I was given the OK for Accutane on the 27th of October. Yay! My dermatologist is enforcing the 30 day wait before I can get the medication, as I have to take another negative pregnancy test. So I will be starting Accutane on December 3rd. I can't wait. I've been on Spironolactone for 2.5 years, and it is making me miserable. I have a period (or spotting) almost every single day. And I feel sick and tired most of the time. I am slowly weaning off the drug because I simply can't take the misery of the side effects. I will never take another hormonal medication after this one. It wreaks too much havoc on my body. Truthfully, I'm more excited about the Accutane enabling me to quit Spironolactone than I am about it clearing my acne.

Day 1 (December 6)

I'm going to update either weekly or as important things progress. I was given 40mg of Claravis to begin today. I loaded up on Aquafor, contact lens drops, and Biotin. My skin isn't as bad as it has been, and at the moment I have 4 small pustules on my face, 7 on my neck, and a few more on my back. I have at least 10 closed comedones that tend to stick around for months at a time. My skin is already dry, and my nose is constantly bleeding (the humidifier in our house is broken). So I'm sure I will dry out pretty badly.

My biggest concerns right now are the initial breakout, and any other side effects that could potentially come with the medication. I'm still taking Spironolactone (hopefully not for much longer), I'm still using Retin A Micro at night, and Vanoxide HC in the morning. My dermatologist told me on Wednesday to stop using the topicals right away, but It's difficult for me to stop. They have become part of my daily life.

Right now I eat on average, 3 boxes of candy a day. One of my new goals is to cut down on candy dramatically. I often substitute breakfast and dinner with candy, and I feel that I need to start focusing more on my health.

you should prob stop using teh topicals if your doc said to stop using them as your face is already dry you say and putting the topicals on top will make it drier and red, irritating AND you thin your skin if its irritating and while on the drug your skin will get/stay dry so healing time for red irritation will be longer.

also, for your nose dryness, my doc said that you could use saline nose sprays (just plain saline sprays not that other medicated stuff - make sure u get teh right stuff by talking to the pharmacist at the shop. ive got that ayr brand saline spray - non medicated and it helps with dryness - although i havent gotten a nose bleed.) ask your doc if you need anyhting special for a nose bleed.

good luck!!! the first month might be rough BUT it IS ALL GOOD FROM THERE ON and just rememebr that each day will only get BETTER!

Day 1 (December 6)

I'm going to update either weekly or as important things progress. I was given 40mg of Claravis to begin today. I loaded up on Aquafor, contact lens drops, and Biotin. My skin isn't as bad as it has been, and at the moment I have 4 small pustules on my face, 7 on my neck, and a few more on my back. I have at least 10 closed comedones that tend to stick around for months at a time. My skin is already dry, and my nose is constantly bleeding (the humidifier in our house is broken). So I'm sure I will dry out pretty badly.

My biggest concerns right now are the initial breakout, and any other side effects that could potentially come with the medication. I'm still taking Spironolactone (hopefully not for much longer), I'm still using Retin A Micro at night, and Vanoxide HC in the morning. My dermatologist told me on Wednesday to stop using the topicals right away, but It's difficult for me to stop. They have become part of my daily life.

Right now I eat on average, 3 boxes of candy a day. One of my new goals is to cut down on candy dramatically. I often substitute breakfast and dinner with candy, and I feel that I need to start focusing more on my health.

I was in a similar situation as you. Acne for most of my life. Hormonal problems. Tried everything, literally. Both my parents had bad acne, so genetics are working against me. My mom got on Accutane when she was my age (19), as well. I'm almost a month and a half in and I'm so glad that I found this website with others going through the same things as me.

The initial breakout is rough, I won't lie to you. Sometimes I feel my face is worse now than it was before. But you have to look at it as your skin pushing everything bad out of your face once and for all. And my derm said that by the end of month two, you should see a drastic difference and you only get clearer from then on out. Keep updating! Emotional support will seriously help!

