16 replies to this topic

[PerZona]

Hi everyone.

-22 year old Male
-5'10
-135 pounds

Finally got hold of my first batch of Accutane.

Derm has started me with the following:

20mg Accutane (Isotretinoin)

-1 a day for 2 weeks and then...
-1a day followed by 2 a day on alternate days for 2 weeks
-Finally 2 a day, everyday

After around 4-6 weeks he will look at upping my dosage to around 50-60mg depending on how I cope with 20mg.

-Length of course: 4 months

My skin is a mix of faint scarring, red patches and only a handful of small spots. It really isn't that bad compared to most, but it still ruins my mind and brings me down incredibly. I've tried many things to make it clear, but I've finally decided on Accutane to finish the job.

My regime will consist of the following:
-Accutane
-2-3 cups of Green Tea a day
-Using Green Tea as a toner at night (Green Tea has definitely helped me at keeping spots at bay an bringing the redness down)
-Simple Light Moisturiser morning and night (the derm said not to use the rich variety since it's more greasy)
-Neutrogena 2 in 1 Face Wash

I don't really feel confident enough to post a picture, but I will probably change my mind soon haha.

Day 1

Skin condition: As described, red marks and faint scars, 3 spots. 1 on the cheek and 2 on my jawline. (probably caused by shaving).

Side Effects: None

-will be using Aquaphor on my lips once the dryness kicks in, I've heard it's a miracle worker for Accutane users: http://www.boots.com...m-40ml_1235541/

-have some eye drop spray ready for my eyes

-Simple light moisturiser to counter dry skin

Will update weekly and hopefully every couple of days if I remember.

Wish me luck and the best of luck to all of you too!

Edited by PerZona, 07 December 2011 - 12:08 PM.

[bigdreams]

Good luck!

[PerZona]

Day 2

Skin condition: Same - As described, red marks and faint scars, 3 spots. 1 on the cheek and 2 on my jawline. (probably caused by shaving).

Side Effects: None

bigdreams, on 08 December 2011 - 07:15 AM, said:

Good luck!

Thanks =)

[cloudscloudsclouds]

i wish you good luck and patience

[PerZona]

^^ thanks =)

Day 5

Skin condition: - Skin appears to be smoother (might be because of the oatmeal cleaning thingy) but i have 2-3 new spots. They aren't really red so no biggy here.

Side Effects: Had very dry lips for the past 2 days but they appear to be smooth day so it might not be a side effect.

I've also had a migrane all day from the moment I woke up. Apparently this is very common in the first 1-2 weeks.

[SkyLynn]

KbHey good luck! I started my course Dec 5th so I will keep up with your progress )

[PerZona]

Day 8

Skin condition: - No real change. Oil level are lower, but my skin isn't completely dry which is also a good thing.

Side Effects: - Hands are pretty dry. No more headaches....but my upper body is aching a lot and it hurts a little bit when I stand up after sitting down for a while. Hope this doesn't worsen as I'm lifting weights every other day at the moment.

[PerZona]

Day 10

Skin condition: - No new spots, but becoming very dry.


Side Effects:

- Lips are starting to chap and my skin is definitely started to dry out.

- Feel a lot more tired and worn out in the evenings

-Body aches, increasing in the evening. Mainly upper body (stomach and back ect..)

Edited by PerZona, 16 December 2011 - 12:52 PM.

[soysauce]

The sleepiness will go away, the first to weeks i was extremely tired. The back aches should subside also, mine was extremely sore but now its gone. And to combat the body dryness after i get outa the shower i moisturize my whole body. Hope this helps and good luck on your course!

[Verica]

Good luck!

[SkyLynn]

So are you having an initial breakout yet? Today its my Day 12, and its allllllll bad! Lol.....

[PerZona]

Day 14
Tomorrow I finally start taking 2 pills a day. So 40mg one day and 20mg the next. I will follow this pattern for 2 weeks and if all is okay then I will be on 40g everyday

I really hope an increased dosage doesn't bring any nasty surprises!

Skin condition: Drying - Possibly the start of my IB? =(

Got 2-3 spots in areas where I rarely break out compared to the rest of my face. What's everyone else's IB's been like? Was it that much of a drastic change compared to a normal break out and how long did it last?.

Side Effects:

Body aches = decreased
Headaches = gone
Tiredness = present but not too bad
Dryness = increasing

I also have a strange type of sore throat. I say strange because it's only active in the evenings and its sore to the left side of my throat only. Not really like a normal one at all. Hopefully this goes.

SkyLynn, on 17 December 2011 - 11:18 AM, said:

So are you having an initial breakout yet? Today its my Day 12, and its allllllll bad! Lol.....

Think it just started. Keep strong and we will make it in no time!

Verica, on 17 December 2011 - 02:01 AM, said:

Good luck!

Thanks =) you too!

soysauce, on 16 December 2011 - 02:23 PM, said:

The sleepiness will go away, the first to weeks i was extremely tired. The back aches should subside also, mine was extremely sore but now its gone. And to combat the body dryness after i get outa the shower i moisturize my whole body. Hope this helps and good luck on your course!

Yup the aches seem to have decreased over the last 2 days which I am so relieved about. I don't mind being tired since I struggle to get to sleep anyway.

[PerZona]

Day 22

Skin condition: Dry

-Black heads coming out on my nose - hopefully the accutane pushes them out asap
-Around 3-4 new spots since my last update. No idea if this is a IB or just a normal break-out. Only have 2 active spots at the moment


Side Effects:

Body aches = now very minimal
Headaches = gone since my last update
Tiredness = still get very tired in the evenings, especially on my 40mg days
Dryness = still increasing, makes my skin feel slightly irritated and my scalp very itchy
Sore Throat = gone

On the plus side it has thinned my hair out and taken away all the oil so its non greasy. So much smoother and easy to manage.

[SkyLynn]

You may not have an initial breakout. After mine I was clear and never broke out again. Keep it up!

[PerZona]

Day 43

Finally updating. So my skin has been the clearest its ever been in my whole life. Its really smooth once moisturized. I've had no real IB and the spots I do get are extremely small and disappear really fast.

Side Effects

Still experiencing major dryness and tiredness.

My hair is also starting to thin out pretty considerably. Can anyone comment on this? Will it go back to normal post-accutane?

Overall I'm extremely pleased with my current results!

[blahdeeblah]

I was losing a ton of hair for the first 2 mints of my course....in the shower I'd pull away like 50 hairs each time I'd rinse and during the day clumps would fall out! I think a lot has to do with your hair actually breaking off due to the dryness and not necessarily all from it completely falling out at the roots....although I had plenty of hair come out at the roots too.

I'm not sure if this is helping or not but I started taking a hair,skin, nails vitamin 3 times a day and cut my hair shorter and I've seen significant decrease in my hair loss. I also use a heavy conditioner daily but only wash my hair once a week.

Up your supplements of omega threes too. I've heard mixed reactions on post-accutane hairless but I would say more often than not it returns to normal for most.

[PerZona]

Long time no update! I decided to stop updating and tried to forget about Accutane so I wasn't to hung up about it all the time and it definitely helped.

Day 101

-90-95% of my skin has completely cleared up! I still have some uneven skin tone and faint acne scars so I really hope they go, but overall the improvement has been an absolute miracle.

-Side effects still include some fatigue in the evenings and really chapped lips. I apply lypsyl to it every 30-60mins .

I still have another 50 odd days left at 40mg daily. Hopefully that will destroy my chances of have a relapse in the future and kill of my remaining acne!

Thanks for all the messages.