Quick update

So I'd like to thank you kidchicago, the stuff works pretty well! My cyst was definitely smaller this morning and I'm thinking it should be gone by the weekend...

One thing that's very annoying though is the redness is getting worse on my left cheek. If you look at the first photo of Week 7, the redness there is now EXTREMELY dark, just looks like dark, dark blood underneath the skin that looks gross. I honestly don't know what it is, there appears to be a small head under my skin there but it can't be causing all that dark redness...

I doubt my derm would prescribe me prednisone again either, I was on it for 15 days of my course and any longer he said there'd be consequences. Too bad too, I loved that drug. ANYWAYS, has anyone tried anything to help with extreme, dark redness? I've heard it's one thing accutane brings out in people, but it's really embarrassing and I always feel like people are looking. Again, this isn't a redness look from sunburn, this is like a dark blood redness if that makes sense...

Also, I just counted my pills and I realized I'm gonna be out of accutane for about 5 days until my next visit since my appointment scheduling is a little over a month. I asked my dermatologist if this is a problem and he said it's not at all... just worries me a little. I'd hate to backtrack. Has anyone else gone days without pills?

Thanks

Day 55

So I don't wanna jinx myself, but things are really starting to improve!! That dark redness I was talking about is really starting to go down, and I actually use that sulfur topical as coverup during the day. I use very little as I don't want it to be noticeable, and I heard people can tell from what I read online, but honestly I barely can unless I'm staring directly at it. Honestly, I don't care if people can tell at this point haha, it looks better than redness. And, being my stubborn self, I picked a pimple that ended up becoming very red so I'll have to apply it on that ... my fault.

As far as acne, I'm still getting new pimples forming but they seem to be drying up and going away a lot quicker than they used to. Neck is clearing up slowly, hopefully things are gonna be only improving from here on out!

I'm still worried about my case of being without accutane for about 5 or so days though, anyone think it'll be a problem? Like... since I'm taking two 30mg pills a day, should I maybe take 1 a day and then 2 the next when getting closer to the date, to try and have some accutane in my system until the refill?

I'll add pictures soon, thanks!

It's probably not a bad idea to alternate your pills (30mg alt w/60mg) until your refill just to keep things smoother. But it's completely not a problem. The accutane will be on your system for 5 days, plus cumulative dosing is more important than the exact time frame.

Your pictures are looking better... really looks like the accutane is drying everything out and it's falling off. I know it's hard, but try not to obsess about it. Just take those pills twice a day, and let the time fly by. You'll be the clearest, best looking you you've ever seen in no time at all!

All the best.

Will go ahead and do that then. Thanks a lot richard, i'll try not to obsess over my skin as much! Can't wait for the final result

Hey everyone, sorry for bumping again so soon . Last question until updates I promise haha..

Just a general question about cumulative dosage. So I weigh about 152 pounds, and I researched that for your cumulative dose you want to be at the low end at least 120mg/kg and the high end 150 mg/kg. Since I'm on 60 mg/day, if I stayed on it for six months I'd be at 10,800 mg, and for my specific weight, I'd be a little past the 10,342 mg mark (the high end of 150mg/kg). My derm has said he wants to most likely have me go six months to lower remission chances.. but he also said he wants to bump me up to 80mg/day possibly next month.

So I guess my question is, is it bad to never increase your dose on accutane or does it really not matter as long as you hit your cumulative total? I feel like 80mg/day might just be unnecessary with more possible side effects. Then again I ultimately trust the dermatologist's decision, whatever he feels is best.

By the way I found a nice calculator someone made to easily input your weight and calculate your dosage here

Thanks in advance if anyone has any input!

It doesn't matter what your daily dose is, as long as you hit the right cumulative dose. Some people take 20 mg per day for a year, others 80 mg per day for 5 months. It works the same, although if you have more serious acne, the higher daily dose will attack it more quickly and somewhat more effectively in the short term. But over the long term it doesn't matter.

Be careful not to overuse the sulfur - it can irritate skin that accutane is already drying out. Just watch out for signs that the sulfur is making you break out more. But if it isn't, I'm glad to hear it.

The higher the dose, the higher chance of remission and higher chance of side effects. One of those times in life you have to weigh the benefits. I'm definitely heading for the high end for my 3rd course, but I've taken probably 25,000mg cumulatively so far and my acne didn't stay in remission. So, depending on how bad it is, aim high, especially if insurance covers it, at least stock up on pills. This stuff is expensive.

Thanks for the posts kid and richard! Noted.

So just got back from my derm after my two month visit, my regular derm is out of town so another doctor saw me. He did decide to bump me up to 80mg/day and predicts I'll be completely clear within two months. Maybe he's being extremely optimistic, I don't know haha. I also told him I was worried about another initial breakout from increasing the dosage, he thinks that's very unlikely and things should only be improving, faster now too with the increase.

