Day 11
Broke out a little more on my forehead... Nothing major though. My chin and cheeks got realllly flaky. Lips are starting to need more consistent aquaphoring lol.
Did you guys experience flaky skin? How did you guys manage it? Did it eventually pass? I've been moisturizing but my skin still wants to flake.
@JuwalkerThe flaky skin isn't too fun lol. My doc said that the flakiness doesn't necessarily equate with better results.. if you're moisturizing regularly then you could be mitigating it. My sister didn't have much in the way of flaking and she cleared up beautifully by month 4. How far into treatment are you??
I totally commiserate with the mental/emotional side effects of acne...it's honestly the worst part IMO, especially being an adult and feeling like nobody else is still dealing with this. I don't think of myself as being 'vain' but it's crazy how badly this has affected my confidence/self esteem. I've avoided social gatherings, avoided dating, etc. just from feeling like other people notice my skin as much as I do. I'm on week 3 of Accutane (way down at 20mg, should increase next week). Fingers crossed for some improvement in the semi near future!
@JuwalkerSince your lips are dry the medicine is having some effect. I might have dried out because of starting at 60 mg straight away and my skin was beat up from topicals and such. Keep trucking!.. you're nearing the finish line.
@4569allyI one-hundred and ten percent agree.. acne can wreck havoc on people on so many levels. Avoiding the fun things in life because of my skin has made me even more depressed overall.. then being isolated intensifies the already prevelant depression and anxiety. Then people try to tell you not to worry about it because "no one notices or cares" and "it will just go away." All the while you hate your own reflection and you wonder how long you could possibly take this s***. I guess my point is that YOU'RE NOT ALONE. Feel free to rant if you ever feel like it... I love doing it myself lol (that goes for everyone by the way). Keep us posted on how things go. We're pretty much at the same point in treatment so i'm curious of your progression.
Best
Day 12
The flake-stache was real this morning lol. My nose was really flaky as well.I broke out a little more on my forehead and chin. Cheeks have remained static *fingers crossed*. My shoulders broke out quite a bit, but i'm not sure if it's the iso or the sweaty shirt frombasketball that I lounged around in for half a day lol.I just realized.. this is probly going to merge with the above message.....
*edit* yep it merged.. i'm an acne.org noob obviously lol
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@J.A.RYeah I think my friends are probably sick of my ranting and bringing it up, but it's so hard to relate if they haven't experienced it. Same goes for my family, none of them have had any issues except for more "normal" acne so they don't always get it. Or they think it'll just clear up quickly and I'm like...sadly, no. At this point I'm not even hoping for perfectly clear skin, just normal average skin would be wonderful!
Like I said I'm almost 1 month into treatment, but at 20mg so no improvements yet. Overall my skin is somewhat worse than when I started, but I think it's just my skin doing the same fluctuation it's been doing the last 3-4 months, not necessarily related to the Accutane. But who knows. Just this weekend I finally started to notice a little bit of dryness so I'm hoping that's indicative of it starting to have an effect. Should go up in dosage next week so I'm hoping for some slight positive changes in the next month!
@4569allyAlways feel free to rant to us... negative self-image because of acne is something that you need to experience first hand to fully comprehend the near debilitating effects it can impose on a person. I stopped expecting those close to me to understand.. sometimes you need to walk in the shoes to get it, and they haven't even put a single toe in the shoe. Hang in there.
Day 13
Woke up to less flaky skin today. Lips getting prettyy dry. Hair is definitely getting more dry. No new breakouts so that's a plus.
Day 14
Woww.. 2 weeks down! Skin all of a sudden became more oily again. I heard it can kinda fluctuate in the beginning so i'm not surprised. Skin flakiness has been kept in check by moisturizer. Hair got more flaky, probably due to dry scalp. Time to start using conditioner for the first time in my 20 years of life lol. Had a headache today, but it was 100 degrees and I didn't drink enough water.. can't quite blame the iso for that one lol.
Day 17
Skin continuing to flake around chin and mouth area. It looks like clogged pores are being pushed out of my nose... eww lol. The weather has been brutal the last couple days.. 100 degree heat with less than 10% humidity.. not helping my case with the dryness at the moment lol. A couple of breakouts on my forehead, but nothing major at all.
Day 18
Skin is starting to lose the "tight" feeling from being dry. My humidifier has been my savior the last couple nights. My lips this morning were completely normal.. no flakes at all.. I <3 aquaphor lol. No new breakouts, and the old ones are starting to heal. If I can escape the next week or so without an IB, that would be amazing lol. Fingers crossed
Day 20
I broke out in some fairly inflamed pimples on my forehead and temples. Nothing cystic so that's good! Cheeks, chin, and nose are developing a rougher texture despite adequate moisturizing. It looks like hardened sebum is being pushed out of my pores lol. Skin has lost pretty much all of the tight feeling.
Day 21
Forehead is continuing to breakout a little bit. It's weird becuase my forehead used to behave itself the most but the IB seems to have taken root there. Lips are doing fine. Shoulders and back are continuing to breakout. If this is my IB, i'd take it over what I thought was going to happen lol.
Day 22
The parts of my forehead that aren't breaking out feel very smooth. My mustache area feels the same. My chin, nose and cheeks still have the bumpy feeling. Redness of my face seems to come and go sometimes. Started getting some minor back pain, but i've been working out a lot so i'm not sure if it's related.
Day 25, 26, and 27
Woke up today on day 27 and things looked surprisingly alright lol. My skin is slowly losing the bumpy texture and starting to smooth out. Some breakouts are taking a while to heal. I noticed I am healing "differently" than normal.. the breakouts seem to dry up and crust over then flake off. They used to just reduce in size. My skin is less flaky throughout the day which is a plus. I've definitely been having back pain, especially when my back is at an angle. Whenever I lay down my back aches for like 5 seconds then mellows out. I've been keeping my flaky hair at bay with conditioner. No new significant breakouts so that's good!
Day 29 and 30
Wow!!! One month down the drain. I had my follow up appointment with my derm today. My liver and triglyceride levels from the iso were elevated, but nothing alarmingly high. Hopefully my second blood test comes out okay. *fingers crossed* My skin isn't breaking out in huge numbers, just normal breakouts. My chest and back are drying out, and my derm recommended using a body oil to curtail the dryness. Overall, not a terrible first month. Hoping for some skin gains in the months to come lol.
Start of Month 2 - Day 31
Woke up this morning to no peeling or flaking. My face is staying flake free for the most part throughout the day. A large pimple that healed came back in the same spot on my cheek... I hope he dies for good soon lol. I noticed that i'm breaking out on my temples more than usual, and that's the one place i'm NOT using any moisturizer... kinda strange. Oh by the way.. if anyone gets "eyebrow dandruff" from the flakes, try Jojaba oil.. it worked pretty well for me. Just be careful becuase it can cause the eyebrows to thicken in some people lol.