DAY 1:

Took my first 10mg pill on Friday 18th of May. I am taking 10mg three times a week so on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Obviously no effects on me yet.

I am not sure if my dermatologist put me on this amount to start off with, just to see how my body reacts or if this is what he thinks will be effective for my skin. I have to say, my first thought was "is that all?!" I thought 10mg per day was a fairly low dose but only three times a week? In my head I was screaming "GIVE ME MORE! My skin is worthy of more than that!"

Hopefully this was just the starting point and when I see him in my next visits, he'll bump up my dosage (if it's not making any difference).

I do realise that I am 50kg/110lb and that my dosage isn't that low compared to someone at a higher weight, which for them this would be an extremely low dose, but I can't help but be sceptical.

Anyways, it's early days and I'm just over analysing.

What are your thoughts on my dosage? Do you have an skincare recommendations to combat the dryness whilst I'm on accutane? E.g. Some really good facial moisturisers and cleansers.

DAY 1:

Took my first 10mg pill on Friday 18th of May. I am taking 10mg three times a week so on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Obviously no effects on me yet.

I am not sure if my dermatologist put me on this amount to start off with, just to see how my body reacts or if this is what he thinks will be effective for my skin. I have to say, my first thought was "is that all?!" I thought 10mg per day was a fairly low dose but only three times a week? In my head I was screaming "GIVE ME MORE! My skin is worthy of more than that!"

Hopefully this was just the starting point and when I see him in my next visits, he'll bump up my dosage (if it's not making any difference).

I do realise that I am 50kg/110lb and that my dosage isn't that low compared to someone at a higher weight, which for them this would be an extremely low dose, but I can't help but be sceptical.

Anyways, it's early days and I'm just over analysing.

What are your thoughts on my dosage? Do you have an skincare recommendations to combat the dryness whilst I'm on accutane? E.g. Some really good facial moisturisers and cleansers.

 

Hey! Welcome to the accutane family on here! You picked a wonderful place to come for support. Your right your dosage seems very low. Aree you taking 30 mg 3 times a week.. Or 10 mg 3 times a week? I've seen people on 80mg a day that is similar to your weight and people on 20 mg a week that weigh more than you. Every dermatologist is different. Maybe yours is starting you low to avoid a bad breakout or bad onset of side effects.. Do you know if you are going to be on that dosage the entire course? Or how long your course is going to be?

Also for moisturizers I use and LOVE CeraVe moisturizing CREAM. It's nice and thick but it is light if that makes sense. I also use the CeraVe foaming face wash and love that. It doesn't make me red or make my skin feel tight. For a SPF on my face I use CeraVe AM moisturizer it has a 30 SPF in it which you will need atleast a 15 SPF depending on how sensitive your skin gets during your course. Some people hate CeraVe products and then they usually use Cetaphil products. For me Cetaphil was greasy and oily and it never soaked in. Just sat oily on top on my skin. I didn't like it at all, but people seem to be love Cetaphil hate CeraVe. Or love CeraVe and hate Cetaphil. I've not come across anyone who uses both. Weird.

Anyways feel free to ask any questions. All of us try to help out as much as we can. Best of luck with your course!

Welcome to the forums!

I'm also wondering how long your course is and if you'll eventually be prescribed a higher dose. I don't know much about courses where a person takes pills only a few days a week, but I'm very curious to see what your progress will be like. I'm 5'2 and 105 lbs. and I take 40mg a day, so your dose seems pretty low. However, like BeautifulDisasters said, it could be a way to avoid an initial breakout or bad side effects.

I also recommend the CeraVe Moisturizing Cream. I tried the Moisturizing Lotion sometime last year and it made me break out, but the cream seems to work nicely. If you're not a CeraVe fan, try Cetaphil. Their moisturizers are very popular. For lips I love Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm in Vanilla and Lavender for daytime and Aquaphor at night.

I wish you the best of luck on your course! I look forward to reading your log!

Thanks for the welcome guys I've been a long time occasional lurker on the message boards, but never made an account till now. Such a supportive community!

