96 replies to this topic

[S2000]

u meant the red rashes on the back of the hands ?? use cetaphil moisturize , it works wonder !!

[silapp]

[quote name='WMMnGA' date='Dec 22 2005, 04:57 PM' post='890652']
[/quote]
Hey girl,
I have eczema on my hands too. Did your doctor prescribe you any steriods for it?
Just keep on truckin... if I can do it, you can too!

Laurel
[/quote]

Yep, he gave me a ziplock bag full of sample sized Cloderm cream. It works great when I remember to use it. I've been using it 3-4 times a day for a few days now, and it's still dry but not as red and inflamed anymore. I should also start moisturizing more in general, I don't really like putting lotion on. I hate the way it feels on me, but I'm sure it will help substantially if I did more often. I'm so freakin dry and itchy.
[/quote]



OMG Wendy that is so funny! I hate putting lotion on too! I've never heard anyone else say that before! For some reason, it makes me feel sticky and dirty. I'm really trying to lotion up at least before bed and if i'm lucky, i'll do it in the morning too. My hands stay ok if I keep Eucerin and the steriod cream on the ALL DAY but I always forget. I'm lucky if it gets on there twice a day.

Laurel

[WMMnGA]

Yay I've been bumped up to 80!

Went to the derm this morning. God how I hated to go out without makeup..lol. He was pleased with the improvement, no cysts and only a couple of pustules, so no prednisone this time. He upped my dosage to 80mg, and I will remain on that for the rest of my course. I'm hoping I don't get another "initial" breakout going from 60 to 80. I didn't have my bloodwork done until this morning (damn lab was closed yesterday) so I went in this morning. I should be able to pick up my prescription this afternoon providing everything looks good. According to the derm, I am on the mend now and things should improve from here on out. We'll have to see about that. He gave me some more Cloderm cream for my eczema and told me to moisturize heavily after showering...blech, lotion.

Funny observation I've made about my derm's office staff. I've noticed most of the girls that work there have some degree of acne scarring on their face. Hmm.. One of his nurses has scarring similiar to mine on her cheeks, and I noticed that everytime I come in (sans makeup....YIKES) she looks and smiles at me sympathetically. It makes me feel a little more comfortable to know that when I go in looking my worst, I know the people there can relate to what I'm going through. Funny how acne makes you notice things you probably never would have noticed before.

anyway, I think I'm going to add some pictures to my gallery. They look bad because of the horrid amount of redness on my face, but the actual acne has improved. You'll see that my chin is my problem spot right now.

[silapp]

Yay I've been bumped up to 80!

Went to the derm this morning. God how I hated to go out without makeup..lol. He was pleased with the improvement, no cysts and only a couple of pustules, so no prednisone this time. He upped my dosage to 80mg, and I will remain on that for the rest of my course. I'm hoping I don't get another "initial" breakout going from 60 to 80. I didn't have my bloodwork done until this morning (damn lab was closed yesterday) so I went in this morning. I should be able to pick up my prescription this afternoon providing everything looks good. According to the derm, I am on the mend now and things should improve from here on out. We'll have to see about that. He gave me some more Cloderm cream for my eczema and told me to moisturize heavily after showering...blech, lotion.

Funny observation I've made about my derm's office staff. I've noticed most of the girls that work there have some degree of acne scarring on their face. Hmm.. One of his nurses has scarring similiar to mine on her cheeks, and I noticed that everytime I come in (sans makeup....YIKES) she looks and smiles at me sympathetically. It makes me feel a little more comfortable to know that when I go in looking my worst, I know the people there can relate to what I'm going through. Funny how acne makes you notice things you probably never would have noticed before.

anyway, I think I'm going to add some pictures to my gallery. They look bad because of the horrid amount of redness on my face, but the actual acne has improved. You'll see that my chin is my problem spot right now.

I got bumped up to 80 today too, Wendy! Today is a GOOD day for us! Unfortunetly, my skin is not on the mend yet... but hopefully with the 80mg it will. yay for us!!

Laurel

[WMMnGA]

[quote name='silapp' date='Dec 27 2005, 12:09 PM' post='896079']
[quote name='WMMnGA' post='896054' date='Dec 27 2005, 11:41 AM']
I got bumped up to 80 today too, Wendy! Today is a GOOD day for us! Unfortunetly, my skin is not on the mend yet... but hopefully with the 80mg it will. yay for us!!

Laurel
[/quote]

Hopefully soon! Mine still looks like crap, I have redmarks all over and the overall redness is getting worse. Guess I should be thankful I don't have any cysts or much active acne at all, but the redmarks are unsightly. I also have little healing spots on my forehead about the size of ball point pin head, some are a little bigger, that bleed everytime I wash my face. I have 8 of those. I'm really not sure what they are, but they refuse to heal and look bad under makeup.

