59 replies to this topic

[redhead rachel]

Don't worry! It took at least a week for my lips to start feeling dry.

Glad you're not letting the new breakouts get you down. Just think... You will have clear skin before you know it!

[Littleflower]

Yeah that's what I keep telling myself! I'd feel the same about my skin whether I had one spot or spots all over my face so having hopefully only 2 or so more months of experiencing the horrible painful skin I've had for years is a great feeling! 4 months isn't a long time at all to wait for clear skin compared to the years of anguish I've had over it, so every new spot that comes up right now is a victory because I know it's never going to reoccur

[Littleflower]

DAY 6

My skin isn't looking good The spot next to my lip seems to have regrown and I've got an awful red painful nodule on my upper lip and both don't seem to be shifting or getting better I've got some on my forehead too which depressed me a bit but they're only small. My back seems to still be clear though?

Lips are drying by the day, not much else to report really I never wear foundation but the way my face is looking right now I may have to invest in some, it seems concealer isn't enough...

Anyone have any tips on how to manage the IB?

[Littleflower]

DAY 7

My skin looks a little better today. The spots on my chin have mostly gone (that was quick!), the big spot on my upper lip and the one in the corner came to a head and popped in the shower as well as one of the spots on my forehead- I got out what was left in the pore afterwards. I don't know if you're meant to do that on accutane but my feeling is if they were going to come up anyway, if you can get it out by gently pulling or squeezing your skin you might as well. The other one popped this morning whilst I was washing it, so I have no actives and numerous healing lesions as of this moment I don't think this is the end though, still many clogged pores on my chin and upper lip that haven't surfaced yet. I don't think that this will be the worst of it sadly

The skin around my chin and mouth has gone slightly red and a bit irritated- I think I'm allergic to sudocrem, as I've been applying it liberally to these areas. I'll just have to be more careful. In terms on side effects, just slightly dry lips. I drink a lot of water, so this might be my saving grace from side effects on this drug.

UPDATE: Wow, the skin under my chin and around my mouth is really dry and peeling off! Crazy but doesn't seem to bother me too much

Edited by Littleflower, 08 July 2012 - 11:48 AM.

[Littleflower]

DAY 8

My chin and around my mouth is still very dry and reddish and flaky, but the acne has really improved around there lots of the little bumps have gone but some still remain, they'll probably all explode at some point not much to say really other than that, side effects still the same as before. I've got my driving test today so I'm super nervous but fingers crossed that will go well too!

[bodyandsoul]

I'm only a few days behind you (Day 4 today). I also have had breakouts near my lips. But some of the cystic acne along my jawline healed up last night - overnight!

I agree that Water is key! i've been super thirsty!

Good luck on your test!

~bodyandsoul

[Littleflower]

It's amazing isn't it! Some nodules I had on their way to really got a shift on once I started taking accutane. Hooray

DAY 9

I hate to jinx it but my skin seems to be clearing already? It's very dry but my chin is the clearest it's ever been, bar a few under-the-skin bumps- but they seem to be flaking off instead of coming to a head? Very strange, I was expecting to be breaking out all over the place by now... My skin is flaking so much but it's all in the name of progress. Back appears to still be clear, and for the first time in over a year I'm going swimming!

Edited by Littleflower, 10 July 2012 - 02:14 AM.

[redhead rachel]

Glad to hear your skin is clearing up! It's an amazing feeling, isn't it? Let's hope it stays that way!

[jamie o]

Glad to hear that your skin is clearing up, and that it has stopped flaking

[Littleflower]

DAY 18

Sorry I've not wrote in a while, I'm currently on holiday in Ireland so over the past week my skin has gotten a little worse, but I expected it to, and it's not as horrendous as it was a few weeks ago when it broke out. It's just little whiteheads coming up and a few nodules over on one side of my chin, but they're not too bothersome in terms of size. It's more the fact that they're so purple that's annoying! A lot of red marks at the moment, but they'll go. My skin got reallyyyyyy flaky and dry and it was horrible, literally everything I put on it made it burn, but my auntie gave Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream to put on and that worked wonders! The flakiness has really gone down now and my face isn't unbearably dry My lips are pretty dry but not cracked or bleeding, however the spot I had in the corner of my lip has left a lovely cut right next to my mouth that reopens every time I open my mouth too wide and I feel like it's never going to heal It looks horrible! Back got two new big red spots, but it's nothing compared to what it used to be like. Staying positive!

