Day 26--not much change. Still no dry skin. A wonderful side effect of non-oily skin-- my makeup stays fresh all day! I went to an event tonight after work, and my makeup looked the same as I'd applied it that morning. Usually it's melted off my oily face by the end of the day. My skin is comfortable all day. I love this, and I hope I never have to go back to that icky oily feeling.
I know how you feel,i'm taking it mostly for oily skin,suffered for 3 years hiding myself.
Tomorrow will be my 50th day and since 7th i don't need to worry anymore about getting all the attention cause my forehead is reflecting all the lights,can't live with that.
Hope the normal skin stays for both of us! Always thought i would never get rid of it for a single day til i got old then everything kinda dries up lol
I had my first month checkup yesterday, and it was fantastic! I always had a good diet and exercised, but I was REALLY strict about eating well and keeping on a regular exercise schedule because I didn't want my total cholesterol to go any higher than what it was--210. My total cholesterol went down 40 points!!! It's now at 171!! I was amazed how much it went down, especially when taking a drug that bumps it up. My doc said my blood work was actually fine last time--that total cholesterol is just one part of the picture, and that my HDL, LDL and triglyceride levels were really good. In fact, she said I don't need to work so hard on diet and exercise and to give myself a break. I'm fine with that! 
She said since I'm tolerating the drug so well that she would bump me up to 60 mg a day. However, she said that the manufacturer that makes the 30 mg medication hadn't been delivering that dosage to our part of the U.S. for a couple of months (???), so she was going to have me take 40 mg one day, 80 mg the next, so that it would average out to 60 mg a day. My pharmacist took issue with that and would only give me one box of 40 mg (only a 20-day supply), because he said if he gave me two boxes it would be more than a 30-day supply and that was against the law. I asked him if he could just break open a 40 mg box and give me the medication that would amount to a 10-day supply, and he said he couldn't.
I called my Accutane coordinator today to tell her what he said, and she said that was b.s. She said he probably just didn't want to break up the 40 mg box. If that's true, he sure is a jerk! So now I have to go back and get a pregnancy test when my 20-day supply runs out. That's not a huge deal for me--I'm just glad there won't be a break in my treatment.
I'll probably be updating more now since there is a change in dosage and therefore probably a change in side effects. I hope I don't have another IB! But if I do, that's fine by me if it is just a part of the journey I need to take to have clear skin forever.
Thanks for reading!
Day 36 - All is clear and normal on 60 mg a day except for something I was afraid was going to happen--I've been using a thick cream around my eyes to help with dryness and make any fine lines less visible. However, as before Accutane, if that cream migrates anywhere close to my cheeks or t-zone, I'll get a cyst. Never too big, but it's close to my eye, and sometimes people have asked me if I got hit by something (???). Anyway, that happened again, and I'm kinda bummed because I thought moisturizer wouldn't affect my skin that way.
Other than that, no side effects, although I am still pretty early into the 60 mg a day treatment. Will update when there's anything new.
Hi Kim!
I am starting accutane tomorrow....I am female almost 30 and am tired of having pimples! It has progressively been getting worse the past 2 years and my derm finally prescribed me accutane. I also have very oily skin that I have to wipe off all the time. Did you have an initial break out and are you using any products to combat side effects? I am interested to see how it goes for you. Waiting with ipledge was the worst!! You can read my log here -
Hi Kim!
I am starting accutane tomorrow....I am female almost 30 and am tired of having pimples! It has progressively been getting worse the past 2 years and my derm finally prescribed me accutane. I also have very oily skin that I have to wipe off all the time. Did you have an initial break out and are you using any products to combat side effects? I am interested to see how it goes for you. Waiting with ipledge was the worst!! You can read my log here - http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/340807-low-dose-accutane-journey-to-finally-being-clear/
Hi lifeinfaith, sorry it took so long to reply--I've been working long hours lately. I did have an initial breakout that started at the beginning of the second week. It lasted about a week and a half. Since then--nothing. Not one pimple, no oil--it's a wonderful feeling!
The only side effects that have bothered me are dry lips and fatigue. Aquaphor is the best thing for really dry lips. The fatigue comes and goes, so I'm just taking it easy. I also have slightly dry eyes, but I'm using natural tear eye drops every once in a while, and they help. After the IB, Accutane's been pretty much a breeze--so far! 🙂
Day 51--I went to the derm yesterday and asked if I could start taking 80bmg a day, and she agreed! I haven't had any really bad side effects, other than dry lips, but they aren't too bad. I'm just so paranoid about my oily skin coming back that I want to take a high dose as long as possible to hopefully prevent that.
My skin still isn't dry, just normal. No new pimples with each dose increase. I've bought a lot of skin care products for dry skin per the advice of my derm (Cerave cleanser, Cetaphil cream), and I haven't needed to use them yet.
Will update when there's anything new to report!
On vacation this week in Santa Cruz, and it's been wonderful not worrying about oiliness or pimples. In fact, I can put sunscreen on my face in the morning and then pile more on in the afternoon and it just makes my skin feel softer! I used to have to wash my face and then reapply, otherwise there would be massive pimples soon after.
On my second week of 80 mg, and I am loving it. I have dry skin on my chin and cheeks, but I just put some cream on those spots and I'm good to go. I wish I could take Accutane forever. Dry skin is a BREEZE compared to what I had before, and I don't want to deal with skin that's even a little bit oily. Worst side effect is dry lips and Aquaphor takes care of that on contact. Starting my third month and I'm going to ask my doc to keep me on it as long as possible.
Bit of a setback today, and I'm kinda bummed...went in for my monthly doc appointment and she said my hemoglobin levels are too low for her comfort. I guess I'm anemic. She told me to stop taking Accutane for ten days (!!!) and then go in for another CBC and see if the hemoglobin levels go up. If they do, I can start taking Accutane again but I have to take it at the 40 mg per day amount.
I really hope my levels go up. I'm grateful they are monitoring my response to Accutane--I just don't want to stop taking it. I can't go back to oily skin, I just can't do it.
I'm back! Had to stop Accutane for three months until my hemoglobin and hematocrit levels went back up. It seemed like forever, but I took my first pill again today. 40 mgs. I hope I won't get another IB, but I haven't had a single pimple the entire time I was off Accutane...so hopefully that is a good sign.