34 replies to this topic

[longjon2123]

Dear reader,
I am an 18 yr old male, 175 lbs, and like everyone else, I absolutely hate acne. I have had it for 4 years now and would love to get rid of this black plague on my face and body--which is why I have resulted to Accutane. I have tried everything from minocycline, doxycycline, benzoyl peroxide, retin-a, face washes, moisturizers, etc. I am a first year in college and can't take it anymore. I literally avoid the mirror because I can't stand looking at my acne. My confidence is way below what it should be and hopefully Accutane can solve this.

So I started a blog almost a week ago but I wanna move into a log. Anyways here my past 6 days.

Day 1 (40 mg)

So I just took my first pill and I felt like there was a light shining down from god with nice, heavenly music playing in the background. I have waited for this moment all month and after all of the annoying shit I had to go through to get it, made the moment even better. My insurance boned me last week and wouldn't cover it til my dermatologist would call in and clarify why I need to take this drug. However, stubborn as she is, my dermatologist wouldn't call in last week because she was on "Thanksgiving Vacation." Anyways, it worked out eventually and now I finally have it.

Right now my skin is pretty crappy. I have a bumpy forehead, acne along my jaw line, and the top of my neck is filthy with acne. My shoulder have had actives, but they are now just mostly red spots. My back has a few actives, along with my chest. I can't wait for this miracle drug to kick in so I can look at my face in glee and not in shame!

Day 2

Nothing new really. My lips are a bit dryer but nothing too noticeable. Also I notice that some of my pimples have came more to the surface and some are scabbing over. However, this has happened in the past so I don't know if this is the accutane or just my natural cycle of acne.

Day 3

My skin has stayed relatively consistent. The Accutane hasn't really kicked in yet My face was a bit dry this morning but nothing new or crazy. I felt pretty tired and achy by the end of the day, but that might have been because I was up early. Tomorrow I am going to a fat rave, except I'm bummed because I wont be able to drink :/ Not being able to drink is probably going to be the toughest part for me on accutane. Being a freshman at a college where 75% of students drinks every weekend is going to be rough but I'll get.

Day 4/5
So last night I went to a rave and it was pretty fun. My lips were so dry and I had no saliva to make them wet lol it was pretty crappy but whatever the show was sick.

As for my acne its looking pretty good right now. I haven't had any new actives since being on accutane, but hopefully I don't jinx myself and get an initial breakout. My face is mostly red bumps from previous acne. Im not sure if these are going to come out of my skin in vicious pimples or fade away. The left side of my neck is still kinda shitty looking but theres nothing too unbearable. The acne on my shoulder, chest and back is definitely looking better. They seem to be losing size and turning into little red bumps. Hopefully these can disappear soon.

Day 6
I woke up this morning and my lips were dry as hell hahah it made me kinda happy though because it reassured me that the accutane was working. My face was also a bit dryer but not too bad. The acne looks okay today...face has 2 new actives but my shoulders, back and chest still look shitty. I have a bunch of purple colored spots on my shoulders from acne like 6 weeks ago.

I worked out pretty hard this morning and I could tell I'm getting some new actives on my back. Of course I showered and cleansed after, but hopefully this is more part of the initial breakout than from working out because I work out everyday.

Edited by longjon2123, 03 April 2012 - 05:23 PM.

[longjon2123]

Day 7

Not much new today. New active on the right side of my mouth, but other than that everything is pretty much the same.

[longjon2123]

Day 8


Today I woke up with 4 new whiteheads, 2 on my right cheek, 1 on my upper lip, and 1 on the left side of my neck. They are all pretty large, but they are better than those big ass cysts! My forehead looks a bit smoother today and seems to be still recovering from my last pimples. My shoulders and back are still filled with ugly ass pimples. Im getting really sick of them and want them to just disappear. Also, my neck and face seemed a bit more red today. My neck has little tiny red bumps on it that I have never seen before. Maybe all of this is part of my "initial breakout?"

I noticed at the gym today that my bones started aching after doing sets. Kind of an uncomfortable feeling but I can stand it. Other than that nothing else to report!

[longjon2123]

Day 9

Not much today. Face is still red, whiteheads are still there, and forehead is continuing to look better. Worked out again today and my arms were aching so badly...a lot worse than yesterday.

Edited by longjon2123, 04 January 2012 - 01:17 AM.

[longjon2123]

Day 10-11

Sooooo I tried not posting for a couple days to see if the days would go by faster and they definately did. Im probably only going to post on the week after day 14 cause theres such little changes between days and its just making the entire process go slower.

Anyways, my skin is getting continuously better. I have two new pimples on my upper lip but other than that not much else. My forehead is 20x smoother than it was on day 1 and my shoulders, back, and chest are looking a lot better. Hopefully I don't jinx myself.

Edited by longjon2123, 26 December 2011 - 05:54 PM.

