I am doing this mainly for my own personal reference and remind myself how I am coming along/improving but if it's useful to anyone else on/thinking about going on roaccutane then great!
Firstly a bit of background, I am 21 and this is my second course of roaccutane. I started my first course exactly 4 years ago and it lasted around 6 months, on 40mg a day. I don't remember an awful lot about my first course but I do remember I had the usual symptoms (dry skin, dry lips etc). In terms of my acne I had moderate/severe bacne and mild/moderate facial acne. I remember the facial acne not being particularly bad, the reason I wanted to go on Roaccutane was because of my back. Anyway, it worked and it cleared up my back completely and as far as I remember I was acne clear for a while. However spots started to appear on my chest and face within a year and gradually got worse and worse despite various anti b's which only seems to help in the short term. After a year or two of wondering when it was going to go away I finally decided I had no option but to go back on the tane and clear it up for good.
So here I am, hoping that this second course (60mg a day) will clear me up for good, or at least a good few years. If it does comes back I certainly won't mess around again, I'll be straight back on the tane.
I started on 17/09/2013 so I am currently on;
Day 8:
- Eyes feel abit dry/tired although this could have something to do with the fact I've been GTA V alot lately...
- Skin feels oilier and for the first 5 days especially I had more spots than usual although this could also be because I stopped using my anti-bac face wash because it really dries my face out and the derm said I shouldn't use it.
- Last couple of days I have woken up to drier lips so I have started using vaseline in preparation
- In terms of an IB, I hope I've been through it now...I have got off lightly if I have, I am worried my skin is going to worsen for a few months before it gets better.
Day 14:
Feeling much better today, compared with the first week and a bit anyway...eyes are not as annoying as before and skin hasn't broken out majorly for about a week so I'm hoping my IB (as mild as it was) is over. I know its only 2 weeks in but I don't recall having much of an IB during my first course either so maybe I'm one of the 'lucky' ones. In terms of side effects my skins is gradually starting to get drier, this includes my whole body really so I am really making sure I moisturize regularly for when shit hits the fan! My lips are steadily getting worse but at the moment its all manageable. I would also mention that the last couple of days my mood has picked up but I'm sure this could all change tomorrow if I wake up with a load of new spots on my face.
I've been thinking quite alot lately about my first course of roaccutane and came up with a rather optimistic theory...
The reason I went on the drug in the first place was because of acne on my back, I had very mild acne on my face, probably not worth mentioning, nothing more than the average teen. Anyway, roaccutane cleared up my back and to this day I have rarely had a spot there, maybe 3-4 worth mentioning in what, 4-5 years? It was shortly (maybe a year or 2) after I finished my first course of Roaccutane that I started to get acne on my chest, and then my face, until it got to the point earlier this year that I wanted to go back on it. So roaccutane cleared me of bacne for good (it seems), maybe this time it'll clear me of facial/chest acne as I didn't have that before? Here's hoping anyway. I'd really rather not have to go through this again, at least if I do I certainly won't bother with anti-biotics again as all they did was mess with my eating and make me nauseous.
Btw I think partly why I am in a good mood is because the thought of getting my life back (yes it has affected it that much) is very exciting, I can't remember the last time I was completely acne-free!
So anyway, 2 weeks down (hooray), but many many more to go...
Day 22:
Spot-wise I have hardly hard any new ones this week apart from one particular day when about 3 popped up and this happened to be when I had milk the day before (I've been staying clear of milk as I'm sure it makes my acne worse). So I have decided never go to near milk again, at least not cow's milk...I am going to start drinking almond milk and see how that goes.
My skin hasn't got any drier since last week, I still only moisturize twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening but I am still very much expecting this to change soon. Same goes for my lips really, I use Vaseline 2-3 times a day but they are still very manageable.
Although my skin isn't too dry, it is definitely no where near as oily as it used to be. Before accutane I would sometimes just be sitting there and could feel the oil on my face getting worse, I haven't had that feeling for 2 weeks which has been nice.
So 3 weeks down and all is well, hoping this continues for the rest of the course!
Day 29:
Nearly got over my cold now, which was horrendous, lips have definitely taken a permanent turn for the worse, vaseline is a must every few hours now.
My face is still feeling relatively dry and no major outbreaks which is good, back and chest are being more stubborn but its still early days, I have still seen improvement in these areas though.
Looking back at the last month I have been quite unsocial despite my skin looking better than it has done for months/years. Might be an effect of the tablets, who knows. Going to start making an effort to be more social now.
