That sounds like a good plan, tanna. I just started my third month and am not being bumped up from 40mg. I'm okay with that. If it takes me into a sixth or seventh month, fine. I'm tolerating the drug really well and have, with the exception of a small whitehead here and there, been clear for nearly two weeks now.
My main problems are lips and eyes. Lips and eyes. And nose, which I spray with Ayr twice a day.
I'm the same as you regarding pigmentation. I burned myself baking last month, that is just now starting to heal. Got some scratches on my arms from gardening a couple weeks ago, it looks like I was raked through a shredder. Now I've got an insect bite on my leg to contend with. But for some strange reason, all the pigmentation except one spot is gone from my face. Which is weird, because I hold on forever too.
I'll continue to keep my fingers crossed that you remain clear and that the pigmentation begins to fade.
It's been a long time. I'd say I'm enjoying my newly found clear skin. Everyday I wake up and look in the mirror I feel happy.
I had a crack in the corner of my lips for 2 weeks. It's healing now though thank goodness, it was more painful than it looked. Easily covered though, only 2people actually noticed.
My back pain went away for a bit but came back yesterday. Still here today. It's about a 6/10 today, yesterday was about 8/10 at the worst point. I started doing yoga every morning and I think it's really been helping.
I'm convinced accutane makes it harder for me to concentrate... But not impossible so I won't stop using it just because of that. I've had horrible skin since I was 11. Not gonna give that up because I have to drink some extra coffee to do the work I used to.., I'm just gonna drink the damn coffee.
No breakouts since I removed the ponds clarant from my routine. I will never even look at that product ever again.
Current routine:
AM: wash face back and chest with aveeno clear complexion foaming cleanser
Rest of body with olay moisture bar , dove beauty bar, or johsons baby soap,
Apply aveeno positively radiant with SPF 30
Eyeliner, line brows, lots of Carmex (dries on my way to school)
Afternoon: will rinse face when before work, might wash again if I'm oily
Yes... I get oily on accutane now
If I shower I will wash my face
Night: I shower if I didn't in the after and wash my face and back
Apply my aveeno moisturiser
Apply ponds dry skin cream as an eye cream, around areas where I used to get dryness when I started accutane, and on my neck
Apply some kind of lotion mixed with the palmers cocoa butter formula moisturising body oil
Just before I sleep I might apply some morebody oil on top of any dry areas
And lots of lip balm
Once weekly i exfoliate with some yoghurt and turmeric
Day 158
Really seems like I've been on accutane forever.
My back pain was actually pretty bad today.. But it's easing up. It was around 8/10 earlier and I just kept sitting every chance I got, then when I got home I went to bed so I could just lie flat for a while. Enough about that though.
My skin is very clear. It feels super soft all over. My fiance definitely noticed the difference and he says my skin feels soft everywhere. It's actually on my arms and can get dry on my legs but I moisturise a lot. Dry skin is so much easier to deal with. I also exfoliate with one of those netty things they sell with shower gel from my next down once a week. It's never done anything awful to my skin and I suppose it's because I'm on a low dose. It feels great to take my clothes off and not worry about what strange things people will see. My lips are extremely dry though which I hate.
At my last visit my doc was telling me he wanted to put me on a lower dose because of the back pain but I'm thinking that it will just keep me on meds longer. Would be nice though to get rid of the pain. He also said he was going to send me to a shrink because of how much I talk. I just feel so much better though, don't mean to sound big headed or anything but I love all the attention I get from men now. I like people hitting on me. Feels fantastic. People who were nice to me before are even nicer.
So happy to hear you're enjoying clear, smooth skin. Isn't that an awesome feeling? Congrats.
I'm looking at the low dose/fewer side effects, higher dose/get it over with quickly conundrum as well. I'll be at 16 weeks on 40mg/day at the end this month. I'll need to go to 80mg in order to finish by December with the proper cumulative dose for my weight. If I only go to 60mg, I'm on this until January. Six months versus seven. I guess four weeks doesn't make much difference. But my insurance may balk. Then again, they only pay $50 a script anyway. May as well go for broke.
