115 replies to this topic

[PoppyK]

I have been having the same thing after my dosage was upped! I think it's from the accutane because it starts about an hour after I take the pill. It feels like there is so much pressure in my head and I need to just release all the air in there! If it continues I'm going to call my derm.

Have your headaches started at all and you notice it gets worse after your pills? Or has it been relatively steady?

[elle.beth]

I still have this headache. Officially has been about 27 hours of my head hurting. Oh. My. Gosh. But I guess it's my fault. I took 2 tylenols today and it kinda went away for about 2 hours. Then it came back with a vingance. I think it's an allergy or sinus headache though bc my eyes hurt when I move them. That's usually how those headache feel fell for me. But I'm afraid to take benadryl bc if it's drying affect. I think I'll stick to the Tylenol. I haven't even taken my 30mg pill from this morning bc I'm afraid it may be the accuatne and I seriously won't be able to handle this headache getting worse. (

Hi Whitney! I haven't started my course yet..I get my bloodwork done tomorrow, so hopefully i will start Monday or Tuesday. But, how much water are you drinking each day? Maybe you are dehydrated and that is why you are getting a headache? Or, if it is sinus/allergy related, Advil for cold and sinus realllly helps me with sinus headaches! you could try taking that, and drinking a whole bunch of water to cover your bases? I hope you start to feel better!

[Crystal841]

Whit babe! How r u doing??
I hope ur headache calms down
I have to drink a ton of water or else ill get a nasty headache...
Oh, and I love the reg cerave lotion, am I hate, and the pm doesn't impress me either, but the reg is fab!

[WhitneyOnAccutane]

Day 63! or.. Month 3: Day 3

So my headache is gone!! I decided to tough it out without taking any pain meds and it has gone away.

PoppyK I've definitely had accutane related headaches. And they feel just like the ones you described. I just think this one wasn't because my eyes hurt too and my accutane headaches are usually just headaches and my eyes are sensitive to light.. But I definitely don't know for sure because it's kinda suspicious that it happened as soon as I started taking 60mg. It's happened before for me when I first started at 20mg then they stopped coming until I was bumped to 40mg then went away and now it's back when I got bumped to 60mg.. You may be on to something. But.. to answer your question: as of tonight, I have taking my pills about 4 hours ago and the headache is still gone.. Ahh! I just don't know lol Definitely call your doctor if they keep coming because mine do go away or become far less frequent after a little while on a dosage. I'll keep you posted on if my headache comes back.

Elle.beth Thanks! Good luck on your course! I hope all goes well and you get to start Monday or Tuesday! Make sure to call your pharmacy to make sure they have the meds in stock because I had to go to 3 before I found one that had them there! I definitely don't drink enough water. I only drink 2 bottles of water and maybe 4 big glasses of juice a day, but I know that's not enough. My boyfriend literally fusses at me about this.. like gives punishments like tickling me for some many minutes for not drinking a certain amount of bottles by a certain time of the day (torture!). lol I'm definitely going to kick it up a notch because I can't take another headache. I just can't.


Nothing new to report on my face. It's still the same as stated in the previous posts. And yes, I'm still somewhat oily. Unbelievable.

[WhitneyOnAccutane]

Hey Crystal! I'm doing much better now! I don't know if it was an accutane related headache. I'm really leaning towards a sinus headache.. But I did drink a crap load of water and juice yesterday and it's still gone.. Idk. But I'll be drinking way more water bc I cannot chance getting another headache like that! Ahh! It sucked so bad! Have you tried the crerave cleansers? I think the hydratimg one does what it claims it's just gross.. Lol

[Crystal841]

Yeah, I can't stand their cleansers. I like the liquid purpose cleanser best.
I'm glad you're feeling better babe.
So I am totally breaking out again. Thought I was clear, but no such luck!
How's ur skin doing on 60mg? I know I'm breaking out bc of the increase. Pretty bummed right now about it. Hopefully this will be my last big breakout.

[WhitneyOnAccutane]

Day 64. Month 3: Day 4

Crystal Yep. Literally got a breakout within the course of a couple of hours.

