Acne.org Products
Your poor toes! Ingrown toes are the worst!! Hopefully they heal up and if not I hope you can stick it out until October when you get insurance back again! I feel your pain! I have had them too many times to count! Next time for sure get that portion of your nail bed destroyed. I had the done to the inside of both my big toes and you can't even tell no nail is there because it is such a small portion of nail missing. I was worried about that because when I paint my toe nails I didn't want it to look stupid. haha. I told the doctor that and he damaged a small but effective portion of my nail bed and it was all taken care of. Healing time was a tad longer than usual because it went deeper down. I am glad I did it though. Not going back to get them removed every 6 months is wonderful! Plus it hurts so bad when they stick that needle all around your toe to numb it!! Ouch!
The only upside is no acne??? That is a huge and wonderful upside!!! Think back 6 months ago.. You would have taken a ingrown nail over acne at any time! My only tip for you is this, roll up a tiny portion of kleenex or toilet paper and shove it between your skin and nail on the side of your ingrown nail as much as it hurts in the beginning it will help a ton! Bandage it up and tomorrow take a even bigger roll of kleenex and shove it even deeper in between the nail and skin. After a couple of days the pain will subside and you could keep doing that until you can get into the doc in October. I have actually healed ingrown nails this way before. Now if it is infected that is a whole different story. Its worth a go though!
This link explains it better lol
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/ingrown_toenails/page6_em.htm
Hi Miss Katie!! I've been off the boards for a while - so busy with my husband basically living in Chicago and then I had his 50th bday to plan and my daughter turned 20 yesterday and my son started his sophomore year of high school so my life's been nuts. Plus I kind of took a break too because the side effects have been making me crazy and I was trying to just forget for a while but I missed everybody too much!
Such a bummer about your toes!! I think it's the accutane too because I've had some weird peeling on my big toes and even had kind of a sore spot on each one and I was thinking "uh-oh" so I started really moisturizing my feet more than normal and putting neosporin in the sore spot where it's really peeling and it's helping a lot and I'm trying super hard not to pick at the peeling skin - I mean, on my toes for crying out loud! I hope yours get better soon!
Congrats on the job and the clear skin!! It sounds like everything is coming together for you, just gotta get those toes to behave and you will be golden. 
Still looking great!
And sorry to hear about the toe troubles, Kaydon! I remember when I was 18 I had an ingrown toenail on the big toe of my right foot, and it was the most uncomfortable thing ever. I was working full time then and I did a great deal of walking and running around every day, and the pain was just excruciating. It lasted for almost half a year. I did a few of the usual treatments like epson salt soaking and things like that, but got no real relief.
I remember one night I got so frustrated with it that I took a pocket knife (this part is especially gross, fair warning 
) and I managed to dig out the "hook" portion of the nail that was growing into the flesh of my toe and causing all the pain, and I was able to clip it with nail clippers. It was like a scene out of a Saw movie...my hands were trembling so bad lol. At first I thought I just did more damage to myself, but it healed up in about a week and I haven't had an ingrown toenail since then.
I hope you're able to get it taken care of because I know from experience how agonizing walking around with ingrown toenails can be! Best of luck with it.
Day 165
A few things to say;
- Still clear!!!
- But these dry spots on my face are annoying. I know I'm not moisturizing enough. I'm just kinda over these side effects after half a year, haha.
- My nose feels awful. Yesterday at work I swear I felt like I had little dry boogies hanging in my nostrils, hahahaha. I've been putting Aquaphor in my nostrils, but my nose is still so dry, sore, and sometimes bloody.
- My lips themselves are doing fine at the moment, but the crack in the corner of my mouth doesn't want to heal and I can actually feel it ripping when I open my mouth to take a bite of something, or yawn. Ouch.
- I was asked by a woman at work, "You look sunburnt, were you in the sun?" My arms still look pink.
- My ears were pink/red yesterday, like I was in the cold for a while. I got home from work and noticed that...so strange.
