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Day 44
Having my blood test tomorrow (later than I should have really), and my monthly derm appointment on Tuesday (again, later than it should have been). A bit anxious about my blood test but hopefully it will be ok..
I have some lumps which just aren't going down at all.. it's really worrying now, I hope they won't be permanent?! I'll talk to the derm about it on Tuesday.
Other than that I don't have much to report really. My side effects are extremely minimal on this low dose. Other than red marks/annoying lumps I think I just have one small whitehead at the moment which will probably be gone tomorrow/the day after.
Day 46
Saw the dermatologist today for my one month checkup (a bit late..).
He's putting me up to 40mg a day, but before I up my dose I have to get my blood test done. I still haven't had a chance to get it, so I'm going tomorrow morning before work. I'm actually a bit worried about it because I should have had it about 2 weeks ago.
I then have to have my next blood test in two weeks, and another appointment with him in two months. Just like the first time, he didn't even really look at my face which I found a bit surprising! I asked about the lumps and he said it was just the acne and that they'd go down, and that the red marks will fade too.
I asked if I'd have another breakout when my dose was increased and he said I won't, but I'm a bit skeptical about that. I'm a bit worried because my face is quite clear and I really don't want to go through another horrible breakout 
Day 56
Sorry for the lack of updates, not a lot to report though. My skin was really bad at first, then got better, and now it just seems to have stayed the same for ages.. I hope this isn't it. I really would like nice skin but I'm starting to think I was over-optimistic when starting this drug. Even with minimal acne my face still looks like shit, from all the scarring/marks/redness :/
I have a couple of things which are just not going away, and one new spot kind of on my neck under my jawline. I'll try and update with some pictures tomorrow. Another thing is that I get a runny nose quite often! Which I think is related to Accutane because I remember reading something like that before. It happens when I walk outside, weird right? Anyway yeh, I'll add a picture update tomorrow.
Oh, and also I haven't started with 40mg/day yet because I'm still waiting for my blood test results. I've got a really bad feeling I'm going to get taken off Accutane. Then I don't know what I'll do.. it will totally crush me.
Just because I drank quite a bit at one point whilst I was on holiday, and drank a fair few others times. I haven't recently drunk much but still, I also haven't had a blood test for ages so if the drinking caused a problem then It's probably been getting worse without me knowing.
I'm probably just worrying about nothing, but still..
I saw your comment on nutrition on one of your first entries.
Im personally into bodybuidling/ fitness. To get some real, straight info about nutition and being healty, you should visit "no bullshit bodybuilding" on facebook and on youtube. Even though youre not a bodybuilder, you can still learn a lot about being truly healthy.
Good luck, man!
Thanks Ballen I'll check it out.
Day 60
Wow that's like, two months?? Neat. Anyway just a minor update. I keep getting headaches all the time, mild headaches but annoying. I'm not sure if it's Accutane or because I've been drinking a lot of coffee lately and not enough water? I doubt it's the Accutane because I never used to get headaches, but who knows. Also I think I'm becomingly increasingly sensitive to light, perhaps that's what is causing the headaches actually. Not really sure. My skin is pretty much staying the same, although I have had a really bad spot come up at the top of my cheek. Still loads of red marks. Here's some pictures, definitely worse than the last photo I posted here 
Looking forward to moving up to 40mg/day but still waiting for blood test results.
Sigh..
Hey Esa 
Just thought I'd stop by to see how you are getting on. It looks as though your skin has cleared up quite a lot since you first started, so congrats on that! I noticed you said you are sensitive to light more now too. At the risk of asking a stupid question, what do you mean by that exactly? I've heard people say you should watch out for that as a potential symptom, but I don't really know what I'm looking for!! 
It's weird you saying about the runny nose too... I've noticed that in the last week but had no idea it was related. It's crazy how things work eh?!
J x
Hey joannarama,
By sensitive to light, I mean my eyes! I have to wear shades a lot more, if I don't I end up squinting a lot. I think it might be that which has been giving me headaches. As for the runny nose, it's so weird isn't it! Well annoying too.. Hope your course is going well, I'll check out your log when I get a chance.
Just came on for a minor update. I'm really pissed off/sad right now. The spot at the top of my cheek has a huge lump under the skin, and it seems to be getting bigger. It's like I've been punched or something and it's swelling up. It's so horrible. And tomorrow I'm working at an event which will involve talking to lots of people, I don't even want to leave the house. Even worse is the fact that since I moved, my dermatologist is miles away so I can't go and see him about it. I really feel like Accutane isn't doing me any good at the moment. Probably should've just stayed on antibiotics the rest of my life..
I feel you, completely! Today is exactly day 40 for me and everything seems just awful.
Ive got swollen cystic acne on all my cheecks, which never happened to me before, not like this!
& my oily skin came back!
At least on antibiotics i had literally one or two..which i complained about..& now look at me!
ahhg. well, youre a bit ahead of me, but we relatively close on our course, although i am on 60mg per day since day 1.
i thought getting a higher dosage right off the bat would mean that the first bit would suck a lot but then itd like,..hit it all out & id be on a path to clear skin quicker. very mistaken.
that was nagative, im trying so hard to be positive, but i get SO sad at night, i play it off during the day like i dont care..
but at least this is a very..chacter forming experience? i hope it will help me care less about looks, anyways, although, accutane acne SUCKS.
im going in circles, anyways, ill be following!!
lol
Sorry to hear that aghimes! I know how you feel, it sucks
Glad you're trying to be positive though, I've lost hope for now. I woke up today and the spot/lump I mentioned wasn't bigger, yay. But.. it still was massive, and to top it all off I now have another lump now on my right cheek. It's so f*****g annoying, along with all the red marks I now have this is so much worse than the acne I had whilst on antibiotics.
