spartan32

I have had acne for 12 years now.  I have used proactiv, murad, acne.org regimen, differin, retin a, tazorac, all of the "cycline" antibiotics, zithromax, bactrim, aczone, diets, and supplements.  None of these gave me the clearing that I now demand.  

At the moment, I am using BP in the morning and Tazorac at night.  My acne is not widespread but every single pimple that I do get is an under the skin cyst or nodule that takes weeks to go away and leaves a pitted scar. At the moment, I have 3 deep nodules on my cheeks and forehead. Because of this, my dermatologist has agreed to start me on a 5 month cycle of Accutane starting June 25th.  I just got eyelid surgery at the end of April so they want me to go to my 8 week follow up appointment with my eye doctor first to make sure I won't need a revision. 

I have started this log now as I am doing a "pre-accutane" routine.  In the past, I have used a product from Green Pasture called Blue Ice Royal.  It is fermented cod liver oil mixed with high vitamin butter oil.  Anyway, it is high in natural vitamin A (the magic accutane ingredient) and has gotten and kept me completely clear for months at a time on separate occasions.  My face literally stops producing excess oil and I have no side effects at all.  The issue is that I have gotten 2 staph infections on my face when on it and I think it could be related.  Maybe I am wrong, but for this reason, I can not use this product long term.

My Pre-Accutane Regimen until June 25th

2.5% BP Mornings

Tazorac .1 at Night

1 TSP of Blue Ice Royal

100MG Doxycycline (to prevent staph infections

I WILL be clear when I start my Accutane course from the fermented cod liver oil.  I am hoping that since I will be going into my cycle clear, that I will not have an initial breakout as my pores will already be clear.  We will see.

I see my dermatologist in 3 weeks and want to finally get on Accutane.  I just had surgery on my upper eyelid for a droop last week.  Most of the swelling is gone and I appear to be healing nicely.  I am of course going to tell my dermatologist about my surgery but I was wondering if anyone had any information on if Accutane is safe to use a month after surgery?  I don't want to waste the money to see my derm if the answer is going to be no.  

I stay 95 percent clear with a regimen of BP and Tazorac.  The problem is once every 3-4 weeks, I get a giant, underground cyst or nodule that leaves a pitted scar.  I am also almost 26 and tired of following ridiculous skin care routines.  Because of my age, my doctor told me that I can go on Accutane whenever I want.  

The only thing that I am worried about is the initial breakout as I am doing everything I can to prevent more scars.  I read that initial breakouts aren't that common but it seems like EVERYONE on this forum has a severe breakout that lasts for weeks if not months.

Does anyone have any tips to prevent this from happening?  Should I request prednisone or an antibiotic like Bactrim?

I got subcision done a week ago on a few of my boxcar scars on my cheeks.  During the procedure, I did not hear the "cracking" noise that most people claim to hear.  Does this mean that my scars probably won't respond?

Also, I have a few other scars which flatten out when I stretch out the skin.  This would mean that these are not tethered down and the scar can be attributed to a loss of collagen correct?

I am leaning towards DeepFX for my next treatment but wanted to get the most out of subcision if possible.

I keep going back and forth in my mind over getting DeepFX done to treat my boxcar and icepick scars.  I would be getting about 12 scars spot treated across my forehead, temples, and cheeks.  My doctor said I could see up to 85% improvement after 4-6 treatments depending on how I respond.  She also told me that if I want those results that she would have to use a high setting and create a lot of heat.  This would make the downtime pretty long and my scars would be red/pink for 3+ months and that is even with my pale skin.

I am having a hard time finding good reviews.  I have seen some but the majority of them someone has a big issue with something regarding the procedure.  I can deal with the scars being red for a few months but I am scared of things like additional scarring, hypopigmentation, and texture changes.  Can anyone here help ease my worrying or is this something that I just need to go ahead and try for myself?