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Day 45-
Oh hey, side effects! I got away mostly unscathed at 40mg, but I'm feeling it with 80mg. I have a nasty, itchy rash on the back of my hands. My stomach is upset most of the time. Lips are unbearably dry. There is blood every time I blow my nose. I think I'm experiencing some hair loss...a lot falls out when I wash and it feels like I have significantly less on my head than I used to. I'm tired most of the time. Oh, and the crying...my poor boyfriend. I've had 3 emotional meltdowns in the past week. It could be situational or related to other things, but I have to think the Accutane has a hand in it. Good times.
But...clear skin, so yay. My back has one new big cyst, but all of the rest are now just red marks, and my chest has one cyst that's hanging on. Face is uttterly clear, only red marks remain.
Day...I don't know what day it is. I'm about a week away from starting my 4th month...
I am EXHAUSTED. I fall asleep all the time while trying to watch tv. I'm at work now and can barely stay awake. I can only think this is because of the Accutane.
I'm also sore and achy everywhere. All of my joints hurt and crack very easily. My ankles take awhile to warm up in the morning. I'm making old lady noises every time I try to get up. I don't like feeling like this. I'm almost to the point where I want to tell my derm to either lower my dosage or take me off altogether.
The thing is, my face is 100% clear, and has been for about a month, just some lingering red marks. My chest and back are still getting new cysts, which I would love to clear up more...but I feel like an old woman.
20 hours ago, bigappleedubs said:I'm also sore and achy everywhere. All of my joints hurt and crack very easily. My ankles take awhile to warm up in the morning. I'm making old lady noises every time I try to get up. I don't like feeling like this. I'm almost to the point where I want to tell my derm to either lower my dosage or take me off altogether.
I'm experiencing the same joint symptoms! I'm on Day 78, but started experiencing soreness a few weeks ago. My heels feel like I've run a marathon. I limp if I have to get up after sitting for more than an hour. Something I've been trying is taking DHA capsules every night (Omega 3 for vegetarians). It actually makes the pain more tolerable. I think the magic is in the fact that one of the known benefits is that Omega 3 can ease joint pain. As a bonus side effect, it can also lower serum triglycerides, which is one of the things they look at in my monthly blood tests.
Thanks Fiveby5ive. I'm around day 80 myself (at 80 mg/day). I'm definitely gonna try DHA. I'm feeling slightly better today than I have been (randomly, and I don't know why) but yes, the HEELS! And like you, mine started about 3 weeks ago, in my back, and has slowly moved down my entire body.
I just really hope this is temporary. I don't want to feel like this after I'm done with Accutane.
Month 4 -
Just a quick update. My face has been totally clear for two months now. I'm very excited by that. My chest had a huge flare last month, and now I just have a ton of really red/purple marks and one active cyst on my chest. My back is a warzone (and I've only ever had one back breakout in my life prior to this). I have probably 4-5 active cysts and a bunch of smaller active pimples, along with tons of red marks from the past two months. I'm hoping that clears up before summer, because right now, I can't even wear a tshirt with a low neck because my upper back area is a mess (and hurts to even sleep on).
Side effects are pretty bad at the moment. I've had a sort of constant nosebleed for over a week now--not to the point that it drips out (sorry, gross, I know) but to the point that there is constant blood that pools and is painful inside my nose. And I have joint pain like woah. That's the scariest thing, actually...I do NOT want to feel like this post-accutane. This is not sustainable. My derm said it's common, and he lowered my dose down to 60 mg/day, but still, it's effecting my life. I'm also tired and drained basically all the time. I feel like an 80 year old woman.
Also, no one really talks about this, but I do have sexual side effects. I am dry down there. Activity results in irritation and blood. It's uncomfortable. I feel like people need to know about that, because it's not really documented anywhere (and I assure you, this was never even remotely an issue for me pre-accutane).
I'm looking forward to stopping treatment as soon as possible. I'm very happy with my face, and if I have to live with chest and back acne, I'm ok with that. I just can't take the joint pain/nose bleeds/feeling utterly awful most of the time for much longer.
PS - I'm also gaining weight because all I do is lay around because I'm super tired and it hurts to move. Every day feels like the first day you work out after a period of no activity...except I haven't worked out since well before I started accutane, and right now, I can't even entertain the idea.
