happy about undertaking this challenge. I have high hopes that i will once again be able to go out and feel comfortable in social situations. Hopefully i can stop missing my university classes and cancelling plans with friends what an amazing thing that would be. I miss my old life and i want it back. Im determined to see this through and give 100% toward reaching my goals!

ok so today i had my first blood test, and it went just fine. I had feared it slightly but it wasnt bad at all. Little prick and then its over before you know it. My doctor has already given me the prescription so i can start on the 23rd of Dec. pending positive blood test results. The prescribed dosage is 10mg once a day for a month to start, then up from there. This low dosage is designed specifically to target the rosacea and to prevent overloading my system right from the start. Along with this i am using Face Doctor Soap + moisturizer and I take 03mega +pump (omega 3) fish oil pills.

So thats my story so far and ill be sure to keep checking back and updating. Good luck to everyone out there doing the accutane thing! Lets beat this thing together!

picture from day one:

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[second_movement]

I'm starting tonight!!! oh my god i cant wait.

[second_movement]

5 days into my accutane treatment now! Starting to get the dry lips, everything else seems fine. Acne has begun to get worse, rosacea seems to be about the same. Ill update weekly with the progress. Next blood test in two weeks + doctor review on the 21st.

[Space Wrangler]

Good luck to you, may you have clear skin soon and minimal side effects

[second_movement]

Quick note. Ive had a headache on and off all day today. Never usually get them so im assuming its a side effect of the Accutane. Probably need to be drinking more water. Also still trying to claim through my insurance which is an on going battle. Sent 'Roche' an email asking about their "free drug program", not sure if it applies in Canada though. Oh well, week one complete!

[RockstarNailbomb]

Yeah its most likely being caused by dehydration. The first week i would get headaches on and off. I figured it was because of my lack of water consumption and so i started drinking 3/4 gallon a day. Now i have no headaches and my side effects are dramatically less. My advice for you is to drink alot of water. even if the headaches arnt caused by dehydration ,its still really good for you to drink atleast 64 oz of water a day.

[second_movement]

thanks for the advice about the water. Ive been drinking a lot in the past few days and no more headaches wooo. Other than that my skins texture is getting a fair bit smoother which is nice. Still oily and red marks everywhere but only 1 or 2 active pimples right now. Oh and my shoulders are clearing up with NO actives on them. Blood test next week.

Products im using while on accutane
moisturizer= Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Comfort Cream (Face and Body) $12
Neutrogena Lip Moisturizer SPF 15 $2
Face Doctor Beauty cream (for rosacea) $30
soap- (face) Face Doctor $20
(body) Goats milk soap $4

[RockstarNailbomb]

Are you sure you have rosacea? My skin looks almost identical to yours except i dont have the small acne on my cheeks but my derm diagnosed me with sebhorreic dermatitis. Either way its relieving to see someone with the same problem as me. Its like the rest of your skin is good but on and around your nose is just really oily and red.

My derm told me that the oil on my face is causing a fungus overgrowth on my skin and that my skin is is red as an immune response to fighting the fungus. His logic was that if we stop the oil production, the fungus will die and no more red face lol.

[second_movement]

yea unfortunately i have been diagnosed with rosacea by both my doctor and derm. I should post a picture of my nose straight on to show an example. It gets pretty bad sometimes. But i just did a quick search for sebhorreic dermatitis at it does look very similar hmmm. Could my doctors be wrong? haha wouldnt be the first time.

[second_movement]

ok heres a few pics from day 11. Rosacea picture probably being the worst picture ive ever posted of myself in the history of ever. All for the education of the people

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[The King of all Media]

Hmm your face looks very VERY similar to mine. I wonder if I have the same condition? I've never been to a derm..

[second_movement]

Hmm your face looks very VERY similar to mine. I wonder if I have the same condition? I've never been to a derm..

i would recommend finding a reputable dermatologist and having it checked out. The longer you leave a condition untreated, the harder it is to control, and if possible reverse. Also research as much as you can on your own time. They wont take you seriously if you go into an appointment with no idea what your talking about.

[Johhny.R]

Hey man your acne and facial redness is exactly like mine aye
i"ve been trying to find someone with acne and redness like mine and yours is just like mine
i am wanting to go on accutane and hopefully will be going on accutane
let me kno how your going with the accutane

[second_movement]

hey johhny. R nice to hear theres someone else out there in a similar situation. I made this journal to try and help everyone, especially those dealing with the same things i am.

So yeah just into week 3 now and everything is going well. My rough skin texture is smoothing out, maybe one or two actives on my face. one on my neck. one on my back. Nothing too harsh. Skin is much "redder" (if thats a word) than usual, although it could be the -40 weather we are having. Sure dosnt help. Been constantly applying lip chap since day one and so far so good with that. Highly recommend the neutrogena comfort cream for a facial AND body moisturizer, having a great experience with it so far. Not much more to report, ill get some pictures up within the next week so i can properly document it.

