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Height: 6ft4
Weight: 93KG
Age:29
Back Story
I had cystic acne on my back and occasional acne on my face for about 15 years. During this time I kept my shirt on during every beach visit. I wouldn’t go in pools, hot tubs or the sea. I would make sure my shirt was on as much as possible, even with girlfriends. I was, in short, totally ashamed of the mess that was my back.
I’d tried minocycline, oxytetracycline and various topical creams (including Benzyl Peroxide which was slightly successful) but none really made much of an impact.
Accutane
I was put on an 80mg dose of Accutane and the course lasted 5 months. Quite simply this product is amazing! But there are some side effects that I’ll describe below. Overall, it was totally worth it.
Month One
Nothing much happened, acne wise, here. I had a few spots appear that were slightly worse than normal but it pretty much stayed the same.
In the first week I noticed that the skin on my face and hands got really dry. My lips were the worst though – very dry and often cracked.
Month Two
Started to notice that my skin was clearing up a bit. Smaller spots had stopped appearing but the larger ones were still around.
I noticed that I was aching a lot more after exercise. I also found it harder to motivate myself to go to the gym as I knew I’d ache so much afterwards.
Skin still dry, lips still dry. Inside of nose is very dry too – never any nose bleeds, but an enthusiastic bout of digging for nose gold can produce some painful places inside.
Month Three
This is the month I really started to notice stuff happening. Most small spots had gone and big ones were no longer appearing. The old ones were slowly going. Skin looked much clearer.
Skin still dry, lips still dry, nose still painful at times.
Still very achey after exercise
Months Four and Five
During this time my acne totally vanished. I’m talking no more spots at all… anywhere.
Skin still dry, lips still dry (this is by FAR the most annoying part of this whole process), nose still painful at times.
The acheyness after exercise is mainly worse in my inner hip. After playing soccer it’s painful all day the next day. As such, I stopped playing soccer for the last month. Gym and running are still fine though. I think it’s the turning quickly in soccer that exacerbates it.
The Aftermath
During the next 3 months off Accutane my skin returned to normal – no more dryness. My nose is fine and best of all – my lips are no longer dry!
The aches after exercising have gone.
My skin is acne free – nothing at all, anywhere!
I went on my first holiday since coming off the drug and spent most of it topless, with no worries at all!
Hints and Tips
OK now this section is the good stuff, here’s my guide on dealing with the random bad sides of taking the drug and what I used during this time:
Body Wash
Dove Sensitive Clean
Has minimal perfumes and dyes added to it, so as not to irritate the skin.
I did not use a loofa or any form of sponge for this, just by hand.
Shampoo
Head and Shoulders dry scalp care.
Good for eliminating the dandruff that comes with dry skin.
Moisturiser
Cetaphil moisturising cream for very dry skin.
WOW this stuff is amazing. Slightly greasy but it’s awesome for even really dry skin. Used on my face and also the tops of my arms when they got dry. No other moisturiser needed.
I also always carried a tiny tub of this in my coin pocket of my jeans as well as kept one in the car. Scoop out the crappy Nivea moisturiser and put some Cetaphil in there:
(This is about an inch across)
Eye Drops
Clear Eyes
Didn’t need these very often but preferred Clear Eyes when I did.
Chapstick / Lip Salve
Nivea
I went through, literally, about 30 of these! I prefer the normal Nivea ones like this:
The Chapstick brand ones sting, Nivea doesn’t at all. Have one on you at ALL times and keep one in the drawer at work, in your car, by your bed etc. I’d need these 24/7 and it felt like I was constantly applying them!
Lip Treatment
Lucas’ Pawpaw Ointment
If ever my lips got too bad I’d use this on them for a day or two and they would recover really well. Not cheap and you have to buy it from Australia (try ebay) but it’s amazing stuff.
Hand Moisturiser
Aveeno Intense Relief Hand Cream
Awesome for when your hands get really dry. Disappears after a minute or two, leaving your hands feeling much better and not greasy.
Acne Body Wash
Acne.org Cleanser
Can’t say for sure if this really helped, but I had some available and used that too.
Clothes Wash
Kirkland Unscented clothes wash
The standard unscented, undyed stuff from Costco did me fine. Anything should work here, the key is to keep the perfumes and dyes out to avoid irritation. Don’t use a fabric softener or anything in your dryer
Toothbrush as an exfoliant
I very often ‘brushed my lips’ after brushing my teeth. This got rid of the peeling skin and dry bits and left my lips smoother. Then I applied a liberal coating of Nivea chapstick or Pawpaw ointment.
Cheap Prescriptions
I went to the pharmacy for the first 3 prescription pickups, then I got a membership to Costco. On my first visit to their pharmacy I covered the cost of my membership because the drugs there were so much cheaper. Wish I’d known about this sooner!
Drinking
I love drinking and partying like the best of them, but I found the next day was a real pain with dry skin, eyes, lips etc. If you can, plan for this before bed by having everything you’ll need the next day close by. Loads of water before bed, lip salve the second you wake up and slap on a load of moisturiser (excessive amounts) about an hour before you’re going to shower. Shower it all off and apply a normal amount. Keep drinking water throughout the day and keep that Nivea chapstick and little moisturiser tub with you if you go out!
Hopefully this will help someone, I’ll add more to it as I remember. If anyone has any questions then just shout!
( ugh. I will check out the poducts you 
