11 replies to this topic

[Suisse]

I'm a 15 year old male, and have made the resolve to get rid of this horrid skin. I've tried virtually every topical gel, to no avail, so I went to my dermatologist yesterday. He said that I'm a good candidate for accutane. He explained what it was, and that I have to have my blood taken monthly, and participate in some online thingy. That didn't seem too bad, until he started talking about some of the horrific side effects, but he said that it's really rare, so I was on board. Anyway, I'm getting my blood taken tomorrow, and when my dermatologist receives the results, he'll call in the prescription. Anyway, I've read some wonderful things about this drug, and I'm looking forward to how it'll work on me.

[Quiescence]

Goooooooooooooood luck!

The side effects are mostly just annoying but not serious... the monthly appointments and blood tests are there specifcally to check the serious side effects aren't occuring so DON'T PANIC! It helps to read a few logs on here to know what to expect

Any problems just stick them on here and we'll all do our best to help you out, its great to have support from others going through the same thing x x

[Suisse]

OK, after a few technical issues, today is officially day one of Accutane. I currently have pretty bad acne; no cysts or anything, but A LOT of red marks all over my face. I'm truly looking forward to see how this is going to work for me. I'm a little upset that the pills are so freakin' big, but I just need to put up with it. As per reading a lot of people's experience, I also bought some Aquaphor for my lips. Anyway, I'm going to shoot to post my progress around once a week. (I think that doing it every day would be a waste). So here goes.....

[Quiescence]

Good luck xx

[Suisse]

Is anyone else a little disturbed by the fact that they're taking a medication that comes in a box that says DANGEROUS: HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL? It's a bit strange for me. Also, does anyone have any idea why one needs to keep the medicine out of light? What does light do to it? Does it alter it?

[sd85]

Suisse, on 26 January 2012 - 01:34 PM, said:

Is anyone else a little disturbed by the fact that they're taking a medication that comes in a box that says DANGEROUS: HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL? It's a bit strange for me. Also, does anyone have any idea why one needs to keep the medicine out of light? What does light do to it? Does it alter it?

Accutane degrades when it is exposed to sunlight and air, so don't break open a pill thinking you'll take half now and half later. I know some people do that, but what they really end up doing is taking some of it right then, and none later, because there is no active ingredient in the pill at that point. I store mine in my nightstand drawer, so it is always in the dark. If I am going out for the day I will put an extra pill in the zippered compartment of my purse (also dark).

[Suisse]

Well, today is day three. I've noticed significant improvement. NOT because of the Claravis, but because as a prophylactic measure, my dermatologist prescribed me prednisone. He warned that at first, Isotrentinoin can make acne worse; so he gave me prednisone to prevent that. It's truly shocking what a drastic change it has had. I've been taking prednisone for about a week now, and I would estimate that about 75% of the acne and dark marks are gone. Of course, being a steroid, I can't be on it for long, however I managed to convince my doctor to give me a month's supply. So now, at least I'll have something fast-acting until the Claravis starts to kick in. From what I've read in other people's logs, it seems to take about a month to see some effects, and three months to start seeing serious results. Anyway, being only on day three, the side effects are still extremely mild. The only side effect that I'm experiencing at this point is moderately chapped lips. I must say, I'm very pleased to be free from having to apply various topical creams, all of which have some horrible odour. Taking acne medication via capsule is, at least for me, much more convenient, and easier to remember to take. ooooh, that's my mother; I have a debate team tournament today, and I have to go. Bye!

[Suisse]

Okay, today is day four! I noticed a relatively strange side effect today: dry earwax. Gross, no? I was cleaning my ears just before bathing, and I noticed that I had these dry, flat flakes in my ear canal. I've never heard of this sort of side effect, however I'd think that this is yet another sign of the drying. I must say though, at first, I was a tad bewildered, not realising that this was indeed earwax, and not some gross foreign substance that somehow meandered into my ears. My lips are still pretty dry, and now my ears are dry, but I suppose that's better than the many headaches I've heard about on this website!

[Suisse]

Well, the dry lips is starting to truly irritate me! I need to take Aquaphor roughly once hourly, just to keep my lips from cracking from dryness.....What do all of you guys do for dry lips?

[Suisse]

I'm in my second week of treatment now, and nothing has significantly changed. Quelle surprise! Alors, I still have been pretty close to acne free due to the prednisone, however I shall only be on it for another two weeks. Its purpose was to stop the Claravis from making the acne worse, which it tends to do in the beginning. Oh well, I'm hoping that by the time that the prednisone wears off, the Claravis shall start working. My chapped lips have been pretty severe; I've been taking chapstick at least once every hour, just to keep my lips from bleeding. Well worth it though!

[Suisse]

I forget which day I'm on now, however I'm probably nearing my third week. I still have very little acne, thanks to the prednisone, which I'm now only taking every third day to make it last longer. I'm still having a lot more side effects than most people in my stage report despite that I'm only taking 0.5mg/kg. I still have very chapped lips, and am using chapstick at the very least of fifteen times daily. Also, I've had rather bad back pain. On a scale from one to ten, to rate my back pain, I'd venture to rate it as a seven. Despite the oxymoron, I'd call the pain mildly severe. I'm taking lots of OTC analgesics, and they're helping a bit, but what's really helping is my mother's backbrace/girdle contraption, which applies lots of pressure against my middle back. The device alone reduces the pain by about 40 per cent. The only down side to it is that it's very uncomfortable to sit while wearing it, and I have to wear many layers to conceal it. However, if this drug does for me what it does for others, I'll suffer these side effects for years to come!

[Suisse]

ONE MONTH DOWN!!!!!!! My doctor raised my dose now, up to 80 mg per day. For the week, I have some peeling on my fingertips, which he diagnosed as eczema, and he gave me some foamy stuff, that's supposed to help. The back pain is starting to get a little bit better. And I'm also noticing some light scarring. I knew this was inevitable, but it's still a tad upsetting. Other than all of this, not much has changed.