48 replies to this topic

[slowandsteady]

@brown bag

It never flattened out no matter how much of that whiteish crap came out, pretty gross I must say. But I guess i don't want to aggravate it too much more, so I left it. Although i've been applying polysporin on it anyways, I apply that stuff ALL over haha, I am not going to let myself scar!

Went to the derm today and she was so happy with my skin because of how slow my progress was before as soon as she saw my cysts I got some cortisone injections, she seemed really liberal about it and didn't worry in the slightest about scarring from it. So im crossing my fingers I won't get any indents from that.

@restrictions

Oh I know right girl, makeup is amazing nowadays! I agree my skin is smooth and really nice to touch but looks pretty horrible due to redness.

We'll get through this!



So my derm said that with a course that has as low of a dose as mine (40mg) that I need to be on it for 9 months at least.....ummmmmmmm WTF! I didn't expect this at all! I see people here with even lower doses getting clear, staying clear and finishing in <6months
I guess its all up to me in the end....I don't want to deal with chapped lips for so damn long!

What do you guys think? 40mg isn't even that low....

[19drei19]

@brown bag

It never flattened out no matter how much of that whiteish crap came out, pretty gross I must say. But I guess i don't want to aggravate it too much more, so I left it. Although i've been applying polysporin on it anyways, I apply that stuff ALL over haha, I am not going to let myself scar!

Went to the derm today and she was so happy with my skin because of how slow my progress was before as soon as she saw my cysts I got some cortisone injections, she seemed really liberal about it and didn't worry in the slightest about scarring from it. So im crossing my fingers I won't get any indents from that.

@restrictions

Oh I know right girl, makeup is amazing nowadays! I agree my skin is smooth and really nice to touch but looks pretty horrible due to redness.

We'll get through this!



So my derm said that with a course that has as low of a dose as mine (40mg) that I need to be on it for 9 months at least.....ummmmmmmm WTF! I didn't expect this at all! I see people here with even lower doses getting clear, staying clear and finishing in <6months
I guess its all up to me in the end....I don't want to deal with chapped lips for so damn long!

What do you guys think? 40mg isn't even that low....

lucky you i want to be in your situation im only in 10mg and gonna finish up at 6 months,im not clear yet hopefully i get higher dose and longer time

[slowandsteady]

Day 100ish

so no new actives!!! holy craaaap! I am so happy about this, other than that pesky cyst at the front of my cheek im clear! The hyperpigmentation has probably gone down 50% since I stopped getting nodules/inflamed cysts all over my cheeks. So about a month ago....Wow I can't believe how much progress my skin has made in the past 30 days. It's amazing, I am finally not getting any worse and i feel like from now on my skin will only look better and better : D

Back in October I had a bad forehead breakout which left PIH and some shallow scarring but the PIH is almost gone and the scars are filling in, the scarring on my cheeks is also lessening. I thought I would have these scars forever, I can't believe how fast they're going away.

Although this has been the hardest 4 months of my life it seems as though since 2012 has began it's really picked up, I hope that this year will be a good one! I've been waiting ever so patiently for a moment like this, my skin is far from perfect but now I have hope that it will get better.

So with this cyst that I have at the front of my cheek, it's gone down in size considerable since being injected with cortisone, but now it seems like all that's left under it is some blood, not really any of that liquidy white stuff. It's quite red and sensitive.

Would it be best for me to just leave it alone and let it go away or should I try to drain the blood??

I'm just worried about scarring for this one. The other cysts I got injected have almost vanished, and they were all non inflammed, just those pesky ones that take forever to go away.

[slowandsteady]

day 102


so nothing new to really say, my skin just keeps improving, redness is slowly going away, altohugh now that all the inflammation is gone I am starting to notice very shallow rolling scars from where my cystic / nodular acne was. (all over my cheeks)

Will my rolling scars fade in time? They're very shallow and hard to see that they're even indented unless you look in the correct lighting and really know what you're looking for. I know that my skin at the moment is thinned because of accutane so I'm hoping that it will plump up after I get off.

Anyone have experience with something like this after their course(s)?

Also what I've learned to be the best supplements for a person accutane course to minimize side effects and keep yourself as healthy as possibly when your liver is working hard for months.

- MILK THISTLE, I have been using this stuff for almost 2 weeks now and its amazing how much better my liver seems to be handling accutane. Previous to this I could barely drink 2 glasses of wine without getting drunk and on the verge of getting sick (spins, nausea, ect). I am not exactly at where I was before accutane in terms of the amount I can drink but at least I don't get tispy off of a beer or two. This stuffs herbal and there's no negative side effects.