- The re-ingrown toenail... Not doing so good. It's not infected (at least, not yet). I've been trying to keep it clean. It still hurts, though. I'm 95% sure that the toenail grew right back into the skin. I wasn't even on my feet for too long yesterday and I got home, and the side of my toenail had a nice bit of blood on it. Gross. After soaking the toe last night, the side of my toe looked quite swollen and pink. There's a throb in it after soaking it, too. The bad news is that my mom thinks that her insurance isn't going to pick me up until January 2013. I definitely cannot wait until 2013 to have this thing taken care of. I'm not sure what to do. Sometimes I want to make an appointment and just chalk it up for whatever the bill without insurance will be, other times I want to wait it out, but I'm not so sure 4 months of waiting is going to work.
Your poor toes! Ingrown toes are the worst!! Hopefully they heal up and if not I hope you can stick it out until October when you get insurance back again! I feel your pain! I have had them too many times to count! Next time for sure get that portion of your nail bed destroyed. I had the done to the inside of both my big toes and you can't even tell no nail is there because it is such a small portion of nail missing. I was worried about that because when I paint my toe nails I didn't want it to look stupid. haha. I told the doctor that and he damaged a small but effective portion of my nail bed and it was all taken care of. Healing time was a tad longer than usual because it went deeper down. I am glad I did it though. Not going back to get them removed every 6 months is wonderful! Plus it hurts so bad when they stick that needle all around your toe to numb it!! Ouch!
The only upside is no acne??? That is a huge and wonderful upside!!! Think back 6 months ago.. You would have taken a ingrown nail over acne at any time! My only tip for you is this, roll up a tiny portion of kleenex or toilet paper and shove it between your skin and nail on the side of your ingrown nail as much as it hurts in the beginning it will help a ton! Bandage it up and tomorrow take a even bigger roll of kleenex and shove it even deeper in between the nail and skin. After a couple of days the pain will subside and you could keep doing that until you can get into the doc in October. I have actually healed ingrown nails this way before. Now if it is infected that is a whole different story. Its worth a go though!
This link explains it better lol
http://www.emedicine...ls/page6_em.htm
I used to get minor ingrowns before Accutane - I would be able to remove them myself with no pain. These ingrowns are just awful! When I was at the podiatrist in July I knew that the nail was going to grow back ingrown all over again since he didn't destroy the nail bed. It wasn't a serious ingrown, so the doctor was able to get it out with minor surgery and no numbing or anything. The toe with the nail-bed destruction is really coming along. No pain, and it isn't all gross and scabby anymore! But now the other one is, hahaha.
It's crazy, but I would never take this course back with all of these side effects. These ingrowns are very annoying, but six months ago I was in hell with a face full of acne. It has been so worth it!
Is that process for ingrown toenails on the inside of the toe? It's weird, because this ingrown is on the outside of the toe. My podiatrist told me to get "toe spacers" because my original ingrown in the inside of the foot was caused from the other toe rubbing again the side of the foot. I don't believe that...I think they came from the tight flats that I wore while & Accutane. I have no other explanation, haha.
Hi Miss Katie!! I've been off the boards for a while - so busy with my husband basically living in Chicago and then I had his 50th bday to plan and my daughter turned 20 yesterday and my son started his sophomore year of high school so my life's been nuts. Plus I kind of took a break too because the side effects have been making me crazy and I was trying to just forget for a while but I missed everybody too much!
Such a bummer about your toes!! I think it's the accutane too because I've had some weird peeling on my big toes and even had kind of a sore spot on each one and I was thinking "uh-oh" so I started really moisturizing my feet more than normal and putting neosporin in the sore spot where it's really peeling and it's helping a lot and I'm trying super hard not to pick at the peeling skin - I mean, on my toes for crying out loud! I hope yours get better soon!
Congrats on the job and the clear skin!! It sounds like everything is coming together for you, just gotta get those toes to behave and you will be golden.
Hello Stacey!!! I've been thinking of you. Glad to hear that you're doing okay! Sounds like you've been super busy. That's good, though! The more busy you are the faster time goes by and you're that much closer to being done.
