Day 13
The drugs are working and very quickly. Skin gets really dry but Im really pleased with how much better my skin looks. No breakouts or blotches yet. My forehead is much less oily and much smoother. When I wash my face I dont feel so many little bumps!
I was checking my old log and I have almost exactly the same side effects as before:
Side effects this week:
-Joint pains! Especially in my lower back (on the right hand side). I had nagging injuries in my lower back for a while from weight training but the discomfort seems much worse since the tane so Ive stopped all exercise to try and recover and am taking some fish oil / glucosamine supplements. I think it is gradually getting better but need to be careful. My knees are fine this time though.
-Dry lips, getting dryer and dryer all the time
-Dry, flaky skin, weirdly on my ears a lot. Doesnt seem to matter how much I moisturise, within a few hours I am really dry, particularly around my mouth and top of my nose/around eyebrows and ears.
Im even wondering exactly what I wondered several years ago: if I could wash my face less each week and continue to moisturise every day?
Good luck to everyone
Day 20
All good so far with the skin, just a few small red marks but my face feels smooth and no whiteheads or any spots. Although, It has been really sunny here and I got stuck outside and went red and burnt very quickly! Hope others can be more careful than me
Side effects (identical to day 20 the first time around):
-Dry lips!
-I am dryer all over, do have to constantly moisturize and it is the same areas that get noticeably dry; all around my mouth, nose and area between my eyebrows
- My nose seems rougher, may be because of blackheads
- Joint pains have got much better in the last few days but my back is pretty sensitive and doesn't feel quite right. I haven't done any exercise in nearly 2 weeks, have been taking glucosamine and trying to sit with better posture. I want to go back to the gm but do not want to rush anything.
-Sore throat (strangely I had a similar thing at exactly the same time in my first course of tane but find it is hard to believe the two are linked)
Hope everyone is doing well!
Day 28
One or two red marks and small spots on my forehead but my skin feels pretty smooth overall and without bumps.
Side effects:
Lips going really dry all the time, need lip balm very regularly. Pretty sore if I don't
Although I get dry around my mouth, nose and eyebrows throughout the day I find that after getting out of the shower and moisturising a lot in the morning I don't need to add too much extra moisturiser.
Lots of dryness over my arms, elbows and hands so will need to moisturise more there.
Back is still a bit sore
My gums around my teeth seem to have receded a bit, which I wonder is because I am slower to heal?
Just under 2 weeks and I should double my dose...
Hi everythingthatshimmers,
Thanks for your message. I just checked back through my old posts and it was about a month after finishing my course when my side effects had improved a lot, particularly things like dry lips and eyes. Over time they faded more and more and I got less dry skin. I am still sensitive to the sun but its fine with sun cream. However, I did remain a lot dryer and with significantly less spots, which is what I wanted.
Really good luck, youre nearly there!
Day 34
I have a few red marks on my forehead which havent changed but skin is smooth and no real spots. I havent washed my face in 24 hours and its not very oily at all.
Side effects:
Lips need lip balm quite regularly
After moisturising my whole face, ears and neck in the morning after a shower I need to top up around my mouth, nose and eyebrows throughout the day
Dryness on my arms but OK with one lot of moisturising after a shower in the morning
Two main concerns: Been nearly a month of no gym and back still isnt right so will see my doctor soon although might not be related to the tane at all. Gums are a bit sore and receded but Ive been brushing them more softly which has helped.
One more week and then double my dose
Day 42
Same as before: skin feels smooth all over. Have been wearing sunblock so have a few small spots but hardly any really.
Side effects
As long as I keep applying lip balm regularly throughout the day, and thoroughly moisturize all over my face, neck, arms and hands (everywhere!) in the morning I am OK for the day apart from the odd top up.
Back is much better (5 weeks with only very light exercise so gained a lot of weight)...but still not quite right...
