99 replies to this topic

[please-let-it-work]

Hey guys!

My name's Meg, I'm 20 years old, from the UK and I'm on day 35 of my course. I'm on 40mg a day atm, for about 4-6 months. Ive got moderate persistent acne and have done for some time. Ive tried loads of stuff previously...minocycline, tetracycline, zineryt, differin, loads and loads of other stuff i cant remember. so yeah, i thought it was time to try accutane.

Day 1 - Day 35
This long period of time has seen my skin go from breakout to clearer then breakout again...currently it seems to be settling slightly...the annoying thing i find is not being able to pop or pick at anything...it can be so tempting when its all scabby on your face!!

Side effects atm are ughhh...

new spots obvvv
back pain/general joint pain/aches
headaches
dry lips, eyes and nose
nausea
loss of appetite (really noticed this, as i was always eating before!)
more sensitive to sunlight/bright light. makes my eyes feel really weird and i have to get into somewhere darker
bleeding when passing a stool (sorry for the graphicness guys...) but aparantly this is cos its dry and tears?? anwyay, not nice.
just general side effects really, nothing that was totally unexpected.

anyway yeah, i always read everyone elses logs and want to make my own...i know its late to start but i'll try to keep everyone posted.

Thanks for readinggg
xxx

[please-let-it-work]

Day 36

Woah. Ok so ive just looked in the mirror and i swear i almost had a panic attack. i look disgusting, seriously. ive got loads of raised red marks on my left cheek that i have no idea if theyre ever going to go away. ive had them for so long i cant see them ever going. my chin had a MASSIVE scab which i had to pick off, which was totally stupid as now it stings so much and a new scab is forming as i type so there wasnt any fricking point in taking it off. my forehead and right cheek are crap too. i also have two new ones on my NOSE which is just....ah my god its awful to be literally disgusted by your face isnt it. i hate this. i have no idea if accutane is going to work, and i just...i cant see it working. im meant to be going to thorpe park this weekend too

please help guys

xx

[tallguy19]

Listen you gota stay strong, i know it seems hopeless at times and u just cant help but feel like shit, the problem is you me and probably everyone on this site is OBSSESSED with mirrors LOL seriously i know i take every opportunity and chance i get to look into the mirror in hopes of it magically looking better 30 minutes later LOL, well thats the problem! u always look in the mirror ull never notice the improvements, trust me just stay hopeful, stay away from mirrors and take pictures 2 times a month or something thats what i do, i felt like i was making no progress, but then i looked at the pictures and there was a pretty big difference! just try not to focus and dwell up on it too much! dont worry the accutane is going to work it just takes time, unfortunatly u have to wait but its worth the wait just stick to it! were all going through the same problem your not the only one beleive me! plus your cute! so enough with the ugly talk, plus ugly talk doesnt suit u your much to pretty to be talking about urself like that just please stick with it and dont give up, were all here for u if you need us! and remember we are our own harshes critics, what might looks bad to you is probably not that bad or bad at all to someone else!

Day 36

Woah. Ok so ive just looked in the mirror and i swear i almost had a panic attack. i look disgusting, seriously. ive got loads of raised red marks on my left cheek that i have no idea if theyre ever going to go away. ive had them for so long i cant see them ever going. my chin had a MASSIVE scab which i had to pick off, which was totally stupid as now it stings so much and a new scab is forming as i type so there wasnt any fricking point in taking it off. my forehead and right cheek are crap too. i also have two new ones on my NOSE which is just....ah my god its awful to be literally disgusted by your face isnt it. i hate this. i have no idea if accutane is going to work, and i just...i cant see it working. im meant to be going to thorpe park this weekend too

please help guys

xx

[Sima]

I completely agree with tallguy19. May I make a suggestion to do your best not to look in mirrors during your course? You need to relax and let the Accutane do its thing. It does what it says it will do. You are your own worst critic. I know that from experience. Your face will always look more worse to you than it does to anybody else. You are still on your second month and have a long way to go. You should start seeing significant changes in your skin condition around the end of the 2nd month, beginning of the 3rd month.

Last but not least.

DO NOT PICK YOUR SKIN ON ACCUTANE. BE DELICATE!

Accutane slows the healing process immensely and it temporarily makes hyperpigmentation look worse than it really is. Back away from your face. Just chill! Also, if you have one of those vanity mirrors that magnifies everything on your face, you should definitely get rid of that, too. It only makes things worse. You just need to learn how to relax. The stress is not good for your face, either. Stress encourages acne.

Edited by Sima, 24 March 2011 - 05:39 PM.

