39 replies to this topic

[slowandsteady]

Hi everyone, so im starting this log 2 months into my treatment! A bit late but I thought I could really use some moral support from users going through the same thing.

I am a 17 yr old girl who started to get bad acne last year, the beginning of grade 11 basically. I got breakouts here and there all throughout highschool but never really bad enough to bother me or cause me to go to a derm. Then in grade ten i got benzaclyn (sp??) prescribed, worked a bit i guess.....not really. I started minocycline in december 2010, took it till about may and I was fairly clear, my forehead was really clear and smooth, the acne was mostly just by my ears, like where my hair falls. Don't usually have a problem with my nose or chin area. So although my acne was pretty under control it never really went away. I constantly had a few zits, maybe a cycst here and there. I had bad body acne when I played sports. In the summer at one point I was totally clear, it was weird! I just had a few blackheads here and there. I think it was because I was camping and basically was in the sun 24/7. Dried my acne right up. But then....grade 12 hit and my acne took a turn for the worse. This september it was really bothering me, and I'm usually never the kind of person to not go out because of it but I found myself skipping school, avoiding my friends and just in general being a bit antisocial. I started accutane on Oct. 4th I believe. Can't remember the exact date but anyways I was at 30mg a day for 2 weeks and then my hair started to shed like crazy, I was kind of like "well do I want to be bald or have acne" so I stopped accutane for a couple days, then went back on for 10mg a day for about 10 days, then 20mg and then 30mg for 1 week. I am now here at 40mg a day and I have been for about a month.

My IB was absolutely horrible, it really hit about the 3rd week in. Horrible cysts and nodules al over my cheeks which have left me with tons of PIH and some shallow scarring

I've never had acne that bad before so it really destroyed my self esteem, I dropped out of highschool for the semester because I seriously could not concentrate on any of my work and it was so much worse than I usually work. So I've taken a bit of a break for my mental health. (I've never been strong in that aspect anyway)

Just lately I've been feeling better, im no longer depressed and I go out more. I haven't really taken time off work in all this time, took like 5 days off when it was reallllyyyyy bad. I am a cook and I work with fryers so that could be contributing with my acne.

I have taken about 2400mg cumutivaley so far. Just about to start on a new pack of 40mg tomorrow.

My derm gave me a 2 month prescription a couple weeks ago and said to come back once that was over...I was a bit surprised since shouldnt I be getting checked out every month? I live in canada so there's no ipledge and seriously, my docs were the ones pushing accutane on me. I went to my GP and right away he basically just said to go on accutane (this was before I tried minocycline) I was scared of the side effects so I opted to go to a derm. Went to see my current derm and she said go on accutane, I decided on mino first. (Sorry I'm kind of all over the place with this log but thats kind of how I usually am )....anyways....

TL;DR

I mild/moderate acne since the beginning of highschool, definitely hormonal seeing as I get baaaadddd breakouts during my period. Tried minocycline...worked alright but never clear. Acne has been a hindrance in my life preventing me from doing things that I want to do. I;m on 40mg a day & 120lbs


So right now lets say...day 70
Side effects
- dry lips (but its been way better than I expected)
-occasional dry eyes
- HAIR SHEDDING.. it started again and im stressing (which obviously is only being counter productive in my situation...) I have thin hair and I really can't afford to loose more! ahhhhh. Since my last bout of hair shedding i've been taking like 1,200mcg of biotin a day combined with a variety of vitamins (omega 3's, vitamin d, calcium, vit c, ) And when I run my hand over my scalp I can feel the small hairs growing in already especially since the biotin's been speeding it up. Anyone have any other tips? I might try iron supplements. Scalp massages, I don't take hot showers anymore and wash my hair every other day. I brush only once a day in the morning and try to touch my hair as little as possible.

That's basically it, I think I have gotten past joint pain with my regiment of eating a LOT of healthy fats, I eat lots of fish, omega 3 enriched foods, flax seed. Basically accutane has lead me to actually living a healthier life... how ironic...


my face

what counts as an "active"??? I have like 5 painful zits that will come to a head pretty soon. I have this nasty cluster all over my left cheekbone...it pops when i like brush my hand by it! gross. Black heads are bad now, just on my nose i guess. all over it. Don't get any actives where I have scarring / PIH (yay) bleh I have like 3 painful zits on the front of my face nice and red and inflamed....
Also I have been getting some bad blackheads on my chin where I dont usually do...

might post pics later if i feel brave enough

thanks for reading !

