Breakitoutnow- I - don't think you're supposed to use it on your face long term because it can thin skin. I have used it for a week or so in the past and it was fine, I ran into problems when I used it on open wounds. That said, the protopic is probably going to work better for you than an over the counter cortisone.

My shoulder MRI results came in today and it's not torn!!! They said its tendinitis and gave me a steroid injection so I can do physical therapy for the next several weeks once the bursa isn't inflamed anymore. Ya!!! No surgery!

Dawg days - I didn't get an ib when I bumped from 20 to 30 2 weeks ago, although this is a small bump. I think I got a little ib in the first 2 weeks of my start but nothing since then. I'm not really experiencing side effects besides the chapped lips. Initially my scalp got dry and itchy but once I switched shampoo it was fine. My body oil levels haven't noticeably changed. My face has very little oil now but it's not dry either..it was the first few weeks but now it's just "balanced feeling". I think I felt a little fatigue in the first few weeks but none now and I work out in the gym regularly and play soccer but haven't had any muscles issues. I'm realllllly hoping this stays the rest of my course. I'm barely 100 lbs so can take this small of a dose and still meet my 130mg/kg cummulstive dose in a reasonable amount of time.

Wish you both smooth sailing from here on out!

Hey everyone (or lifeinfaith and DawgDaze since I think you two are the only ones reading)! Today marks day 86 and I'm now into Week 13. Can't say for sure if time has gone fast or slow. Some days I think, "I have been on this FOREVER" and other days I think back to my college graduation (when I started) and think, "That was just last week, right?" Anyway, I'm a little sick of Accutane, but I am certainly liking the results. I saw one of my best friends for the first time in 7 months this weekend. She knew I was on Accutane but I don't think has a concept of how ridiculous my skin obsession is and, completely unsolicited, told me the Accutane seems to be working really well for me. That's always good to hear. I've received plenty of compliments on my skin while on the meds, but they've all been from people who know my skin problems (it's a little like when your mom tells you you're beautiful. "Gee thanks, Mom...."). This one was not like that, and it really boosted my confidence.

All that said, I'm keeping the eczema under control and basically my neck and jaw just itch like crazy (but there is no inflammation). I've been breaking out a little this past week but there are so many factors that could be causing it. I've spent 28 hours in the car since Thursday, had to purchase a new vehicle, seeing family, and eating nothing but junk food. Plus I'm gearing up for a move this weekend across the country. I would kind of expect to be breaking out like crazy given all of these stressors and changes, and it has been a very manageable, barely noticeable breakout. I had a small thing pop up on my lower lip line (those always hurt like crazy!) and now, two days later, it is invisible. I had another small but VERY red thing pop up on my hairline/forehead yesterday morning. It was kind of bizarre. I didn't notice it when I got in the shower, then getting out of the shower it looked like a beet red monster. It was so small and shallow that I could sort of just brush it off and I'm not even sure it "popped" in the traditional sense, but it looked scabby and weird. Again (I can't stress this enough), it is VERY small. I put a little differin on it last night and it looked a little better this morning, but still red. I imagine in two days it will be gone. My hair can also cover it so I'm not too bummed about it. These "breakouts" make me upset, but I told myself at the beginning of this course I would be content to suffer through the "odd zit" and that's really all it is. It looks like I have ONE zit on my whole face, and I would have killed for that kind of complexion at the beginning of this course. And that one zit is like, a normal zit. It pops up, it looks red and nasty for a day, and then it dries up in a day or two. None of this deep cystic "pop and ooze" nasty crap that scars or leaves a mark that hangs around for three months. Haven't had a really deep whitehead since that crap on my left cheek about four weeks ago, so if I could just keep smooth sailing, that would be lovely. What do you say, Accutane?

Side effects: I think there may be some effect on my night vision, but my mom and my sister both have bad night vision so I'm not sure this is 'tane-related. I also just have really dry eyes and I'm not very good at doing eye drops (it's so petty, but I just hate doing them. I have no problem practically jabbing myself in the eye with contacts but when it comes to one tiny drop, I dislike it. It's weird, I know). I rolled into my hometown after a 13 hour car ride a few nights ago and my left eye was just bright red. I walked into the house looking like a drug addict. I didn't put my contacts in for two days and that seemed to help.

