@ kernel: sigh, tell me about it sista.

Day Who Knows? 43 or something

Quick update before i head off to Seattle! woop woop.

Here are the pics of that breakout. Broke out about 3 days ago, overnight, like within 10 minutes a bunch of cysts came out onto my face like popcorn! Most of the zits are still on my face, although the left side has become flattened, but still red. Right side looks like bubblegum.

2 cysts morphed into whiteheads, and popped in the shower. OUCH! and the one on my neck is quite deep, angry, and painful. This pisses me off, cause before, i hadn't had any zits on my neck for like 6 months!

Blackheads also popped up overnight.

Is this the dreaded IB?

DAY 48

UPDATE

Hey guys, its around day 48 , but i have to space out some of my pills, cause i couldnt get to an earlier appointment, im going to miss about 3 pills, but im spacing them out over 3 weeks.

Tonight im skipping a pill, because i thought it would be a good night due to some massive back cramping.

SKIN

Im not impressed with accutane. it hasnt so far gotten me any results beyond what i had achieved with mino or retin-A. In fact, my skin is worse, breaking out in large cycts along my jay, and on my neck. Still dealing with massive break out from last week. As soon as one pimple dries up, one replaces it. Ive broken out about 6x in the same spot on my left side this month alone. And twice on my right side, ive had bad breakouts.

Dont know if this is due to an IB, but because of my low dose 20mg, i think this is just normal for me, normal pms and hormonal acne. Like i said, nothing's changed with the frequency/severity of my acne.

This is leading me to become frustrated. My lips are dry/peeling. and i have back cramps. and im starting to lose faith that this is my "wonder drug."

Hoepfully I man up next weekend at my DERMO appt, and freaking SPEAK UP this time, and ask for an increase.

No Pics. im too depressed about my skin, maybe tomorrow.

On my day 36- I could have written this exact post. Everything will get better, don't worry!

On my day 36- I could have written this exact post. Everything will get better, don't worry!

What she said!

Don't give up now! I've read some logs where they took a while to clear up, but when they cleared up it was an instant difference like night and day. Stay strong!

@faith Hey there, nice to hear your encouraging comments!

@Chemist Yeah, what she said indeed!

@the sun ive read a lot of other stories on here similar to ours, its good to have this supportive environment. thanks for the encouragement.

DAY 49

Claravis 20mg

Fish Oil 1g

Calcium + D

Bcomplex

Glucosamine + Chondroitin

ACNE UPDATE

Right side of chin is finally calming down. Im pissed off though, cause until the breakout, i had gone about 3 months without any inflamed zits on that side, only whiteheads, and non-inflamed stuff. Now they left their nasty little marks on my face. Darn!

Still the large cyst, about as big as an eraser head on my neck. Has gone down, but a hard lump of puss is deep under the surface. Its a painful monster, I call it GODZILLA. On the Left side, there about 3-4 inflamed zits on top of each other, one broke the surface today with 2 heads, and probably a third underneath. The others are more like accessories to the crime. This area on my chin, on the left side, has had soooooo many break outs in the past month, lots of scarring, pitting, and hyper-pigmentation. I don't pick them, ever, they are so inflamed and they seem to build upon each other, so i'm not sure if the scars are permanent? or just temporary inflammation?

UGH im so sick of breaking out.

FUNNY ZIT award of the WEEk goes to........the zit behind my EAR!

What the Hell? why is the back of my ear breaking out? It also gets the inconvenient award. EARS are made of cartilage! how is there even enough skin, sebaceous glands, and pores to form a zit there?

any of my pimple poppin buddies out there got any weird zit stories?

weird accutane dream #2

this is a weird one guys, cover the ears of youngsters.

So i was flying to another planet on a little shuttle. the planet has a green sky. But im being forced to fly there as some type of punitive action or something. the shuttle crash lands.

fast forward, on this new planet/moon, i find a resort with a mineral spring or spa of some sort. I am pampered and my best friend is with me, we are wearing white bathing suits 60's style with those big Jackie O sunglasses. I wonder off to a cave with a hot sauna inside, and crystals in the ceiling, and purple water in little pools. and there is a young Captain Kirk naked. Making out with a hot male model.

and then i turn to my bff, and i say "see? i told you he was gay."

I wake up, disappointed that captain Kirk was gay.

weird accutane dream #2

 

this is a weird one guys, cover the ears of youngsters.

 

So i was flying to another planet on a little shuttle. the planet has a green sky. But im being forced to fly there as some type of punitive action or something. the shuttle crash lands.

 

fast forward, on this new planet/moon, i find a resort with a mineral spring or spa of some sort. I am pampered and my best friend is with me, we are wearing white bathing suits 60's style with those big Jackie O sunglasses. I wonder off to a cave with a hot sauna inside, and crystals in the ceiling, and purple water in little pools. and there is a young Captain Kirk naked. Making out with a hot male model.

