95 replies to this topic

[esa]

Hi everyone,

So I'm starting my accutane journey, and logging it here. It might help other people as others have helped me, and hopefully it will help me through this too!

I don't know all the lingo like most people on here, but I think I would be classed as persistent mild to moderate acne which I've probably had about 10 years ish (I'm a 24 years old, male).

The dermatologist said that I'd tried everything else so it was either try Roaccutane, or wait to see if it goes away in a few years(!). This was a huge decision for me because I was planning to move to Germany within a month or so. It was really hard to decide to put off my plans but I figured it would be worth it in the long run. I had another horrible decision to make today after being offered a job for the rest of the season in a ski resort (I did a season last year and really wanted to catch the end of this one), but in the end I passed it up for Roaccutane and today I started my course.

I have been put on a 20mg a day dose, and he said he expected it to take 6-8 months. I really hope it's not more than 6 but we'll see.

Things I've bought:

• Carmex lip balm
• Botanics Mens Sensitive Face Wash
• Botanics Mens Normal/Dry Intensive Moisturiser SPF 12
• Some Vit C/Zinc tablets
• Fish Oil capsules
• Vitamin D3 (I just picked these up because they were cheap, more vitamins can't hurt I guess)
• Some Linseed (flax seed) for more omega3 etc.

I've taken a few "before" pictures to compare to photos at the end but I'm not comfortable with posting them, maybe once it's cleared up a bit. Since I saw the dermatologist about 2 1/2 weeks ago he took me off antibiotics which apparently weren't doing anything, since then though I've had a really bad breakout (can't remember the last time it was this bad) and my acne has got worse so they must have been keeping it under control. I'm hoping that as I'm already broken out as such, my Roaccutane-induced IB won't get much worse.

Sorry for such an incredibly long-winded post, I hope to keep my updates brief!
Thanks for reading, if you got this far!

Edited by esa, 26 February 2012 - 10:27 AM.

[HereComesTheSun:)]

Congrats on making the decision to take accutane! It's a little daunting, but completely worth it just little further down the way! We'll both have clear, wonderful skin in no time. Best wishes

[esa]

Thanks! Just had a quick look at your log, your results look amazing!
Edit - I've just seen you're starting a second course, good luck!


Day 2

Not much to report (as expected). I woke up with a banging headache this morning (like I'd drank loads of beer the night before) and have had a bit of a headache all day which has gradually been getting better. I've been drinking lots of water to try to counteract the dehydrated-ness, but I usually drink lots of water anyway.

Couple of things I didn't mention before - I was planning to quit smoking yesterday when I started my course but I didn't.. oops. Maybe in a few days. Also I'm trying to eat better, I never usually eat breakfast at all so I'm starting with that (with some ground up flax seed on top), and more fruit. I've read bananas and carrots can cause breakouts but I love those guys so I'll probably carry on eating them, I don't see how they can be bad for you!

Really wish I had a time machine right now..

Edited by esa, 25 February 2012 - 07:37 PM.

[esa]

Day 4

Not much to report. My skin doesn't feel it but it's a bit dry when I wake up. I've started using a little bit of moisturiser in the morning but that's it. Now that I'm writing this I realise I haven't even used any lip balm today, which I guess goes to show my lips aren't getting too dry yet either, I think the Carmex must have helped.

Other than the morning of day 2 I haven't had another "tane-over" ie. waking up with a really bad headache so I guess it was just the first dose. The mild headaches in the day have all but disappeared now.

As for my skin, the breakout I was enduring when I started my course is starting to go away but I'm not putting this down to Roaccutane. I think it would have happened anyway, although maybe a bit slower. Pretty sure I don't have any new spots, although I can feel one under my skin at the bottom of my chin which might surface soon..

I've felt a bit down yesterday/today but I don't think it's due to accutane as I currently suffer from depression anyway and some days it's worse than others.

All in all it's going ok so far, but early days of course

[margox]

...in a couple of weeks i might also be posting a blog just like this..... i'm really at my wits end and Accutane is the next big thing..actually it is the only thing since i've tried a bunch of topical regimens......... i do wish you're right about it being 96% successful...........

it also took a lot of courage to post my pictures in here.......

aaaaaaaaaaccccccccccckkkkkk......... God Bless and good luck to all of us........

[esa]

...in a couple of weeks i might also be posting a blog just like this..... i'm really at my wits end and Accutane is the next big thing..actually it is the only thing since i've tried a bunch of topical regimens......... i do wish you're right about it being 96% successful...........

it also took a lot of courage to post my pictures in here.......

aaaaaaaaaaccccccccccckkkkkk......... God Bless and good luck to all of us........

I was a bit wrong, it's actually 95% - http://www.acne.org/accutane.html

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. I kept changing my mind too until I finally realised I couldn't carry on like this, I just want to be normal and get my confidence and personality back. I forced myself to stop reading all the horror stories, I tried to think of it logically and realise that it's only a small percentage of people compared to the millions who are successful. After I started focusing on the positive stories I found my decision easier to make, and although I've only just started I feel like it was the right one. This probably doesn't help you much sorry, but yeh it's a hard decision to make that's for sure.