Other side effects: joint pains--not awful but noticeable. Just feels like I've worked out a lot when I haven't, and when I have it feels like I have worked out a lot harder than I did. Definitely facial flushing (I feel like I'm constantly red). Dehydration! If I do a run, I need to not plan on going anywhere for a solid hour afterward because I will continue to overheat and sweat, even after a shower. The sweating doesn't hit when I'm just relaxing on my own, but after any form of exertion I feel really dehydrated and things just get nasty quickly. Other than that, I just feel kind of ill all the time. Nothing awful, but my nose is always dry and stuffy, my joints hurt, my eyes are dry, I'm constantly tired. It's like a constant cold/allergies. Not fun by any stretch of the imagination, but not awful either and a small price to pay for clear skin in my opinion.

I keep looking at end dates. Planning on probably mid-late October unless I bump my dosage up (which I really don't want to do). I'll ask my derm about it on Friday. I also have a major stash of Accutane going. They have been prescribing me for 80 mg/day each month and I've only been doing 60. I JUST started this month's prescription today, and I'm getting a refill in four days. I could kind of stay on the 'tane forever if I wanted to.

Day 90:

Meh. Today was the first time I left the dermatologist's office feeling sort of down. Not because of my skin (I got an annoying papule that popped yesterday and now it's all red and annoying, but it is the only blemish on my face. Did I mention it's annoying? Seriously though, I'm loving the progress my skin has made and this was the first real zit that I'm even remotely self-conscious of in the past month). The doctor is pleased with my progress too, but she asked how much of the prescription I had left and I was honest and said I had about a month's worth. She was fine with that, but now I don't receive a prescription for this month. This gives me 35 days to get a new derm in DC, get an appointment, and get a prescription filled. I understand my current derm's responsibility to not distribute more than a month's worth of Accutane, but I actually could have reached my cumulative dose with a new prescription. Now I have a nice ticking time bomb to get more accutane. Start the clock....

I also got my records from the derm's office and I read about my "acne history." I always thought my acne was moderate at worst, but when I read the records it says things like "widespread cysts in various stages of healing" and "deep papules/occasional cysts" and "moderate-severe" and it just gets me down. I worry that it reduces my chances of remission. I guess I probably just need to face that fact that my skin was pretty bad and be thankful that at this point it is much better, but it was a stark reminder of this nasty war with acne.

Skin-wise, I'm a little sick of this small breakout but given the stress I'm under right now, I'm amazed it isn't worse. It does seem like I'm more or less popping up with something very small every day for the past week, with yesterday's being fairly significant. But I'm in the process of moving, spending a ton of time in the car, wrapping up one job and gearing up for a new one and saying goodbye to some people who are really close to me. Basically just a rough time for me. I'm excited for a new opportunity but uprooting and moving halfway across the country isn't exactly a walk in the park. It was a lot easier when I moved 800 miles to college. This move feels tougher. Oh well.

Side effects: not bad. All the usuals and the doctor didn't really see a sign of eczema on my neck/jaw so maybe I'm wrong. She kindly reminded me that people just get itchy skin on this stuff so that's probably what it is. I'm skeptical, but absent any concrete eczema evidence, I'll buy it.

Really excited to look at end dates (entering month 4. Woo!). I felt like my derm thought I was speaking a foreign language when I talked about cumulative dose. I said something like "I'm at about 72 mg/kg so far" and she was like "you mean 1 mg/kg". I know she was talking about daily dose but still, it seems weird that she doesn't seem concerned with a 120-150 mg/kg cumulative dose at all. I like my derm a lot and she has been really flexible with everything, but I sometimes feel like we are on a different page and, being the know-it-all I am, I think my page is right.

Anyway, the TL;DR of this post is: skin is fine, hoping this small breakout stops soon, frustrated by prescription stuff and finding a new derm, and feeling pretty low but can't blame the Accutane. Just a lot of uncertainty in my life causing some anxiety. Hope everyone else is doing well on their courses!

