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My Accutane Adventure

 
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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 07/08/2012 10:35 pm

Greetings!

 

I'm Rachel and I'm 21 years old. I started getting acne at age 10. I've lived over half of my life with severe cystic acne and it is finally time for a change. Over the past few years I've been on Adoxa, Solodyn, Bactrim (learned the hard way that I was allergic), and recently stopped taking Ampicillin. I've also been on the ever-drying Retin-a for quite some time. I've always had the fears of taking accutane, but I think its time. I'm a month away from my senior year in college and I hope to leave with the confidence of clear and scar free skin.

 

This summer was the opportune time for me to start accutane. I did my initial bloodwork at my regular dermatologist, then I was shipped across the country for a summer internship. It's been a challenge and a long wait to start this medicine with two different doctors but tomorrow after work, I'll finally be picking up my perscription; 20mg of Claravis. I've already stocked up on sunscreen, lotion, and a ton of chapstick and I'm ready for this journey.

 

I hope to update this log every once an awhile with my progress. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to come.

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(@cleardreaming)

Posted : 07/08/2012 10:56 pm

Good luck on your course!

It sounds like you are stocked up and ready to start with a positive attitude hifive.gif

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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 07/09/2012 5:43 pm

Day 1

 

I picked up my Claravis several hours ago and took my first pill when I finished my dinner. I am extremely anxious for this to start working...I know its going to take some time though.

 

Tomorrow morning i'm going on a 3-day business trip. Hopefully I have no rapid side effects and can keep taking my pills on a regular schedule.

 

I'll probably put up a few before pictures later tonight.

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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 07/13/2012 9:53 am

Day 5

 

So far no major problems to report. My lips feel a bit more sensitive than normal, I assume that means there is worse to come. I am continuing to break out as much as I normally do, so no miracles yet. I have VERY pale skin and these past few days I've thought that I've looked even more pale. Which is probably a sign to load up on the sunscreen.I've also noticed I have way more freckles on my face than I thought, which makes me think that all these freckles make my acne look worse than it really is.

 

My problem areas have always been my chin and cheeks and those are continuing to break out. The small bumps on my forehead are disappearing but the area to the side of my eyes is so smooth, clear and free of large pores its almost scaring me! If my entire face can look as flawless as the small area to the side of my eyes, I'd be a whole new person.

 

The minor changes I've noticed thus far have given me high hopes for accutane.

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(@bodyandsoul)

Posted : 07/13/2012 10:53 am

I'm on Day 8 and also am breaking out as much as I normally do...but I've noticed some of the cystic stuff that has been there for months has started to heal. I'm also much much less oily. Lips are starting to dry and I had a bad start with eczema rashes right off the bat, but with frequent moisturizing I think that's coming under control.

 

Good luck! Glad it's going well so far :)

 

~bodyandsoul

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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 07/15/2012 2:10 pm

Day 7

 

Dry lips. I hate the feeling of wearing chapstick so this is going to be a challenge for me. Other than that, still breaking out as normal, and my skin is still rather oily.

I have some pretty deep scaring from past large cysts. The scars are starting to push out and fade, I could not be happier. Just the scarring going away makes a huge difference.

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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 07/16/2012 8:38 pm

Day 8

 

I must say, for only being 8 days into this, I am pleased with the results thus far. My lips are extremely dry and annoying and most of my whiteheads are flakey and peeling but I can really see my scarring fading and the blackheads that have covered my nose for nearly 10 years are slowly disappearing. Im hoping things only get better and the breakouts stop. Hopefully an initial breakout would have happened by now?

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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 07/19/2012 11:13 am

Day 11

I spoke too soon with my last post. My chin is breaking out like crazy, to the point where it actually hurts. My lips are still very sore and chapped and feel really uncomfotable.

On the positive side, my large pores seem to be shrinking and appear less noticable. The deep scars I have from large cysts are also fading away, Overall my complexion seem much more clear, which makes red and inflamated breakout much more noticable.

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(@kennydewyze)

Posted : 07/19/2012 4:44 pm

on my 18th day.

i broke out like hell :(

but after that, gets better!!!!!!!!!

