Hi everyone, I'm a 22 year old woman, 54kg, finally starting Accutane (25mg) after 7 years of mild-moderate acne. Excited but mega nervous.
Here are pics of me, first one showing mild days, second showing days when I want to end my life lol
Wish me luck and feel free to use me as your guinea pig I've found everyone's logs so helpful and informative so thought i'd add to the bunch xx
Day 2-
Mega vivid dreams last night, can remember every detail.
Woke up with a pretty weird pressure headache, died down a fair bit with ibuprofen. Other than that pretty fine
can't wait for the lack of hair greasiness to kick in, will make mornings so much quicker.
This guy on a forum keeps telling me 25mg is too much you have to lower it, I hope he's not right
Day 4- dying a bit. Have had very strange pressure headaches (not searing pain but feels like brain and top of sinus is being squeezed constantly) every morning. Also taking longer than usual to fall asleep. And only today I felt nausea and shakey weakness for about 5 hours. My reactions to things that matter to me are a bit more neurotic than usual, but in general life its ok. Probably just my wasteland of aromantic life sparking that off more than anything haha. Noticed tonight when I got home that I had no oil on my forehead- oil never bothered me particularly and it wasn't extreme, but this is the first thing I've noticed aside from side effects. Spot wise I have a good few, and can feel many more at the surface, though they are mainly red ones rather than the dreaded uncoverable whiteheads so i'm actually quite happy with that, though I think its just a lucky few days rather than Accutane working x
Day 5- bit depressed, cried, things not going too great in general so not sure if I would have anyway, but think i'm feeling the malaise side effect. Also bit achey. Fell asleep after dinner spontaneously. No headaches at least and no weird sickness. My spots are deeper and more painful but i'm happy there are no whiteheads, usually there are multiple big red feckers. This is a shot of my skin but its very much diluted and idealized by my nice camera. No makeup though except mascara.
Good Luck hun. Accutane definitely takes a toll emotionally and physically but always keep in mind the end goal = clear skin.
such a lovely thing to say thankyou xx
Day 10- Skin is clearingggg. It's drying out like a frickin cornflake too though lol but hey ho. My lips are extremely sore and rough and makeup is clinging to all the dryness. I'm mega aware of it but my mum insists you can only see it close up. It is crazy to have the skin of almost a normal person (with makeup on). If i could only stop this dryness, no product seems to work x
No side effects today, very happy This is a photo WITH makeup
I wish I had known about these personal Accutane logs before I took my first course of Roacctuane!Like others have said, your skin looks like it's doing really well so far. I can definitely tell that the skin surrounding the acne is healthy, so you must be taking good care of your skin overall. I'm sorry that you're experiencing some depression.
I didn't personally experience this symptom, but I did have the sore lips. I took 60 mg for about 4-5 months last year, finishing in January/February. It was a long process, but it was definitely worth it. You can boost the effectiveness of the medication by taking it with healthy fats. (Accutane is fat-soluble.) I had everything from moderate to severe acne, but Accutane made such a huge difference for me. Keep it up! Your face is lovely regardless.
thankyou so much <3
I am loving accutane's effect but am still really scared of increasing the dosage. My derm said she is going to put me on 50mg next month, but my friend who is also on accutane is going on and on about how i shouldnt increase cos he knows someone who got liver disease on that dosage, and his blood pressure has gone up too far even on 15mg. His doc said he would die if he took it for 6 months I'm scared something will happen and i will have to stop. Fingers crossed.
Day 11- super ridiculously emotional, but it was a very emotional day anyway so not sure if it is accutane or me. The dryness is getting really bad. I have so many highly rated products but nothing works xx
I wouldn't worry about the high blood pressure. Side effects will vary from person to person, and as long as you're in good general health, you should be fine. It's possible that your friend had a predisposition to heightened blood pressure from medication. As for the dryness, I love CeraVe moisturizing cream, Clinique moisture surge gel and Clinique moisture surge intense. I used all three on accutane, and I loved them!
how about your lips? Mine are so dry that they sting all day long x
The products i have work quite well for everything except lips, its just that nothing helps when i put makeup on, it clings to the dry and accentuates it. Which out of those three would you say was best, i might pick one and go with it xx
Day 13- the lips side effect is getting really bad. I have just about every lip ointment thats been made but none give much relief. It's really horrible. Aside from that no other side effects at the moment. I fell asleep with all my makeup on like an idiot last night, woke up with a few more bumps than before, but nothing deep angry and throbbing like in times past photos are completely make up free
For facial dryness(out of the three products I mentioned)I highly recommend the Clinique Moisture Surge Intense. The CeraVe is not as rich, but some people have said that it breaks them out. The clinique, on the other hand, is highly recommended by many people w/acne prone skin. I had to experiment a lot with lip balms, and I found that rotating them was really effective. Here are my top recommendations for dry lips:
-Clinique Superbalm(Comes in a green tube. Expensive, but SUPER hydrating.)
-Lypsyl: probably my all time favorite lip balm. It comes in stick form, it's from the drugstore, and it works amazingly well. It was the only thing that effectively healed my crazy dry lips!It has beeswax, shea butter, coconut oil, petrolatum. . .basically, it attacks dryness from every angle. It also contains vitamin a to help with any flakiness.
-Paulas Choice Lip and Body Treatment Balm.(This is fragrance-free and made for sensitive skin. I've been using it for a little while now,and I really love it!It's super thick, so it's better for nighttime. One of the best decisions I ever made was never to go to bed with naked lips. Always wear a hydrating balm at night, because that's when your skin repairs/heals itself.)
