Day 118/140

No oil, not spots and feeling good. And either my side effects are reducing or, more likely, I have become very used to dealing with them, as mentioned above.

And I think / hope that the small bump between my cheek and nose is beginning to form into a head so I could squeeze and get rid of it. Have to wait and see.

I also realised that the pharmacy gave me an extra months worth of supplies by accident and Iam wondering if I should take a bit more as what really scares me now is the oil and spots coming back. Having said that it would be nice to have normal lips!

Day 125/140

Good skin overall, but in the last 2 days a spot behind my left ear and on my right temple. I wonder if itas due to a different home, eating crap/dairy, or because I am stressed and extremely tired. Annoying - why are they still coming?

Also, I was finally able to squeeze the spot Iave had between my nose and cheek, for 4 months, and a lot of blood came out. It was a mess but healed over in 3-4 days and I hope now just a red mark.

Side effects ok; very dry lips and generally dry.

Day 132/140

A week and a day to go, cannot believe how little time is left. The two spots I had last week both healed up in 4 to 5 days and now Iam back to having no spots on my chest, back or face. Same side effects as always; constantly dry lips and I cannot go without moisturising my face and arms at least once a day but no biggie.

So happy with my skin yet am terrified that when I stop taking the pills my skin will go back to how it was or wonat be as clear as now.

I'm glad to read that throughout your course you're having such great progress! Although I've only been off Accutane about a week I haven't broke out or anything (knock on wood). Good "post-accutane"luck!

Thanks NoTanSuperman, posted on your log!

Day 139/140 - Finish tomorrow...I hope

Skin is good but I got one new spot on the top right of my forehead, guess they'll always be a spot or two. Overall I am ridiculously happy with the tane course but worried about the oil returning and more spots coming back when I finish.

However, I am desperate to finish. Side effects are manageable but annoying and I long for normal lips again. Not to mention being able to have some drinks and going out in the sun! I am so tired all the time now with maybe a little insomnia and I wonder if it may be caused by the tane? All good so far just want it done with lasting success

Will keep updating

Day 141 / 147

Saw the derm and she was very happy with my results - clear on my back, chest and face. Even the forehead spot from a few days ago, after a little squeezing, had faded to just a red mark. However, there was a bit of confusion over the length of the course as I believed I was done and she thought I sill required one more week; she's the expert so I followed her advice.

She did say that it is so important to achieve the full cumulative dose to prevent remission. So one week, which makes no real difference to me, seems worth it.

On with the course, although hoping to finish soon!

Thought I might post on how the cumulative dosage works, or at least what I have discussed with my dermaPlease remember this is approximate and every case will vary, as will each dermatologist, and this should be a guide.

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The target you need to reach is 120mg per kg of your bodyweight.

I weigh 85kg so the total amount of accutane I need to take over my course is 10200 mg (120 * 85).

Another way of looking at this that you need to take the mg equivalent of your weight in kg (each 1 mg = 1 kg) in pills everyday for 120 days. So I should take 85mg for 120 days.

Itas really important to remember that if you start off on a lower dose to get used to the drug then those days/weeks will affect the total days needed to achieve your cumulative dose.

For example, in my first 4 weeks I was on 40mg daily and not 85kg. In a normal 4 weeks at 85kg daily I would take in 2380mg (85mg*4weeks*7days). 4 weeks at 40mg would take in 1120mg. As a result I would need to be on the course longer than 120 days.

so, i weigh 79kg, been on 40mg twice a day since the start (mid march)

I should be done in 120 days or 4 months then, correct?

I missed 10ish days due to a bad breakout (i was put on prednisone and told to stop for 10 days)

so 130 days for me?

also, i'm guessing that interruptions in the course dont really matter unless they are frequent and long

Hi krugoh.

THAnk you for your message and Iam sorry my post didn't help you.

You need to check the dosage your derm is working to but assuming 120/kg then 120 days is correct. I wouldnat be prepared to guess what counts as frequent or long let alone what the impact of interruptions would be.

Hi krugoh.

 

THAnk you for your message and Im sorry my post didn't help you.

 

You need to check the dosage your derm is working to but assuming 120/kg then 120 days is correct. I wouldnt be prepared to guess what counts as frequent or long let alone what the impact of interruptions would be.

I am on 20mg a day @ 80 kgs I weigh. BODY ACNE... Is this too little dose?

Hi logga,

Good luck with your course. The consideration should be the duration of the course (you do not mention yours) as discussed above. If you take 20mg but it is over a long period then you can still achieve the necessary cumulative requirement. Also, just because you are taking a dose at the moment doesn't mean it will always be the same dose throughout your course; your dose may be increased with many courses starting on lower doses to test the body's response before moving on to higher levels.

Have you asked your derm? They are best placed to explain their selected approach.

Day 146/147

No real change; delighted with skin and no longer embarrassed to show my face when Iam out. No new spots but dry lips and skin. I cannot stay on the pills forever and worry about the damage to my body but equally am scared of losing this skin that I am happy with.