Day 6

I had been using both Retin A Micro and Vanoxide HC daily. At tho point, I couldn't use the Vanoxide even if I wanted to. I stopped using it three days ago. I now use the Retin A Micro every other day. So far my skin is dry (similar to the way it dries out when I put benzoyl peroxide all over). My lips are peeling, and the WORST part is my angular chelitis, which has come on full force. The corners of my mouth are raw, and so, so, so sore. I have Nystatin cream that usually wipes out the condition within about 12 hours. But this time they are relentless, and the cream isn't working. I'm not sure what to do about this, as I can hardly open my mouth to eat or drink. Any suggestions?

I also have awful headaches, and I can feel tender spots on my forehead. However, I do have a cold (which I think has developed into a sinus infection, and I have supraorbital neuralgia, a rare condition that causes pain in those nerves. I have to get nerve blocks periodically for them. So I don't think the headache is a result of the Accutane. In addition, the headache began few days before I started Accutane.

I've had no initial breakout, and the spots I did have, have dried up and left. I had been developing small pustules on my chin for the past few weeks, but I haven't had any appear in about three days. As of now, the skin on my face is virtually clear. The pimples on the left side of my neck are still there, and I still have a few on my back. It will be interesting to see how a full course of Accutane impacts my acne. I have mild, sometimes moderate acne that is very persistent. My biggest qualm with my acne wasn't the acne itself, but the red spots that every single pimple left. No matter how small the pimple, a dark red spot always remained and stayed for anywhere from 4 months to years after appearing. I do have some scarring on my right cheek, though this is mild and I'm sure can be fixed.

Don't use retin-a while on Accutane. Its way to harsh for you skin while its dry/affected by the drug.

Please stop it and wait minimum 6 months after finishing accutane before starting it again.

Update (Day 9)

I'm getting tiny whiteheads beneath my lower lip. This is unusual for me because I never get spots here. I have developed a nodule on my neck that is extremely painful, but I do get these every once in a while. I'm not sure if either were caused by Accutane, but I felt it was worth mentioning. In addition, I found a remedy for my angular cheilitis. Dr. Dan's lip balm. My brother (who is also on Tane) had some to spare. It cleared the sores almost immediately, and they are nowhere to be seen! My lips are still very dry and very red, and my nose still bleeds quite often. I don't use chapstick much (maybe once a day). I'm not sure if they will continue to get more dry, so I may have to start using it more often.

I now have dandruff (ick), so I got some Neutrogena Tgel and used it last night. It doesn't smell very good, but so far I don't have any flakes. I'm a bit surprised that I have dandruff, because my hair still feels somewhat oily.

Two Weeks

Not much has changed from the last time I posted an update. My hair still gets oily fairly quickly (I was hoping this would change). I still get a new whitehead on my face a day, and I still have spots appearing on my neck. My back is clear however, so that's a bit of good news. I'm just hoping my face and neck will clear soon, and my hair will stop getting oily after less than a day.

(Around) Week Three

I'm dry, dry, dry. My lips are as chapped as can be, the skin on my face is constantly peeling, and it looks like I have a skin flake beard. Spots where I used to have acne (that weren't very noticeable at one point) are now bright red. Any new pimples that I happen to get are also bright red. Normally my closed comedones are nearly invisible, but as of the past few days, they are coming up looking much bigger and redder. My nose bleeds every time I blow it, and (nasty, I know), I have blood crusties up there that drive me a little mad. I'm still getting as many pimples as I normally do, so as of now there hasn't been any improvement. My face looks terrible, and I now have eczema on my hands and arms. I'm feeling a little down today because my skin looks bad, and I'm hoping this will be over soon. I still have so much longer to go, and the discomfort and waiting period is a bummer. The one positive note that I can end this on is that my formerly absurdly oily hair is no more. I can now go about 3 or so days between washes. Yay!