My log is just turning into me bitching and moaning all the time, so sorry to anyone reading this. It helps to get it all off my chest though.
Day 64
Still can't move up to 40mg/day, as I still haven't had blood test results , I'm starting to think they've gone missing or something..
Also, the massive lump on my cheek is so so bad, I guess this is what they call cystic acne? I hope it goes down soon
Another thing I've been noticing is that the skin on my hands is uber weak! Keep getting grazes and cuts, not even sure from what!
I guess everything else is ok but my face is pretty shit right now. I'm actually starting to think of coming off Accutane.. this cystic acne is so bad it's leaving me with solid lumps on my face which I'm sure are never going to go away..
that's what mine is doing! it's getting wider & now has friends. I'm right at one and a half months & feel awful about everything. In a weird way, I am glad were going through the same shit, Itd be much more awful for me if i kept reading people's happy blogs when I want to take an exacto knife and cut the bumps off my face! however, YouTube videos of people's 6 months are literally my only hope. you ahould check them out! it's weird though, I can't even imagine myself with clear skin at this point.
i hope you have a lovely day, esa!
\ it's weird though, I can't even imagine myself with clear skin at this point.
That is exactly what I used to think. I had acne for almost 16 years. Now, I have not had a single pimple in over 2 months. It's REALLY weird to feel my face and there aren't any bumps there. I had gotten SO used to having acne, but now everything is AMAZING!!! I started Accutane on September 26th and finished last Friday. It's spectacular!!
Day 67
Thanks for the support guys, I really appreciate it. I literally don't know how people can do a course of Accutane without using this forum..
White Stang I couldn't change to 40mg until I had my blood test results back! Finally (after 2 weeks) got them today, and apparently everything's fine. It seems the heavy drinking I did in Berlin didn't do any damage so that's a relief. I haven't drunk much at all over the last few weeks so I hope to keep it that way now.
The cysts have subsided a bit, they were literally huge before, like the size of 2p coins (to American readers, that's about an inch). And, this is rank (and embarrassing) but I'll say anyway.. I was eating my dinner the other day and then I saw some puss drip into my lap, the thing had like, exploded. Totally disgusting I had to run to the bathroom and clean my face before anyone saw . It was so sick, needless to say I didn't finish my meal..
But now I feel a bit better as they are going down. I still have a slight bump on the other side of my face from a cyst from around 2 months ago, so I'm still not confident these things are ever going to away completely..
Aghimes I know what you mean, it's really great to have you going through the same stuff as me! Although obviously I wish you weren't. I hope things clear up for you soon.
As for going on 40mg/day, I now have the all clear to carry on but I'm gonna wait a few days because I don't want a breakout this week.
Wow. That is something. It's terrible that your acne is THAT bad right now. The good news is that you're on day 67 of accutane, so things will probably start improving quite soon.
Just a heads up when you start going to 40mg: take the two pills 12 hours apart (assuming you get two 20mg pills and not 40mg pills). The half life of accutane is about 16 hours, so this keeps the amount in your blood stream relatively steady. I think it might even prevent a breakout as the level of accutane in your blood will not be fluctuating constantly.
Yeh, exploded might have been a bit of a dramatic word, 'started leaking' might have been more accurate. It's just to the right of my mouth so the eating movements put too much pressure on it apparently.. all through the day it was really painful too, I could barely eat my lunch. So disgusting but at least here, people won't judge me for it!
Thanks for the advice. I was actually just going to pop two at a time so I'm glad you told me that, sounds like a better way of doing it. Although I don't always eat breakfast so I probably shouldn't take it on an empty stomach. Maybe that's a good excuse to start eating breakfast.
I haven't really got much to add, except to say keep your chin up. If you read some of the older posts (which I'm sure you have) then you'll notice that most people have had the 'this isn't going to get better' feeling at some point through their course, then end up with great results. Just keep picturing the finish line and you'll get there
J x
Hey Esa
Accutane is boss, but it totally blows for pretty much the whole time you take it. you don't even realise how bad its going to be til your standing in front of the mirror with cysts pulsating and skin flaking. Not to mention flaking lips, dry eyes, nose bleeds.. etc etc. it looks pretty bleak for a few months. but it does 'miraculously' improve, i've had it happen before. and while i'm taking it again, i know that it works and that i have to be patient. my doctor has just lowered me from 40 back to 20 because my side effects were getting severe (cystic breakout from hell) but i plan on going back up to 40 when it passes. try and stay at the higher dose and you will see results.
best of luck
JB
Thanks joannarama & jennyband
Day 71
So about those cysts. They have subsided a lot. The one under my eye has left the most prominent bump, I don't think it's too obvious but it adds a kind of shadow there. As for the other one, it was the worst of the two - at it's peak (literally a peak I guess because it was the size of a bloody mountain) it had like two/three pustules on it too, it was really gross. It came on really quick, lingered a short while and now has gone down super fast, there is only a slight bump now which I don't think you can really see, I can feel it if I run my fingers over the area. It really has amazed me how fast it went away, once it started to go.
I'm hoping now that my skin will start to clear again after my second big breakout. I am on my third month now after all so surely things should start getting better again. Although I was told my blood test results were ok and I could move to 40mg/day; I still haven't because I have two interviews on Tuesday and don't want to induce another breakout.