85 replies to this topic

[gecko333]

Day 78 (12 Weeks)


My last update from Valencia, I go back to England on Friday! Looking forward to being home but will miss this place

Right, skin. I have two pretty big actives on my forehead, both of them seemed to come out of no where, there was no initial redness or small lump, I swear within the course of an hour they grew from nothing into giant pus-filled volcanoes (ew).

I have a weird thing on my right cheek, it looks like a whitehead, a big one, but it's almost as if it's scabbed over, and as if the blackhead within is sort of pushing up around the sides? It's pretty small but it's been there for a while now, also I have a big blackhead on my lip line which has been there for about 5 weeks now and is showing no signs of budging. On the whole my skin's looking pretty good though, I think my scars are fading ever so slowly.

Other side effects, I'm still feeling pretty tired and run down, it sort of feels like I've got the flu, or at least the start of flu, my body just craves rest, I'm now naturally sleeping 9/10 hours instead of 7/8 for example. Also, I still haven't had a nose bleed but my gums have started to bleed a little bit, and my finger and toe nails are still all quite sensitive, a little red and a bit painful at times because they seem to be dis-attaching themselves from their beds at the top, anyone else had finger nail prblems?

Also a big thanks to Olay's Sensitive Daily Moisturising Fluid with SPF 15! It's the best SPF moisturiser that I've used, hasn't broke me out, has kept my accutane skin supple and hydrated all day long, and it's stopped my skin getting burnt from the harsh Valencian sun, so thanks to Dan for recommending it
I've used it for years when going to hot places and it's never let me down.

I've got my next Blood Tests on Monday and my Derm on Thursday, which will be just after exactly 6 months, I'll post on the Thursday next week
I really hope my bloods all come back normal, and I hope I'm kept on the same dose 'cus I really can't be doing with a worsening of side effects!

Love x

[gecko333]

Day 85 (13 Weeks)

HALF WAY POINT! (Assuming I'm on the standard 6 month course)

That dragged, I hope the next three months go a bit quicker. Unfortunately, my body has decided to celebrate this landmark by breaking out in hives. My body itches everywhere, scalp & arms especially, I scratch, the skin swells and gets inflamed, oozes a bit of pus, scabs over. Its awful. Right now it feels like there are loads of ants crawling up and down my arms.

I'm glad this has happened in the same week as I'm seeing my derm, because it's not easy to get emergency derm appointments here. I'll let you all know how it goes.
I'd be really annoyed if they stop my treatment, so here's hoping my bloods have come back normal and this is just a standard side effect that maybe a medicated moisturiser will take care of

Also though, i've been having itchy eyes and been sneezing quite a bit, which would imply an allergy? I'm seeing my GP on Friday afternoon incase it isn't Accutane related.

I'm going to start intensively moisturizing by body every morning, my skin doesn't look dry but it could be, it can't do any harm anyway.

In terms of my acne, I've suddenly got quite a few raised bumps, sort of like whiteheads around my jaw line. I'm not really surprised though, I'm not impatient - I know that Accutane takes 4 months to show results, any improvement you see before 4 months is just luck/an added bonus, so for now, I'm not concerned, in 4 weeks time though if I still am breaking out, then I'll be annoyed.

See you all on Friday with my Post-Derm update x

[KennyDeWyze]

i have 10ish dry spots on my body
damn it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2weeks to see my derm,
will ask her whats going on....
scar on my body ....sigh

[gecko333]

Day 87 (13 Weeks)

Bad News

So I just got back from my Dermatologist. Firstly, that rash could potentially be an Impetigo infected bite which is now spreading, or something else horrific. They've took a swap and a different blood test to check for any infections and I have to call back Tuesday to see the results, if I do indeed have a Staph related infection, I'll need to stop treatment.