Thanks, the toes have been a huge bummer the past few months. My mom is sick of hearing me complain about them, haha. It went from acne to messed up toes, hahaha. Hopefully your toes get better, and not worse!
Thank you!! I've been feeling stressed and so busy, not as busy as last semester because I was working full-time, but I'm trying to get the hang of everything!
Still looking great!
And sorry to hear about the toe troubles, Kaydon! I remember when I was 18 I had an ingrown toenail on the big toe of my right foot, and it was the most uncomfortable thing ever. I was working full time then and I did a great deal of walking and running around every day, and the pain was just excruciating. It lasted for almost half a year. I did a few of the usual treatments like epson salt soaking and things like that, but got no real relief.
I remember one night I got so frustrated with it that I took a pocket knife (this part is especially gross, fair warning
) and I managed to dig out the "hook" portion of the nail that was growing into the flesh of my toe and causing all the pain, and I was able to clip it with nail clippers. It was like a scene out of a Saw movie...my hands were trembling so bad lol. At first I thought I just did more damage to myself, but it healed up in about a week and I haven't had an ingrown toenail since then.
I hope you're able to get it taken care of because I know from experience how agonizing walking around with ingrown toenails can be! Best of luck with it.
Thank you!! 
OUCH. That sounds so painful. I have had minor ingrown toenails that I've dug out with clippers in the past, but these ingrowns are so damn painful! They're deep in the skin. The side of my toenail keeps bleeding each day despite the fact that I'm keeping it very clean. Last night it was super swollen and pink. I'm so sure there's an ingrown in there. I may have to make a trip to the doctor with no insurance in the near future.
Thanks you!!
Still clear!! YAY. Sometimes I feel like you gals on the 80 mg get more sustained clearing than us. Then again, I've only been on this stuff for about 4 months, so maybe the time is more critical than the dosage. Who knows.
It really sounds like you should get that toe taken care of. You need it to function! Plus, you're gonna need it in time for Halloween for when you go dancing/running around. That is such a totally random comment, but I LOVE Halloween and am already trying to plan my costume. I saw your old costume on FB. Hahahaha Too bad I kind of look like that in real life.
So Katie, quick heads up I saw my bill when I got my nail bed destroyed and the removal and it was 1300.00 bucks. I got both big toes done, but still half that is still a ton of money. Just wanted to give you a idea on the cost of it. Oddly enough its just some chemical they dab on it. Don't see how it can cost that much but whatever. Thank god insurance covered it. If you can't get added until 2013 though that isn't possible to suffer with a ingrown that long.
You can put the rolled up Kleenex on either side of the toe. I asked my doctor if it was my shoes causing the ingrown toe nails or what the deal was. According to him shoes have nothing to do with it, it's just the way your nail grows. Nothing you can do about it besides the crap you are already doing. I'm not sure if I buy that at all though. I never had one until my 20's and oddly enough that's when I started wearing shoes other than tennis shoes ya know....
Still clear!! YAY. Sometimes I feel like you gals on the 80 mg get more sustained clearing than us. Then again, I've only been on this stuff for about 4 months, so maybe the time is more critical than the dosage. Who knows.
It really sounds like you should get that toe taken care of. You need it to function! Plus, you're gonna need it in time for Halloween for when you go dancing/running around. That is such a totally random comment, but I LOVE Halloween and am already trying to plan my costume. I saw your old costume on FB. Hahahaha Too bad I kind of look like that in real life.
This is the longest I have been clear in MONTHS. I'm so happy about that. It feels amazing. I love being able to take a picture of myself and not think about how my zits will be visible. I love not having to use SO much concealer! I love how soft my skin feels now. It's amazing. I'm forever thankful for Accutane (if my acne stays away).
