25 replies to this topic

[gtturbo2]

Putting this out there as have seen a lot of questions being asked both on here and other message boards. Does accutane work for uninflammed acne / closed comedones? Seen this question all over the place with no definitive answers so im gonna be the poster boy for this experiment.

Background

skip this if you want

Had your typical teenage acne from age 14 tried all the topicals antibiotics etc would say moderate from 14-18. After that it went crazy which left me with a good amount of indented and ice pick scarring many many scarred pores but whos counting! Started to retreat in early 20's to a manageable level couple here and there but always there.

Last summer cleared up totally best id ever looked - early this year the beast returned!

My face went both oily and dry at the same time and stingy and irritated. Started getting big pustules again and several papules at a time. Not a good look at 28 years old.

I started feeling the anxiety i did as a teenager again and looking in the mirror i noticed hundreds upon hundreds of clogged pores. Varying in size from noticeable to tiny microcomedones as my derm called them. Hundreds on forehead all over temples all around chin plus pustules popping up here there and every where i weren't happy.

I also had weird lumps appearing with nothing in them all across forehead - i later learned these are sebaceous hyperplasia. I also have a row of weird lumps appear on my cheek, im presuming they are the same thing.

As im in the uk its quite difficult to get treatment so i kicked up a fuss with gp going back all the time etc and got referred.

When i got there he was giving it the typical oh its not too bad you gotta learn to live with it i said to him get ur light and look at my head he soon changed his tune.

He said to take 20mg every other day it might seem like a low dose but you can stay on this as long as you want. He also prescribed me differin he wants to dry it up from the inside an loosen it from the outside - apparently!

So im gonna see what this combo does for it - if it aint looking on the up after 3 months im gonna go on a high dose.

Meds
20mg roaccutane every other day
Differin

Regimen
AM
Wash face with water
apply pure moisturizer (let it soak in)
apply dermatologica tinted spf on problem areas (covers a bit)
20mg accutane eod (with food)
PM
Proactive face wash (let it dry)
Differin

Day 11

So far all the "sebacious hyperplasia" on my forhead seem to have shrunk down a lot and my skin feels a little dryer.

The ones on my cheek are a different story but heres hoping.

I think i put too much differin on the other night as i woke up with bright red skin all around my eyes above my eye lids etc. Looked quite amusing and got a few funny looks.

Acne wise dare i say it i think things are improving. Not had any bombshells for a good few days and the ones i do get kind itch for a couple of hours come to a head then ill extract them with the proper tools and they go. Its more like a clogged pore being pushed out than a humongous cyst.

stil got the same old pores aroind my nose clogging up with gunk but maybe at a slower rate or maybe wishful thinking.

red marks on my face look terrible but then so did freddy kruegers and he did pretty well - scarring well we wont go there.

[fel_han]

gtturbo2: All i can say is, hang in there and have hope!
Not many ppl are on low doses like us. Majority of tane users take accutane daily. But, lets just pray for the best to happen!!
Take care!

[gtturbo2]

gtturbo2: All i can say is, hang in there and have hope!
Not many ppl are on low doses like us. Majority of tane users take accutane daily. But, lets just pray for the best to happen!!
Take care!

Thanks your is a very low dose. Is it doing any good for you?

[gtturbo2]

well i spoke to soon got a huge one brewing just under cheek bone.
and couple new pustules on chin.

My face really dose look a mess

[Crystal841]

Good luck, babe!
And remember we are all here for you!

My exp w/ Differin was it actually just irritated my clogs and allowed them to morph into actual zits. I know I'd listen to my derm, but maybe u should be applying something that actually targets the infection and not just cell turnover?

[gtturbo2]

Good luck, babe!
And remember we are all here for you!

My exp w/ Differin was it actually just irritated my clogs and allowed them to morph into actual zits. I know I'd listen to my derm, but maybe u should be applying something that actually targets the infection and not just cell turnover?

Got me thinkin now......

