Hello everyone!
So this is my first ever log for an acne forum. I'm 24 years old and have suffered moderate to severe acne since I was 15.
From 15 to 19 it was mainly bad on my face. It was so inflamed during this time I literally wore makeup to help cover it up because I was so self conscious. Once I turned 20, it went from my face to my body. It was so bad I didn't go to swimming pools or lakes in fear of taking my shirt off.
fast forward to now, I still get breakouts here and there on my face. Blackheads all over my nose and still the majority is on my shoulders, chest, back and arms. Sometimes even on my forearms. I have been a powerlifter/fitness enthusiast for a while (have let myself go recently) and it seems whenever I'm on high calorie diets and working out constantly is when it blows up.
the pictures attached are me now. I've been out of the gym for close to 5 months and the breakouts have slowed down but as you can see from the scarring, that's how bad it gets. I'm still getting breakouts regardless and decided enough is enough and got put on Absorica.
I'll post updates each week. I'm also getting back into my workout regime so will be curious to see how this plays out.
Day 4 Update:
Quick update guys. Currently 4 days in and I started noticing dry dry skin mainly on my face and my lips are starting to get dry as well. Skin is starting to ash around my nose and cheeks. Lips aren't too bad yet but feel chapped. No other side effects to report. I know it's common for breakouts to intensity at the beginning of this treatment but have noticed any yet!
Now 1 1/2 months in to accutane!
Side effects: Nothing crazy. Severely dry lips, I'm putting on chapstick just about every 45 minutes and ended up getting a prescribed lip balm to use every other night to reduce swelling. Skin is also very dry on face and arms, got prescribed a lotion for that as well. One other annoying side effect is DRY NOSE. My nose also has dried up boogers in it and always itches. Other than all this, nothing crazy or unexpected. I haven't been in the gym at all (like I said I would be) so I don't have any reports to give on muscle cramps or dry joints yet. Haven't noticed anything on that side during my regular day-to-day.
Results: I don't think I've had one breakout in the last 2-3 weeks. Face is pretty much clear other than a few dried up zits. Arms and back have had no breakouts and feelsvery smooth. One notable result is the back of my head! Almost EVERY time I got a haircut I would break out with acne all over the back of my head pretty badly. Since starting accutane I've gotten maybe 2 or 3 haircuts and haven't had ONE breakout back there, which I'm very happy about. Hyperpigmented marks are still there on my back and arms, no results there yet. It'll probably be at the end of treatment before I see results on that. So far I'm loving it! Pictures to come after I hit 60 days.
Day 94 update:
Just started my second month on the 60mg dose. A few weeks ago, I had a bad weekend of feeling severely depressed and had a crying burst. Given, there was a lot of stressful things going on - it's not like me to do that. However, it cleared up after a few days of me drinking more water, taking a multi-vitamin and just being healthier. Doc felt it was not a good idea to up the dose again (yet). I do feel like I have had more mood swings lately. My life is the same old same old, just seems like stressful situations seem more intense if that makes sense. If something is upsetting me, it seems more intense. I'm watching it closely, though. Should only have 3 months left or so. No acne at all, not one zit anywhere. Same dry skin and lips.
