i know it's disgusting isn't it? i actually tried to switch insurances the minute i found out i was going on accutane. but since i have "pre exisiting conditions" nobody wants to take me in! lol bastards.
i will check sam's club. that's a good idea. i also found a coupon today for accutane.... not sure if it'll work but i will try it for next month. i can't believe some people only pay $25 who the hell comes up with these prices!?
I figured my meds are about $24 a day or $12 a pill!!! Medical insurance and healthcare prices in our country are becoming a bad joke. I may only be 16 but I'm very fascinated and interested in the various government and politics all over the world so I pay attention to this kind of stuff. The more I know, the more I despise most politicians, pharmaceutical and insurance companies! It's so sad....I remember being at the pharmacy with my mom once and we were waiting behind this very old woman who had to leave without her medicine because she could not afford it. My Momma will still say to this day that she wishes she would have bought them for her.
I feel so thankful that we can afford this drug, I'm sure so many can't. I know we aren't sick or dying but the psychological ramifications of acne can be debilitating.
Money asside, I hope you have great success!!!! If you are like me you will wake up every day looking for a sign....any sign, that SOMETHING is happening!
Again, I couldn't be happier with my progress so far. My acne has calmed down a lot, not too much of an IB, not too much dryness. None of the wierd side effects like hair loss, eczema or night blindness (not that's noteable anyway) My only real complaint is all of the red spots that are being left behind. I think it's called PIH (post inflammitory hyperpigmentation??) and I believe it's pretty commmon. I hope it goes away though. I anticipate my side effects will still increase though...
Don't worry too much. It's not as bad as I thought it would be and time does go by pretty quickly and every day is one day closer to being acne free.
Much luck to you!!!!!
yea i would like to know who came up with these prices. thank god i have a good job and have saved every penny i made since i was 15 so i can afford this. but it still makes me want to throw up because i didn't plan on spending my money this way. i don't know how people can afford this. i have insurance and yet i'm paying out of pocket. it makes no sense.
you are so well spoken and mature for a 16 yr old! =)
and yes, every day i do wake up and go to the mirror like always and look and see what happened over night. surprisingly, i used to wake up with about 10 whiteheads a day before accutane. now, both days i woke up i have only had 2 or 3. not sure if it's the accutane or coincidence.
i'm breaking out a bit. it seemed like every pimple on my face yesterday decided to come to a head. so last night i popped around 15 pimples. so naturally today it's a shitty mess. lol. it looks better than a face full of whiteheads though. i did get a couple random ones in addition to the other ones popping. i had a couple areas where it was dry, but i think it was from popped pimples scabbing over. i use cerave PM moisturizer at night. might have to get something a little richer. during the day i use aveeno ultra calming. i love this cuz it really helps with my redness. i always get PIH. but over time it goes away. i'm concerned because i've never had this much acne at once, so when it's gone i'm afraid of all the red marks it will leave behind. although they're usually easy to cover. i've heard good things about hydroquinone. i used to use proactiv's skin lightening cream that had it. i think it was discontinued but now they have some dark spot corrector or something. so i might try that when i'm all finished. i think i'd take the red marks temporarily instead of this bumpy face. i want to scream every time i wash my face and feel the texture. it's gross. i've looked at lotsss of people's picture logs on accutane and all of them seem to have flawless skin within 6 months after treatment. no redness or anything. so i'm hoping that i'll have the same results!
good luck to you too Celia =)
Talk soon
Kelli
Hi everyone!
Ive been reading through your posts (nostalgia - I started Accutane 4 months ago!) and have a little advice!
Firstly, DONT TOUCH YOUR SKIN! Yes, you will have break outs and white heads and you're going to probably give up on make-up at some stage soon in lieu of moisturiser, but trust me, people are going to forget seeing you with your zits in 4 months time (hopefully sooner!) when you have gorgeous clear skin. It's worth it not to leave your face with red marks/scars.
I would very highly recommend sudocrem (I saw it on someones blog when I first started) its a nappy rash (diaper in the states?) cream, and you just spot treat zits at night (or whenever you are home alone :-p) and wear it over night. It helps to heal your skin soooo much!
I would also recommend fish oil - I got sore joints about 2 months in and its been pretty horrible. Other than that, I think everything else is fairly manageable. Just seriously, no picking.
Good luck! Ive had so much success with Accutane, so glad I started it. 2 months left for me and not a pimple in sight already! 
)
Hey!!
So how are you?? I am doing great, little bit flaky! My skin has a very red look to it as if i have a sunburn. The only thing bothering me at the moment is i've been having neck pain that comes and go's. Definitly breaking out pretty bad, but oddly it's not upsetting me too much cause it's like I know it's working. My blackheads seem to be more at the surface then before. Only about 18 weeks to go!
What dose are you on and how long is your course?? Looking forward to hearing about your experience.