- Garlic, this is a natural antibiotic that doesn't kill off your good bacteria as well as the bad stuff like tetracyclines and other prescribed antibiotics. It helps your body fight off the acne bacteria and keeps your intestines healthy.

- Omega 3's ! These are great, I only cook with coconut oil, use hemp seed butter for toast, have 2 tablespoons of flax seed a a day. I've had minimal joint pain my whole course so I think this is what's been helping. I've noticed that when I skip my fish oil pills for a few days my joints hurt much more.

- Fish, specifically salmon. I live on the west coast so sashimi / raw salmon is quite popular and delicious! I eat it constantly. It helps keep my triglycerides low, my doctor said I could skip my next blood test because of how good mine were showing up. It keeps your good cholesterol high.

[slowandsteady]

day 108

so nothing to much to say, no new actives. Well I have 1 little zit that popped up but i dont even count ones like that. (im supposed to get my period tomorrow anway) I mean who really cares about a little zit....
My cysts are disapearing, and my redness has gone down soooooooooo much. Seems like my skins getting better daily Im so happy this is the first time in like 4 months where I dont feel ugly and embarassed because of my face. And slowly my lifes coming back to me! im no longer hiding away. and i have no anxiety that my acne will come back.

Side effects

-sore joints (mainly my ankles/knees and occasionally my lower back at the end of the day)

-dry skin ALL over

-the backs of my hands turn blue when it's very cold

-thinned skin, i really dislike this one. Im hoping it goes away fast once I finish my course. I assume my hands turn blue because of this (veins are more prominent too)

-very minor hair shedding, in fact a lot of my hair has grown back since it first started to shed. I can also feel tiny hairs growing in when I run my hands through my hair.

-fingers are peeling

-dry lips, but not too bad

-redness/flushing I flush extremely easily when someone tells me something that makes me anxious

-depression, im not sure if it's because i've been stressing out because of some things going on in my life at the moment or because of the drug. You would think I would be skipping around because my skins looking better than it has since I can remember....

overall the side effects are worth it, im only worried about my skin thinning. I really hope it goes back to normal after this course.

I have about 2.5 months left.

[slowandsteady]

day 113

well im getting there, aproximately 2.5 months left

I am like, 70% sure that the depressed scars / hyperpigmentation on my forehead has practically cleared. My forehead doesn't look "smooth" but it's filling in. I think. Hopefully if my forehead goes back to the way it looked pre acne / accutane I will then have hope for the rest of my face. It's all uneven and the hyperpigmentation all looks sunken in :/

Got a couple actives at the moment, nothing big though. Skin's still healing up.

Anyone else have a constant runny nose? it's really weird ever since I started treatment I've had a runny nose.
I am at the point where i have to moisturize my whole body or else it gets little bumps all over.

Trying to quit smoking because it decreases collagen! It's HARD. I've cut down my smoking to a few cigarettes a day usually but when I'm out on the weekend it's hard.

[slowandsteady]

day 117

nothing too much to say...hyperpigmentation has gone down at least 60% since december! Wow..can't believe its been a month since christmas.


cannot wait to get offfffffffff accutane. I;m tired of my dry skin, dry lips, sore joints, runny nose, hair shedding, fatigue, fragile skin, and inability to drink!
I want my normal life back

bit of a pointless post but I cant really whine about these things to my friends haha

[slowandsteady]

day 124

woke up to a GIANT cyst yesterday, on my upper cheek bone, right under my eye. UGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH its probably the size of a penny, no longer painful but its a massive one. for some reason my cysts just wont budge.... i've had a couple buggers just chillin on my face for a good month now.
This cyst isnt too obvious because a lot of it is under my skin, but when i stretch the skin around it its obvious.

Anyone have some tricks to get them to drain, im certain they wont come to a head. I've been trying tea tree oil which helps a bit. I have apple cider vinegar at home, might dab a bit of that on there. I've only just started to use bandaids + polysporin on my face overnight and i am not yet sure if its working

Also am in a slight breakout, the zits are miniscule (not counting the cyst)
I've totally neglected my anti acne diet lately, so there's a possibility of that being the culprit. Then again it could just be accutane doing its thing.

just need to keep being patient......

[slowandsteady]

day 140

well its been a couple weeks since my last post, skins doing okay, my body not so much....still having problems with adjusting my cycle to alesse.... i didnt get my period for a month, and just recently i've gotten it twice in the past 3 weeks....
I don't break out in the sense that I get actual zits. I have some little bumps under the skin that I can only feel, a cyst that is pretty stubborn and occasionally I get little 'mini pimples'.

