It almost seems like eczema on top of everything, but obviously it's drying everything out. Use a really god moisturizer, one thats a cream and not a lotion. I got Kiehl's and it is nice and cooling to put on at night. Hope everything turns out better soon!

Hi bmarie how is everything coming along we started tane around the same time to! it's nice to meet someone else as I just feel so alone in this acne journey I am on 20mg derm wants to double it but I'm hesitant so have agreed to 30 however I have not received my period as of now and I am clockwork regular have you experienced this btw I am not on birth control as I am not sexually active free back would be greatly appreciated

Thanks, Ugh. I'll show it to my derm when I go this week and see what she says. I took a washcloth to it yesterday which really helped, and today it's even smoother. Hopefully it will be gone by then and not come back.

I'm thinking my IB might be over. I'm still getting new zits, but no new ones today! All my cysts are healing or gone. Just lots of red marks. I don't know how to tell if they're red marks or scars, but I guess time will tell. I'll post new pictures on day 30.

Hum12, I would give your derm a call and let them know about it and tell them you're worried. I was kind of the opposite. I'm very irregular and hadn't had mine in almost two months, but about three days after I started Accutane my period started. Sorry I'm not more help. :/

Haha yeah but that's how my face looked too. I actually had to go outside like that because i ran out of food.

Hey BMarie! Yay! Your IB is going down? That's awesome! I can't wait for mine to subside more, but I think I'm a week or two behind you still. Mine seems less angry, but still breaking out and getting some (though a bit smaller) cysts. I'm on day 15 right now. What day are you on? Hope you continue to see progress! Good luck!

Today is day 24! It's going fast. I'm almost done with my first month already! Maybe I should have phrased that differently.... I am probably still experiencing the IB BUT it is improving. I have 3 new whiteheads that are huge close to my nose so they're very noticeable. But all the flaking is gone now, so it looks so much better. Realistically though, I am expecting to get at least one new zit a day for the next three months. If not, I will be pleasantly surprised.

hunny i feel your pain im female/21 and just started on 20mg daily. i want this nightmare over ;( ANY IMPROVEMENT FOR YOU SO FAR?!!

My chin and forehead are definitely smoother! The blackheads are starting to leave my nose too, so definite improvement! My cheeks are just so much more noticeably bad that sometimes I forget to pay attention to the good. Good luck with your treatment!

Hey BMarie, not to change the subject, but from your photos from Dec. 11th with the scaly cheek, did you have that before you started the med or develop it during treatment? I have something similar on my right chin, but have had it since the beginning of this bout of severe acne before I ever started taking the accutane.. Just wondering what the derm said and if you've had any more probs with it. Cool that you were able to get some/most of it off of there, right?

It's all gone as of today! And I had never had anything like that before. Usually my cysts will get a layer of skin that will flake right off when they're starting to heal, but nothing like this...

My dad commented that my skin is improving! Yay!! *dances* And he had bad acne as a teenager so he knows what I am going through.

Can you show any photos

Day 20!! Slowly moving along with this...

My skin hasn't been too dry yet, but the weather has been very warm up until today (80s). Today it has been cold and my skin is dry, but I am always dry when it's cold. My lips are fine, but I apply chapstick religiously and always have. I do have a patch on each cheek that is scaly and no matter how much moisturizer I use it won't change. I even tried Aquaphor on it because I use it on my hands when they get really bad, but it didn't help. Any suggestions?

My hair is starting to dry out, which is nice. I was experiencing a really dry, flaky, itchy scalp fr a few days so I decided to invest in coconut oil which supposedly works wonders. I left it in over night and woke up at 5 am scratching. By 5:45 I decided to wash my hair because I was so miserable, went back to sleep, and woke up to a sore scalp. I need to try again because now I have a lot of oil to use up. Anyways, after that I was shedding a lot but I think it was because I used oil, shampooed twice, and conditioned all in one morning.

As for my acne, no improvement yet. I am still getting new zits every day, which seem to pop up in an hour but won't leave.

I have had a back ache every day since starting. It's my lower back, and I mainly notice when I first lay down... not fun, but not unbearable either. I also get a mild headache if I don't drink enough water throughout the day.

 

I had headaches starting on around Day 2 and it lasted until about Day 5.

I just started getting lower back pains when I go to lay down at night. It will only last for a few seconds though. Also, it's fine when I'm up and moving around but if I bend over and get up, I can feel it. It's a 2 when bending over and like a 3 or a 4 when laying down at night.

Brarei, your back pain sounds exactly like mine. Thankfully my headaches are gone now. I havent had one in about 4 days.Yay! today is day 26, and I'm planning on posting pictures on day 30.

I also found this article about Salma Hayek and it says she took Accutane. I realize the pictures of her are air brushed, but she is gorgeous.

http://www.luckymag.com/magazine/2012/05/salma-hayek#slide=1

Yeah, I hope it blows over soon. The top of my hands are getting dry too.

Day 30!! I can't believe how fast this is going!

