So my skin sorted itself out this week, which I imagine is in part due to getting back on track with eating better.  I've been so busy lately and gotten a bit complacent with my skin as I've become more reliant on Accutane to do its job.  I learned a valuable lesson that it's important to still take care of yourself, no matter how much the medication is supposed to help.

Last night after my shower I noticed that my forearms were red, bumpy, and kinda burned.  I applied Vitamin E cream but that actually made them burn more.  So I applied some good ol' Aquaphor and went to sleep.  It feels better today, but my arms are still noticeably red and bumpy.  They don't feel as irritated today.

My eyes have been very dry lately, so I've started using fake tears.  Seems to do the trick.  

Also, I'm proud to say that it's been almost 50 days of no drinking.  The only SIP of alcohol I had was at the menu tasting I attended for my upcoming wedding.  We had to try the house wines.  Aside from the tiny sip, I've totally cut out alcohol.  It's amazing to see how long I've been able to go  without it, despite all the social events I've attended.  At first it was strange to be the only one not drinking, but now pretty much everyone knows why I'm abstaining and no one brings it up.  It's been kinda nice to take a break for a while.  I know I can have a drink every now and then, but honestly I'm so terrified of harming my liver.  Plus, I feel like it's easier to just cut it out completely than it is to dip in every now and then. 

Yikes, I kept meaning to post an update but here we are almost 3 weeks later!  Here's how it's going:

My arms have broken out into an itchy rash that looks like eczema (which I used to get all the time as a kid).  At first I thought it was related to being in the sun for about 3 hours during a dog walk last weekend (for which I applied SPF 60), but the bumps are just as present today as they were last Sunday.  I've stopped soaping my arms in the shower.  I am going to experiment with using a milder soap like Dove.  So far I've just been moisturizing them a lot, as they're also very dry.

I have intense heel pain in the mornings and when I've been sitting too long.  It subsides throughout the day as long as I'm active.  No other body aches to speak of.

I've been very very tired lately and have taken a lot more naps as a result.  Maybe I'm not sleeping as well at night, or maybe it's got to do with the medication.  In response to this, and in response to my 3 blood tests so far that have shown I'm slightly anemic, I've started taking Vitamin B-12.  So far I haven't noticed a difference in my energy levels, but at the very least maybe it'll stop me from being anemic on the next blood test.

Lips are forever dry, but that's nothing new.  Ironically, my face isn't dry at all.  My skin just feels like a normal person's skin, with the right amount of moisture.  I haven't experienced any flaking, dry patches, irritation, etc since about week 3.  I'm wondering if this just showcases how ridiculously oily my face was before starting Accutane.  It actually took an extreme medication for my skin to 'normalize'.   Speaking of my face, I've only had one small breakout since the last update.  It went away in a few days but I am now left with some redness.  In general my acne is gone but the red marks still remain.  Do these go away???

I had a lot of the same side effects the past 2 weeks but this weekend it completely turned around and I now feel a lot better.
Hang in there