Hey! i decided to post here too my accutane journey so here it go
I'm a 17 years old female from Romania.
I started the treatment with Sotret on 26 July 2012 20mg/day, one pill in the morning and one in the evening. I have also 2 creams Skinoren ( use it in the morning) and Isotrexin (evening). I clean my face with the cleansing milk for sensitive skin Bioderma then with the SebaMed Cleansing Bar. i have as a moisturizer Atoderm Cream Bioderma.
I'm using Aloe Lips with Jojoba from Forever Living for my lips.
all my problems with the acnee began in 2010 october-november something like this. before that time i only had like the all teenagers one pimple here, one there etc and on the forehead.
( december 2010)
(and if i was sad then how i have to be now hahaha?)
In february or march 2011 i went to a dermatologist ( untill september 2011 i've been at 4 dermatologists, every time they gave me another creams and drugs, i used one time skinoren, one time brevoxyl , isotrexin, effaclar duo, iwostin purritin and many onthers creams and in august 2011 i took doxycycline but only 15 days [ maybe i should have taken more time i know] and then tetracycline for 3 months (i finished them at the end of december)
one of these dermatologists told me about accutane but we (my family) was total against then because everyone told us that it can affect the CNS and it makes depressions and there were some people who killed themselves and a lot of scary stories :-s )
of course we didn't know anything about this drug and we believed : -"
(june 2011)
with my left cheek i have almost no picture because it was horrible
and right cheek
(august 2011)
(november 2011, with foundation(after8hours))
(january 2012, with foundation)
(end of may 2012, with my macon skin equilibrium cream tinted version) i stopped using foundation by ~ february 2012 and i'm using this cream since then
and finally in july 2012 in went at another dermatologist and he told me (again) about Sotret. Then i found this site and i read all your stories & i said that is the last opportunity to get rid of the acne. And here i am in my first week of many taking Sotret. I hope that in the end of the treatment my skin will be like the girls' i was ever jealous of .
DAY 7
- right cheek
- left cheek
- forehead
- nose
- chin
I have nodules/cysts that maybe cannot be seen in the photos but i feel them and i know that they have to come to the surface.
DAY 11
my lips ,,, even in the winter i hadn't so dry lips
i don't see any improvement ( yeah maybe it's too soon )
since i'm taking Sotret i had like 2 new pimples on my chin and now i feel another one. these ones hurt the most x(
My skin is sooooo dry and after i wash it i feel it stings(auch)
- right cheek
- left cheek
- chin
- nose
- forehead
DAY 19
I don't see too much improvement and my face neither got worse (maybe i'm the only who don't see anything because i look at my face everyday)
only that MY SKIN IS SO DRY all my body (especially my legs)
i have always the lip balm with me because i really need it. my lips hurts if i don't use it.
yesterday i stopped putting on my face skinoren and isotrexin because i needed to moisturize it
i had no pains these days
i hate that i can't wax :'( hate hate hateeee! i don't like using that depilatory cream. never will be the samee. if i get angry on this i'll start to pluck with the tweezers each hair shaft hahaha
no sign of IB or i don't see it
today's photos
right cheek
left cheek
chin
forehead
nose
AND DAY 24 TODAY 18.08.2012
today someone said to me that my skin looks better ( she saw me one month ago, before i've started with accutane) I'm the only who don't see it?! a few days ago i went out with my family and i used my tinted cream but before i needed to moisturize my face. even with it , those red marks or what they are look horrible
(these photos are made with the phone camera so,,, bad quality )
this next tuesday i think i'll go at my derm. and i'm so curious about what he will say. i have to ask him if i've to keep using those creams (skinoren and isotrexin) because my face is so dry and so damaged that every time i put the cream on my face it's like my skin burns !! and dries my face more. that's why two or three times i didn't use them, i used only my moisturizing cream. i really needed it so i'm sorry if i shouldn't do that
affortunately i had no more chest,knees or back pain, no headache, only my lips are so soo dry.
I have some difficulty in breathing, like the inspired air does not reach the lungs and i need to take a deep breath through my mouth, yeah it's hard to explain
i had some problems in the past but after i started this treatment they come back and i don't like it. maybe it's not the accutane but i don't know what can be.
and here are some photos
left cheek ( the last photo is in the sun light )
right cheek ( the last photo is in the sun light )
nose
chin
forehead
Eek! Your lips, looks really painful, you're not getting the creams on them are you? I've never heard of a derm recommending any dosage of Isotretinoin with topicals. Especially one that is a topical analogue of Isotretinoin- isotrexin. I don't even think that is marketed here in th U.S. A 20mg dose is also super low unless you're planning on doing a longgggg course. I realize a lot of international members think U.S. docs use higher than needed dosages, but research definitely supports the length of efficacy of Accutane is directly correlated to cumulative dosage.