I think you are right about getting the toe taken care of. I wore a pair of sandals I have last night and I accidentally stepped on the bad toe and OH MY GOD it hurt so friggin' bad. It started gushing blood right after that. THEN to make matters worse someone stepped on my toe last night and I wanted to cry. It was throbbing last night as I slept, and I actually had a dream of being at the podiatrist office and getting the surgery done. For some reason today it doesn't hurt, but it doesn't look pretty. But you're right! I'm gonna need my toe to function!! Aww haha you saw my photo from Halloween last year. You don't look like that! 😛 I decided to be Kathy Beth Terry - Katy Perry's alter ego from "Last Friday Night". 🙂
So Katie, quick heads up I saw my bill when I got my nail bed destroyed and the removal and it was 1300.00 bucks. I got both big toes done, but still half that is still a ton of money. Just wanted to give you a idea on the cost of it. Oddly enough its just some chemical they dab on it. Don't see how it can cost that much but whatever. Thank god insurance covered it. If you can't get added until 2013 though that isn't possible to suffer with a ingrown that long.
You can put the rolled up Kleenex on either side of the toe. I asked my doctor if it was my shoes causing the ingrown toe nails or what the deal was. According to him shoes have nothing to do with it, it's just the way your nail grows. Nothing you can do about it besides the crap you are already doing. I'm not sure if I buy that at all though. I never had one until my 20's and oddly enough that's when I started wearing shoes other than tennis shoes ya know....
I actually just got the invoice for my previous office visits. I can imagine the bill without insurance to be around 800-900 dollars (maybe less though?) for another toe surgery. Although I think it's the doctor's fault that it grew back ingrown, he should have cauterized it!! I don't think I can stick it out until January. That's just too damn long. I'm bummed, not gonna lie.
I used to wear REALLY tight flats at my old job. They were super cute. But the more I think about it, the more I think they are the cause of these ingrowns...and of course Accutane probably plays a role in it. My grandmother actually used to always get ingrowns on both her big toes and she actually had both of her toenails on her big toes completely removed. Crazy, right? I just hope by next summer I can get pedicures and have cute toes. And of course, no acne. 😛
Day 167
- 19 MORE DAYS LEFT ON ACCUTANE! The countdown is on. I'm so beyond ready to be done with this course.
- I developed another stye on my right eyelid. It was sore yesterday, and today it is somewhat puffy and sore. Sweet. Second stye on this medication. I still have my Stye Eye medication, but it says to discard after 30 days so I'm not sure if it's still good?
- My toe doesn't hurt as much (at the moment), but it still looks quite gross.
- My lips are disgusting. The corner looked all crusty & dry, and stupid me picked at it....raw skin. Not sexy.
- I didn't mention my lack of appetite, it probably has nothing to do with tane. Last week I wasn't as hungry as I usually am.
- Still clear and very happy about that.
So happy you are clear and almonst done with accutane! I hope you get your toes sorted out soon...that must be so painful and difficult to deal with. Glad to hear the last ingrown is gone!
Thank you! I'm seriously so happy to be done. Things were fine up until the last three months. The past two months have been annoying with the side effects. I wouldn't take back a single side effect, though. I feel so much better without acne, and of course, those damn ingrowns! I am so happy that it healed on it's own! 🙂
Day 168
- Nothing seems to help the corner of my mouth anymore. Only one side is bad. Today it looked super crusty, even after putting Neosporin on it last night before bed. I've been loading on the Aquaphor & Burt's Bees today.
I HAVE INSURANCE NOW!! My mom had to send some documents to her insurance that I'm a full-time student and the coverage started at the beginning of the month. They're supposedly mailing out insurance cards for me. I'm frickin' so happy. Figures though, my toes are okay for the most part. It's just so relieving to know that if I need to, I can go to the doctor and I'm covered.- The stye seems to be going away. It was so itchy yesterday.
- Still clear!!
Day 173
It's been a little while since I have last updated my log, so I figured it was time for an update. I've still been on the forums and browsing through the logs though. So things have been okay lately as far as acne goes. I had a very small bump on my jawline that wasn't anything in comparison to the massive suckers that chilled on my jawline during my IB.
