Day 96

Good day

Day 97

Went to the derm and I'm really feeling down now. He said it's going well... but he extended the course by an extra month. So I have 2 months left, at 40mg a day.

Really really feeling down because in my mind I was always going to finish on day 120...

Well. I decided, since I took this extra week at 20mg a day there's no way I'm not counting this as week 1 of month 4... I will take 40mg today (20 this mornin, I'll take 20 tonight), and I'll say I have 3 weeks left of this month.

So..

49 days left. Jesus.

Also I'm going skiing supposedly in March, extreme cold and close to the sun, and the derm is like you must avoid sun! I forgot to tell him about skiing, and I forgot to ask about the protein.. everything pretty much went from my head after he said I should do an extra month "to completely remove it".

He told me I should start moisturising more often and using vaseline for lips more often because I will get drier... I arleady moisturise really often. i duno.. If I go skiing next month there's no way i'm letting these stupid pills interfere, I'll stop them a week before and for duration of holiday I don't care anymore.

I'm just happy that its the weekend so if 40mg doesn't act too friendly with my face I can hide away in my room WAAAaaahhhh.

40mg a day seems really high to me after taking 20mg... is it?

just popped the second pill of today...

do you guys think the side effects will be a lot more profound now or will there be another IB? remember i've been on 20mg for 3 months already. If my face is gnna get much drier i don't know if i can handle it.

if anyone can give their opinion it'll be much appreciated. These past few days my dry skin has been very mangable, becoming only "bad" immediately after I wash face.

Hey you, when I went from 40mg's to 60mg's I didn't think I was going to break out and I did. Not anything compared to the first IB but I still had a little break out.

Depending on your weight 40mg's should not be too much for you. I weight about 120 and I am on 60, she said that is my maximum I can go up to for my weight but she said if my acne is still hanging around next month she might put me up to 70 and see how it works.

If you notice you are having any problems on the higher dose just let your derm know and they will more thank likely take it down a little.

Just a note to your going skiing thing. Just get a really good sunblock and keep your face covered as much as possible. I live in a city where the winter never gets warmer than -20 and can be as cold as -50 for weeks at a time and I find the only think I have a problem with is dry lips.

Also let you derm know about your trip. They might have some good advice or tips for you while you are out there and on accutane.

Hope you have fun on your trip in March!

-Mandy

Day 98

So far so OK. I am a little bit drier than I was these past few days, but its only around my mouth and chin (which has strangely always been the place where I get most dry). I've had 1 bump on my right jawline these past few days, it's kinda at a standstill, and still got a couple of bumps on my forehead. Plus yesterday I got 1 sprout up on the side of my LEFT eyebrow (had a major 1 on the right about 2 weeks ago) but it seems to be going down already.

Other than that, nothing different so far... but probably too early to tell. I haven't taken my 2nd pill today yet. Taking 1 in the morning and 1 in the evening.

Hey rai, thanks for replying. Trip isn't 100% yet but I really really want to go.

Hmm but you do get dry skin etc right? Because my skin gets dry here where the coldest it gets to is 6 degrees and that is COLD for us lol. Maybe I have more sensitive skin

I don't know what I'm going to do if the trip does happen... Maybe stop the pills altogether a week before and for the duration of the trip... Aahh I dunno! The thought of having to be constantly moisturising while on holiday isn't too appealing... I wonder if stopping the pills a week before would be enough time for my face to stop constantly drying up?

Day 99

So far so good! COping well! I keep applying moisturiser and lipsalve and so far my face has been better than it has for some days! AS long as I don't forget to reapply often I think I will be fine (so far). Maybe 40mg will be good for me.

I'll try keep my posts short and then post a big one on day 100 about pretty much everything up to this point.

Oh and I don't know how I got to that 49 days left conclusion but basically i ahve till day 150

so... 52 days to go. kind of like being bak on day 68 on 120

Edit: oh shti jsut realised lol I did day 97 twice. LOL thank god for this log because even with it all written here I can barely keep track! So 51 days left! woho!

Day 100/150

100 days on accutane. hmm I know I said i'll make a long post but I'm not really sure what to say anymore.

I've been on a low course (20mg first 3 months, 40mg last 2 months).

