22 replies to this topic

[IIIEXOCETIII]

Hello to all,

I have started this log based upon my current accutane regimen, which to be honest im not entirely sure im ready for. But here it goes anyways .

My name is Jason and I am a 29 year old male who was recently just put on accutane again. Now let me give you a little bit of a run down of my history. When i was probably around 15-16 years of age, I had severe cystic/nodule acne on my face, back, and chest area. After trying numerous remedies or possible solutions the doctor finally decided to put me on accutane. Being that it was so many years ago I am a little unsure on what dosage I was on, however I can tell you I was clear and did not have any acne symptoms for many years. I do know that i was on a 6month course when this had taken place.

Now many years later at the ripe age of 29 I still have fought severe cystic acne on my back, and belt line area. Now this acne has only been an issue for about the last 5-8 years. I wish i would have treated it sooner but to be honest it is on my back, and my thoughts of out of sigh out of mind come into play. Recetntly I decided to go into my Derm down here in Floirda and was put on another dose of accutane. I has told the doc that I had been on the medication before without issue, in turn I think he felt ok about the treatment. Anyhow here I am on my 2nd go round and have been reading many peoples logs regarding treatment. Figured I might be able to help people along their treatment and mine.



DAY 4:

I am starting with day 4 in the log as I have already started the treatment and this is where i currently stand. I started the treatment on Thursday 1-10-13, and have been instructed to take the 40mg Claravis pill twice daily. Now maybe it is just me because I am on the 80mg per day treatment but my side effects have come on pretty fast and hard considering it is only day 4 of treatment.

Yesterday I decided to mow the yard, I was just doing the front yard so it only took me around 20 minutes. I usually where a baseball cap of some sort and always have sunglasses on in the bright sun of Florida. Anyhow when I had come inside I noticed that my face was red, hot, and felt as if I had a mild sunburn. This is impossible I thought to myself because indeed was wearing a hat and was not in the sun long. But come to find out the next morning I am dealing with one of the side effects. My head feels as if It has a pulse of its own. And when calm i can feel my heartbeet in my temples. My skin on my face has become very tight, and I just feel a little off. Im hoping this is just an early side effect and my body will soon become more adept to this.

My skin has become very sensitive. Even holding a cell phone to my ear feels very odd to my face, the coolness of the screen feels good. My lips have yet to start cracking, and bones do not hurt just yet so I am hoping what I am experiencing is normal thus far. It has been a long time since ive been on a Accutane treatment. Also the top of my head feels somewhat strange. This might be because of the blood flushing the face but will wait to see what happens over the course of the next week.

I will be updating this log daily so you all can track the progress and symptoms. I will also be posting pictures later this evening as I am currently at work so you can view before and after photos.

[CWR24]

Good lucky! I too am starting my second course of Accutane Friday. 80mg/day so youll be about a week ahead of me.

[IIIEXOCETIII]

I will be interested to see how things go with you CWR. Good luck with things to come. How long has it been since you have had your first treatment?

Edited by IIIEXOCETIII, 14 January 2013 - 06:33 PM.

[acneguitarist]

I'll definitely follow this and let you know how mine is going since in on day 5 as well. My whole face is peeling but I don't feel too weird, just dry. Lips began to dry today but I'm trying to keep it at bay with lots of chap stick!

[CWR24]

I took it for 5 months back in 2011 but I left for a deployment to Afghanistan the month after I finished so I wasnt keeping my skin as clean as I should and such. But its been about 1.5 years. I also have very oily skin.

[JOHNTWINING]

I am also on my fifth day of 80mg ) these side effects suckk though!

[IIIEXOCETIII]

Day 5

So today is brand new day! and my face still hurts lol. I feel as if i have the worst sunburn on my face I have ever received. Normally this would not be an issue, however it doesnt get any better. The symptoms continue to persist which is highly annoying. Sleep for me is a little tough at the moment. Im itchy, and when I try to itch my face I get almost no relief as the "sunburn feeling" tends to be under my skin rather than at the surface. I really do hope this side effect subsides, but I am a bit nervous that it could get worse and almost unbearable.