Again I'd get rid of those topicals! You're basically chemically burning your skin from the outside concurrent to Accutane shutting down your natural sebum production. I feel for you! Try and find a sugar lip scrub with peppermint oil. Leave it on while you're at home- then gently wipe it off once it's all but absorbed to get the sugar crystals off our lips, and apply lip balm. This will help the balm reach healthy skin, plus the menthol will soothe the chapped feeling. Hang in there and def consider doing away with the topicals and potentially increasing your dose to a 1mg/kg/day. I won't lie, you'll still have drrrrrryyyy skin but at least you won't feel so irradiated as well!
-Jordan
Eek! Your lips, looks really painful, you're not getting the creams on them are you? I've never heard of a derm recommending any dosage of Isotretinoin with topicals. Especially one that is a topical analogue of Isotretinoin- isotrexin. I don't even think that is marketed here in th U.S. A 20mg dose is also super low unless you're planning on doing a longgggg course. I realize a lot of international members think U.S. docs use higher than needed dosages, but research definitely supports the length of efficacy of Accutane is directly correlated to cumulative dosage.
Again I'd get rid of those topicals! You're basically chemically burning your skin from the outside concurrent to Accutane shutting down your natural sebum production. I feel for you! Try and find a sugar lip scrub with peppermint oil. Leave it on while you're at home- then gently wipe it off once it's all but absorbed to get the sugar crystals off our lips, and apply lip balm. This will help the balm reach healthy skin, plus the menthol will soothe the chapped feeling. Hang in there and def consider doing away with the topicals and potentially increasing your dose to a 1mg/kg/day. I won't lie, you'll still have drrrrrryyyy skin but at least you won't feel so irradiated as well!
-Jordan
Tomorrow i have an appointment with my derm so maybe he'll raise my dose.(he said it will be a 6 months course(at least)) sometimes i feel that it do nothing, that is too low. he didn't even ask me how much i weigh so i don't know how he plans my treatment
NOo noooo i don't get creams on them. he said that the isotrexin will be used only for a short time, not along the entire course ( yeah i'll see what he says now haha, but sometimes i just can't use it)
thanks for your advice. may it be a DIY sugar lip scrub with peppermint oil? idon't think i'll find something like this in my city
DIY is probably cheapest, but those sugar scrubs with peppermint oil really got me through. The company Philosophy here in the U.S. (cosmetics) makes one, it's silly expensive for the length of time it lasts on Accutane, but I think they post their general ingredients- perhaps you could combine that with a DIYers recipe.
And again I'd really scrap those topicals, the burning you get isn't due to Accutane (accutane does dry your skin out) but it shouldn't feel like you've been burned by uv (unless your sunburnt) or chemically burned. That's the topical causing that awful feeling. Your lips are going to stay annoying/painfully chapped throughout the Accutane course, but they shouldn't be so bloody ish if you're applying lip balm every hour ish (what I recommend) or at least every few hours obviously the one exception being when you're sleeping! I'm on day 15ish of my second course in less than a year for super mild acne (which a lot of people think im crazy for)- so far this round I haven't had the lip scrub I referred to, and I'm really noticing it I can't tout it enough. Hope it helps/you get the right regime figured out. It does work and is worth putting up with the uber chapped lips for a six month period (maybe 7 months) by the time the drugs affects wear off).
Day 27
Yeah today i had the appointment with my derm and i came home so pissed off!! I ask him if he'll raise my dose and he said no. and he won't do it the entire treatment maybe only decreasing the dose. and i was something really?! whyyyyyyyy?! everyone has bigger dose than mine. 20mg/day.
in this way i'll reach my cumulative dose in 9 months!! 9!! no waaay!
and moreover today went my cousin(boy) and a friend of mine(girl) at this derm too. and they received the same treatment 20mg/day,in the morning Skinoren and in the evening Brevoxyl ( Isotrexin can't be found anymore he said so they will use Brevoxyl. but i will still look after Isotrexin and i don't know what i'll do if i don't find it)
when i arrived home i was so i don't know affected about this, i felt so confused that i started to cry. why i have to stay on the same dose while you, the others are on 40, 60etc mg/day and why everyone receives the same treatment like me, i mean doesn't matter how much you weigh and how severe is your acne and all this things?
my parents said that maybe i'm on a so low dose because i have the creams too and i don't know what else.
anyway today i wasn't me haha i got mad very easily and usually i'm a calm person
and about my skin
-so soo dry lips
-i have blackheads everywhere on my face( you can see them, don't you?)
