in my early 20's i have super clear skin with occasional pimples during menstrual time and that changes when im hitting 30, well from mild to moderate acne, from menstrual to no reason 2-3 pimples and cyst will come and decided to say hello!...
tired & sick of looking at my acne everyday plus other people keep asking me what happen to my face i decided to see derm and he said that i have severe acne thus prescribing me accutane 20mg a day probably the same dosage until the end of my journey. by the way im 5'3" and 123lb, living in hot and humid weather around 32 degree everyday. And now im documenting it...or should i say , i just need some support and pour all of my frustration, up and down while on accutane with writing.. Been reading that accutane is not fun...lol
What my derm prescribe me
20mg accutane daily
neostrata skincare - facial cleanser, oily skin solution (glycolic acid),daytime protection cream with spf 15, duac as spot treatment(benzoyl peroxide+clindamycin),
Well actually im on my Day 11.... , anyway i just write it down...
Day 1 -4
No side effect, no improvement
Day 5
Skin starts to feel sting ,burn, itchy, light chapped lips
Day 6
Skin feels burn like hell, sting and itchy like crazy and my dead skin falling apart , i feel like snake changing his skin....so i call my derm , he's not in and his assistant told me to stop duac...refuse to follow her advise , i stop using neostrata, duac immediately for a while. No Initial breakout. face becomes red. My derm didn't give me any moisturizer...** i hate him for that** so i went to pharmacy and get physiogel AI cream
Day 7
skin still burning like hell, not using neostrata and duac today, my dead skin thinks that it is fall season.... i have dead skin all over my place... . No IB, light manageable chapped lips. somehow i feel hot i mean im sweating. weird ??
Day 8
skin stop to feel burning, itchy and sting .... from manageable chapped lips to severe chapped....i feel my mouth is falling out.....apply ego qv lip balm like crazy....IB starts... i think so... new 3-4 nodule at same place forming cyst
... on my left cheek, and 3 big whithead ready to be pop... at the most weirdest place ...eyebrow..... not one but 3....perfectly in line with my eyebrow...haha funny ......still sweating hot.
Day 9 - 11
severe dry lips and it hurts too....even though i drink mineral water 2-3litre a day....ib still happening... my face becomes oilier everyday ?? is it normal? haha
Hey Misscha, well shoot your sides sound a bit intense :/ I'm sorry about that. Im on day 15 for my accutane and I haven't gotten any sides except for slightly dry lips and minimal back pain. My acne is severe on my back and my face is mild. I'm 19 year old male.
I use aveeno the navy blue color one and it doesn't clog pores also for my lips I use vasaline Chapstick works well! I take zinc, selenium, vitamin e, and vitamin c. I drink a gallon of water everyday and I exercise on the regular.
It's right cause everyone's body reacts differently to drugs :/ but hopefully we don't get that initial breakout! But hey even if we do it's okay cause before we know it our acne will be gone and ittl be summer! Always stay hopeful and never get down cause one day our skin will be glowing and perfect! 
Thank You Bug5637 yup...quite intense lol....i try to be positive nowadays...wow you're lucky that it's not the other way around...haha...
i just bought some zinc , vit e & c hopefully that will help lessen my IB and scarring....
DAY 12
Remember on day 8 i did said that i have 3-4 nodule becoming cyst right? ok now that changed..some how 2 nodule they are filled with pus....and i feel itchy at that area..... really want to pick at them but scared of scarring, so i just leave them...
dry lips manageable and not as severe as before......
I dont use neostrata oily skin solution at night today because i feel quite irritated, i remember what Dan told everybody
Irritation=acne;
other...hmmm......skin still oily (moisturizer causing this?).... no back pain or joint pain...still early i guess ...
till then...adieu
I've just finished 5 months of accutane, I can tell you that with mine and a lot of other people's experiences that the skin does get worse before it gets better. I had about 3 cysts which I was very conscious about and they've reduced in size a lot, they are still noticeable but I'm hoping that it gets better in time. My lips were ridiculously dry to the point where they'd be scratched due to peeling. The rest of my face looks a lot better so you should see results by the end of your course, just don't expect to see a clear face overnight because it does take time.