Face Update
My lips seem like they're about to start maybe getting dry.. I'm still producing oil, but this could be because of the lame cerave AM moisturizer I used today. That stuff really kinda sucks.. but it works.. =/
I got a pimple above my right eyebrow today. Seriously, I left to get my oil changed and came back and there it was. And that area on my mid cheeks, yep still there. Almost looks like the clogged pores that were there may kinda be starting to get pushed out.. (hopefully.) This is what I'm telling myself to not cry. I'm tired of breaking out. Gosh I hope next month my skin will look better. I think my face now looks like how it looked right before I started. You know, I was on the antibiotics (solodyn) and it was wasn't clear but it wasn't bad. Then I started accutane and my face went bananas, and now it's calmed down back to the antibiotics period. .sigh. I hope I'm just gonna clear up from here. I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick to 60mg for the rest of my course, so hopefully I won't have to worry about anymore "initial breakouts".

[mynameisjulia]

hey girl! looks like you're doing well. i wouldn't worry too much about breaking out right now. my derma told me i could break out until the last month or so! so it's pretty normal, i think.
did you say you suffered from headaches? what kind of pain was it? do you think it was dehydration? i've been dealing with headaches lately and i can't tell if drinking a lot of water helps or not.
was wondering if you had any advice

[WhitneyOnAccutane]

Hi Julia! My headache was like this intense pinging pain on the one side of my forehead. And pain behind my eyes when I moved them. It wasn't really pressure. I could have been from dehydration though because I kicked my water/juice drinking up into high gear and the headache has not returned. But I'm really leaning toward a sinus headache. Are your eyes sensitive to light because that's one of the main things that I looks for when deciding if it's from the accutane.

[mynameisjulia]

no not at all. it's hard for me to decide what the headaches are from because i swear my whole life i've had them, you know? some days its a sharp pain, others a dull aching pain. yesterday when i laid down it was like pressure behind my eyes, too, but i don't think i've been drinking nearly enough for accutane. how much water do you consume a day?

[WhitneyOnAccutane]

Julia For sure I wasn't drinking enough water. But that headache scared the crap out of me enough to start drinking more. I was only drinking like 2 bottles of water and a couple of glasses of juice a day plus whatever I drank with my meals.. but that was it. NOW I'm drinking 4 bottles..maybe 5 and way more juice because I really don't like water. I probably match the amount of juice I drink to the amount of water. Headache is still gone.. but my sinuses are draining also... so I still don't know. But one thing is for certain, I'm surely not chances anything. So drink up.

Also something I was thinking about... Everyone is talking about water consumption for hydration.. but aren't drinks like Gatorade and Powerade great for that? Isn't that what docs want us drink if we have a stomach virus to keep up hydrated?? I mean... There is absolutely nothing wrong with water. That's what it's here for. Our bodies cannot function without it..but those other beverages have water..plus some.. right? Well I'm in love with pink powerade so I'll be purchasing some of those and let y'all know how my body/skin reacts to it.. My hands are getting dry, so if I see a change in that I'll know something's up.

[WhitneyOnAccutane]

I don't know what day it is..

So I got a relaxer put in my hair today. I was soooo nervous because I know that accutane makes your skin sensitive and more prone to cuts and I didn't know if my scalp had any cuts or any skin flaking because it has be drier than usual but no dandruff or anything. But anyhoo.. I was nervous because I started accutane on May 9 and I got a relaxer on May 13 and it felt completely different than the other times. It started to tingle sooner.. and tingling leads to burning if you don't do something about it. but you can't take it out because you don't want to end up with under processed hair.. So yeah.. had all that on my mind as I was sitting in the chair. BUT nothing happened. I usually burn in the back of my head and this time it was in the front but it was nothing unbearable. It was just fine. Just a little FYI for those who are concerned with getting chemical services.. For me at least, it was nothing.

Wow! As I'm typing this, I'm realizing that the next time I get a relaxer, I may be off of accutane...Well maybe not off of it but maybe on my last prescription?? Whatever.. Time really does fly! I'm already a week into month 3. Month 5 will be before I know it.

[WhitneyOnAccutane]

Month 3: Day 11/12

Hiiiiiii! I'm still here!

Unfortunately there is nothing major to update. But I do have some things that should be noted.