Week 4ish

There isn't much to report this week. My hair is still dry (yay)! I still have flaky skin, dry patches, bloody noses, and dry lips. I still get new pimples daily (about 1-2 a day), though they tend to be very small and don't last as long as they normally do. I often get the red pimples with no heads, and while they were once large and very inflamed, they are now light and very small. And they don't leave red marks like they used to. I can now get pimples and not fret over the red spots that linger. My skin looks clear. The clogged pores (closed comedones) continue to appear on my chin, but they vanish almost as soon as they pop up. This is great for me though, because generally they stick around for weeks to months at a time. My back acne has cleared up, but it seems to come and go, so I can't exactly say that it's permanently clear. The hyper pigmentation spots have faded, and all in all, my skin looks good and I can't complain.

I've had no initial breakout, and it's been pretty smooth sailing from day one. Admittedly, I was concerned about the initial breakout after seeing my brother go through it. But I somehow managed to avoid it. I love not needing to wash my face twice a day, I love not worrying about the foods I eat or the products I put on my skin. I'm also pleased to report that I don't need to wear makeup anymore. Most days I don't bother putting anything on at all. I've taken a few pictures of my skin (no makeup). The lighting is a little poor in my bedroom but you will get an idea of how much my skin has improved. I really wish I had put up a before picture. My face was a sight when I began the treatment. When I have more time I'll see if I can find one.

1 month, three weeks

I apologize for the lack of updates. I feel like this thread isn't getting much of a response, so I wasn't sure it was necessary to continue posting. I'm not sure I'll carry on with weekly updates, but I'll play that by ear. Anyway. My clear skin photos came a little too soon. As few days after those were taken, I broke out around the jawline. I have two large red bumps on my right side, and another on the left. I also began breaking out in approximately 5-6 painful pimples along the center of my upper and mid back. I was hooping I would be clear by now, and able to stop Spironolactone, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

And for whatever reason, my face is drier than it has ever been. Minutes after applying globs of CeraVe moisturizer, my skin is painfully tight and disgustingly flaky. My lower face now flakes enough for people to comment on it. Has anyone experienced a sudden drying like this? My face is nearly always red and dry, so in a fed up huff I went to CVS and purchased Cetaphil cleanser and moisturizer. However, I am hesitant to use it in fear of breaking out. Has anyone tried either of these products? What should I expect from them?

I found my face was the driest in the second month, and has calmed down a bit now. I also have been putting on double layers of moisturizer in my flaky places (chin) and that seems to help. Put it on, let it absorb, do it again.

I hate cetaphil, but lots of people love it. I think it has shea butter in it, which just isn't my friend. I use moisturel, which works really well for me and I find it much more moisturizing than cerave or cetaphil, but it has a lot of petroleum in it, and some people don't like that. My skin seems to love chemically produced things and hate natural things. Silly skin.

So it all depends on your own skin.

Sorry I'm not much help.

But do know that you have lots of support out here! And p.s., your pics look great! That is some amazingly fast progress.

Please keep SendMeAngels, I'm interested in your progress.

I'm entering my second year of persistent moderate acne and NOTHING I'm doing is helping it disappear. I've tried many topicals, antibiotics, hormones and I'm just about a step away from laser surgery and accutane. I'm nervous about long term side effects of accutane but I'm sick of living with acne.

Beginning Month 3

xtinakim, my advice to you is to just go ahead and do it. I worried for years about the potential short and long term side effects of accutane before I finally became so fed up, I decided to give it a go. I had nothing to lose. And after all of that worrying and researching, I got only one side effect: dryness. And it is hardly a bother at all.

So, I've changed evening moisturizers because CeraVe PM wasn't giving me enough moisture, and it was burning the ever living Hell out of my face. So I'm using Cetaphil something or other, and it is much nicer. It keeps my skin virtually flake free and doesn't burn. In the morning I had been using CeraVe AM, marveling at how wonderful it was to moisturize and protect my skin from burns and aging simultaneously. Until I read the back of the package. CeraVe AM is not a broad spectrum sunscreen. I should have read the back of the package two years earlier. So I ordered eucerine face moisturizer with 35 broad spectrum sunscreen in it.