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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 07/22/2012 4:05 pm

Day 14

 

Well this explosion of a breakout on my chin is starting to dry out, so hopefully thats the only big breakout I see.

When they claimed that accutane "pushes out everything underneath", they really meant that! All of my blackheads are now prickly and I really need to scrub to get them smooth.

 

Since I've been living states away from home this summer, I haven't seen any family or friends since I started treatment. Last night, I had a friend from school come to see me. He didn't actually say anything about my skin but his facial expression upon seeing me said it all. I'm glad that only 2 weeks in, my skin has already improved.

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(@bodyandsoul)

Posted : 07/23/2012 2:01 pm

I'm only a few days ahead of your...Day 18 today. I'm also seeing blackheads (some that I didn't even know existed) pushing out. I'm having trouble scrubbing off dead skin cells without causing damage by scrubbing off scabs.

 

I saw my family this weekend for the first time since starting....they noticed a marked improvement (even the ones who didn't know I was taking Accutane). My boyfriend is the only one who sees me without makeup and he can see a big change.

 

Hope your improvement continues!

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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 07/28/2012 4:10 pm

I'm only a few days ahead of your...Day 18 today. I'm also seeing blackheads (some that I didn't even know existed) pushing out. I'm having trouble scrubbing off dead skin cells without causing damage by scrubbing off scabs.

I saw my family this weekend for the first time since starting....they noticed a marked improvement (even the ones who didn't know I was taking Accutane). My boyfriend is the only one who sees me without makeup and he can see a big change.

Hope your improvement continues!

 

Thanks! I hope your improvement continues as well.

Only my family and everyone who reads this know that I'm on Accutane. I'm looking forward to going back to school and seeing if anyone says anything!

Im starting to have the same issue where scrubbing away the blackhead gunk is starting to irritate everything else. So i've left it all there for the time being, its just weird to feel when I wash my face.

Day 19 (I think?)

No major improvements from the last time I posted. My chin cleared up but theres still some visible marks. My lips are feeling better, I think I'm just getting used to them.

I go to the dermatologist on monday. Im guessing my dosage will be raised. I'm on 20mg right now and I've seen plenty of posts where girls who weigh farrrrrr less than me and have less severe acne are on 60mg or 80mg

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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 07/28/2012 4:59 pm

Pictures:

 

img0553mu.jpg

I didn't take any before pictures, but this was a few months ago

 

img0556ru.jpg

This was also a few months ago

 

 

img1858in.jpg

A few days ago

 

img1861hm.jpg

Also a couple of days ago, covered with makeup though

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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 07/30/2012 5:46 pm

Day 22

 

Looks like I'll be staying at 20mg for another month. My dermatologist said that if she bumped me up to 40mg she thinks i'll have another breakout even worse than the one I had last week. I'm hoping the 20mg isn't too few. With nearly all other prescriptions I've been on, my body has gotten used to the medication and its stopped being effective. Hopefully that won't be the case here.

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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 08/05/2012 9:28 pm

Day 28 (i think)

 

To put it simply: I love accutane.

 

No more oily skin and things are starting to clear up. I still have some red spots from my bad breakout but things are looking so much better.

 

Last night after washing my face, I noticed the blackheads on my nose were really dark. I did the bad thing and tried to push them out with my fingers....it ended up being a good thing. Each blackhead pushed out completely. It left visible holes all over my nose, but by morning they closed up. I am amazed that I got rid of a good majority of the blackheads that easily and my nose is started to become clear and smooth. I feel that things can only get better from here.

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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 08/08/2012 6:02 pm

Day 31

 

1 month down!

 

Nothing new to report. I haven't broken out in over a week I just have the spots from the old breakout sitting there, hopefully they heal and clear soon.

 

I absolutely love that my face is no longer oily. Before accutane I would wake up every morning and wipe puddles of oil off of my face. Now there is absolutely no oil and my make up actually stays on all day!

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(@jennyband)

Posted : 08/09/2012 1:17 am

Hey hun good luck with your accutane course! i believe it will work very nicely for you, seeing in your pictures the type of acne your suffering with. They say this is the most successful form of treatment for that type of acne! so that's good news banana.gifyour going to knock em dead!