Day 94:

Since the last update, I've moved halfway across the country! Managed to find a new derm and got a Saturday morning appointment for earlyish September, so I'm excited about that. Other than that, I have a significant dark mark from that stupid thing on my cheek on Thursday and it's not going away. I keep debating whether I should use aquaphor, Differin, or nothing on it. Differin hasn't seemed to be helping so maybe I'll try aquaphor tonight. I'm not sure. Haven't had anything else pop up, but this morning my chin/lip area looks pretty inflamed. Not like a breakout, just very red (which is pretty normal on this stuff from what I gather). I've been using ProTopic at night so I may just need to lather it on a little better. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, today is my OFFICIAL first day of Month 4. I liked my skin a lot better a week or two ago, but it isn't BAD right now. I would just love if this cheek mark would fade, that's all. Here's to hoping the breakouts stop completely this month and that the next two/three months are smooth sailing!

Yay for month 4!! Don't let the breakouts get you down, new move=fresh start

I can imagine that all the stress of your moving, new job, etc., would manifest in some way on your skin. That it seems to have done so with relatively little drama is a great sign!

Here's hoping things continue to improve as you settle into your new life.

Day 100:

Hey everyone! So it seems fitting that on day 100 I should update. This should be shorter than my typical novellas because I don't have a TON to say. Skin wise, things have been going alright. I've had a total of two SMALL SMALL SMALL things crop up in the last week and a half, and I'm not even sure I can call them zits as much as little clogged pore bumpy things that I scratch at and pop and leave big red marks (not BIG red marks. Skin is monumentally better than it was. No complaining here, just hoping it lasts). I've also been under TREMENDOUS stress with a new city, new job, new commute from HELL! I'm really happy it hasn't been worse skin wise.

Now for side effects: joint pains got really bad lately. I think this is a combination of factors. I've been running in an area with a lot more hills than I am used to, and that causes problems. I did 10 miles yesterday and about an hour afterwords, my hips were just dead. For a second I thought I wouldn't be able to get out of the car. Logic would say, "just don't run as far" but running is important to me, so this side effect sucks. Dehydration is pretty bad too. I've got to get better about drinking water but I haven't been so good. I feel like I sweat like crazy. Mostly facial sweating but any form of exertion seems to really get me going, which sucks trying to get into work in DC in August. Additionally, I have dry eyes (one is sort of perpetually red) and very dry lips (they sort of always have this burning sensation). I also get inflamed red bumps on my skin on my body. They almost look like zits, but they aren't poppable. They are just bright red bumps. I'm

Assuming it's eczema or something, but it isn't concentrated into a rash or anything. Kind of just looks like chicken pox. Very weird.

Overall, loving the accutane results, hoping side effects aren't permanent, and ready to be done with this stuff. I think it may be having an effect on my mood too, but I could just have a short fuse from stress and lack of sleep. Time to start getting things in order for my next derm appointment. Can't believe 100 days are done!

Yay to 100 days down! You're almost, what, three-fourths of the way finished?

I've noticed the increased sweating as well. Not sure if it's the drug or the fact that we're having an unusually wet summer. I live in the Desert Southwest, and run in high, dry altitudes, so I don't usually sweat much at all. My skin is always kind of "sticky" now, too.

I've never been a super hydrator, either, one of those people you see perpetually sucking on a water bottle. So I really have had to be conscious about it when I work out or run. But during the day when I'm not active? I just forget to drink. Hours will go by before I realize I should drink some water. Seems to be slightly more critical on this drugI'll get headachy if I go too long.

Ya! Good luck at the new job. DC seems like an exciting place. I just started month 3 and nothing new to report - side effects are the same and no pimples. Seems like now I get an occasional small clogged pore...like maybe one a week. My nose is the only real place on my body thats dry. I put extra lotion on it because it gets bumpy/scratchy feeling and sometimes redish - it and near my brow sometimes are the only places accutane has seemed to make my face red. Now...if I could just stop getting bit by mosquitos all over my body!!! I have been doing the treadmill alot and lifting weights without noticing anything. Soccer starts back up in a week.

So it's been a little over a month since I got off Spiro. I wasn't sure enough to say this earlier, but today I for sure have an increase in oil. It's not like my face before but noticeably oilier than it had been in months. Been increasing the past few days. My nose isn't really even dry right now either and that has been dry the whole time.