I'm still getting tiny little whiteheads, anywhere from 1-4 any given week. My back is clear, but there is one pimple on my jaw that keeps filling over and over again. I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of this. I went up north for 6 days, and during that trip I broke out in 5 pustules on the lower half of my face. At the same time, I developed two cold sores on my lip, so all in all, I looked very attractive during the course of my trip.

On a side note, my 96 year old grandfather was with us on our trip, and he has Alzheimer's. I would venture to say that he is probably in the moderate stage of the disease. Once in a while the old grandfather I knew will shine through, and we will be able to chat like we used to. But often, he is confused, lost, and sometimes sad. And in doing some research on Alzheimer's, I found that there is a high correlation between the herpes virus and Alzheimer's. And as someone who gets cold sores, that shook me up a little bit. I hope that I never get such a disease, and if I do, I hope humane euthenasia will be safe and legal at that time.

Mid Month 3

Back acne is still gone. I haven't had a pimple pop up in weeks. The never-ending pimple on my jawline has finally taken its leave, and shows no signs of coming back. In the past week I've had two closed comedones, and yesterday, a red pimple popped up on my cheek, but vanished the next day. I rarely get spots on my face or back, and if they do come, they disappear rapidly. I think the medication is beginning to take full effect, and I love it. I've been going out more without makeup, and I love it. I still have a few PiH spots, but those are fading with time. As gross as this may seem, I now wash my hair once a week. Yes, once a week. It's fantastic. My Eucerine moisturizer with broad spectrum sunscreen came in the mail last Saturday, and I've been using it ever since. I load it on my face (about a teaspoon), and so far it's working beautifully.

In two weeks I'm moving from cloudy, cold Michigan to sunny San Diego, California. I'm so excited about the move, but after my next Accutane Appointment next Friday, I'll have one more month on the medication after that. My health insurance is only in Michigan, so this means I'll have to find a doctor willing to prescribe Accutane in San Diego. I love my dermatologist here, and I love my insurance, and I'm concerned about how this move will impact my treatment. I'm guessing I'll have to pay out of pocket for accutane (a whopping $1,000 + dollars) since I won't have insurance there. I don't like the idea of switching dermatologists or paying obscene amounts of money for my medication, but I'm not sure there is an alternative. Prolonging the move isn't an option. Has anyone experienced a situation similar to this? Any advice would be welcomed.

Little Update:

It's official! I leave for San Diego next Saturday! The warmth will be a welcome relief since there has been snow on the ground for over four months and the temperatures have been in the single digits. I was worried about Accutane and insurance changes when I got there, but that was resolved this morning when I visited my fantastic dermatologist. He is bumping my dosage up to 60mg per day so I reach the 120 mark. The medication will be taken at 30mg twice daily. I forgot to ask him, if I get too much dryness, would it be okay to simply take one pill a day and extend the treatment another month? I think that since cumulative dose is what matters that it won't make a difference. Am I correct in thinking this? At any rate, I'm sure it will be fine either way.

As of today, I'm acne free. I get a pimple once in a blue moon, but it goes away in a matter of hours. I absolutely think the treatment is working. I love being able to use new products on my face, and I'm currently looking for a pressed powder with SPF, since Neutrogena no longer makes theirs. Any suggestions.

Also, I'm dropping Spironolactone once and for all. Both my dermatologist and I agreed that it wasn't necessary anymore. I shouldn't have such an attachment to it since it never really worked, but for some reason I'm psychologically having a difficult time letting go of it. He told me I could stop taking it immediately and that it wouldn't matter, but I may taper it down. Either way, it's time to stop the medication.

Week...not sure.