Have been more gentle on the gums and I think that has helped but must keep an eye on them
I may be one day early but will double my dosage tonight to 80mg (4 tablets of 20mg). Hope its not too tough for my body
Day 48
So far, this week has been fine on the higher dose. I might be a bit dryer but nothing too different as far as I can tell. I think my face is quite red but no really visible spots.
Side effects are same as before. Back continues to get gradually better and I think good posture helps. I will try gentle exercise and see what happens...gums are definitely weaker than before so I just try to brush really carefully.
Day 55
Skin is continuing to be good its smooth with only the odd little spot or bump on my forehead but looking clear most places! Really pleased and hope it continues like this
Side effects, since increasing the dosage:
Very dry lips I thought I was applying lip balm a lot before but now it is almost all the time!
Although my face and body is dry, as long as I moisturise a lot after having a shower in the morning I only have to apply a little bit extra during the day to the my face (mainly around my mouth and nose)
Dryer inside my nose (which can have some dry blood in it)
Dry eyes
Think it might be affecting my bowel movements but not sure...
Joints are OK, I went to the gym a couple of times this week and did weights and it was OK on my back (need to lose some weight having done no exercise for 6 weeks before!)
Gums have also been OK and I have been much more gentle when brushing
I am off to see the dermatologist later this week so hopefully all will be OK. Good luck to everyone!
Day 62
All OK. Earlier this week I went to the derms and met with a nurse who just asked me how I was doing. Got another prescription and an appointment again in 6 week, though they were happy to discharge me but I wanted to be able to see someone just in case. The nurse mentioned that if spots had started to disappear this early in the course then it was a good sign I won't need any more courses.
The nurse said just to be careful about over-moisturizing. Had never occurred to me I would be putting too much moisturizer on so from now on I'll moisturize the places I get really dry and will be very light everywhere else. I'm pretty sure if I don't thoroughly moisturize my body after washing I get a rash though, so will see.
Otherwise, skin is like before and pretty smooth.
Side effects are the same, very dry lips and quite dry nose. Joints OK (not great) but did weights at the gym twice this week and felt OK.
Day 76 (was away last week)
I was on holiday and spent a little bit of time in the sun and got burnt very quickly, I always forget how incredibly sensitive to the sun my skin is now (my facial skin at least). Even if its embarrassing, when I am out I have to always be in the shade or have a baseball cap near.
A week ago I had two small whiteheads appear on my forehead which was frustrating as I thought all the spots had gone. After a week they had faded. I also always seem to have little bumps under my forehead although way better than before and you cant see them.
Ive been moisturising a lot less on my face (particularly my forehead) and I dont think Im as shiny as before.
Side effects:
Very dry lips as normal, but manageable with frequent lip balm
Dry face and arms, but I always moisturise thoroughly after a shower in the morning and only need to top up patches of my face during the day (usually, nose/mouth/area around eyebrows)
Quite dry nose as its dry I have to fight the urge to pick the dry skin within the nose, as it has created some scabs.
Joints and back feel fine again, didnt do any exercise for the last week but did the weeks before so hopefully nearly back to normal after a long period of rest
Hope everyone else is doing OK
Back on page 2, I made a post about how I understand the cumulative dose to be calculated (remember to speak to your dermatologist though, I am not qualified and this is just a guide!). Im using this again to figure out when I should finish this time.
The target you need to reach is 120mg of accutane per kg of your bodyweight. 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 weigh 85kg and I should take 85mg for 120 days. This is a total dose of 10200 mg (120 * 85mg).
My first 6 weeks were on 40mg. So, 6 weeks (42 days) * 40 mg = 1680mg.
That means I then have another 15.2 weeks at 80mg. 15.2 weeks (106 days) * 80mg = 8520mg.
1680mg + 8520mg = 10200 mg, my total cumulative dose.
That is 148 days total.
By my guesswork I am 76/148.5 days and am now past half way. So, all being well, I should finish on Tuesday, November 12, 2013.
