Day 1:

Probably just physcological but ive had a headache all day since i took the first pill, just took the second. Think its more down to the anxiety of it rather than the actual medicine.

On a side note, my previous question still stands

day 2:

Going to start by saying i wont be updating EVERYDAY unless i have something constructive to add to this log lol.

I dont know if its the whole placebo effect, but this afternoon was the first one for a while my oily and itchy at the same time, usualy always happens in the afternoons at work. I got like a tingling feeling (best way to describe it was the first time i Used BP and started to feel it drying out my skin, although the feeling in this case wasnt drying) for most of the afternoon and still have it. Again, this could just be a placebo effect or just in my head, who knows, i just thought it was worth noting, incase anyone wants to compare notes lol.

Been freaking out a little bit(incase the medication doesnt kick in) because of the fact i cant swallow the tablets and ive been crunching them and swallowing really quickly and necking a pint of water straight away. I know this isnt the right method but ill contact my gp/derm if i get any side effects in my throat and i plan to ask for smaller tablets next time to see if that works

Kinda want the side effects to come on quicker, just so i know its definitly qorking lol.

day 4:

stress over, i now know these drugs are kicking in despite me not taking them according to the leaflet. Both cheeks are burning when i wake up and are dry throughout the day. phew

5 days in and i was just wondering is an IB possible at this early stage? My face looks fucked up right now and im getting spots in places i never usualy do, my forehead, nose etc

5 days in and i was just wondering is an IB possible at this early stage? My face looks fucked up right now and im getting spots in places i never usualy do, my forehead, nose etc

 

3-5 days after I started accutane I had one of the worst breakous ever. I got big red inflamed pimples and cysts all over. (while I did have cystic acne to begin with I never had so many) and they would scab..and bleed...Ill spare you the details. but yes it is possible. This is also when i started to get a dry face and lips. I also continued to break out weekly and had another bad IB during month 2 (when my dosage was doubled from 40-80mg) about a week after starting a new dose.

good luck!

5 days in and i was just wondering is an IB possible at this early stage? My face looks fucked up right now and im getting spots in places i never usualy do, my forehead, nose etc

 

3-5 days after I started accutane I had one of the worst breakous ever. I got big red inflamed pimples and cysts all over. (while I did have cystic acne to begin with I never had so many) and they would scab..and bleed...Ill spare you the details. but yes it is possible. This is also when i started to get a dry face and lips. I also continued to break out weekly and had another bad IB during month 2 (when my dosage was doubled from 40-80mg) about a week after starting a new dose.

good luck!

 

Thank you for the reply. Your story is pretty much identical to mine as far as the early stages go, theyve started me on 40mg, i think im having the first initial breakout, lips are sore, face is sore and im tired all the time, only 5 days in. They plan to up my cumalative dose to 90mg eventually, dont know why, but im on 2x20mg for 8 weeks then another derm appointment. Wish me luck, thanks again for the reply

Good luck bro !

U didin't tell us about your acne?

Mild/Moderate/Severe?

on the derms grading system(im british so assuming your american, they might not use the same system) i was 6/7, 9 is the worse, 1 is mild and so on.

Im grossly uneducated when it comes to specifics and names and stuff but i hope that helps

I was 6/7 when I first started accutane that means in 22 June , but after only 18 days I had to stop because of a severe inital breakout , I stoped for 2 1/2 weeks, and in that period my acne from 6/7 became 9/10, now it's at 8/9 and decreasing.(as I stared the tratment again)

Anyways dont be afraid , this bad inital break out is very rare ..thank God it's summer break and I don't need to go to school or something.

Aw sry I count 10 as beeing the worse not 9.

5 days in and i was just wondering is an IB possible at this early stage? My face looks fucked up right now and im getting spots in places i never usualy do, my forehead, nose etc

 

3-5 days after I started accutane I had one of the worst breakous ever. I got big red inflamed pimples and cysts all over. (while I did have cystic acne to begin with I never had so many) and they would scab..and bleed...Ill spare you the details. but yes it is possible. This is also when i started to get a dry face and lips. I also continued to break out weekly and had another bad IB during month 2 (when my dosage was doubled from 40-80mg) about a week after starting a new dose.

good luck!