I'm about 3.5 months in, and I'm still clear. Back, face, and chest are completely free of acne. My hyper pigmentation is nearly gone, and I am now happy to report that I can (and do) go out without powder on my face. I can leave the house without a stitch of makeup and feel confident. I love it. It makes it much easier to reapply sunscreen. Wearing powder is still a habit and I'm still a little more comfortable wearing it. But I look fine without it, and that makes me so very happy.

I arrived in California on Wednesday (huge change)! But still no acne. However, my cold sores are relentless, even with daily Valtrex. California is has some serious sunshine, and I notice now more than ever, that I have to diligently reapply sunscreen to all exposed parts of my body. My calves were neglected when I was applying sunscreen, and I got a little burnt in a short amount of time.

I realized that a 60mg dose of accutane would not reach the 120 goal, so I have a new dermatologist here in California who is going to continue my treatment. I don't want to come all this way not to reach the goal. So I will be taking 30mg this month and next month, and 40mg the last month. So I'll be finishing up my treatment in the beginning of June.

My lips are still flaky, red, and dry, and my hair is still dry. The corners of my mouth flake once in a while, but other than that, my face isn't particularly dry. If I moisturize my body, the dry skin patches go away. So all in all, I'm doing well on the treatment and am not having any severe side effects.

Yay.

Month 4:

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but there was a mistake in dosage of Accutane I was prescribed. I'll end up taking more than the 120 cumulative dose, which is fine with me, and my treatment will end a month later than it initially would have. I have a little over two months of my treatment left. I've been taking 30mg instead of 40 for about a month, and I have noticed a few differences. However, the differences may have something to do with the California weather. When I left Michigan it was in the teens, and here in California, it's been 90 degrees for the past few days. My skin is a little oilier than it had been, and I'm no longer getting bloody noses. The skin on my arms is still dry and flaky. I've gotten 3 little pimples in the past week, but they disappear before they turn into a serious bump.

Transitioning from my Michigan dermatologist to my dermatologist in California was a painless process. I have no complaints. And I finally got some answers about the cold sores that had been lining the edges of my mouth for months. I had been taking Valtrex daily for over two months, but my mouth continued to get bumps. After making an emergency appointment with my dermatologist, he told me that the bumps aren't cold sores at all. They are inflamed spots from the Accutane. Go figure. The remedy? Chap stick, chap stick, chap stick.

Middle Month 4:

I have some crummy news. Since being off of Spironolactone, my period is still irregular. I tend to have 35+ cycles. My endrocrinologist suggested that my irregular periods were due to the spironolactone, and did not indicate PCOS. However, since my periods are still irregular even off the drug, it seems to me that I do in fact have PCOS. To ad insult to injury, I started my period the night before last, and I've had 4 inflamed pimples pop up. For this reason, I decided to begin taking Spironolactone again, since is helps prevent cyclical acne. And since it seems as though I DO have PCOS, Spironolactone is an appropriate treatment.

I feel discouraged and frustrated. Because I am still getting acne around my menstrual cycle, and also because I appear to have a hormone disorder. I realize that in some ways I am fortunate because I'm not overweight or hairy, and I don't have any issues with diabetes. It's just irregular periods and acne. But I still resent the fact that there is something wrong with my body. My gynocologist told me that I would have a hard time getting pregnant, but that's not an issue because I don't want children.

This whole ordeal makes me wonder if Accutane is going to work for me. I wonder if people with PCOS have success on Accutane. I still have two months to go on the medication, so I'm hoping for a miracle.

I would love to get some encouragement. Anything will do.

Hello!

I have horribly hormonal acne as well. I have never been diagnosed with PCOS, but I have similar acne to people who suffer from this, and suspect it is all similar hormones and such involved.

I got clear ten years ago on Accutane and stayed clear. For ten years! I thought I was magically cured! I was taking Diane the whole time, and when I stopped doing that - bam! Acne again!

