I was meaning rational more in terms of well-researched and knowledgeable about the drug and side effects. I've been getting to know these forums a bit and the number of people who are freaking out and thinking they should call their dr for an emergency appointment because they have dry skin (or whatever other super-duper common side effect) is kinda making me crazy. But maybe it's just cos I have done sooo much (probably excessive) research about accutane that I'm surprised when people who are actually already on it don't know the basics. Hopefully everyone will read your log and do some learnin'!
I also get v emotional about my acne - as much as I try to tell myself that I am a freaking grown up and it's not that big a deal and I am emotionally stronger than this... yeah... I'm not AT ALL!

Day 45 - the dry lips have gone to a whole new level. I have gone through 3 full tubes of aquaphor and now on my 4th. What I thought was a cold sore has turned out to be just a huge round very chapped section of my lips and its swollen up like a marble. I've read that dr dans lip balm with hydrocortisone is really good for getting the chapped portion to go away. I am either going to order it today or pick it up on the way to work. I have had a spot right next to my nose that has been sitting under the skin for about 2 weeks, it's not red or anything, but I can feel it and I don't know if it is a blackhead or what. As far as the acne goes, I have a few little tiny white heads popping up here and ther, nothing that anyone would notice. I will take anything but the but pustules. I hope everyone had a great week!

Also, I have been having a glass of wine here and there and I have noticed no side effects like when I first started the treatment.

STAY HYDRATED FELLOW TANE USERS!!!

Day 47 - Yesterday was not a good day for my Seborrheic Dermatitis. It flared up pretty bad.

ALL ACCUTANE USERS, ORDER DR. DAN'S CORTIBALM LIP BALM!!!!!

seriously, if you don't have any right now, order it online today, because you will need it at some point. I went through my first 2 courses without knowing about this gem. I had some severe chapped lips all last week and nothing would work, aquaphor wasn't helping and I was lost on what to do. I read about this lip balm on this forum and ordered some, OMG within 20 minutes of putting it on the swelling was going down and within a day it was totally gone.

Everything else is going good, have a good week everyone!

I have tried to update this thread a number of times, but I keep getting a 404 message. So I'll make this brief in case it doesn't work.

Day 52 - no new changes, my dry skin has just gotten more and more severe. Really flakey throughout the day and when I wake up my face is a mess. I have not have any real active acne. Dandruff is a constant battle as well.

Day 55 - like most of the logs I have read on here, they get kind of sparse around the 2 month mark. That is the case for my log as well, the reason being is because the side effects don't change. I still have very dry flaky skin and really bad dandruff but my acne is way down and my oil production is more of what I would consider just below normal. I wouldn't say it is nonexistent, but it is low. I just hope that my oil production stay lower after I get off accutane.

Still on 40 mg, I have a derm appointment Thursday so I will update then.

Day 57 - had my second check up today to start month 3, they are going to keep my dose the same. The derm said becasue it is a thrid course they are not too concerned with the accumlative dose and if I get zero break out for a few months there is no need to stay on the medication. Last night I had a couple of blackheads that were right next to each other on my bottom lip come together in a pretty inflamed pustule. It was not white this morning when I left for work and I just looked and it had essentially popped on it own a little, but it still looks like a big whitehead on my bottom lip. I dont want to pop it at work because it will just swell and look worse. Im just gonna try and bail a little early and take care of it at home.

Side note, pimple on the edge of my mouth always scare me. Mostly because I am prone to getting cold sores and nothing brings on a cold sore like damaging the skin around my mouth. So going after a pimple near my mouth will usually turn into a cold sore. Wish me luck.

Day 60 - SO the pimple I had on my lip did pop and went away very nicely. Like I guessed there is a cold sore coming in where the pimple was, I jumped on it with lysine and Acyclovir and hopefully it will go away or at least stay barely visible. All and all everything is going well, no real changes. Skin still dry and lips are still chapped all the time. The Dr. Dans does bring down the inflammation a lot, but it does not completely stop the lips from being chapped and sensitive. officially done with Month 2.