[sunandsnow5]

Hi,

I have somewhat of a similar story. I had mild acne throughout high school. At the end of this summer I started getting inflamed acne. I went on doxy and zpack but nothing worked. It was very annoying to start out my 2nd year of college not wanting to do anything social. I started accutane on November 4th. With ipledge I had to have a negative pregnancy test a month before the prescription and another one again before the prescription. Are you getting blood tests? I now have to have a regular blood test and pregnancy test every month.

I have been on 40 mg and will be taking 60 mg in a few days. My derm told me about the side effects to watch out for- mainly the liver levels and depression. A lot of people get joint pain ( i have heard it can be long lasting sometimes but usually not in general), some hair loss, and such. If any symptoms concern you, you should call your derm. As much as I am grateful that this will probably end this odd acne flare up it is a harsh drug. It can have potential for lifetime effects. You should just be aware (: Dry skin and lips is what happens as your oil is reduced. My derm was more open to prescribing me it as well. My skin is scarred now and she wanted to end this as soon as possible.

I am starting to break out again at week 5. My cheeks and my chin get most affected. I guess what everyone says is to be patient. It really sucks but in the end it should be worth it (:

[slowandsteady]

hey thanks for the reply. and indeed it seems that patience is the key with this drug. I am getting blood tests every month and they have all come back fine. I actually think I'll be getting my 3rd one soon. I talked to my derm about hair loss and she said that it was normal, which I know that hair loss is a side effect of the drug but that doesnt make it any better. i guess its just worry me a lot because i have quite fine hair to being with.

also I definitely got break outs in week 5, im pretty sure that months 3/4 are the months where the real improvement comes.

Edited by slowandsteady, 07 December 2011 - 03:31 PM.

[Quiescence]

Good luck with your courses guys, we'll get there eventually x x

[Hopeful*]

Good Luck! You'll be clear soon!

[slowandsteady]

day 71

So today has definitely been the worst day in a long time...
im fed up with my face, its been so red for so long, im tired of being so self conscious.
Hasn't been much change. feel like it has plateaued.

my hair is shedding so much i feel like this whole thing was a mistake. I am starting to wish i never took accutane.
im so tired of this. definitely breaking down now

what are peoples experiences with hair shedding?

also just got a haircut,...accidentaly got it cut 4inches instead of 4 cm !
dunno if i like it yet or not, havent really checked it out since im avoiding mirrors lol.

Edited by slowandsteady, 08 December 2011 - 05:12 PM.

[slowandsteady]

right cheek

Album: accutane journey

Uploaded 09 Dec 2011 - 14:42

about 2 months into my treatment....before accutane I had NO scarring
I have a few actives and 2 cysts now.
Any idea on how long till this goes away? It's lightened a little bit since the cysts/nodules went away.

[soysauce]

I think you should start seeing improvement soon, usually around 3 months things start looking up! Hang in there

[slowandsteady]

day 73

absolutely no improvement. got worse actually. big red zit on my neck? wtf. ive never even gotten zits on my neck!!!!! Nice line of cysts along my jaw, few red zits forming at the front of my cheeks, sort of underneath my eye.

I am beginning to feel like this 'magic' accutane day wont happen. Everyone keeps talking about how one day they just wake up less red and with no actives...i dont think thats possible.

Maybe im just being too impatient? It feels like ive been on this drug FOREVER but i guess 2.5 months isnt THAT long....


anyone have good tips on covering up acne with makeup? whenever i apply foundation it looks worse half the time. but im so red :/

[19drei19]

you can lean on my shoulder!damn! i had a huge breakout this month 2 i went to the derm and told her that it gotten worse im just in 10mg and she didnt even up the dose yesterday!!i had like 6 cyst and she maybe pricked like 10 pimple?but now my cyst are gone because she gave me cortisone shots, im hoping i will never have this shots again!!!!!!!!!! please month 3 be kind,,HUHUHUHUHU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i hope it gets better in month 3 like everyone says im 60 days in accutane

and ohh im 17 as well asian male,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Edited by 19drei19, 11 December 2011 - 07:32 AM.

