77 replies to this topic

[Niladmirari]

Hi guys, I totally forgot to mention that I am in a long-distance, committed relationship, hence not taking birth control is fine for me. I work in a hospital, doing research on a pediatrics ward, and I have seen photos of Accutane babies, and they are horrific.

Accutane is a serious and proven teratogen, and unfortunately our government trusts us so little, we have iPledge to fill our time. I know all women on this site are smart enough to protect and care for their bodies.

Anyway, that being said, different methods of birth control act differently on every woman's body. This forum is here so that we can describe what works and what doesn't for our acne. I trust everyone here to be smart and realize that this log is here to represent my experience! What's right for me is right for me, and I know you will make choices that are right for you

iPLEDGE is not a matter of trust; it's matter of education. As cumbersome as it may seem, when women see how many hoops they have to jump through to get and stay on Accutane, they realise how important it is not to get pregnant on it.

Even with iPLEDGE a small percentage of women continue to get pregnant on Accutane, and not only because of contraceptive failures. Without iPLEDGE the number of pregnancy exposures to Accutane would only be higher.

You understand the importance of Accutane's teratogenicity through means other than iPLEDGE, so perhaps you don't need iPLEDGE to remind you. But how is the government supposed to know that?

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/index.php...t&p=3048106

Hmm this ipledge thing is confusing me, I just had to sign a form saying I understood the risks involved and that I wasn't pregnant and that i wouldn't get pregnant. Maybe it's the same thing, but in Australia it must be a little different. Anyway that's all, ciao!

[peripatetic]

Hiya Anita,

Yep iPledge is different in every country. Here, we have to have pregnancy tests every month (including one month before starting and one month after finishing). We also register in an online database, which requires contribution from our derm and a pharmacist each month. Women also have to answer qustions every month about birth control and pregnancy and list the two forms of birth control we are using.

It's...intense.

[peripatetic]

Day 23

Update-time!

I read in someone's log that the sides of her mouth cracked! Omg, sounds awful. Been slathering the aquaphor all over my lips in terror!

Skin: Good. Definitely in the midst of a mild IB. One visible cyst on my right cheek and several under-the-skin and thankfully flat but definitely cyst-like things near my jawline. One is right next to my ear, so weird. My skin is seriously drying out now, and putting on a thin layer of aquaphor at night is the best! Just using Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser now, and sometimes only once a day. Cannot say enough good things about Cetaphil, it has really contributed to the improved quality of my skin! It just keeps everything very soft and balanced.

I'm fine with the IB because everything is SO much better than before Accutane! I can tell the quality of my skin is really changing. It's not oily, it feels much more balanced, and just more...normal, if that makes any sense?

Side-effects: super-dry lips (we're talking chapstick/aquaphor/vaseline on at least a 30-minute basis), dry skin, minor breakout, hard stools/constipation, dry butthole (gross, sorry--vaseline helps), some red flushing in my face when I take my pill after a really fatty meal (I ate my first pill after biscuits and gravy this morning, totally restored my belief that it is all about bioavailability after fats with Accutane).

I'm really sensitive to all medications, and pretty much everything gives me constipation. Gross, sorry. And I've even had rectal bleeding just from taking birth control (weird, I know). Brutal, but definitely something to think about if you're sensitive to medications (or are thin).

I've been terrible about pictures, but I am going to get some up tomorrow, since I have my derm appointment. Forgot to mention that I adore the early-morning nurse who took my blood sample Monday morning with absolutely no pain! Trixy medical jedi!

[peripatetic]

Day 25

Derm appointment went well! My triglycerides have gone down, and everything else is stable so fat, so that is awesome. They're bumping me up to 60mg per day, which seems like a lot for me? I'm 120lbs... I'm sure she knows what she's doing though, so I'm just going to go with it.

Hopefully no insane issues with insurance this time.

Skin: great! I really took a look at it today, and it is so much better than before. I'm thrilled! On the downside, I do have a large cyst growing between my eyebrows (maybe I'm transforming into a rhino?), still the new guy on my right temple, and the big (but invisible) under-the-skin cyst-like thing near my ear. I also have a clogged pore right above my top lip, I think from run-off of the outrageous amount of chapstick I've been using. Other than that, everything is beautifully clear! My derm gave me a bunch of moisturizer samples (Cerave, Cetaphil, and a couple others) so I'm going to experiment with those for a while.

Side-effects: dry lips like whoa, dry skin, constipation (although it's getting a lot better; maybe I'm getting used to the medication?), dry eyes, a bit of upset/gurggly stomach.

I'm picking up my new prescription tonight or tomorrow morning. Will try to upload photos! I've taken them, but have only had time to update via iPhone recently.

Edited by peripatetic, 31 March 2011 - 02:46 PM.

[UKLady]

Hi there
Sounds like you're doing great so far.