I have also noticed my face is started to look more RED, which is a fairly common side effect according to people on here, its not a major problem though.
So 1 month down, and better than I was expecting so far, hope it continues.
Day 35:
So over a month gone and I am feeling the best I have done for months. My face is continuing to stay oil free which is quite frankly an amazing feeling after over a year of it constantly feeling oily. I have a couple of active spots on my neck but they are nothing really. My chest acne is no better, probably a little bit worse actually but this doesn't bother me at all as long it goes before the 6 months is up! I also have a few spots on my back but again I think these could take the whole of the treatment to disappear.
Really hoping my face continues like this for the whole duration of the course and beyond as it will make it so much more bearable. When I think back to my first round of Roaccutane and even looking at photos my face is flawless even after a few months of being on it, so I'm hoping it will be the same again this time, although my face wasn't the real problem back then.
The almond milk is going well too, no breakouts and after having it for a while it tastes just like normal milk.
Last thing, before I started on Roaccutane I was having problems when eating in terms of feeling sick and it was really making it hard for me to put on weight, I have always been quite lean and I can't stand it! There were even moments when I could feel a lump in my throat for no reason and it was SO annoying, I couldn't figure out what it was. Anyway, I haven't experienced this since started this course of Roaccutane and I am starting to think it was the anti-bio-tics I was on before. I was taking Tetralysal 300 (lymecycline), so if you are taking this then I would recommend you stop if you are having any problems with feeling sick etc. Note to self: never go on this again. Get back on Roaccutane if it comes back!
Day 43:
Still feeling fairly upbeat. I have about 3 spots come and go on my face which has been no trouble, however my neck has been more of a problem and seem to constantly have 3-4 actives. I also have a patch of dry annoying skin on the lower part of my neck which is causing some discomfort and has a slightly orangey look to it. I have my derm appointment next week so I will see if she can give me some cream to put on it.
Towards the start of the week my chest was probably the worst it had been since before I can remember with about 6 actives but right now I have 0 actives and the old ones are all drying up nicely. I don't expect this to last long, but it would be nice if it did! My back is also doing fine, a few bumps but nothing worth getting the mirror out for.
I have also noticed how its now been a month since I got my haircut and usually by now its at a decent length, bordering on needing another cut, however it has hardly grown at all this past month which is odd. I don't recall getting it cut particularly short so maybe Roaccutane causes this? Might ask my derm next week.
In terms of dryness, I still only need to mousiturise twice a day, after washing, so thats not currently a problem. Lips are as bad as they are going to get now, some days they are particularly bad and I need to apply vaseline every few hours but then on other days I find I don't use it all! Strange...
Anyway, things are going well, better than expected anyway, can't wait for this all to be over.
Day 50:
So 7 weeks down and things are continuing to improve, slowly, or pretty quick depending on what you've heard from other people on this forum! Over the past week I have only had 1 spot on my face which is nearly gone now. Face still feels non-oily too which is good. My neck, which was causing me a few problems has also got better. I saw my derm yesterday and she prescribed me some cream to put on the rough bit I was talking about last week, seems to be doing well already. My chest still has 2-3 actives and quite a few red marks and I haven't bothered to check my back but I think there are at least 1-2 spots there.
When speaking with my derm it turns out I am actually on a 5 month course, not the 6 months I originally thought. This is because apparently my first round of accutane was only 4 months (again less than I thought!) so I guess she has bumped it up a month to try and get rid of it for good. I am optimistic due to the results I have seen already, so fingers crossed. Lips are the same as last week, apply vaseline 2-3 daily, sometimes more. Skin isn't too dry at the moment, I still only moisturise twice a day after washing. FYI the cleanser and moisturiser I use is Cetaphil which was recommended by my derm and is brilliant, I have absolutely no complaints.
On the whole still not feeling 100% (as to be expected), but feeling a hell of alot better than I feared I might before starting. I hope people read this and take some positives about roaccutane from it as there are alot of horror stories on here. You have to remember that the majority of people on this forum are people who have had/have severe acne and therefore it is isn't an easy fix. I was just in need of accutane as mine is stubborn and nothing was getting rid of it, and reading some of the posts certainly put me off and made me feel unconfident in it. Anyway, onwards and upwards.
Day 58:
Not much to add from last weeks post, had a couple of new ones on my face which came and went in about 3 days, so nothing major. Face still quite tender and blotchy so by no means perfect but at least there are very few actual spots. My chest seems to get really bad and then start to clear up and that cycle repeats week on week so as expected it seems to be taking longer than my face to be affected by roaccutane.