Notes for myself:
*If I was 90kg (5kg heavier) that equates to an extra 8 days of taking 80mg
**On my first course, I was on the lower dose for only 4 weeks (as opposed to 6 this time) but still took the pills for a similar number of total days; 147 days vs. 148 this time. Plus, I think I was taking a slightly higher dose of 85kg instead of 80kg. That would make my cumulative dose for my first course =11235. The difference between 10200 (second course) and 11235 (first course) is 1035, which equates to an extra 13 days of 80mg.
Day 83
All OK. Have been using much less moisturizer, particularly on my forehead. Skin seems OK, and mostly smooth without any spots. However, I think my forehead looks weird, maybe a bit blotchy and red/with red marks.
Side effects the same; dry lips frequently, patches of dry skin on my face especially on nose and between eyebrows and little dryness on arms. All manageable with decent moisturizing after a shower in the morning and topping up during the day. Back is OK and gums are OK so I'll just keep going...
Day 104/~149
Feels like I'm getting close to finishing now! Had another check up with the derm (actually, it was a derm nurse). They ran through some forms with me and they realized they hadn't taken any blood tests since I started!, so I'll need to do that this week. She said everything looked good - which is nice to hear someone say - and that it should take about 4 weeks after I finish for the drugs to flush out of my system.
I also have had a little white spot like thing in my eyebrow since very early this year. Looked like a small whitehead but couldn't squeeze it or get rid of it. I mentioned it to the nurse who said it was quite common and she used a needle to remove it. A tiny bit of blood and now hopefully it will heal over and be gone in the next few days.
Skin is fine, although I do seem to have a few little bumps under the surface of my forehead. Maybe they're just part of my head. Anyway, no spots and skin is smooth. Happy to look in the mirror these days.
Side effects: all manageable through regular moisturizing. During the day - dry lips, dry skin on face anywhere I touch (e.g. nose, or around mouth) and dry nose (which I always feel i need to pick). Joint pains in back come and go, I just need to stop doing wieght and do some cardio instead.
I'm getting there...good luck to everyone else.
Day 112/149
Skin on lower half of face is great. Skin on forehead is way better and mostly smooth. However, I still seem to have these odd few bumps and get the odd extra bump on my forehead (though I think that they fade). I didn't wash my face for a few days over the weekend so when I eventually did I had quite a bit of dry skin on my forehead - I forgot how sensitive my face is so when I was removing /rubbed my forehead to get rid of it I think I created a bit of a raw patch.
Also, the little white head that had been around for months - that the nurse removed over a week ago - gradually came back. I just pulled it off and seems to have gone again but I imagine it will re-appear...
Had my blood test late last week so await the results.
Same side effects as before: dry lips and skin, weaker joints (need to be careful about my back) but nothing that isn't manageable with regular moisturizing and rest.
118/149
Pretty happy with my skin, even bumps on forehead seem slight and not very visible. Have been washing daily but gently on my face and doing some exercise. Proper exercise is just going to have to wait til the tane is out of my system as my back just can't handle it too well.
Little white bump keep growing pack so I keep picking it away. No news on blood test so assume all is OK...
Normal,manageable side effects: dry lips and skin
I estimate about a month to go but could just count how many tablets I have left
126/151 (+2 days as I counted how many pills I have)
I counted how many tablets I have left and it is 2 more days than I calculated - I finish on Thursday 14th November. So a bit over 3 weeks to go...looking forward to finishing as this has been hard on my joints, especially my back.
However, I am happy with my skin and hope it stays like this when I finish.
Side effects are the same; dry lips and dry skin but OK with top ups of lip balm and moisturizer during the day.
Good luck to everyone!
132/151
Happy with my skin, although I have the odd bump on my forehead. Side effects are the same, dry lips and skin. I am a bit scared that I may have long term back problems and my lower right back continues to be sore, but will have to wait and see a month or two until after I finish. Not long now...
Good luck to everyone
140/151
Nearly there...happy with my skin, just have the odd bump on my forehead. Annoyed with constantly dry lips and flaky skin but its not that bad and is manageable. Have done virtually no exercise and back is feeling a lot better too. Just looking forward to finishing...
Good luck to everyone
