Edit: PICTURES BELOW (STARTING DAY 13)
Hey everyone!
My name is Jacob and I just started my Accutane treatment 4 days ago on July 18th! I'm really excited to be starting this journey, and I'm going to use this thread to journal the whole experience. I also posted a similar topic in the "prescription medicine forum" but that was more to address my concerns. My plan for this is to have fairly regular updates (2-3 a week) on my progress and any side effects. Briefly, here are my "stats":
Age: 20
Height: 5'8", 5'9" on a good day 
Weight: 155lbs even, (70.3068kgs)
Treatment: 80mgs/day in the form of two 40mg pills (morning and night)
I've read, and have been told that my starting dosage is a bit high, so I'm planning on talking to the doctor about that at my next blood work/consultation appointment. Side note/fun fact: I have an insanely irrational fear of getting my blood drawn and getting shots. This made for a very exciting first appointment but the nurse was awesome! I'm planning on getting her a nice gift once my treatment is done.
Background on my acne journey: So I've battled with minor to moderate acne since probably middle school. I'm currently a junior in college and it has went very down hill recently. I've been on at least 3 treatments plans that I can remember and each time my acne will come back worse when I build a tolerance. My most recent failed treatment was minocycline along with some topical gel. I'm so excited to only have to take a pill and wash my face each night rather than go through a whole routine and worry about bleaching everything I touch.. Also, my acne is mainly focused on the center of my face, from my chin, up to my forehead with some outliers. Like I said it's not nearly as bad as some people that I have seen, but it has always really affected my confidence and in some cases been painful.
So far, only 4 days in mind you, I haven't experienced many side effects. My face is naturally oily and usually itches but I've been trying my hardest to just leave it alone. I don't know if some of the bigger pimples I'm getting are from my initial breakout, or if they are just normal.. Either way my face doesn't look terribly worse than before (which isn't saying much). I have been trying to drink a ton (figuratively...) of water everyday while at work and during my workouts, so hopefully that will alleviate some of the side effects but I guess I'll just have to wait and see..
Some other fun things I'll try to keep everyone up to date on:
1) Currently growing out my hair (because college) and taking daily pictures. At the end of my treatment I plan on posting the slideshow of this so you can see my luxurious (lol) hair growth along with hopefully the progress my skin has made.
2) I'm also training for my first triathlon! Somewhat worried that the accutane side effects will hurt my progress or give me joint pains, but I'll keep everyone up to date on that as well. Hopefully I'll be ready for a race in late September, and hopefully my skin will be a little better by then too!
Thanks for reading, and looking forward to hearing from some of you!
- Jacob
P.S. If anyone has swimming tips (particularly breathing) I would love to hear them. The other legs of the triathlon I'm not too worried about, but I just started training for the swim portion and it is ugly.
Day 6:
So far side effects have been noticeable, but mild. I have noticed specifically my forehead and lips getting really dry, but as long as I moisturise throughout the day and have chapstick with me I'm ok. Part of the dryness I think is coming from my swimming. I just started lap swimming monday for the first time in my life and will be going 4x a week. I make sure to shower before and after the swim + moisturize my face but the chlorine can't be any good for me. Another odd thing is that my bottom is very dry (more noticeable than anything else), and twice now I've noticed a little blood when I wipe. I think it's more due to just being so dry and the skin cracking, but I'll tell my doc when I have my next appointment.
Also, I think (and kind of hope) I'm having my IB. I have 3-4 large cysts/pimples (idk the difference honestly) developing on my forehead and 1 on my nose. Smaller pimples are developing everyday as well, but they usually disappear by the next day.
Overall, somewhat feeling the side effects, but if this is the worse I'll be ok.
Day 9/10
So if this isn't my initial breakout, I'm in for quite the experience. The larger cysts/pimples that I thought were disappearing after my first update are back with a vengeance. On top of that I have smaller white heads popping up by the hour; this is probably the worst my acne has been. It would be disheartening if I didn't see this coming, but I'm ready to ride it out.
Face is slightly more dry than last update, but my lips are getting pretty annoying. However, it's nothing a nice helping of Carmex can't fix. No more problems with blood, so that's a plus! Training/workouts have proceeded as planned, and I've now started to be extra careful about wearing sunscreen. You can definitely feel the difference in how the sun effects you while on this stuff..
All in all, I'm feeling good. Side effects have increased slightly, and more breakouts, but what doesn't kill you makes your face clear eh?