Like I've mentioned before, the side effects at this point in the game are just really getting on my damn nerves. I'm sick of having the apply lip balm every 10 minutes. I'm sick of this rip in the side of my lip tearing when I take a bite to eat, or yawn. It has gotten somewhat better because I've been loading on massive amounts of Aquaphor throughout the day (if I'm not going out of the house). The constant lip maintenance at this point has become so annoying. Not as annoying as the acne that I had, though. My mom told me tonight that I should just stop, but I have 12 DAYS left so I'm not just going to stop.
My big toes still don't want to heal from what used to be ingrown toenails. Last week, I got lucky and the ingrown came out of my skin on it's own BUT since then the wound from it doesn't want to heal (just like the other one) and last week it was stinging so bad and had a nice layer of yellowish pus on it. I do have insurance now, but on Friday my mom told me she called the insurance company and I wasn't showing yet...because her work had JUST faxed over my paperwork. But I should have it this week. Anyway, luckily my toe has gotten somewhat better. It's been itchy, and I'm hoping that's a good sign. The scab falls off almost every time I soak it. It hasn't had any pus on it since Friday, so hopefully it's not infected anymore. It was swollen last night, but today it's not. It's just pink and looks tender. I think I'm going to try and stick it out until post-Accutane to make a judgment call on whether it was Accutane that was delaying the healing with these things.
Another possible side effect is my lack of hunger. I'm not going to complain though, because I've lost about 3-4 pounds since starting tane. I remember losing a slight bit of weight the last time I took it, too. I still eat unhealthy though...my cholesterol is probably so high by now. 
So aside from the crap side effects, I'm very satisfied with the progress that I have made in the past half a year. I wouldn't take back ANY of this. I happened to stumble upon some photos from last October, my acne had JUST started coming back, very mildly. That was when my current derm put me on Solodyn and a few topicals. My skin went haywire after stopping Solodyn. I'm just happy that I have had the chance to do a full course of Accutane. I will be WAY over my cumulative dose (I already am) when I'm done, so hopefully that will benefit me, and I won't relapse, again. I'll admit that I am scared of having my acne come back, but I've got to let that worry go.
Hope everyone is doing well. Miss you guys! Oh, and by the way I will be updating my log even after I'm done my course. Probably not too much if I'm not experiencing anything, but I'm not going to ditch this log just because I'm done tane. I think the most important part of doing this is so that the acne stays away post-tane. Oh, and if anyone wants to connect outside of the forums (I know I'm FB friends with a handful of you), I do have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Livejournal. I'll admit, I'm a social networking dork. Feel free to message me if any of you want to connect with me outside of the logs.
Until next time,
Katie 
KATIE
I'm so happy for your skin I'm sorry about the side effects and I miss everyone too.. I miss receiving 60+ notifications everyday on how everyone is.. I hope everyone comes back. I am here too just looking at logs and forums, not so much participating.
I've been so busy with my classes, I really underestimated how hard some of them would be.
I have been clear for 2 months now It really is incredible, and I do have 1 month left after this month, my derm said she counts differently, but the way I'm counting, I'll be on 7 months instead of 6. I would say I don't mind, but the side effects are KILLER. All my muscles hurt when I exercise, my lips look horrible, and my body is sooo dry. I could go on and on and on, but I can't really complain. I would do it 100 times over <3.
I will do a longer update soon.. I need to get to bed for schoolio!
Pictures soon too
Hi Katie! And Taylor and Betsy! And Gina and Rachel if you're out there! Me too, me too with keeping up with the forums but not having time to post much. I miss everybody too!! I wish we all lived close and we could have a once a month coffee together to catch up and support each other. That would be awesome.
