Hey!
I'm female, 28, uk.
Month 1 - 30mg per day
Month 2 - 50mg per day (I think)
Month 3 - 50mg per day
Month 4 - 50mg per day
Month 5 - 60mg per day (stopped 1 week early)
I took overall around 125mg per 53 kg body weight over 4 months and 3 weeks. I'm 5 foot 6. I missed a few pills during the entire course if I stayed away from home and forgot to pack them so my total takes that into account.
I pretty much grew up using this site and I always intended I would update again when I was post accutane to try and help others... because I know what it feels like to open page after page just hoping that you will find a miracle or someone's story similar to yours and hope that their success story works for you too.
Well, my story is that I started getting acne was I was 11. I never had a break from it or a break from the oiliest skin in the world!!! I got cysts on my chin and back and just red pussy pimples on my chest and face, gross. I has blackheads all over. I'd say my acne was pretty severe and I'd say it was hormonal acne since contraceptive pills helped and I got it as a teenager.
I took half a course of accutane twice before when I was 19 and again when I was 23 but I gave in when I got a bad cold each time. (we call it Roaccutane in the UK) I was silly those times though as I skipped pills, got drunk lots and didn't take the pills with food. (Don't take them going to bed like I did!)
I've been on every contraceptive pill out there, I pretty much got addicted to using dianette, it did help my acne but not my oily skin and I didn't want to take it anymore as I stayed on that for 7 years, it made me grumpy and sleepy ALL the time!!
So, in November 2014 I decided that I was going to stick with the course for the prescribed 5 months and pray that it worked.
Being on Accutane wasnt easy for me, my nose bled pretty much every day as it was cut and crusty inside, my lips bled all the time and cracked and peeled even though I constantly smothered them in every lip solution available. I got a huge cold sore for the first time in my life. My joints and muscles ached every time I stood up. I felt emotional because I felt to shit! My eyes were constantly red bloodshot and I looked like hell. My hair was dry and fell out, I had headaches, sore neck and I felt thirsty....pretty much every symptom you can get with Accutane, I got!!
I got to 1 week before my 5 month course and had to phone in work sick as my glands all swelled up and I had a sore throat, I belive my immune system was lower on the drug. I felt like my body was begging me to stop, so lying in my sick bed I decided I'd taken as much as I could take, I'd pushed myself to breaking point and I stopped.
I'm now two months post accutane end date and couldn't be happier with the results. I've had one spot since I stopped, and it was my fault as I had got ridiculously drunk the night before it appeared, ate lots of junk food, fell asleep with a full face of make up on and I also had my period, so I should have known to behave!!
My skin is still oilier than most people I see but it's easier to control now with powder or primer and I don't see oil on my face until around 12pm if i put my make up in at 8am, and it's not lots! It's normalish!
Some tips for accutane that I've followed.
I've never exfoliated my face during or after taking the pills, I now belive it brings out spots and is too harsh.
Always take your pills with a meal!!
I drink water or herbal teas, I never drink fizzy juice.... I suppose i do like the odd glass of wine but it doesn't help! lol
I bought La Roche Possay anti relapse cream (effaclar k), I swear by it and I put it on after a shower in the morning and again after taking my make up off before bed. I've done this during and after accutane. They will send you free samples in the mail if you ask them via Facebook, I won't use anything else now!!
I only use 'Dove' body wash, shampoo and conditioner. It keeps my skin from drying up (which will make you produce more oil!!)
I wash my face once with warm water in the morning and pat dry (don't scrub!!) after a cold rinse. I do the same at bed time.
I wash my bedding and pillow cases once per week.
I always dry my body and face with clean dry towels
I don't pick anything on my skin atall, it's hard to get used to if you are a serial picker like I was , but if you take accutane you will stop picking because you'll soon learn that whilst on it, anything that bleeds will bleed for days!! (It thins the blood I belive)
I use oils free make up and only wear make up over my La Roche Possay cream.