On the whole not much to add but things still going in the right direction and I finally feel like I am starting to get my life back and things are starting to feel like they used to, many years ago! I just hope I never take good skin for granted when all this is over...
Day 68:
Face is still staying clear, bar one or two every now and then, but they tend to go pretty quickly. Neck is also doing well, hasn't felt so good in years!
Chest is gradually getting there is seems, not too many new ones have come up over the last 2 weeks, back also seems alot better and smoother generally.
The nasuea thing seems to have crept back into my life though, which is annoying. Maybe it's because I have been making an effort to eat more or something. Doctors appointment next week to see if I can get any answers.
On the whole though, skin is doing as well as I could have possibly hoped 
Day 75:
Technically this is day 75 as I missed 2 days out at the weekend due to being naughty and taking Ecstacy (which didn't kill me by the way)
My face is still doing very well, I occasionally get the odd minor spot but it's nothing to worry out. The pigmentation is still quite prominent but I'm hoping that will fade.
My neck seems to be the most problematic area at the moment, I currently have 2 big actives and a few other red marks from previous ones. They are not whiteheads but big red lumps, not nice!
My chest is doing well with currently just one active, although I took a pitcture today and it looked like I had about 200 because of the red marks, I really didn't think they were that bad but apparently they are, so again I'm hoping they will fade, they have until the summer though I guess so there's no rush.
Back and shoulders feel perfectly smooth so nothing to worry about on that front.
Side effects all manageable still. 2 weeks until month 4 which is where things really start to pick up so I am told! Exciting times...
Day 88:
Occasional spot appearing on neck but still nothing on face for ages! back perfect. chest still got some work to do, get 2-3 a week at the moment, still lots of red marks, but so far so good. Going as well as I could have hoped. Mood still a bit up and down which is annoying as I should be alot happier considering my progress! Still happy days
Day 114 (36 days to go):
I haven't updated this for a while so I'll do a summary of the last month or so. Firstly I have to say that accutane is an amazing drug, despite the side effects which I'll talk about later, I havent had a spot on my face for months, one or two have come and gone on my neck but are hardly worth mentioning. My back has been perfect for ages. My chest is being stubborn however, as I thought it might, with just over a month to go I have probably got 2-3 actives/on their way out. There are still quite a few marks there too which I am hoping will fade before summer. As for the acne that is really all there is to mention. Now onto the side effects...
Side effects:
Lips: On the whole my lips haven't been too much of a problem, and when they are a bit of vaseline usually does the trick
Nose: My nose has been causing my problems since being on roaccutane, it can get very dry on the inside at times and I also find myself struggling to breathe through it at times too, as if part of it is inflammed. The doc gave me some nasal spray so we'll see if it helps. Hopefully it'll get better when I finish roaccutane anyway. I read somewhere that this can be a side-effect of the drug so hopefully thats all it is.
Mood: My mood is very much up and down, but mainly down, weird seeing as my skin is almost perfect (whats on show anyway), but again I'm hoping the cloud will be lifted once I finish.
Eating: Finally, I have had trouble eating for a few months now, either lack of appetite, or feeling sick when eating, and often feels like my throat is blocked by something, I'm not sure if this is linked to the nose breathing thing or if it is to do with accutane or not but again we'll find out once I finish my course
Day 142 (8 days to go):
So just over a week to go and I must say I can't wait to be off Roaccutane, it really feels like it is starting to destroy me. On the plus side it has worked wonders with my skin. My face/neck has had any spots for months now, still looks abit fragile/red but that will go soon after my course (also can't wait to finally get a nice tan this summer). My chest which has been stubborn throughout this past 5 months has finally started to show real progress in the last month, no new spots for about 3 weeks now, red marks starting to fade. It will be a few more months I expect before I am happy with it, which should tie in nicely with the summer!
So to conclude, roaccutane is amazing for my skin (everyone's skin reacts different remember), however it has been a pretty crappy journey and here's why:
Lips: They haven't actually been too bad, nothing abit of vaseline can't handle, although it will be nice having normal lips back again
Nose: This has probably been one of the worst bits, the dryness and also general feeling ill since month 2-3, struggle breathing as if inflammed, will be interesting to see if this goes away once I have finished course.
Concentration: Pretty awful, trying to write a dissertation has been especially difficult, I have trouble concentrating for more than 15 minutes, I have also noticed with watching films/tv shows that I stuggle concentrating.
Mood: This had been up and down (mostly down) the entire time, I thought I would never let the drug get me down but it has managed to frequently, this has also tied in with my breathing/eating problems though which have been really frustrating