Hey everybody! Hope y'all are having an awesome day. Also, hope all my accutane buddies currently fighting the good fight with me are doing well on their journey. Finally, thanks for all the supplement advice. You guys rock. I'm going out tonite to look for a good milk thistle and fish oil supplement.
DAY 15
Okay, I actally have some stuff to update today. First off, my skin is significantly drier. I've actually had to moisturize when I wake up as oppposed to having to dab my face with toilet paper to elimate the horrible shine. The accutane is begining to take affect which is nice. I still have not had a pimple since starting which I am ecstic about (knock on wood). Also, my small eczema patches cleared the past 2 days with diligent moisturizing. I really think it was the hot tub session a few days back that aggravated it. This has come as quite a relief! My lips are also totally under control despite the drying. Yay! I have been experiencing some new side affects though. First off, my nostrils are bone dry. My nose is has been full of boogers the past few days (sorry for the grossness lol). And this morning, I noticed some dry blood around my nostrils. Not too much, and honestly, I would not have even noticed if I didn't look closely in the mirror. I'm definately going to start putting aquaphor in my nose before bed to keep it from getting too bad. I had a few beers again the other night with friends and was fine. I did notice once again that I got drunk faster, but nothing like too scary. If anything it's nice because Idon't feel the need to drink as much. I also didn't have the slightest hangover whatsoever. I've been drinking a ton of water everyday, especially before drinking alcohol, which I believe has helped me drastically. I almost forgot, I also switched shampoos to hed and shoulders. My hair used to bee super oily, but it's drying out now and kinda itchy so I figured I'd change it up. What shampoos do y'all use?
Overall though, my skin feels awesome. My back is still a mess, but I expect this to clear soon seeing as my back is begining to dry out. My face feels a litle rougher because its a bit drier, but it still looks great. I am thrilled thus far!
My final question for y'all.... Do you have any bodywash recomendations for drying body skin and eczema? I am using Cetaphil gentle cleansing bar right now, but I'm thinking I'm gonna need something that is more moisturizing. My girlfriend swears by the Dove Nourishing bodywash for her eczema, but I'm not sure. I'm visiting her this weekend so I may try it for a few days. I also read that the Aveeno bodywash for dry/sensitive skin is awesome for eczema. What are all of your opinions?
Hey! We started almost at the same time. Will be interesting to see how our skin is similar/not so similar. Do you have any pictures to share? I hadn't heard of someone going on 50mg/day, but good for you.
P.S. does the OC-8 mattifying gel work well? I always wanted to try it, but now that my skin is getting dry I don't think I'll need to.
Hey! We started almost at the same time. Will be interesting to see how our skin is similar/not so similar. Do you have any pictures to share? I hadn't heard of someone going on 50mg/day, but good for you.
P.S. does the OC-8 mattifying gel work well? I always wanted to try it, but now that my skin is getting dry I don't think I'll need to.
Hey! I'll have to post some pictures so we can compare/contrast our progress. My situation is unique because my face was just about clear when I started from being on minocycline for so long. I would break out in cysts on my chin when I would stop though along with bad bacne; that's why I took the accutane plunge. Overall, other than dryness, my skin has remained clear. I have one small spot that keeps coming to a white head on my chin, but it was there before I started my course. It's like the size of a pinhead so its super tiny, but it's been stubborn. The accutane is definately pushing whatever was in the pore out.
And the OC-8 I've found works pretty well. I started using it in June of 2009, and have been using it everyday since. It's doesn't my any means make your skin perfectly matte all day, but it does make a HUGE difference. I wouldn't go out without it. I only use a small amount on my t-zone seeing as that is where I'm most oily. I'll use it in the morning, and then again before I go out at night. Another great benefit is it keeps your skin tone a little more even which is nice for me because I'm a guy so I don't have the help of make-up lol. I would recomend it if your still exeriencing some shine after your course. It's expensive, but the tube would last me around 7-8 months with use everyday when my skin was the most oily. I sued to get mine from my derm, but now I can get it on amazon pretty cheap.