I've been on accutane about 6 weeks now, I definitely noticed an improvement after the first month.

60mg does seem a lot so soon, but just from browsing acne.org, it does seem like US derms tend to go for the higher doses, whereas here in Scotland, I am battling them to let me take the full 1mg per kilo dose for my weight.

I think the higher dosage hopefully will help to stop acne coming back once the course is finished

[peripatetic]

Day 29

IB Woes! Ughh, I knew it was coming, but oh myyyy. My derm started me on 60mg per day for my 2nd month, and 4 days in, some really exciting things are transpiring on my face.

So, I have two big, inflamed cysts between my eyebrows now. They hurt and are just so enormous. Gross. The weird thing is that they're still totally different from what I had before. The ones I had before accutane were more flat-ish, but wider in diameter. The larger one on my forehead is small but sticks out a lot, if that makes any sense? Just looks terrible. So embarrassing

I've got a similar, but slightly smaller, cyst on my right cheek. So that is three total active cysts right now. I shouldn't complain because everything else looks great right now, and they only really erupted from Saturday night on.

Also, I have sinned against my body/skin. Went out on a serious night of drinking on Saturday, so that could explain the breakout, too? I've been super-hydrating since, and am hoping this will clear up soon.

Aside from that, I've been good about the diet and drinking (for the most part). This is the first time I've really over-indulged on my course. Not trying that again any time soon...


@UKLady, glad you've seen noticeable improvement! That is so exciting What products are you using for cleansing/moisturizing? Anything you love?

[Sima]

I can spend hours and hours just browsing through all these logs. I love reading about other people's progress. I am looking forward to keeping up with your log. I did not keep one, but if you're curious, I have a link in my signature if you want to take a look.

Oh, for the women on the forum, I was wondering if any of you use Bare Minerals? I like the way it looks, but didn't know if it's a good idea with Accutane. At this point, I cannot imagine ever leaving the house without any makeup...That is what I'm looking forward to most (hopefully) after Accutane!

YES! a thousand times YES! I went grocery shopping with my mom today. Wore jeans, t shirt, zip up jacket, had my hair pulled back, but did not have on any makeup whatsoever. My face was looking so fantastic. It is a relief to not have to wake up extra early to put on layers of makeup that makes my skin look worse than it actually does. I used to always be paranoid of it rubbing off (at times, it did) or becoming streaky and uneven (most times, this happened, too). I don't have to worry about that anymore since I don't wear any "face" makeup. My routine takes 5 minutes now. Quick sweeps of peach blush, brown liquid liner, and a few coats of mascara. It is such a wonderful feeling to be at peace with your skin (and yourself) and to finally feel comfortable. You'll get there! I have never wanted anything more than what I already have in life besides clear skin. I finally got what I've been wishing for all these years. Best of luck to you. <3

[peripatetic]

@Sima, this is exactly what I needed to hear right now. Thank you! I'm so happy you had such great results, and that was a lovely reminder that it is all worth it. Lovely picture! And I adore Talib Kweli, saw him in concert in college And sooo happy to hear someone who is so excited about not using makeup to 'hide.' I used to love makeup, and now I totally dread it because my cover-up routine takes so long, I rarely have the patience for anything else.

Day 30

Woo! One! Month! Down!

So happy to be this far into my course. Time is really flying! So I am definitely having a much more intense IB with the 60mg (which I still think is totally high for me, but whatevs). I'm downing about a gallon of water (literally) a day now, and that is keeping things in balance dryness-wise so far.

BUT. Side-effects: lips are crazy-dry now, like I am applying vaseline/aquaphor/chapstick every 30 minutes. Constipation totally coming back, and trying to manage it with fiber, ducosate sodium and tons of water. Gross, sorry, but I'm trying to be thorough here! The skin on my face is even drier than before. I tried my Clarins cleansing scrub the other night, and it actually really helped things along. I just gently exfoliated some of the flaky patches and made sure to rub in lots of moisturizer after.

Aside from that, everything is pretty much the same. Just trying to take it easy now that I'm up to such a high dose. My powder/mineral foundation is totally not cutting it anymore, so I'm going to drop some cash on liquid foundation. MAC is good, eh? I'm so cheap, I've been putting it off, but it's a must now!

Skin: Ay yi yi. Not pretty. I mean, it's like exploding in a breakout. Definitely way worse than when I started my course... The transformation to a rhino continues: I have an absolutely enormous cyst between my eyebrows. I don't even see how it is still existing at this point. It hurts. It's hideous. The cyst on my cheek kind of popped and drained on its own when I was cleansing, and it actually wasn't a cyst, just a really inflamed pore. Really weird for me.

My pores have always been really small (On most days I can't see them at all), but they are definitely putting out a lot of sebum and look brown, if that makes sense? Like if you look close, I still have a ton of miniscule brown spots that appeared in my 2nd week of accutane. Haha, fascinating! Anyway, I'm wondering if that makes it harder for stuff to "get out," hence the inflamed spots I'm having right now? Just a thought.