Side effects (common):

Dry skin, dry lips, occassionally dry inside my nose but no nose bleeds. Some days my face will be so dry that no matter how often I moisturise it starts flaking minutes later. Some days I hardly even need to moisturise. Lips are different. I ALWAYS need to apply something on them. As long as I remember to then I have no problem there.

Side effects (strange thigns I experienced once or twice):

In the first week I got insommnia for several days. My face was incredibly itchy, too. Occassionally over the course I would get a bit of joint pain that would last a day, but nothing much. I probably wouldn't even notice it if I wasn't on the lookout.

How its worked:

Well At the start it made me a lot worse, I started getting whiteheads and I don't know what. Then it started getting better. I would say its two steps forward one step back. I would have some days of bliss followed by some.. well not so blissful days. You just have to weather the breakouts and NOT touch them. I am now definiely 1000 times better than just before decutan, which is when my skin really took a turn for the worse. Hopefully this next month and a half or whatever it is finally finishes it off.

My Advice (not necessarily correct):

Avoid mirrors unless you have to, and then only use ones where the lighting is flattering. I only say this because catching a "bad" reflection can really damped your spirits and lead to picking at the face etc.

Always try to keep a positive attitude. If you breakout, look at it as "your last breakout". Look at it as your body pushing the last of the acne shit out. If it happens again... same thing.

If you get too self conscious at social events (LOL social events I never wrote that word in my life, ok when you meet friends or parties and stuff) then I would avoid them until you feel comfortable. Not telling you to become a hermit, but its only for some months and getting ready for a party makes ME really critical about my face. In fact the only times I really picked at my face during the course was before something like that. If you feel your face is doing ok then go for it.

Have a friend or 2 to talk about this with and rant etc etc. SOmeone you can meet even on your worst breakout, and meet them and try do things to take attention away from acne.

________________________________________________________________________________

God ok that was long. There's no way I'm reading through that (you guys can enjoy! lol) so please excuse typos, etc,etc.

As far as today... skin still pretty much the same. However, my mouth area today is sort of going crazy flakey. No matter how often I moisturise,,, it flakes. Hopefully its a one off.

God 50 days to go! Seems like eternity! Well it would when I always thought I had 20 days to go.

Day 101

Face not as dry as yesterda, but still pretty dry compares to 2 days ago. I've had days like this even on 20mg, in fact much worse days, so I'm trying to keep calm and I expect it to pass soon.

These are my current pimples:

1 lump on right jawline (been there quite a few days now, is slowly going down methinks)

1 small lump below right ear (painless, not worried, going)

1 small lump to the side of left eyebow (painless and going, not worried)

1 lump on top left corner of forehead (painful, and annoying)

That's it.

Honestly I had hoped I'd be 100% clear by now but I guess that's the drawback of being on a low dose. Hopefully once these last 4 are gone, that'll be the end. Mainly I wnat that jawline one to go, because it's the only one that has me scared. My jawline was the worst before starting accutane, and now its completely cleared other than this 1 lump (and red marks but that's another story). The forehead pimple I can hide with my beanie so that's no biggie.

49 days to go... well probably more, because I wil porbably stop the pills for my skiing trip. Spirits bit low lol

Day 102

early to post but I need to rant.

god damnit. FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK.

I am so pissed off right now with my dry skin. Its just one area, around my mouth and chin. I am literally having to moisturise every 15 minutes otherwise it looks like I'm rotting away. And it BURNS now from the constant moisturising. AGHH.

If that doesn't improve in the next day or 2 I am seriously considering stopping the course. Really .. today, I;m finally feeling fed up of these bloody pills. At least the jawline bump is going down. I don't know.... is it normal to get dry patches in just one area? The rest of my face is fine. Even my lips are hardly dry. But my mouth! WOW! its unbelievable. I've experienced this before at 20 mg BUT I don't think to this extent... and it always stopped after a few days. HOpefully this is just the 40mg having a temporary effect. IF not... GOOD RIDDANCE ACCUTANE.

End of rant

Don't freak. Everyone experiances the patches of dry skin.

Currently my dry patches are between my eyes, all around my mouth, right side apple of my cheek and the right and left side of my chin, and they are patches ranging in size from a dime to a quarter.