@BeautifulDisasters I am taking 10mg three times a week. My derm didn't specify how long my course would be, I guess it's just we'll see how my skin responds and we'll go along according to that. Regarding the low dose to avoid bad initial breakout/side effects, yes I thought that too. I hope it's just to ease me into the treatment so it's not such a shock to the system, . Perhaps also my derm was trying to appease my overly concerned mum by prescribing me a low dose. I guess I'll see at my next appointment if he'll bump me up. 80mg a day for people around my weight? I thought the rule of thumb was that a person could have 1mg per kg. My derm said that the maximum I could take is 50mg, but that he wasn't going to.

Thanks for the suggestions, unfortunately I don't think we CeraVe in Australia. But I have Cetaphil products which I've used but that

was on my oily skin, so not sure how it will be on dry Accutane skin. Or if I will ever even get dry, on my low dose!!

@AnalogHeart Thanks also for the recs. We don't have Aquaphor in Australia which sucks! Everyone raves about it. But if I'm ever desperate I'll just order it online.

40mg right off the bat? I'm jealous! That's pretty much the maximum dosage you can take for your weight right? When I get the chance I'm going to go through your log to see how that's been going.

Thanks for the welcome guys I've been a long time occasional lurker on the message boards, but never made an account till now. Such a supportive community!

@BeautifulDisasters I am taking 10mg three times a week. My derm didn't specify how long my course would be, I guess it's just we'll see how my skin responds and we'll go along according to that. Regarding the low dose to avoid bad initial breakout/side effects, yes I thought that too. I hope it's just to ease me into the treatment so it's not such a shock to the system, . Perhaps also my derm was trying to appease my overly concerned mum by prescribing me a low dose. I guess I'll see at my next appointment if he'll bump me up. 80mg a day for people around my weight? I thought the rule of thumb was that a person could have 1mg per kg. My derm said that the maximum I could take is 50mg, but that he wasn't going to.

Thanks for the suggestions, unfortunately I don't think we CeraVe in Australia. But I have Cetaphil products which I've used but that

was on my oily skin, so not sure how it will be on dry Accutane skin. Or if I will ever even get dry, on my low dose!!

@AnalogHeart Thanks also for the recs. We don't have Aquaphor in Australia which sucks! Everyone raves about it. But if I'm ever desperate I'll just order it online.

40mg right off the bat? I'm jealous! That's pretty much the maximum dosage you can take for your weight right? When I get the chance I'm going to go through your log to see how that's been going.

 

That is the rile of thumb your right. The thing is it is a cumulative dose so you want to end up with 1mg per kg if that makes sense. So it doesn't matter how you are getting it as long as your ending dose is 1 mg per kg. I think that 80 MG does seem like a lot for someone your weight, I see it a lot on here though. I am on 60mg and started on 40 mg. Who knows why your dermatologist gave you that dose. I hope it works out for you though and you clear quickly! Do you guys have the simple brand over there? I hear that is a good brand. Really what you want is something that is non allergenic and non comedogenic so you don't clog your pores. If you can find a face wash and mositurizer that fits that you will be good!

@AnalogHeart Thanks also for the recs. We don't have Aquaphor in Australia which sucks! Everyone raves about it. But if I'm ever desperate I'll just order it online.

40mg right off the bat? I'm jealous! That's pretty much the maximum dosage you can take for your weight right? When I get the chance I'm going to go through your log to see how that's been going.

 

Bummer you don't have Aquaphor in Australia. It's definitely a must-have for me! I hope you can find some products that combat any dryness.

There have actually been people that weigh less than me and they're on 80mg. I think it really depends on the dermatologist. Mine wanted me to be on a low dose, which I assume is because my acne is pretty mild/moderate.

I agree with you Rachel. I think the dosage is up to the doctor. Not that thier are guidelines to follow. Because I see people on these logs like taylor who is a tiny skinny minney and she is on 80 mg I weight more than Taylor and I finally just went up to 60 mg. so who really knows. I hope I can get up to 80 next month though. Really start seeing some results.