I went to my derm this morning and then got my blood drawn. As long as my bloodwork comes back clear they will be raising my dosage from 40 mg to 60 mg I think. That would add up about right considering I'm 140 pounds or 63.5 kg. She also gave me a prescription for an antibiotic to help smooth things along. My skin is smoother but I'm still getting a lot of cysts. Anyways, this should help. I usually respond well to antibiotics for my acne but as soon as I stop them it comes back.. We shall see! I also mentioned my scaly cheeks, but she just said keep moisturizing... not very helpful there...

As for side affects, I haven't had any headaches for about a week now. Thank goodness! They were very mild, but annoying. I haven't been super dry yet, although it varies by the day (and the weather). I still have lower back aches, but I mainly notice it when I first lay down. My hair is getting much drier. I went 4 days without washing it last week.

I will be posting pictures tomorrow, and will let y'all know what antibiotic I'm on as well as what dose I'm on. Have a wonderful day everyone!

Day 33.

My derm raised my dosage to 80 mg a day. She also gave me a prescription for Amoxicillin to help clear up my acne temporarily. Hopefully that will help prevent another IB from my increased dosage. I think it's helping already though because I no longer have those giant whiteheads that look like 6 little ones combined. Just small ones. Although I went to the derm on Thursday, my pharmacy didn't have the Accutane in stock until today, so I've had a few days off. Oh well. It shouldn't really affect anything. Will try and post pictures later. I've been busy with Christmas and all that it entails.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

My next appointment isn't until 32 days, so I'll have to take some days off too. All because of stupid ipledge they can't make an appt for less than 30! So stupid. Jealous you got bumped up! I am improving slowly, but 20 mgs is ridiculous. I'm wondering if all my supplements affected my liver #s. Merry Christmas to you too!

That happened to me to! I was missing 3 days, so I jus have been skipping a day every 9 days

Before the treatment, my face looked quite similar to urs.

I am currently on my 28th day, and ive noticed it has improved although my face is super red and filled with plenty of scars. I didnt really mind the initiial breakout mainly because i didnt notice much difference since my skin was already bad enough.

Hang in there! we're in this together and in like 5-6 months, itll all be better

Day 37.

I did forget to say that my lipids were a little high when I got my blood drawn. They asked if I had eaten anything particularly fatty, but I couldn't remember. Lol. I'm trying to do better about what I'm eating though, but it's hard during the holidays.

I'm still on the antibiotic, which is helping, although now I'm getting a yeast infection. *sigh* Regardless, I am still experiencing a bit of another IB from the raised dose (I think). I'm getting a few bigger zits again. It's hard to be patient sometimes, especially because I'm seeing a bunch of good friends for New Years, and most of them haven't seen my face like this yet.

Side affects: I really haven't had too many. Some days I am dry, and others I'm not. My hair is definitely more dry so I'm washing it about every 4 days. My lips have been fine, but today I went to the dentist for a cleaning, and I could feel my lips getting worse by the second. They're fine now. No more back aches!! They started going away at about the one month mark. No more headaches either, but I'm a little worried they'll come back with the increased dose. Those went away at about the 3 week mark. As for my acne, it's worse than when I started still. Lots of new redmarks (hopefully that's all they are, not scars) and bigger zits.

It's funny how bad I thought my skin was a year ago. I was so self-conscious. Now I look back and think it was perfect. Then in September my skin took a turn for the worse, and I thought it was horrible. Now it's worse than that... when will it start getting better? :/

It will get better - unfortunately acne is one of those things that takes time and lots of patience on our part. Feel comforted that you are not alone. I am 75 days in and still going through my IB which i believe started around week 8 (i am almost at week 11). I am also experiencing lots of red marks which i hope will go away when i stop breaking out and my skin actually has time to heal.

Good Luck and keep your head up

I just have to take it one day at a time, and try not to think about it too much. I do try to think about the clear, pain free skin I will have.

Day 47 already. It really helps to stay busy, because time will fly. I missed a few days while I was out of town just because of my crazy schedule, which kind of bums me out. Oh well.

My skin is definitely clearing up from the Amoxicillin. It gave me a yeast infection though, so not fun. I am thankful for the clearer skin. My forehead, nose, and chin are all super smooth and soft now.

Most of my side effects are gone. No back aches. No head aches. No flaky scalp. No excessive dry skin, just normally dry skin for winter time. My lips are fine unless I forget my chapstick, but I've always applied it constantly so no change there. My hair is still drier than before.

I am kind of worried about my next blood work. I was just out of town for a week, so I ate fast food 1-2 times a day. Not good. :/ Any suggestions for supplements I should be taking?

Hey- I would take fish oil at least twice a day, and then just be sure to drink tons of water. My test came back bad last month and from what I looked up that seems like the best you could do. I doubt it will affect it that much though, it is nerve wracking! I have to go 3 days without pills because my appt would fall on mlk weekend so I'm not even sure when to get my bloods done, it's going to leave me a small window so annoying. I'm glad the antibiotic is clearing you up, I'm really thinking about calling my derm to ask about it...