 

and then i turn to my bff, and i say "see? i told you he was gay."

 

I wake up, disappointed that captain Kirk was gay.

Hahhaha omg I just remembered I had a couple of weird dreams too and they started when I was on accutane. Must have been last week when I had my last weird dream.

The only thing I pretty much remember was that I was drowning booze and felt really really bad afterwards and I thought I was going to die because I was taking accutane as well. Then when I woke up it took me 10 minutes to realise I didn't actually get drunk and I wasn't going to die XD

Yeah, that was pretty weird...

Keep on dreamin

*laughs* I've been having some weird dreams lately, too. I didn't connect it with the accutane until reading your entries.

Sorry you're still having to deal with the break outs. I'd definitely talk to your doctor at your next appointment about upping your dosage, maybe it would help? It couldn't hurt to bring it up.

Congrats on your A!

That Kirk dream is hilarious! I had a dream that this one guy who works at the grocery store, who is kind of boney is real life, was really muscular and chasing me around on a broomstick.

Weird zit place: Not while I was on accutane, but when I was ten, I got a zit sort of an inch away from my hip bone and when I popped it, it was like a bunch of confetti coming out.

I love reading people's Accutane dreams!

Hahhaha omg I just remembered I had a couple of weird dreams too and they started when I was on accutane. Must have been last week when I had my last weird dream.

 

The only thing I pretty much remember was that I was drowning booze and felt really really bad afterwards and I thought I was going to die because I was taking accutane as well. Then when I woke up it took me 10 minutes to realise I didn't actually get drunk and I wasn't going to die XD

 

Yeah, that was pretty weird...

 

Keep on dreamin

That's too funny!!! I had a dream VERY similar to that the other night... in my dream I was also aware that I was on accutane and thought I was going to die because of all the alcohal I had in my dream. How amusing!

Don't be discouraged or frustrated!! I definitely agree that you should have your dosage increased, I'm sure once you tell your derm how you feel and what you've been experiencing he'll understand. Hang in there.. it'll all be over soon!!

@ everyone. Thanks for the support. I like hearing about everyone's weird dreams and funny zit stories. keep em coming!

DAY 52

Claravis 20mg

Fish Oil 1g

Calcium + D

Bcomplex

Glucosamine + Chondroitin

ACNE UPDATE

My (.) started this week. UGH. Strange thing is, about 2.5 weeks before my (.) is when i start breaking out in those big, hormonal pimples. And it continues about til the first day of my cycle. then during my cycle, i clear up, but my skin is like super oily. And then i start breaking out again like the day after my cycle is over.

So being my cursed week, I broke out tis time on my EAR. ew! and it hurt. And a large, red hormonal zit on my forehead. I call it MARS, because it a RED planet.

Looks like the zits on my chin are clearing up. yeay!

Blackheads on my nose. heh, i picked em. got stressed out, and took my extractor tool to em. I overdid it once again, and now my nose is RED RED RED, peely, and sore. Ive really gotta stop this habbit. I dont ever pick my actual pimples, unless they bust themselves open, but I cant seem to stop with the blackheads on my nose.

WEIRD ZIT AWARD

goes to....... the one on my forearm. Yup, got a freaking pimple on my forearm. just thought it was an odd place for it.

ZIT QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Hey, how-come we don't break out on out palms or bottoms of the feet? answer correctly, and you win!

SYMPTOMS

PAIN, everywhere my joints are just like sooo creaky, and my back is immobile at times. my knees are like on fire. The back is from my peroid, and i think my knees are like from working out too much, but the muscle cramping in my legs, toes, and upper back, i think is from the TANE. all of this pain together is very intense for me right now, I actually feel nauseated by it.

oh and before i forget......

!!!!!!!BLISTER PACK DANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LETS DANCE !!!!

put on your red shoes and dance the blues

LET'S DANCE! to the song

they're playin' on the radio

LET'S SWAY!

while color lights up your face

LET'S SWAY!

sway through the crowd to an empty space

Ahaha. I love how it's your (.) like it's a dirty little secret.

I also can't stop picking my blackheads. If I get too close to the mirror and have clean hands, all hell can break loose.

On - I can feel for you with the accutane pain. Sometimes it makes me wonder how an 80-year-old with arthritis can cope ALL THE TIME. At least the aches will go away after accutane (hopefully.)

AAAND NOW - I have that song stuck in my head.

I love how you name your zits! I had a cyst that was trying to die once, then it seemed to come back to life. I wanted to name it Lazarus. I've never named any of my other zits, though. It would make them easier to refer to in my log, though.

@kernel, Lets Dance! do do do do do do doooooo do doooooooo.

@faith, Lazarus is an EXCELLENT name for a zit! it even sounds zitty.

Day 54

Quickie:

Broke out again, forehead, eyebrow, and INSIDE my ear. ew. feeling itching and tingling that can only mean more zits cropping up on the left(bad) side of my face.

