378 replies to this topic

[WhitneyOnAccutane]

YAY!!!!!!!!!! I'm SOOOOO happy for you!!!! You did it! You're done!!! ALMOST BACK TO A NORMAL LIFE!!! Actually, it will be better because you will be living an accutane free life with CLEAR SKIN!! I can't even tell you how excited I am for you! My heart dropped a little bit when I looked at your last post on my log and saw that your new signature says you finished on the 13th! I can't believe I missed it! Congrats Again! I would tell you not to freak out over the possibility of acne coming back, but that would make me a huge hypocrite since my boyfriend has to tell me to calm down literally everyday when I wash my face when I see an imperfection. lol


yay!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seeing this totally made my day!

[Jamie Ann]

Congratssss!!!! That's a good idea to wait on the Retin-a, and now that you mention it I think I will too! Best of luck!

[Clare M.]

Hey, congrats on finishing girl! I've been done for about a month now and still no oil or any pimples. I started using a very small amount of Retin-A mixed in with my moisturizer with about a month left on Accutane. I've since then increased it. It did no harm to my skin while on Accutane. I think you could start it now - to ensure your pores are kept clear post-Accutane. It really helps mixing it in with my moisturizer - helps ease the dryness/flakiness associated with retinols. Again, congrats! Hope you stay clear & so awesome you're going to keep updating. I think I will too!

[Again!]

2 Weeks Post Tane!

Roisin- Thanks so much! Ahhh, yeah it feels great to be off the stuff. I'm really hoping I'll be active soon. My back and feet still hurt, but my knees seem to be so much better. I'm thinking I will start doing some Pilates tomorrow to help with stretching and ease back into hardcore workouts. You must be almost done also. Three weeks left?

Whitney-Thanks! Your post made me feel happy. I could really feel your happiness for me! In glad things are still going well for you and yes, I am semi-freaking out about getting new acne.

Jamie Anne-Thanks! Your done any day now! I'll head over to your log.

Clare-Thanks. A month already? Crazy! I remember when we first started. So, I took your advice and I mixed my Rentin A with my lotion tonight. We will see how my skin takes it.

UPDATE: So, nothing much new. No oil, no breakouts and still sore. My lips seem to be less dry, which is a welcome relief.

[Again!]

So, I decided to start using my Retinol A. BIG MISTAKE! I mixed some in with my lotion on Saturday and Sunday. When I woke up Monday, my face was all red and peely-just like when I first went on accutane!!! I will wait for my skin to heal and then try again. Maybe every two nights?

[PaulH85]

My understanding is that the Accutane stays in the system for up to a month after you finish the course and I'd bet that it would take at least that long for your skin to start returning to normal. Probably still pretty fragile and sensitive at the moment. Once your skin's recovered, best to start slow with the Retin-A and use small and even amounts over the areas you want to maintain, allow your skin to get used to it gradually. Hold fire for a bit though, don't go melting your face off after all that hard work!

[sd85]

Again!, on 31 January 2012 - 11:04 PM, said:

So, I decided to start using my Retinol A. BIG MISTAKE! I mixed some in with my lotion on Saturday and Sunday. When I woke up Monday, my face was all red and peely-just like when I first went on accutane!!! I will wait for my skin to heal and then try again. Maybe every two nights?

What concentration do you have? Is it the .1% or is it lower than that? Even when I had extremely oily skin the .1% would just about melt my face off. If you have a really low concentration like .025%, then I think every other night would probably be fine.

I would stress though that even when I had oily skin, my skin would react this way if I hadn't used it in a long time. Take every other or 2 days off, then do it again, as long as you have a low concentration. I wouldn't assume that it's just because you were on accutane a few weeks ago. This sounds like a pretty normal reaction.

[Clare M.]

I use the .025% and had no problem with peeling/redness. I did, at first, use the TINIEST amount mixed in with my lotion and slowly started increasing it. I've been fine mixing it in since. I think it's great to start using it early though to make sure your pores stay clear after Accutane - just use a tiny tiny amount.

[Again!]

Thanks guys!

5 Weeks Post Tane!!!

I am still using my Retinol A-0.05% and my skin is slowly getting accustomed to it again. I'm continuing in diluting it with lotion. My nose and chin seem to be the sensitive areas that tend to peel and dry out first, so sometimes I just put it on my cheeks-which is where I need it most! I'm not really doing much besides Retinol A. In my personal experience, my acne doesn't go or stay away with harsh products or a complicated regime.

