24 replies to this topic

[jkoz]

^^ Link to my video, pretty much covers everything I talk about here. It doesn't really do my skin justice, but you can see me.

Hey all, I'm John. I've posted up here once before a few years back, but have been away since! To put it simply, I'm starting isotretinoin. I'm 26 years old, weigh about 150lb, and will be starting on 20mg for the first month, and then ramping up to 60mg for the remaining months.

I've had moderate-severe acne since I was 15, and is generally cystic. Typically, I get 6-8 new pimples a month when I'm not taking any form of medication for it.

In the past I've taken:

Antibiotics:

Minocycline

Doxycycline

Tetracycline

Bactrim

Retinoids:

Atralin

Epiduo

Atleast 3 other retin-a's that I can't remember

Various BP products

Various salycilic products

I've gone through many, many, many different regimens of cleansers, moisturizers, retinoids, antibiotics, creams, etc etc. Antibiotics worked well, but everytime I've come off of them my acne returns immediately, and doesn't subside. After years of this, I'm done going the antibiotic route! My dermitologist(s) wouldn't put me on accutane for the longest time because they wanted to try every other method first, but finally my derm said, "alright, it's definitely time."

My acne has improved over the last 2-3 years, but it's still a total cruch for me.

I'm going to do my best to keep up with this!! Perhaps a weekly video, or pictures, or something!

[gointhedistance]

Hey man I feel for you. I'm 23 and I know how crappy it feels to be past the age where all your friends don't have acne. Feels like your still going through puberty in your 20's. But that's really just the beginning of it. Get tired of looking at yourself in the mirror everyday and fighting this crap skin disease that you unfortunately have been dealt. The antibiotics worked for me for the longest time but after a while my body just got used to it. I went through them all as well. I started accutane a little over a week ago and already have seen good results. I know everyone is different and for some people it never puts there acne in a full remission but at the end of the day the stuff will clear you up at least for a solid duration.

From I have been able to gander about 65-75% of the people that take accutane are "cured"... I would go to vegas on those odds, haha. Good luck, I hope everything works out.

[jkoz]

You got it, gointhedistance! I've had very weird thoughts about it... nearly everyone I see my age has clear, normal skin. I've had this weird idea go through my head, like "what happened, did my skin not finish developing as a baby?" lol

I took my first pill last night, of only 20mg. I fully did not expect to feel anything or see any differences, but I did wake up with dry flaking skin, which isn't normal for me. 1 day down, 209 to go!

[js327]

jkoz i am also 26 (female) and thinking about trying accutane. I am allergic to all the cicilne drugs and my derm just put me on bactrin but everytime i take it I throw up. plus i've heard that once you go off bactrin your acne comes back. did you have any stomach issue with bactrin?
also what did your derm tell you about accutane (mine didn't want to talk about it really for some reason)
like can you drink, how often do you have to have blood tests, and what are the main side effects he talked about? also, do you have any stomach pains after you take it?
thanks for sharing!

[jkoz]

jkoz i am also 26 (female) and thinking about trying accutane. I am allergic to all the cicilne drugs and my derm just put me on bactrin but everytime i take it I throw up. plus i've heard that once you go off bactrin your acne comes back. did you have any stomach issue with bactrin?
also what did your derm tell you about accutane (mine didn't want to talk about it really for some reason)
like can you drink, how often do you have to have blood tests, and what are the main side effects he talked about? also, do you have any stomach pains after you take it?
thanks for sharing!

js327, I only had stomach issues with Bactrim when I didn't take it with food. I know the instructions say to take it without food, but everyone I've talked to, including my derm, says to take it with food to avoid stomach issues. My derms tried everything before accutane. My current derm told me all about the side effects, told me how she was going to administer it (start at low dosage) as to try and avoid initial breakout and major side effects. She told me that it definitely is a serious drug, but she's had very high success rate, with very very few complications. You're not supposed to drink while taking it, but I've read of people that do. The drug is very hard on your liver, so why put your liver at more strain with alcohol? She talked about all the main side effects, dry lips, dry skin, nose bleeds, achey joints, possibly headaches, and a few of the extremely rare more serious ones. No stomach pains from it.

DAY 2: Nothing unusual. I think because I'm on such a low dosage right now, I won't experience too much. I would say my mouth felt a little dry waking up, but that's about it. I've got a couple new spots on my face, but no real certainty that it's from the drug or not. We march on!

Edited by jkoz, 24 December 2012 - 01:37 PM.

[Brownilocks]

Just a note, another reason to take it with food is because you get more out of it that way because it absorbs into your blood stream better. Derm suggested that I take it with a fatty meal because that also helps to increases absorption. I'm on a high dosage (60mg first month at 110lbs). Had an IB between beginning of week 2 and middle of week 3 but it wasn't too much worse than what was already there and started to see side effects and progress around day 21. I'm on day 25 now and seeing the slightest of progress finally and only 1 new small one in the last week, but my acne was pretty severe this time around (had a clear face using topicals til it exploded again about 3 1/2 months ago). I was against accutane and resisted it for years thinking I could continue to control it with other products, but it came back much worse this time around, so good for you taking the plunge before things possibly get worse! I really think a lot of the side effects are more overhyped and rare than most of us are scared into thinking (other than the dry skin and lips thing, but who cares if you get good skin out of the deal!), I've been doing great since I started and haven't had to change anything about my lifestyle much yet (only thing is more sore after running, so have to take it a little easier and stretch out more). I feel ya on the adult acne though! I'm a 29 y/o female and first got it bad and cystic after I finished college. Before that I was able to control it with OTC stuff and was finally seeming to get clear. Same kinda thing happened this time around. The only trigger I'm convinced is real is stress.. I'm a worrier and each time its gotten worse there's been something crazy going on with me. The controlling it with diet, lifestyle, supplement thing is BS in my opinion, but I digress... Good luck to you and keep updating your progress along the journey to clear skin! Lots of very supportive people on here going though this crazy acne nonesense!