It is super frustrating to have hormonal acne which is so resistant to normal treatments. BUT - on the plus side - there are so many people in the world taking supplements and meds to help with their chronic health issues - the fact that I found something that provides long term, controllable remission for me is pretty amazing. I am just finishing a second course now, and back on the pill. So far so good. Hoping for ten more lovely years. Or more.

So - I'm not sure if I'm being helpful or depressing - but I have hormonal acne, and although Accutane was not the end for me, with the assistance of hormone therapy I am doing awesome. The Accutane will get you clear, if you need to stay on the spiro after that to stay that way, then go for it. This is a pretty similar plan to what I have done in the past with great success.

Hang in there!

Hello!

I have horribly hormonal acne as well. I have never been diagnosed with PCOS, but I have similar acne to people who suffer from this, and suspect it is all similar hormones and such involved.

I got clear ten years ago on Accutane and stayed clear. For ten years! I thought I was magically cured! I was taking Diane the whole time, and when I stopped doing that - bam! Acne again!

It is super frustrating to have hormonal acne which is so resistant to normal treatments. BUT - on the plus side - there are so many people in the world taking supplements and meds to help with their chronic health issues - the fact that I found something that provides long term, controllable remission for me is pretty amazing. I am just finishing a second course now, and back on the pill. So far so good. Hoping for ten more lovely years. Or more.

So - I'm not sure if I'm being helpful or depressing - but I have hormonal acne, and although Accutane was not the end for me, with the assistance of hormone therapy I am doing awesome. The Accutane will get you clear, if you need to stay on the spiro after that to stay that way, then go for it. This is a pretty similar plan to what I have done in the past with great success.

Hang in there!

Thank you for your response! It's appreciated!

Update:

I've been getting quite a few new pimples since starting spironolactone again. None of them are particularly large, but are annoying nonetheless. I'm not sure why my face suddenly starting getting pimply again. It had been clear for months. Right up until my period started a week or so ago. So I'm a little bit perturbed. I have about a month and a half left on Accutane, and I really hope that my skin starts clearing up again. For good. If Accutane doesn't work, I'll have run out of options. And I can't even stand the thought of being 27 years old with no end to acne in sight. Enough is enough. I can't say for sure that I have PCOS, but there is something amiss. No one really knows what it is, and so far, my doctors haven't considered it anything serious enough to warrant an intervention. I feel a little bit defeated right now. And to add insult to injury, my lips are itchy and raw. They are also inflamed and have a red ring around them. My doctor said it was due to the Accutane. So I've been putting Cortisone 10 on them, hoping it will do some good. Lousy past couple of weeks.

Week: Something or Other

My breakout was from the Spironolactone. It lasted for about a week and then stopped. It was similar to the first time I broke out on Spironolactone, though it was very mild, and the pimples went away after about 24 hours. So for the past few weeks I've been clear. Not a single pimple or comedone. I have a month and five days left of Accutane, and I'm still so glad I was given this prescription. My lips are still dry, but have healed quite a bit since I last posted. I've been using Blistex a few times a day, and that's what has given me the most relief.

Last 8 Days:

My trip on Tane is nearly over. I have exactly 8 days left of my treatment. I'm terrified! I've been clear for a while now. All of my post inflammatory hyperpigmntation is gone, and I haven't gotten a pimple in...I don't even know how long. Even right before and during my period, I am acne free. I couldn't be happier. My skin looks fantastic, and I love being able to go out of the house without makeup. And even beneath the bright sunlight, my skin looks wonderful. I even had a stranger complement me on my skin. I can put anything on my face without worrying about breaking out. I love it. I never in a million years thought that I would be acne free. I was beginning to believe that I would have acne forever.

The side effects on Accutane have been minimal. My lips are still dry, but it's easy enough to fix with some Blistex and Carmex. Now, this isn't the most attractive photo, but I'm not wearing makeup, and I'm in the car (on of the places where my skin looked the worst).

Your skin looks great, Yay for you!! Got to keep telling myself theres light at the end of the tunnel!