10 replies to this topic

[denisj]

Hello.

My name is Dennis, 24, 135lbs and this already sounds like craigslist dating section...nvm

Anyways, I've been experiencing some severe acnes around my jaw, chin and neck mostly.

I've tried BP 5% cleansers, creams and Retinoid creams 0.01, 0.03 and 0.05 I believe.

Lastly I've also tried tetracycline...and I still remember because this pill was literally a pain in the a**...mild but well...move on

Basically had enough with all these stuffs didn't seem to work so my doc referred me to a dermatologist.

Finally got to see the dermatologist last week after about 1.5 months of waiting and

the derm finally gave me a prescription for Accutane after getting straight A+s on blood test according to him (damn maybe i should become a haematologist)

First thought?

Well...if you experienced mild-severe acnes, you probably heard of accutane...and so did I.

But they gave me this big brochure that came with consent form, pregnancy check list and this 20 page booklet about side effects, including this weird unnecessary drawing...



I know some people may have hard time picturing what birth defects are like but really?

Anyways...I was aware of some common side effects including droughts on lips, itchy a** and hair thinning (this is something that im scared le s**tless of...as my hair is already thin and im not a prince of some country if you know what i mean)

But I wasn't quite aware of potential initial breakouts, which people seem to suffer the most...

So I'm just hoping that my balls don't drop when I get initial breakouts...or just hoping that there will be no initial breakouts.

Well...enough with the mumblings. Here goes nothing.

Day 1

Nothing as I expected..scratched my a** few times throughout the day but this is quite normal i guess

Dry and Cold as balls outside in Toronto already. Got myself a chopstick.

Trying to find more information about initial breakouts...

Some say it may be related to exfoliation so I may keep using Tactuo (BP+Retinoid cream that exfoliates my skin next morning) until my skin can't handle it.

Day 2

No change...slight joint pains but just coincidence...

Getting cold feet about taking this pill...I donno if I can handle the initial breakout...scared the shatless

The dermatologist prescribe me 60mg but most people with similar severity seem to start with 20mg or 40mg at the most...

Starting to doubt if the dermatologist had any experience with prescribing accutanes as he just started his practice this year...

Maybe I should just continue with 10mg and see how it goes down...

Balls

Day 3

A couple of breakouts here and there but not even close to the initial breakouts people experience...

Dried eyes in the morning but im guessing this is cuz of the heater...

Bought few things to prepare for side effects...eye drops, Aquaphor, head and shoulder for men (hair loss!!!)

Exams in two weeks...hope nothing goes wrong during this period...

Edited by denisj, 01 December 2012 - 09:12 PM.

[denisj]

Dec. 6th (Been a week)

Well...It has been about a week I guess....

Start noticing some side effects...

Dry lips, minor stomachache, tiredness and nose bleeding...

Thanks to Aquaphor, dry lips aren't that big of deal.

Minor stomachache...not sure if this is a side effect but didn't eat anything weird recently so maybe...weird in the morning but gets better throughout the day.

Tiredness...started feeling bit more tired in the morning this week...well maybe cause of the walking dead episodes i started watching...hmm

nose bleeding...well just had one this morning when i picked my nose...but my nose seems bit dryer than usual.

Hmm other than those above, my skin is peeling off more than when i first used retin-a cream...good moisturizer i bought recently seems to do the job.

Noticing few breakouts but still, this isn't even close to the initial break people experience in here...

Other than these lame side effects, my face isn't as oily as before...as well as my hair...(big plus)

So far so good considering how much I worried about side effects I guess?

[zhfac]

Hello fellow Torontonian, I had the exact same booklet given to me. If you have any severe pain/side effects, make sure to let your derm know. I've had one nose bleed so far, but I put some vaseline around my nostrils to make that go away. I am am about a month in now and I don't get oily at all, it's great.

[denisj]

Hello. Good to see someone in Toronto area.

Yes I was just about to talk about nose bleeding...

Close to week 2

Few mild breakouts here and there...well got a big bump on my nose where i don't normally get...

Other than that my breakouts aren't that big deal...maybe im just too focused on my exam studyings that i don't see myself as often...

Keep having bloody nose....trying not to pick too much...

Really dry body...took a shower with a regular shower gel before sleep yesterday and my god was that a bad choice...had to wake up to put moisturizer all over my body...

Donno if this cuz of dry lips or too much aquaphor but have to bite off lips time to time to get rid of those flaky skin...not hurting or bleeding surprisingly...

Other than that not much difference...less oily face and hair...tiring...

[denisj]

Close to week 3

Time flies by....almost week 3...damn exams...have no life

Not to sure if its bc accutanes or exam stress but my stomach ain't doing so good...not a big deal but gets quite gassy and whatnot.

Dry lips don't even bother me much...no more bleeding nose.

Having some mild headache today...some sort of pain behind my left eye...Tylenol did the trick for now.

But Im liking how my skin looks right now...skin stays clean (non oily) for the whole day...no breakouts.

Maybe the low dosage is doing the trick? or Need more time to see the result?

If this keeps up then I probably don't even have to do the full course...hopefully?

[denisj]

Update:

Hmm said things too early?

Started to breakout here and there for last two days...

Possibly experiencing initial breakouts?

[denisj]

Week 4 Happy boxing day

Time sure flies by...No more exams...loving the stress free days

No breakout since the last report...I think my overall skin tone got even better.

Few blackheads that I had around my nose are gone...and skin stays oil-free everyday

Still have dry lips but not as bad as before...

Weather got colder...got dry patches on my hand and body feels dryer... moisturiser does the job

Can't think of anything else...loving the result so far...Hope it stays this way.

Part of me wishes that I was on this medication earlier...kinda sad that people including my parents have wrong perception about acnes... But at least now I'm on it.

Edited by denisj, 26 December 2012 - 06:00 PM.

[denisj]

Week 5

Times flies by...Week 5 already.

Went to the dermatologist...got the refill.

Dry patches on my hand seem to be getting worse...damn this cold weather

Got a small white head on my neck...not a big deal.

So far So good?

[denisj]

Week 6

Man I forgot to even update this thing...

Nothing to report but better skin everyday.

Used to have slightly rough skin on chest and back due to the small acne-like spots

but they are now all gone and my body is noticeably smooth.

My skin looks even better for some reason after workout (30-40 min of running)

which became a good motivation to keep up.

Hopefully initial breakout won't happen out of nowhere.

To sum up what I have done so far...

- Accutane 10mg, 6 weeks
- Tactuo (retinoid & BP combination cream) every other day
- Tazorac (stronger retinoid gel) as a spot treatment for few breakouts that I had at the beginning
- Lab series (regular foam cleanser for men) morning and night
- Moisturiser (slightly greasy but moisturises well) after wash
- Aquaphor for dry lips
- 9999999999 glasses of water every day

Not too sure if the way I applied those two topical medications above were right thing to do

but I've been using these for a while so I thought it wouldn't do much harm.

Edited by denisj, 12 January 2013 - 09:48 PM.

[denisj]

Week 7 (more like 7 and an half)

At this rate I don't think I need to write this every week unless something happens.

Been working out 5-6 times a week and my skin looks so bright after that even people started to compliment.

Maybe my body accumulated too much toxin...whatever the reason is, it has been a great motivation to keep up.

Nothing else to report other than that. Same minor side effects.

[denisj]

Week ???

 

wow haven't been here for a long time. 

 

Still on 10mg. Getting really tiny breakout time to time but not even worth my attention

 

Got cracked skin on my feet and it gets quite annoying but preventative if i just apply lotions every night.

 

But it is so great to see my skin improving every day...almost forgot what it is like to have a acne-free skin.