I was going to post some pictures, but unfortunately there isn't much difference. I mean, there IS a difference, but it just wont show up in a picture for some reason. My marks are slowly fading, but i have many, many shallow indented scars. I am still semi-hopeful that they will go away or fill in substantially in time. I have read that shallow indented acne scars can improve in time and that Retinol A can help in doing that. Let's just say that I am trying to be patient, but am counting down the days till I can get some treatments done on my face-5 months to go. It may be longer though, because they say that your skin needs to return back to normal. My skin is practically the same as it was on accutane-no oil, no nothing. To a certain extent I am okay with that since in my demented head that means no acne coming back. The other part of me, would really like to look healthier and that means I need some oil!!!

I have my good days and also my bad. I still will not go outside or even to the gym without make up-so sad, I know. Some mornings, I think, "Wow! My skin is really starting to look normal." Then, other mornings, my skin looks so potted/scarred/bumpy/inflammed and I honestly want to cry. I keep thinking, "Wow, I am officially what people look at and think to themselves, "Oh look at her, that's so sad. She would be so pretty (not that I think I am so pretty-just an expression is all) if it weren't for all those acne scars."

My hair is so yucky and dry. I remember that this is how it was the last time I was on accutane. It seems that you don't notice the state your hair is in till after the course. I think its from six months of dryness finally catching up. If I remember correctly, it wont be back to normal for a long time.

[PaulH85]

Again!, on 16 February 2012 - 03:33 PM, said:

I keep thinking, "Wow, I am officially what people look at and think to themselves, "Oh look at her, that's so sad. She would be so pretty (not that I think I am so pretty-just an expression is all) if it weren't for all those acne scars."

Wrong! I can't imagine many people would think that way. It's really easy for us to twist things around and convince ourselves that's the case though, but it just isn't. After all, I can't imagine you or anyone else here has ever looked at our pictures and thought that way. Whatever appeals - smile, eyes, hairstyle, etc - appeals regardless and acne doesn't detract from that. Even if we do encounter narrow-minded and shallow people who see fit to take that point of view, they're not worth knowing anyway, and it's certainly not worth allowing that unlikely and hypothetical scenario bring you down or make you feel bad about yourself.

[Again!]

Thanks Paul. I know that I'm being rediculius when I think those negative thoughts. I'm ( just like everyone else on here, I'm sure) just so tired in dealing with the emotions all this acne has brought. I become so frustrated with myself that I haven't just got back to my life.

The good news is that I am slowly getting to where I was. I know that once I really start to exercise and eat more healthy that I will feel so much better. I just ordered a juicer. I am going to start juicing on a daily basis and my friend and me are going to do a juice cleanse. I'm also planning on getting a colonic. I really want to cleanse my body and feel more alive.

[PaulH85]

Oops! Awkward moment when you type out an essay of biblical proportions, then press the 'back' button by mistake and lose the lot!
Before I stupidly mashed my keyboard with my clumsy hands, what I was going to say was...

Even if those thoughts and feelings might be misplaced and unnecessary, they're also perfectly understandable. It all starts out when you look in the mirror and see something you don't like and would rather be without. That could be something as minimal as a single tiny pimple. Even though it wouldn't be a big deal, you'd still feel better without it and because it's there, that's where your focus goes. It's a distorted way of thinking, especially if you then believe that everyone else will focus on it in the same way, yet it seems like a perfectly natural conclusion to jump to. Then of course, those feelings get worse and worse depending on how bad the acne is. It builds up and up and that can do a lot of damage to the way we think, how we act towards others and how we feel about ourselves. The problem is that all that stuff doesn't automatically go away when the acne does. I feel the same about myself with clear skin as I did when I was struggling with persistent acne year after year. In fact, it somehow seems harder now because there's not a lot to justify those feelings and it highlights how much I allowed the acne to mess me up.