Today i am massivly stressed with tons of assignments and a horribly constipated looking week ahead. This has made me into a non-stop eating machine.

Whole Body pain, still there, more sutle and achy than crampy, think ittle be gone tomorrow

Pictures coming soon, but nothing much has changed.

Good luck getting through this week. I don't envy you in the slightest.

Don't you just LOVE eyebrow zits? They're classy.

DAY 63

Claravis 20 mg S,T,TH,Sat

40mg M, W, F

Fish Oil 1g-2g

Calcium + D

Bcomplex

Glucosamine + Chondroitin

Hey everyboooodddddy! haven't had time to update in sooooo long! Wanted to have something change so I could write something interesting, and anyways, had like 2 weeks from hell at school where like everything was due, my face was Breaking the Hell out, and i was in a Baaaaaad-Arse mood. So i needed a little me-time, some tear-time, and a cooling off period. Im over it now! yeay, back to blogging

ACNE UPDATE

Main change......see my new med regimen above? Yup Yup Yup, I finallllly got my med increase! My DERM explained he wants to increase very slowly with me, so that I avoid an IB. And he thinks a too high dose will be too iritating for my skin. He also said that 2 months was only enough time for the TANE to push all that yucky stuff out, and thats why i was breaking out so much, and that it should start slowing down over time.

Lately due to all the stress at school, ive been PICKING all of my zits. making my face look a mess. I think taking the pics and posting them on this site was keeping me honest, and causing me to stop picking. Well, ive had a FIELD DAY on those zits. Gross.

EMO

Felt like Crapola the last 2 weeks. Stress, but not depressed. I just wake up not feeling like i have enough energy to get through the day. Dont know if this is due to TANE, or just the spring semester BLAS?

BODY

I hurt everywhere. ESP in my upper and lower back, and joints. Had this dull pain despite multiple chiro and massage visits for about 4 weeks now. SO i think it is the Accutane. Remember this pain from MINO, except MINO was waaaaaay HARSH. It seems TANE is much easier for my body to absorb/get along with.

How have all my pimple poppin buddies been doing out there? Any WILD success stories?

Yay! You're back I missed you! I think a congrats are in order for you increased dosage.

I feel your pain (literally) sort of like you've just been hit by a dump truck. I think almost everyone on here has been stressed with finals over the past few weeks, but it's fun to blame accutane on everything.

I hope that your new dosage gives you results soon!!

Your progress is awesome! I hope to have that kind of progress soon!

Good luck with the increased dosage!

@Ms.Panic: hey you! its good to see you on here, i really enjoy reading your page also. good luck on the home front!

@t.Chic: THanks bunches, i love all the positive feedback

@faith: thanks! p.s. your pics are looking really good!

Day 68

Claravis 20 mg S,T,TH,Sat

40mg M, W, F

Fish Oil 1g-2g

Calcium + D

Bcomplex

B-12

Glucosamine + Chondroitin

ACNE UPDATE

The mosquito bite on my forehead also had a WH underneath it, the whole messy complex fell off my face yesterday and oozed weepy puss for 2 days. EEEEEEWWWWWW! well im glad its gone, bc it was itching like crazy! Face looking slightly improved. Especially around the neck/jawline. Its like with the new increase, the cysts were sucked dry.

SYMPTOMS

Back pain more often. I just try and ignore it.

oh, and just a suggestion, dont try and lay out in the sun. Even if its 5PM and the sun went down, lying outside results in a freaking sunburn. UGH. what was i thinking?

WEIRD ACCUTANE INDUCED DREAM #3

warning, scarygory*yucky*

This one i know was caused by the tane, cause i had it while napping this afternoon, and i never have them when napping otherwise.

I was working in the ER of a local hospital with one of my classmates. A patient comes in, and its a small person, not like a real little person, but like an adult looking child. Creepy. so for some reason, im in charge, and the little person codes, and we intubate. Then she starts bleeding clear blood (weird) on the ground. We put her in a clear plastic bag (a futuristic life-saving one) and then i go to pick her up. She opens her eyes, and yanks out the tube.

I grab the bag and tell her she is bleeding everywhere, and run to the ER at another hospital down the street. Then i get lost in a maze of offices, all the wile trailing clear blood everywhere, and the little person telling me to put her down, she wants to go home, and kicking me.

I get to the ER, and the nurse is staring at me like, why are you here? and im like cant you see this person is dying? and she gives me an attitude, and doesn't help me. the little person is kicking me, telling me to let her go, all the while she looks like she will die at any moment, and the clear blood is spurting out everywhere.

i wake up, covered in sweat, feeling like i just ran a marathon.

Well, this is going to sound weird, but that one picture of you with the zit above your eyebrow - I actually stated reaching towards the monitor to pop it because there happens to be a pulsating twin above my eyebrow.

Niiiice dream - super sexy. I think the creepiest part is the adult-looking-child. Blegh.