I'll post pictures soon I'm sorry everyone, I've been really busy with school since projects and finals are coming up!

I definitely want to see updated pictures! One other note for insurance. It varies, but mine will cover 5 months of treatment. So my doctor just overprescribes it so I have extra boxes and can take it longer. But it's something like $700 per box if it's not covered. I think it might be kosher because he prescribed a lot then told me not to take the full dose *yet*. In any event, it makes it more affordable, not sure if he should do that, but I'm just doing what I'm told.

Day 69

So as far as my skin, I have much less actives on my face so that's a positive, but I look only a little bit better than the last pictures I posted due to red marks that just don't want to fade. It's a smooth surface for the most part, but the red marks are very visible and make it look like it's acne. I've read that some peoples' red marks fade while on accutane, and others never fade until MONTHS after they complete the course... I'm gonna ask my derm my next visit if he suggests anything but that's not for another three weeks, so I found one product that I'm curious about.

It's called PureDeming Intense Gel R-ALA, seems to get a pretty decent amount of good reviews here on acne.org, but my question is do you think it would be safe to use 3 days out of the week or so while on accutane?

Any other suggestions people have that help them with redness/red marks?

I'm very thankful my acne's getting better but at the same time it's going to be a bummer if my skin stays with these very visible red marks for another 6 months or so.

Hey man, I'm glad your acne is getting better now. Having read through quite a few logs it seems once things start improving past the 60 days mark it just keeps getting better and better, looking positive!

I'm only on day 9 now but my skin has been very red already, the best thing I have used so far is calamine lotion. It works pretty quick and really helps to keep the heat down, might be worth trying it out. I just use a cotton ball to dab it on and leave it there, its really soothing when you first put it on which is relieving!

Other than that I'm using cetraben cream which is mainly to moisturize and help with the dryness but its definitely helping a bit with the redness.

Good luck! The redness absolutely SUCKS but I'm just glad its not a worse side effect to put up with

hey MJ!

Very interesting... I just searched up calamine lotion and am getting mixed reviews, some people claiming it works great for red marks/redness like yourself and others saying it didn't do much or just helped temporarily. I just remembered that I bought a 3 step Eucerin Redness Relief kit about a month ago that I never used a lot because my acne was too flaring and I didn't care about the redness, just the acne itself, so I resorted to regular cleanser.

But now that my acne has died down a lot, I'm gonna go ahead and try this Eucerin Redness that includes a cleanser, a sunscreen that's tinted you can wear throughout the day, and a night creme for a week or so to see if that does anything (I know that's not a lot of time to judge). I'll definitely keep you posted, and if anyone else has any suggestions that would be great!

Appreciate it

I read Tyrean, think you're black, then see your pics and you're white, lol sorry =)

AAAnyways, it looks like your acne is looking kind of crusty, which is a great sign! When mine was at its worst on my first course, things became crusty like that, then just sort of all fell off and didn't come back.

I know we're all anxious (I'm on Course 3, Day 31), but try not to mess too much with your face. Don't expect it to be beautiful yet. Expect good signs (like the dried up acne), but be patient with the red marks.

Use something very light on the red marks, maybe some red apple cider vinegar and moisturizer. That will give it some acid but not too much.

hahaha richard you're definitely not the first person to think that, i've just used this name forever, even on different forums dont know why!

Yeah man thanks for the words of encouragement, honestly it's progressed a lot, like you said the acne turned real crusty and pretty much fell off. Now i'm just left with all these red marks but it's part of the course i guess.

Like i said though I just didn't feel like taking updated pictures yet because from the camera it looks almost the same... it's just most of the acne's not there anymore, it's just the red marks. Hopefully my skin will be less red soon!

It will fade, have patience! Those marks fade all the time, we're just unfortunate in that we get new acne to replace them and make new ones. So, once your acne stops reappearing, they will only get lighter.

Can't wait for a few weeks to go by and see what your face looks like then, and what mine will look like. But, I'm so early on in the course, mine will still probably look pretty bad. 2 months is pretty good! i'm about a month behind you.

I can't wait either!

Day 71

More side effects are definitely starting to show up, could be from the increased dosage but i'm gonna be a warrior and not ask to come down. I want this course to be as quick as possible. But as far as the new side effects I'm definitely experiencing lower back pain and I get random sharp pain in my elbow joints mainly. I've started taking fish oil and joint juice that will hopefully help that out!

Also wondering, is it true accutane works from the top down? It seems like it's working well on my face so far, but my neck and the little bit I have on my mid-chest hasn't improved. Just a random thought

funny you are asking if it works from the top down bc I was wondering the opposite! lol my chest and back acne are nonexistent now on day 37 and my face acne hasn't changed at all. so i guess its different for everyone!

readytolive: interesting for sure. guess it does work differently for everyone!