[Fouracre44]

Listen you gota stay strong, i know it seems hopeless at times and u just cant help but feel like shit, the problem is you me and probably everyone on this site is OBSSESSED with mirrors LOL seriously i know i take every opportunity and chance i get to look into the mirror in hopes of it magically looking better 30 minutes later LOL, well thats the problem! u always look in the mirror ull never notice the improvements, trust me just stay hopeful, stay away from mirrors and take pictures 2 times a month or something thats what i do, i felt like i was making no progress, but then i looked at the pictures and there was a pretty big difference! just try not to focus and dwell up on it too much! dont worry the accutane is going to work it just takes time, unfortunatly u have to wait but its worth the wait just stick to it! were all going through the same problem your not the only one beleive me! plus your cute! so enough with the ugly talk, plus ugly talk doesnt suit u your much to pretty to be talking about urself like that just please stick with it and dont give up, were all here for u if you need us! and remember we are our own harshes critics, what might looks bad to you is probably not that bad or bad at all to someone else!

Day 36

Woah. Ok so ive just looked in the mirror and i swear i almost had a panic attack. i look disgusting, seriously. ive got loads of raised red marks on my left cheek that i have no idea if theyre ever going to go away. ive had them for so long i cant see them ever going. my chin had a MASSIVE scab which i had to pick off, which was totally stupid as now it stings so much and a new scab is forming as i type so there wasnt any fricking point in taking it off. my forehead and right cheek are crap too. i also have two new ones on my NOSE which is just....ah my god its awful to be literally disgusted by your face isnt it. i hate this. i have no idea if accutane is going to work, and i just...i cant see it working. im meant to be going to thorpe park this weekend too

please help guys

xx

completeley agree with everything you said here dude. Oh and she's from the uk, she automatically get's cute points cause of her accent!

[please-let-it-work]

thankyou so much guys, your posts really cheered me up on a tough day. and as for me being cute...nahhh guys, but thankyouuu i think the american accents cuter than the english accent

looking in mirrors all the time is such a hard habit to break, it really is. i have the way i look linked to how much fun i can have. if i look bad, i'll just stay in :/ even on a gorgeous day like today but i'll try not to look too much. i just hate looking at the end of the day and thinking omgggg have i seriously looked like that all day???ahhhh cringe :s

anyway on with the log

Day 37

yeah todays pretty shit tbh. I seem to just...ugh. i dont even know. i just look awful. everythings so bright red and everywhere. its seriously awful plus ive been so ill ive been wiping my nose LOADS so ive got new spots where the tissues been rubbing. THIS IS NOT FUN.

i literally see no way that this can ever improve. this sucks. :/

as far as side effects go, ive had more back pain at night-this had gone away for a bit until last night. ugh. plus its definitely break out time. wonderful. hope youre all good guys

xxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxx

[please-let-it-work]

Day 40

Heyyyy, since I last wrote I've got slightly better-I'm not as ill as I was, but still got a sore nose from rubbing it with a tissue due to my cold ugh. i swear accutane decreases ur immune system.

ANYWAYYYY yeah my skin is not as red as it was, im seeing alot of dryness and scabbiness-so hot. alot located around my lips, which isnt nice. very dry lips. I got the rash that everyone talks about too, on the backs of my hands and arms-it seems to have gone down now, stayed for a couple days. its weird how this drug seems to be running like clockwork-expected side effects etc. hopefully it will change my face!!

forty days is a long tiiiiime, it feels like its not been that long. two weeks til i break up for easter hope youre all good

lots of love xx

[please-let-it-work]

Day 44

Ok so i thought the rash had gone on my hands...then my hands started itching and theyre really scaly and lumpy now. ugh. sore, dry, scaly hands-sexayyyyyy.

apart from that, im feeling ok about my skin-got a new big spot on my left cheek, but other than that everythings as normal. ive noticed things take longer to heal/go away...anyone know why??

nothing much else to report. ive had a cold for agggeeesss now-does isotretinoin slow down healing time from colds aswell!?!?

hope youre all good!!

xxxxxxx

[please-let-it-work]

Day 48

Ok so had a bad day today one of those days. overslept, no time to do makeup properly...caught sight of my face in a mirror...bad moment. i had a massive piece of dry skin above my lip (how long was that there for?!?! aghhh!!) think im getting another mini breakout, as my left cheek has another big spot on it. theyre the worst, becuase you cannot cover them, no matter how hard you try.

on a more positive note, im noticing a change in my skin texture and a bit of an improvement in spots/red marks.

hope i havent spoken too soon...touch wood

xxx

[chaptastic!]

Argh I'm just like you - the status of my face determines how much fun I can have, haha, and lately I've been staying in a lot because nothing can cover the horrible stuff on my face. I've been trying to find a gentle but good coverage foundation to help me on the bad days, but no luck with that. Anyway, hang in there! I'm sure the perfect, glowy, acne-free skin that you'll have later will be worth it!

