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Okay, three weeks in now, and no improvements for me. The reddish parts on my face have become more pronounced, and my acne is as usual. On the plus side, I really don't seem to need much skin care - maybe it's a bad example, but up until now I didn't feel the need to use moisturizer at all. I clean my face with water once a day, and lip balm still twice a day. My lower lip displayed some peeling a few days ago, but it happened just once.
However, I have consistent minor back pains now. Could be a cold I'm going through but I suspect it's a side effect kicking in. I hope I'll see some positive changes soon...
Okay, three weeks in now, and no improvements for me. The reddish parts on my face have become more pronounced, and my acne is as usual. On the plus side, I really don't seem to need much skin care - maybe it's a bad example, but up until now I didn't feel the need to use moisturizer at all. I clean my face with water once a day, and lip balm still twice a day. My lower lip displayed some peeling a few days ago, but it happened just once.
However, I have consistent minor back pains now. Could be a cold I'm going through but I suspect it's a side effect kicking in. I hope I'll see some positive changes soon...
I'm having back pains too when I wake up, along with neck pain! Hope you start seeing positive changes soon. At least no IB eh?
Day 22
Three weeks on accutane today. I am *not* happy!!
2 days ago I had a particularly bad day lip dryness wise. My lips were peeling pretty bad. Well yesterday I woke up with a gigantic cold sore on my bottom lip and I can guarantee you that that happened as a result of my dry lips, as this happened when I was on accutane last time. I'm so mad because I have so many plans this weekend and now I'll have to go out with a big old crusty yellow scab on my lip! Great. Thanks accutane :/
I should probably make an effort to be positive... Hmm well I haven't had any more spots! However my blackheads are nearing ever closer to the surface of my skin, and to be honest my nose now resembles a strawberry. Gross!
Hang in there! I am only on day 2 so I have no idea what you're going through at this time. Just hang in there. I enjoy reading your updates so I can see what might be in my near future...
Thanks Sherri! It's definitely a good idea to read over other people's experiences so you know what you're letting yourself in for!! Good luck
Day 28
Hi! Still got that nasty accutane-induced cold sore on my lip. Ugh! Not to mention i've had a bit of a flare up since Friday.. lots of tiny bumps popped up around my chin and jaw. It seems like they came up from blackheads so I think it's all just part of my ongoing blackhead purge. Slowly but surely they seem to be turning into little whiteheads and then disappearing so at least it's for the best. "Stuff" (white flakey stuff?) seems to be surfacing on my skin where my huge pores are either side of my nose. It's like if I lightly scratch the area stuff comes away as if they have been clogged and are now coming to the surface!?
I've had more nosebleeds and my lips are still ridiculously dry. I literally peeled them raw today. Ugh!
Tomorrow I have my first derm check up 
First thing i'm going to ask is how much longer have I got left!?
Day 29
So today was my one month check up.
I think my derm had pretty much forgotten all about my circumstances (being on doxy) as she asked me if I'd noticed any improvements.. I Had to explain that no, I haven't, as my skin was already good when starting accutane as I'd been on doxy.
We discussed side effects and I subtlety dropped in that I'd been on accutane before. I'm so glad I did this because I think she's forgotten and this prompted her to ask me what dose I was on last time. She looked up my records and noted that I was on 40mg last time for the whole course and suggested that her 'aim' with me was to bump me up to 60mg next time! I was shocked about this as my skin isn't that awful, but she told me that because the first course didn't work as my acne came back, she feels it will be better for me to be on a higher dose this time.
I asked her how long I would be on accutane for and she said 'usually 4 months'. I commented that I'm going on a two week family holiday in August and would like to be off it by then. She then suggested me being bumped up to 60mg today as opposed to waiting till next time and I just decided to bite the bullet and say yes!
So, as of today, I am officially on 60mg! Eeeeeek! Dry lips city here I come.
In other news I'm continuing to flare up around my chin and jaw as my blackheads creep to the surface and form little bumps.
Day 31
One word- UGH.
Yesterday was pretty crappy. Since going up to 60mg my lips are now completely unmanageable. Lip cream/balm etc etc barely helps and any effects they do have ware off within 5 minutes.
