secretsky

Sorry for responding so late. I've been super busy over the holidays.
So how's your not picking going? You know I've been better at it. I'll tell you what I do. I am still breaking out terribly ( So I've been getting like 5-8 pimples every time I flare up and out of those pimples I'd ONLY stick to popping ONE and leaving the rest. So far I've noticed where I pick I get others coming up close to it and where I don't it clears up (knocking on wood). You  might want to try it out yourself if you still have that picking urge. It helps me because when I see the difference in how i can affect my own skin it motivates me to just not pick.
When I pick it actually looks MUCH redder. When I don't pick the pimples seem to linger a bit longer BUT i don't have the redness and the bloody 'cut' that you get when you pop. So the scar from the popping is staying much longer even though the pimple itself may be gone.

Not sure if this will help. But try your best not to pick and you'll see the difference.

What day are you on now?
I'm starting my 8th week and I don't see any improvements yet. BUT I'm really starting to think that I am the exception to the normal person on accutane. My acne is SO much more stubborn compared to others so don't let my experience discourage you. I was on accutane before and I was almost clear by the end of my first month. This time around however is just different.

Well, take care, and I look forward to seeing your updates.
Secretsky

Hang in there! i know its hard. But you need to really mentally prepare yourself for this. Accutane in itself has side effects and you may see your acne get worse before it gets better. I'm on accutane (second try at it) and my acne this time around plagued my right cheek and I too am embarassed to walk out. But unwanted stress will affect your acne even more, so try to keep your head high and think of this as a temporary 'sickness' that will be cured shortly.

Another acne sufferer on here had mentioned to me that we, acne sufferers, will notice the acne on ourselves and others but more than likely others won't even notice. I know that's easier said that done. But you have to try! I also have some advise for you, a guy likes a confident woman regardless if she has acne or not. SO be confident that your acne will eventually go away and actually walk out and go out with your boyfriend with your head high!

Be strong and you won't regret going on accutane. Just hang in there.
Good luck!!

Heitea...thanks for the pointers! I'll try to keep that in mind when it gets tempting to just push the suckers open. But I do agree with you to absolutely NOT touch the ones that don't come to a white head. I tried it once, and swore to never do it again. Another things I read on the internet is to only gently push the ones that no longer hurt and the white head is distinctly ready to just come out. I tried that the other day, and so far so good.

Brownilocks, I feel your pain, I really do! Unfortunately there will be good days and bad days ( I have to keep mentally telling myself that this is temporary and that it shall soon pass. Its hard to do that at times because these pimples just don't stop! But again, its temporary. Just try to keep telling yourself that. OH and try not to read anything negative about pimples and other people experiences with accutane. I started to do that, and boy did I get worried! It's just added stress that no one needs.

Right now, I don't mind the red marks as much as the swollen red disgusting ones. Right now I have 4 active papules/pustules and like 15 red marks from the older ones. Plus that nasty bump that just doesn't want to go away that's smack in the middle of my right cheek for everyone to see! Blah. I agree, acne is just totally CRAPPY!

Brownilocks, do you use anything else on your face? or is it just the wash and moisturizer? How many mg are you taking? I'm just curious. When I was in the US and took my first dosage I was on 40 mg/day and then at the end of my course I took 80 mg on some days. Now being over seas I am taking a lower dose of 20 mg/day. Over here you can just walk in to the pharmacy and get accutane! Its crazy, but in a way an advantage to me. SO since I'm not necessarily monitored my a doctor per say (well I went to a derm but he was going to give me cold antibiotics that I knew wouldn't work and told him i'd just take accutane, he said ok! weird) I decided to stick to a lower dose just because I'm worried about side effects and not doing monthly blood work. I plan to request blood work but not monthly. Again, its something I can go to a clinic to do without a doc request (I know, insane). PLUS the medication I'm taking is called Netlook. So its a different generic and am kind of worried how my body will do with it. I always get the feeling that not all generics are the same. Ok, I'm blabbing....soooo I was just curious because what you have seems very similar to what I have.

I have also been on birth control which is suppose to keep acne at bay for so long now. My derm in the US advised to stay on it to keep the acne away. Did your derm by any chance prescribe anything else for you to take with your accutane like antibiotics? My derm didn't in the US but here I got myself some cephalexin. I can't tell if it's working or not because I didn't start taking it when I started accutane but there was a time I noticed that the swelling of the acne did go down.

Sorry, long post.
In any case, you'll have good and bad days, but I'll be here to help you through it if you'd like! I started on November 15, so I'm almost a month in and a few weeks ahead of you. I know that no two people get the same symptoms but acne sufferers know how it feels and can always relate. Others may not. I had a family member say that its no big deal! Yeah right! Well to me it is. I was always the pretty one, and now with these monsters on my face it does make you want to feel like not going out. BUT we gotta keep our head high and believe that one day, soon, we will be acne free!

Well, take care, and keep in touch!
Good Luck!
Secretysky

Brownilocks,
I so feel for you! I am also on accutane (second time). My acne came back with a vengeance its not even funny! I too have noticed that what would normally be a cyst has now turned into a cyst/whitehead! I have also been starting to pick at my acne because it is sooo tempting to just get that junk out! I have this theory that if its already showing (white head) might as well push it out so that it can heal faster, right? However, i am noticing though that where i pop a pimple another pimple pops up right beside it or in its vicinity. SO...that has gotten me to stop picking at it.I have recently notcied this and I've only decided to do that this week. I now have 5 new 'white heads'. They are much smaller than i normally get them, but hey, they're still really annoying to look at. I'm leaving them alone to see how it goes.

Hehe, today though I have this pimple that has been on my face since August and it keeps getting a white head then going down, then getting another damn white head. Anyhow, it was oozing itself today and I lightly pressed on it (barely any effort) just to stop if from going down my face. Sorry for the disgusting details. I'm just praying (so damn hard) that I don't get another one popping up somewhere because this one is so persistent sometimes i feel like taking a knife and just cutting it off!

Anyhow, not sure if I helped, but thought I'd share my experience with you since you seem to have the same problem that I have.
Good luck!