Starting to produce some oil again....very little though. Exremely fatigued all the time, my friends have been asking me if I've been on drugs because of how much weight ive lost (probably a good 15 lbs just this past month) along with the dark circles under my eyes and torrad of scratches all over my arms. lol

Since going back to school I have extreme problems with concentration, everything takes me twice as long to finish, I keep loosing my train of thought as I write.

Anyone have experience with taking ADHD meds (adderall, dexedrine, vyvanse) and accutane? I don't have a prescription for it but I occasionally ask for some from my friend who has a script he doesn't actually use. It helps a lot, I wonder if I could get a prescription just for this next semester because of my course load...

Also....I've found apple cider vinegar to be most helpful in healing cysts! I just dab it with a hot compress for a bit, then rub some ACV on it and it shrinks each night

Approximately 2 months to go...I'm going to a derm specializing in aesthetic skin care this week (scars, wrinkles, ect), hoping to get some positive feedback for my skin texture....It's hard to tell if my indented scars are going away or if its just the redness that's making it look like it is.

[slowandsteady]

Day 150ish

Well if anyones actually reading this log, nothings really going on with my skin... I can see why people stop posting in there logs after the first couple months haha.
So the dermaestician I went to a couple weeks ago told me that my skin healed/healing surprisingly well considering the amount of inflamation I had. yay .

Still on 40mg, will be on it for another 37 days. So close...I can finally see the finish line. I'm so excited to see what my face will look like in 2 months

[danaxbee]

I'm reading! I think what inspires me more than your success with your skin is the positive progression in your attitude. It makes me really hopeful! Good luck with the rest of your course.

[esa]

I'm reading too! Not long to go now, good luck on the last stretch

[slowandsteady]

Thanks everyone, the change in my attitude has been dramatic. My friends have noticed how much happier I am, and everything is so much easier when you take life on with a smile on your face. It's hard when you're plagued with painful acne, both physically and emotionally. I wish no one would have to go through this kind of pain. But it has also showed me life from another perspective, and made me much more mentally stronger. To the point where I know I can choose to feel sorry for myself or I can take advantage of what I have. There used to be no choice, it was just me sitting alone in my room feeling horrible.

For any ladies out there who only went on BC because of their accutane course, should I be worried about breaking out after stopping? I really really dislike taking BC and plan on getting off of it as soon as my course is over. I won't be abstinent for my last month, or else I would have gotten off of it earlier.

Edited by slowandsteady, 07 March 2012 - 01:53 PM.

[harlowefey]

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,.....

omg, i know the situation isn't funny at all. but the way you talk about it... it's hilarious. you are a true comedian! i'm sure we would be great cracking a few jokes about our rocky mountain faces together hahahahahah!!!!

you don't have a rocky mountain face anymore by what you are saying. but i'm just saying, as i was reading through your log, you made me laugh many times. almost to tears. i'm so happy for you that the accutane worked. i hope you can post an after pic, because i saw a before pic you had posted. good luck!

[slowandsteady]

day 160ish (28 days to go)

got a small zit today, but im sure thats because im on my period and i have been not taking care of myself as much as id like to. (sleep deprivation, eating bad food, drinking alcohol too often) because it's spring break. scars are fading, my forehead almost looks like someone's who's never had acne before : O

so anyways, i was wanting opinions about just using condoms as BC?

i really can't stay on the pill any longer, my cycle is soooo messed up. i am worried to be on it longer. for the past two months i've gotten my period twice a month, it almost feels like im getting my natural period and then i get my "alesse period" ....i cant deal with the PMS!!!!

need some advice plz!

Edited by slowandsteady, 18 March 2012 - 10:55 PM.

[brownbag]

Hmm if you only have 28 days to go then it might not be such a big deal to stop as long as you're super careful with condoms. Worst case scenario you get pregnant and have a retarded baby but you can just get an abortion, if you're okay with it.

[danaxbee]

Uhhhhh I would not seek advice from us for an issue like that. The worst case scenario above is really terrifying. I'd say if you need to stop BC then just don't have sex for 28 days.