[fel_han]

gtturbo2: My derm says im improving but i really CANT see any improvements myself. The extractions that was done 2 days ago were HORRIBLE and im spotting red marks now. It seems like viscious cycle. Its either they get extracted out of my skin.. or they remain underneath my skin and risk inflammation. Either way, i'm sure i died a little inside.. =((

As advised by my doc, i'll b using differin end of the week. My doc is still reluctant to bump up my dosage..

Lets just pray. i really really want acne to stop!!!!!

[Timehealsall]

i might be joining you guys if i can get a damn derm to prescribe me some tane...

[gtturbo2]

gtturbo2: My derm says im improving but i really CANT see any improvements myself. The extractions that was done 2 days ago were HORRIBLE and im spotting red marks now. It seems like viscious cycle. Its either they get extracted out of my skin.. or they remain underneath my skin and risk inflammation. Either way, i'm sure i died a little inside.. =((

As advised by my doc, i'll b using differin end of the week. My doc is still reluctant to bump up my dosage..

Lets just pray. i really really want acne to stop!!!!!

The thing ive come to accept is. The clogs under the skin aint just gonna go away they gotta come out one way or another. Well when i woke up this morning a clogged pore that id had one the side of my nose for months had started to push it self out - so i gave it a helping hand and yeh there was blood and now a scab oops. For me as long as they dont turn into huge infected pustules then its all good i guess. I can ive with a few whiteheads a day aslong as its clearing out. Better out than in.

I think you shoud try differin at least as it seems to loosen them up and should in theory prevent more appearing.

Edited by gtturbo2, 23 June 2011 - 06:21 AM.

[gtturbo2]

Ive scrapped the proactiv cleanser what a load of crap - only good for stripping your skin and irritating in my case. Stuck with it for over 2 months i think it made things worse.

[Crystal841]

I don't know what they've got available for cleansers in the UK, but I am loving the liquid Purpose cleanser.

[gtturbo2]

Wish this stuff would show some real results soon.

[gtturbo2]

well my clogged pores are starting to dry up and fall off with a small amount of redness.

Im hoping thats a good sign.

[gtturbo2]

it was all going well the plugs were coming out red marks were starting to fade. For the first time in ages i actually felt my skin was healing.

Then yesterday boom 2 cystic nodules one either side of nose. One very large and painful.

[Timehealsall]

were the plugs leaving holes?

damn that sucks regarding the cysts man

[gtturbo2]

were the plugs leaving holes?

damn that sucks regarding the cysts man

no fella they just kind of dry up then fall off gradually over a couple of days.

[Timehealsall]

were the plugs leaving holes?

damn that sucks regarding the cysts man

no fella they just kind of dry up then fall off gradually over a couple of days.

hows it going with your experiment?

Regarding the plugs, do they only fall off for your if you wipe over them (i.e. use a cleanser on them), or do they fall off themselves?

i hope the tane/differeins working man... fuckk

[Timehealsall]

bump

[gtturbo2]

sorry mods i put this post in wrong forum initially:



Been a while but i thought id do an update if anyones interested:

So started tane 20mg 3 times a week and differin back in june. To say i had an initial breakout is an understatement i had pustules on my pustules, altho they were quite small. This carried on for maybe a month then things started to calm down. It was always hard grains coming out. Around the two month mark i got 2 awful cysts on the same day which have have left marks which are still there.

After i got them cysts i went to my gp and he told me to write a letter to the derm which i did and he bumped me up to 20mg per day. Ive been on that dose around a month now taking it with food. Although it is still a low dose its definitely had an effect.

SInce then things havent been bad at all i get the odd little bump which isnt very red and goes in a few days kinda just flakes off.