Day 61 - All of my efforts amounted to nothing really, I have a huge cold sore on my bottom lip. I typically will get 2 cold sores a year, they say that they will happen less often or that they will get smaller the longer you get them. This has not been the case at all for me. I used to get them as a kid once every 2-3 years. Now it seems like I'm always worried about getting them. They have not gotten any smaller either, this is one of the worst ones I've had in a very long time. Just because of the size of it. When I started feeling it come on I started with the Acyclovir and Lysine, but nothing was stopping this this. Without taking the medication, the cold sores can last 7-10 days easy. When taking the acyclovir I have had them completely go away in 4-5 days. The medication also really keeps the swelling down and keeps them kind of hidden unless you get up close to someone.

My derm warned me that accutane is known for causing cold sores because of the damage it does to the immune system and the skin around the mouth. The price you pay for clear skin. Sorry if this grosses anyone out, maybe it might help someone. 90% of people have the virus that causes cold sores. I'm just one of the unlucky 40% who actually get the sores from it.

Day 62 - Just another update, I do really think that I am going through some hair loss, my eyebrows are looking very thin and my hair on my hairline ive noticed is also looking a little thin. Not sure if this is something that goes away, Ive read that accutane can cause permanent hair loss, but I am not sure. I could be over reacting, and just be hyper sensitive to it. I email my derm and just to see what he says.

Day 63 - I contacted my dermatologist and asked them about the hair thinning. She said it was not uncommon to experience some hair thinning, she also said that almost everyone who experiences the hair thinning their hair will return after the course is complete. She also said the thinning is dose related. Im only on 40mg a day which is pretty low. She said to drop down to 20mg a day and if I dont see any improvement, I could discontinue the treatment. She said that because it is my 3rd time the accumulative dose isnt important. My skin cleared fairly quickly and she says that might be all I needed.

It seems it is always something. I get pretty worn down everyday worrying about these sorts of things. If it isnt acne then it is Seborrheic Dermatitis or a cold sore and if it isnt that now, its hair loss. I dont want to stop taking accutane because it has totally cleared my skin, but I dont want to lose all my hair either. In addition, it is totally possible that my hair was thinning for a year or so without accutane being the cause, but I was too busy worrying about acne. It gets really draining because if I am not worrying about current acne or a cold sore or seborrhea than I am worried about having one of those things happening. Now I can add hairloss to my worrying equation. Why do we care? Why does it even matter? I need some serious help with my mental state. I wish I just didnt care, I see people everyday who look and act like they have not a care in the world, I wish I could be more like that.

Anyways, this might be the end of my accutane journey, I will keep you posted.

Why do we care? Who really knows. I ask myself that a lot. I think the vast majority of people have some type of insecurity or worry about their physical appearance, even if it doesn't seem that way. But it does get extremely tiring battling the same insecurities over and over, and juggling multiple ones. And as we get older, there will be more and more "problems" we find with our physical appearance. We will truly lose our hair, get wrinkles, age spots, yellower teeth, possibly pot bellies, etc.

I guess having this many insecurities as young people in a way prepares us for the inevitable. There will always be things about our appearance that we feel self conscious about, and we have to learn to fight and/or ignore it.

Day 68 - I am back down to 20 mg a day, which I'm taking as a 40mg tablet once every other day. I don't notice too much change from the side effects by dropping down my dose. I think my skin is less dry overall. I might stay on 20mg a day for a while. I have no acne at the moment, many a blackhead or two coming to the surface but not pustular acne. I don't think I'm losing my because of accutane. I think my hair was thinning before after looking at a bunch of old pictures. I just never had the need to look at my head that closely. I think that having the very itchy scalp that I have with accutane has made it worse by me scratching my head so much. I havnt scratched my head since I noticed the thinning. When I wash my hair, no hair is coming out or anything like that, so I think this lower dose with be good for my to slowly get off the drug. I have only accumulated about 2400mg total. Which is low, but maybe it's all I needed, I haven't had any really pustular acne in my problem areas since week 2.