I've just finished 5 months of accutane, I can tell you that with mine and a lot of other people's experiences that the skin does get worse before it gets better. I had about 3 cysts which I was very conscious about and they've reduced in size a lot, they are still noticeable but I'm hoping that it gets better in time. My lips were ridiculously dry to the point where they'd be scratched due to peeling. The rest of my face looks a lot better so you should see results by the end of your course, just don't expect to see a clear face overnight because it does take time.
we all play that waiting game rite!..haha... yes i can wait for another 6 month if this results can last forever...better suffer for another 6 month than forever 
.... if only i can be away from work or meeting people during accutane...huh....
positive ++
Hey Misscha let me give you some pointers that has helped me. I will be starting my 6th month of accutane in April. Before taking accutane I read alot and I mean alot of information about aches, pains, dryness, hair loss, depression, dry eyes, severe cracked lips, nosebleeds, so on and so forth. Ultimately, I decided I had to try it for myself. For me, I had back acne (hence the word had 
) However, I also had really greasy hair, oily face, oily eyelids, and basically oily everything; not in excess persay but enough to know that my body could handle a little accutane dryness and it turns out I was right. I take 60 mg a day and I now do not have oily anything and do not have to wash my hair for days and its still soft. If I start to feel down for any reason (don't know if accutane is the cause or not) I simply make sure I do something I enjoy to make sure I am not effected by anything. Also I have not had any aches or anything like that beyond a normal 28 yr old manual laborer would have (sometimes you just gotta suck it up and drive on unless truly unbearable which is a case by case situation for some people). Nonetheless, I no longer have acne. I use a non oily lotion (very important), I use another type of lotion that is intensive care for my face and another one with aloe vitamin E and other vitamins and minerals for dry spots on my body. The only side effect I have personally noticed and I mean really the only one (besides no acne of course) is severely dry lips. You must get a product called Aquaphor it is a godsend. Get it and use it liberally and get a humidifier for your home and make sure it is running all the time. Sleeping in a humid environment with that stuff on your lips will almost renew them everyday and this is essential. One last thing, my acne got immediately better (within 10 days) then slightly worse than originall around 30 days, then clear for 2 months, then a very very mild flare up around the 4 month mark (which is common) and then now absolutely clear for almost 2 months again. Drink lots and lots of water, take accutane with a snack at least, and avoid alcohol as much as possible. Good luck.
Thank you for your advice joe...
DAY 13 - 14 , WEEK 2, MONTH 1
manageable dry lips..already used to it .... , no back pain or joint pain, hair loss but not so much, no bloody nose, skin still feels oily but dry at cheek not so much of improvement. acne at eyebrow has dried up.
here's a picture of my IB at Day 14, Week 2. yuck...haha
DAY 15
Still having IB, got 3-4 new small zit..some of them fill with puss..... a bit dry on cheek , face feel less oily but still oily.
severe dry lips back again....a bit fatigue, hair loss but not too serious ,no joint or back pains and definitely no bloody nose.
im feeling so down today...................arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ........ sad.sad.sad..feel so ugly, when this will be over?
DAY 18 - 22
Still in IB phase, got new pimples on my right cheek, and nose. very manageable dry lips, no back or joint pain, less hair fall, no bloody nose, face and hand feel a bit itchy and sore throat .... everything seems fine.
I went to see derm on Day 22, he said that i've got some infection so he bump me up to 40mg for 2nd month and also bactrim antibiotic. Im going to take 40mg after i finished Day 30.
Here's a picture Day 21, Week 3, enjoy! lol...
Hi there!
It's been ages since my last update, well right now im in Day 140 (near End of Month 5) and this is my update.
Since month 3 im acne free, no new cyst, pimple or even the smallest pimple u can imagine, up to now. Im super excited + glad for taking this drug .
But my main concern right now is the red marks and indent scars. If it's only red marks im fine with it. But indent scars hmm... a bit confused to have those indented scars b'cause i've never, never, never picked at them, just don't know what to do about it right now 
. Just stay +VE until come off with this drug. I still have 1 more month to go though.
Here's my Week 8, End of my Month 2 -
*Different skin colour due to different lighting
And THIS is my Week 20. Near End of my Month 5 -
Side effects:-
-mild joint pain
-dry, chapped, peeling mouth
-a bit of hair loss
-medium eczema.(scaly skin here and there)
Good Luck to me! and to all who half way on it / will take it / consider to take it, etc
cheerio 