Multi-vitamins while on Accutane

Hey all.

I have started taking a multi-vitamin to supplement my vegan diet, and I am not sure if I am allowed to be taking it while on Accutane. I think it contains beta-carotine. I am seeing my derm on Thursday, but I thought I would ask the members of this all-knowing org, as I am fairly sure that I am making a rookie mistake. I don't think there are multi-vitamins without vitamin A, or at least it's pre-cursors, correct? I am feeling fine, but don't really want to die. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Peace.

Are you keeping an accutane log?

I was just wondering, out of the people who are tracking their Accutane journey through an Accutane log on the org, have you told any of your friends or family about it? Would you let anyone in your life read what you have been going through?

Yesterday I was talking to my ex, and he said that I should be keeping note of how I am feeling, and how my skin is going, to make sure that I don't become depressed from being on Accutane (He was on it a couple of years back, and got quite down). I said that I was already keeping a blog, and that I had it all under-control. I really find blogging such a good way to vent everything, and perhaps stop depression from really taking hold, because there are so many people on the org going through exactly the same thing and who can inspire you to keep going with the treatment. I don't think I would let anyone else read it though. Not if they have never experienced bad skin anyway. Plus it's not the most interesting read- descriptions and locations of new actives etc. Hawwwwwtt.

I think it's a lot easier to chat to people that you have never met about insecurities and other problems that you may have, than people you see every day. Peace.

This is a story of a girl...

It's freezing cold. A typical winter night in Melbourne. I upped my Accutane dose today, and tomorrow is the Monash Uni after exams party. My ex-boyfriend is staying with me for a few days while he finishes off his Honours assignments. I need a job.

Hi. My name is Stacey, and I used to have flawless skin. Last year I went off my BCP because I thought that I had out grown my acne. Turns out I was wrong, and it's come back in full force. ProActiv made it worse. The pill no longer worked. Accutane it is.

I've been on it three weeks so far, and honestly, I was really excited about starting it. I had wanted to go on it back in Year 12, but the derm said that I would probably get quite fatigued, so didn't recommend it. But I need a fix. I want to find the person I used to be. I hate the person I am now. I hope at the end of this course I find what I'm looking for. And fingers crossed the IB has passed me by.

My lips aren't even dry. The Lucas' paw paw ointment is amazing. The corner of my lips are cracked and hurt sometimes. My back was sore while I was studying for exams. My eyes feel a tad sore, maybe they're dry. I love having hot showers and having tight, dry skin. I haven't needed to moisturise. My scalp has been a bit dry, but I've been using Neutrogena T-Gel, so hopefully that clears it up.

Tomorrow I'm dying my hair, so I look fresh when I go out tomorrow night. My skin is quite bumpy and red, but make-up should cover it up okay. I feel frumpy. My housemates are watching American Dad. They never mention my skin. I think it helps that I live with 3 guy friends. I can't really hide away from the world. My girl friends on the other hand don't stop themselves from bringing it up, or giving me advice. It's embarrassing, and makes me incredibly emotional.

Over and out.


Peace.

P.s- I tried to attach a pic, and it didn't let me. Said that I wasn't permitted to upload it. Advice?)

People who offer you advice on treating acne

My skin broke out badly quite suddenly, and I was really self-conscious of it as you could understand. I was trialling different ways of treating it with skin products, and I went back on the contraceptive pill while I waited for an appointment with the derm (6 week wait), but I found that there was no shortage of people who offered me advice on how to treat it, or others who just wanted to let me know that my skin WAS bad.

My grandma looked at me one day and said " Looks like you ate too much chocolate over Easter" (How is that a productive thing to say?). I had friends suggesting products (which was helpful), but they all started off the discussion with " I've noticed that your skin has been bad lately...", which made me even more embarrassed. I had one suggest that it's probably because I'm vegetarian. My parents announced to me one day that they would pay for me to go on Roaccutane because they had noticed that my acne had flared up. Did they think that I was unaware?

There is nothing worse than thinking (wishfully ) that people don't notice your skin, and don't judge you by the way you look, only to have people point it out, or suggest things to you as if you're not trying to fix it, or in case it had escaped your attention. The conversations are always awkward, extremely embarrassing, even when it's with close friends or a partner, and just makes me want to punch something in frustration. Or never leave the house again. Either way.

Do many people experience this? What do you do in such situations? What do you say to people like my Grandma? I wanted to tell her that it was most probably genetic so it was partly her fault, but I refrained.

Ahoy hoy from the land down under

Heya. I'm a 23 year old Aussie gal, and I love movies, crazy dancing, trying new hair colours, and drunken philosophical discussions.

I think I had been in denial about how bad my skin was, until my parents offered to pay for me to go on Roaccutane. I suppose I was too proud to go on it, I always saw it as a last resort. But after trying ProActiv, diet changes, the pill, every face wash and scrub under the sun I realised that I had no other choice. So I've been on it for a couple of weeks now, with no major side effects or break outs. That said, my dosage has been upped as of today, so time will tell.

It's good to know that there are people out there in a similar situation as me- not as in I like the fact that there are other people suffering and I'm not alone , but that there is advice that can be shared, and support when we all need it.

I've been a complete flake to my friends these past 6 months or so because of my skin, and I don't feel like I can really confide in them about it because they just wouldn't understand. I hate the way I've become so completely self-conscious and emotional, and how I take offense to such little throw-away comments. I'm already feeling better on the meds, knowing that it's worked for a lot of people (although from this site, I've read that it hasn't helped everyone). I feel like it's almost a chance for me to have a complete lifestyle overhaul, so I've upped my vegetarianism and am trying out being vegan, and I'm making sure that I exercise every day.

Drop us a line if you feel compelled. Peace x