[please-let-it-work]

awww thankyou!! but yeah, its hard to stay positive sometimes when youre looking in the mirror at someone who doesnt look like the person you want to be :/

i'll be following ur log

xxxxxxxxx

[hot.tahiti]

Hi! Just read some of your posts, I live in the UK to and have been on accutane for about a month now (it should be at least 2 or 3 but my GP was very slow in sending of my referral). Have you tried double base gel for your skin and lips? Its really good at covering up dry patches. Anyway I hope you're noticing a difference, I'm going to try and avoid any mirrors until the third month...

[please-let-it-work]

heyy hot.tahiti, thanks for commenting
yeah apparantly the change becomes really obvious around the 3 month mark. but if we look in mirrors every day, we wont see a change...so im trying hard not to!! the gel sounds really good, dry skin is just ugh...i'll look into it.

I had an appointment with my derm yesterday, and she said the background of my skin is definitely clearing. I've had a rollercoaster of a ride atm, but i'm looking forwards-keep positive

i'm going to update my log now, just becuase a few things have changed recently

Day 51

So I've almost been on these tablets for two months now...had a derm appointment yesterday, and she upped my dosage from 40mg to 60mg-the maximum i can be on. im definitely noticing the side effects...my body is so acheyyy i feel like an old lady!! plus the no drinking thing is getting annoying...especially since its summer and im at uni...argh.

But yeah, im noticing a change in skin texture. my main worry is that some of the spots ive had for ages just...wont go. its hard to imagine my face without them!!

Had a lovely day in the sun today though, tried not to think about it Had to try and stay in the shade as much as poss obviously because of the sensitive skin issue...ive been getting random rashes that flare up and die down when i go in the sun. not nice.

Anyway thankyou all of you for commenting, i'll keep you all posted

Much love xxxxxxxxxxxxx

[please-let-it-work]

hey guys its like 9am over here and ive just woken up...i overslept and missed my seminar...
woke up and felt dizzy, sick and in pain. ive never woken up like this, so im attributing it to the recent (2 days ago) dosage rise. really horrible, im still in bed now, so so dizzy and disorientated.

just wanted to update you all on this new side effect. hopefully as i get more used to the higher dosage this wears off

xx

[please-let-it-work]

Day 53


Hey guys,

So I've been on this higher dosage for like 3 days i think...maybe 4?? anyway, I think im noticing slight skin changes. its definitely smoother, i just want the marks and stubborn spots to go away.

I was wondering...when i pull my skin, some red marks disappear...does this mean they will be taken care of by isotretinoin and disappear??

Lips very very dry...thinking about Dr Dans Cortibalm for them-any other suggestions?

xx

[please-let-it-work]

Day 54

ok i never used to say my skin was getting better because without fail the next day it would be worse-like my skins punishing me for thinking it could ever be better. but on accutane, i thought i would tell people that 'yeah, im happy my skin texture seems to be improving'. but today ive woken up and i look crap. i just look awful. i feel like an idiot for thinking things would ever be different. im looking at my face and im thinking...will this ever end?

my sister is gorgeous, getting ready for the gym with no makeup on atm, all happy in the sun...and me? im here in bed feeling angry and upset about my disgusting face.

sorry to be down, but sometimes i just feel like isotretinoin wont ever work.

xx

[biggs881]

Day 54

ok i never used to say my skin was getting better because without fail the next day it would be worse-like my skins punishing me for thinking it could ever be better. but on accutane, i thought i would tell people that 'yeah, im happy my skin texture seems to be improving'. but today ive woken up and i look crap. i just look awful. i feel like an idiot for thinking things would ever be different. im looking at my face and im thinking...will this ever end?

my sister is gorgeous, getting ready for the gym with no makeup on atm, all happy in the sun...and me? im here in bed feeling angry and upset about my disgusting face.

sorry to be down, but sometimes i just feel like isotretinoin wont ever work.

xx

Accutane takes months to work, during which time your skin's condition may fluctuate greatly and regularly.

Only start worrying if you are still getting pimples 4 months after your first pill. Until then pimple are not uncommon.


Good luck.

[djdelmar]

You're not even 2 months into treatment, and how long it takes is different for everyone. If you're acne hasn't responded to other treatments I'd really urge you to stick with accutane. If the side effects are too much, it may be worth asking your derm to lower the dosage back to what it was.

I hope everything clears up sooner rather than later

[please-let-it-work]

thankyou guys, i'm so impatient which isnt a good quality to have on accutane!! i'll try and be patient as i agree im not even done with my 2nd month haha. its just hard to see how its going to get better especially when ive lived with it for so long.
thanks again
xxx

[biggs881]

(Although the different doses of Accutane appear to give similar results, it is wise to stay on a higher daily dose to reduce the chance of acne relapse after your course.)

Edited by jimmy188, 10 April 2011 - 06:14 AM.