This meant that yesterday I peeled my top lip skin raw.
And guess what happened when I woke up this morning? Yep, ANOTHER cold sore. That means another week of hibernating and cancelling all my plans because of this horrific blister which gets in the way of me eating, speaking, breathing...
Hate 60mg already. My eyes are really really dry today and my scalp is more itchy. Oh and my joints are more achey. Great!
Only positive is that my blackheads on nose are getting significantly less visible as they are still coming out.
Chow for now 
Day 34
Not much to report. Cold sore gone thank god. My skin continues to flake on my nose and around the side of my nose where my big pores are. If I squeeze the pores on my face/nose the blackheads are partially coming out, but still looks as if there's stuff left there.
Still got lots of tiny bumps on chin and jaw that are just kind of sat there! I also had my first new proper pimple in ages come up on Day 32 next to the side of my mouth. Popped it and it's nearly gone now!
Lips are still extremely dry. I don't feel like anyone could comprehend how much product I put on my lips! I'm getting through a little tube of blister moisturiser each week on average!
Sorry u are having a rough time
have u tried dr dans cortibalm?
u have to print something of the website and bring it to your pharmacy and they will order it for you (at my local shoprite its under $5.00)
also i wear contacts and had major eye problems..and had to go to an eye dr
u might want to try preservative free wetting drops eyes 2 hrs
kim
Sorry u are having a rough time
have u tried dr dans cortibalm?
u have to print something of the website and bring it to your pharmacy and they will order it for you (at my local shoprite its under $5.00)
also i wear contacts and had major eye problems..and had to go to an eye dr
u might want to try preservative free wetting drops eyes 2 hrs
kim
Thanks for your help! I am having a rough time with the dry lips and sometimes the eyes, but at least my acne only consists of a few little bumps under the skin at the moment. Could be much worse! Thanks so much for the advice, I will definitely look into all of that. I'm a scaredy cat when it comes to eye drops though
Hey guys,
For me, some unpleasant developments over the past couple weeks. I am not completely sure, but I strongly suspect that my recurring headaches (light but certainly noticeable and annoying) over the past few days are coming from Accutane. They start within an hour after taking a dose. Even though I've been on 60 mg a day for almost two weeks, I stuck with 40 mg a day over the past few days, and yesterday even just 20 mg. One rare side effect is increased pressure in the brain (the dermatologist told me about it), so I try to be careful. I contacted them today and am waiting for an answer, but it doesn't look great to me, I'm pretty confident my headaches come from the drug. They might just put me off it. I am quite frustrated right now, as you can imagine. All other side effects are completely manageable, and even my lips aren't that dry. Too bad these headaches won't stop. Hope it's going better for you guys! -Day 38
Treatment is over for me. They took me off it because of my headaches. ((((
Hey guys,
For me, some unpleasant developments over the past couple weeks. I am not completely sure, but I strongly suspect that my recurring headaches (light but certainly noticeable and annoying) over the past few days are coming from Accutane. They start within an hour after taking a dose. Even though I've been on 60 mg a day for almost two weeks, I stuck with 40 mg a day over the past few days, and yesterday even just 20 mg. One rare side effect is increased pressure in the brain (the dermatologist told me about it), so I try to be careful. I contacted them today and am waiting for an answer, but it doesn't look great to me, I'm pretty confident my headaches come from the drug. They might just put me off it. I am quite frustrated right now, as you can imagine. All other side effects are completely manageable, and even my lips aren't that dry. Too bad these headaches won't stop. Hope it's going better for you guys! -Day 38
Treatment is over for me. They took me off it because of my headaches.
