51 replies to this topic

[TamaDrummer]

Ok, so I just returned from a dermatologist appointment today. I expressed my concerns and dissatisfaction with the regimen he prescribed me, and after seeing the phenomenal results my cousin experienced with isotretinoin, I finally got my first subscription. I am going to get my lab work done at 9:30 tomorrow morning, and should have my prescription filled by Friday. To be honest, I'm both nervous and excited about the prospect of having clear skin by the end of five months. Obviously eradicating all my acne problems would be incredible, but reading the reviews online makes me somewhat uneasy. I learned in an AP Statistics class to avoid surveys where respondents answer of their own accord, because usually those people are the ones with the most radical or strongest opinions. I have a feeling this is something similar, and that the ones who go online to post reviews may have an unusually negative experience with isotretinoin. At least this is what I'm hoping.

And now for a quick history of my acne struggles. Once upon a time, when I was a fresh 15 year old, I began to notice some pimples on my face. They arose mainly around my mouth area, and were rather small and short-lived. However, no matter how many times I rinsed my face with water or used my face soap, I couldn't keep new ones from popping up. It was discouraging, but since it was quite mild, I really didn't spend too much time fretting in front of the mirror.

This continued until about 3 months ago. One day, I awoke to a large, deep cyst on my right cheek. I was dumbfounded. Since I never had any form of acne like it, I was confused as to what it was. I saw that its lifespan was significantly greater than that of my usual zits, and it was rather red and conspicuous. Several days later, two more appeared on my cheeks. Frantically, I washed my face and even used some benzoyl peroxide wash (my secret weapon against acne at the time). Nothing worked, and more of these cysts kept sprouting before the others had time to completely fade. I watched in horror as my quite mild acne transformed into a severe case, but refused to let it best me, and thought it was only a phase and that my face would return to its normal state. My mom mentioned seeing the doctor one day, and after more examinations in the mirror, I reluctantly agreed. It was humiliating. He prescribed me Doxcycline and Clindamycin, a topical and oral antibiotic. My cysts faded with time, and no more arrived to take their place. Another regimen was prescribed by my dermatologist, and with little results.

My face is currently quite clear of active acne. I have a fairly large papule on my right cheek, and a small pustule on my left. I do have blackheads on my nose and clogged pores on my chest. My back suffers from gentle cystic breakouts from time to time, as does my neck. My biggest problem is the red marks on my cheeks from the cystic breakouts I incurred several months ago. They don't seem to be fading, and I'm losing hope. However, I've decided that I wish to rid myself of breakouts and any bodily acne, and am willing to risk the side effects.

I will be frequently updating this log with pictures and comments.

Edited by TamaDrummer, 24 July 2011 - 02:14 PM.

[TamaDrummer]

Just got my first blood test done, I should be picking up my prescription tomorrow. The monthly bloodwork is definitely one of my biggest fears about starting this course, since I am absolutely petrified of needles. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I will start taking 40 mg daily.

[TamaDrummer]

Just popped my first pill, and I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty scary. We'll see how justifiable my fear is by the end of all this.

Edit: Oh boy. I just looked at my face, and I haven't had this bad of a breakout in years. The area under my mouth is covered in small red bumps, my left cheek has sprung two large ones (can't tell if they are cysts yet, they seem shallow), and my right cheek decided to get one too. Basically, my face was begging for accutane today.

Edited by TamaDrummer, 27 June 2011 - 03:10 PM.

[Jamie Ann]

Glad you took your first pill today! And good luck with everything! Keep us updated.

[TamaDrummer]

Day 3
So it's the end of my third day, and I think my lips are getting a little chapped. Which I guess is good because that means the medicine is working. I was actually looking forward to getting the side effects over the past two days. That severe breakout I had two days ago is just healing, and I haven't had any new activity besides those.

[TamaDrummer]

Day 5
Well, it's the end of day five. I thought my lips were getting dry two days ago, but I was wrong. Everything is totally normal, and I'm a little shocked. I thought for sure I would see some side effects, or strange occurences that I could possibly attribute to isotretinoin. But no, nothing. Well I'll give it a couple more days, but if I don't notice any changes in my body or face in 72 hours I will be slightly concerned.

[alittleofmeinsidedies]

Good luck to you!