Sounds like you've had an easy time so far, that's great news! For shampoo, I use a ton of different ones, but purchased one from Garnier specifically for dry/itchy scalp when I started to get itchy. I haven't been itchy for quite some time though, so I just alternate shampoos depending on what I'm feeling like for the day 
#girlproblems. I've used Dove body washes in the past and they are super nourishing since they contain 1/4 body lotion or something like that. They're known to be super gentle and good for sensitive skin, so definitely give it a try when you're at your girlfriend's.
Hey everybody! Hope y'all are having an awesome day. Also, hope all my accutane buddies currently fighting the good fight with me are doing well on their journey. Finally, thanks for all the supplement advice. You guys rock. I'm going out tonite to look for a good milk thistle and fish oil supplement.
DAY 15
Okay, I actally have some stuff to update today. First off, my skin is significantly drier. I've actually had to moisturize when I wake up as oppposed to having to dab my face with toilet paper to elimate the horrible shine. The accutane is begining to take affect which is nice. I still have not had a pimple since starting which I am ecstic about (knock on wood). Also, my small eczema patches cleared the past 2 days with diligent moisturizing. I really think it was the hot tub session a few days back that aggravated it. This has come as quite a relief! My lips are also totally under control despite the drying. Yay! I have been experiencing some new side affects though. First off, my nostrils are bone dry. My nose is has been full of boogers the past few days (sorry for the grossness lol). And this morning, I noticed some dry blood around my nostrils. Not too much, and honestly, I would not have even noticed if I didn't look closely in the mirror. I'm definately going to start putting aquaphor in my nose before bed to keep it from getting too bad. I had a few beers again the other night with friends and was fine. I did notice once again that I got drunk faster, but nothing like too scary. If anything it's nice because Idon't feel the need to drink as much. I also didn't have the slightest hangover whatsoever. I've been drinking a ton of water everyday, especially before drinking alcohol, which I believe has helped me drastically. I almost forgot, I also switched shampoos to hed and shoulders. My hair used to bee super oily, but it's drying out now and kinda itchy so I figured I'd change it up. What shampoos do y'all use?
Overall though, my skin feels awesome. My back is still a mess, but I expect this to clear soon seeing as my back is begining to dry out. My face feels a litle rougher because its a bit drier, but it still looks great. I am thrilled thus far!
My final question for y'all.... Do you have any bodywash recomendations for drying body skin and eczema? I am using Cetaphil gentle cleansing bar right now, but I'm thinking I'm gonna need something that is more moisturizing. My girlfriend swears by the Dove Nourishing bodywash for her eczema, but I'm not sure. I'm visiting her this weekend so I may try it for a few days. I also read that the Aveeno bodywash for dry/sensitive skin is awesome for eczema. What are all of your opinions?
H&S shampoo has saved me. I used to be oily too and then the dandruff and itchiness started. Not attractive. I got rid of it though with H&S. Good call Apple smells amazing, if you haven't tried it, haha.
I use the dove wash but it just seems overpriced for what it does. If you are dry, use your normal wash and then when you're in the shower, pour a little bit of baby oil or jojoba oil onto your hands and massage it in. Then you can rinse it off. I use baby oil becuase I don't break out on my body, but you could use jojoba if you tend to get body acne. It works pretty well and keeps my scaly legs in check!!
Keep drinking the water. I too have noticed if I drink a glass of wine I feel buzzed very quickly. ALSO, when I wake up, I feel SO thirsty its ridiculous. Like a normal hangover thirst multiplied by a million. Best to limit the drinking I guess.
Thanks for the tip tip on the jojoba oil! I'm thinking abuout ordering some of dan's to add to my oisturizer for my face and body for some extra moisture. What brand do you use? I loved dan's BP so I would like to try his, but I don't want to pay to have just that shipped.