I updated on Gina and Betsy's logs recently. I'm super sick of the lip crap too! I'm at about day 140ish. I go next week to my derm for what may be my last month. I was set to do six but she said she may do one more month for me if my last two underskin bumps don't go away. They still aren't visible and are small, old zits but they are there and they are pissing me off. My body skin is driving me nuts - I am super sick of the constant cuts which turn into red marks that get irritated. My fingers are splitting and it's impossible to keep moisture on them with all the hand washing I do - I even used gloves when I do dishes but my finger tips are really dried out. And I forgot to tell Betsy but I am super sick of the aches and pains too! My neck has really been bothering me lately - very sore and my range of motion is limited. I think I originally slept on it wrong and it just hasn't gone back to normal. I sure hope all this soreness goes away after it's all over!
I'm glad to hear your toes seem to be on the mend but that you have insurance just in case. What a relief! My big toes have two little sore spots on them in sympathy for you. They aren't ingrown but like my fingers the corners have split a little and they are very sore-I just keep coating the area with bag balm and it seems to be helping.
I plan on posting my story in the positive experience logs once I'm done to help other people. I know those really helped me to make my decision and gave me courage. Unfortunately I don't have any social networking links - I know, I know, shocking that I don't have a FB - but I thought I'd just leave that to my kids and I know me - it would be a huge time sucker for me cuz I'd be on it all the time! But I'll make sure to check the logs from time to time once it's all over to keep up with everyone.
KATIE
I'm so happy for your skin
I'm sorry about the side effects and I miss everyone too.. I miss receiving 60+ notifications everyday on how everyone is.. I hope everyone comes back. I am here too just looking at logs and forums, not so much participating.
I've been so busy with my classes, I really underestimated how hard some of them would be.
I have been clear for 2 months now
.
I will do a longer update soon.. I need to get to bed for schoolio!
Pictures soon too
Taylor! 😀
Glad to hear from you!! 2 MONTHS. That's such a long time to be clear. I'm happy we both finally are clear. What a great feeling. I'd do it all over again if I had to as well.
I can relate to the stress of classes. I don't think it's really hit me as much as it should have yet...but I know it's coming. I have my first Math test tomorrow, yikes. Not my strong subject, so I'm kinda nervous.
Can't wait to see how awesome your skin is looking! I'll be doing a picture post after I finish! 😀
Katie! So happy to hear that you are still clear! Great news about the toe nail coming out too! That must be nice! Awesome news about the health insurance! That happened quickly
Hope the new job and school is going well!
Betsy!! How are you?! Thanks! It's awesome to wake up and go through the day without worrying if any new zits have appeared. I'm relieved the nail came out, but the pain that I'm in with the leftover wound is not fun. I walk like I'm 90 years old lately with this thing, haha. I'm pretty sure I'm going to make an appointment to go see a new Podiatrist to see wtf is going on. It did happen quick! I my mom...she found out I could be put on right away since I'm a full-time student who just quit her job.
Thanks tane twin! Everything has been pretty good so far. Hope things with you have been good.
Hi Katie! And Taylor and Betsy! And Gina and Rachel if you're out there! Me too, me too with keeping up with the forums but not having time to post much. I miss everybody too!! I wish we all lived close and we could have a once a month coffee together to catch up and support each other. That would be awesome.
I updated on Gina and Betsy's logs recently. I'm super sick of the lip crap too! I'm at about day 140ish. I go next week to my derm for what may be my last month. I was set to do six but she said she may do one more month for me if my last two underskin bumps don't go away. They still aren't visible and are small, old zits but they are there and they are pissing me off. My body skin is driving me nuts - I am super sick of the constant cuts which turn into red marks that get irritated. My fingers are splitting and it's impossible to keep moisture on them with all the hand washing I do - I even used gloves when I do dishes but my finger tips are really dried out. And I forgot to tell Betsy but I am super sick of the aches and pains too! My neck has really been bothering me lately - very sore and my range of motion is limited. I think I originally slept on it wrong and it just hasn't gone back to normal. I sure hope all this soreness goes away after it's all over!
I'm glad to hear your toes seem to be on the mend but that you have insurance just in case. What a relief! My big toes have two little sore spots on them in sympathy for you.
