Ugh it's so expensive here. If I go to a dermatologist up near my college (I go to school over 500 miles from home) it's $120 copay because my insurance won't cover doctors this far from home even though I go away to school. If I go at home I think it's $50 a visit. I think we do pay for bloodwork/urinalysis but I'm not sure what it costs because it goes through insurance before my parents get the bill I think? It costs me $35 a month for the pills, so yes this is a very expensive process for me :\ Sounds like Canada is better for this haha.
Day 44 -
Dry skin, dry lips, no new actives though!!! The left corner of my mouth is a disaster but I bought Carmex lip balm today and it's definitely helping already! My skin is very dry but seems to be clearing up the tiniest bit, hopefully it continues to! I forgot to take my pills today, just took one at like 10:30, is it safe to take the other before bed? I don't wanna do it wrong but I feel like it's better for me to take it late than to not take it, ugh I hate forgetting. I dyed my hair today! I don't really like it though, it's not the color on the box 
it's a very ashy brown and I wanted a redish/natural brown... I'll prob dye it a mahogany brown in 2 weeks. Is dying hair on Claravis ok? I never even thought about it until now... let's hope so, because this color can't stay. Only side effects that bother me regularly are fatigue and dryness, woo hoping for clearer skin soon 
Hey Kasey!
Wow, you pay lots of money.. but well.. its worth it, if you are acne free afterwards, right? Yes, in Canada I do not pay for derm visit (thats why its fast and he does not care much about me in details) and also all blood work tests are covered by province. I only pay for pills, that with insurance cost me about $65/month.
I wonder how your hair looks like. I am also medium dark blond with darker (greyish) roots.. I wanted to color my hair darker, little goldenish redish.. but I was affraid my hair will get more fragile as I noticed some thinning already. I dont want to scare you or be negative but be careful with dying your hair too many times while on Accutane as I was reading on other blogs where people hair started falling out more. However your hair might be thick and strong, so it might not be your case. This is the reason I decided to postpone it after Im done with accutane, even though my hair and roots and yelling for color.
Melinda -
My hair wasn't suuuper healthy considering I bleached it in early August but it's a pretty dark brown now and I love it, it's kinda dry but I'm using Moroccan hair oil and lots of moisturizing conditioner to try and keep it healthy. My hair is very thick and seems to be doing fine with the Accutane, I haven't noticed a difference other than just being able to get 2 days out of a wash.
Careful with putting ANY red in your hair, be prepared to pay lots of money to get it out. I am naturally blonde and had red hair this summer and it cost over $150 to make it blonde, and it wasn't even a nice blonde, it was bleached and gross looking.
Day(s) 45/46ish -
Soooo just started getting the dreaded arm rash. I'm very itchy and bumpy looking. Thank god I have a derm appt in a few days! Carmex is the best lip balm on Earth. Aveeno is crappy as far as moisturizers go, recommendations anyone? Also, is blistering easily a side effect? I can't wear any shoes with any kind of heel wtihout blistering like crazy. This giant pimple that started out as/still kind of is a cyst has been here for a week or so, is peeling, looks awful, and cannot be covered by makeup. This is awful, can this breakout end now please? I've had more acne these last few weeks than all summer combined.
Actually while I'm at it, here's a list of all the negative side effects I've felt:
- headache
- joint ache
- back pain
- dry/peeling face
- dry/peeling lips
- eye styes
- horrible IB
- blistering (?)
- worsening of acid reflux (better lately)
- fatigued often
- arm rash
- very dry eyes
- dry nose
Woooh isn't Accutane fun?
Day 46 -
Just got my period, it's a week early... but I'm on birth control so that's odd. Going to get my bloodwork today since I have no other time this week.... I guess that might be part of why I've been breaking out and cranky, I thought it was just the Accutane... I'm kind of relieved that it wasn't but confused, has anyone else gotten their period so early while on BC? I'm confuuuused! I didn't think that could happen.
I just ordered CeraVe moisturizer for dry and flaky skin. I read many many reviews and I narrowed it down to this one being the best. PLUS Its really inexpensive in my opinion!!!
I also have the Cerave cleanser as well. I hope with this and the aquafor for my lips that it will do the job!!
I have also heard great things about cetaphil.