Has any one noticed random increases in oil during acutane course, or could it possibly be my body adjusting from the Spiro change?

I notice random everything on accutane. As for oil, I'll be honest I'm not really sure. I find that if I touch something to my nose or upper lip, it usually leaves behind some kind of print, but I honestly think that is from the increased facial sweating, not oil. Little droplets of sweat form on my nose quite regularly, but only after any form of physical exertion, excessive heat, or nerves (having moved to a swampy climate involving tons of walking and starting a new job, there has been no shortage of any of these). I can't say I've monitored my oil production all that much though. I think skin texture and side effects just change so rapidly though, it is quite possible.

I'm so mad at myself! I've had this indented red mark from that horrible mutant zit thing I got almost two months ago. It was so faded and basically just looked like a tear drop shaped discoloration on my far right cheek. I really didn't mind it because it wasn't all that noticeable. But lately the skin has been peeling a little around it and I started picking last night and broke the skin a little. It's totally not a big mark, but I just made it more noticeable. It kind of looks like I got some kind of bug bite near my eye, so at least it doesn't look like a nasty zit. Hopefully the skin will heal over quickly with some aquaphor and it will go back to looking just barely noticeable instead of mildly noticeable. Whatever, I'm nitpicking at this point.

Today was day 104! If I can get the order called in on Tuesday (I accidentally had it sent to the wrong lab) I will get labs done Wednesday and have my next check in with a new doc a week from tomorrow (Saturday. Yes, a derm open on Saturday morning. There is a God).

Wow, I'll definitely make sure I don't touch my face. I have enough scarring!

Is there any post inflammatory pigmentation on pimples that have disappeared on their own?

So I have my first pimple in almost 2 months...I guess it was bound to happen at some point. And it's not even that time of the month. I had a pimple on my shoulder blade a few days ago (which was my first pimple period in 2 months) so I guess they come in pairs (hoping not packs). It died in a day and a half. The face pimple is near my mouth..kind of halfway to my nose, and it's small but pink. Let's see what happens to face pimples while on accutane if I don't pick...

Hope your new derm is a success.

Day 112?

Had my new derm check in today. It went alright. I got paper copies of the lab orders so I can go in and get those done on my own time, and assuming everything comes back fine I will have them digitally send the prescription (which I have heard is messy but I've got a good two weeks of meds left to get this all done). Made a follow up for October 16, which should be my last one. He asked me when I had noticed a pretty significant improvement. I told him around the 60 day mark is when I pretty much cleared up, and while it hasn't been completely clear since then, I've only had one smaller pimple that I could really say I was at all self conscious about. The others have just been clogged pores or small whiteheads that go away in two days or so. I consider the point I'm at now to be "clear", or at least as close to it as I'll get. So given that my "turning point" was at about the 2 month mark, he says I'm looking at closer to 5-6 months total. Which means I've got a solid two months ahead of me as I am about 1.5 weeks away from finishing month 4. I don't LOVE the thought of being on this for 2 more months, but I'll be alright. I guess I just felt like I was further along, so when I think of it as only being 65-70 percent of the way done, that doesn't feel like that much. But whatever, one day at a time.

As for the sweating or general discomfort in the heat, he attributes it to a) awful humidity here (duh) and b) OVER MOISTURIZING! I didn't even know that was possible, but he said I was pretty shiney this morning (which I have noticed, I am shiney in the morning after I lather on my CeraVe AM, PM, and usually some cetaphil lotion around the jaw). He said I could maybe tone it down and wouldn't notice so much moisture forming. Makes perfect sense, but I didn't even know over moisturizing on accutane was a concern. I'm still skeptical of all of it and think there is some tane effect going on here, but I will try this "reduced moisturizing" and see if there is a difference.

Finally, I like this doctor because he said 60 mg is about the maximum we would push my daily dose, given my body weight. I know people have done much higher doses, but I'm 150 lbs. 80 mg is significantly over that 1 mg/kg threshold. My body seems to be responding perfectly to my current dose: clearer skin but obnoxious side effects that stop short of unbearable. I feel like jumping up to 80 mg would push something over the edge.