Also, my blood test results have came back unsatisfactory again. My Neutrophil count is down to 1.4
It was 1.4 before I started treatment, stayed at 1.4, then went up to 1.8 before I was bumped up to 50mg but now is back down to 1.4
2.0 or above is 'Normal'
1.5 - 1.9 is 'Low' but not dangerous.
Less than 1.5 is considered moderately bad. It puts you at a greater risk of infection, which could explain why I've picked up this Skin infection, but they also can't explain why it was so low to begin with, they asked if I'd been ill at the time which I hadn't. For the past year or two I've had on and off sinus infections, poor digestion and fatigue, they suspected I had Mono but it came back negative. But the doctors just won't listen to me. I've been saying I've been feeling 'off' for years, I basically get told either A) it's all in my head, B) I'm just stressed or C) oh your sinus infection is back again, here have another course of harmful antibiotics.
Useless.
If my Neutrophils are so chronically low, it is potentially indicative of a Viral Infection, auto-immune disorder or something else generally being wrong with my body - and quite clearly not all in my head. It's times like this I wish I'd studied medicine.

Anyway, I'm now having Blood Tests every 2 weeks and if my neutrophils fall any lower my treatment will stop immediately.

I really hope they increase, I don't want to have to stop now
But of course if it would be dangerous to carry on, I would of course rather stop than compromise my health.

Wah I need hugs

[gecko333]

Oh also, my Derm said my skin is really dry, even though it doesn't look it (no flaking or visible dryness), and gave me these tips to combat it, I wish they'd have told me this before to have avoided all this drama:

• Only wash once a day, preferably bathe
• Don't scrub, just use your hands to wash!
• Don't use Soap, use a Soap substitute like Hydromol Ointment
• Use a bath emollient designed for dry skin/eczema when you bathe
• Moisturize your whole body after you bathe, not just your face, especially thin skin, such as Arms, Lower Legs, Hands, Feet, Neck.
• If your skin doesn't look dry, it doesn't mean it isn't dry - better to be safe than sorry!

[gecko333]

Day 92 (14 Weeks)

Hey, so my infecton has totally cleared up, and without taking the antibiotics that my derm prescribed me (I forgot about them in the giant back of creams, ointments and other stuff they gave me, they rang today and said it's not impetigo, like I thought, but are sending me another prescription in the post for MORE antibiotics, I told them it's totally cleared up but they insisted! I have no intention of taking them, it's cleared up totally on its own without the need for antibiotics, it just goes to show you how much the over prescribe antibios these days.

ANyway I have one big new active right on my forehead, which is disgusting, and still have 3 or so 'inflamed emerging whiteheads' as I like to call them on my right cheek, experience has taught me that they're stubborn to go, but should eventually.

Other updates, my right thumb nail has sort of detached itself from the nail bed AGAIN, opening a can of sardines, has anyone else noticed that their nails rip up under the slightest bit of pressure?

Oh and my Netrophils have risen back above 1.5 so I can carry on treatment! Back for more blood tests next Friday though to recheck them, I'm really hoping they're sky high so that they can give me my last two months pills there and then to avoid having to carry on treatment in France.

I MOVE TO FRANCE IN 19 DAYS. Scary Times.

Hope that Accutane's not being too much of a bitch for all you lovely readers.
x

[gecko333]

Day 99 (15 Weeks)

My skin is looking pretty bad at the moment
My face just seems to be really red, and my pores seem huge all of a sudden, especially my nose, massive pores and definitely got a rudolf resemblance going on here.
Also, I seem to be getting loads of big whiteheads all over my cheeks, which I really don't understand why I'm getting these this late in to my treatment.

My eyes are as dry as ever too, twice daily eye drops don't seem like enough.

Plan d'action?
Gonna start eating even more Salmon, Avocado and Nuts to get those lubricating Omega 3s.
Drinking EVEN MORE WATER not that that is even possible I seem to always have a glass/bottle in my hand.
And of course just stay positive

[gecko333]

Day 106 (16 Weeks)

Well - that week dragged!
The whiteheads are still there on my right cheek, and my face is still super red and just 'unhealthy' looking But I don't have any bad breakouts, so I shouldn't complain. My nose has suddenly became really sore though, well the insides specifically, they're all crusty but still no sign of any blood thankfully, but they're sore enough to make me shout in horrendous pain when someone accidentally knocked it.