Also, I've deinfately noticed the buzz coming on quicker with alcohol, but no hangover problems. I honstly think it's because I'm drinking like a lot less since starting accutane. My drinking habits were pretty repulsive before I started lol. What can I say, it's the frat boy in me lol. I've also been drinking a gatorade or water prior to drinking because I feel that is the best way to avoid a hangover in general.
I've been having great luck with the head and shoulders too! I havent scratched my head at all since starting it. Definately a necessary product for us accutane users. I do love being able to run my hands through my hair at the end of the day, and not feeling an oily mess.
Thanks for the tip tip on the jojoba oil! I'm thinking abuout ordering some of dan's to add to my oisturizer for my face and body for some extra moisture. What brand do you use? I loved dan's BP so I would like to try his, but I don't want to pay to have just that shipped.
Also, I've deinfately noticed the buzz coming on quicker with alcohol, but no hangover problems. I honstly think it's because I'm drinking like a lot less since starting accutane. My drinking habits were pretty repulsive before I started lol. What can I say, it's the frat boy in me lol. I've also been drinking a gatorade or water prior to drinking because I feel that is the best way to avoid a hangover in general.
I've been having great luck with the head and shoulders too! I havent scratched my head at all since starting it. Definately a necessary product for us accutane users. I do love being able to run my hands through my hair at the end of the day, and not feeling an oily mess.
AGREED! It is so nice. Before, I'd usually shower before work, then if I was going out afterwards, I'd have to go home and shower yet again and rewash my hair because it was oily.....ew.....not anymore! 
Yeah, my drinking has slowed too. I used to overdo it on the weekends, definitely.
I use Desert Essence for jojoba oil. Try cross referencing the ingredients list online for that one versus Dan's. I got mine at my local grocer in the health food section. It was like 10 bucks and will last a LONG time.
DAY 22
Hey everyone!! Hope everyone is doing awesome!
Okay, so I havent updated in forever cuz I was out of town, but I'm back and ready to update more regularly. First off, I am WAY more dry. I used to oil blot at least 2 times a day and use OC-8. Now I just wash my face in the morning, moisturize a ton, put on some OC-8 and I am good all day. I used to never leave the house without oil blotting when I woke up and now, its not a problem. My face is still pretty much perfect as far as acne goes. That one stubborn whitehead finally I think is gone for good. The small eczema patch is still pretty much under control with lots of moisturizer, but it feels rougher. My skin overall is a little rough from the peeling though so it could just be a lttle irritation. I also have a little spot above my lip that is probably from the lip treatment. I just gotta be more carefull with the aquaphor at night. I also got carmex today to use throughout the day because the blistex wasn't cutting it (I'm still keeping it around for the sun though cuz its SPF 30).
So last weekend I went back to my school to visit my girlfriend, and I drank three days in a row. I didn't drink myself stupid, but I was pretty hammered 2 of the 3 nights. I found it harder than I thought to keep my consumption down with my friends at school. I gotta be more responsible! But luckily I didn't get any hangovers and I feel great! I have my blood test thursday so I guess that will tell the tale (fingers crossed).
Overall though I'm thrilled with my experience thus far. My back is even starting to clear a little which is pretty sweet!
Thanks! I'm sure your not far away from perfect skin! I love checking on everyone's status on here as we make this journey together. I wouldn't wish acne on my worst enemy, and feel quite deeply for all of us who struggle with it everyday. I was lucky enough to come into this with already being on an antibiotic and retinoid so I believe my skin was purged for the most part already. Honestly, I didn't have too bad of an IB with retin-a either which I was so thankful for. My acne the past 2 years has been reduced to just a few deep, painfull cysts rather than full blown breakouts. I feel all these factors combined have contributed to my lack of IB on accutane.
