A brief background of myself, Im 19 years old and have had acne since I was 17. It started out as mild acne, mostly whiteheads, but developed into moderate (some may say severe) cystic acne on my cheeks, jawline, and neck. Im am fair skinned, so when acne does heal, it leaves red marks on my face that take a while to fully disappear. I have been through all of the acne treatments, ranging from topical creams to antibiotics. A month ago (January 8th) I started accutane. This forum and the various accutane logs have been tremendously helpful to me, and is what helped me make the decision to confidently start my accutane treatment.

I am going to make a log of my accutane experience in hopes that it will be of use to other people who are thinking about starting accutane or are already taking it.

First 10 Days of Accutane (20 mg) January 8th-18th:

During this time I had about 6-8 painful cysts on cheeks. Cysts on jaw line and a couple on my neck.

-Gradual increase in the dryness of facial skin and lips

-No significant change in acne

Second Week (40 mg) January 19th - 26th

Technically not the second week, but let's just say it is for organizational purposes.

- Cysts that I had before starting accutane started to clear up.

- However, I experienced an initial breakout during this week. While some of my acne noticeably healed, I also developed a couple big deep painful cysts on my upper cheek, as well as some less painful but still noticeable, cysts on my neck.

Side effects: Facial skin and lips very dry. Besides that no other side effects.

Third Week (40 mg) January 27th - February 3rd

-During this week my acne started to dry up significantly and start to scab over.

- Throughout this week, minor whiteheads would appear around my mouth, but they would only last for a day or so.

- By the end of this week I only had 1-3 active cysts on my cheeks. The cysts that I had earlier on my face and jaw line had subsided into red marks on my face.

-The initial outbreak that I experienced on my neck had subsided and were painless, but still protruded a little from my skin.

Side effects: Dry face and lips. Lips started to crack at the edges, which is painful and makes it annoying to eat. I do have products that should help.

I also started to develop Eczema on my upper arms. However, using moisturizer has greatly improved it to the point to which it is almost gone.

Fourth Week (60 mg) February 4th -11th
-Acne from initial breakout continued to subside, however there still red marks left from them.
- Currently only have 3 active cysts on face. One on forehead which is very small, one on my cheek, and one on my jawline.
-Throughout this week,a few cysts emerged on various parts of my face, but they went away very fast, usually in 1-2 days.
- I still have lotsof red marks on my face and jawline from pre-existing acne.

Side effects: Dry lips, but surprisingly not as bad as dry as they were in the first 3 weeks, even though my dosage has increased.
Dry face as well that requires moisturizer. I continue to get Eczema on my upper arms, but it is easily manageable with moisturizer.

I will continue to update this post every week. My dosage will increase as I progress through my treatment. If you have any questions, ask.