I am one of the famous ones that is your weight, height, and same age, and on 80 mg a day woohoo! I know some derms would flip out, but mine said she "goes big" with all her patients, and I've been handling it just fine, but everyone is different. I hope you the best of luck! I will be following you I am very curious on how your treatment will go with 10 mg only three times a week. I hope it goes amazing for you

That is the rile of thumb your right. The thing is it is a cumulative dose so you want to end up with 1mg per kg if that makes sense. So it doesn't matter how you are getting it as long as your ending dose is 1 mg per kg. I think that 80 MG does seem like a lot for someone your weight, I see it a lot on here though. I am on 60mg and started on 40 mg. Who knows why your dermatologist gave you that dose. I hope it works out for you though and you clear quickly! Do you guys have the simple brand over there? I hear that is a good brand. Really what you want is something that is non allergenic and non comedogenic so you don't clog your pores. If you can find a face wash and mositurizer that fits that you will be good!

 

Yep we have the simple brand, although I looked up the reviews on MakeupAlley and I don't think they have anything super moisturising. The eye makeup remover and face wipes are great though! Right now I'm using the Cetaphil moisturising cream or KORA Organics moisturiser depending on what I feel like, MAC Cleanse off oil to remove makeup, and Acne.org cleanser.

I am one of the famous ones that is your weight, height, and same age, and on 80 mg a day woohoo! I know some derms would flip out, but mine said she "goes big" with all her patients, and I've been handling it just fine, but everyone is different. I hope you the best of luck! I will be following you I am very curious on how your treatment will go with 10 mg only three times a week. I hope it goes amazing for you

 

Ahh you're so lucky! That's great that you're handling the 80mg so well. I thought 20mg a day would be a good starting point for me but jeez, with the dosage I've got it really seems like nothing! But we'll see. Thanks, I hope it works out

Just uploaded photos of my skin. Sorry that I'm subjecting you that horrible sight haha... yuck! I'm wayyy too embarrassed to show my whole face so I'll only be posting parts of it, but nevertheless I think it will be helpful to track my progress. I seriously admire those people who are brave enough to show their face. I guess I'm afraid that if I did, someone I know will somehow come across it!! God forbid if anyone from my school saw it, I'd probably jump off a building... I mean, the chances of someone finding this are very slim... but still!

Anyways as you can see in the pics that most of my acne is located on my forehead, it's the itchy type too. I just want to scratch my skin off! And then I have a little bit on my cheeks along with scarring. You can really see how bumpy my skin looks on the side view, which makes me so self conscious around people.

I can't even remember what it's like to touch smooth skin anymore.

I'm really glad that getting Accutane in Australia is a fairly easy process. There's none of that iPledge crap to go through which I reckon really sucks for the people in the US. Here it's basically just get referred to a derm, they prescribe you Accutane, get your blood test done and when results are fine then it's done! All that pregnancy stuff they don't drill it into us as much as they do in the US. I don't have to be on birth control. I just had to sign a form saying I wouldn't get pregnant and that was that, just makes the whole process a lot less of an ordeal. My pills just cost $5.80 which was awesome

this post is very much helpful especially to those who are suffering same situation. keep posting and update to your progress... happy face...

I agree with you Rachel. I think the dosage is up to the doctor. Not that thier are guidelines to follow. Because I see people on these logs like taylor who is a tiny skinny minney and she is on 80 mg I weight more than Taylor and I finally just went up to 60 mg. so who really knows. I hope I can get up to 80 next month though. Really start seeing some results.

 

Yeah, it's really interesting how everyone gets prescribed a different dosage. All of these derms just have their own way of doing things. Some want to ease their patients onto the drug and others go all out and put their patients on a high dosage. My derm told me I would be taking 40mg a day and then he asked how much I weighed. When I said I'm 105 lbs., he said 40mg would be good for my weight. So far it's been fine! I guess all that matters is that this stuff eventually clears up our skin!

Hopefully your derm will up you to 80mg! Maybe that'll be what you need to finally get all of the acne out of your system for good!