Day 13
Not much has changed since my last update. Face and lips still dry, no noticeable change at all. Still going through what I hope to be the initial breakout; at least 6 larger pimples/cysts throughout my face which is very abnormal for my acne. Most of the breakout is concenntrated around my nose and between my eyebrows. I think this might be because it's where my swimming goggles press against and I've been swimming a lot recently, but it's just a hypothesis.
Kind of an open question I want to throw out for anyone: how do you deal with going out on the weekends, or doing social activities during your IB/accutane treatment. I'm a college student and living in my college town for the summer, because of this there is always social activities and events to go to. A lot of these assume drinking (house parties, sporting events, etc..) and I'm wondering what is an acceptable (if any) amount to drink? Also, I've been pretty anxious about my acne in the past, and this IB has made it worse. How do you get over that anxiety/embarrassment and actually get out of the house?
Dealing with acne can be very emotionally and socially draining, but you need to remember that people are too concerned with what they look like to be judging you on your acne. Also keep in the back of your mind that all the acne is very likely to be gone in the near future and people will soon forget that you ever had that bad break out.
If that doesn't work try using some concealer/tinted moisturiser. Makeup is not just for women and can go a long way in making you confident for a special event or when you are just feeling extra down. But be sure to remove the make up properly and apply sparingly.
If all else fails, take a break from social life, 2-3 days is usually enough for your skin to heal a bit and for you to relax a little and not be too bothered by your acne.
With all that said, your acne doesn't look that bad, it just seems that you have some unevenness in your complexion. Maybe try a calming/tinted moisturiser to tone down the redness!
Dealing with acne can be very emotionally and socially draining, but you need to remember that people are too concerned with what they look like to be judging you on your acne. Also keep in the back of your mind that all the acne is very likely to be gone in the near future and people will soon forget that you ever had that bad break out.
If that doesn't work try using some concealer/tinted moisturiser. Makeup is not just for women and can go a long way in making you confident for a special event or when you are just feeling extra down. But be sure to remove the make up properly and apply sparingly.
If all else fails, take a break from social life, 2-3 days is usually enough for your skin to heal a bit and for you to relax a little and not be too bothered by your acne.
With all that said, your acne doesn't look that bad, it just seems that you have some unevenness in your complexion. Maybe try a calming/tinted moisturiser to tone down the redness!
Thanks for the advice, that's a really good thought that people don't really care what I look like in general. The fact that my skin will (or should) be clear in like 4-5 months is definitely what is keeping me on the course right now. I can't wait to look back at my pictures to compare them!
I'll look into the different types of moisturisers, thanks! Do you have any recommendations?
As for taking a break from social life, unfortunately it's not really an option for me. I work full-time where I'm constantly interacting with people, and after work I'm either making music or exercising.. So interacting is a big part of my day. I'm hoping the confidence I build during the treatment to talk to people while I look crazy will only grow after my face has cleared up.
Thanks for saying my acne doesn't look that bad! To me, it's terrible right now but obviously everything is relative. Does Accutane help with the redness in your complexion because I hadn't even noticed that until you pointed it out!
Thanks!
Jacob
Day 17
(Pictures coming later today)
Well, I'm about a week and a half in and I'm still feeling pretty good! The IB has calmed down somewhat, and even my roommate mentioned that my skin looked better than last week. However, this might be due to lack of swimming in chlorine 4 days a week (injury has taken me out of the pool for some time, only running and biking for now). I still have more acne than normal so I might get another breakout, but if it stays like this until it clears I wouldn't be too upset. Skin and lips are still dry, but nothing un-manageable. New symptom I've been noticing is dry eyes; during the day at work sometimes my eyes will lose focus or just get kinda blurry until I blink a little. I've been taking my contacts out earlier than normal when I get home for the day as well.
I've read that your skin gets very sensitive while on Accutane so I have been very nervous about being in the sun too much. But everytime I've been outside for more than like 20 minutes I've had sunscreen (SPF 30) on and I haven't gotten burned yet. I had the slightest of peeling around my nose, but truthfully I think that was from the Accutane anyway.
Overall, still feeling optimistic! I'll be posting pictures later tonight if I get the chance.
First I just wanted to say Kudos to you on your very positive attitude! This can go a long way with getting you through your accutane experience. I would say there were times during my course that was very difficult, but putting effort into staying optimistic really helped, I think.
