For the red marks i think u just have to be patient and let it go away on it own since your face would be sensitive while on accutane and would not be advisable to apply anything harsh on it.

Sorry i do not have answer for your other question but i too am on accutane(week 6).

This member also had acne similar to yours and his cleared up nicely without noticeable scaring , hopefully it will be the same for you as well.

Hey guys.

Freefood, thanks for the reply and that is what I figured from reading on here about the red marks.

Anyways I am now on day 79(I think) and my breakouts are as bad as ever I think the comedones are starting to go away as I can now see where they were and they seem to be leaving scarring. some of them are pretty deep so that is a problem which really sucks, but for now all I want is to be free of this stuff, I can deal with the scars later. The red marks are also really getting me down, becuase I know that the acne there is gone, but to others it still looks really bad. Also, up around my temple on the one side, the inflammation is really bad and painful, is there anything I can do about this. I do not want to pop any of them because they are already leaving deep red marks/scars and I don't want to make it worse. It feels really good to talk about this here because I really can't to anyone else it seems.

Thanks for looking and I will try to update in a couple days if i get the time.

About Day 90.

So I recently moved towns, and had to get a new doctor. My derm from my old town just told me to get a general physician instead of a dermatoligist(is this ok?) so I did that and had my visit yesterday. For my first month I was on 40mg, and the last two i have been on 60mg. My new doc said she wants me on 70 for another 6 MONTHS(150lbs)!!! at the start of treatment my derm said my final dosage should be 10000 mg, but with the extra time and dose it will be around 16400 mg I think. I went in hopeful because I assumed I was halfway through, but now I have another six months!!!! I kind of understand though because my skin is still terrible and scarring is becoming more and more visible.

Also, can you guys see any improvment since The first couple pictures? I really haven't seen much, other than on my nose which used to be filled with black heads.

One question: I use cetaphil moisturizing lotion and I have heard mixed reviews on this. Do you guys think this is ok and won't clog my pores?

Thanks!

To me the newest picture looks a little better than this. ^ So it seems like your skin is slowly improving.

The only thing I can say about Accutane is: patience. It may feel like a long and slow walk, but it'll be worth it in the end. A lot of people tend to improve alot around 5/6 month, even some people first clear up for good when stopping the medicine.

To that with the dosage I would really, really recommend that you see a dermatologist and ask him/her about the right dosage for you. 9 months with a total of 16400mg sounds like a lot, but how higher the dose - the lower the chance is for the acne to return. But I would most definitely book a time with a derm and then ask as many questions as possible.

Hang in.

To me the newest picture looks a little better than this. ^ So it seems like your skin is slowly improving.

The only thing I can say about Accutane is: patience. It may feel like a long and slow walk, but it'll be worth it in the end. A lot of people tend to improve alot around 5/6 month, even some people first clear up for good when stopping the medicine.

To that with the dosage I would really, really recommend that you see a dermatologist and ask him/her about the right dosage for you. 9 months with a total of 16400mg sounds like a lot, but how higher the dose - the lower the chance is for the acne to return. But I would most definitely book a time with a derm and then ask as many questions as possible.

Hang in.

Thanks for the insight, igotyou.

My derm before I moved cities had said my final dosage should be about 10000mg over six months, but the new physician seen my skin and decided another 6 months(at a higher dose) was what I should do. I will ask her again when I go back next month and if she wants to stick to that plan i will try and see my original derm for at least one appt to make sure this is alright.

Ok, so its been a little over two months since I posted, life got busy and I kind of just forgot about this, so I apologize in advance.

I am about 20 days away from ending my course possibly, as my doctor may want to do 1-2 more months just to make sure everything is clear as I still have some whiteheads on my forehead and around my ears, along with a few stragglers scattered throughout my face. I would have to say that I have cleared up pretty nicely since my last update, although the redness and scarring isn't very pleasant. But hopefully the redness goes away sooner rather than later. As for the scarring, i would like some opinions on how severe/bad it is because when I look at them in the mirror they look terrible.

I would also like to make a comment on depressions and accutane. One hears a lot about how accutane causes depression/suicide while on the course through doctors, internet and other sources. After going through the worst(hopefully) part of my course I can confidently say that the ACNE itself seems to root these kinds of symptoms/feelings rather than the drug itself. I believe this because I am still on the drug, but am able to go out and have a much better time and am generally in a much better mood nowadays since my acne has began to clear. anyways just my .02, enough talk here are some pics...

Just a few observations I have had over my course:

The usual, dry lips, arms, eyes, yadda yadda yadda.

I turned into a hermit pretty as much as I could, hard but I felt better about it rather than people seeing me.

I heard nosebleeds were prevalent, especially in winter(cold winters where I live(-20 or below Fahrenheit many days throughout winter) and ususally in winter I get nosebleeds anyway, but oddly enough I have had maybe 2-3 all year(very minor as well). very weird.

no body aches, pains or any of that sort of thing.

The whiteheads that took the longest to go were on my forehead(still several remaining, with scarring) and in and around my ears. the ear ones are very stubborn and when the get inflamed to be released are very painful(whenever I touch/bump them). Also in the crease between my chin and lip there are several remaining, hopefully they go away as well.

I would say this, as many others have said before, do not go on this unless it is a last resort, it is a powerful drug. If it were just minor acne(like I had most of my childhood) I would not go on it due to possible risks associated with it. But in my case I believed the benefits outweighed the costs and therefore went ahead with it.

I have included some extra pics to show some of the worst of it.

Thanks for reading!