The one thing I keep having pop up over the past few days have been little pimples above my upper lip. Nothing to serious, but kinda annoying. I'm pretty sure it's a result of my lip treatment, but hard to say at this point. Just gotta keep the aquaphor and lip balm only on my lips.
Hope everyone's doin well, and is keepin on fighting the good fight!
DAY 27 (I think)
Mk, first off hope everyone is doin well with their course. We're all getting closer and closer to being all done.
For the skin, not much to report. I've notced 2 hard spots under my the skin on my chin, but nothing coming to a head or even visible so no worries. I've gotten these before. They're these bumps that are invisisble and enever devlope into pimples, but I can feel them when I wash. I'm just very gentle with them and they seem to go away. Hoping this will be the case this time as well (fingers crossed). The spots above my lip seem to be going away nicely, but they were really tiny anyways. My skin is deinfately drying out even more. I hardly need any OC-8 at this point. My back has even stopped breaking out. There's no actives, but lots of red marks that should fade with time. I haven't been clear on my back in long time so this is a welcome sight. Hello beach season lol.
And for the final good news, my blood work came back normal! I was worried cuz I drank a decent amount this month (woops). Like I got shitty more times than I would have liked. This month I really only have one trip for a weekend planned where I know I'll drink like a fish, but other than that I plan to stay clear of alcohol besides the casual weekend beer. I work a lot more this month as well, so I wont have as much time to drink anyways....
Day 30
Hey everyone! So I just went to my derm for my one month. He was really happy with my results so far. He said I was still pretty oily though so I still have some ways to go. I have a TON of blackheads though. Like my whole nose and chin are blackheads. That's not all bad because at least it's all being pushed out. As a guy it's not a huge deal though. I got to look at my bloodwork charts (my derm knows I'm interested so he shows me all the cool charts and whatnot). My blood work is better than average which I am thrilled about considering I've been boozing a bit more than I should have the past month. He wanted to stay at 50mg. That's a fairly average dose for my size from what he said, so he said he soesn't wana risk getting worse side affects from an increase in dosage. He also talked about being happy with the blood work and he doesn't want that to be thrown off with a dose increase. I feel he pretty much gets that I drink on it, so if the dose is yeilding great numbers and results, there's no reason to mess with it.
That all sounds great! Congratz on starting month 2!
It's great to hear you're not breaking out. That's awesome. Hope it stays that way. I wish I had taken Retin-A before starting my dose. My derm had prescribed it, but I was in a hurry for accutane:P
Thanks! Honestly I think it's just exchanging one IB for another. I wish I would have taken the accutane plunge earlier instead of messing around with so many antibiotics and topicals....
Day 32
Hey everyone!
So I'm geting into month 2, and guess what, I'm breaking out a little bit. I got a few more small pimples above my lip and I have 2 pretty painfull lumps under my chin. They're dark almost like a hyperpigmentation marks, but not like full blown pimples. They are both on the jaw line on my chin. The one is starting to fade and isn't as painful, but the other one was was worse when I woke up this morning. I'm hoping it just fades away like the other one and doesn't turn into a full blown cyst. I also got another smll whitehead on my chin, but it already came to a head so it should be gone in a day or 2. Other than that, nothing new to report. I don't feel I'm drying out as fast as I was at the begining, which is a double edged sword. Obviously I want to get rid of the excess oil to get rid of the acne, but I'm not getting as much irritation because I'm not drying as much as well. Guess I just have to be patient!
I've been busy as hell with work and I'm going out of town this weekend so that's why I havent been as active on the boards lately. Hope everyone is doing awesome!! I'll be back on Monday to update about these nasty bumps on my chin.
Hope everyone has a good weekned!!!!!
DAY 37
Hey everybody! So I just got back from my weekend trip away. I went to Cedar Point in Ohio, aka the roller coaster capital in the world and it totally rocked. Multiple world record roller coasters, it was intense. I'm only on day 37 because we stayed an extra day so I missed a dose. No worries though the cumulative dose is what really matters, so no biggie.