[cloudscloudsclouds]

everythings going to be alright

[longjon2123]

I hope so!

Day 12-15
So lately my acne has gotten a bit shittier. I have three fairly large pimples on the right side of my mouth that dont seem to want to go away. My shoulders are continuing to break out, however my chest and back are looking 90% clear. Also, I havent broke out on my forehead since Im beyond stoked on that.

Every morning when I wake up my lips are extremely dry, but a little carmex can fix that right away. Also, I starting to experience the infamous lower back pains. Not too bad, but im glad that I'm not playing volleyball anymore cause that would be miserable to play with. Other than that, no other side effects!

Edited by longjon2123, 04 January 2012 - 01:17 AM.

[longjon2123]

Day 16-17
So my skin is continuing to get worse. I have two cysts forming on the both side of my mouth, along with a line of pimples from my moustache area down to my cheek bone. Also, my neck doesn't really have pimples, just a shit ton of tiny red bumps? I dont really mind them, but I can't wait until my neck is clear, or everything to be clear haha

On the brighter side, my forehead is continuing to smooth out and so are my cheeks. My skins feels different than it used to; it almost has a more leathery-firm texture to it, compared to my old, soft, and sensitive skin.

[longjon2123]

Day 18

I woke up this morning with my skin feeling a bit dryer. Once I looked into the mirror, my skin was peeling all over my face. Not too bad, but pretty noticeable. I guess the accutane is really starting to push the dead skins out and new skin in.

The line of pimples on the right side of my face are definitely starting to go down in size, except I feel a new big puppy forming on my left side >:/ Oh well hopefully it goes away as quickly as the other ones did.

[longjon2123]

Week 4 (Day 30)

Wow I cant believe I'm almost done with month 1 . It's been a while since I last updated and well, surprisingly a lot has changed.

Since then, I can say I officially had my initial breakout. I broke out all on the right and left side of my mouth with two large cysts on both sides followed with tons of whiteheads. Once the breakout was in full force, Accutane came in to fuck shit up. My face has become very very dry and unfortunately has started to flake all around my mouth, chin, and nose. I have been moisturizing like crazy, but the dryness hasn't gone away.

Anyways, my initial breakout is slowly going away, however, its taking a good amount of time. Hopefully it will be officially gone by next week.

Also, about 5 days ago I started to get rashes on the top of my hands all the way up to my shoulders. Crazy to think how powerful Accutane actually is!

On the brighter side, I am officially clear from my cheeks and up. My cheeks feel so smooth. I love it I haven't had ONE pimple on my forehead since I started, which is weird cause I used to break out on my forehead all of the time. Hopefully it stays this way!

Also, my chest acne is officially gone. I have red spots, but no pimples whatsoever. As for my back and shoulders, the acne is gradually going away. All of my old pimples have turned into dry, dead skin that almost look like rashes. Anyways, I'm going to keep posting weekly updates, so everyone have a Happy New Year!

Edited by longjon2123, 18 January 2012 - 02:00 AM.

[longjon2123]

Week 5 (Day 37)

So an update of the past week:

My initial breakout finally faded away, making me pimple free for a week, however, I had a small breakout last night. No cysts, just 3 or 4 whiteheads that seem to be already crusting up.

Other than those, I haven't have had any new actives. My right shoulder is almost acne free with a bunch of little spots, but my left shoulder still has some work to do.

My face and neck have been extremely red lately. When I went to my dermatologist, the first thing she said was "oh my god you are so red!" She gave me some hydrocortisone and told me to use it sparingly. Hopefully the redness fades over time.

Also, all of my rashes have seemed go away. I still have a couple red dry patches on my arm, but it isn't nearly as bad as it was last week.

Other than all of the above, nothing else new to report.

[Jamie Ann]

Good luck! You're gonna love this drug.

[longjon2123]

Week 6 (Day 45)

@JamieAnn: Thanks! I already do!

I cant believe i've already been Accutane for a month and a half. After the first week, it just feels like it flies by! Anyways my skin is getting progressively better. The texture is starting to smooth out that its unbelievable to have this feeling once again. Having acne for so long you begin to forget how normal skin felt like. As for the whiteheads that came up last week, they officially went away yesterday. I still have a couple of scatter little red bumps, but nothing like I used to.

As for the redness on my face and neck, it is still there. I try to stay out of the sun, but even walking to class in the sun for 10 minutes makes my face red. Hopefully this goes away sooner or later. It just looks funny because when you look at my chest, it is completely white, but from my neck up I am beat red. Ill try to keep reapplying sunscreen and stay out of the sun as much as possible.

My shoulder acne is continuing to get better, but still has a lot of red spots. Im not getting actives anymore, but the skin around my old ones are starting to crust up and fade away. Only time will help these go away. Anyways, nothing else new to report. Hope everyone has a good week

Edited by longjon2123, 18 January 2012 - 02:01 AM.