Day 46 -
Just got my period, it's a week early... but I'm on birth control so that's odd. Going to get my bloodwork today since I have no other time this week.... I guess that might be part of why I've been breaking out and cranky, I thought it was just the Accutane... I'm kind of relieved that it wasn't but confused, has anyone else gotten their period so early while on BC? I'm confuuuused! I didn't think that could happen.
I love the CeraVe hydrating cleanser and their PM moisturizer. I'm only on Day 14 though, so I'm not sure how well that moisturizer will work later on in treatment. It is pretty moisturizing & I guess I will just use more once I start drying out. During the day I use Paula's Choice Hydralight moisturizer under my makeup & it's really great right now, but it is meant for combination skin, so I'm pretty sure I'll need to move to something more moisturizing later. I know CeraVe makes a daytime moisturizer as well. What do you wash your face with? It's something gentle & hydrating I hope... CeraVe hydrating cleanser and Cetaphil gentle cleanser are both great, but you'll need to use a washcloth with them to remove makeup or a separate makeup removing cloth (I use Boots Sensitive cleansing and toning wipes to remove makeup, then wash my face immediately with the CeraVe since my skin hates cleansing cloth residue).
Day 47 -
Omg I look like I'm molting, I am so flaky and peely, it's horrible I'm going home from college tomorrow for the weekend though, visiting the derm Friday and hopefully going to get a good moisturizer, if she doesn't recommend anything specific I'll deff try the CeraVe! I use Clean & Clear morning cleanser, it's just what I have and I'm too broke for anything else atm, hopefully when I get home I can get something a little bit more gentle/moisturizing because I hate this stuff. Currently I'm using an Aveeno moisturizer, it doesn't do ANYTHING. I got Carmex lip balm and it's AMAZING, go get some right now! Also, random but I'm a music ed major so I have to learn a bunch of random instruments and as gross as it sounds, blowing into the mouthpiece of the trombone is an awesome exfoliator for my lips, for some reason it's the only thing that gets them really soft... gross, but helpful!
My skin looks like crap though so heres hoping for some improvement!
Oh! And PS - getting that arm rash that people talk about... not sure what to do about it
Day 51 -
Still totally broken out but CeraVe has most of the peeling under control (thank god)
2 eye styes, both are really painful. The rash on my hands/arms is so dry and itchy, I've been putting the stuff my derm prescribed on it so I hope it helps. I missed like 3 pills in the last 3 days bc I've been so crazy with traveling... everything is a bit out of whack right now. My doctor recommended that I take occuvites, they're an eye vitamin I guess? I hope it helps with the dryness. Otherwise everything is going well. Thank god for makeup, I'd never leave if it weren't for makeup.
Hopefully things clear up soon.
I'll have to look at those occuvites because my eyes are really dry already. For the styes, have you tried a stye ointment to treat them? I've have a few styes in the past and that works really well. To prevent them, try using a night time eye ointment when you go to bed. It's basically sterile vaseline in a small tube. You squeeze a strip inside each lower eyelid and go to bed. The stye ointment is pretty much the same thing, so you could probably just get that & use it every night. Your vision will be really blurry with it in there because it's so thick, but it really helps with the dryness too. By the morning the blurriness will be pretty much gone, if not, just put some eye drops in to rinse it away.
Hi, read your log after you posted on mine. Month two is rough - don't worry, it gets (way) better! Never tried the CeraVe but use Cetaphil and have been really happy with it. Are you still using the Clean & Clear cleanser? As insane as it sounds, I would go for something gentler - I started using Aveeno Calming Cleanser the second I started Accutane and it's been great. I agree with you on the Aveeno moisturizer but the cleanser is great. Also in response to your question re blisters - yes! Accutane makes your skin very fragile and I found myself unable to wear most shoes without band aids. And if you haven't gotten on the Aquaphor train do it now! It is amazing for lips and dry skin. I cannot say enough good things about Aquaphor. And I actually can't say enough good things about Accutane at the moment - I know where you are right now and it is not fun. I was there and experienced all side effects in all their glory. But it takes time and I stuck with it and now I feel like I should do Accutane endorsements or something. It is amazing. I can't wait to see your skin once it has cleared up and the side effects get better. Hang in there!
Thanks for the replies!