Acne shows really minor to no improvment. I am still receiving new outbreaks, and they seem to be slightly more severe. This could be the onset of an IB (Initial Breakout) however the new outbreaks that I do recieve seem to be going away fairly quickly. I have read numerous places that Ibuprofen is ok to take during treatment. In what doses I am unsure but it might help hide the burning face pain I seem to be getting. Also the pain seems to be worse at night than during the day or it could just be I dont notice it as much since I work during the day. Today I also notice slight pain in the right hand side of my lower back, but this could be due to my shitty bed that is about to be replaced.

Does anyone else have this burning face issue? If so is there something I can do to temporarily relieve symptoms. I was debating on trying some aloe vera to see if that made it feel better for any length of time, but then again it might do absolutley nothing.

I was unable to get pictures up last night as a few things had come up. I will make sure I get these up tonight.

Jason

[JOHNTWINING]

I dont have the burning face issue but I'm also on my fifth/sixth day and my backs really beginning to hurt, aloe vera always helps so its definiteley worth a shot

The shitty bed part made me crack up

- John

[acneguitarist]

I'm on day 7, face stopped peeling as bad but definitely still dry and uncomfortable. My derm told me not to pop anything while taking accutane so I have way more whiteheads than normal but they dry up and flake off within the day. Today I felt extremely dehydrated and exhausted, but my girlfriend is sick and I haven't exactly been avoiding getting sick... So that might be it. My face was also very uncomfortable during school today, like dry and oily at the same time. I think my acne is getting better, I've had a few new nodulars come up but they actually subsided rather quickly, as opposed to lasting for a week like normal. Only on day 7 though so I think I'm probably being hyper sensitive to any changes in acne. I decided I'm only gonna take pictures every two weeks.

[whoartthou1]

how bad is your body acne atm?

Also, did you ever take any oral antibiotics for your acne?

[IIIEXOCETIII]

Day 6-7-8

Sorry havent posted in a couple days. Been having some really nasty side effects from this stuff. I officially have stopped taking all pills of accutane at the moment. I have been having some severe dry eyes which is starting to effect my work. Being that work actually pays for this treatment it is important to be able to continue doing it. My eyes within the last 72 hours have become so dry that I cannot even see a computer screen. I have tried numerous types of drops from standard artificial tears, to Celluvisc drops that are much thicker. My eyes feel just as dry as my face does, almost as if the eyeball itself is drying out. It is exremely painful and something that I would much rather have acne over than dealing with. I am going to stop taking all accutane for a period of about 72 hours to see if the symptoms resolve themself. However I am a little nervous about permanent damage as well you only have 1 pair of eyes. Most of the symptoms I have received have been somewhat bearable, but dry eyes to the point you no longer can look at any computer screen is a problem. THe only thing i can possibly think of is being that I have had a previous treatment session of accutane years ago is maybe im a more hypsersensitive to the drug and am receiving far to high of dosage for my body to take. Therefore has been stopped until symptoms reside.

I really do not want to have to stop the drug but vision is important. I have started to get much more tired, and my face much dryer. Even my eyelids right where my eyelashes are, is very dry and irritaed. Has anyone else experienced anything of this nature? It really is somewhat bothersome / scary. My bottle of eyedrops sits next to me eagerly awaiting responses.

Whoartthou I have not been on any antibiotics yet, but i really do not think they would be that effective for me. With the onset of these new side effects antibiotics will definitley be in the next conversation with my doctor. Or at the very least taking a smaller dosage.

[BMarieWantsNoAcne]

I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe you can try a much smaller dosage?

[JOHNTWINING]

Im now on day 12 of accutane, it seems like the spots that i get are much smaller than what i normally would? all of my side effects have subsided and i havent really had too much of an IB up to now (Touch wood)

sorry to hear that you cant continue bud

[whoartthou1]

If you ever need any support bro, I am here.

[IIIEXOCETIII]

Im Back! . Sorry have not posted a lot in quite some time so figured I would toss another update out there. 

 

In response to my above post I had mentioned that my eyes became very painful wand had to discontinue use of the Claravis I had been taking. The symptoms had gotten much worse a few days after I had stopped treatment, forcing me to go and see my optomologist. He said that my Cornea had been very inflamed due to the accutane and said that he is glad that I had stopped otherwise it would have gotten worse. However he also said that he does not think I shouldn't try the treatment again if I still need it. But instead of trying to solve the dry eye problem once it had started, rather try to prevent it before it gets that point as it is easier to control that way.