[Lo0004]

hey! just been reading through your blog, i am thinking about starting Roaccutane in the UK too... I have an appointment in a few weeks and am finding it really useful reading about peoples experiences!!

I hope things go well for u and will continue reading )
x

[bodyandsoul]

Hope your improvement is continuing during your holiday! Love your positive attitute

[Littleflower]

hey! just been reading through your blog, i am thinking about starting Roaccutane in the UK too... I have an appointment in a few weeks and am finding it really useful reading about peoples experiences!!

I hope things go well for u and will continue reading )
x

aww I'm glad I'm helping! I'd honestly recommend it, I've been on it for about 3 weeks now and to be honest it's not as worse as I thought it would be I'm still breaking out but my skin isn't as bumpy as it was before and the side effects aren't as terrifying as they seem!

and thank you bodyandsoul, I hope to remain that way

DAY 21

Feels like I've not written here in ages... well over last week my chin went a little crazy but it seems to have died down now, the nodules are also going and no more reappearing around my chin fingers crossed My skin is feeling a lot smoother and less bumpy and the redness seems to have died down. There's still quite a few bumps though and a big cluster of them near one of my eyebrows that appear to be surfacing as blackheads. I'm praying they won't become inflamed! My complexion looks kind of ok I've been breaking out around my hairline this week which is another hotspot for nodules to appear on my face so hopefully after these have gone (they're taking FOREVER) that'll be that- but they're so painful and frustratingly slow to go I'm doing my best now not to pick or squeeze but sometimes I give in and regret it My back is still doing alright, the two I mentioned earlier have left some lovely red marks and no others have surfaced

The side effects have started to kick in: I had a little nosebleed today, which was bizarre because I've never had one in my life I've got some bearable lower back pain that only really hurts when I lie on my side or bend down. Lips are dry; I had an ice lolly yesterday and the top layer of skin on my lip came clean off when it got stuck to it! Still cracking in the corners too; feeling a little like the Joker. Might talk to the dermatologist about what I can do about that. There's a few small patches of dry skin on my forearms, the skin around my mouth is still flaky but less red, tight and allergic reaction-y in general dry skin beats spots any day though!

[mwfn]

Your posts make familiar reading.

It sounds like you're coming to the end of 'the purge' where the medication brings up everything that's been waiting and plotting underneath. Based on my experience you should continue to see gradual improvements, however don't be too put off if you have another breakout about 2 months in.

Go on to amazon and buy Dr Dan's lipbalm- you can't get a formulation like it in the UK because it has hydrocortizone in it. It will do a good job on the lips, but it is expensive and you will go through 1 every 2/3 days.

With the sun now out you also need to get a facial moisturiser with atleast SPF 15.

At the early stage you just need to accept that you're not going to be looking at your best, and unfortunately the ways to combat the side effects make you look worse. But it's better to be walking round now with a cream coated face and shiny lips than to end up with long term skin damage and a perma-burn face.

Sudocrem worked quite well on the outside of my lips, although I'm not sure that's one of it's intended purposes. It's a good back-up to have by the bed for when you wake up with very dry lips and cracks.

[Littleflower]

Your posts make familiar reading.

It sounds like you're coming to the end of 'the purge' where the medication brings up everything that's been waiting and plotting underneath. Based on my experience you should continue to see gradual improvements, however don't be too put off if you have another breakout about 2 months in.

Go on to amazon and buy Dr Dan's lipbalm- you can't get a formulation like it in the UK because it has hydrocortizone in it. It will do a good job on the lips, but it is expensive and you will go through 1 every 2/3 days.

With the sun now out you also need to get a facial moisturiser with atleast SPF 15.

At the early stage you just need to accept that you're not going to be looking at your best, and unfortunately the ways to combat the side effects make you look worse. But it's better to be walking round now with a cream coated face and shiny lips than to end up with long term skin damage and a perma-burn face.

Sudocrem worked quite well on the outside of my lips, although I'm not sure that's one of it's intended purposes. It's a good back-up to have by the bed for when you wake up with very dry lips and cracks.

