84 replies to this topic

[Jesoli]

Oh yes, I've definitely got some red marks to deal with, but they are fading fairly quickly now. The Clinique night moisturizer I use has niacinamide in it and that is supposed to help even out the skin tone - red marks from acne, as well as other hyperpigmentation like melasma. I think the Accutane is helping with the red marks too. I still won't leave the house without makeup (unless it's for exercise because I don't do that with makeup on), but it's certainly improving a lot. How are your red marks coming along?

[brownbag]

My red marks are very much there and knowing my skin they will take months to go away. The old ones are a light pink and the new ones are a pinkish red but it's not too bad that makeup can't cover it up. It's so nice I'm not breaking out anymore just so my skin can have a chance to heal.

[sd85]

Jesoli, on 18 December 2011 - 05:03 AM, said:

Well, things are coming along. I can't believe I'm almost done with my 3rd month; my next derm appointment is Wednesday. I've been getting more zits this month than last, but none of them are bad. Most of them have been very small, actually. The nodule under my nostril is pretty much gone! I've been putting 1% salicylic acid gel on it and the other zits that have popped up and they are going away quickly. I've been eating much healthier lately and feel pretty good. My skin hardly peels anymore, so I only need to exfoliate about once a week with Cure Aquagel. The worst side effect for me is still the headaches around my period. It seems that the entire dud pill week of my birth control pills is the breeding ground for headaches! I'm on break from school right now, so my stress levels are down and I am really thankful for that. My hubby and I are getting ready to take our dog for a hike at the state park nearby, so today will be fun!

I have my derm appointment tomorrow too. I am on 60mgs and haven't had any crazy side effects---dry lips, dry nostrils--that's about it. I am hoping that there is nothing wrong with my labs and that I am able to stay on 60mgs for the next month.

[Jesoli]

Yes, hopefully your labs will be good so you won't have to change you dose. How much do you weigh? Unless you're pretty light, 60mgs shouldn't be that high of a dose for you.

[Jesoli]

Derm appointment went well today. I found out I only have to take Accutane for 2 more months, making it a total of 5! I'm so happy about that because I thought it would be 6 months. I also asked her about getting some tretinoin gel to use post accutane and she said she'll give me some samples when the time comes to find a good one for me. I just want to continue using something like that once I'm done with the Accutane to keep my skin healthy. I'm still so paranoid that the acne will come back again, even though this drug is supposed to be a cure for most people. Anyone else have that same fear? I'm sure most of you do. How can any of us go through all of the physical and emotional turmoil of severe acne without any residual psychological scarring?

Focusing on the positive, hooray for a shorter treatment period than I anticipated and great results so far!

[sd85]

Jesoli, on 21 December 2011 - 01:11 PM, said:

Derm appointment went well today. I found out I only have to take Accutane for 2 more months, making it a total of 5! I'm so happy about that because I thought it would be 6 months. I also asked her about getting some tretinoin gel to use post accutane and she said she'll give me some samples when the time comes to find a good one for me. I just want to continue using something like that once I'm done with the Accutane to keep my skin healthy. I'm still so paranoid that the acne will come back again, even though this drug is supposed to be a cure for most people. Anyone else have that same fear? I'm sure most of you do. How can any of us go through all of the physical and emotional turmoil of severe acne without any residual psychological scarring?

Focusing on the positive, hooray for a shorter treatment period than I anticipated and great results so far!

I had my derm appointment today too! I'm at the end of month 3 and will probably have two more months of treatment. I am slightly worried about acne coming back, but since this is my second course, I pretty much know what to expect. At the end of my first course (only 3 months long) I stayed pretty much exactly the same as the last day of my course. Everything decreased permanently: acne, oiliness, type of acne. Therefore, I'm expecting that this will happen on this course as well.

[Jesoli]

My skin started reacting to the Olay moisturizer I have been using (stinging from the chemical sunscreen in it), so I had to switch to an all mineral sunscreen. Let me tell you, it is no easy task to find an all mineral sunscreen without fragrance, but I went with Clinique's Super City Sunblock SPF25 because I have used it in the past and it didn't bother my skin. I have used it on and off over the last several years because it is too heavy when my skin is oily, but right now it looks pretty good under my makeup since I'm dry Just using this stuff as a moisturizer is plenty, even though Clinique does not market it as a moisturizer - they just want you to buy more stuff!

My lower back has been a bit tight lately. I'll notice it when I bend over to blow dry my hair and then stand back up. I feel pretty good for the most part. It's really nice to know that I'm getting close to the end of my course! By the end of February, I'll be finished! I really hope 2012 is a better year than 2010 & 2011 for me. Between my skin going psychotic and my step-mom's cancer diagnosis and subsequent death, I really can't take any more emotionally. I still need some time to rebound from it all. The year is slated to be good though; I'll finish accutane, complete my BA in English in May, we have plenty of people at work so I won't be on call so much... I'm gonna hold onto that positive outlook

I hope everyone is having a good start to the year so far!

[brownbag]

Hope you have a great year! Congrats in advance on your BA.