-in the first picture you can see near my mounth new cysts ( btw the doc. said that the new cysts will not break out so bad now, well i'll see)
and here it's 22:52 and i don't know if i have anything else to say hahaha
today's photos
left cheek
right cheek
chin
nose
forehead
and @aracon504 i have to continue with these topicals
I would look for another physician. Ultimately, the unique thing about Accutane is its ability to fight acne on numerous levels (kills bacteria, acts as an anti-inflammatory, reduces sebum production, causes new cell-turnover) its mechanism is a synthetic derivative of vitamin A that is fat soluble and similarly the body produces small amounts of a natural substance in small amounts. That being said its stored in your liver and thus the idea of cumulative dosage being the only important factor. If I were you'd I'd definitely want at least 40mg (anything lower is generally considered an indefinite long term dose- as Accutane has a T1/2 of roughly 29 days. So it's affects do eventually ween away. But back to what my issue would be if I were you is the topicals and skin discomfort! It must burn like hell!
Hey! I feel your frustration, I would be pissed if I had to stay on 20mg for longer than a month. My derm put me on 30mg for the first month just to make sure I coped well with the drug and for the next 4 months she's put me on 70mg. I was quite shocked at the dosage increase as I was going to ask to be bumped up to 50, but the more the merrier. You will still get the same results if you hit your cumulative dose but maaannn that's a long time! Stress to your derm when you next see him that you're not experiencing bad side effects and that you would like your dose increased. If he doesn't then I would probably see a different derm. Nine months is a very long time.
And I was thinking that same think before I seen lazychristina's post, you really do have lovely eyes!
DAY 31 ( DAY 1 MONTH 2)
yeee i finished one month of many others hahaha. still on 20mg/day.
i have like 5 nodules or what they are under my skin, on my left cheek. they came out little by little everyday. i want them gonee. i haven't had still now so many nodules in one place
fortunately my nose and my forehead look nice now \: D/
now i'd rather stay home if i really don't have to go out but in 2 weeks i'll start the school and i'm a little nervous about it. x_x i won't be able to hide myself anymoree
today's photos
left cheek
right cheek
nose
forehead
chin
@heather135 i'll ask him the next time again hahaha because i don't understand why he doesn't bump me up to 30-40 at least
Hey there Sweetie
First of all....I agree with everyone, your eyes are STUNNING! You are super pretty with or without acne (but who wants acne? Right?) I feel for you. My acne is pretty similar to yours and I'm just a few days behind you on my course. My skin will seem better one day and supershitty the next. I'm on 30mg and I'm not nearly as dry as you. I'm not using any topicals though....And I'm going up to 60mg next week. I'm sure I will see some serious dryness at that point but I sure as hell hope I see fewer zits too!!! I'm sorry you are having a rough time with your doctor. I hope one way or another you get the clear skin we all deserve. Hang in there.....Don't give up.....try and keep a positive attitude.(Ishould take my own advice. haha) I know it's hard because I'm frustrated every day when I look in the damn mirror....It's a shitty road but you are not alone <3
~Celia
Hey there Sweetie
First of all....I agree with everyone, your eyes are STUNNING! You are super pretty with or without acne (but who wants acne? Right?) I feel for you. My acne is pretty similar to yours and I'm just a few days behind you on my course. My skin will seem better one day and supershitty the next. I'm on 30mg and I'm not nearly as dry as you. I'm not using any topicals though....And I'm going up to 60mg next week. I'm sure I will see some serious dryness at that point but I sure as hell hope I see fewer zits too!!! I'm sorry you are having a rough time with your doctor. I hope one way or another you get the clear skin we all deserve. Hang in there.....Don't give up.....try and keep a positive attitude.(Ishould take my own advice. haha) I know it's hard because I'm frustrated every day when I look in the damn mirror....It's a shitty road but you are not alone <3
~Celia
Thanks Celia. i have some days when my morale is down, like the day when i had the appointment with my derm. Yeah, i think the topicals dry my face more but i have to use them :-L. That's all i'm dreaming now, waking up one morning and having a perfect skin *-*
DAY 36
11 days left until i start school .