[WMMnGA]

Skin continues to improve. It looks alot better. I did develop two new tiny whiteheads, one on my right cheek and one under the left corner of my mouth, but they seem to be vanishing already. The only thing that *really* bothers me now are the slightly raised red bumps that I can't conceal with makeup. They aren't pustles and they aren't cysts. They could be healing zits but they are taking forever and a day to go away. The ones on my forehead have been there for over a month. It's little slightly raised red bumps with no head, and they aren't firm like cysts. They almost look transparent and empty under light. I took a picture tonight to kinda give an idea of what I'm talking about and how they look under makeup..they are driving me crazy! Makes me look like I still have a face full of acne and really theres no active zits at all.

[silapp]

Your skin is looking great! I dout anyone can see those bumps from a regular distance. Congrats to you! My skin has FINALLY stopped breaking out, for the moment at least. I haven't had any zits pop up since I started the 80mg, I just have some zits healing.

Looking good girl!

Laurel

[j.l.r.m.]

yeah, your skin looks great.

[sassy561]

Wendy,

I see a lot of clear smooth skin in your picture!!! I am sooooooo happy for you! And you are such a pretty girl anyway. Great way to start off 2006 with skin that is improving!!!!

[WMMnGA]

I'm baaaaack..lol. And my skin is still clear for the most part!
There has been MAJOR improvement since I started my course..I'm impressed.

Could be entirely coincidental, but my Emu oil was waiting for me when i got back from vacation, and I've gotten 3 new zits since I started using it. I *love* the way it makes my skin look and feel, I just wish I could figure out if that is what is causing the new pustles (still no new cysts thankfully) or if they would have popped up anyway. It's not so bad regardless though, they are gone after a day or two. Two are healing already and one has just popped up, it's painful, but small. Hopefully it will be gone just as quick as the others. I still have ALOT of redmarks that are taking forever to fade, so I still refuse to venture out without makeup.

My lips are painfully dry and chapped, it's becoming a PITA. The corners are so bad I can't open my mouth much without cracking and bleeding. My ezcema is returning, but this time it's all over my forearms and a little on the backs of my hands. I really need to start moisturizing more often an using the cream the derm gave me. I've also developed alot of mild muscle pain, mostly in my back, chest, and sometimes in my legs.
I'll be glad when my treatment is over, but even with all the side effects, it's more than worth it.

I still need to get some updated pictures up in my gallery. I'll work on that sometime in the next few days...I've been soooo busy!

[valintheville]

hey wendy--i was just wondering where you got your emu oil. can you elaborate on what it does for your skin? i'd appreciate it--i feel like the whole texture of my skin is changing! thanks a bunch!

[silapp]

Wendy - glad your skin is doing so much better!! Congrats! The 80mg dose REALLY make my lips cracked. I finally had to buy aquafur.
I have been using the emu oil twice a day now for 2 or 3 weeks and I can tell a REAL difference in my red marks.

Laurel

[WMMnGA]

hey wendy--i was just wondering where you got your emu oil. can you elaborate on what it does for your skin? i'd appreciate it--i feel like the whole texture of my skin is changing! thanks a bunch!

First thing I noticed was the luster it put back into my skin. It kinda makes it look like it did before accutane, just not quite as oily..just enough to look healthy again. I haven't used it long enough to notice a change in the scarring and redmarks, but it's reputed to help with those as well. I've stopped using it for now until the few blemishes I got during past week or two heal up completely. I'm hoping the Emu oil didn't cause them, because I want to continue using it. It supposed to be very beneficial. I got mine on Ebay. HTH!

[WMMnGA]

Wendy - glad your skin is doing so much better!! Congrats! The 80mg dose REALLY make my lips cracked. I finally had to buy aquafur.
I have been using the emu oil twice a day now for 2 or 3 weeks and I can tell a REAL difference in my red marks.

Laurel

Thanks..and the lips..yes..god they are horrible. I'm having to apply aquaphor and vaseline advanced lip therapy about 3-4 times an hour. My lips are PARCHED without it. Must be the winter weather, but our weather hasn't been all that harsh here in GA huh? lol As of lately I've noticed a persistant, but not very bothersome, bluriness in my right eye..I think it might be dry, or just that I need my contacts. I had an eye exam last Nov but never went back to pick up my prescription after I had trouble with the "sample" set of contacts..and I'm very nearsighted and have astigmitism. So that could be it too. Guess I need to do that pretty soon before it gets any worse. I'll start up with the EMU oil again sometime this week. Did you notice any new zits at all after you started using it?