So total 4 active spots, one dying spot (horray!), and that's it. Not too shabby now that I think about it Trying to stay positive and keep happy and healthy!

Good luck to everyone and thank you for stopping by!

Edited by peripatetic, 05 April 2011 - 06:21 PM.

[UKLady]

Day 29

@UKLady, glad you've seen noticeable improvement! That is so exciting What products are you using for cleansing/moisturizing? Anything you love?

Hi well,

a.m. I use Dr Hauschka cleansing cream, rinse and then Olay Regenerist Factor 30 day moisturiser.

At night, for removing make up I use Simple Cleansing Lotion or MAC Cleanse-Off Oil, splash with water and then moisturise. Having a bit of a change over moisuriser - got Olay Regenerist Night Cream on order, but not tried it yet....might be too greasy we'll see.

Before I was using Green People Fruitful Nights cream, which absorbs great, non greasy and gently exfoliates, so I may go back to that one.

If my face is really dry I use Aqueous cream at night & also on my lips.

I'm finding that my skin still swings a bit between dryer and a bit more oily, so it's hard to find the right products!

ps. I've heard good things about Vichy Aera Teint Pure Fluid Foundation, but not tried it yet. Think I will though...a lot cheaper than MAC, especially from ebay.

Edited by UKLady, 06 April 2011 - 04:19 PM.

[peripatetic]

Day 43

Progress!

So I'm halfway through my second month! I haven't been updating because nothing much is changing, just slow progress. I have two actives on my cheek, and the enormous cyst/horn from last week is dead, but still kind of hanging out with a bit of swelling. Totally healed faster than normal! I've been keeping up hardcore with moisturizing and drinking fluids, especially because I've been drinking a bit (bad, I know, but I'm moving in a month, so lots of goodbye parties and such).

Side effects: dry skin (on my body, too, hve to seriously amp up fluid intake and moisturize regularly/daily), fatigue, dry lips (<3 aquaphor), back pain? Not sure if the back pain is entirely related, but it's been kind of intense lately. Must remember to keep up with fish oil and glucosamine.

Is anyone taking supplements that are making their bodies really happy? I feel like my side effects aren't too serious yet, but I'm always up for more things that work!

Thank you for reading and good luck with your accutane course!

[iceez]

Hi, Hope your course is going great.

I was reading it, and noticed people talked about what products they use and such. I am just starting my fourth month and taking 80 mg. I use Sephora concealor, and golden medium (MAC I am NC35-NC37) in matte bare escentuals (bareminerals). The BE matte version doesnt have bismuth in it which can cause cystic acne (and i did research on this, the original does), its oil free and i find its perfect to cover my scars and acne for office. THe sephora concealer is also oil free, frangrance free. BUT, THE TRICK is to use a dense stiplling brush not the stupid one that BE has (keep in mind, BE brushs are made from animal hair and it made my face itch). I use the ELF brush ( I think they call it the powder brush, its flat from the top) its the best one I have found so far. I have tried MAC and Clinique stuff, they never worked for my face and broke me out. ALSO, dont forget to use a makeup remover and then wash your face with a gentle cleanser. I use Boscia makeup breakup cleansing oil (not made from mineral oil which causes acne) and boscia cleanser. GOOD LUCK. SOON you wont need to wear makeup YAY!!!

Take fish oil, it helps alot trust me, I take 2 big pills of that everyday! I take calcium too because i cant eat dairy( everytime I have that it cause me to break out).

[RedViolyn]

Hi Peri,

Thanks for your continued support! wanted to ask you which Clarins exfoliater you use? I saw that there are a few kinds, so thought you may have a good rec.

Glad your side effects aren't too bad. I'm having some varied problems. I don't eat Fish, but I may need to hit up Fish Oil to combat this achiness!

[peripatetic]

Day 51

Hi guys!!

Ok, I'm awful, but since my last update I have moved to Seoul, South Korea. Hence the big lapse. Sorry!

Accutane is REALLY easy to get in Korea (and so, so cheap!!). I had a five-minute appointment with the derm, he asked if I had any plans to get pregnant, then wrote me a prescription. Awesome! No more iPledge silliness! He was really horrified that my derm put me on 80mgs (since I'm around 115 pounds right now), so I dropped back down to 40mgs.

I have to say, I am really really happy about the decrease in dosage! I was having a lot of fatigue and just absolutely insane dryness (especially my lips: I'm a busy girl, I don't have time to apply aquaphor to my lips every fifteen minutes!).

So on to my update

Skin: Awesome!! NO PIMPLES! Just thinking about what my skin used to look like (and how much Accutane has helped me) makes me feel so thankful. I have some red marks, but I am so happy that the surface of my skin is smooth, and I started Accutane before any serious scarring (I'm sure it was coming, since I haven't had a great skin day in almost two years...).