But hey if you want to quit because of dry skin bothering you, then do it.

hey, just hang in there. Rant and rave but don't stop at this point, not for this. You are almost done!!!

Day 103

lol oops feeling embaressed about yesterdays post.

Dry skin is not as bad as yesterday thankfully. By the time I washed my face in the evening my face was burning , I think because of all the moisturiser .

Today its much better. Not 100% yet but definitely an improvement.

The lump on jawline is practically gone, just the last bit of dryign up. Also the big lump on the top left hand corner just sort of popped on its own while I was walking home. Thankully I was wearing a beanie so no1 could see. Now its going down dramatically, it just looks a bit messy. But thankfully, again, beanie to the rescue. Will try not to freak out again!

I am def. going skiing ! Probably 10th march, and for like 10 days. Sooo worried about my face drying up

Day 104

aaaaaaaa lol severe dryness returned yesterday noon and has still not yet gone. It is around my mouth and chin. Literally, every 15 mins it looks like that area is covered in "dandruff". And its not superficial stuff tht comes off easily, when i put moisturiser over it it just looks shiney, like the dryness doesn't vanish.

I'm gonna make an appointment with derm i think next week and speak to derm, because I can't really "go on as normal" like this. It looks scary. If it doesn't stop I really think I will stop the pills. I'm pretty much pimple free other than red marks. Just 1 place nxt to my left eyebrow feels like it might produce something, becuse its painful when i touch it.

AH well.................. Strange, cos the rest of my face is not dry at all!

It looks scary.

This made me laugh. Dry skin just doesn't fall into the "scary" category. I promise.

I bet it doesn't look as bad as you think. Seriously, you've made it this far. What are a few weeks of scary dry patches compared to a life-time of no acne? You can do it.

Day 105

Dryness is slightly better... but still not comfortable. Also, I ahve a weird whitehead on my left cheek. I say weird because its barely a bump, feels very superficial like it'll go down soon (I hope!). Its so annoyign to be in month 4 and not yet clear.

I think I will stop the pills for my holiday though and about 10 days before I leave, i don't mind then doing an extra month but I just want to be stress free for this trip. hmm... other than that weird whitehead (which is actually scaring me a little, my cheeks are doing so well I will flip if they break out) I have nothing new. The bump on the right jawline is virutally gone, just feels dry where it was. The only danger zone is to the left of my left eyebrow, i can feel something beneath the surface and it hurts when I touch it. expecting that to rise into a monster sigh... It honestly feels like it's never going to end.

I just hope that if i stop 10 days before the trip It;ll be enough for the dry skin side effect to go or at least be minimal.

lol emeny no you'r right a bit of dry skin doesn't. But like this morning when I woke up, I coudln't even see my skin beneath the dryness around m mouth. It was that bad.

Day 106

dryness is improving each day. It's so strange, because the rest of my face has 0 dryness, except a little when I wake up. It's just around my mouth that's causing a problem. But its not so bad today.Other than, got some small bumps on the left of my left eyebrow, and that 1 pimple on my left cheek.

Also experiencing a bit of backpain today.

What kind of moisturizer are you using for your face, TMJ? Perhaps changing moisturizers would help decrease the dry skin and make you feel more comfortable. I know having an itchy face sucks. I've heard Eucerin Redness Relief is good, and it has an SPF of 15. Or possibly a Cetaphil moisturizer would be good; I think they have one with an SPF of 50. And then I've always heard great things about CeraVe lotion. I'm not sure that it has an SPF, though. I use an Aveeno moisturizer with an SPF of 30, and it works well for me, but I'm on Bactrum and not Accutane, so I'm not sure how it would do in your situation.

Backpain, now that I will not laugh at.

Day 107

I'm almost afraid to admit it for fear it might return but I believe the extreme dryness has passed, or at least is 90% better. In fact, I did change moisturiser a few days ago from Effaclar K to.. something called Toleriane. Both of La roche-posay. But I think I may change back to effaclar K, because this one seems to be making my face greasy.

Spot on cheek isn't healing as nicely as I'd have hoped, BUt it is going. The left of my left eyebrow is the real problem now. Still got a couple of bumps and 1 of them is SUPER painful. I mean it HURTS like mad at the slightest touch. Funny thing is it hardly shows. But I can feel it alright.