Tomorrow night I pop my last pills with something like 130mg/kg cumulative dosage. Generic accutane has worked amazingly, my question is will its impact continue after I finish my course tomorrow...

6 days post tane

Popped my last pills on Monday night - still have the same side effects at the same level so need to moisturise and throw on the Vaseline for my lips a lot. Good news is Iam still not oily. I'm not sure if or when Iall have normal lips again!

I am a little scared as I have a few really small spots on my cheeks near my nose which was an old bad area for me. I'll watch and see what happens. I'm hoping for normal lips and no spots, just have to wait and see...

13 days post tane

Still not oily but not as dry either and the great news is that my lips are nearly back to normal! At most Iad need to put vaseline on my lips twice a day, usually just once.

I have had quite a few little spots pop up around my cheek/nose - like really tiny ones but they heal up in a few days. I do get the odd spot elsewhere but they seem to fade quickly. I know Iall always have some spots but I just hope they remain infrequent, small and for a few days only like they are now.

I think Iall have to wait for a few more weeks and maybe even months until I know if there has been a lasting positive effect but I hope this continues.

20 days post tane

I think a little oil is coming back but Iam still dry and happy. I'm not quite sure what happened but had a few alcoholic drinks one night and then my lips were pretty dry for a few days (though not as bad they used to be). Theyare nearly back to normal now.

Still get a few little spots but so far they seem to fade quickly.

One question- are you still extremely sensitive to the sun or is that improving?

Glad you saw improvement! That's very encouraging to me =)

Thanks missyjean130,

I try and keep myself out of the sun having burnt so easily when on the tane so i'm not really sure about my sensitivity. However, i do think it has improved and i am going on a beach holiday shortly so i'll update on the outcome.

have fun!! but wear sunblock just in case =x

34 days post tane

Skin still doing well. Get the odd little spot which then heals up quickly.

Just got back from a week-long beach holiday; used sun-cream/block over my face and body and my skin was fine. In fact of all the holidays Iave had my skin was the best it has been.

Considering I went bright red if I was outside for even a few minutes when on the tane I was ok on holiday and went from quite white (as you might expect from staying out of the sun) to getting some tan. My facial skin handled the sun quite well and this was bright, beach sun for quite a few hours each day for a week. I did get one big bump on my forehead but I think it was an insect bite!

Let's see what month 2 brings.

41 days post tane

Skin still doing well. Not really too much else to comment on.

Good luck to everyone.

48 days post tane

Skin still doing well. Notice more oil coming back but still so much less than before and no real lasting spots. I hope it continues and am very happy.

Will update more infrequently now unless something happens. As such it really lands the point that these forums may well be more likely to feature the negative stories or unsuccessful courses as those who have effectively treated their skin woes will spend less time on the site.

Good luck to everyone.

Hi jonboystyle, i am new to this forum and after reading your accutane progress i was just wondering what your seb derm is like now post accutane?

Hi all,

I wanted to come back and post as it has been over 5 months since I finished my tane course.

My skin is good and I hope it stays that way. I get the odd small spot but nothing like I used to and Iam no longer horrified of people looking at my skin. There is the odd dry patch but not as flaky as it used to be. The oil came back although I don't think it was as much as before I wish I didn't get it. My lips are slightly dry sometime but that may just be the winter conditions here. I think those are small issues and overall the results are very positive.

Like I said before, this post really lands the point that these forums may well be more likely to feature the negative stories or unsuccessful courses as those who have effectively treated their skin woes will spend less time on the site.

Who knows what happens in the future but I am extremely happy I took the course and wish I had done it much sooner in my life.

Good luck

It has nearly been 1 year (11 months) since I finished my course and the good results continue. As I said a while back; who knows what happens in the future but I am extremely happy I took the course and wish I had done it much sooner in my life.

Good luck!

Hi,

It has been 5 years since I finished my last course of Isotretinoin in 2008. In early 2012 I started to notice lots of little bumps under my forehead and my skin seemed to get gradually worse and more oily (even so, my skin has remained way better than it ever was before taking isotretinoin). Over the next year I tried several creams and over the counter stuff but it didnt work very well and as soon as I stopped the spots were back. So in early 2013, I went to my GP who referred me to a dermatologist. I went to one who was really terrible, said I didnt have a problem and to wash my face and prescribed me antibiotics - the antibiotics did nothing. A few months later, I went to a second dermatologist and who prescribed me roaccutane on the NHS. It worked so well before, I am pleased to be back on it.

Im now on my second course which I understand is fairly common. Like last time, Im going to keep a weekly track of what happens in case it helps anyone.

Day 6

I started on Tuesday 18 June with a half course of 40mg for the first 6 weeks and then move up to 80mg if blood tests are OK.

Today is the first day I have had any sort of symptoms as my lips feel very slightly dry. My face has also gone quite red, like I've been in the sun. Otherwise, early days!