Day 5
I wasn't going to post today but I've decided to be a bit brave and post some pictures (can't believe I'm doing this haha). I feel really embarrassed but here goes, this is my face on Day 5. Getting slightly drier and my breakout that I was enduring when I started the course is really clearing up (although I'm not sure if this is the drug or just naturally occurring).





In comparison, here was my face when I started (urgh):


So yeh, some improvement but I don't know if it's Roaccutane, supplements or just naturally occurring. I have a feeling it's naturally occurring but accelerated by the drying up of my skin.


Edit- Oh yeh forgot to mention, on my day 5 pictures you can see I have/had a whitehead right down on the bottom of my neck! Really weird, but I've read about people getting acne in strange places on Accutane hehe.

Edited by esa, 28 February 2012 - 09:01 AM.

[The Outfield]

Looks like there's already some improvement! I'm noticing that somewhat as well. However, I would not hesitate to believe a breakout is around the corner for me.

Good luck man.

Edited by White Stang, 28 February 2012 - 05:38 PM.

[esa]

Cheers man! And yeh I feel exactly the same, I'm sure I'll have a huge breakout any day now..

[esa]

Day 6

I hope I'm not updating this too often but I had something new to report. Last night as I was getting to sleep I kept getting a sharp stabbing pain in my left cheek which was keeping me awake (or half awake anyway), is that normal? I don't remember reading anyone else mention something like that..

I also had a similar pain on part of my chin earlier, on the same area where it feels like a spot is under my skin. Is it just the Accutane pushing all the crap out of my skin which is making it hurt like this? For now it's bearable but I hope it doesn't become worse/more regular.

Cheers

Edit - Oh and I forgot to mention I quit smoking today. I don't think it has much of an effect on acne/scarring but it might so that was another good reason to quit.

Edited by esa, 29 February 2012 - 01:00 PM.

[pugrocker]

Damn, the more I read about accutane, the worse the stuff sounds! I'll luckily never have to go on it cause my acne is just mild and always has been, but best of luck to all of you folks taking the accutane challenge. May it clear your skin for good and leave you without any harmful health problems!

[esa]

Damn, the more I read about accutane, the worse the stuff sounds! I'll luckily never have to go on it cause my acne is just mild and always has been, but best of luck to all of you folks taking the accutane challenge. May it clear your skin for good and leave you without any harmful health problems!

Hmm maybe I made it sound worse than it is, but it's been good so far apart from this last thing. I'm hoping it's just my skin adjusting to the medication and that it will stop when my body has got more used to it

[The Outfield]

Gratz on quitting smoking. Please keep it up!

Sometimes the really small acne hurts the most - I think sometimes small black heads can hurt quite a bit. Was there any acne where you felt the pain?

[esa]

Cheers. Whenever I quit I usually go 2-4 months and then end up smoking again, after the hard bit is already over. Hopefully I'll stick to it this time. The adverse side effect of quitting is that I have been biting my lip all day which isn't good as they're also drying up. Munched through quite a bit of skin, oops.

Yeh I am getting a couple of small spots kind of along my jawline on that side so that might have been it, hard to remember where the pain was now. Maybe it was just a one off thing.

[esa]

Day 7

Quick update: Starting to get worse unfortunately. I have about 6 or so really small whiteheads forming. I have to go to "work" (volunteering) tomorrow and I hate working with customers with my skin like this, grrr. I also have an interview next week so if my skin gets worse it's going to completely trash what little confidence I have. I hope it clears up before then so I can do well, have to wait and see I guess

As for side effects, nothing to report really.

[The Outfield]

Going through the same thing now lol

[esa]

Going through the same thing now lol

Hehe, yeh I see on your log. It's so weird, they are coming and going so fast. I think I have gained some and lost some since just this morning.


Day 8
1st Week done!

Not very happy with how my face looks at the moment so instead of uploading another picture I'll use this child's colouring page of a clown's face to illustrate my acne:

Edited by esa, 02 March 2012 - 06:13 PM.

[esa]

Ok so I have this big cyst on the lower part of my chin and I'm starting to freak out about it. I've got an interview on Tuesday and I really don't think I can even go through with it if I still have this, it's bad enough with just normal spots. Argh this sucks so much. Not only does it ruin my confidence but apparently, statistically you're less likely to get a job.

So I've heard about cortisone injections? Can anyone tell me more about them? Do they get rid of cysts over night? And is it likely to get an appointment with a derm at really short notice in order to get one? Maybe I could phone up Monday and get an injection the same day, and then the cyst might go down by 4:30 the next day? Thoughts?!

Edited by esa, 03 March 2012 - 07:09 PM.

[danaxbee]

I'm sorry I totally understand how you feel.

[esa]

Day 10

My face is really sore, still loads of spots, and did I mention it's really bloody sore. No wonder depression is linked to Accutane.. I doubt it's a chemical thing it's probably just because of all the shit breakouts you have to live with.

I'm getting worried now that because I'm on a low dose my IB is going to drawn out for god knows how long. Don't most people get over their IB after a week or so?

[The Outfield]

From my reading of other logs, it appears the initial breakout can occur any time during the first month, but most often before the 20 day mark.

I've been going through mine for like 4-5 days now. It sucks and it's probably only causing more scarring. I'm changing my pillow case often in hopes to reduce the intensity of the breakout.