I even purposely went back to my old habits a couple of weeks ago. I had a potential date situation lined up and I got myself into such a state about it that I made a mess of a tiny breakout and used that as a reason to justify to myself why I shouldn't go. It's crazy to think that I'd risk damaging my skin - essentially self-harm - rather than be brave enough to step out of my comfort zone and meet someone, but it seemed to make perfect sense in that moment. Like I said, distorted thinking. I totally bailed on it because I ultimately believe that nobody would want anything to do with me if I had even just the odd pimple. My dislike of my skin when it's anything less than clear is so strong that over the years, I've convinced myself that everyone else would dislike my appearance to the same degree. Sure, I've a huge list of narrow-minded fools who made fun of or bullied me because of my skin over the years and although that's gone some way towards adding weight to how I feel about myself, the majority of it has been of my own making. Anyone reading that, even having experienced the same thing themselves, would probably want to slap me silly for making such a huge deal out of something that just shouldn't matter, and I know it shouldn't but it goes to show what kind of traps we can fall into if we let these things take over. Guess it takes time to let that go and to get used to being without those thoughts.

I just get to thinking that if it's possible to do that and to construct these feelings and thoughts about ourselves, and to put so much focus on them that they build up and up, if we could give the same effort and attention to more positive and self-affirming thoughts, we'd probably end up liking ourselves quite a lot, on the inside, the outside and overall. It's not easy to face up to those negative feelings, alter way of thinking or break habits, so all credit to you for recognising that you want to change things and for taking the time to work out what steps you're going to take. No reason why you can't get there. I wouldn't look upon it as going back to your old like though. Look upon it as going forward, to a new and even better phase in your life. I guess it takes time and patience, but I've no doubt you had to give a lot of time and patience to the Accutane treatments and you've made so much progress there, so I don't doubt you'll be able to apply those same attributes to making progress in other areas too.

[Clare M.]

Bahhh I feel the SAME way about not wanting to go anywhere, really, without makeup. You'd think after we finished our Accutane course our skin would be perfect...not. So much scarring, redness (still), blotchy-ness... at least for me. Feels like I'll never have my normal, pre-Acne skin back. Haha. Oh, what a whiner I am! But, glad to hear things are staying clear with you. That's wonderful. And so glad you're sticking with the Retin-A/moisturizer. I am too.

Btw, what scar treatments do you plan to have done to your face once enough time has passed?

[Again!]

13 Weeks Post Tane!

Things are great thus far. My skin is clear and just continues to get better. I don't really get acne except a tiny little dot here and there that just goes away within a day or two.

I have gained enough confidence that I will now go to the gym without make-up on, which is a major step for me. Quite frankly, this has been the most amazing thing accutane has given me. Running has always been my passion and when my cystic acne was so bad, it was the thing that I gave up. Well, now I'm training for a 1/2 marathon in a few months and just emotionally feeling like myself again.

My skin is no longer something I am thinking about constantly. I am saddened by my scars at times though. I do feel like I am realistic about them. I know that their not horrendous, but I wish that they weren't there. They are a reminder of the past that I rather not think about. From afar (with make-up on) you can't see anything, but when close (especially in my car with real light!) you can see the indents. My hope is that they will continue to get better, but I realize that they are permanent. I am not one to just give up though. In another 3 months I will be making an appointment with a dr. to see what treatments I can get. My only concern is that I wont be able to get any treatments since my skin still has no oil production.

Anyways, life is good and I'm so grateful for what accutane has done for me! I have no regrets and will go back on it in a heartbeat if needed!!!

[Again!]

Okay, for those still reading my log and are interested here is my picture updates. It has been 4 months since I last took pictures and I think that you can actually see a difference. Their not gone completely, but so much better.


I have 5 pictures right before I started accutane, then 2 pictures at the 4 month mark and now 2 pictures at the 3 months post accutane mark. Here they are: http://s1192.photobu...aa339/Again111/

I believe that retinol A is a huge factor in helping the marks go away. I will continue to use it forever!!! If my skin starts to dry out too much, I will moisturize my whol face and only put the stuff on my cheeks until I can resume all over.

[The Outfield]

Wow, AMAZING improvement. I hope acne is gone for you now.

[PaulH85]

That's so good to see. Awesome! Really pleased to hear that you're doing well and that you're getting your confidence back. Good luck with the training!

[blahdeeblah]

my god woman! your skin looks amazing! congratulations - so happy to see post-tane updates like this. good for you!

[Clare M.]

You look awesome! I am so happy for you.