Hey guys,
For me, some unpleasant developments over the past couple weeks. I am not completely sure, but I strongly suspect that my recurring headaches (light but certainly noticeable and annoying) over the past few days are coming from Accutane. They start within an hour after taking a dose. Even though I've been on 60 mg a day for almost two weeks, I stuck with 40 mg a day over the past few days, and yesterday even just 20 mg. One rare side effect is increased pressure in the brain (the dermatologist told me about it), so I try to be careful. I contacted them today and am waiting for an answer, but it doesn't look great to me, I'm pretty confident my headaches come from the drug. They might just put me off it. I am quite frustrated right now, as you can imagine. All other side effects are completely manageable, and even my lips aren't that dry. Too bad these headaches won't stop. Hope it's going better for you guys! -Day 38
So sorry to hear theyve taken you off it. What's your plan now for battling your acne?
Day 38
Everything aside from my chin and jaw is great- acne free and feeling smooth. Unfortunately those blackheads on my chin and jaw which have turned to small bumps are still lurking around- 3 on my jaw have come to a head but that leaves about 15 left!!
Lips still awful. On day 36 I came out in awful dry itchy rashes all over my arms!
Nothing else to report really. Just waiting for these bumps to surface! For any make-up junkies, Mac's Studio Sculpt is a brilliant foundation with full coverage for dry skin. Highly recommend it!
Day 39
Feeling rubbish these tiny bumps I keep talking about.. Well this morning I did something stupid and squeezed a few of them. Barely anything came out and now of course they are more inflamed. So now, for the first time since my IB on Doxy (probably around November time), I feel spotty.
I also feel confused. Doxy did an amazing job of pushing all my previous little bumps out and up to the surface. But now I've had more come up on accutane, how on earth can it be possible that even more were stuck under there? Is it the case that the Doxy didn't quite get all of them and these were lodged down so deep that it's taken accutane to push them up? Or are these brand new? If so, why am I getting brand new spots/bumps/whatever after a course of Doxy and about 40 days on accutane? This didn't happen on my first course of accutane, I was clear from day 1.
Next time I see my derm I really need to ask her about these weird blackheads-turned-bumps. It's so odd. What type of acne could it be? They're all so tiny yet so deadly and were the start of my horrific acne relapse in June last year. If anyone wants to see a picture of these little bumps then go and check out my Doxy log (link on first page of this thread) as I'm sure there was a picture of them there. I'll be sure to take a picture of my current bumps this weekend though.
Day 48
Ok so about 3/4 more of those tiny bumps have come to a head since my last post. Still must have about 15 of them left though!
I haven't had much in the way of new spots luckily. I did have a new one come up on my shoulder (weird!?!) and a stubborn blackhead that i've had on my.. erm, well, half way between my neck and shoulder (back side), really blew up the other day. TMI but honestly i've never seen much white gunk come out of anything, ever! Wouldn't surprise me if it scars, but at least it's not on my face!
My nose is looking quite good at the moment! It looks like the pores on my nose are getting towards the end of clearing themselves all out, and I think I may have noticed a TINY improvement in the shrinking of the pores on my face i.e. down sides of my nose.
On a more negative note, my lips are still absolutely unbearable. It's gotten to the point where I can't even be bothered to put anything on them as it doesn't help. Also that itchy rash I mentioned on Day 38 turned into horrible red scaly patches on my arms which are only just fading.
9 days until my second derm check up!
Day 49
Finally got round to taking a picture today. Here is a picture of my right hand jaw. You can see the redness still left over from the last breakout I had there last summer through to the autumn, but you can also see those little bumps (small white dot things) under the skin. All of which need to come up to the surface :/ I've been on accutane for nearly 2 months now, i've only got 2 months left! It just doesn't seem like enough time.
Day 51
My lips are unbelievable. I woke up last night from the pain of the cracking of how dry they were. The right hand side of my bottom lip has been burning today and i'm pretty sure it's ANOTHER cold sore. I must be averaging on a cold sore every 10 days or something, it's just ridiculous. I've just smothered zovirax on but I think it's probably too late
Skin is pretty nasty. There is a huge, inflamed lump on my right hand jaw which has probably come from me trying to squeeze some of those bumps. Self-esteem is pretty low at the moment :/
Why is your course going to be so short?
The average course here in the UK is 4 months, thats the same length I did last time. No idea why!
Could you ask them to extend it possibly? I think the average course in the U.S. is 6 months. However, I did 8 months my first course and my acne still came back :/
Why is your course going to be so short?