Day 71 - I've been down on 20 mg a day for the last week or so. I like the 20 mg a lot better, I can actually notice a difference in how I feel on a lower dose. It could all be in my head. I'm still just as dry though. No new acne, no seb derm on my face, my scalp still has a bunch of dandruff. Like before, it could just be dry skin from the accutane, either way it is annoying. I still think my hair is thinning out a bit. I don't notice a bunch of hair falling out or anything, it's just very thin looking, like I said before, it could have been like this for a long time and I just haven't realised it.

Day 80 - Hey everyone, just wanted to come on and give you all an update. I have dropped down to 20 mg since march 9th. It is the 26th today and I am not going to take any more pills. I have continued to lose hair, not a drastic amount, but my hair is alot thinner than before. To the point where I have to be conscious how I style it to make sure it is covering my scalp evenly. It still would not be noticeable to the average person, but I for sure see a change. My wife even said that it looks alot thinner. I have noticed hair loss on my whole body, head, beard, pubic area, legs. Most of this I could care less, its really my head I care about. I think it is from my skin just being so dry that the hair gets brittle and falls out. From what Ive read and what my derm says, it is temporary and it will come back. I just want to stop the drug now and see how my skin reacts. I had mild acne before so i just hope that it does not come back worse.

I am going to start taking biotin and hope this helps the hair come back a little stronger. Who know. I know this is a fairly common side effect, its just a scary one for me. No acne though haha!

I will check back with you all.

Been off accutane for about a week and a half and still experiencing alot of hair shedding. The top of my head is very thin now. Hopefully the hair starts coming back.

Hey Jones4545! I noticed you are an accutane vet! Well i was just seeking advice from you. Im a 16 year old guy who weighs about 180 with moderate acne. I have some huge severenodular cyst on my right jawline but ONLY on my Jawline. I would say the rest of my face is alright besides blackheads and some occasional whiteheads which are totally fine by me. I went on doxycycline for 3 months and i would say it lowered the inflammation but it just kept spreading and the inflammation came back up after a few days. My Dermatologist recommended me accutane and i was suprised due to me not having cyst all over my face but just my jawline area. I said why not and so she prescribed me 80mg but i am decidingto take 40mg a day just so i wont experience serious side effects with a high dosage . I've been reading online all the bad side effects people have been having from temperary to permanent side effects.Today was my first day taking accutane and im scared like really scared. As a guy i heard some get Erectile Dysfunction, hair thinning, low sex drive and stunt growth. I do not want ED, low sex drive and stunt growth as im 16, going through puberty and my testosterone is off the charts. I've been thinking about canceling accutane on the first day and go back to antibiotics as im scared. My question to you is did you experience any serious side effects like the ones i mentioned while you took accutane when you were a teen? How was your acne before and after accutane? At which month did you start seeing results and do you recommend a person to take accutane with cyst only in a particular part of the face like me?

Just an update, been off accutane since the 26th of March and a few things ive noticed. Hair is still thinning pretty bad, Derm says it will stop after about 6 months. My skin is back to being oily, its amazing how fast it came back, what a pain. Seb Derm is still under control.

Just wanted to stop by and give you all an update. I have been off accutane since March. I have suffered some hairloss, it has slowed down and my acne has not returned as of yet. My oiliness has come back 100%. Which sucks, but oh well. My seborrheic dermatitis is a lot better than it was before and has not come back nearly as bad. I am still losing hair a lot, mostly just overall thinning. I can tell that a lot more hair comes out when I shower and style in the morning. All in all 3rd round was a success so far.

Just checking in, I have been off accutane since March. Hair loss is still the same. It has not progressed much tho. I have had a few spots come up. I hope this isn't just the beginning of another bad breakout. My seborrheic Dermatitis has come back, it has not returned to my face, but is worse on my scalp than it has ever been. So accutane is great for getting rid of acne and seb derm while you take it, but maybe not a long term solution.