Yeah i'm hoping so! Though I still have a lot of small bumps around my chin but I'm hoping they don't become inflamed. Some small bumps dried up and flaked off so I realllyyyyy hope that's what happens to me! I'll have a look into it Yeah now that the UK's suddenly become like the tropics I really need to look after my skin. It's hard, but seeing even the slightest improvement when a problem area suddenly becomes smooth and normal is really encouraging and helps me keep on My chin is my worst area so I'm not expecting that to look wonderful anytime soon. I tried sudocrem but it seemed to really irritate my skin back when the accutane really dried it out, but I find savlon works just as well

DAY 23

The sun's suddenly come out in the uk so I'm slathered in suncream, but my complexion ABOVE my chin is looking really glowy and nice Sadly I can't say the same for my chin The hairline spots are dying down, I've only got one stubborn one still drying up, but apart from that my forehead feels awesome. I hope it will last. My back is still clear!!!! I'm wearing dresses that don't go all the way up to my neck which feels great in the warm weather The marks are still there but without spots with them they don't look so bad. My chin is currently a mess- but I'm able to deal with it knowing that it should get better.

Side effects- The back pain isn't as bad since I've not strained it as much, and the dry skin seems to be calming down a bit. Apart from that I can't really think of anything else

[Littleflower]

DAY 26

I can't believe how good my back is looking! I've only got one tiny spot on it that's going away and the red marks are fading by the day. That's really made me feel more normal Everything that was on my skin seems to be healing up, a few small ones that originated from small bumps coming and going but my chin is still fairly bumpy... still got a long way to go.

[Littleflower]

DAY 27

Oh my goodness my chin is a mess right now. about 20-30 inflamed spots covering it right now; gross. Not even makeup can disguise this breakout. Glad this is the week my boyfriend is away so he doesn't have to witness it.

Nothing else new to report other than a dry nose which is an absolute pain with hay fever.

[bodyandsoul]

SO sorry about your chin! I hope they start healing quickly! Glad to hear your back is doing better...that's awesome!

Day 25 here - we're almost through month 1!!

[Littleflower]

Arghh it's so gross! about 6 more came up this morning and I popped them in an angry rage and now my chin is a big bloody mess I'm praying that once these go away that will be the end of horrible chin breakouts! Everywhere else except there seems to be doing better so it's a real disappointment Today was my next appointment to get my next prescription so I can officially say I am 1 month through! Early days yet though

DAY 28

Went to go see my dermatologist today, said that my bloodwork was fine apart from something in my liver... he asked me if I'd taken any painkillers at all? Not too sure what that meant but he didn't seem too concerned and I feel fine. I'm not drinking or taking painkillers at all! He said that I knew my skin was going to get worse and I agreed. It's all the small recurring bumps coming up to the surface for good, I hope. I just wish they didn't have to do it all at once! My dosage has been upped to 40 mg, so hopefully more clearing will commence. Apart from my chin and my hairline that's being a slight pain in the ass everywhere else is fine. Some of the bumps near one of my eyebrows have gone and my nose feels real sandpaper-y; I think it's the blackheads coming out. But oh my goodness my chin, not even makup will cover it!!!!!!!!!!!

Side effects... my nose is real dry. It's horrid with hayfever and a pain in the ass to get to sleep with; as soon as I put vaseline up there I've got the urge to blow my nose because it feels blocked and when I breathe it makes whistling noises, concequently getting rid of the vaseline... and I need sleep for my skin to heal, so it's real annoying but I'm sure it'll be ok in the long run currently using carmex for lips, figured I need to move on to the stronger stuff now... praying for a miracle!

[redhead rachel]

Sorry to hear about the new breakouts! I hope they clear up soon!

Accutane can damage the liver, but it's good that your derm doesn't seem to be worried about it. Some people take liver supplements while on Accutane to help combat this. The reason your derm asked about painkillers is probably because you should avoid acetaminophen (Tylenol) during your course. Acetaminophen can damage the liver as well and you certainly don't want to risk mixing it with Accutane!

Another thing you might want to try for your nose is a saline solution. Early in my course I dealt with a lot of dried blood in my nose, but the saline solution I purchased helped with that by moisturizing my nose. It can also be used to flush your nose, so it could help to clear up any stuffiness.