Just uploaded photos of my skin. Sorry that I'm subjecting you that horrible sight haha... yuck! I'm wayyy too embarrassed to show my whole face so I'll only be posting parts of it, but nevertheless I think it will be helpful to track my progress. I seriously admire those people who are brave enough to show their face. I guess I'm afraid that if I did, someone I know will somehow come across it!! God forbid if anyone from my school saw it, I'd probably jump off a building... I mean, the chances of someone finding this are very slim... but still!

Anyways as you can see in the pics that most of my acne is located on my forehead, it's the itchy type too. I just want to scratch my skin off! And then I have a little bit on my cheeks along with scarring. You can really see how bumpy my skin looks on the side view, which makes me so self conscious around people.

I can't even remember what it's like to touch smooth skin anymore.

I'm really glad that getting Accutane in Australia is a fairly easy process. There's none of that iPledge crap to go through which I reckon really sucks for the people in the US. Here it's basically just get referred to a derm, they prescribe you Accutane, get your blood test done and when results are fine then it's done! All that pregnancy stuff they don't drill it into us as much as they do in the US. I don't have to be on birth control. I just had to sign a form saying I wouldn't get pregnant and that was that, just makes the whole process a lot less of an ordeal. My pills just cost $5.80 which was awesome

 

I think Accutane will clear up your skin nicely! One good thing is the acne on your forehead isn't huge, painful cysts or anything.

You're lucky you don't have to do all the iPledge stuff. It's definitely a bit of a hassle. And that's great your prescription was cheap! Mine was $5. I was shocked! I thought it was going to cost hundreds.

I sure hope that I can get bumped up. I want to see results!! Although I have only been on 60 for 2 weeks so who knows maybe I am just breaking out again now that my dose was increased.

I sure hope that I can get bumped up. I want to see results!! Although I have only been on 60 for 2 weeks so who knows maybe I am just breaking out again now that my dose was increased.

 

Yeah, give the 60mg some time to work and see if you've made any progress by your next dermatologist appointment. I think you'll see improvement by then! The new breakouts are probably just from the dosage increase, so don't worry too much!

Im trying to stay positive and I am sure I will see some progress soon! Thanks

Another Aussie, good to see. I am glad to hear that the process is really easy in Australia. I have got my appointment with the dermatologist this coming Monday. I am presuming that you're in year 12 this year, and if you ever want to talk about the HSC, post school studies or anything else feel free to ask me. Hope the treatment works brillantly for you.

Best of luck,

Jamie

Another Aussie, good to see. I am glad to hear that the process is really easy in Australia. I have got my appointment with the dermatologist this coming Monday. I am presuming that you're in year 12 this year, and if you ever want to talk about the HSC, post school studies or anything else feel free to ask me. Hope the treatment works brillantly for you.

Best of luck,

Jamie

 

Yay for Aussies! Yep I am in year 12, tough year to be on Accutane but it will be worth it hopefully. Thanks for the offer I hope your appointment goes well!

DAY 13:

So I've taken 6 pills so far (60mg) and no huge changes, although I do notice a minor (very minor) improvement. The clusters of pimples on my forehead have flattened down a bit, as before they were protruding out like half a centimetre I swear! It's also a lot less itchy. My lips are a little drier than usual, but I'm still only applying lip balm twice a day.

I know I'm not supposed wax on accutane but I'm going to wax my eyebrows on the weekend, I can't deal with only plucking! The no waxing thing was one of the things I was least looking forward to, but I'm on such a low dosage and my skin isn't at all fragile so heck, I'll go ahead and do it while I can.

That's great you're already seeing some improvement! Hopefully it continues to clear up!

Waxing sounds a little scary on Accutane, but you also haven't taken much medication, so I doubt it'll really have an impact on you, but who knows. Hope it goes well!

Week 8 of Accutane, still on 10mg 3 times per week

So I apologize for completely neglecting this log... school has been so hectic.

I had a blood test and saw my derm 2 weeks ago. He said the blood test results had come back really good, he inspected my face and said there was quite a lot of improvement for just being on the medication for 5 weeks. A lot less angry looking, which I agreed with. He told me to keep going at the same dosage because it seems to be working well and he doesn't want me to get too dry whilst I am in year 12.

So two more months on this same dosage and my next appointment will be on August 30th with no blood test (yay!).

