Hey im getting ready to start accutane next week! I read ur first blog a while ago and really enjoyed it. I'll definitely be keeping up with this one also. Good luck!

Oh and the reason I'm so interested in ur log is because we are close in age and our acne is very similar too.

I'm on my second course too! Yay to kicking this acne's butt. I'm into month 5 now and doing great. Looking forward to your progress.

Day 6

Not a ton to report... Mostly just what's expected. Today is the official day that my lips are dry. I forgot what it felt like... It's not the kind of dry where you're like "Oh, it's cold outside and I have chapped lips." NO. It's the kind of dry that is really irritating and constant. I know a lot of you use Aquaphor, but I'm really into CO Bigelow's Night repair lip balm from Bath and Body Works or the CO Bigelow store. It's really creamy and yummy and it seemed to help all day - I'll keep you posted on how it is later in my treatment when I'm sure it's even worse than now. Oh, and my eyes are kind of dry. I remember this being a huge issue on my last course, but it's not awful yet.

No actives. My old cysts seem to be healing up already and my skin actually looks 'dec with makeup on. No complaints from this girl. I'm trying to put positives vibes out there that I'm going to totally surpass the IB and go on with my course ...and that everything will be smooth sailing from here on out. Plleeeeaaase

I'm about to max and relax this evening and do some serious Netflix binging on House of Cards - Anyone else into that show? So.. so.. so.. good. My manfriend and I are determined to finish the second season tonight. Hope everyone is having a wonderful day! Happy Friday

Oh, and here's a pic of my makeup after being at work all day - not too shabby! The dryness from Accutane is doing werk.

Day 15

Oh, hey there IB. Yep, it's true, I've officially gotten the IB. It's finally starting to heal up, but it literally happened overnight on Wednesday/Thursday (Day 13 or so). It isn't pleasant looking, but it's definitely not the worst breakout I've ever had in my life. It's just kind of a bummer because I was fairly clear from the Doxy already. But hey... this is part of the process, right? The first time I was on Accutane I was fresh out of college and could hideout in my bedroom for days on end if needed as I was job searching. Now it's a bit different. I'm dating, have a big girl job where I'm in meetings and fluorescent lighting for most of my day, and partake in lots of weekend social activities. Womp womp.

Oh, I took the day off on Thursday to run errands and have a "me" day. It happened to be 72 degrees and sunny in the good ol Midwest, so I decided to take advantage of my back patio and finish up a book. Two hours later I went inside only to find out that I was RED. Not like... golden bronze tan like the usual deal - Nope. Red. I acquired a nice little sunburn and I'm pretty sure it's because of the 'tane. I'm pretty dark complected all year around so this wasn't typical. Oh well... The Vitamin D definitely helped clear up my IB a little faster, which is nice. I'll take a little sunburn over days on end of an IB anyday. Any little bit helps Oh, I forgot to mention that my blackheads are really agressive and out in the open right now. Not digging it since I've never had much of an issue with blackheads anyway.

Anyway, I promise that I will post pictures soon... I owe you guys a few Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend!

Day 16

Oh, guess what? My IB is already healing and not completely awful with makeup on today. I think it'll be cool by tomorrow. So... thought you jokers might want to know

Day 19

Definitely going through the IB still, but it's healing... slowly but surely. I remember now that my acne was healing very strangely. It's almost shiny. It looks like total shit in a few spots with makeup on, but whatever. I can tell it's almost over, but a few days ago I was feeling pretty irritated by it. My skin is just so dry. I don't have the Accutane flaking thing going on, though, so I guess I'm thankful for that? I started putting a few drops of Jojoba oil in with my Cerave a few days ago and it's really helping keep that under control. My makeup also looks better because of it. Try it! I ordered mine from Amazon and it's been great so far - Just make sure it's the pure stuff.

Ok... so my LIPS. OUCH. It's seriously driving me insane...they don't even hurt, it just feels like they have this shield of dry skin over them. It's really creepy and like nothing I've ever felt. I don't even remember them being like this during my last course. Maybe I blocked it out. I'm not sure if I can deal with them being this horrible for the next 6 months. I'm going to look into other treatments for them because Aquaphor just isn't cutting it anymore.

I want to post update pics, but it's not letting me? Says I only have 16KB left? Is there a limit or something? Anyway... how's everyone else's course going?

Day 35

Hey everyone! Sorry I've been MIA, there just really hasn't been much to report besides a few small things:

Sunscreen. Wear it, people. They aren't joking.

Chapped Lips. This is the worst part for me. It's literally driving me INSANE.

Dry skin. Not TOO bad, but when I wake up I have some peeling around my lips/nose. Not the worst, not awesome.

TMI... Ready? I'm experiencing my first yeast infection. Apparently this can happen on Accutane and I'm NOT excited about it. Something about a lowered immune system. Whatever it is, I hope this NEVER happens again, ha. I don't know how some people have these on the reg - I'd lose my shit.

So, other than all of this junk, I'm practically 100% clear after only one month. The IB seemed to be between day 14-20. It wasn't very fun, but it also wasn't even the worst breakout I've ever had, so it's tolerable. I think the doxy I was taking before my course helped a little, too. I really want to post pictures, but it won't let me. How do you cats post so many? I really don't want to go through another hosting site, but I will if I have to I suppose. Anyway, TGIF and hope everyone has a great weekend!

Day 60

Well... I wrote a really long post then deleted it on accident. So... I'll make this quick Still 100% clear. Switching jobs this month, so after looking at all of my options, I'm going to go ahead and stay insurance-less for a few months. My only other option was to pay out of pocket (still expensive as shit,) or to opt for COBRA (a whopping $700/month.) I was a bad patient and instead of taking my recommended 80mg/day, I've only been taking 40mg/day because my lips were becoming intolerable. So, because of my Accutane hoarding I'm able to spread out my pills until August 2nd and not get off track with my course. My Doctor was surprisingly ok with this. She said since I'm 100% clear, depending on my comfort level, I could just start a new course a month before and pay for my visit/preg test out of pocket (not nearly as much as cobra,) or I could just be done with my course and call it a day. She's supportive of either. Honestly, I'll probably call it a day. I haven't had any new breakouts and I'm almost comfortable leaving the house without makeup! I mostly just use a tinted moisturizer these days.

A few side effects:

- Backache... Sometimes it's pretty bad when I wake up in the morning.

- First yeast infection + UTI EVER. Seriously? The worst.

- Still have the dry lips, but I swear to you... after buying every overly priced product at Sephora, plain ol original blue Chapstick has done WONDERS. go buy it now if you're having issues. I've literally tried everything: Aquaphor, Blistex, Fresh Advanced Therapy, Some Agave Nectar BS from Sephora... and then the $1.27 Chapstick saves the day. Hey, I'll take it

Hope everyone's course is going smashingly well!

Following your adventure girl! Totally hear you on the digital cheering... I'll be cheering you on!