I plan on posting my story in the positive experience logs once I'm done to help other people. I know those really helped me to make my decision and gave me courage. Unfortunately I don't have any social networking links - I know, I know, shocking that I don't have a FB - but I thought I'd just leave that to my kids and I know me - it would be a huge time sucker for me cuz I'd be on it all the time!
Hey Stacey!! I completely agree - I would love if we all lived closer so we could meet up for coffee and lunch. That would be awesome.
Now that you mention the cuts that heal weird...I itched my neck last week because it was itchy and it turned into a raw spot which eventually turned into this scabby reptile looking skin. So strange. I'm over all of this!
The one side effect that has really made me feel crazy has been the toes, and how slowly they want to heal. I'm kind of upset that summer is over and it's going to get cold soon. I'm not ready to have my feet covered up yet. I wore sneakers to class today and I felt horrible. Then when I walked...the shoe rubbing against the toe...not good. I'm definitely making a trip to see a Podiatrist in the near future. I think I need to be put on an antibiotic.
Social networking can be so addictive. 🙂 I can't wait to read your positive experience. It's definitely been a rollercoaster ride of an experience for me, but I wouldn't take back any bump in the road to clear skin!
Hey!
I've been following yours and other people's logs for a while now (sounds creepy haa ) and I am so happy for all of you!! Your skin looks amazing!
And so jealous you're clear in time for classes - I have my first class on Friday and still RED MARKS GALORE and breaking out a bit....on antibiotics atm 
Seriously considering accutane. First I'm gunna check if I have any food allergies and go down that route, and if it doesn't work...accutane for me! Just so scared.
Anyway, congrats again! I hope it lasts forever - I'm sure it's killed acne for good! (and so it should have done >;( acne needs to die!!)
Hey!
I've been following yours and other people's logs for a while now (sounds creepy haa
And so jealous you're clear in time for classes - I have my first class on Friday and still RED MARKS GALORE and breaking out a bit....on antibiotics atm
Seriously considering accutane. First I'm gunna check if I have any food allergies and go down that route, and if it doesn't work...accutane for me! Just so scared.
Anyway, congrats again! I hope it lasts forever - I'm sure it's killed acne for good! (and so it should have done >;( acne needs to die!!)
Hey! 🙂 That doesn't sound creepy at all! I love being able to show others that might be iffy about making the decision to take Accutane that it's worth it. Thank you so much! If the antibiotics don't work for you, then I would definitely recommend Accutane. Six months of annoying side effects for most people, and clear skin for the rest of your life. I hope you figure out something that will work. There's nothing too awful to be scared of if you do eventually decide to go on tane. There are so many horror stories that go hand in hand with this drug, because it effects everyone differently, but I feel like most people do very well and only experience minimal side effects. The worst thing to get through is the initial breakout, then it's pretty much smooth sailing.
Thank you! I wish acne didn't exist!! Good luck to you! 🙂
Ouch! The dry lips sound like such a pain!
Glad you're staying clear though! Hope that jawline bump will go away soon!
They are so annoying! I can't wait to be back to normal, haha.
Thanks! It went away, thank god. 😀
Day 184
I am pretty much finished Accutane. TWO PILLS LEFT TO TAKE. I'll take them tomorrow, and I'm then I'm done. Six months of this stuff was quite the experience, I must say. It was not easy, especially in the last few months with these side effects that I've been dealing with, but like I've said before -- It has been worth it.
I made another timeline, from the beginning to the end.
Last picture is a little blurry. I'll get a better one when my face is looking up to par. I have some dry spots and the side of my mouth is all cracked. It's not exactly the "after" picture I'd like.
I am so happy that I'm finished though. The past few days I've been nauseated and I'm not sure why, and always at night. My lips are a hot mess and there's no concealing the rip in the side of my mouth. It's crusty and just gross. My toes; they're not doing good again. It's back to being swollen and sore like it has another ingrown in it. .....Again. I made an appointment for mid October, but at this point, I don't want to wait anymore. I will be trying to make an appointment for the next week tomorrow. I'm not sure what a doctor is going to say/do for me, but waiting it out is not getting me anywhere. It's getting colder and I can't wear closed-toed shoes without walking like an idiot because it hurts so damn much.