Have to say my feelings about this are still very sceptical... I mean, 3 months of my treatment will be at such a low dosage. At first the improvement felt so significant to me but I feel as though I have sort of hit a plateau. I haven't experienced an initial breakout, my skin is a lot less bumpy than before and I can now look decent with makeup on, but I still do have actives.

I'd rather have an intense 4 months of accutane than 6-7 drawn out months of a low dose...

As for side effects, as you can imagine I'm not exactly dealing with anything extreme. At first I did experience a bit of joint pain, like in my knees and back but that has now subsided. I still resume normal exercise and weight bearing exercises like squats, lunges, etc and it's all good. Lips are dry but not horrible. I have slightly less oil production which is nice. Usually I am off the charts oily, like 15 minutes after washing my face there is oil breakthrough, 30 minutes and I have a thick layer of oil that you can see your reflection in, gross haha. I always carry tissues with me to blot my face frequently throughout the day, but now I only do it a couple of times. So by no means am I dry, but I guess I am just oily now, as opposed to VERY VERY oily.

I have also continued to wax my eyebrows and upperlip, and it's completely fine.

Next time I see my derm I think I'll bring up the subject of possibly upping my dosage.

How well is the low dose working for you so far?

How well is the low dose working for you so far?

 

I apologize for totally failing on this log, lol. Anyways I am nearing the end of my accutane journey and it's going pretty good. I haven't had a single active in... well, I can't even remember to be honest. It's a really nice feeling being able to touch my face without running into any bumps. Of course I still have a lot of scarring which is quite dark and pigmented, others are slowly fading but overall my complexion just looks a bit muddy. Some of my scars are a bit pitted which sucks. But overall it's not bad, it can be covered with makeup even though it still shows through a bit but I'm fine with that.

Last time I saw my derm was 2 months ago and he said I wouldn't need to make another appointment with him... which meant my course would be over at the end of the year. Still on the 10mg per day dose.

So now it's NYE and I'm pretty scared about stopping the medication... the fear of my acne returning utterly scares me and sends me into a deep depression just thinking about it. Also, I'm not sure how I should go about stopping. I think I have about 10 pills left. Should I just go cold turkey or wean myself off it?

Would anyone have any suggestions?

Just take your pills as you normally would. Also, i do recommend you take a final blood test to make sure everything is ok with your liver and anything else that they usually test for when prescribing accutane.

You may want to ask you derm for a post regimen option which will:

keep pores clear (which will prevent acne.....hopefully)

reduce the hyperpigmentation

A retioid seems like a good bet.

Congrats on finishing and best of luck in 2013

So after 3 months of being off Accutane and having great skin, I have started breaking out again. Those 3 months were heaven, basically because I didn't even think about my skin much at all. Which was incredibly refreshing as normally my entire headspace is filled with thoughts about my skin. And it was perfect timing because it was summer here in Australia, I went on holiday which meant being makeup free around my friends and in public, and I felt fairly confident.

After stopping accutane my skin slowly started becoming less dry and a little more oily, which was actually nice because my makeup applied SO nicely. I was clear and makeup glided on so nicely, whereas at the end of my Accutane course I was clear but pretty dry and my makeup would cling to dry spots and look patchy. So i was really happy about that, my face looked healthy and glowy with makeup on. Now my hair and skin oil production has returned to normal, pre-accutane. The thing I miss most about being on the drug is my dry hair, ahhhhhhh it was amazing! I really miss being able to go a whole week without washing my hair.

But recently, probably the last 2-3 weeks, I started getting bumps again. At first it was just one, and then two. And now it's quite a few. Not cystic by any means, they're quite small and sprinkled across my forehead, temples, hairline, cheek area on the sides of my nose. It just looks bumpy. And I also have clogged pores... That's one thing that accutane did really well, clearing out the pores and keeping them small. So by no means do I have full fledged acne flaring back up, but... It's enough to get me worried. I am shit scared to be honest, I'm worried that this is just the beginning and my acne will return badly again.

See, if my skin remained clear, I might not have returned to this log to update... but I am already thinking about a second course of Accutane. I want to get it before my acne gets really bad...