Tomorrow, 20/01/2014, I will begin my first ever course of Accutane. I've been prescribed 20mg a day for 6 weeks (until my next review on the 7th of March) by an NHS dermatologist as a result of the failure of Lymecycline (a tetracycline) and Tretinoin Gel (Isotrex) to curtail the emergence of cystic acne.

To get on the drug it was necessary that I took some blood tests. These were to measure factors such as liver function and glucose levels, which contribute to whether or not you are a suitable candidate for Accutane. After my blood tests had cleared I returned to my dermatologist as was given a hospital prescription (you can't purchase Accutane from a normal pharmacy) for Isotretinoin 20mg.

I am writing this diary because of the low dose method which has been of particular interest to a lot of people considering the drug in recent years. As well as this, the acne that I suffer from is not the usual type of acne that people who are prescribed Accutane suffer from.

I suffer from 2-3 cysts a month in addition to other white heads and non-inflamed acne. What has driven me to Accutane is the fact that the cysts that I do get have gradually been increasing in severity, and usually leave indented and very red/purple marks. This has led to a gradual decline in the quality of my skin over an extended period of time. I would not say that I have severe acne. I have isolated break outs of cysts, which go within 2-3 weeks. It is, however, a constant cycle which I am determined to be free of, as the unpredictable nature of my acne is very frustrating.

In this way, I believe my case is unique and might be of interest to other readers of this forum. In essence, this diary will record a low dose (20mg) approach to tackling stubborn (if mild/moderate) cystic acne.

Other information:

Weight: 50.4KG (7st.13)

Gender: Male

Location of Hospital: Oxford

Location: Birmingham

Age: 20