Booking holiday is turning out to be difficult lol. I phoned the travel agency and tried to see if they have from 10th onwards, and apparently the earliest is on 13th, and I was meant to call back by 5 today because apparnetly today is the deadline but I didn't find that out until 430pm, while I was at a Uni lecture.

My friend (who lives in the country I;m going to) is now checking with the other agency there for the skiing trip because we aren ot sure if it is on fixed days or whether we can choose the days. If we can't choose, then I think we're gonna be in trouble! Because if I can't get that 13th flight, who knows when the next one may be! AAAAGHHHH!

Praying this turns out well. I really want to do this.

kinda worried.

lol

Oh my eyes have been irritated alll day! So annoying! And I have large pores! LOL

/end_bitching

Yo my friend Lol im on day 11 does these pills really work?

im taking 30mg per day for first month

i will take 60mg for 2nd month and 3th month

i know i will take alot xD but i asked for them

cause she told me if i do 6 months from now i cant go swim/stay under the sun

and thats was my biggest nightmare i mean Come on man no Sun no females

no FEmales no fun lol

w/e im still at day 11 not seeing any big changes how much i need to wait to see changes ?

oh and i dont really use efeclar is that bad i mean is that gonna make any chnages

Damn this pills im only at day 11 and they are gonna kill me just lost a massive party for these gays :@ w/e Good luck with your acne

the most think i hate in this word --> acne xD oh and gays haha cyaas

Day 108

no time to post but i just HAVE to say

no dry skin today!

as in 0 0 00 0 0 0 dry skin.

0!

i only moisturised morning and now b4 bed. and 0 dry skin.

ahhhhh

forehad bumps still der. One of them was filled with blood and it exploded about 1 hr ago on its own after i washed face and i dabbed blood away and its much smoother.

Day 109

all good other than the bumps near my eyebrow. that top one in the corner of my forehead keeps popping and bleeding on its own mmmmm.

dry skin VERY minimal. Again only had to mositurise in d morning and now after shower.

got a few pimples on my back, very few and im not worried about them, plus they don't show cos I don't walk around topless

Day 110

aaaaaaa dry skin is back!! not as bad as before but it doesn't look promising! And i have abig party on sat and a lot of hanging on this party and if i have dry face i dont know what ill do!!

still gently breaking out on my temples. thats d only word i can think to describe it. theyre not big cysts or pimples, but theyre annoying. i think its the final purge, because i don't really rememebert ever getting spots there during the course until now. Hope it is

Day 111

why does my skin decide to look crap(er than usual) now?

Got little breakout going on on my forehead, 1 pimple under right ear and 1 pimple to the right of my right eye. Plus complexion is crappy. Can this all be cured by tomorrow?

Yeah Right.

Damn you acne. Damn you. You're ruining my life

I hear you on the acne ruining your life. I work really hard at trying to ignore it. I've gotten pretty good at it, and the better I get, the more I realize that no one actually cares. I've got great friends who just want to spend time with me, not appraise my skin. Luckily!

It is super hard, though. Especially when I'm used to having clear skin. Ah well. Things change which means they were great once, they suck now, and they will be great again.

Keep going...

Day 112

hey thanks ye i kno what you mean. I think it's hitting me harder now because I'm half way through the fourth month and I'd always thought i'd be 100% clear by now and i'm not.

Nothing new to update today. Didn't mention before but I have 2 large painful spots on the back of my neck they've been there a few times and they hurt like mad.

actually there is an update.

my forehead and temples is broken out in small cysts and whiteheads.

FCK

Day 113

went to party last night and was extremely self conscious about spots. But I guess it's natural to be when I'm gping throigh my 40mg "initial breakout" (or at least this better bloody be it!)

Luckily no new spots today... and the others seem to hv settled... oh please let me be clear for 13th march.

Oh yeah did something bad last night. Got home at 1am and took my second pill then cos I hadn't taken it earlier, and this was after having 2 drinks at the party (jack coke and something strong) I don't even know why I drank them. But I drank a liter of water when I got home lol. Oh well so far it hasn't seemed to have any negative effect.