I'm back at the dermatologist on Friday for my Blood Test results and re-prescription, hoping they're all normal and I get to carry on. But I have a slight problem, I move to France for University on Monday for 4 months ( ), but this obviously complicates my treatment because I can't pop back twice every 4 weeks to visit my derm, and equally due to their lack of Public Healthcare, I can't afford to have treatment in France, plus there is just the whole annoyance of having to change hospitals, and as good as my French is I wouldn't feel comfortable dealing with something so serious in anything other than English.

So, last time my derm said If my bloods had been okay, they'd have just given me my remaining months and I wouldn't have needed a blood test in October, but after the my Neutrophils went all pyshco on me, they probably won't do that now, so, I can come back around Halloween as we get a week off, so I'd only need an 8 week prescription - fingers crossed that my bloods came back fine and they can just give me my last two months until my 6 month review in November when hopefully I'll be off! YAY.

I'm not going to lie, I cried yesterday. Sometimes you just can't help it. I went down to visit my Girlfriend who I haven't seen since June. She has such perfect, olive skin, and there's me, this red mess. And looking around at people, it's just unfair.
But then there are people who contract awful diseases, suffer burns, and then me moaning about a few marks on my face which probably aren't permanent, really made me feel guilty.

Keep on smiling

Anyway, almost 4 months down now, hopefully just 6 months to go.

[gecko333]

Day 108 (6 Weeks)

GREAT NEWS!

My bloods came back fine, I've been given the rest of my tablets without needing to go back now until the end of my course for a final check up,
Ive been given 6 more weeks of Pills meaning my last pill will be on 17th October which is 2 weeks short of 6 months but they said my skin was looking really good so it's fine. And then I'm back for one last check up around Halloween as long as I haven't had a spot by that point Ill be DONE. That's just 47 days.

Skin wise, still no new spots, a few 'emerging blackheads' still, one on my forehead one on my cheek, which are just whiteheads which are a bit raised and slighty red around the edges but I know within a week or two they'll be gone

My back is realllly starting to ache now, especially when exercising, and my eyes are getting even drier, it's worst in the morning when I wake up, it's painful to open them, thank god for drops!

Love y'all!
x

[gecko333]

Day 115 (17 Weeks)

4 months tomorrow!

The end is in sight, less than 6 weeks left now, can't come quick enough.
My nose is starting to get really sore now, well, only my left nostril, it's always sore, and there are always big blood-coloured hard skin lumps/bogies lodged up there which is disgusting - still no nose bleed yet thankfully.

My lips are going through a dry phase, I can't remember what it's even like not to have dry lips anymore.

My appetite is going even more, literally I could quite happily just eat 3 pieces of fruit all day long, I blame the meds.

Also, I have definitely noticed mood effects now which is beginning to scare me a bit. When I'm in a bad/sad mood, I'm in a really bad/sad mood, but then the next day I can be totally fine/happy, it's probably down to the fact that I'm just so tired all the time, I feel like I have mild flu, 12 hours sleep a night is my new optimum ; less and I'm groggy.

But most importantly, NO ACTIVE SPOTS for weeks.

[ForeverUnited88]

Still following your log mate, keep it up. I also started a log and im one month in

for the dry nose thing, ive had it for a few weeks, someone suggested vaseline inside the nose (not exactly the most dignified thing, sticking your finger up your nose and smeering vaseline up there though) but it seems to be working, only the second day of trying it thus far.

Best of luck

[gecko333]

Still following your log mate, keep it up. I also started a log and im one month in

for the dry nose thing, ive had it for a few weeks, someone suggested vaseline inside the nose (not exactly the most dignified thing, sticking your finger up your nose and smeering vaseline up there though) but it seems to be working, only the second day of trying it thus far.