1. I seriously still have "remnants" of the pimple that was on my forehead even before I started accutane. It seriously peels every other day. (I can't say scabs because it's not like healing broken skin or anything...it's just going down very slowly...soooo weird!)

2. It appears that the pimple above my eyebrow will follow in the other pimple's footsteps. It's going down rather slowly.. Every time I look at it I have this feeling of regret that I should have popped it instead of letting it run it's course..

3. That pimple about my eyebrow has been the extent of my IB for my upped dosage from 40mg to 60mg. yay!

4. Lips are officially dry but oddly still not as dry as they were in the past without accutane as a factor.. But! They are dry.

5. I'M NOT PRODUCING OIL!! Gosh that took a long time!!! 2 1/2 months... I wonder if it's going to come back?? That is what happened before.. With that being said, I'm not dry. I'm still using my Loreal Go 360 Clean for sensitive skin, but I'm also using the CeraVe hydrating cleanser just about every other day (just because I can't figure out if I like it or not..) I still only need my light moisturizer. (Clinique Drastically Different Moisturizing Gel)

6. My hair is growing faster.. Well I think it is. My eye lashes have gotten longer.. IDK if it's a summer thing or the accutane but I'm not complaining.

7. I've been taking Biotin for 3 days now. (This is not the cause of the hair. The hair was growing faster way before I even thought about biotin) Nothing to really say about it. I'll let u know how it works for me once I start taking enough for it to work. I'm only taking 1 1000mcg tablet a day. The bottle says I can take up to 5.. But I did heavy research on it and I found some people who said taking too much too soon may cause a breakout, but these were people taking it for acne and were not taking accutane.

That's all! I'll be posting pics soon. My laptop is broken. =(

Edited by WhitneyOnAccutane, 19 July 2011 - 12:03 AM.

[Crystal841]

Whitney!!!
I am sooo happy for you!

My bumped dosage breakout was literally like 16 actives over the last two weeks
Worst breakout since starting
Oh, I cried , and was a complete mess, but it's clearing now.
Those clogs on my cheeks are what blew up. They all became angry zits, blah bl-blah....
Not many clogs left for me now.... So scared of bumping to 80mg . I will give myself a breakout sheerly by mind power ...

Are you going to 80mg, or riding your course at 60mg?

Lots of love babe!

Crystal

[WhitneyOnAccutane]

Hey Crystal! OMG I would have freaked completely the heck out if I broke out that badly this far into the course! Gosh! I kinda freaked over the 1 that I got..

Yeah my clogged pores on my cheeks aren't really doing anything. I've had 1 come to a head.. really small. This kinda bothers me though because even though they aren't becoming actives, they still aren't going away. Don't get me wrong, they are going away especially thinking about my starting point but I'm still kinda at a stand still. My face hasn't really changed from the 40mg to the 60mg..

Which leads to... I don't know if I'm going up to 80mg. My old doc (whom I actually like more than the doc I saw last time) told me that she would only bump me to 60mg only if I needed it and that 60mg was the highest I was going to go. She also said it was going to be a six month course. This new doctor automatically bumped me to 60mg when she saw I was still producing oil and breaking out and whatnot.. I think this new doctor is more of a go with the flow.. So maybe I will, maybe I won't. I'm hoping I won't. If she doesn't bring up upping my dosage, I won't... But if these clogged pores aren't gone by the end of month 4, I think I would ask about being upped. I hate the way my body reacts to my dosage being upped. Hate. It. Are you going up to 80mg?

Lots of love at you!!!!

Edited by WhitneyOnAccutane, 20 July 2011 - 03:17 AM.

[Crystal841]

I don't know....
My derm wants me to, but I just don't know at this point.
If I do I can guarantee a breakout, but I can also cut a month off my course...

Decisions, decisions....

[elle.beth]

Am i the only one who wants as high of a dose as my body can handle without absolutely horrible side effects?! id rather be on a high dose and be sure this stuff is going away (on a more permanent basis...not right away)

[WhitneyOnAccutane]

PICTURES!