The side effects have been laughable at times. I think combining treatments like this is a fine balancing act it is very easy to irritate your skin even at low doses. At one point i was applying 2.5 bp in the morning aswell as differin at night. This was fine until i hit 20mg per day when it felt like applying battery acid to my face it went bright red and burned. I stopped the bp there and then. I now only use it on the little actives to dry them out quicker so they flake off.

side effects
When i wake up in the morning i look like a dryed up old lady. I have dry skin even around my eyes which i just use moisturiser on. i have been getting like red marks on my neck and various places on my body like if i have itched it or something it forms a thin scab then heals up pretty quick just fragile skin i guess, even have scabs on my ears. A few headaches nothing too bad. A LOT of dry skin. Dry lips not too bad - somedays worse than others.

I think the worst thing is how pale i have become i think its both the diff and the tane doing it but ive gone white as a sheet with dark under my eyes. This makes the red marks looks worse. I think that the differin has mildly helped the red marks and scarring tho. Not much but a little, ill still be seeking further treatment.

The sebaceous hyperplasia i mentioned largly vanished over the first couple of months, quite miraculously really.

The wierdest thing ive experienced so far tho is the crap coming out of old healed cysts. i had a really noticable lump on my cheek in them old pics it then went a wierd grey color for months. Id had enough of it last night so i messed with it and pulled what looked like when you get sleep in you eyes well a huge lump of that out of the pore. Its a little red today but its going down now i think yay!

i still have gunk in some of my pores, not red or anything u can see a small lump which if u press lightly with an extractor a string of white stuff comes out. It will then return within a couple of weeks gradually getting bigger, I think these are damaged pores.

Overall i would recommend trying this treatment if your acne isnt too severe.

[Timehealsall]

gtturbo2, on 24 October 2011 - 07:33 AM, said:

sorry mods i put this post in wrong forum initially:



Been a while but i thought id do an update if anyones interested:

So started tane 20mg 3 times a week and differin back in june. To say i had an initial breakout is an understatement i had pustules on my pustules, altho they were quite small. This carried on for maybe a month then things started to calm down. It was always hard grains coming out. Around the two month mark i got 2 awful cysts on the same day which have have left marks which are still there.

After i got them cysts i went to my gp and he told me to write a letter to the derm which i did and he bumped me up to 20mg per day. Ive been on that dose around a month now taking it with food. Although it is still a low dose its definitely had an effect.

SInce then things havent been bad at all i get the odd little bump which isnt very red and goes in a few days kinda just flakes off.

The side effects have been laughable at times. I think combining treatments like this is a fine balancing act it is very easy to irritate your skin even at low doses. At one point i was applying 2.5 bp in the morning aswell as differin at night. This was fine until i hit 20mg per day when it felt like applying battery acid to my face it went bright red and burned. I stopped the bp there and then. I now only use it on the little actives to dry them out quicker so they flake off.

side effects
When i wake up in the morning i look like a dryed up old lady. I have dry skin even around my eyes which i just use moisturiser on. i have been getting like red marks on my neck and various places on my body like if i have itched it or something it forms a thin scab then heals up pretty quick just fragile skin i guess, even have scabs on my ears. A few headaches nothing too bad. A LOT of dry skin. Dry lips not too bad - somedays worse than others.

I think the worst thing is how pale i have become i think its both the diff and the tane doing it but ive gone white as a sheet with dark under my eyes. This makes the red marks looks worse. I think that the differin has mildly helped the red marks and scarring tho. Not much but a little, ill still be seeking further treatment.

The sebaceous hyperplasia i mentioned largly vanished over the first couple of months, quite miraculously really.

The wierdest thing ive experienced so far tho is the crap coming out of old healed cysts. i had a really noticable lump on my cheek in them old pics it then went a wierd grey color for months. Id had enough of it last night so i messed with it and pulled what looked like when you get sleep in you eyes well a huge lump of that out of the pore. Its a little red today but its going down now i think yay!

i still have gunk in some of my pores, not red or anything u can see a small lump which if u press lightly with an extractor a string of white stuff comes out. It will then return within a couple of weeks gradually getting bigger, I think these are damaged pores.

Overall i would recommend trying this treatment if your acne isnt too severe.

will the sebacious hyperplasia return once halting this treatment?

Also man, has any of your new acne after tane scared (i.e. indented scars)?