 

all the best with your course.

 

JB

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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 08/16/2012 4:14 pm

Day 37

 

Not much progress in the past week. I think I'm getting sick, maybe it's allergies. I had my first random nose bleed the other day and my lips are cracked and randomly bleed too. They just absorb anything out on them.

I've also had a few cysts and a small breakout.

 

I'm going back to school in 2 days. If just 1 person comments on my skin, I will be thrilled.

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(@summer5150)

Posted : 08/16/2012 4:23 pm

Love that you called this log your "Accutane Adventure" - great attitude! Looks like you had very rapid results and I think your derm is wise to go slow (mine did too) and I believe that really helped me get used to the medication. Good luck returning to school. I would think people would notice the pictures show dramatic results. I trying to get the nerve to post mine on here....

 

Good luck!

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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 08/26/2012 2:59 pm

Love that you called this log your "Accutane Adventure" - great attitude! Looks like you had very rapid results and I think your derm is wise to go slow (mine did too) and I believe that really helped me get used to the medication. Good luck returning to school. I would think people would notice the pictures show dramatic results. I trying to get the nerve to post mine on here....

Good luck!

 

Thanks for your kind words! It took a lot for me to post pictures. Then i realized no one on this board knows me in person so that made me feel a little better!

Day 48(?)

I finally have some time to update. Noting big in these past few weeks. I have gotten a few nose bleeds, but I'm going to blame that on my allergy medicine.

I started school last week. I woke up on my first day of classes to 2 new zits. I havent broken out since that really bad breakout and I was mad that it had to happen on my last first day of school ever. Maybe I was stressed?

Its so nice going through an entire day of classes and still having my foundation cover as well as it did in the morning. Acne is always a touchy subject so no one has actually said anything to me about my skin, but I've noticed the reactions of the people who havent seen me in months.

I have my 3rd derm appointment on Friday. I have to make the 3 hour trip home after class to catch them before they close. Its definitely going to be challenging to finish this course while away from home but I really want to avoid going to a third derm while on this journey.

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(@bodyandsoul)

Posted : 08/27/2012 9:05 am

Glad to hear things are going pretty well for you at school! I think the lack of oiliness and therefore makeup staying on is HUGE...can you imagine if we were breaking out with this scab/peel/bleed process AND dealing with oily skin? Yikes.

 

I have my third appt coming up this Friday! And FYI, I'm still breaking out too.... let's hope our third month is our best yet! :)

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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 09/05/2012 7:27 pm

Somewhere around day 58

 

Haven't had the time to update lately. My skin has been great, no new break outs and my lips are still chapped and pealing. Had my derm appointment the other day. I'll now be on 30mg of Claravis twice a day. Hopefully with the new dosage I'll continue to have positive results.

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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 09/13/2012 2:35 pm

Day 65

 

Since nearly tripling my dosage, I had a minor break out, about 3 small whiteheads. Now my complexion is clearing up a lot. This happened when I first started accutane then following with a huge breakout that lasted well over a week. I'm praying and crossing my fingers that this doesn't happen again with the new dosage especially since I'm back at school and constantly around people.

 

I'm still ecstatic that my makeup stays on all day, especially those long days where I have 7 hours of class! Also that there is no oil to constantly wipe off my face all day long.

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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 09/23/2012 4:11 pm

Day 75

 

Now that I've been on this new dose for awhile, I've had a little breakout, nothing horrible though. But as of lately, my lips have been extremely chapped and dry. Way worse than before!

 

I absolutely love how clear and smooth my forehead is though! I never knew I had so many freckles until things started clearing up.

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(@rjkenn10)

Posted : 10/14/2012 12:32 am

Day 96

 

I've been moved to 40mg twice a day. I've broken out a little with each dosage change. Hopefully it wont happen this time.

 

I actually havent taken any accutane in about 5 days. My appointments had to be a little further apart due to my derm being 2.5 hours away from where I go to school, then the pharmacy was out of stock so I had to wait a little longer than normal. I have noticed that my nose has started to get a little oily. The rest of my face is fine but hopefully that little bit of oil goes away once I start the pills again.

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