Day 29
Today I had my blood checked. The results aren't in yet. My derm said he will keep me at 40mg x day because of my lower back pain. He thinks its a reaction to the Claravis. I think so too because normally it goes away by now and the pain wasn't associated with a workout at the gym.
However, the pain is dissipitating so, I expect next month, I will move up to 80mg x day.
No new acne today. Assuming, my blood work comes out fine, I should buy my next pack of Claravis tomorrow or Thurs.
Day 30 Second Month Begins Today
Another $341 for my Claravis. My insurance kind of sucks, but I will write it off next tax season. KEEP RECEIPTS. READ: IRS PUBLICATION 502 2011.
So, my lab work was ok. My cholesterol was a bit high, but oh well, c'est la vie.
Today, no new acne. My back feels better, but my derm said if my pain persists, I may need to stop the accutane. I will take some ibruprofen to abate it. Also, if my cholesterol continues to rise, I may have to stop for a few weeks and then restart. My derm believes that the Claravis will work well for me.
Recap of my first month:
1. Day 5: Lips are noticeably dry. Lip ointment is used every day since.
2. Day 10: Face is significantly dry. Moisterizer is used to help with the dryness. Henceforth, waking up with dried blood on my face's acne became almost routine.
3. Day 13: First initial outbreak of acne (IB) occurs. I experienced 4 new pimples.
4. Day 15: First noticed that my sleep cycle was beginning to change, getting sleepier. Lower back pain began which my derm believes is a side effect of the Claravis.
5. Day 16: First noticed severe flaking of the skin on my face. This flaking has continued to present day and has spread to my earlobes.
6. Days 20-27: Experienced outbreak of about 1 new small pimple on average about 1-2 every other day. Fortunately, they went away about 1-2 days later.
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Oh my gosh - that's so expensive! My insurance sucks too but I only pay $8 for 60 40mg pills per month. Well - at least I did last year. I'm nervous to see what my prescription will cost this month since I'm in a new deductible period. My derm appointments and lab work are going to be paid out of pocket this month too so that's easily $500 just for my doctors visits. Oh well - just another reason why I wish I hadn't started this ages ago.
Day 31
No new acne development. My back feels much better. It feels to be about 95% stronger.
I will research getting a better insurance policy. Although, I doubt many will take me now that I am on a fairly routine and expensive medication riddled with the possibility of major side effects.
I met a client today and I forgot my lip ointment! My lips were sooooo dry. It was almost getting painful.
Overall, today was a good day.
Day 32
My lower back is a little stiff today, but not much pain. I am taking about 400mg of ibruprofen.
No new acne today.
I woke with a healthy chunk of dried blood over two pimples on my left temple. If I pick at it, I know it will bleed some more.
So, I have to walk around with dried blood on my face.
Day 33
No new acne today. However, I have about 7 pimples on my face divided between my temples. They are all relatively small. Though, they feel like small pebbles under my skin. They are all left over from my first IB on Christmas Day and in the first part of January.
I have a few pimples on my scalp, but its hard to find them because of my hair. I still have two cysts on my neck. I've had these since November. One of the greatest things about Claravis so far is my dry smooth skin! I am happy that my face isn't glossed up like it just came out of an adult movie.
My lower back feels better today. I've been taking about 400mg of ibruprofen 2 x day since last week visits' to my derm. As I work out, I am feeling slight pain in my biceps.
Day 35
I have one new pimple forming on my forehead. It feels a bit painful, but I don't think it will be anything major.
Tomorrow, I start my first day of my second semester of graduate school. I have an internship that I have to attend a few days out of the week too.
Hopefully, the Claravis gods will be kind to me as I present in front of various groups of people throughout the next weeks.
Day 36
Today was my first day of my second semester of grad school!
Things went well. I felt very comfortable speaking with the many female students in my class without wondering what they thought about my skin.
This task is easier when you are drunk. Females can be intimidating at times.
Tomorrow, I will go to my internship where I conduct psychological therapy.
Today, a new pimple developed in the folds of my right ear.
Day 38
I woke up noticing that a small pimple on my left temple area and grown twice as big since yesterday. It should decrease down in about a week.
My back still feels a bit tight from time to time. The biggest struggle these days is for me not to forget my lip ointment.
Day 41
Haven't posted in a few days because I've been very busy with school starting up again,
I still have a very inflamed pimple on my temple. My back feels tight at times.
My skin is still flaky. At school, I have to brush off the flakes from my shirt so I don't look weirder.
Day 48
My back continues to hurt. It feels stiff. Some days are better than others.
I had a major pimple on my temple for about 9 days. Today, it has shrunk down significantly. Other than that, I haven't had any new acne in many days.
I apply lip oinment about every 2 hours when I am awake. My skin is usually always flaky.
I have been busy with graduate school, work and my internship.