So I actually have something to report again. First off, both those nasty lumps on my chin are almost gone. They just faded away. Yay! And some bad news... the eczema on my arms is horrible. Like covering my entire bicep. It started coming out last wednesday where I was outside in 95 degree heat for work all day (I'm almost never outside for work). Then it came back when I was in the sun all day at the amusement park this weekend. So this begs my question.... was it the sun that aggravated it or the sunscreen? I'm using neutrogena SPF 45 that non comedogenic and pretty good stuff. I'm not sure if I should try another sunscreen? Any recomendations? Right now I'm loading up on Cerave Cream to treat it, and I've even started using a steroid cream at night.
Other than that, I'm pretty good as far a everything goes. I drank again this weekend a bit.... I'm really trying to cut back though. It's hard because it's such a big part of my social life, and I'm kinda a wild person so this is a change for me lol. My skin is getting really dry too. It's weird, one week I wont feel all that dry, and the next I'm flaky and dry. I think it could be from the sun as well, but I don't look burnt? Oh well just have to stay on top of my moisturizing!
I'll update on the eczema. How has anyone else dealt with this. The advice Im hearing a lot is moisturize, but any other tricks? I'm thinking of changing from Cetaphil cleansing bar to an aveeno body wash for eczema.
Hope everyone else is doin well!!!
So the eczema is clearing from the steroid cream. But I was thinking, is it okay to use a steroid cream while on accutane?
Also, I lifted weights today for the first time since starting. I was unable to in the first month due to my epididymitis, but thats all cleared up so I got back into it. I usually powerlift 5x per week. It went pretty wel actually. I fatigued quicker, but I think that's from the month off. My back hurt a little when laying on the bench to work on chest, but nothing that would keep me from lifting. I'm super pummped about this seeing as it is something I really enjoy.
In realtion to this, has anyone experienced decreased appetite while on accutane? I'm usually hungry all the time, and I need to eat A LOT to maintain my weight. I started acccutane right after the flu so I was down about 10 pounds and I've been unable to gian it back. Anyone got any info on this?
Okay, I've been noticing this too: the small patch of eczema I have on my right hand gets irritated when I've been in the sun all day. I think it could be due to accutane's sun sensitivity inducing properties. When I was in high school, I used to get itchy small patches on my chin, my hands, and my lips would get itchy from the sun. This "eczema" looks just like that. I think what this is, is just sun sensitivity. I don't know how I grew out of it, but I did, and now it's making a reappearance from accutane. The eczema patch is similar: get's worse after long exposure to the sun.
And now that you mention it, I do have decreased appetite:S I used to eat, guilt free, all the time. Now, I usually forget that I haven't eaten for 5 hours straight. I do snack here and there, and drink PLENTY of water. A great thing I've noticed is that I don't get headaches anymore, from keeping hydrated all day. I was prone to getting headaches weekly before accutane. It kinda runs in the family. So many things triggered my headaches, but I guess now I know how I can prevent them.
As for the decreased appetite, I would attribute mine to water intake. I try to stay hydrated all day, and that certainly keeps me from snacking which I used to do all day pre-accutane.
Glad you can still work out. I am working out too, mostly cardio and light strength training (I don't really know where to start with weights...haha) but I haven't been TOO sore afterwards. Although I went fourwheeling/atving and died for the next two days following....such bad aches and pains. Oh well, so worth it, I had a blast.
HOWEVER, I got so many mosquito bites that turned into big scabs that I look like one giant scab. okay that is an exaggeration but you know what I mean. I hope. Haha.
Thanks droidone! I'm happy to hear someone else experienced this. To come to think of it I don remeber getting this at the beach a few years back as well at the beach. I've never been a heat/sun person, but I LOVE the beach so 
lol. And akbrighteyes I worked out a again today and it was even better. I lifted back which I thought would hurt bad and I was fine! I think getting active is helping with the pain and tiredness. That's good though that you can still do cardio without getting too tired!