Day 81

My acne's still clearing slowly but surely, face looks much better than it did. The only problem is, my elbow joints have been KILLING me, today especially. I've been drinking joint juice, taking fish oil, just seems like they're not helping anymore. I really don't want to lower my dose and I don't know what to do i keep hoping its just a phase and it'll pass. Before taking this medication my elbow joints have always been kinda bad because I would always pop them as a kid, so now I have to deal with the consequences of them being slightly weak where I'm at today. Makes sense that this medication would multiply the pain, guess I'm just gonna see where the pain level is in a day or so.

But yeah as far as pain, I was planning on playing basketball tonight but there's no way I could, it hurts to the point of bending my arm so shooting the ball would be practically impossible.

I can't wait either!

Day 71

More side effects are definitely starting to show up, could be from the increased dosage but i'm gonna be a warrior and not ask to come down. I want this course to be as quick as possible. But as far as the new side effects I'm definitely experiencing lower back pain and I get random sharp pain in my elbow joints mainly. I've started taking fish oil and joint juice that will hopefully help that out!

Also wondering, is it true accutane works from the top down? It seems like it's working well on my face so far, but my neck and the little bit I have on my mid-chest hasn't improved. Just a random thought

My son is on day 46 and his derm says yes, it works from the top down. His forehead is the clearest part of his face now, when it used to be the worst. It definitely seems to be clearing from top down. His neck is worse than it ever was, with many more cysts, sort of like yours. Chest/back are another story altogether

Hope you have a positive experience and it clears you

My son is on day 46 and his derm says yes, it works from the top down. His forehead is the clearest part of his face now, when it used to be the worst. It definitely seems to be clearing from top down. His neck is worse than it ever was, with many more cysts, sort of like yours. Chest/back are another story altogether

Hope you have a positive experience and it clears you

Yeah I think that's how it is for most, guess it could work differently for everyone. And my forehead is also the clearest, although it never got much acne to begin with. My neck is definitely the worst part right now as well, but tell him to keep trudging through because I heard month 3/4 are the real turnaround months.

Thanks, and best of luck with his course as well!

My son is on day 46 and his derm says yes, it works from the top down. His forehead is the clearest part of his face now, when it used to be the worst. It definitely seems to be clearing from top down. His neck is worse than it ever was, with many more cysts, sort of like yours. Chest/back are another story altogether

Hope you have a positive experience and it clears you

Yeah I think that's how it is for most, guess it could work differently for everyone. And my forehead is also the clearest, although it never got much acne to begin with. My neck is definitely the worst part right now as well, but tell him to keep trudging through because I heard month 3/4 are the real turnaround months.

Thanks, and best of luck with his course as well!

Ahhh, I hope you're right about month 3/4! If that's the case, I can't wait for those months! Halfway through the 2nd month, and it's so hard to be patient. I took Accutane myself as a teen (many years ago) and I wish I could remember when it really started to clear, but it was so long ago that I cannot remember those types of details. I should have kept a log or a diary. But that was way back in the old days- the 80s

The main thing I do remember is being so happy and relieved to be so much improved. So, it was a good experience for me. And I haven't had any ill health effects from it to this day.

I'm hoping my son will 'inherit" the same positive experience with the drug. I am not in favor of prescription drugs, but rather prefer natural treatments. But after trying so so sooo many other things, this was the last resort. Severe cystic acne can be so brutally devastating to one's psyche.

Keep us posted!

Day 93

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't updated in a while! So I just finished 3 months and got back from my doctor. He likes the progress a lot and thinks this month will be the real magic month, I really hope so. From the attached pictures it looks like my face still has a ton of acne but in reality there's actually little to no active acne on my face, it's all red marks and leftover redness... which brings me to the question why am I so different? haha, I look around at other logs and no one seems to have this crazy redness I have, it's really starting to scare me/makes me think I'll have this forever...

Other than that, I do still have acne on my neck but hopefully that'll go down in a couple of weeks. ALSO, I had a ton of blackheads on my chest as well as acne and my doctor decided to extract a bunch of that, it looks really gross right now but hopefully it looks better soon lol. Back acne has really cleared, pretty much nonexistent now so that's good, but that was never a real concern for me in the first place.

Side effects like the joint pain have decreased greatly so that's a plus as well! But yeah, really really concerned with this redness, just praying it goes down soon! It looks like you can see the blood straight through the thin skin.... ugh

Second thought... could I have developed rosacea?

I had a lot of redness after my first couple courses of accutane too. It usually takes the redness a lot longer to fade than the acne. It should resolve a lot 6-12 months after your accutane treatment.

thanks richard! that's a bit reassuring even if I'll have to wait that long. As you can see from my starting pics before taking accutane I've never had this redness so this is all new and really weird to me. It is a bit unfortunate that it still looks like acne but I guess it's better than it actually not being acne right?