my skin is so dryyy(see the photos) and my lips auchh. 2 days ago i was so lazy to look for my lip balm because i was watching idontknowwhat but then i regretted it. god my lips were burning, that's what i felt. no more laziness from now hahaha. and if i was talking about burning right now i feel that on my face. I want to stick my head in the freezer. that's because i put moisturizer on my skin and i'm so red and my face is shining. what will i do during the school? x_x
a good thing(until now) my hair is drier and rougher. even looks better when i make a ponytail and i have again my lost curls. i hope that when i'll use the curling iron my hair will look good i mean i'll have the curls for more than 20 minutes hahaa.
and a bad thinggg about the hair: i'm losing a lot of hair. more than ever. i do not like it!
and that's all for todayy because i have to goo to my pilates class
today's photos
right cheek( yeah that hair )
left cheek
nose
forehead
chin
DAY 45
So today i am at the half of the second month. And i do not start school this Monday yeeeyyy. The last weekend we found out that they give us one more week of holiday.
About my face... IT'S HORRIBLE!! i mean it looks really really bad. especially my left cheek where i have these nodules/cysts near my mouth( see the image), now they aren't so big like a few days ago but are still there. and are so red.
my mom said too that at the beginning my face wasn't so bad.
and my lips my dear lips hahaha so dry, they are peeling, they sting auchhh and i'm always using the lip balm. i already finished one (it has 4.25g/0.15OZ) i'm using the second now and my mom ordered two more hahaha. usually i use one tube of balm (this one it's the best, http://clara-weiwei.blogspot.ro/2011/01/aloe-lips.html review) in several months.
i keep working out even if after my PowerPilates class all my body hurts hahaha
the last weekend i had an awful shoulder pain but i don't know from what
the next week i'll do some blood tests because my GP said that every two months is enough
*when i go to pilates i cannot wear makeup(in this moment i cannot wear makeup at all anyway) and i have only the moisturizer on my skin and it's so uncomfortable i mean i feel that everyone looks at me and the teenagers, most girls look at me so strange, like they couldn't be in my place 8-|. you cannot know what your future holds*
and i don't know what else to say
today's photos
left cheek
right cheek
nose
forehead
chin
full face photo - yesterday
Hi there,
Hope you're ok... I know you've discussed this already but I really think you need to be on a higher dose before you start seeing results...
How much do you weigh if you don't mind me asking?...During my course i found this calculator useful... you can see how long you need to be on the drug to get your minimum dose etc...
http://www.acne.org/messageboard/index.php/topic/271565-accutane-treatment-doseduration-calculator/
p.s. You are SO stunning, regardless of your skin
x x x
Hi there,
Hope you're ok... I know you've discussed this already but I really think you need to be on a higher dose before you start seeing results...
How much do you weigh if you don't mind me asking?...During my course i found this calculator useful... you can see how long you need to be on the drug to get your minimum dose etc...
http://www.acne.org/...ion-calculator/
p.s. You are SO stunning, regardless of your skin
x x x
i weigh 46kg(101.41lbs google says hahah) the calculator 'said' that i'll be on this drug between 9 months(minimum dose) and 11 months(max. dose)
i don't know what i'll do, sometimes i think that ok, i'll stay on 20mg/day all the treatment if finally my face will be clear *-* but sometimes i think it's a so long period of time
and my derm. didn't say anything about the treatment duration and anything about the cumulative dose i have to reach. and i won't accept to interrupt the treatment until i reach the minimum dose at least
I totally understand... My derm wanted to stop my course way before i'd reached the cumulative dose... so I had to tell her about the research, and then she went to look it up (on google probably!) and gave in and gave me more drugs!!
As long as you reach the minimum you should still get the results, so it's up to you what you want to do This was my log by the way if you're interested!!
http://www.acne.org/messageboard/index.php/topic/306982-my-face/
Good luck!! x x x
Day 51
Can't believe i'm already on 51th day .