So at the moment, I have no actives and have been managing dryness a lot better. I'm going to update my signature right now to include the things that are combatting the dryness. I still use Cetaphil's gentle cleanser every now and then, but I usually use MAC Cleanse-Off Oil which is AWESOME! It dissolves makeup and is pretty much the only thing that doesn't dry me out at all. The Clarins toner is still working great for me, and I'm using Cetaphil moisturizer every day and MAC Prep+Prime (SPF 50) when I need to wear foundation.

Also ladies, I'm loving MAC Studio Sculpt for my foundation! It is gel-based and, again, is the only thing I can wear right now that looks in any way acceptable over my dehydrated skin.

Side-effects: flushing/redness (every now and then I randomly get really red in the face, like I'm blushing all over, usually happens after my dose--esp with the 80mgs--and subsides on its own), dry skin, dry lips, fatigue. Everything improved when I bumped my dose back down Also, every now and then (particularly after a boozy night or when I forget to finish my mandatory 2 liters of water a day), I have some peeling of the skin. It's not awful, but makes makeup pretty much impossible. Aquaphor on the spots that are really bad helps a lot!

@RedViolyn: So sorry that I slacked and am only just now getting back to you! I still use andlove Clarins' One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser (it's orange and has little exfoliating beads, but still respects the natural skin barrier).

@Iceez: Thank you for the fish oil suggestion, I am loving it!!

[peripatetic]

Day 67

Ok! Don't know if anyone is still reading this, but here goes

Skin: great! No actives, and just dealing with acne scars for now. Have been using primarily my MAC Cleanse-Off Oil, followed by a toner and Cetaphil moisturizer. Every 2-3 days I follow the cleansing oil with Cetaphil gentle cleanser. Working beautifully! And definitely staving off the dry. Morning is just a splash of Clarins cleansing water, toner, and moisturizer.

I had a lot of trouble finding a set of cleansers/moisturizers that worked for me, so if you're searching for something to sooth your dry skin, I'd definitely recommend all of these products!

Side-effects: Manageable. Still some serious muscle fatigue. I've been in abnormal pain since Friday after doing a punishing round of squats. My skin also seems a bit dull, not terribly glowing and bright. Going to pick up with the exfoliating, but it seems like I put so much effort into keeping my skin moisturized, there's no time for other treatments. Still dry skin, sensitive skin, nose-bleeds every now and then, and excessive thirst.

Any questions, please write me. I am so thrilled with how my course has gone and am trying to keep up the stamina to complete my five months!

[peripatetic]

Ugh, look at me be the worst updater ever.

Update: Accutane is an absolute miracle drug. I mean, I guess I was blessed to have all my side-effects totally disappear after I stopped taking it. But I am SO thankful for Accutane!!!!! My boyfriend thought I was totally bananas to risk this much for my skin, but he can see how much it has improved my self-esteem and general well-being. I am three months post-Accutane now, and no returning breakouts. My skin is smooth and beautiful (and more hydrated now that Accutane isn't drying the crap out of it).

Just total A+

I'm still using all the same things on my skin:
-AM: Cleanse with Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser, L'Oreal toner, SK-II facial treatment essence, SK-II signature cream OR Cetaphil Moisturizer.
-Makeup: Bare Minerals Primer, MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation
-PM: Remove makeup with MAC Cleanse-off Oil, Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser OR Clarins One-step cleanser OR Dr. Weil Mushroom Cleanser, SK-II facial treatment essence, moisturizer.

Thrilled

[slowandsteady]

congrats, did you get any facial redness/ inflamation while on accutane? (not so much flushing as overall constant redness of your face)

And if so, did it subside once you got off the drug?

[peripatetic]

Hi SlowandSteady,

Yes! I'm a blusher, and that got a lot worse. And overall I looked more flushed, just at random times. Plus my red spots (from acne scars, picking, etc) got SO much worse when I was on Accutane, like they stood out a lot more. I'm really fair, so it was so obvious, and because makeup looked awful, I pretty much had to live with it. Hahaha, so terrible. But so totally, utterly worth it in the end

After Accutane, all of my side-effects disappeared. Including the redness. I don't get any flushing, my overall health is excellent, totally normal. I did treat myself really gently when I was on Accutane (aside from some drinking). And I absolutely refused to take hormonal birth control, because I know that contributed to my acne.

Now, I'm on no medications, just taking a hair/skin/nails vitamin, a multi, and generally being kind to my body. I love Accutane, and I hope it treats you kindly! It's a really hard thing to go through, but I had huge, awful cysts that literally developed overnight out of the blue. Now my skin is beautiful, clear, soft, and just...normal Good luck!

[jhonyguy04]

so happy for you!!!