[longjon2123]

Week 7 (Day 52)

For the past week, my skin has had its ups and downs. I've been getting an active in a different spot each day: my neck, my chest, my right cheek. Luckily I haven't had any breakouts in one spot, because that would be very upsetting. Also, my skin tone is looking really weird lately. My red skin is starting to fade to white patches and it looks really bizarre. Hopefully its the redness fading away? Only time will tell.

Also, my mom bought me a new moisturizer and it is the most incredible thing I have ever used. It is the definition of magic. My face hasn't been dry whatsoever since I've been using it. Its called La Mer....its very $$$ but if you have the money its totally worth, especially for Accutane victims.

Edited by longjon2123, 29 February 2012 - 01:30 AM.

[Jamie Ann]

It should just be redness fading away! And now I really wanna try that moisturizer. This winter weather is taking a toll on my face and hands! Thanks!

[longjon2123]

Week 8 (Day 59)

@JamieAnn: I think it is the redness fading away because my face is looking a bit less red each week. And I highly recommend the moisturizer! Before it, my face would get super dry and flake especially by my mouth, but now i put it on when I wake up and my face is perfectly moisturized without any flaking whatsoever!

Anyways, wow almost 2 months! Crazy that it goes by so quickly! Well, I haven't shared this yet but after my first month, I started drinking again. Not too much, just once every weekend and not too heavily. I was severely worried that my liver enzymes on my blood tests would come out terribly, but it was the complete opposite! My doctor said they were perfect and no problems on my tests. I am not saying this to condone drinking, because in the long run my liver could be hurt, but I am currently having no problems for those of you in the same situation that I'm in. I am still not going to push it with drinking, but a couple drinks once a weekend is working out well.

On to my acne, the right side of my neck and face is pretty much 95% clear. I still have some red spots from previous pimples, but they are slowly fading away. My left side has about 4 actives but nothing too bad and they seem to be gradually going away. As for my shoulders, my red spots are still there. I want those to go away the most, but only time will be the solution. Other than the above, nothing else to report.

Edited by longjon2123, 25 January 2012 - 01:53 AM.

[longjon2123]

Week 9 (Day 66)

Soo I had my checkup with my doctor last friday and after being on 40 mg for the first two months, she bumped me up to 60 mg. Woooo! Except a couple days after moving up, I suffered another fairly large breakout :'(. My left side was filled with at least 6 new actives within a day and my right side had only 3 new ones popped up. I got 3 new ones on my lower neck too which is a pain because people think they're hickies until they get close enough to notice that its acne. However, after a couple days of suffering, accutane came in full force and dried most of them out. Its probably going to take another week for them to completely vanish, but as long as its my final breakout, I'm fine with that.

On the brighter side, the red spots on my shoulder are disappearing quicker in these past 5 days than they did throughout month 2. My dermo said it usually takes 5 to 6 months for them to completely disappear, but hopefully she is wrong and they go away quicker cause its 70 degrees here and I'm trying to wear tank tops as soon as possible.

Edited by longjon2123, 31 January 2012 - 03:03 PM.

[longjon2123]

Week 10 (Day 73)

Damnnnn 10 weeks already! What seemed to be a complete relapse of acne last week took a turn for the better...fast. Most of the actives that I got last week have completely gone away and I currently have 2 on the right side of my mouth. 60 mg is the shit! My neck looks beautiful and the redness is noticeably decreasing.Also, my shoulders, chest and back and completely acne free! I love it. I still have a couple red spots, but they're becoming less noticeable each day. The only thing is I started getting terrible rashes from my wrists up to my shoulders. I have been moisturizing like crazy and is definitely looking better than it did a couple days ago. Other than that, nothing new.

[longjon2123]

Week 11 (Day 80)

Unfortunately I had another breakout once again. Same spot too, all along the sides of my mouth and then a couple of actives on my neck. They're recovering but it will probably take another week from them to vanish. Hopefully, in the meantime, I don't have another effing breakout. That would be very upsetting. However, on the bright side, my rash is completely gone and I haven't had any new actives below my neck for a solid two weeks (knock on wood). Let's hope for a promising week.

[longjon2123]

Week 12 (Day 88)

So basically my breakout from last week almost went away yesterday, and then I wake up with two new actives on the left side of my mouth area. Im so sick of getting these because the process is cyclical: I get new actives, they takes a week to almost fade away, then I get new actives. I guess I just have to remain patient since I'm on this drug for another 3 months. Other than that, nothing new below my face or above my mouth. Hopefully this stays consistent! One of the biggest shockers of this entire process is how I have not broke out on my forehead once! I used to get huge landmines on my forehead, but since I started I havent gotten anything besides a couple red dots here and there.

Edited by longjon2123, 29 February 2012 - 01:17 AM.