Lifeinfaith: sorry to hear about your pimple. I woke up with a small whitehead on my lip line this morning. I HATE those. They are so painful. Either way, it's healing now but I think mine could be due to excessive aquaphor use or just general irritation in that area. So many foods and fabrics and other stuff could cause something there, but it should be gone by tomorrow. I'm sure you aren't going to be facing another breakout. 2.5 months in after responding so well to the meds so far suggest that this will be that "odd zit" everyone talks about. I told myself when starting that I would be alright with the "odd zit" and it should heal quickly. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Are you looking at end dates yet?

Well the pimple lasted all of one day....at the end of the day yesterday I took a shower after being at the pool and it was pretty much almost popping on its own. Today its a tiny pink scab, so I think in another few days the mark will be gone. That was pretty fast. I am hoping not to see anymore anytime soon. I still get occasional clogged pores, like maybe 1-2 a week, but they are really small. I suppose even Accutane can't prevent every single clogged pore. Moisturizers and sunscreen and other dust and sweat and crap probably just do that as part of normal skin functioning. My husband gets quite a few clogged pores all the time, but could care less about them. He also only washes his face in his morning shower and rarely ever gets a pimple. I've never even seen him use any kind of acne treatment/cream.

I am looking at a 8 month course because of my low dose, so around the 21st of this month I will be looking at 5 months left. I know, that sounds like a ton of time, but my only side effect is chapped lips. I am happy it will be that much longer. I would like my skin to get a little more drier and to be sure my sebaceous glands have had plenty of time to shrink as I slowly get to the cumulative dose. Also...I am a little nervous to stop for fear of the oil etc. coming back.

By digital prescription do you mean they send it to the pharmacy electronically? Do you normally take a paper yourself? I haven't had a paper prescription in a long time and the electronic is super fast. I literally walk out of the office and the pharmacy texts me to tell me they received my prescription. Last time I answered my ipledge questions on my phone in the car and then picked up my prescription 15 mins after my apt.

Day 119?

Hi everyone! So accutane course has been rough-ish lately. First, I had what I would call a rather insignificant breakout this week. Two small clogged pore/whitehead things, then an actual zit (albeit, very very tiny) on my cheek. I had my eye on that specific pore for a month now, noticing it was a clogger since early August. It wasn't doing anything so I thought it could be a keloid/hypertrophic scar forming. I was actually somewhat relieved when mid-day Thursday it became poppable. Left a red mark, but it seems to be fading.

But accutane rash hit hard this week. My whole upper body was covered in red spots (although not my back?) and I was pretty upset about it. I wound up loading on hydrocortisone and moisturizer for three days. I know you aren't supposed to use too much hydrocortisone cream, but it's the only thing reducing the inflammation. I've also had crazy dry eyes and I can't seem to hydrate enough. I'm battling the constant feeling of sickness and headaches so that's no fun. Ibuprofen does seem to help with just general discomfort.

Finally, I'm definitely noticing a change in mood but I'm not sure I can attribute it to the tane. I've moved, started a new job, have a less than ideal living situation. I do feel like brain fog is real, as I'm constantly searching for the right word in conversations. I'm also noticing much increased social anxiety. The best way I can describe it is that there is a disproportionate physical reaction to even the mildest social discomfort. So just a coworker talking to me triggers sweaty palms, red face, jitters. It's very annoying, and downright scary at times. I'm not sure if this is tane related or not. I sure hope so.

I don't regret taking accutane. I told myself I would deal with whatever it took to get clear skin and I meant it. But I'm not really one to complain about things (or if I am, I do it jokingly) and this isn't exactly a walk in the flawless-skin park. Yes, my skin is so much better (although lately I feel like my shallow scarring and faint red marks look a little worse, but that may be my imagination), but tane is wreaking havoc in other areas of my life. I reach the 120 mg/kg benchmark on October 5, but I'll continue beyond that. My next derm appt is Oct 16 and using my prescription through then will bring me to 128 mg/kg. I imagine he will either prescribe me two more weeks at 60 mg or a month at 40 mg, which should put me in the 140 mg/kg range. That may be the best I can do.

I'm upset about this current round of breakouts, but I also don't know if they even count as breakouts, you know? They are so small. Maybe those don't go away. I worry about breaking out this late in the course (entering month 5 on Thursday this coming week) but I have been largely clear since the two month mark. Is it unrealistic to expect to be 100 percent clear of zits, whiteheads, clogged pores? I guess, how do you all define "clear"?

