A little about myself, my name is Max. I have had acne since I was about 11-12. It's been a pretty hectic and prescription filled 10 years. I have always been able to maintain my acne but never make it completely stop. I've been on pretty much every topical you can name, even anti fungal for some reason, and every oral as well, bactrim for 4 months multiple times and did nothing. Epidou and aczone have been what I've used to keep my acne in line but over the last year or so it has gotten worse and worse. I am 140lbs with oily skin. I can't go a day without having to wash my face or use oil removing pads less than 5 times.
I have developed cystic acne that can get very deep and stay there until I go to my dermo to get shots into them. And i have developed bad scars over the years of battling woth my Skin. It's very hard for me to post as I am extremely shy and embarrassed about my face.
I started taking absorica 40mg once a day on 8/14/13. I have actually noticed my lips are a little dryer than normal but not much else. I will post pictures when I get the courage to do it haha.
A question I have for seasoned accutane users is, what was your diet during the time you took it? I have a bad habit of eating bad foods and drinking soda. Thanks
update** i added starting photos.
Hi Max!
I just started a low dose a couple of days ago. I know how you feel about being embarrassed and shy, but know that after we're both done this treatment we won't have to worry about that again 
I too have been wondering about diet. I don't think it plays a huge part in how effective the Accutane is, but it might be a good idea to try to avoid a lot of fast food because you don't want to be messing with your cholesterol too much.
Hey Max, welcome to the forum! You came to the right place for sure! I'm almost Two months into my Accutane course and I had a pretty good diet to begin with before even starting but I would definitely recommend cutting out the soda and drinking LOTS of water!!
Good luck, hopefully you get awesome results...err hopefully we both do I should say!
So it's day 4-
My skin has gotten significantly worse. Lots of redness and my pores are opening up all over. My skin gets very dry in the morning and I also have crust developing throughout the day over the really bad areas. Not sure if this is how it's supposed to go. Or how to stop this if possible.
Very oily as well.
I started breaking out about day 4 on 40mg absorica as well. All I can say is it will probably get a little bit worse (hopefully your derm told you this) but improvements come around month 3 or later. My skin is also dry around breakout areas so just find a good moisturizer and coat up after a shower. Feel free to send me a message man. I'm on day 32 ish
I started breaking out about day 4 on 40mg absorica as well. All I can say is it will probably get a little bit worse (hopefully your derm told you this) but improvements come around month 3 or later. My skin is also dry around breakout areas so just find a good moisturizer and coat up after a shower. Feel free to send me a message man. I'm on day 32 ish
thanks for the info surish, ill give it a try after i shower
Still flirting up pretty bad, very red and very scaley. Going to derm on Wednesday to seek advice
If you feel that your Initial Breakout is pretty bad tell your derma that you want some anti inflammatory sterioid its called Prednizone that will help you with youre IB. Scalyness and Redness is a part of how the drug is working its some side-effects that will go away after you complete the course. You can buy a moisturizer that will help with the redness but it wont do anything that big. Use a good Moisturizer and SPF 30+ Sunscreen a gentle cleanser and you will be fine son.
Yes, if it's an initial breakout, you could add medications to help deal with it such as prednisone (steroid) or erythromycin (antibiotic).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2835909/pdf/de0103_0162.pdf
Good luck
Yes, if it's an initial breakout, you could add medications to help deal with it such as prednisone (steroid) or erythromycin (antibiotic).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2835909/pdf/de0103_0162.pdf
Good luck
Ive used Prednisone before and it clears me up completely lol, too bad I just can't take that stuff forever. But I don't think it's been long enough since my last use of prednisone to request more. I will be asking my derm on Wednesday to confirm. I have never heard of erythromycin. I will mention it as well. Thanks for the advice guys
Day 8
Skin is still dry, getting dryer as the days go on. Breakout is still pretty bad. Going to the derm in about an hour to see what he says and ask about taking something that will bring the IB and redness down.
I put Chapstick on every 15 minutes now. Pretty funny lol
Day 14 I believe, still scaley and dry. Very red as well. I seem to be in a continuous breakout stage that hopefully won't last too long. Cystic bumps are occurring more often and are painful. I can't take more prednisone for a few weeks cause it hurts my immune system.
I'm not going to stop though. I'm gonna win this war with my acne
Hey Max! I'm not sure what all you already know, but I've been experimenting with a few things since I started on Accutane 16 days ago and I've found a few things that are helpful:
1) Vaseline Lip Therapy lip balm is going to be your new BFF. Works the best out of all the ones I've tried.
2) Drinking a lot of water makes a huge difference in how your skin will feel. Drinking water has helped my skin to stay moisturized on the inside and not be irritated or get red. So DRINK WATER and ditch the soda.
3) Skin regenerates itself every 35 days and the new cells are made with some of what you put into your body - so putting a bunch of crap food in yourself, is going to make for crap skin later. I know it sucks and it's hard (I went from Taco Bell and BK every day to once every 3 or 4 months) and now, it just tastes gross. The more natural your diet, the better your skin will be AKA substitute your junk food and soda for healthy foods and water.
4) CeraVe Facial Moisturizing Lotion feels amazing on and works. Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream in the pot is super thick and hydrating and I feel confident it would eliminate nearly, if not all of your dryness. Plus you can use that pot on your whole body - bonus!
5) Moisturize your skin once in the morning and once at night after it's been washed. There is a "3 minute rule" that once done showering/washing the 3 minutes proceeding that are the 3 minutes where your skin will absorb the most moisture, as opposed to sitting on top of the skin rather than penetrating it. Idk if you already do, but try getting your moisturizer on quickly so it can really absorb and soothe.
I asked my derm exactly what I should be doing with my diet and she said, cut out the multi-vitamins because the vitamin A can mess with the effectiveness of Accutane, drink water, and take the pill after a fatty meal. I aim for 10-15g of fat, I think any less isn't enough.