In terms of your IB, I am glad to hear it's calmed down a bit, but don't be discouraged if you notice it getting worse again. I think one of the most difficult things to deal with in terms of accutane is that it really doesn't work all at once (at least not in my case). I continued to break out regularly thoughout my course, but it was the severity of the breakouts that lessened until eventually they stopped altogether (this didn't actually happen until my course was over!). Keeping a flare up diary where you keep track of the number and severity of breakouts, as well as pictures, really helps keep things in perspective.
Day 13
Not much has changed since my last update. Face and lips still dry, no noticeable change at all. Still going through what I hope to be the initial breakout; at least 6 larger pimples/cysts throughout my face which is very abnormal for my acne. Most of the breakout is concenntrated around my nose and between my eyebrows. I think this might be because it's where my swimming goggles press against and I've been swimming a lot recently, but it's just a hypothesis.
Kind of an open question I want to throw out for anyone: how do you deal with going out on the weekends, or doing social activities during your IB/accutane treatment. I'm a college student and living in my college town for the summer, because of this there is always social activities and events to go to. A lot of these assume drinking (house parties, sporting events, etc..) and I'm wondering what is an acceptable (if any) amount to drink? Also, I've been pretty anxious about my acne in the past, and this IB has made it worse. How do you get over that anxiety/embarrassment and actually get out of the house?
You should definitely remain as social as possible! Isolating yourself is always a bad idea. That being said, drinking excessively while on accutane is generally not a good idea. Accutane can increase your liver enzymes and triglycerides quite dramatically, and alcohol tends to exacerbate this issue. Most doctors won't be concerned if they notice a gradual uptick in your liver counts as the counts almost always return to baseline after your course, but many WILL take you off the accutane if they get too high, and I am sure you don't want that! Try to avoid drinking alcohol (at least, no more than one or two drinks a week) in your first couple of months just to see how your liver reacts to the accutane. If everything is ok and your counts aren't climbing too dramatically, you should be able to drink responsibly (but again, not excessively!).
Glad to see that you are improving. I would recommend you incorporate aloe vera in to your skin care as it can really help reduce the redness, flaking and help battle red marks left by active acne. As with a tinted moisturiser I use the one from paula's choice, it has an spf of 30 and if I have to see a lot of people that day I'll apply it as my sunscreen. On other days I just use a moisturiser with sunscreen in it. Also make sure you are moisturising liberally, as a healthy looking complexion can make it seem like your skin is better than it actually is!
Glad to see that you are improving. I would recommend you incorporate aloe vera in to your skin care as it can really help reduce the redness, flaking and help battle red marks left by active acne. As with a tinted moisturiser I use the one from paula's choice, it has an spf of 30 and if I have to see a lot of people that day I'll apply it as my sunscreen. On other days I just use a moisturiser with sunscreen in it. Also make sure you are moisturising liberally, as a healthy looking complexion can make it seem like your skin is better than it actually is!
Thanks for all the tips! Do you have any specific Aloe Vera that you would recommend; also, do you apply that in the morning or what?
Day 25(?) Update
Still feeling good, side effects haven't gotten any worse and acne has stayed pretty similar to Day 18 pictures - maybe a little better.
Biggest thing I'm still dealing with is my face being dry. Until recently I've moisturized in the morning, and then when I got home after showering. My face has been getting really dry while at work, so I've started bringing moisturizer and using it mid-day. This has helped, as well as switching to a moisturized with SPF 15.
Going on vacation for 5 days coming up in a very hot+sunny location. I'm a little worried about getting a sunburn, but up till now I've been fine (even with only using sunblock on my face). Really hoping I don't get an IB during these coming days, although it will be really close to my one-month mark..
Day 25(?) Pictures
Comparing this to Day 18, it seems like I've had some improvement. Obviously this may only be temporary, but it does feel good. Also, the lighting might look a little different, but all pictures have been taken in the same place on my iPhone, so I'm not sure what's up with that,
Your progress looks great! I started July 25th, so I'm only a little bit behind you! After my IB, everything seemed to calm down and then individual cysts have been coming and going daily. The Accutane has seemed to make my face both erupt and heal way quicker than normal (I could do without the quick breakouts but the quick healing is nice, haha!) As far as you asking about the redness, I've read that a lot of people had redness during their whole coarse that faded once they were off of their treatment. I think that's why everyone says that the scarring will heal once you are off the medication, and that the scarring actually looks worse during your treatment because you are flushed. You made it through the first month, and I'm sure it'll only get better from here! 