Jesoli - I'll definitely try a sty treatment, these are really irritating!!! I've only been on the Ocuvites a few days but I don't notice a difference yet, but I'll give them some time 
Thirtyforthirty - Thanks for your encouragement I can't wait until month 2 is over haha, almost there! Hopefully things start getting better soon, I'm going craaazy. I know I need a gentler cleanser but I really don't have the extra $ for one right now :\ I try to wash my face only at night and rinse it in the morning. Ugh yeah the blisters are hoooorrible, I hope they don't scar too, that'd just be the cherry on top of this shit sundae haha. I haven't even seen many positive results yet and I already am in love with Accutane just from other people's success stories. I tried telling some friends about it though and they just think I'm crazy for being on such an intense medication for acne. Once my friends see my face after I'm done, they'll all be lining up to get some Accutane haha.
Day 53-
I can't get my chin to stop peeling but the cerave seems to be helping with the peeling elsewhere, yay! My skin looks like crap which sucks because I'm performing on stage tonight (gotta love being a music major) good thing the audience is kind of far away so no one can really see my skin... I hope. Did anyone notice an increased appetite while on Accutane? I feel like I can eat so much more (which is a bad thing). This time last year I lost 30lbs just because I don't like food at my college but now I feel like I'm gaining weight and like I have this huge appetite out of nowhere, and it suuucks. Clear skin + extra 30lbs = still ugly Ugh I can't win. Gym tomorrow, even if it does make me sore and tired with the Accutane.
Hi,
Just a quick words... I also had a rash on my hands.. and just got it two days ago when I ate... kiwis.. I was very surprised but understood my rash comes when I eat fruit with lots of vitamin C.. or just soar fruits.. When I ate 2 kiwis I got a rash in 5 minutes, i was shocked. So I think I got my first rash from apples, mango or blueberries.. Im not sure as I didnt pay attention to that.
About Aveeno cleanser.. I tried it and got lots of cystic acne. I also got cystic acne from Philosophy Purity Simple cleanser and others.. the ones that contain parabens, sulfates, soy protein or others.. so be careful of those, I thought its IB from accutane but was actually parabens and sulfates in cleanser I used.
Last thing.. about your side effect you mentioned -
- worsening of acid reflux (better lately)
What is that and how does it feel? I had some stomach pain one day and I wasnt sure what is it from.. Now I red your log and think maybe its something similar.
Thanks,
Mel.
Hmm thats interesting about the cleansers... maybe I'll try using something else for a while and see if it helps!
Acid reflux feels to me like, a hotness in the throat, kind of like food is going up from your stomach to your throat, it feels very full.. im not really sure how else to describe it. It's not like a firey burn but it feels awful and makes me very nauseous, I usually try to make myself throwup to relieve it even though that doesnt work. Try taking tums next time your stomach feels weird, tums are a good acid reflux relief for me and if it helps significantly you might wanna go to the doctor and see if you have it.
Just had a crazy night. I thought my contacts were in wrong all day bc i couldn't see... then when i went to switch them i realized it was my eyes... i didn't think much of it until i was in bed and got such an intense headache right behind my eyes that i couldnt fall asleep, called my mom and she told me to go to the hospital (why risk brain swelling right?) I have to follow up w an eye doctor tomorrow bc the only way the hospital could check my brain pressure was via a spinal tap and I was not feeling that. but ugh scary, no claravis until after the doctor tomorrow either :\
Also, I got my cartilage pierced in March and it was healing pretty well... but now it's constantly bleeding and crusty and the skin is actually clinging to the jewlery sometimes and I'm afraid it's going to scar... should I take it out? Why is the accutane doing this to meee?
Sorry this may sound dumb but what is non comedogenic? I've been breaking out A LOT since I started the CeraVe but it started before that so idk if its the Accutane or moisturizer. And the Aveeno just didn't moisturize enough, I was peeling and flaking like craazy.
Jk I googled what it means, yeah idk I've been breaking out badly since I started the cerave but right now I'd rather break out and let the acctane handle it and bury it in makeup than have flaky skin :\ bad trade off but it is what it is
Turns out my sore throat was actually a fungal infection in my throat caused by the Claravis. WTF. I've had like every side effect. I have 2 different types of rashes, one on my hands and lower arms and one on my upper arms, I have 'Thrush' in my throat, I've been on eye vitamins bc my eyes are so dry, and my night vision is almost gone. I'm having the worst chapped lips ever. My earring holes are closing and my cartilage piercing is like unhealing... I want clear skin so bad but another 4 months of this sounds like pure hell calling my derm tomorrow.