The average course here in the UK is 4 months, thats the same length I did last time. No idea why!
Could you ask them to extend it possibly? I think the average course in the U.S. is 6 months. However, I did 8 months my first course and my acne still came back :/
It's definitely something I will be discussing with her on Tuesday at my 2nd check up. However I am on a higher dose now (60mgs) whereas throughout my first course I was on 40mg the whole time so my cumulative dose will be higher this time round!
Day 55
So every few days I notice one of these tiny bumps edging closer and closer to the surface. I have a cluster of 3/4 of them coming to the surface on my chin at the moment and they are getting whiter and whiter as if there's some white 'stuff' stuck down there! I'm finding this type of acne so weird and will deffo be asking my derm what kind of acne this is. I thought two of them on my jaw came to a head a few days back so I squeezed them. Bad move! I had two pea sized lumps on my jaw for a few days which were flesh coloured and sometimes itchy.
Side effects are largely the same as normal. I am noticing some dryer patches of skin on my face but generally i've been lucky as my skin has barely gotten any dryer on accutane.
Day 57
Ok i'm getting confused with my days here! I'm on Day 57, but I have officially been on accutane for 2 months today so surely this should be my 60th day? Meh. Anyway.
Had two new spots come up since my last post. One on my cheek which hasn't come to a head and seems to be disappearing quickly by itself, and one GIGANTIC one smack bang in the middle of my chin! Feeling so disheartened!
I had my 2nd derm check-up today. Normally the waiting room is full of other obvious acne sufferers, but today I appeared to be the odd one out! It was clearly psoriasis day.
She asked me if i'm seeing improvements. I told her no, i've gone backwards. I showed her these little 'bumps' i've got, which I also had in June 2014 and kicked off my acne re-lapse. She did have a close look at them but didn't really give any insight into what acne it is, or why I only get it on my chin and one side of my jaw. She just said that they've probably come up because my dose was upped to 60mg last time. Not hugely helpful, I could have guessed that myself!
Anyway. She wrote me out another month;s worth of 60mg and that was that. I didn't speak to her about treatment length etc today as I think I need to see how the next month pans out. She said she thinks that things will improve over the next month. They better had! Also, random, but after the appt I couldn't help but notice that my derm is the directorate of the derm unit at my hospital. Funnily enough, most of the other acne-ridden people in the waiting room get called in to see a different derm (male) who I saw during my last course of accutane... not sure why I have to see this directorate lady. Maybe my case is considered more serious because i'm on my second round?
It's quite disheartening seeing other people's photos of day 40.. day 30.. even day 20 where their skin has improved drastically. I feel like i'm going the opposite way so I think I need to cool down on reading other people's blogs etc at the moment as it's bringing me down! On a positive, everything above by chin and jaw is great. Really smooth with no spots or bumps lurking under the surface, and more bearable to look at in a mirror.
Day 60
Things seem to be improving since last post, but of course there are still around 20 lumps on my chin/jaw area which still need to surface so im sure that will blow up at some point!
I did get one new spot since my last post and it was probably the weirdest one I've ever had... It's in the very bottom left hand corner of my nose!? It's so red and angry and really painful. Didn't even know you could get acne there!
My lips seem to have been a bit better over the last 2 days, drinking more water definitely seems to help.
Hope everyone else is getting on ok
Day 63
These bumps on my jaw suck. I have 3 pea sized 'lumps' there at the moment- flesh coloured and so itchy which makes me wonder whether this is even acne sometimes. And why are they still only on my right hand jaw and not the left? So bizarre. Not one of them has come to a head since my last post so as you can see, progress is incredibly slow. For that reason I haven't been looking at anyone else's blogs for a while as I was feeling really down looking at other peoples who appear to be either be clear, or not be having more breakouts etc by month 2.
I've had two new spots since last post- one on my lower back (!?) and a blackhead by my right eye.
The dry skin on my arms has gotten way, way worse. I have large blobs of dry, red skin covering most of my top arms and some of my forearms. It's just plain ugly now so I plan on using either dermol or e45 on it and seeing what happens.