Hey Y'all I am about to start a 20mg/week Isotretinoin (Accutane) regimen and I would like to publically log my progress to help out anyone in their search to gain knowledge leading to a good decision about taking Accutane themselves. I am a 19 year old male with mild-sometimes moderate acne, due to skin being very oily. Tried face washes, natural supplements, Pantothe/Clearzine stuff, topical creams and oral antibiotics, nothing worked... I took my first 20mg pill on Monday, will update once a week to log progress.
20mg/week
Day 7
I just finished one week, and I took my second 20mg pill yesterday. So far I have not noticed a reduction of oil but some of the more acen-prone areas of my face have been very dry after washing my face. I have experienced a slight headache in the evenings, even though I am drinking plenty of water. Will post progress again on day 14.
Day 17
I have decided to increase my dose to 10mg/day, rather than 20-40mg a week. This is because I have introduced myself to the drug over about 2 weeks and now and I am reacting very well to the drug and would like to reach a dose where the majority of people are seeing faster results. Started 10mg/day yesterday. so far, a small reduction in oil is about all I can report. it has only been 2 weeks so I can't yet reach a conclusion. will update again on day 21
Day 21
it has been 4 days since increasing my dose from 20mg a week to 10mg a day. No overly dry skin, only noticing that after I wash my face my face I have some dry skin around corners of mouth and below nose, fixable with a small application of moisturizer. I think slowly introducing this drug into my system for the first 2 weeks before starting at 10mg/day helped at least a bit. I have noticed only a small production of oil, mainly in the fact that my forehead and chin takes half a day to become oily rather than 2 or 3 hours. I still have very tiny clogged pores scattered around the lower portion of my face and cheeks/nose however I have NOT HAD A SINGLE PAINFUL CYST in over a week and a bit. will post an update on day 28 ( 4 weeks ) which will be my 10th day at 10mg/day.
Day 28 (1 month )
since I upped my dose from, it has been 12 days on 10mg/day. so far, skin has dried out significantly, but I am getting lots of tiny breakouts around my mouth and nose, thinking I might be having a small initial breakout. I have always been unlucky enough in my life that proactive and pills and antibiotics and "magic regimens" NEVER seem to work for me at all...for example, if certain product works for 97% of people, I am always the other 3 percent. if a product works for 99.5% of people, take a guess... I am that 0.5 percent ! nothing works ! so anyway it comes as no surprise that I am having a breakout and am seeing NO improvement after almost 2 weeks of 10mg/day, even though many people on this forum seem to be "almost clear" after 1-2 weeks !!!!!! fuck !!!!! anyway, I am not giving up. and if you are reading this, do not give up , as every human body is different and everyone reacts differently to this drug. will post again on day 35 (5 weeks)
Day 35 (5 weeks)
Same story, been on 10mg/day for about 3 weeks, face is definitely not oily anymore but acne has not improved at all. dry skin is minimal, and mainly only dry and flaky over pimpled which have decreased in size leaving dead dry skin over them. using moisturizer and lip balm. hoping to see improvement soon ! will post again on day 42 (6 weeks)