Chat soon
Kristen xx
hey kristen =)
i was wondering where everybody went =P i have been keeping a blog every week. i post it in the blog section instead of accutane logs. i figure a weekly update is enough. i know when i was following people i wanted a daily update from them but now being on the other side, i know there isn't enough news to share every day.
i'm doing good too! my lips are dry but i'm using aquaphor now and that helps a lot. carmex worked for the first week or so but then it didn't do anything anymore. i also had some bad muscle pain about a week ago. my traps hurt so much worse than they normally do and my lower back hurt, which never does. but that went away a few days ago. my back hurt for like 20 mins at work today but then disappeared. my right nostril has a scab in it. not sure if it's from dryness or the fact that i have a cold and blow it constantly lol.
other than that, i had some bad headaches my first week but now that i drink more water, they're gone. yay!
i'm breaking out too, but then again i have been all summer so it's nothing new. it's funny how before this summer i'd freak out and cry over 2 pimples. and now i just look at them and i do get a little bummed but i don't wig out about it. same as you, i know that it's to be expected and it's only making it closer to the end! my skin was a lot worse in july so this isn't horrible. i still pop my whiteheads tho. do you?
18 more weeks? how long is your course again? i'll be on 5 months. i'm on 20 mg twice a day right now, and my derm said i'll max out at 60 mg by the end of my course.
keep in touch =)
Hey, sorry I've been so busy!!! It's day 17 today, I started at 20mg per day once a day and now im on 20mg/40mg once a day alternate days. Side effects for the first week were extreme thirst, headaches, tiredness. Second week, nose bleeds, bleeding lips and an aching neck. Face is clear at the moment. I have had about 20 small spots in tota, a couple a day on average which have pretty much gone the next day, no IB up until now. I'm so pleased I finally decided to do this. How are you??? x
Oh and I forgot to add, my pores are on the surface. they do not notice but if I out my tongue behind my lower lip and push it out you can see all of them. strange and Ive been using blistex moisturiser for my lips
hey =)
my side effects for the first 2 weeks sound similar to yours. although, i didn't have nosebleeds or bleeding lips!? ouch. i used carmex for a while, but then once my lips became really dry, i gave in and bought aquaphor. it seems to work really well. but as soon as i lick it off, my lips feel awful. so i am constantly applying it. even stopped in the middle of walmart today to reapply. pretty sure people think i'm crazy haha.
as far as the muscle pain, that was probably only the first week and then went away luckily.
my skin is still breaking out, but way less than before accutane. i have good days and bad days like always. i get kind of bummed but then i remember that the sooner the gunk comes out, the closer i am to being clear. my pimples go away quickly too. they develop randomly and form a head within hours, i pop them, they scab, and they're gone =) i like that.
stay in touch! =)
Neosporin cream on your popped zits!! I am telling you, it's great!
I know the whole Aquaphor addiction. I sleep with that shit under my pillow, no lie.
Don't get discouraged, you may be at the most difficult point. Once I was bumped up to 60/day I was sure I would have a really bad breakout again or my side effects would get worse but neither happened! By the end of my second month (the month I bumped up) I noticed a HUGE improvement! I know everyone is different, but hang in there. When I started accutane I had about 50 bumps and now I have about....2. YUP. I have a lot of red spots (PIH) but they will fade. It's so nice to feel smooth skin. You will be pleased when you get there. And you WILL get there. Every day is not perfect and there are many ups and downs but before you know it, you will be having more ups 
Have a good one!
thanks for the words of encouragement =)
haha i keep aquaphor and carmex behind my pillow in my headboard. i've also been smearing vaseline. i actually love it the most. i want to find a little container so i can carry it with me during the day.
i actually have been fearing that too, the breaking out when the dose is increased and the side effects getting worse. i had a derm appt yesterday, but my derm was out and i saw the assistant. so my dose didn't get changed. but most likely next time!
talk to you soon =)
thanks sasch!
i use Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily cleanser. here's the link 
then i use Aveeno Ultra Calming lotion during the day. helps with redness big time.
then at night i wash with the same cleanser, and then i use CeraVe moisturizing cream in the tub. http://cerave.com/our-products/moisturizing-cream/
i just switched to that CeraVe and love it! I used to use the CeraVe PM but now that i'm on accutane, it's not moisturizing enough for me.
Ive been reading these posts over the past few days. I collected my roaccutane from the deratologist today. Cant belive ive finally got it! Starting on 20mg for two weeks, then 40mg for the remaining 6 weeks unil next derm appointment.
Just wondering when you guys take it? I was thinking of taking it in the mornings with a cup of hot chocolate? I read its good to take it with a glass of milk, and hot chocolate pretty much is that. I dont really eat breakfast and lunch time id forget coz of work. Do you reckon that'll be ok?
Im bracing myself for the side effects!!