54 replies to this topic

[ughhhhh]

Hey I just saw my new dermatologist, she agrees with yours, I might need to be on it longer than most but she thinks they will go away!

I had to put together pictures from the last 6 months so she could get an idea and it really put it in perspective for me...my face is so much better than it was.

I still hate it and it looks unacceptable to me, but it was so so bad before. She says I'm responding to the medication and so I should just put on my makeup and forget about it everyday. She was at least much nicer than my asshole derm from before so I am absolutely switching.

[Sasch83]

Beginning of month 5 and still not clear. Better than before but still have lots of old spots (bumps) and redness and still getting new ones... Derm said my acne is just very severe, cystic acne and sometimes people with it that bad take longer to clear. She said she has a male patient with similar acne who is on month 7/8 and just now clearing. I believe it will work and it looks pretty good with makeup over it (still bumpy texture though). Otherwise I am very dry, especially inside my nose and of course lips and skin (mainly my forehead and chin where acne is worse). Back gets sore after intensive exercise as well. Hope it gets totally clear soon, dang it!!

Brownilocks, no worries.  My acne is moderate so much milder than yours and in my 6th months, i still have acne but not as bad.  Given more time, i whole heartedly believe you can clear your acne.  Keep your head up.

[Brownilocks]

Thanks guys! I do know that I look a lot better and I feel a lot better than at any time since this all started. There are only 2 real bad bumps at the moment and they are ones that have given me a rough time since the start. All the others are starting to heal, are much smaller than before, or if they are new, they are not as cystic. I think its just gonna have to take some time for some of the old ones to completely go down since they were so massive before. Only 1 is really noticeably bad with makeup on, another is somewhat noticeable and the others are not as bad unless out in direct sunlight, lol. Getting very dry all around the areas that have acne and the drier I get, the flatter they seem to get in that area, though very, very slowly. This medicine definitely requires patience and its more of a tortoise than a hare, haha!

 

Ugggh, I agree that looking at old pics help since the current result is not what our overall goal is. Keep your head up about the scarring, I see where I think I do have some scarring on my face (texture changes/indents) but it is minor in my eyes compared to the acne that was there before and my derm told me that some people do see the scars go away in time still. She said she's been very surprised by some really bad cases in the past and that there are options (laser) in 6 months if there is significant scarring (though it costs more since insurance doesn't cover it). The raised spots of mine still drain occasionally and are semi-active (used to drain daily now its like once every 3-4 weeks and they are smaller so less stuff, gross, I know). My face is still not at an acceptable state for me either, and I could never go out without makeup and concealer all over my face and feel comfortable, but if it all just gets flat soon I will be very happy. I know the red spots are going to take me forever cause even when I had mild acne they did, months...

 

Sasch, thanks for the encouragement as usual! At first I didn't want to believe it would take me several months to clear but you were definitely right! Its good to be gradually seeing improvement though and keeps me positive! I'm slowly getting my confidence back and doing more outside the house without worrying about it. I know you said you were on accutane more than once, was your acne ever cystic? Did it clear each time you took it and if so, when it came back was it less or more severe than before? How long did it take you to clear the last time you took it? Sorry for so many questions, I'm just ever curious about this whole skin thing and what to expect and what I can do to help it along.

 

Good luck to you both and also to add an update to my log, my cholesterol was a little high and my HDL was a little low last visit, but I haven't been eating very healthy lately. Going to add some coconut oil to my diet and see if that makes a difference!

[Sasch83]

No problem girl.  We have to support each other.  Accutane cleared me the first 2 times i took it and yes, before i took accutane the first time, my acne was cystic and moderate.  Over the years, it has gotten better and worse but never to the level it was before my 2st course.  it took a while to get completely clear too (around 3 + months), especially this time around.  I have a few weeks left and still not clear but such is life i suppose.

 

 

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me

[Brownilocks]

Thanks Sasch! I am 4 months in starting the 5th and I think full improvement will eventually come, its just gonna take awhile since mine was/got so bad.

 

I have a none related general question for all who take/took accutane as well. I haven't really been worried about minor spots but I have some little whiteheads around my eyes (like 2) that have been there for like a year before the accutane/acne outbreak. Was wondering if accutane will get rid of these/this type of acne too or if I should just try to have them extracted?