 

Thank you for the reply. Your story is pretty much identical to mine as far as the early stages go, theyve started me on 40mg, i think im having the first initial breakout, lips are sore, face is sore and im tired all the time, only 5 days in. They plan to up my cumalative dose to 90mg eventually, dont know why, but im on 2x20mg for 8 weeks then another derm appointment. Wish me luck, thanks again for the reply

 

NP, also your face will adjust to the dryness...at least after the first month my skin stopped flaking all the time and I didn't need to apply chapstick every couple of hours. I am in the middle of my 3rd month and I barely need chapstick and I don't think i need to moisturize but i do regardless. I am also just starting to see some clarity finally and the drug seems to be working...my guess would be, disregarding my red marks, a 50-60% improvement so far, so hang in there the IB is tough. My acne when I started was probably moderate/ slightly severe cystic scarring acne. I would probably rate my acne 6/7 out of 9 too, but I am in the US so we dont have that scale.

PS I am also 22 and nobody my age has acne either. It is embarassing, i feel you man.

BTW OP, do not break the pills in half - i believe it can affect the effectiveness and delivery system. Not safe at all.

Good Luck!

BTW OP, do not break the pills in half - i believe it can affect the effectiveness and delivery system. Not safe at all.

Good Luck!

 

its not really optional at the minute. Believe me im trying everything, full glasses of water, different types of food, full glasses of soft drinks, milk, think just wont go down, im not giving up ill keep trying, just that nothing has worked yet.... going to invest in some tic tacs and just practice for like ten hours cause i really wanna nail this. Something thats so trivial for other people is such a massive thing for me lol, cause ive never been able to swallow pills in my life.

As for the effectiveness, im on day 6 and the dryness of my lips and face are still going on, chapstick/moisterizer are helping. Kind of a sore throat i think, but that could again be more mental than physical. Monitoring my throat very closely and any kind of pain ill stop taking the pills and contact my derm, and probably ask for the 10mg pills

day 7

Dry lips are kicking my ass, using a lot of lip balm and it helps for an hour or two.

Little bit of dry skin around my mouth but the amount of acne on my left cheek has tripled in this past week, which sucks cause it was already severe.

Still yet to swallow a pill properly, tying peanut butter today lol.....

day 8

face is very red, i moisterize in the morning before work but the redness hasnt subsided and a lot of my spots are drying rapidly, skins a little bit flaky everywhere and lips dry out a lot.

Feel tired and lethargic all day, i think this is due to my eyes being kinda dry? Finding it difficult to pinpoint at the minute to be honest.

No energy, relying heavily on energy drinks to get me through the day at work which isnt the best for me, but ill do what ever it takes.

Still yet to swallow a whole pill lol. No throat symptoms as of yet though

Well here you are, Mr. Britt I found your log...

How much do you weigh (if you don't mind me asking)? My dosage is almost as much as yours (30mg). I have noticed that Americans always seem to take a more aggressive approach in regards to accutane.

Acne sucks so effing bad. I feel like a leper.

How long will you be on your treatment?

If you were here, I would wrap you pill in a bit of bacon or cheese and massage your throat as you wolf it down. (hahahha...like my dogs).

JK. That sucks that it's so hard for you to swallow it

Try shoving it way down your throat and them swallowing something else....Like pudding or yogurt. IDK. Good luck though :/

Keep me posted, Brah!

Put the pill on the very back of your tongue, tilt your head back, and take a big gulp of water and throw your head back even further. I had the same issue not being able to swallow pills and this method worked years ago.

Well here you are, Mr. Britt I found your log...

How much do you weigh (if you don't mind me asking)? My dosage is almost as much as yours (30mg). I have noticed that Americans always seem to take a more aggressive approach in regards to accutane.

Acne sucks so effing bad. I feel like a leper.

How long will you be on your treatment?

If you were here, I would wrap you pill in a bit of bacon or cheese and massage your throat as you wolf it down. (hahahha...like my dogs).