-Remember to wear a lip spf during the day! Accutane causes sun sensitivity, and UV rays can make dry lips worse. Use at least an spf of 15.
A couple things that I haven't tried, but come highly recommended::
-Dr.Dan's Lip Balm(made specifically for accutane users)
-Avene Cold Cream Lip Balm(avene also has a line specifically made for accutane users.)
I think I used a few other helpful products, although I can't recall them right now. I have a post in the personal logs forum on the products I used during my accutane course, as well as the products I found helpful post-medication. Check it out!
For facial dryness(out of the three products I mentioned)I highly recommend the Clinique Moisture Surge Intense. The CeraVe is not as rich, but some people have said that it breaks them out. The clinique, on the other hand, is highly recommended by many people w/acne prone skin. I had to experiment a lot with lip balms, and I found that rotating them was really effective. Here are my top recommendations for dry lips:
-Clinique Superbalm(Comes in a green tube. Expensive, but SUPER hydrating.)
-Lypsyl: probably my all time favorite lip balm. It comes in stick form, it's from the drugstore, and it works amazingly well. It was the only thing that effectively healed my crazy dry lips!It has beeswax, shea butter, coconut oil, petrolatum. . .basically, it attacks dryness from every angle. It also contains vitamin a to help with any flakiness.
-Paulas Choice Lip and Body Treatment Balm.(This is fragrance-free and made for sensitive skin. I've been using it for a little while now,and I really love it!It's super thick, so it's better for nighttime. One of the best decisions I ever made was never to go to bed with naked lips. Always wear a hydrating balm at night, because that's when your skin repairs/heals itself.)
-Remember to wear a lip spf during the day! Accutane causes sun sensitivity, and UV rays can make dry lips worse. Use at least an spf of 15.
A couple things that I haven't tried, but come highly recommended::
-Dr.Dan's Lip Balm(made specifically for accutane users)
-Avene Cold Cream Lip Balm(avene also has a line specifically made for accutane users.)
I think I used a few other helpful products, although I can't recall them right now. I have a post in the personal logs forum on the products I used during my accutane course, as well as the products I found helpful post-medication. Check it out!
Thanks for your wisdom dude xxx
Day 14:
Lips are semi healed i'm using dr dans lip balm which has hydrocortizone which a pharmacist told me should never be used on lips. Little bit discouraging lol i wonder what will happen. I was so desperate though it was killing me.
Have got around 5 new spots today, not sure if it is from my new oil based cleanser from lush :/ that would be a shame because its the best thing i've found for reducing the red sunburned look of accutane
Progress on accutane will not be linear so you'll break out, clear up, break out, etc. don't expect to be consistently clear for months. Your skin looks amazing. The day to day changes are really unbelievable. Too bad it works both ways as you can be clear and bam..... A breakout.
I commend you for posting pics. It will encourage your fellow accutane users.
Day 15- My skin isn't great, when I tone my face theres often blood from spots popping which is unusual considering the clarity of last week. But oh well. My lips have totally overcome their hideous cracking spell, I don't even think their recovery is down to any product, it seems to have just passed (to an extent ofc).
I'm quite stressed because I rang my doctors to book a blood test and they don't know what blood test I need and the dermatologist office doesn't know if I've booked a follow up appointment or not to get more Accutane and I seem to have lost most of the paperwork I must have gotten! I can't quite believe it because I was so anal retentive about getting things right. I'm dreading having to take a 6 week break or something if I have to wait for a derm appointment. no one to blame but myself I guess
This part can definitely be stressful. I ended up making a schedule when I was on accutane:
Every month, I'd calculate how many days it would take for the blood results to be sent to the dermatolgist's office, and how many days it would take to receive my prescription. (I'm assuming that you get your accutane mail-order as well, as pharmacies no longer distribute it.) For example,
if I started my first month of accutane on january 1st, I'd take my last pill around the 30th. Therefore, I'd have to get my bloodwork done at least a week before(jan.23rd) in order to receive my prescription before I ran out. You have to alIot enough time to get your bloodwork done AND see your derm.(Alotting time for weekends, of course. No mail on sundays, and doctors offices closed on saturday/sunday) I found that it was better to order my new pills before my older pills ran out, just so that I wouldn't have to miss a day.I remember missing a few days for the first couple of months(before I had a schedule)but the dermatologist told me not to worry. Accutane actually stays in your system for several weeks. Every time you leave the dermatologist's office, you should receive a blood order for the lab and make a follow-up appointment. The blood order is always a general blood panel(lipids, hgh, etc.) You derm should be able to fax a blood order copy to the lab, or you can pick it up. Your derm won't see you/write you a new prescription unless you have had your blood work. The drug is too highly regulated, and they need to enter your blood test results into their system!
I noticed in your post above that you've been using the lush balm cleanser. I'd recommend switching to the clinique take the day off balm(if you can get your hands on it.) It achieved holy grail status when I was on accutane, and it doesn't have the fragrant/irritatingingredients that the lush product contains. I'd also recommend very minimal skin care. Accutane is renewing your skin from the inside out. I'd recommend skipping the toner. Just use a face wash, spf moisturizer, and a nighttime moisturizer. You can use a very mild spot treatment for swollen spots, but avoid using a harsh all-over treatment like benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid. Origins makes a good one.Your pores will shrink without the use of toner. Of course, your skin care isup to you, but this is just my opinion. My skin has been very low maintenance since my third month post-accutane.