Lifeinfaith: I'm glad the pimple came and went and hopefully it's smooth sailing again for you. The digital prescription worked fine. This doctor's office seems more on top of it than my last one, so I'm grateful for that. I used to bring in the paper myself and wait for the prescription. I'd heard about issues with the digital prescriptions (kids and their newfangled technology! Get off my lawn!) but it was pretty seamless. I'm glad I now have enough accutane in stock to make it past that 120 mg/kg benchmark. That feels like a relief, for some reason.

Sorry to hear about the rash. So far, I have not experienced one, although I think they are common, because my doctor asks me about them every time I visit. I've been feeling really lousy these days, too, and don't know whether to attribute it to Accutane, a cold/sinus infection, or stress. I was feeling fine up until about a week and a half ago, and now I'm achy and tired, my eyes are killing me, and I have to get to the dentist to check on a bad toothache. Last visit he thought it was a sinus infection. It's gotten worse . . .

Good question regarding what "clear" means. I don't know My doc was going to bump me up to 60mg for my last two months (I just entered month four), but decided against it because of my eyes, increase in hair shedding, and the fact that my cholesterol still remains relatively high. We'll hit the mark needed if I go one more month, through December.

She's pretty much okay with that, since I've only had one breakout in the past four weeks, a big red hurty cyst that reared its ugly head on my chin four days ago. It's gone now, without ever having made much of a fuss. If I spend the rest of my life getting a small, easily resolved cyst and a couple whiteheads every now and again? I can live with that. I cannot live with the constant, inflammatory, scarring stuff. I hope THAT will be gone forever.

As for the side effects, since they can come without warning, let's hope they go without warning, and we feel relatively good for our final stretch.

Day 132?

Skin is fine. I've had absolutely nothing show up since my last post (two weeks) and I'm talking nothing. Not even a clogged pore. I'm pretty self-conscious about the redness right now. It's like, even though my skin is smooth and clear, it looks kind of dead. The raccoon eyes don't help.

DawgDaze, I'm so sick of my side effects. Are they absolutely debilitating? No. Are they pretty miserable? Yup. I'm not sure if this is a side effect or not, but I've been suffering pretty horrible panic attacks. I think this is more to do with the massive amounts of stress I've been under, but I can't help but feel like the physical effects of them are exacerbated by accutane ( like the facial sweating, difficulty breathing). I may be wrong on this, but I've NEVER been susceptible to this kind of anxiety. Who knows?

Additionally, dryness and lips are a pain but more or less manageable. Definitely have a shorter fuse but that could be the stress. I get dehydration headaches a lot. Upset stomach after running. Hair shedding. Fatigue. All of these are pretty basic side effects or things you don't think you could necessarily attribute to the accutane, but I just feel pretty confident that the physical effects are related to the accutane. The mental effects, not so sure. I should clarify: I have always suspected that I was prone to depression, and I actually haven't noticed an increase in that at all. So that's good, right?

I'm terrified of what happens after I go off accutane acne-wise, but I can't wait for my lips to feel normal again, for my face to plump up a little, and for my head to be able to focus again. In the mean time, I have about 12 days until I reach the 120 mg/kg cumulative dose. Then some of the pressure is off I think. Definitely plan on going higher than that minimum.

Glad to hear you're clear!

Yeah, the side effects are not debilitating enough to make me quit Accutane, but I definitely don't like feeling this rundown. I'm by nature energetic and positive. But instead of feeling like Tigger, I feel like Eeyore. I've also noticed an increase in joint pain over these past two weeks. Maybe it's because I've had to cut back my working out and running due to an increase in work and travel obligations. I'm starting back up again on my regular routine tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see how I feel once I'm back in the swing of things”maybe I'm sore and feeling "off" because I'm NOT doing much? Who knows.

Oh, and while I was walking the dogs this morning, in a lovely, cool 50 degrees, my face started sweating like crazy, including my upper lip! I instantly thought of you

Three more months of feeling this way? I hope not. Again, I'm counting on the fact that this is cyclical. I was feeling fine two weeks ago, so maybe I'll feel fine again . . . soon? And so will you?

