20 mg Day 22

Hi there. Nothing different from yesterday but when my husband came home from work this evening he asked me why my face was so red. I didn't even know it was red. I went to the gym this morning which is the only thing I can think of that would make my face red. Now I'm wondering if other people thought it was red too. So embarrassing.

Another issue I have is picking. I know it's so incredibly bad but I have a problem I'm trying really, really, really hard not to pick but it's so tempting. It sounds so gross to write about it but maybe talking/writing about it will help me stop.

Have a great night!

Holy crap, I'm sore. Not sure if it's because I took a few weeks off from working out and yesterday was intense or if it's because of Accutane. Probably a mixture of both. I will not be happy if I feel like this after every time I exercise especially since I'm considering training for a half marathon. If I had to choose between being healthy and exercising vs. clear skin it would be a really difficult decision but I'd probably go with clear skin.

I would keep working out, just maybe change it up so you won't be as sore. But definitely stay active. Good luck with your treatment!

20 mg Day 24

Nothing major to report. My lips are super dry but I just keep putting stuff on them. My favorite is Aquaphor which is also great for my dry hands. I have had some wierd dreams lately and last night was the strangest. It felt so real that when I woke up I seriously had to think if it had happened or not. It was crazy.

I'm still sore but not nearly as bad as the other day. I'm planning on working out tomorrow but I have a sore throat so I'm not sure if I'll go or just stay home and rest. I'll see how I feel tomorrow.

I almost stabbed myself trying to get a pill out of the pack. I cannot figure out an easy way to get them out.

I ran yesterday and I'm not sore at all! I guess it was the ridicously hard workout last week that make me almost immobile with soreness.

I don't think I've given an update on my skin at all...currently nothing huge on my face. A ton of red marks and small red bumps. I feel stuff brewing and I have a ton of clogged pores which are very noticable. Just skin colored bumps in clusters in various areas of my face. I'm volunteering at my kids school today and I hate feeling self conscious about my skin. I can't wait until i don't have to worry about it. I read somewhere that the fist 3 months on Accutane is the worst. I'm almost done with month one which went by pretty fast. I'm going up to 40mg (I think) on Wednesday and my fear is that all of my clogged pored are going to explode. I really won't know what to do with myself. I'll just wait and see.

If anyone is reading this, can you let me know what PIH stands for? I keep seeing it and cannot figure it out. Thx.

20 mg 1 Month

40 mg Day 6

My skin looks terrible. I have a lot of under the skin clogged pores but they're very noticable. When I went to the dermatologist last week he recommended that I get a gentle facial to extract them. I thought facials were totally off limits while on Accutane but I don't know how all of this junk is going to get out of my pores if it's not helped out. Know what I mean? I have a couple of big pimples but I can deal with them b/c I know they'll go away on their own, not like the clogged pores.

Other than that, things are good. Lips are chapped but I can deal with that. I do miss wearing all of my lipsticks but it will be worth the wait. At least, that's what i keep telling myself.

I have been exercising a lot (I need to do something to boost my confidence) and I haven't been too sore. Just the normal muscle soreness.

When i saw my derm last week he said that next month he'll bump me up to 60mg or 80mg depending on how everything is going. Do you think going up to 80mg would be more effective?

Have a great day!

20 mg 1 Month

40 mg Day 12

Skin still horrible. Like, really, really bad. Not sure if stress has anything to do with it. As a mom to a kindergardner and first grader i'm having a difficult time with the tragedy in Connecticut. Also, My husband was asked to relocate to Japan for 2 years. This is a huge decision that effects the whole family. We're so torn about what to do. If anyone has experience relocating to another country as a child, please share your experiences.

I am going to get a facial though. There's a skin studio at my dermatologists office and they offer an "Accutane Facial". I'm hoping it will help until I start seeing the positive effects from the Accutane.

Sorry to come on here and be such a downer. I know things will get better.

Hi Jenny, I'm Stacey - also an "older" acne user/sufferer. I started accutane April 30th a week before my 48th birthday and finished recently on October 26th. I think I'll remember those dates like I remember my anniversary and my kids' birthdays.

I just happened to see your post today, I check back periodically to see everyone's updates. I'm sorry you're having a hard time all around and I just wanted to offer my support. I have been a stay home mom for 20 years (daughter 20, son 15) so I can relate to being self conscious when you're volunteering at school. I was even PTA president for a few years and having acne then sucked!! And all the soccer games and theatre events I go to for my kids were torture when I had big cysts on my face!

I'm sure your current breakout is a combination of the accutane and stress. I think having children in the age ranges of those recently lost must really be emotional. It's made me very emotional and mine are almost grown, but none the less they are still in school and venturing out into the world. Just keep hugging those babies tight and that should help.

Accutane was a success for me so far. I did three months at 40mg but my derm says she sees the best long term results at 80mg. I was reluctant to go up because I weigh about 110-112 so 80mg is a lot. But I trust her so I did 80 for three more months. Definitely felt the side effects more - I was more sore but I still kept working out and just tried to really hydrate and get enough rest. The soreness is much much better now. I really want long term results so time will tell. Two months past and my skin is hanging in there. My chin was my biggest problem area. My scars are not red, more a whiteish silver but I do have these tiny bumps under the skin. She said they were dry skin and that my skin will keep changing for a while. They don't really bother me and it feels like I could just pick them off but I'm leaving them alone until my follow up in January. To tell the truth as long as they never become a zit or clogged pore they can hang out forever.

Good luck and hang in there!! It will work for you!

Relocating to Japan sounds exciting and scary! I've relocated before with young children but it was only to another state not a different country. I think the younger they are the more resiliant they are and your kids would probably do great. Have you done any research on the culture there? It does seem like a cool country but I don't know much about it. My husband recently was relocated to Chicago (we live in Florida currently) but worked it out with the company to be based where we are now because we didn't want to pull our son out of a high school he is excelling at. But here's the hard part, he works from home only occasionally, mostly he's traveling or in Chicago so it's been tough - even with big kids, they still miss their dad, ya know? So I can relate to a bit of your stress and I'll tell you that although it's hard we're getting through it and all doing very well.