 

Now I also just walked out of my derms office, and have been instructed to cut my dosage in half. So the derm has now put me on 40mg a day rather then 80mg a day. From the sound of it next month we will go to a higher dosage if all goes well. I am a little nervous about his as I don't want to have to deal with the side effects that I was before as this really was quite painful. So first pill tonight half the dosage. Will report back and let you know what happens in the next few days. 

Edited by IIIEXOCETIII, 04 February 2013 - 01:32 PM.

[NoMoreDotToDot]

Good luck with the lower dosage. That must of been horrid re your eyes. Hope they behave this time!

[IIIEXOCETIII]

Thanks! I hope so too. Will post back in a couple days with updates.

[Samcro]

Hey guys, I'm in a similar boat and thought I'd jump in on this.  I too have just began another course of accutane, this time at 80mg per day also.  Im 29 and weigh 80 pounds.  I have been on Isotretinoin two 'sessions' before, the first time was over 11 years ago at 60mg for 9 months, this cleared me completely but I went into remission after around 3 months.  I believe that the acne actually got worse when it did come back - I suffered from it on my face, back, chest and ass; the only difference was I didnt get any on my neck anymore for some reason. I tried years of numerous ineffective treatments; just name it and I tried it - all varities of facial washes and exfoiliants, tea tree oil, witch hazel, african black soap, lemon juice, retin A cream, light and laser thearpy, antibiotics, drastic changes in diet, benzoyl peroxide, zince supplements, Vitamin B5, Ibuprofen etc etc etc.

  The second 'sortie' of Isotretinoin for me was over two years ago now. I opted for a lower dose for a longer period and went on 40mg for a year.  Though this did improve my complexion, some days were clear-ish, I was not 'cured' entirely. The good news is that my chest and back are entirely clear - but my ass and face remains! And so I have decided to give 80mg a shot - im currently on day 9 and all the usual side effects are well in force.  My face is very red, my skin is flakey, particularly around the rims of my nostrels; and yes the dreaded lips - though not cracking yet they are red with the border hard to define. 

  It is funny you should mention having problems with your eyes Exocet - I too had issues with this and bought some eye drops that did the job great, but i would have to carry them with me everywhere and use them a few times a day - there was one instance in particular, I was actually visiting New York, and was at the top of the Empire State Building, on a sunny day, when suddenly, my vision went!  I could not see for a few minutes.  I told my buddy and he laughed, but I assured him I wasnt fucking around, I couldnt see!  It was like someone had a flashlight directly over my eyes.  We sat for a while and my vision, though blurry for a few hours, slowly returned.  Anywoo I stopped the treatment for around 4-5 days and then resumed and I was fine after that.

  I know some difficult times lie ahead, particularly around week 4-5 where I found previously the initial break out would occur, my lips would take on a life of their own and my face would be very red and scale like but I'm determined to blast this acne condition out of the water.  If suffering from these horrible side effects for 4 months or so is the price I have to pay then so be it.  I have come to the realisation that this condition has ruled and ruined my life for over 15 years now.  Every encounter, every realtionship, every opportunity ive had during this time has been ruined by this disease, with my teenage and twenties years gone.  No more!!  Good luck all.

[whoartthou1]

any pics man??

[Samcro]

Hi all,

 

Thought I'd do a quick update on my progress with 80mg per day.  As mentioned above im 29 and weigh 80kg.  Im currently on day 13 and the side effects are in full swing,though last night and today the redness in my face has began to decrease.  My complexion, after just two weeks is also vastly better - I have very few 'new' spots with old ones receeding slowly.  The biggest issue I have at the moment is my lips; the corners of my mouth are cut pretty deep and will not heal regardless of how much cream, lotions and potions I put on - it kind of resembles red cold sore marks on each corner.  My eyes were also pretty bloodshot a few days ago but that now also seems to have subsided.  Another side effect I have noticed is an itcy scalp - cant stop scratching! 

 

Its a long way to go yet but I'm optomisitc that I'll get the results I want.  Its just a bitch of a time getting there!