About 2 weeks ago.. Late I know..

http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/w...ne/570a89e3.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/w...ne/6185d9ee.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/w...ne/34ff21be.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/w...ne/26f5c862.jpg

Today

http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/w...ne/62fdc44f.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/w...ne/5dc852ce.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/w...ne/c4eb13d9.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/w...ne/9fddb185.jpg
(i'm not asleep in the last one.. lol)

[Jamie Ann]

Oh my god girl your skin is lookin' so good!

[WhitneyOnAccutane]

Month 3: Day 15?

First off.. Jamie Ann Thanks!!!!!!!!! I agree with you! lol Sooo exciting!

Update:

Face is doing much better. Will post a pic soon. Been a crazy couple of days. My face is still not clear nor dry. But I have NO PIMPLES OR EXCESS OIL! And I was pleasantly surprised by how face the pimple that was above my eyebrow went down! I thought for sure that it was going to be like the one on my forehead that took forever and a day! So yay! I still have some clogged pores in random areas on my face. They're definitely still on my cheeks.

I have said good-bye to my Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. It has officially become not moisturizing enough for me. And while the CeraVe moisturizers do indeed make me shiny, the clinique was actually making me oily because my poor skin was like "I'm dry! I'm dry! Ahh! I need oil!! Ahh! Let's make oil!" or it would just be dry and tight which makes skin look shiny anyways.. so lose lose.. I still have not purchased any CeraVe products. I just can't bring myself to do it because I don't love them. But I need to because I would like to keep at least one of the sample sized moisturizers in my purse for that one day I check my face before I walk into class and I have a patch of flaking skin on my chin.. I think I'm just going to take the loss and get the AM and the PM. I actually like the regular lotion the best but it's actually not as moisturizing as the PM and the AM one has SPF.. soooo.. yeah..

My back is still not quite at that accutane smoothness that I want it to be at.

Ok so throughout most of this course, especially when my oil first started to go away, I've only washed my face once a day. I couldn't really tell you why.. I think it's because some folks say you don't need to wash your face while on accutane..a little water is all you need. But some folks disagree. So I guess I took the Obama approach and stayed in the middle of the road and washed my face with a cleanser once a day. Also, my roommate has always only washes her face in the shower so.. once a day.. and I kinda wanted to see what that felt like..lol Anyways... I'm about to start washing 2ce a day. Gosh I hope it doesn't make me dry. I like the fact that I'm having "normal" skin while on accutane. I don't want to get dry.. I really don't.

Last thing.. While SPF is great and everything, it does not prevent me from getting darker. Getting darker is something that I have been struggling with throughout this whole course. I hate it. When I'm darker than what I should be, I don't like what I see in the mirror. It's not the same person. It's not me. Nothing wrong with dark skin. My boyfriend is a beautiful dark chocolate man which is actually one if the features that attracted me to him in the first place. BUT that is his natural color and it's sooo smooth and soft and perfect for is features. I on the other hand, like being a nice milk chocolate. So with all that being said, I am taking another loss and will start wearing makeup. =/ I don't want to.. but I kinda do. When I was wearing makeup everyday, the sun never got through to my face lol so I lightened up. Not in a good way.. I was pale.. lighter but pale. No one want's to be pale. And it wasn't because of the SPF because my moisturizer nor my makeup had any..

So with that being said... I have just ordered MakeUp Forever Face and Body foundation. It does not break me out. I know this because when I first started my retin-a gel and my anti-biotic, I wore it all over my face but I was breaking out soooo badly that it didn't really hide anything, so I stopped using it. So I got through the initial breakout and my face was clear-ish.. (as you know, it was never all the way clear..) and my chin area was getting really dry and flaky. So I started using the foundation only on my chin because it's literally so moisturizing that it sticks the flakes down to the rest of your skin. Seriously. But my chin didn't break out.. so yeah.. And it's (I think) 80% water. The consistency is hard to explain. It's VERY light coverage. Doesn't hide your pimples at all. But it definitely doesn't make them stand out either. And apparently it contains zanes not cones so the particles are actually too big to get into your pores to clog them. I'm really excited to go back to this foundation. I love it. I just had skin that could not be helped at the time but now that I have clearer skin, it should be perfect!! I'm so excited.

My face has cleared up so much. I think I haven't had skin this clear since I was 12. When I wash my face and feel how smooth it is, it makes me want to cry.