Best of luck

I tried the vaseline up the nose trick and it worked pretty well, I'm gonna stick to that, thanks.
How far in to your treatment are you then?

[ForeverUnited88]

37 Days, i posted a link my log below incase u get time to read it


http://www.acne.org/...h-aug-onwards;/

[gecko333]

Day 121 (18 Weeks)

5 Weeks Left, thank god.

We all went the beach this week, there's a little one on Lac Kir, anyway I definitely went a bit pink, I don't think of the sun being strong enough so north in mid-september, luckily it calmed down after a few days of intense-sun aversion.

This week has been really hard. Freshers at Uni is a big drinking time, none-stop nights out and lots and lots of drinking. I've been good though and not touched a drop, it's sort of shit though going out to bars when everyone else is wasted and you're the only sober one there, you also feel tired and cold come 3am without all that alcohol.

Lips and Eyes are as dry as ever, and my back pain has been bad this week too.
Also Gym Pain, the muscle pain I get after going to the gym is still bad, I get 2 day long aches which hurt to move.

Skin wise, still no spots, a tiny red lump on my right jaw line which is barely even noticeable, let's hope the status quo just runs for these final 35 days now

[turnedout]

Hi all,

I'm 22 and female, around 50kg. I finished accutane (50mg for 8 months) just over a year ago now, and I just thought I'd post some encouragement.

It takes a while for the oil to start returning to your system, so as frustrating as it is, you'll still feel fairly dry for 8 weeks or so after you finish. The last thing to repair itself in my body was my nails - they peeled constantly for a good year after I finished, but are now strong again. My skin has also remained sensitive - especially to artificial scents in shower gels etc - and my tolerance for alcohol is worse than is used to be (I would hugely encourage you not to drink like Jake has - I drank and I wish I hadn't, my doctor was too focussed on my not getting pregnant to mention the alcohol!).

My top tips are:
- Use cetaphil to wash your face, and aqueous to moisturise (and to remove eye make up, ladies! It's great for that).
- Use non-medicated eyedrops to relieve dry eyes.
- Get hold of some hypercal cream for cracked lips (especially in the corners of your mouth), and 8-hour cream by Elizabeth Arden (expensive but brilliant).
- 8-hour cream and hypercal works for the inside of your nose too! Try to leave your nose alone as much as possible - I got nose bleeds for the first time in my life with Accutane.
- If you're not a female on birth control, then try taking St John Wort drops for moods (A. Vogel does the best ones in my opinion). Keep a mood diary with something like moodscope.com - it sends a daily email to someone of your choice with your mood score, which is a great way for someone to keep an eye on you if you're struggling a bit. Exercise, fresh air, good diet and plenty of water also helps. (If you are taking the pill, please do not use St John's Wort, it can stop your pill working properly)

Lastly, enjoy not having to wash your hair! It sucks when that particular oil comes back...

My skin in still clear after a year (and my Mum's is still clear after nearly 10 years!!) so do try and keep your spirits up - for me it's been life changing. Later on, when you tell people you used Accutane, I guarantee they'll say things like "your skin wasn't even bad?" - it's ridiculous.

[gecko333]

Hi all,

I'm 22 and female, around 50kg. I finished accutane (50mg for 8 months) just over a year ago now, and I just thought I'd post some encouragement.

It takes a while for the oil to start returning to your system, so as frustrating as it is, you'll still feel fairly dry for 8 weeks or so after you finish. The last thing to repair itself in my body was my nails - they peeled constantly for a good year after I finished, but are now strong again. My skin has also remained sensitive - especially to artificial scents in shower gels etc - and my tolerance for alcohol is worse than is used to be (I would hugely encourage you not to drink like Jake has - I drank and I wish I hadn't, my doctor was too focussed on my not getting pregnant to mention the alcohol!).