[silapp]

Wendy - glad your skin is doing so much better!! Congrats! The 80mg dose REALLY make my lips cracked. I finally had to buy aquafur.
I have been using the emu oil twice a day now for 2 or 3 weeks and I can tell a REAL difference in my red marks.

Laurel

Thanks..and the lips..yes..god they are horrible. I'm having to apply aquaphor and vaseline advanced lip therapy about 3-4 times an hour. My lips are PARCHED without it. Must be the winter weather, but our weather hasn't been all that harsh here in GA huh? lol As of lately I've noticed a persistant, but not very bothersome, bluriness in my right eye..I think it might be dry, or just that I need my contacts. I had an eye exam last Nov but never went back to pick up my prescription after I had trouble with the "sample" set of contacts..and I'm very nearsighted and have astigmitism. So that could be it too. Guess I need to do that pretty soon before it gets any worse. I'll start up with the EMU oil again sometime this week. Did you notice any new zits at all after you started using it?

Well, I am still getting an occasional zit here and there but I dont' think that has anything to do with the Emu oil.

[WMMnGA]

Hey, long time no see! Well, I am on Day 93 and skin is still mostly clear as far as actual zits go. I still have alot of redmarks all over, and the ruddiness/redness is getting worse. I went to the derm yesterday and he's pleased with my progress. I have a couple of tiny whiteheads and a cyst type lump under my jawbone, but thats it. He gave me a stronger cream for my eczema, called Vanos, because the Cloderm wasn't helping much. It's awful, the eczema is widespread on both forearms and on the back of my hands. I also have a few spots on my lower back, and some on my legs. Yuck. Now that I'm clearing, my scarring is MUCH more noticable, especially on my right cheek. Not much I can do about that though until a while after my course.

Now for some bad news. I went to my regular doc a couple of weeks ago for a checkup and some routine bloodwork. I went back yesteraday to have my accutane bloodwork done, and they told me the results. My derm doesn't test cholesterol levels, only triglycerides, so I had no idea anything was wrong. While my triglycerides are great (101), my cholesterol is terrible..it's 269. My LDL, or "bad", cholesterol is 199, and it should be under 100. Since Accutane *could* be partially responsible since has the reputation of raising blood fats, he isn't going to recheck until a month after my course is over. Until then, I have to do everything within my power to help lower it. More exercise, better eating habits, little to no red meat, supplements such as fish oil and garlic (I'm already taking both twice a day). If it isnt down by then, I will have to start medication to lower it, and he said I definitely didn't want that being as young as I am.
I'm not going to mention to my derm...lol. I don't want him to consider taking me off Accutane, I only have a couple of months left. I'll be so glad when it's over!

[WMMnGA]

Well I got new comrades . Noticed them when I woke up this morning. One is above my right eyebrow, the other is on the left, forehead, close to my hairline. Its probably be because I accidentally went to sleep with my makeup on two nights in a row..a big no no. Oh well, they'll be gone in a day or two..I hope.

[NoIDon'tHaveTheChickenPox]

Hi Wendy! I just got your response to my journal and I wanted to thank you for your support. A note on the Lasinoh, I definately would only use it at night because during the day it tends to get a bit thick and gooey on the flakey parts. I put it on at night now because it stays on almost all night and that's great! Aquaphor only stays on an hour, if that. I hardly used more than about 2 inches worth of Lasinoh when nursing...only needed it for a few days, so I was glad I could find another use for it! It really is helping at night for sure, especially in the corners where it cracks. I loved you"Pita" comparison to your lips...hilarious!

You are looking great and I am so glad to hear that you are seeing progress. It really helps to have some buddies out ahead of me on the accutane road that can fill me in on what to expect!

Wow, you were a dedicated nursing momma! Doesn't that make you feel great? I nursed my first (now 5) for 6 months and was so dissapointed I quit, so my second (Now 18 months) I nursed for 17 months and it was great.

It's our turn, girlfriend! I will also pop in on ya and check out your progress. Thanks for your support!

[silapp]

Just wanted to pop in on ya and say hello!!! I hope you are doing great!!

Laurel

[PatientBabe101]

Hey I see things are looking better for you U were one of the first to post in my journal and we had similar issues so I thought Id see how ur progress was going. We seem to be about at the same place with the treatment and dealing with the same issues still..weird. My cysts have cleared but I still have a few pimples pop up here and there, scaring and redness especially on my left cheek but overall a lot of improvement. I noticed we have the same cholesterol problem too and I just happened to post something about that a few minutes ago. Mine is up to 279! Its so crazy how this stuff effects ur body. My derm acknoledges it but just tells me to eat better. Well, keep us updated and good luck with the rest of ur treatment.