Thanks for reading and I hope this helps someone. Feel free to ask me anything.
Thanks so much for posting
I am almost a little over one week since stopping tane (i almost made it 6mnth..stopped 3 days shy..i also feel like my body was begging me to stop)
I will def. check out the LRP
Is htis is? moisturizing? not sure it is sold in the states
http://www.amazon.com/La-Roche-Posay-Renovating-Anti-Relapse-Treatment/dp/B004S3PW76
Wash at night? I also splash with cold water but feel need cleanser to get makeup off?
thanks much!
kim
Hey!
Yeah thats the stuff, its great!
I've never used cleanser as i just feel its too oily for me. I use dove body wash on my face, theres no face one available but it leaves my face really soft and isn't harsh on the skin.
You can use the La roche possay 'mat'also as a make up base but it felt too thick for me, ill stick with the Effaclar k in your link 
good luck!
Hi Sarah, i'm glad you achieved your clear face and get rid of 99% of your breakouts
I have just started my accutane course. I'm on day 6 taking 40mg/day and my skin is already purging. I have been takind Diane35 for 2 months and for the last weeks I have been getting my breakouts a little under control (4 a week). However, as soon as 4 days into my accutane treatment I started to get dry and get these huge red angry whiteheads in my cheeks 
To make matters worse, right now I'm on my period so I guess it's quite a mix of everything (accutane and hormones)
Right now I'm so sad, I just want to lay in my bed all day long and not go out and not have to hang out with people.
I am wondering how much this horrible phase will last. I don't know if I will be able to handle a whole month looking like these, it's really hitting my confidence.
Did you get an initial break out? How much did it last?
Hey, I'm sorry I missed this post I hadn't been online in a while. I would hope you are feeling a bit better now? Once my skin started drying out my ib ended. I didn't have an awful ib because I was so reliant on dianette before i started my course! Hope you are coping better now?
Hey, I'm sorry I missed this post I hadn't been online in a while. I would hope you are feeling a bit better now? Once my skin started drying out my ib ended. I didn't have an awful ib because I was so reliant on dianette before i started my course! Hope you are coping better now?
Hi sarah! Right now im in the last week of my first month and luckily everything settled down im getting very little breakouts and they are small whiteheads which last a day or two. I think that i have already passed through the worst part, which actually wasn't that bad and last a week or so.
How about you? How is your skin doing???
That's good, it usually doesn't take long to settle down. My skin is great thanks, every so often I come on this page just to check my post, but fortunately I don't need to come on as much now, willing to help where I can though!
My skin update is that my skin is still really good. I think I said before that my skin was still oilier than most but not breaking out, well I hired a personal trainer as I felt I'd put on a little weight, just a little! I'm 3 pounds lighter now and part of my new diet was to drink 4 litres of water per day, takes a bit of getting used to but I definitely think that has improved the oiliness of my skin, I feel like nothing would have helped before accutane but now I definitely think certain products and diet are helping me!
My new diet is only of eggs,grapefruit,blueberries,almonds, apple, spinach, mushrooms, green beans, asparagus, chicken, tuna, small baby potatoes, broccoli, lemon in boiled water. Why not give it a try? It's not easy avoiding pizza and takeaways but wow do I feel better!!!!
Still haven't had any more spots since my last posts, touch wood, not one! It truly is a miracle for me!!
I now only use my La Roche possay cream at night time after I wash my face, I think it was contributing to my shininess during the day.
Another tip I learned to combat oily skin particularly if you are a make up wearer, is to stop using a liquid based foundation, I now use Maxfactor pressed powder and it has amazingly changed the shininess of my face, and it's so easy to reapply, or blot with a blotting paper, just remember to wash the sponge daily to stop bacteria growing. The only bad point is that is that it only lasts me about 2 weeks compared to 5 weeks if I use a liquid pump foundation!
xx