Day 52
My back feels better today. My skin is looking better. In about 1 week I return to the derm.
He may up my dose, so I may have a new outbreak.
I haven't done anything about getting a new insurance. I have been too busy with grad school, work and my internship.
However, due to my back pain, I have worked out less. So, I have gained about 5 pounds in the past few weeks.
It is time to start counting calories and watching those carbs again.
Still on Claravis.
Between Februry and May, I was on Claravis 1 x day for 40mg.
In April I had a very mild breakout.
Otherwise, February - May I was clear. The side effects I had in those months were lower back pain and muscle pain. I also had dry lips. So, I had chap stick in my bedroom, in my car, in my backbag, my laptop case and in my desk. Chap stick everywhere!
In May, I was switched to Claravis 40mg 2 x day. The side effects remained the same, but they were a bit more intense. However, they weren't unbearable.
Since May, I have been on Claravis 40mg 2 x day. However, for my last month of July, I will be on Claravis 1 x day.
Hopefully, I will remain acne-free for a long, long, long time.
Month 7
This month, I've been on Claravis 40mg x 1 day because of some severe dryness I had in my nose. It was causing bleeding. This should be my last month on Claravis. My acne is gone, at least for now. I still have some oil on my skin. I haven't had a cyst or pimple in months now.
My lips are dry. Over the past months, I've learned to keep lip balm almost everywhere I spend time. I have some at my internship office, a stick in my laptop case, backbag, in my car, my bedroom desk, and even in my camera bag. It is essential. I almost can't picture life without access to some lip balm.
My back pain due to the Claravis has been with me since January. I hope that it will go away after I stop the Claravis. I drank alcohol these past months and I never got a bad liver test. I didn't get hammered every night nor every weekend either. But, I didn't quit alcohol either. My cholesterol did go up. I take Crestor for that anyway.
My hair didn't thin. I never felt moody. No suicide ideation.
My insurance coveraged sucked. So, one of the biggest problems with this whole experience was the cost of the medicine, but it has been worth it. I even spoke with my derm about getting some cosmetic work on my skin to remove some of the old acne scars. He said I need to wait 6 months.
So, if you are reading this and you just started or about to start, know that at least for me, Claravis worked many times better than anything over the counter or any antibiotic or topical cream.
I think for some people, they are just going to react differently. I've read about people having all sorts of reactions and some people have none.
I was lucky. The only really bad thing was my back pain and muscle aches.
I did drink alcohol, but I was able to drink responsibly. Wait, did I just say that?
Tomorrow I start my second year of graduate school. I have a few more pills left of my last package of Claravis.
I have all kinds of sores and pains on my lower back and in my feet. If this is from the Claravis, I hope it goes away after I stop the Claravis.
So far, my skin is clean.
Its been about a year since I started Accutane. I finished my second 8 month treatment (in 15 years) in August 2012. So far, I haven't had many pimples.
I've had a few pimples since the end of my treatment, but nowhere near as bad as it was one year ago.
My face has gotten oily again. My back pain is gone. My body aches are gone.
Overall, I would consider myself currently acne-free.
I'll check in a few months.
UPDATE: 1 year after finishing Accutane
I started Claravis (accutane) in December 2011. I finished my treatment in August 2012. This past August 2013, was my first year since I finished Accutane. Furthermore, this is my second round of accutane in 15 years. I was about 15-16 years the first time.
Relapse:
1.) My skin is oily. However, unlike before accutane, if my skin remains oily for a few days I won't break out with cysts or pimples.
2.) Every very other month or so, I will have a minor break out of pimples of 2-3 pimples. They look like small mosquito bites. However, unlike before accutane, these pimples will go away in one week. Before accutane, my acne would persists for at least 2-3 weeks at a time. Before accutane, it felt as if I always had a cluster of acne present.
3.) About every 3-4 months I develop a painful cyst in my scalp, underneath my hair. This is interesting for the following reasons. First, when I was 15 years old, I took accutane for the first time. It cured the acne on my chin, nose, cheeks, back and chest. Fifteen years later, my second round of accutane seems to have cured the acne by my sideburns, temple area, and forehead. So, the only place I am getting cysts is on my scalp. Perhaps, a third round would cure the acne on my scalp? Maybe, but I don't think its worth the cost in blood and treasure.
Bottom Line:
My skin is clear. However, I suspect I will have oily skin and the occasional breakout for the foreseeable future. Indeed, it is clear that as a 32 year old man, my acne is no longer an echo of my juvenile development. My confidence has improved. I no longer wake up with dried blood on my face. I no longer wake up with pain on the side of my face or on my ear. I am no longer self-conscious of being too close to people.
Acne declared war on me. I finally fought back with a sufficient weapon. I went to war to win it. Accutane is a wonder drug. I recommend it.