I'm looking forward to things going back to normal. I can't wait to have normal feet again. Normal lips and non-dry skin. Non-achy joints so I can start to exercise again. Also, I'm hoping with everything in me that my acne doesn't come back. I hope that me going over my cumulative dose by over 4,000 has helped my chances of that ever happening in my life. I'm going back to my dermatologist on the first, so we'll see what she has to say about things. I have old topicals here so I'm not going to get any new prescriptions.
For anyone who's weary about Accutane, here's my advice: If topicals, antibiotics, and drug-store treatments don't work for you -- Accutane is worth it. It's 6 months of your life for clear skin. In my opinion, it's the miracle that I imagined it would be. There were many times during my course that I thought it wouldn't work...but here I am...6 months later, with clear skin.
I plan on getting the ice-pick scars that I have on my face taken care of sometime in the future, but right now I'm honestly just happy not to have any acne. 🙂
Oh, and before I end this...I want to say thank you to everyone on the forum for your support during the course. It got me through this and I don't know what I would've done without that. I my tane buds!
Wow Katie you look great! I feel that if I made a few changes to your post it could've come from my head! You are so right about being sick of the side effects and not having your face exactly where you want it but yet so happy that you don't have any acne. I also thought my face would be looking a little better than it does but I have to keep reminding myself the goal was to stop breaking out and so far I have acheived that. I have some serious dry patches on my chin that are super irritated to the point that my derm suggested I put aquaphor on them - I mean I never ever thought I'd even get a tube of aquaphor even close to my face! But I tried it and it's helping a little. And I'm sick of the dry lips and all the cuts I keep getting on my body and the achiness. I've kept working out but it's been really hard and very frustrating.
I hope your toe situation gets better soon - it's so frustrating I'm sure and chronic issues can really wear you down. I also hope the acne doesn't come back, for any of us. I think I will always live in fear of it coming back but I'm going to try and stay positive and enjoy the acne free face as much as possible. Make sure to update us all when you get to the doctor about your toes, good luck!! And thanks for being supportive back!
Wow Katie you look great! I feel that if I made a few changes to your post it could've come from my head! You are so right about being sick of the side effects and not having your face exactly where you want it but yet so happy that you don't have any acne. I also thought my face would be looking a little better than it does but I have to keep reminding myself the goal was to stop breaking out and so far I have acheived that. I have some serious dry patches on my chin that are super irritated to the point that my derm suggested I put aquaphor on them - I mean I never ever thought I'd even get a tube of aquaphor even close to my face! But I tried it and it's helping a little. And I'm sick of the dry lips and all the cuts I keep getting on my body and the achiness. I've kept working out but it's been really hard and very frustrating.
I hope your toe situation gets better soon - it's so frustrating I'm sure and chronic issues can really wear you down. I also hope the acne doesn't come back, for any of us. I think I will always live in fear of it coming back but I'm going to try and stay positive and enjoy the acne free face as much as possible.
Thank you, Stacey! I'm so happy that I completed this course. When will you be done? You're almost done, right? The dry patches are very annoying. The aqupahor does help. I've never thought to put it on my dry patches, but my lips are usually coated in them when I'm not in public! I can't wait to be a normal girl again! Without acne. 😀
Thank you! Today was a rough day for me & the lovely toe. It was throbbing AND tingling (it hasn't done that before) so I made the most ASAP appointment as I could get (Monday morning) and the doc prescribed me some Cephalexin for the infection that I'm sure is there! I think I'll always have that fear in the back of my head about relapsing again. I hope NONE OF US have a relapse! I don't think we will. I know the only reason I did after my 3 month course three years ago is because I didn't go anywhere near my cumulative dose. I will definitely keep the log updated! I want to log when things ease up as far as the side effects that have been knocking me down.
You're welcome! I never thought a group of people on a forum could help me out so much, but all of you guys helped me out and I'm glad we all had/have that support! 😀