[slowandsteady]

19drei19, on 11 December 2011 - 07:30 AM, said:

you can lean on my shoulder!damn! i had a huge breakout this month 2 i went to the derm and told her that it gotten worse im just in 10mg and she didnt even up the dose yesterday!!i had like 6 cyst and she maybe pricked like 10 pimple?but now my cyst are gone because she gave me cortisone shots, im hoping i will never have this shots again!!!!!!!!!! please month 3 be kind,,HUHUHUHUHU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i hope it gets better in month 3 like everyone says im 60 days in accutane

and ohh im 17 as well asian male,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

believe that month 3 will be our magic month!!!!!

day 74

So... nothing too new looks like all the cysts that formed at the front of my face are coming to white heads. Anyone have any tips on how to prevent scarring?
I basically just layer on the polysporin like a maniac.

i have been working non stop for the past couple weeks and im only getting busier because of the holidays! Geezeeee being a cook is so stressful ive started smoking again! and definitely been indulging in more than just a couple drinks a week :/ can't be good for my face!

So my hair shedding has stopped, I basically just told myself im causing my hair to fall out by stressing about it so much. Before bed one night i just kept telling myself that my hair will NOT FALL OUT ANYMORE. and voilaa!

I only wish that would work for my face but I dont know if thats due to my worrying.... unless its stress-marks

[19drei19]

slowandsteady, on 13 December 2011 - 12:56 AM, said:

19drei19, on 11 December 2011 - 07:30 AM, said:

you can lean on my shoulder!damn! i had a huge breakout this month 2 i went to the derm and told her that it gotten worse im just in 10mg and she didnt even up the dose yesterday!!i had like 6 cyst and she maybe pricked like 10 pimple?but now my cyst are gone because she gave me cortisone shots, im hoping i will never have this shots again!!!!!!!!!! please month 3 be kind,,HUHUHUHUHU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i hope it gets better in month 3 like everyone says im 60 days in accutane

and ohh im 17 as well asian male,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

believe that month 3 will be our magic month!!!!!

day 74

So... nothing too new looks like all the cysts that formed at the front of my face are coming to white heads. Anyone have any tips on how to prevent scarring?
I basically just layer on the polysporin like a maniac.

i have been working non stop for the past couple weeks and im only getting busier because of the holidays! Geezeeee being a cook is so stressful ive started smoking again! and definitely been indulging in more than just a couple drinks a week :/ can't be good for my face!

So my hair shedding has stopped, I basically just told myself im causing my hair to fall out by stressing about it so much. Before bed one night i just kept telling myself that my hair will NOT FALL OUT ANYMORE. and voilaa!

I only wish that would work for my face but I dont know if thats due to my worrying.... unless its stress-marks

hmmm im kinda wondering if smoking and drinking is related to acne because i smoke and drink socially i dont want to end it because it cause acne

[slowandsteady]

i doubt it has that much of an effect.........

[slowandsteady]

day 76



man whoever said an accutane course is a rollercoast is SO right. Every single day I switch form depressed to joyful. Today being one of my better days, startd off a bit crappy but i kept telling myself to not worry and just have 'fun' SO I did, went and bought a chord that enables me to connect my laptop to a stereo system in my basement (where ive been dwelling for the past 2 months) and now im blasting music all day long. Although cant say my parents are too happy about it. Also bought gta4....need something to keep my mind and hands occupied

Well my face....im pretty sure im clearing up....maybE? Still have tons of red marks, scars, hyper pigmentation, got a couple cysts that are finally dying down, few scabbies here and there, my forehead has been clear since like day 30 but still lots of red marks :/ hopefuly those will go away after my course.

But overall im just trying to stay positive! Ive been watching som youtube vids of other accutane users and they're giving me hope! Found this guys videos particularly helpful seeing as my course seems to be going similar to his and my acne and his look very similar. In the end even his red marks were gone!

[slowandsteady]

day 79


woke up to a wonderful GIANT red zit pulsating right by my mouth. How wonderful!
Definitely thought that taking BC would help my acne but it seems like my breakouts are so much more severe during my period than before BC :/

my chins a battleground at the moment, lookin like the himalayan mountains over on the left side, extending all the way to the craters on my cheek and the galapagos islands over on the right that lead ya to a few volcano type whiteheads ready to burst at any moment!

nose is peeling, chin is peeling.
I have about 50 more pills left.
FIFTY!