[second_movement]

day 23. acne is about the same. One or two actives kicking around. One bastard on my lip that hurts everytime i eat/smile/move ahhhhrrrrrg. My shoulders and back are slowly improving. Rosacea is getting better slooooowly. It all very slow, but nothings getting worse so hurray for that. Doctor appointment next week, think ill be up to 20 or 30mg a day for the second month. Oh and i had a blood test 2 days ago, hope the results are all good. Only side effect - dry lips

[second_movement]

ok month 1 complete! Everything is going well, only side effect is the dry lips. Had my doctors appointment this morning and it seems month 2+3 will be 20mg/ day. Nothing to report really, one bastard on my neck and thats it! Red marks galore, but i can deal with those

on a side note im going to england in a few weeks (which is where im originally from) so it will be great to see my relatives and show off my clearing skin. Havnt been home in 8yrs! so excited

hope everyones having a good week,
-sm

[second_movement]

DAY 50

ok so the 20mg/day has been changed back to 10mg. I found 20mg too harsh on my body and had continual intense flushing of the face throughout the day. I even had one night that i couldnt sleep, just full on flushing, face felt like it was on fire. So back to 10mg now and its calmed down a bit.

ZERO actives on my face
ZERO actives on my neck
THREE actives on my back

My back hasnt changed much i guess it will be the last thing to start clearing, but other than that its going really well. LOOOTS of red marks, my skin has become ultra sensitive, and as people on accutane know, your skin seems to move in slow motion (takes a long time to heal, pimples take weeks to come to the surface etc....) So its slllooowly getting there. oh and skin still a little oily which is strange.

blood test on friday then im off for spring break woo!

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[second_movement]

DAY 79

Been a while since i posted (1 month to be exact) but yeah not much has happened. I have one active pimple on my back and im clear other than that wow i never thought id be this far along. Im STILL on 10mg a day because its all i need and its working for me. My only side effect is flushing of the face, which is annoying, but hey its a good trade off for now. Doc appointment on the 23rd, im sure it will just be a quick ok and onto another 2 months of 10mg. Cant wait for summer oooooh god i cant wait. If you guys have any questions about my course feel free to message me ill respond asap. Good luck to you all, ill post again in a month with pics!

[second_movement]

oh i forgot to mention something fairly relevant. In the morning i wake up, splash water on my face, and then leave. Ive stopped using all creams and cleansers, moisturizers, and spot control potions. In fact ive thrown them all away! freedom feels good

[second_movement]

I KNOW THIS IS A LOT TO READ BUT PLEASE TAKE THE TIME IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING ACCUTANE:

well its been a while since my last post, 8 months roughly. wow. So I hate to break it to ya but accutane isnt gonna be that miracle you were hoping for, in-fact quite the opposite if my experience is anything to go by. I knew the risks when i agreed to take the drug but desperation certainly clouded my judgement.

So heres the deal. I took accutane to rid myself of acne and help combat my rosacea, and wow did my acne ever clear up fast! seriously two or three months into the program i was singing to the heavens, im cured im cured thank god!!! I started going out more and enjoying my life again. I still had the rosacea to deal with but i felt the longer i stayed on accutane the better it would become. So 10mg a day continued for some time until my prescription ran out and i figured id made it, i thought i got away scot free. Not so much.
I started to get INTENSE pulsations and burning sensations running through my face. My rosacea flare ups have gone from once every few days to 3-4 severe flare ups a day, and thats on an average day. Sometimes i can spend 6 hours lit up like a bloody christmas tree. But still i thought ok ok its gonna get better its just my body in shock coming down from a strong drug treatment. Well here we are in November and my face is almost in a state of perma red. My whole face! I blush so easily its ridiculous. And it dosnt go away, it persists for atleast an hour maybe more. Even with all of this id be ok to try and deal with a red face but on top of it all MY ACNE IS BACK and as bad if not worse than when i started! I would post pictures but quite honestly im ashamed to do so. I really cant stand the way i look, everytime i look in the mirror im disgusted. The only thing keeping me going is channeling my anger into finishing my degree at school. Oh yea and half my classes i skip because I cant even leave the house some days. I think my profs have a good idea of whats going on, so they seem to be taking it easy on me. Its so frustrating, i dont mean to rant but I feel people need to know what they are getting involved with.
So after all of this youd think i would have stopped taking accutane right?? haha wrong, If i stop taking it my face explodes into pimples. Im stuck on 10mg twice a week to try and curb the destruction all the while getting redder and redder by the day. You become addicted and you become stuck. If you are contemplating taking accutane SERIOUSLY CONSIDER THE SIDE EFFECTS! I know you wont because i know how you feel, IM STILL THERE!
I feel the need to come here and warn you. Maybe accutane will work for you, maybe it wont, its not for me to say but this is my experience and that's all I have to go on. I would not recommend it but its your body and your life. I seriously wish you the best of luck if you do take the drug, but Id love to see more people devoting themselves to finding alternative natural ways of treating themselves. This will ultimately have to be my next step. Somewhere along the line my body came off the tracks, i gotta get back to basics and figure this one out.

Please ask questions, discuss and share. I will make sure i respond promptly to any questions and concerns.

thanks for reading all that