My top tips are:
- Use cetaphil to wash your face, and aqueous to moisturise (and to remove eye make up, ladies! It's great for that).
- Use non-medicated eyedrops to relieve dry eyes.
- Get hold of some hypercal cream for cracked lips (especially in the corners of your mouth), and 8-hour cream by Elizabeth Arden (expensive but brilliant).
- 8-hour cream and hypercal works for the inside of your nose too! Try to leave your nose alone as much as possible - I got nose bleeds for the first time in my life with Accutane.
- If you're not a female on birth control, then try taking St John Wort drops for moods (A. Vogel does the best ones in my opinion). Keep a mood diary with something like moodscope.com - it sends a daily email to someone of your choice with your mood score, which is a great way for someone to keep an eye on you if you're struggling a bit. Exercise, fresh air, good diet and plenty of water also helps. (If you are taking the pill, please do not use St John's Wort, it can stop your pill working properly)

Lastly, enjoy not having to wash your hair! It sucks when that particular oil comes back...

My skin in still clear after a year (and my Mum's is still clear after nearly 10 years!!) so do try and keep your spirits up - for me it's been life changing. Later on, when you tell people you used Accutane, I guarantee they'll say things like "your skin wasn't even bad?" - it's ridiculous.

Thanks for the tips

I use eye drops already, up to thrice a day now.
I use Simple's sensitive skin face wash which works great and Sanex's Hypo-Allergenic Shower Wash which is also great, and I always have a tube of hydro-cortisol around for the odd occasion I get flare ups of really bad hives which only started since being on tane.

I also definitely agree with exercise. The feel-good mood boost you get from the endorphins are 10 times more noticable when you're on accutane, I literally skip home with a beaming smile on my face when I'm coming home from the gym.

Also Caffeine!
2 or 3 black coffees or teas a day do wonders or energy

[Faded12]

Thanks for the updates Jake. Do you think your skin became a lot worse before it got better?

[gecko333]

Thanks for the updates Jake. Do you think your skin became a lot worse before it got better?

It didn't get a lot worse, I only had a very mild breakout, but I was on Antibiotics for 6 months before I started Accutane and that cured my acne about 80%, but then I got ill from them and started breaking out again like always happens with antibios, so that probably prevented a bad initial breakout somewhat.

[gecko333]

Day 126 (19 Weeks)

A day early, but I am in painn.
I have the worst lower back pain ever, it feels as if it's internal, coming from my kidney/liver area. It randomly started today in the middle of Spanish class at about 3pm, out of the blue. Currently sat in bed, it even hurts to laugh, if it doesn't feel any better within 48 hours I may have to call my dermatologist back in England or go to a French Doctor (dread to think how much this will cost, why the rest of the World doesn't have Universal Health Care like in the UK and Spain is beyond me).

Skin is doing fine, although I had another outbreak of hives, in EXACTLY the same pace as last time a few months ago, and in the EXACT same order! First (embarrassingly) on my balls, and then the next day on my left arm! EXACTLY like before. Is this not weird? What is the medical explanation? This time I resisted scratching and covered both areas in hydro cortisol cream and luckily it went away by the next day.

Everyone went out again tonight, and I have been in bed since 10 because of my sore back and tiredness. Seriously shit. I feel like a pensioner, not a 20 year old uni student who should be living it up. I only have 29 days left of medication, the end is in sight, but each day seems to get harder and harder.
I just think back though to how bad my skin was before, how I'd leave work early in floods of tears after looking at myself in the mirror and having a panic attack breakdown, how I'd pray in floods of tears for my acne to go away, and how now when I look in the mirror and for the first time in 5 years I don't have a single spot, how I can lie on my pillow on any part of my face I want and not have to worry about the pain from lying on my spots.
And I just have to power through these back aches. Endure a few more weeks of this exhaustion, of dry eyes, of needing 10 hours sleep.
Accutane is NOT easy. I seem to be having quite bad side effects, although thankfully no hair loss, nor really dry skin or lips anymore.

Acne you are a bitch. But I'm not throwing in the towel yet.
29 days. Bring it.

[chloelauraa]

Been following your log, man I hope it's nothing serious!! Def. call someone if it stays as painful or gets worse! Take care!