Heh, I've been lurking on your log for a while now, Tanna. I'm glad to hear that your skin is looking good. I am due to start Accutane next week. I am excited, but also a little nervous about side effects. I am 18 years old, 5'9" and weigh 60kgs. I am too starting off on 20mg a day. I am scheduled to be on 'tane for six months. I am a bit of a worrier/hypochondriac, so am probably worrying unnecessarily about having horrendous side effects. My brother was also on Accutane a couple of years back (bad acne runs in the family, unfortunately) and it worked wonders for him. His skin is still completely clear two years after finishing treatment!
If you don't mind me asking, what was your cholesterol before you went on Accutane? How much did it rise by? After my first blood test four days ago, my cholesterol was pretty good (3mmol/l), and I'm worried about it rising.
Thanks! And congrats on the great skin! Here's hoping mine will improve soon!
Heh, I've been lurking on your log for a while now, Tanna. I'm glad to hear that your skin is looking good. I am due to start Accutane next week. I am excited, but also a little nervous about side effects. I am 18 years old, 5'9" and weigh 60kgs. I am too starting off on 20mg a day. I am scheduled to be on 'tane for six months. I am a bit of a worrier/hypochondriac, so am probably worrying unnecessarily about having horrendous side effects. My brother was also on Accutane a couple of years back (bad acne runs in the family, unfortunately) and it worked wonders for him. His skin is still completely clear two years after finishing treatment!
If you don't mind me asking, what was your cholesterol before you went on Accutane? How much did it rise by? After my first blood test four days ago, my cholesterol was pretty good (3mmol/l), and I'm worried about it rising.
Thanks! And congrats on the great skin! Here's hoping mine will improve soon!
I'm happy th accutane worked out for your brother. Hope it works for you too. About my cholesterol I'll have to check my file when I go back to the doctor next week, but before I started it was really good. my LDL was nice and low and my HDL was nice and high. They went haywire I think in July, LDL was 138, HDL was 50mg/dL but went back to normal quickly with diet and a bit more exercise than I was getting before. I came off the diet and my cholesterol has never gone wrong again. (I only ever recorded the bad one). I do have a very active lifestyle though so even though i have a family history or heart attack, stroke, recurrent heart attacks, bypass, recurrent strokes... I'm not even a little worried. Because I get a lot of exercise every day but Sunday!
So happy to hear you're enjoying clear, smooth skin. Isn't that an awesome feeling? Congrats.
I'm looking at the low dose/fewer side effects, higher dose/get it over with quickly conundrum as well. I'll be at 16 weeks on 40mg/day at the end this month. I'll need to go to 80mg in order to finish by December with the proper cumulative dose for my weight. If I only go to 60mg, I'm on this until January. Six months versus seven. I guess four weeks doesn't make much difference. But my insurance may balk. Then again, they only pay $50 a script anyway. May as well go for broke.
It IS an an awesome feeling having clear smooth skin. There are some days when I wash my face in the morning when it's smoother than others and I just want to tell people to touch my face. Lol.
Anyway, I don't worry about how much insurance has to pay for my scripts because I pay through my teeth for insurance every month. I've also been paying it for a long long long time so really... I've paid for my accutane. Also, insurance companies have lots of money... Me... Not so much.
I read about your recent side effects. Sorry about those. So what dose are you on now?
I have been on 40mg for the past four months. Hope to be able to bump up to 80mg, and get this over with by December and not drag out until end of February. Not sure why my doc had me on such a low dose . . . And I didn't learn about dose/weight until just recently.
Yeah, I pay through the teeth for my insurance, too. Only it doesn't cover a single thing. Thirty 40mg pills of Amnesteem runs $365my insurance picks up $50 of that. I pay the rest. I expect that I'll be paying double that if I go to 80mg.