Hey everyone!

I have only taken 6 pills and my lips are killing me!! I didn't feel them getting dry at any point but the skin pretty much pealed off completely on them and now they're really raw.. They look pretty normal the bottom one is a little swollen but not red or anything. But they are BURNING and TINGLING like no ones business and I can even see my heart beat on them( you kow like they are so raw they're pulsating)! I've tried different lip balms etc but nothing helps not even cortisone..

I haven't taken my pill in a few days because my lips are just too painfull. They haven't gotten any better .. I'm wondering if I'm just super sensitive or is this an allergic rection?

I've been on accutane before a few years back and had to quit after 2 months because of my lips. That time they got super swollen and covered in little white bumps. My doc said she had never seen anything like that before. We thought it was a reaction to a moisturizer I tried but now it's happening again(much less severe though)!! Last time I had to get antibiotics for it.

Can I be allergic to accutane when I went 2 months on it without any problems before? What else could it be? It has only been a week so I wasn't expecting the side effects to kick in just yet. And I'm only on 20mg a day!

I'm afraid to go to the doc if she says I have to stop taking it copletely This was my last resort as I have already tried birth control, antibiotics, spiro and many many natural remedies. HELP! ((

That does not sound good Did you have a fungal infection on your lips prior to accutane?

Lip issues are a common side effect, so I don't think it's an allergy. It's already associated with the med without allergic reactions. At the end of the day, accutane is brutal.

Okay, with a little research I found this old topic:

The OP talks about the white bumps just like you had last time. Another poster talks about cheilitis. It's old, but seems to apply to your problem.

I agree with what some of the people in that topic recommended, possbily try vaseline or aquaphor if you haven't yet.

That does not sound good Did you have a fungal infection on your lips prior to accutane?

No they were perfectly fine before.

Lip issues are a common side effect, so I don't think it's an allergy. It's already associated with the med without allergic reactions. At the end of the day, accutane is brutal.

Okay, with a little research I found this old topic:

The OP talks about the white bumps just like you had last time. Another poster talks about cheilitis. It's old, but seems to apply to your problem.

I agree with what some of the people in that topic recommended, possbily try vaseline or aquaphor if you haven't yet.

I knew that already and expected them to get dry and cracking but this is very different. My lips don't feel dry they just burn as if I was holding a hot frying pan on top.. And also they're kinda itchy/tingly.. And the bottom one keeps swelling up. I have thick layer of vaselin on them right now and it's not helping at all

Swollen lip sounds like and allergy or maybe I'm just overly sensitive to the drug.. The burning started on day 3 or something so I doubt it would be the regular drying from accutane..

Thanks I'll check out the topic in case there's anything helpful.

Lip issues are a common side effect, so I don't think it's an allergy. It's already associated with the med without allergic reactions. At the end of the day, accutane is brutal.

Okay, with a little research I found this old topic:

The OP talks about the white bumps just like you had last time. Another poster talks about cheilitis. It's old, but seems to apply to your problem.

I agree with what some of the people in that topic recommended, possbily try vaseline or aquaphor if you haven't yet.

Hi - what you are describing is an incredibly common (almost ubiquitous) side effect of accutane. Peeling, red, and painful lips are simply par for the course. That beings said, there are a few things you can do to make the lip issues more manageable.

1) Apply plain lip balm (not carmex- just use a gentle plain lip balm) as often as possible.This means you're going to have to slather the stuff on every 20 minutes, but it's a necessity if you want to avoid feeling like your lips are falling off. In addition to the lip balm, add a second layer of petroleum jelly (aquaphor is even better) Every so often. Your chin will look like you just ate a big bucket of greasy fried chicken, but your lips need the extra protection.

2)Another very helpful tip I found useful throughout my course - apply a bit of cortisone gel to your lips in the morning and evening underneath your lip balm and jelly for a few days at a time,up to a week. Over the counter cortisone gel may be all you need, but I used a prescription strength whenever my lips became really bad and it helped alot to get the splitting and peeling to a manageable point. If you follow this regimen, your lips should become less inflammed and red after a couple of days. They wills still be pretty insanely peely and dry, but it will help with splitting and swelling.

The white bumps sound alot like chelitis, which is basically inflammation of the lips caused by a fungal, viral, or bacterial infection. I got this as well, and I found hydro-cortisone gel to be immensely helpful in clearing it up. If plain topical steroids don't help, your derm may prescribe you either a topical fungal/steroid combo or antibiotic/steroid combo to clear it up.

That sounds painful! Just in case you have not tried it yet, I will put in another plug for aquaphor because it was the only thing that helped my lips while I was on accutane. I had to keep it on hand at all times to reapply throughout the day, but it was a complete lifesaver. I really don't know whether that will do the trick in this case, since you're suggesting that your reaction is beyond dryness, but it may be worth a shot. When I didn't have aquaphor on my lips (I temporarily lost my tube while traveling for a few days), my lips got pretty raw and felt like they were burning, and no other lip balm I had could fully soothe them. I loved aquaphor so much that I still use it on my lips to this day, 5 years later. I hope you are able to find a remedy!