[slowandsteady]

21 pills left

I have an appointment with my derm in about 2 weeks, just before my pills run out. (fingers crosses I'll be done)

i know most people want oil free skin after their course but I would feel so weird if I did : / I miss not having to moisturize my entire body twice a day! Im looking forward to my skin healing normally again and for my PIH to dissapear faster... i still wear makeup everyday because my PIH literally covers my cheeks. and gets ridiculously red when im hot / flushed.

my face is about the same as it has been for a while. All cysts are GONE! those buggers were SO annoying.

I got off the pill, and OMG i was pretty insane.
So I stopped after my last "period" and i was supposed to take those sugar pills for a week, but haven't (im still counting that week as a part of my BC cycle because i wouldn't be taking any pills anyways)
i've officially been off my Alesse cycle for 4 days now I think.
I was a complete mess yesterday, I don't even know how many times I burst into tears for no reason, got close to violent when my dad asked me what was wrong, (hah...poor fellow, only trying to help) my vision is all funny, im retaining water like a gdamn camel. Also... i discovered that my hairloss was in fact due to the pill! i can't believe it... I figured this out because since my period had been all wonky the past two months I had been experiencing some more hairloss than normal (nothing to what it was when I first got on Accutane / Alesse. Which I both basically started on the same day so I chalked it up to accutane haha) and now that I've stopped BC im experiencing hairloss yet again! ughhhh. At least it'll be over in a month or so. Also, I am slightly in hibernation, sleeping 14+ hours a day, eating sugar like it's sent from the heavens. Also have gotten a few tiny zits on my chest/back and a little one on my forehead.

today was okay though! still a bit irritable, but I didn't burst into tears haha, and could actually get out of bed before noon! I am going to be...fairly abstinent for the rest of my treatment and for a month after it but if I do have sex I'll make sure theres a condom being worn. I've always been really anal about protection, hah

anyways this looks like more of a journal entry but I think a lot of women might find this info useful. I wish I had looked into birth control more, rather than stressing about the side effects of accutane

[slowandsteady]

33 pills left


so I went to my derm a couple weeks ago and she put me on 40mg for another month. She actually wanted 2 more months but I don't think i could handle that.
My face is doing well, I have a small white head that popped up this morning but it's from a pervious cyst that was on my cheek a couple months ago. All that gross stuff from my old cysts is coming out now. I do tend to get small little bumps under my skin but nothing comes form them, they're just little bumps. I don't really know what they are. I do still get some blackheads on my nose, but it seems to change day to day with that.... im not getting anything red/inflammed though which I'm so happy about : )

Emotionally, I'm feeling pretty good but I find that after taking my one pill in the morning my energy level greatly decreases about an hour or so after ingesting.
Physical side effects...my joints are cracking a lot! Minor lower back pain, fairly dry lips...hmmm that's about it at this point.

I am so excited to see what my face will look like in a couple months!!! I'm thinking that my scarring will definitely improve in that time. Redness is still there but definitely fading few little ice pick scars here and there but none that I really care about. I'm sure in time they'll fill in anyways.

Anyways hope everyones doing well, accutane's not an easy journey but it'll be worth it in the end.

[slowandsteady]

LAST PILL

haven;t updated in a while, been a bit busy with life and all that...
so after 7.5 months of accutane im finally done!!! its been a LONG journey. I saw my derm yesterday and we both hoped to never have to see eachother again

my face is looking great, no zits, few little dry bumps which should go away soon enough. There's still definitely redness and some scarring but i'll wait a good month before I even begin to think about doing anything to my skin.

Side effects experienced at beginning of accutane course
-extreme dry/cracked lips
-joint pain
-peeling skin
-flushing
-thirsty all the time
-rashes
-hairloss
-nausea
-stomach pain
-fatigue
-general apathy/depression/demotivation
-decreased appetite

I feel as though a lot of these symptoms were to do with stress more so than the accutane itsself.

side effects at end of course:
-mild dry lips (very easy to take care of with chapstick)
-mild joint pain
-occasional peeling skin
-sensitive skin

thats about it!

In the end, i'm so happy to have done this and gotten through it. It was really bad for a while there but even though my skin is not perfect at this point I have felt more confident than any other time in my life. I am graduating from highschool in a month and feel like I can take my life head on. I am only seeing things positively now and in hindsight I see most of my problems have been caused by my own negative thinking. I didn't let myself be happy, I dwelled on negative thoughts and let them take over my life. Right now everything in my life seems to have aligned in my favor, I met a new boyfriend, I'm doing something I want to do after graduating, I've got a wonderful and supportive friend group, I am getting over fear and instead my curiosity has returned.

I'll give an update in a few weeks or so and post pics, don't have time at the moment.

Hope everyones doing well <3