JK. That sucks that it's so hard for you to swallow it

Try shoving it way down your throat and them swallowing something else....Like pudding or yogurt. IDK. Good luck though :/

Keep me posted, Brah!

 

I weigh 64kg, im 5'7. They started me on 40mg with a cumalative dose that goes up to 90mg, thats all i know.im assuming its the standard 6 month timeframe but he did specifically say its dependant on side effects/tolerance, ill have the same amount regardless and it will have the same effects he might just have to span it over a longer period if the effects worsen etc.

Put the pill on the very back of your tongue, tilt your head back, and take a big gulp of water and throw your head back even further. I had the same issue not being able to swallow pills and this method worked years ago.

 

i keep trying that with tictacs but everytime i tilt my head back it just rolls to the front of my mouth lol, i wont give up and ill get there eventually. The effects of this drug are definitly kicking in without me swallowing the pill whole, i just have to be extra carefull cause theres some scary stories about it damaging the asophogus (sp?) and stuff.

day 10

Duble figures lol. The dry skin and lips are stil occuring but nothing that isnt managebale.Still getting a shit load of white heads either side of my mouth, which i never got pre-accutane... New spots popping up pretty much the same as before along with a ew new places, side of nose, temple etc.

Best way to describe th dryness is like the spots turn into tiny colesaws/scabs kind of, i think thats just the dryness.

off topic: got an infection in my lower left wisdom tooth which is still growing. Cant chew food properly, cant swallow properly... which sucks because im going to a music festival 3am friday morning. (v festival, weston park, incase any of you uk users are also going)

day 14

Spent the past 3 days at a music festival, it was difficult not drinking much but i managed, think i had around 8 beers over 3 days lol! This stuff is definitly working as far as i can see, drying my skin pretty badly and the spots i already have are drying ra;idly and "scabbing" over, kinda flaking off but its hard to describe. Lips are still pretty dry. I thought i had my IB last week but the rate there dissapearing/healing im guessing the worst is still to come but im fine with that as long as i get the results i want long term. Having to use moisterizer 3x a day now and lip balm pretty much all the time

day 16

dryness around my mouth is pretty bad to the sides and above my mouth. to the point were i look in the mirror 5 hours after applying moisterizer and its just white from the flaky skin and dried up spots lol. lips are Really dry and woke up with a few cracks but im applying the lip balm a lot more than i started off, so should fix its self.

Only new thing is that my face looks as red as a tomato, but im fine with it lol.

Glad to hear it is going well... I'm also in the UK and it does seem like our Drs are more cautious with the starting dose - mine has started me on 20mg (120kg & tall too).

I don't know if they do some 5mg or 10mg pills which may be smaller and easier for you to swallow? Although you would then obviously have to take more of them.

I would speak to your DR about splitting or chewing them before taking as some medications do come in a special coating which is designed to make them release/absorb into the body in a specific way.

The pills aren't that big so not being able to swallow them sounds like a psychological issue really as I reckon most people would swallow much larger chunks of food whole..... especially if they are eating in a rush and now chewing properly........................not that it makes much difference I guess, because if you can't get em down in 1 it doesn't really matter why........

the way i see things is that the drugs are definitly working right now and theres no notcable damage to my throat, but im monitoring the situation closely, and ill be raising the issue at my next derm appt

day 19

Almost 3 weeks wow. the right side of my face is noticibly clearer than it was at the beggining of this treatment, the left side is 10x worse but was always worse than my right side, not sure why lol.

Dry skin, to the point were my face just looks white from all the flakes a couple hours after using moisterizer, tiredness dry chapped lips are my only side effects so far (aswell as wat i assume is the IB i got, but i wont hold my breath cause im assuming ill soon deteriate again before this course is over haha). Also getting dry itchy patches on my arms so im gona start moisterizing them more.

Im using "simple cleanser", "simple 12hr moisterizer" and just some cheap lip balm i found, but if anyone can reccomend any good products for british people feel free to leave a comment)

day 21

The dryness seems to have calmed down a little? Still always tired and still getting chapped lips. Still look like crap though. My previous question still stands btw ^