I'm also a weightlifter and I've noticed that my strength/size progress is nowhere near as good as prior to accutane. Like you, I have a decreased appetite so it makes it really hard to eat the calories I need. I've lost a lot of weight. Normally I would be upset but I've reasoned that this is only temporary and a small price to pay for a clear face.
I'm also a weightlifter and I've noticed that my strength/size progress is nowhere near as good as prior to accutane. Like you, I have a decreased appetite so it makes it really hard to eat the calories I need. I've lost a lot of weight. Normally I would be upset but I've reasoned that this is only temporary and a small price to pay for a clear face.
Hey man, good to hear from another weight lifter. I'm super bummed too about the weight loss too. I went on accutane literally like a week after having the worst flu ever so I was already down in weight about 10 pounds. I'm built really thin so this whole not being hungy thing is killin my gains lol. I took a month off lifting for other health problems and it happened to coincide with starting accutane. I'm having a hard time distinguishing whether the loss of strength is from the time off or the accutane becasue this is the longest break from the gym ive had in a looong time lol.... More than anything is my stamina is down. I'll be fine on the first set, and then I'll be dying by the third or fourth on a weight that I normaly have no trouble with. And I've also noticed that my cmopound lifts like squat and bench have suffered more than my isolation lifts like curls. That full body exertion just wipes me out since started accutane. Have you noticed any of that?
And yes, this minor set back in training for clear skin is more than worth it. I'm just doin my best to stay commited and not get discouraged during my course.
Day 45ish
Okay, so I don't rememerb what day it is because I havent updated in a while... Sorry I havent been as active and posting on other pages as well, I've been busy and out of town again. So anyways, I have some things to update...
First off, my ezema is all clear again. I think it was the excessive sun expsoure that got me. I put some steroid cream on it and it's been gone ever since. I even got some sun on the 4th of July, and not eczema! yay! But guess, what.... I've got a pretty nasty cyst on the side of my chin. I had the beginings of cysts before but they cleared up. This one is about 50% in. Its not too too red, but It's definately noticable and hurts pretty bad. Considering I've had almost no other considerable IB, I can't complain too much. I'm hoping this goes away quickly, which I am thinking it will.
Another thing that has been buggin me is this lump under my chin. Its not big in area but it is very easily felt when I wash... It doesn't hurt and it isn't red, but its pretty big. I wonder what it is? It's been there for over about a month now and isn't getting smaller which I'm finding odd. Any ideas? It has me a little uneasy because it doesn't look or feel like a cyst. I'm goign to bring it up to my derm during my appointment in 2 weeks. I just really hope it doesnt begin to hurt or become visible...
And last but not least, I think accutane may be messing with my emotions. I've been exremely moody the past few weeks. I wasn't sure why, but it's definaetly noticebale. I feel down for no reason randomly a lot. It isn't all the time, but it does happen pretty frequently. I have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety back in high school, and this feels similar. It hasn't been like debilitating, but it is making me uneasy. Then again, this could be unrelated.... I always tend to get a little depressed in the summer from being more isolated than I am at school. I work a decent amount and dont see my friends all that much compared to at school, where I live in a house with 50 people. I cant tell whether the accutane is to blame, but I'm going to keep a close eye on it for sure.
I'm happy to be back and hope everyone is doin well!
Another thing I forgot to mention was last friday, I woke up around 6 in the morning with a nasty fever and chills and just plain physical exhaustion. I drank very aggressively for the fourth of July (woops), but those was 2 days later so I hope they weren't related. I also noticed that due to being out of town, I wasn't hydrating as much as usual, and I think dehydration contributed to this. That combined with 100 degree weather just wiped me out. Accutane, especially if you decide to drink, I've found to be VERY dehydrating. I gotta stay on top of my hydating!