Yesterday i had blood work done and today my GP said that the results are very good, yeeey. In 2 months i'll have to do them again.
and yesterday i finallyyyy had my eyebrows done. usually i have no pain when the beautician is plucking my eyebrows but now i feel something in my ear and it hurts. strange no? i'm pressing my ear with the hand and then it's ok. i think i'm more sensitive now.
this monday i'm starting school and i still can't use makeup. great!!!
i think i had the IB :/ but slowly!! my face gets better.
at the end of this month i'll upload a comparative picture: beginning, end of month 1 and end of month 2
my hair is not so dry like a few weeks ago, it's ok. and my skin aa sometimes is so dry, sometimes it's ok. i should drink mooore water? hahha i'll force myself to drink more
today's photos
left cheek
right cheek
nose
forehead
chin
face
and @Quiescence i read your log and you're face is so beautiful now¥
You are doing great hun! Keep your head up, it does get easier trust me (i've been on a few courses of accutane so i have some experience in that area).
I may or may not be finishing an incomplete 3rd course next months (if my blood tests come back ok). If not, the search continues
Good Luck
DAY 56
This week i started school uuuu. No more sleep until 10 o'clock. I have to wake up at 6.30am, because i have to wash my face, then i'm wainting until it dry, then i'm applying Skinoren, again i'm wainting, then i'm applying the moisturizing cream, theeeen i'm wainting again and finnallyyy i can put the tinted cream on my skin and put mascara on my eyelashes and i'm donee with the face.
Until now i used to make photos of my skin after i waked up and cleaned my face. buut now at that time in the morning is not enough light outside and i don't like using the flash soo i'm making the photos after i come home and remove the makeup.
tomorrow i have the appointment at my derm., i know he will not rise my dose so will be another month with 20mg/day.
my skin is pretty dry sometimes. i mean my tinted cream do not looks natural on my skin at all!! when i'm applying it it's like it came off :/ thanks to god that any of my classmates did not say anything about my face. it would have been so embarrassing :" > :" > but i can see how anothers look at me or maybe it is just in my mind hahahha.
today i had periods when i hadn't been able to understand what it was written on the board. i had like blurred vision and i had to wink a couple of times to dissapear. :/ did maybe my eyes become dry? am i not hydrated enough? it's so annoying, i have "to visit" the bathroom every break hahah i just cannot drink more water!
another side effects i think no :/ only my lips but i'm using all the time my lip balm
and again i'm sorry for my writing mistakes :">
today's photos
left cheek
right cheek
nose
chin
forehead
i have my tinted cream on my skin, it's after 6 hours at school.
DAY 61
my face is a mess!!! if a few days ago was bad now is worse, i think i'm still having the IB. blackheads are so sooo visible. *only 7 months more, just 7!! just 7 more and i will be ok ^-^ *
don't know what to say ...
here these days was soooo cold and i cannot drink so much water and i had some headaches and i do not like them.
and because of the cold weather and because i didn't moisturize my hands, appeared on my right hand some red spots, you know that place where the hair grows, that pore, if u know what i mean was so red and visible and my hand stung but i put my aloe lips and i moisturized my hand and now it's ok(fortunately).
how are you guys?
comparative photos
left cheek
right cheek
nose
chin
forehead
DAY 70
uff day 70. just 206 more (at least) hahaha
well my faceeee hmm has bad and good days, but the bad days are more ):
right now i have on my chin another head hahaha incredible how they come out. i mean 3 days ago i had a small pimple and now a huge cyst/nodule there. but i want it gone!!! it looks disgusting'
i got sick the last weekend, still being a little ill and i hate it. i mean i always i'm so thick dressed because my classroom is soo cold.
my skin is not so dry like at the begining maybe because i'm using every morning the moisturizer haha
i must use always the lip balm
my nose is the prettiest now hahaha among the others parts of my face
i have a lot of blackheads on my forehead- it's possible that in the picture it cannot be seen
my cheeks - lots of nodules and little bleackheads
since i started school i do not sleep enough i feel it. i hope it will not affect my face moreeeeee.
Today's photos
left cheek
right cheek
nose
chin
forehead
Hey good luck looking at some of your pictures they are like mirror of my cheeks and my nose cleared exactly like yours. Do you have hyper pigmentation or is it just the acne flaring up?Looks like things are going to get better from now on so good luck and keep moisturising
Good morning my friend:)
I am thinking about you and wishing for the best, I know how frustrating it can be when one day is good and the next day is not so good. Each day you are closer to the end and each day you are closer to being clear. I feel very lucky to be getting clear already but maybe it's because I am on a higher dose even though I'm just a little behind you in our treatments. Everyone is different of course but keep moving forward and stay strong. School is very stressful isn't it? I don't sleep so well myself.
You are not alone!