 

Also, open to new makeup suggestions for those of you suffering with mod to severe and/or cystic acne with sensitive skin that is easily irritated by makeup. I like my Clinique city base cream to powder, but it just doesn't absorb well and sticks to the dry flakes a bit. I HAVE TO have something that doesn't contain irritants of any type or dries out the skin even more! Scared of mineral foundations too cause I have lots of trouble with powder causing acne (both loose and pressed). Thanks for your suggestions!

[Brownilocks]

End of month 5 and still getting new spots (though small) and still have old active spots. Things are better than ever but my acne is still there and noticeable. I could not go out without makeup on still and my skin is bumpy. I'm wondering if this is going to clear me all the way and when/if I will stop getting new ones? Derm says I'll be on accutane at least 2 more months... Also, my cholesterol is really high despite eating healthier over the last month. Any advice?

[annetossy]

No advice, just wanted to tell you to hang in there! I know it's hard, but you will eventually have the results. Some cases are just more severe...but I have faith your skin will be looking fab in no time at all!

[ughhhhh]

They can put you on a cholesterol medication if they are worried about it. I've never heard of a case of cholesterol not going back down, but I have heard of derms putting people on meds for it.

I'm sorry you're still dealing with this. I'm currently dealing with extreme atrophy from Dr A-hole overinjecting my face, and they aren't sure the one on my forehead is acne. Could need to be excised. Awesome.

[Brownilocks]

Hey!

Thanks for the encouragement annetossy! Sometimes it just really helps to hear comforting words to push forward in what, at times, seems like a never ending journey. Are you still on Claravis? I see that you were/are on a similar dose as me. How is it/did it work for you? I'm wondering why the progress is in such slow motion!! Drives me nuts sometimes... Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for ANY and ALL progress, but it just sucks always thinking "I should be clear in a couple more months" and then not being...

 

Ugghhh, I'm sorry to hear you are still dealing with this BS too. How are the lesions? Have they gone? I'm sure you've asked this but would laser treatments after being off the accutane about 6 months help in any way? My doc said for scarring they see pretty good results but then there's the wait which seems unbearable to me (I def have some texture changes, like ripply indents). She said sometimes the atrophy and other scarring can go away gradually in time after coming off accutane so keep your fingers crossed! I will definetely ask about the cholesterol meds. Can't change my diet much cause I eat pretty healthy, I think I'm just somewhat predisposed to it cause high cholesterol runs in my mostly thin and active family.

[ughhhhh]

Laser would help for some of the scars, and my derm is hopeful that the atrophy will go away.... I'm not so sure. I will have to wait a year for the one on my forehead to get cut out, thats how long you should wait for surgery I was diagnosed with PTSD yesterday, will be going to therapy for a long long time because of this. I still have flashbacks to when it started and keep wondering what I could have done to stop it, I feel like I didn't treat it in time...

[Brownilocks]

You poor thing! I can totally see how PTSD would result from this though. How are you looking though? A little/a lot(hopefully) better? Its gonna take us longer than the others for sure and has caused me lots of emotional trauma as well. Glad I'm not alone in this though. Hang in there girl!

[Brownilocks]

Wow, 3 new whiteheaded zits today and an old cyst puffed up more... WTF? This is the beginning of MONTH 6!!!

[Sasch83]

Wow, 3 new whiteheaded zits today and an old cyst puffed up more... WTF? This is the beginning of MONTH 6!!!

Brownilocks, it is not unusual to still be breaking out @ 6 months.  Some people don't clear up till the end of their course anyway.  Accutane will def give you loads of improvement.  How long do you have on your course?

[Brownilocks]

Hey Sasch!

You have been a great motivator and very helpful through all of this! I'm starting month 6 and I will do a total course of 7 months. It is a lot better than it was but I'm so desperate to get clear again and not sure what to expect once I get off the meds that it scares me sometimes. I fear it coming back after, but the doc won't let me do more than 7 months cause I've been on 60mg the whole time and weigh 50kg so she thinks any more would be too much. I'm also scared about having to get back on it again cause I'm 30 and my husband and I really want to start having kids within a year of finishing accutane, so that's on my mind too. I see you've tried a lot of diets to address your acne, any of them do you any good? Thanks for any and all advice as always!

[annetossy]

I just finished, but yes, I was on 60mg of Claravis.  For 5 months. It worked great for me, but I don't think my acne was as severe as yours, which is probably why I cleared up in 5 months, as opposed to going longer?

 

You're almost there! Only 2 months left! I guarantee you will be seeing the results in 2 months. Just look at pictures of you from two months ago for comparison..I'm sure it's doing a lot better, and it will only continue to do so.