[TamaDrummer]

Day 8
It's been over a week, and I still havent seen any side effects. Maybe a little back pain today, but that's prolly because I slept in a funny position last night. My face is doing quite well. That massive cyst is finally dying, and even my red marks seem smaller and less red. I really don't even have any actives right now. I'll keep updating.

Oh yeah, and happy 4th to everyone

[TamaDrummer]

Day 10
Alrighty, I just finished my first pack of Claravis. My face is doing pretty great right now; I still haven't had any actives whatsoever. This must be a record for me. Its probably just the calm before the storm that is the initial breakout, so I'm bracing myself. Oh, and I think I can safely say my lips are drying up. Exciting stuff, right?

[TamaDrummer]

Day 12
Ok. I haven't noticed any side effects besides my lips and face being a tad bit dryer, except for my scalp which is really itchy. I still haven't had any new actives for almost a week now. However, I feel like the quality of my skin is noticeably worsening. The scars on my cheeks are very apparent now, and the red marks aren't fading whatsoever. I am going to talk to my derm about medication I can take to reduce the healing time of the marks. Hopefully I'll be able to take it concurrently with the isotretinoin. That's all for now.

[TamaDrummer]

Day 14
Alright, so I just hit the two week mark. I got a breakout today, but it only consisted of a few small pimples. Everything else is going pretty well, and my side effects seem very minimal, almost nonexistent. That's all.

[TamaDrummer]

Day 16
Anybody reading this? Just wondering. But anyways, a couple new things to report. I might be in the initial breakout period, because I am consistently sprouting whiteheads every day. They are small and very manageable, but it's unusual. Second, my lips are definitely dry now. I am having to apply aquaphor and chapstick every 6 hours or so. That's all now.

[TamaDrummer]

Day 19
I lied, I don't think I was having an initial breakout. Currently I have one small cyst on my right cheek, and a whitehead below my mouth. My acne seems to be making progress quite nicely. My mom commented saying the difference was already night and day, so I guess that's good. Still got all these red marks to deal with though. They're almost worse than acne because of how damn long they last, but I shouldn't be complaining right now. Until my next update.

[5ive]

I'm reading. Great to hear you're doing so well. I totally agree with you about the intense negative experiences on these boards. Kind of scary. It's good to hear you're not getting any side effects! Do you have any pics of your acne?

[elle.beth]

i am reading too! you are so lucky you haven't had many side effects yet. we are on the same dose. i have a lot of red marks too, but im trying to keep in mind that i can deal with those after accutane...atleast if accutane gets rid of my acne, i wont have more and more and more red marks and i can work on getting rid of the ones i do have.

[DestinyJade]

I'm reading! I just started accutane 5 days ago. I hope you have great success!:)

[TamaDrummer]

Thanks a lot for the support guys, I really appreciate it. I guess I can do a little update.

Day 21
So, I've noticed all of my actives are taking a really long time to fade on this stuff. My face is definitely drying up (yay), as are my nose and lips. But it's not uncomfortable by any means. I have two medium sized actives on my chin. They're symmetrical and it makes it all the more gross. Ill update soon.

[TamaDrummer]

Day 23
I just got back from having my second blood test. Thankfully, it wasn't nearly as bad as the first. I have a dermatologist appointment coming up on the 21st, and seeing as how I'm reacting positively to the treatment so far, I think it's possible that I might get my dosage upped. In terms of my face, I have only 1-2 small active pimples on my face right now. Also, the blackheads on and around my nose seem to be surfacing and disappearing. The side effects are becoming more and more apparent every day. My lips are consistently dry and often chapped, and my moods are definitely being affected. I'm very moody lately, and I'm not the only one to notice. Hopefully that changes further into treatment.

[Lipslikesugar22]

Good luck I'm on a day 14!

[TamaDrummer]

Thanks lips, good luck on your course as well

Day 25
I had my dermatologist appointment this morning. He seems happy with my progress, but because of my recent irritability and mood swings has only increased my dosage to 60 mg a day. My target dose according to him is 80 mg per day, which we will hopefully reach next month. Acne wise, I'm still breaking out, but I've been applying lemon juice to my face every night for the last week and a half, and have seen significant improvement in my red marks. So life's [relatively] good. My lips are drier than the Atacama desert, but constant application of Aquaphor and Blistex helps alleviate that. Moisturizer also helps keep my dry arms and face in check. That's all for now.