[Jesoli]

We had a cold front earlier this week and it made my skin so dry! I am still trying to get my chin moisturized well enough to managed the excessive peeling. My hands are also suffering from the cold. I keep getting these little cuts on them from cabinet edges or other things that would not normally break my skin. It's seriously like butter right now. Up until this week, I had my skin moisture levels pretty well controlled but this sudden cold weather really threw things off!

My chin peeling is so bad that I have skipped wearing foundation the last couple of days just so I can reapply moisturizer every time I walk in the bathroom. It really seems to be helping, but I will have to wear all of my normal makeup tomorrow because I go back to work (I work M-F and have the weekends off). My skin really does look a lot better overall, but I'm not quite ready to go to work without foundation. I have been running errands this weekend, but no one should care what I look like at the Home Depot
I have a fairly large sample packet of First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream that I have been using on my chin/mouth area for the last couple of days and it has been so wonderful. I may purchase some when my sample runs out. It would be a great hand lotion once it becomes too heavy for my face post-accutane.

[brownbag]

My nose is starting to get peely from the cold too. My bb cream doesn't go on as smoothly anymore and it makes the flakes very noticeable. I'm starting to think bb creams are only good if your skin is more or less nice to begin with.

I have a question about the Hourglass mineral veil. Does it smooth out pores and small lines?

[Seva]

Hello Jesoli,
I am working on the issue with posting you'he reported.
Please let me know if you can comment other topics on the forum and use messenger.

[Jesoli]

My account finally works again! I haven't been able to post anything for a couple of weeks because the "post" button didn't work for some reason.

Answer to the Hourglass Veil question: It does minimize pores and blur imperfections, but I don't think it does anything for wrinkles. My skin texture looks the same with or without it. What is does do is it keeps your makeup in place and looking great all day, even in the summer. I have tried many different application techniques with this primer - using a lot so it is an effective sunscreen, applying it over moisturizer with sunscreen under foundation. . . The best way for me is to mix 1 pump with my foundation and apply them together. It seems to make the foundation look more natural and it wears best that way. I put this mixture over Clinique's City Block Sheer SPF 25.

My progress:

My skin is in pretty great shape right now; it isn't even very dry anymore, but that may be due to the increased temperature here. I am on my last month, so I have 27 pills left and I will be finished. I talked to my derm about topical retinoids to try when I am finished with my course and she gave me some .05% Tazorac samples. I will start using that once I'm done with the accutane.

[brownbag]

Yay! Welcome back and congrats on almost being done. It's strange to finally be at the end of this life altering journey and in some ways I'm afraid for it to end, but alas, we can't rely on accutane forever. I'm glad we both turned out to be successful cases and it was nice to have a virtual friend to go through this with.

[Jesoli]

I have 20 pills left until the end of my treatment! My skin is looking pretty good. I have a couple of very small zits, one on the underside of my chin and one at the angle of my jaw. I went without foundation today because my skin looked so nice this morning. Between the accutane and my night moisturizer, my skin tone is getting pretty even. I still have some texture scars, but they are not very noticeable. My derm and my husband have both told me they can barely see them and I know neither of them will try to spare my feelings . I, of course, can see them but it is my face and I am used to looking at it very critically.

[Quiescence]

Wonderful news!! x

[brownbag]

I'm so happy for you! And jealous! Wish my red marks would fade enough that I can go without foundation.

[Quiescence]

brownbag, on 05 February 2012 - 06:31 PM, said:

I'm so happy for you! And jealous! Wish my red marks would fade enough that I can go without foundation.

Me too! Its such a slow process isn't it but we'll get there!! x

[Jesoli]

Thanks! I must disclose that my skin wasn't horribly broken out when I started my course, so many of my red marks were already old. (The freshest ones are along my jawline and I can just put concealer on them.) It was just starting to break out in some nodules along my jaw, but my derm caught it early and said it was time for accutane. She had seen what my skin can do last year when my face exploded in painful, red zits everywhere. Solodyn and Ziana worked well for awhile, but I broke out again while on those so it was time to go for the big gun. That was actually my indication for this drug: breaking out while on antibiotics (and texture scarring). I'm really glad that I went this route because I hate taking antibiotics for a long period of time; I'd prefer to only take them for an infection anyway.


My "Post" button is broken again, but I found a way around it. I just click "More Reply Options" and post from there. I don't know why my account keeps acting goofy...

[Jesoli]

5 more pills to go! I had to skip yesterday and today because I have a cold, but I'm tackling it fiercely. My cold arsenal includes Zinc and the following drugs: Mucinex, Pseudofed PE, Claritin, and Afrin Nasal Spray (all generic brands of course, since they are the same). I'm also making sure to eat healthy and rest so I can get this cold over with and finish my course!

I had a weird zit like thing pop up on my chin, but the skin was peeling all around it and it looked sort of strange, so I treated it with Vanos cream (got from my derm for the 'tane related eczema that appeared on my stomach) and it went away. I guess it wasn't a zit, but it really scared me since I'm so close to the end and this thing was inflamed and angry looking. The weather has been fluctuating a lot around here and I traveled a little bit last weekend, so it could have been some sort of inflammatory reaction to those changes since my skin became a little dry and itchy. Whatever it was, it's gone now.

[The Outfield]

Glad to hear it's working well for you. I'm on my 3rd day now.