Somehow I don't see my future becoming much 'clearer' in the next 50 days,.....

[slowandsteady]

day 83

nothing too new with my face, no new actives! Still have this big cyst at the front of my cheeks thats taking FOREVER to go away, but ive noticed it get slightly smaller the past couple days. Hopefuly it wont scar.... :/ PIH still there.

so I discovered the magic of MAKEUP today! omg what a difference. I bought some smashbox green primer, bare minerals makeup and a tinted moisturizer. A lot of the redness is gone or at least less red. I have so much more confidence now, I mean as much as I dislike using makeup to get that confidence at least its something while I wait for my hyperpigmentation and inflammation to go away. Might even go out tonite
I had never really used much makeup other than a liquid foundation from Mac. But it reallly didnt help with my acne/redness, made it look worse most of the tiime in fact and probably caused me to break out more. Im going to make sure to only use it when im going out because I dont want to clog my pores / slow down healing. But a lot of the ingredients in my products seem beneficial in that.

So as for side effects, dont have much to be honest....dry lips only. some hair loss yet again....which im SURE is because of my stress. I've been working so much lately, cant be good for my skin. Ive cut down my alcohol intake to next to zilch and seems to help. Drinking ridiculous amounts of water.... taking biotin and vitamin C supplements.

Went to get my blood test today, had to get stabbed once in one arm, and twice in the other!!! Never had such problems with blood tests before but my veins are pretty hard to find and it was particularly cold in this clinic. No blood flow to my extremities

in other news I STILL HAVENT FINISHED MY XMAS SHOPPING!! im such a procrastinator.......

so yeah guess thats my life at the moment if anyones keeping up with my blog

[slowandsteady]

day 90

so its been a pretty busy week, didn't wash my face before bed a couple of times because I had been out all night, definitely didn't keep up with a good anti acne diet as well :/ ahhh the holidays. Guess my face hasn't gotten worse but I have these two cysts that just won't go away. I get a few occasional white heads but they go away quickly. Right now my chin / front of my cheeks are my problem areas. With zits all over. Back of my cheeks and hairline are basically clear but it doesn't look like it because of the hyperpigmentation. Grrrrr I would be so much happier with the state of my skin were it not for this hyperpigmentation and shallow scarring.

Symptoms
-minor hair shedding
-slightly sore lower back (but that might be due to me not taking my omega 3's as I normally due and sleeping on the couch all the time)
-rashes on hands but they're really easily taken care of with moisturizer and wearing gloves when I go outside
-dry lips
-mood swings - I have been having problems with changing from severely depressed and not leaving my room for a couple days to feeling fine and hopeful for this course, the tiniest things can set me off.

I cannoot wait to get off this drug.

Does anyone have tips on what to do to make cysts go away?? I've been putting BP and tea tree oil on them but all it does it make them red! I keep contemplating on just poking them with a needle......dunno. Ones quite deep underneath the skin as well so it would be quite painful to pop.

with NYE coming up I think I will skip two pills, day before and day of. Because I don't want to put my liver through anymore stress than it needs to go through and I plan on going out to some NYE parties.

That's about it, my life and face seem to have reached a plateau at the moment...maybe after new years i'll see some real change. Gee 90 days into it and I would have assumed i'd be much further along...guess I didn't expect the scarring. I am thinking of lowering my dose to 30mg, I don't like having my face constantly red and slightly inflamed from this dose.

[slowandsteady]

day 96

so a big cyst thats been at the front of my cheek for about 2 weeks has popped! it popped last night when i was applying a hot compress to it. Its gotten a bit smaller but this morning after i washed my face it popped again....I don't know what to do! I;m so worried it will scar.

Does anyone have any tips to prevent scarring???

Ugh I am sooooo tired of this. Already in month 4 and still having these problems......

Edited by slowandsteady, 03 January 2012 - 12:29 PM.

[brownbag]

Is the cyst still filled with liquidy white stuff? If it's not and just needs to scab over and heal at this point then I suggest you try Neosporin. It really helped diminish my cysts super fast and it should also help with scarring. I saw it reduce my cyst by 40% the first night I used it.

[restrictions]

Your like my twin i tell you!
Were at similar stages on our course iv only just read your log. Lets hope we get clear soon. Like yoi, Iv just discovered primer and face powder i usually only just use mac foundation and my skins almost acceptable with makeup, good luck honey!