Dawww thanks DawgDaze! I'm constantly exhausted so I'm sure that isn't helping with my mental state. The sweating is easily the most obnoxious side for me so far. I think it is related to facial flushing because it doesn't happen when I'm just by myself really. It's more when there is any kind of social exchange that would make me at all nervous. But I don't feel like my face gets red, it just gets hot. So I'm hoping that goes away gradually once I'm off the meds (though I've heard the flushing can continue for a year after accutane). Anyway, I certainly appreciate your support. From one Eeyore to another, here's to counting down the days of this treatment! About a month for me (maybe a month and a half) and not MUCH longer for you.

P.S. Wound up with a painful zit on my ear cartilage this morning! It wasn't very big, but painful because of the location I think. Frustrated by another zit, but I sort of think one small zit there is likely due to pressing a dirty telephone to my head all the time. I don't exactly scrub my ears like I do my face or the rest of my body, so an odd zit there isn't too concerning for me.

If the side effects get to be too much or if your rash doesn't clear you could consider dropping your dose and extending your time. Not having any side effects besides the lips has made this pretty easy going for me and makes the long course totally tolerable. I'm entering month 4 now and have 5 months to go!

hey so I've been following your journey every week or so. I'm currently 20 days from the finish line myself. started back in april. in the past month I actually got few pimples, nothing major but I did have 1 cystic one and another that made a big spot that is still currently going away. my skin has definitely vastly improved. I was supposed to be done already after 5 months but because I was still breaking out a little bit I asked my derm if he would let me do another month and he said sure.

i'm worried though that I won't have enough accutane in me. month 1 i did 20mg/day, months 2,3,4 I did 40mg/day and month 5/6 I did 60mg a day. I weigh about 168 lbs and am about 5'11 but when I started I was 155lbs. I gained weight in muscle because I started lifting a lot during treatment so it wasn't weight gained in fat idk if that makes a difference.

if my math is right I will have an accumulative dose of 105mg/kg but you guys can double check. I asked my derm and he said that he doesn't feel comfortable giving me any more tane because he said studies have shown that more than 6 months of treatment is unnecessary and won't make a big difference. I just can't wait to be off this crap. Tired literally all the time, depressed, super dry chapped lips, my forehead is now getting real dry and even have some cuts from it being so dry. times flown by though. just 19 more days. i'm most interested to see my skin 30 days post accutane to be honest.

Based on your current weight of around 78 Kg you have gotten 100mg/kg cummulative dose. That's pretty close to your calculations...the cummulstive dose you need for remission is between 120-150, so you are definitely not there. I would get a second opinion or show your doc your calculations and make them do them. Accutane being dangerous for over 6 months is completely not true - my course is for 8 months. My doc actually wants me to do 10 months but I am hitting 150mg/kg at month 8 so I'll probably stop there. My friend who is about to start is a large guy and his Derm told him his course will take over a year. The derms that are more up with the newer studies and ways to prescribe accutane are going with the longer-lower dose protocol. It all depends on your Derm. But yes I would say you are definitely not at the dose you need to be for remission.

Tyrionlannister: I hear you on wanting to be off this drug. I am so ready for it myself. Like you mentioned the fatigue is really brutal, I'm not particularly depressed but I definitely have a shorter fuse (I am NOT an angry person, EVER, and I've certainly been a little snippy the past month), and things that seem like small complaints like the fact that my lips are bright red and I have raccoon eyes and I just feel like the redness makes me look odd. Anyway, I am also looking forward to seeing myself 30 days post-Accutane when I get a little oil to plump my skin up a little.

I've also barely been able to run lately, which is tough. It started with my times increasing a lot (I'm running about 40 seconds per mile slower than I used to) and even that hasn't helped me that much. I still just can't do the mileage I used to and it's really tough on my mental state. Running has been the most important thing in my life for nearly a decade (which is a long time for someone who is 21) and it has always helped me through my darkest times. Feeling like that part of me is slipping is really tough on me. Another lovely side effect of the 'tane. But, it's temporary, so I'm telling myself I can deal for another month I guess.

I hear ya, I am so exhausted of always being exhausted but we're almost there!