Edited by Brownilocks, 24 December 2012 - 02:23 PM.

[jkoz]

Hey Brownilocks I just checked out your pics, and I feel for you! I've never had it that severe, and I wish you luck with accutane! I've been taking my pills right as I eat dinner. I'd rather not find out what kind of reaction I have if I don't take it with food

At this point I'm on day two, but my lips are peeling right now. They don't feel dry or chapped, but a layer of skin is definitely coming off. I understand the drug affects people differently, and at different speeds, but I certainly didn't expect peeling lips already.

[Sasch83]

Jkoz- good luck! i am in week 10 and going through my IB but overall i know it could be worse. I feel your frustations though as i have been through many of the treatments that you showed in your video. If you have any questions, feel free to ask as this is my 3rd course. After this, i may just try hormone therapy like Spiro if my acne returns

[jkoz]

Thanks for checking out my vid I've read good things about Spiro as well.

I just want to point out two things:

First, how excited I am to get this treatment going. I've dealt with bad skin for over a decade. I've stopped dating a few girls (plural) over the years because of how my skin has made me feel, and what it's done to my confidence. I've flaked on friends because of it. It sucks. I really hope isotretinoin helps!

Second, I wanted to mention the cost.

• Blood tests (monthly): Free with insurance
• Derm. appointments (monthly): $30 co-pay
• Claravis perscription (monthly): $30 co-pay
• Misc. supplies (lotions, ointments, etc): I'm going to guess $50 for the duration

If those costs remain accurate, I'll end up spending ~$530 for my 8 month period of time on Claravis. That's 10 hours of pay at work for me. If my results are like many others out there, that's an INCREDIBLE bargain for the shit I've dealt with because of bad skin!! Obviously those costs vary depending on your insurance, but I was really worried about having to spend 700+ dollars a month on this drug. If you're worried about cost, check with your insurance to see how much it will be, and maybe you'll be surprised!

Merry Christmas everyone!

[BMarieWantsNoAcne]

It costs about the same for me. $10 for bloodwork, $10 for Amnesteem, and $30 for my dermatologist's copay. I'm so happy it's that cheap. I was expecting it to be a lot more.

[jkoz]

I'm on day 4. Nothing drastic to report, but I did get a giant pimple near my left eye. I've got about 5 new pimples, none too big, except for the one near my eye. Maybe a slight IB? Not sure. Although this is how I normally break out when I'm not on any sort of antibiotic, so who knows.

I'm a technical lead on a team of engineers, who are all at least 10 years older than me. I've always had a feeling in the back of my mind that they don't take me seriously because of my age, although I've proven myself many times. Now, I have to deal with looking younger than I am, and acne all over my face. It really messes with my confidence in so many ways, including professionally. Please work, isotretinoin

[gointhedistance]

Doesn't matter if they don't want to respect you, they have to. Just work hard and do your job. The drug will be doing the same.

People respect hard workers regardless of any extraneous variables.

[taned]

Brains over looks man - don't worry about the respect, you earn it by being smart!

Good luck with your treatment! Remember that it'll very likely get much worse at first (did for me), so hang in there. I started improving after around 10 days with a vastly decreased amount of new activities.

[myresults_xnow]

Just wanted to stop in and wish you luck on your course. I've done one before (sadly it has returned) and I'm starting up on my second coure on the first.

Happy New Year, and here is to a clear 2013

[jkoz]

End of week 1!

Video update:

myresults_xnow: clear 2013, yes!

[jkoz]

Day 12

Lips are most definitely chapped. It's annoying, but not awful. I've had a couple more "vertigo" moments. They're brief and not bad, and I'm not even sure they're from the isotretinoin, but we'll see how it goes as I continue my treatment, and as I up my dosage.

I've noticed as a whole my skin is starting to dry out some. I already had pretty dry skin, but now my face is getting more flaky, my hands are super dry, and my shoulders are more dry. I didn't know what to expect taking this low dosage, but I guess I didn't think I would notice these things so quickly.

I'm still dealing with some initial breakout. My skin is really smooth, and has a nice tone, but I still have a bunch of cystic pimples all over.

I'm anxious to up my dosage. I don't really think my body is reacting negatively to the drug, but I'll see what my blood tests say. The first two or three days taking accutane seemed to drag on, probably because I was thinking about it all the time. Since then, though, the time is already flying by!

PS: Go Packers!!

Edited by jkoz, 03 January 2013 - 02:43 PM.

[whoartthou1]

GO PACKERS!!

[gointhedistance]

Falcons! Rise Up!

Edited by gointhedistance, 04 January 2013 - 03:53 AM.

[jkoz]

My skin is so baaaaaaaad right now, I don't even want to go to the store to buy food. I truly feel for the people who have severe cases. Must, power, through, this!

[whoartthou1]

initial break out?