Hello everyone.
Just a brief background story of myself. I started getting acne my first year of middle school, I was 13 at the time. It started with just a few whiteheads on my forehead and chin, and then got some cysts on my temples, and by the time I got into high school it had spread to my cheeks, jawline, and a bit on my back. Mostly cysts and nodules, very rarely would i get whiteheads. I tried the typical acne treatments - proactive, benzoyl peroxide, etc. It helped but not by much. Last year I started The Regimen, which DID help a good amount, but I'm still getting acne.
Through my entire acne "career", Accutane was a "no-no" for me. I didn't even want to touch it. Heard too many scary things about it. These past couple months however I did some research and decided I was going to give it a shot. Went to a derm and she prescribed it no problem.
My acne isn't necessarily "severe" - my friends were kinda shocked that I'm on Accutane because they say my acne isn't really that bad. But to me, it is. Acne is acne. And I'm fed up with it. Tired of always feeling self conscious. Hell, I'm a dude, and I cover up my hyper pigmentation and active pimples with some girly concealer to make it not look as bad. That's probably why my friends don't think my acne is that bad, hehehehe. If only they saw my skin after it's been freshly washed.
My skin is also SUPER oily. I have a bad habit of wiping from my nose across my face with the back of my hand just to see my hand shiny with grease. I can deal with the oily skin w/ milk of magnesia, but Accutane helping with my oily skin is an added bonus.
I'm starting off at 40mg a day. I'm taking the generic Claravis.
Day 5
Hadn't noticed anything different until today. My skin is SUPER OILY all of the sudden. I finished my 4 hour shift at work and went the restroom and it looked like my face was painted with vegetable oil. I was so embarrassed that I was talking to customers looking like this LMAO. I also have a couple whiteheads in the crease between my chin and lower lip. Not sure if this is from the accutane or if it's because I stopped using benzoyl peroxide. I also had 2 pimples pop up on my left cheek on day 2 and 3.
Day 6
Skin still unusually oily but not as bad as yesterday. I got a few more whiteheads on my chin and they HURT! But the good thing is they feel worse than they look. They aren't really all that noticeable. My lips are also getting drier. Nose bleed this morning but I always get nosebleeds, especially in the winter time, so it's no biggy. Skin really isn't that dry yet - it feels "dehydrated" but that's it. So far nothing dramatic.
Just to let you guys know what products I'm using: I wash my face gently with half a pump of Purpose cleanser (I feel like a full pump is way too much), and I moisturize with CeraVe moisturizing lotion, 2 pumps. And that's all! 
Hopefully everything goes well....I'm really freaking out over the IB....I don't want my crush to see me at such an ugly state...LMAO.
+1 to the 17 year old male group that started last week... currently on day 8. Taking 40 mg a day. Skin is pretty dry around my jawline but nothing a little moisturizer can't fix. Have had a decent number of whiteheads around my mouth but nothing catastrophic. Going pretty well I guess.
Glad to see that there's others that I can compare my experience to!!!
Sorry for not updating for a while...
Day 7
It's already been a week, wow! I'm breaking out slightly on my chin and in the lower corners of my mouth. They are quite painful but came to a head pretty quickly. Not sure if this is the initial breakout or not - if it is, I'll be very happy, because it isn't too bad. Skin isn't really "dry" yet. My lips are dry but not chapped, but I've been using a lot of lip balm hoping it will keep my lips from getting too bad.
Day 8
A couple more pimples under my lip. I'm able to cover them up a bit with blemish concealer however so they don't look too bad. It's a bit hard though because the skin around the breakout is dry so I can't cover them up too much or else it will look terrible. One thing I noticed today was that I was VERY self conscious and kinda antisocial....It was hard to look at my friends in the eye and talk...I constantly had my hand over my chin trying to hide my breakout. I thought this was very wierd because looking in the mirror afterwards, it's barely noticeable. Not sure why I was so concerned.
Day 10
The oily outbreak I had when I first started accutane has subsided. My skin is producing less and less oil which is great! Skin STILL isn't that dry. It's dehydrated for sure, and some areas have a slightest bit of visibly dry skin, but it's nothing bad at all. I'm actually quite shocked. My lips also aren't that bad at all. These past couple days I have had TERRIBLE back pain. Like, really bad. Advil and Aleve don't put a dent in the pain either which sucks. But I can deal with it. The breakout on my chin and around my lips is subsiding, which is great.
Day 12
Nothing really new to report. Skin is a bit less oily today I suppose. A few new pimples on my cheeks and jawline, but nothing too bad. I'm starting to wonder if this is or isn't the initial breakout. It seems too good to be true because it isn't bad by any means. I mean, it's definitely the worst breakouts I've had in months, but I've had MUCH worse. I'm wondering if I'm only breaking out because I'm no longer using benzoyl peroxide. But I'm being hopeful that this is the accutane initial breakout because I'll be a very happy camper if it is.
Let's see how this progresses over the next couple weeks...
Also experiencing quite a bit of back pain here. Started noticing it about the 5th or 6th day, which also coincided with the day I had a sit-and-reach test in P.E. I had stretched a ton for that and really strained myself going for a good score (can't get a B in P.E.!) and I sort of thought that had caused the pain. I think that contributed to it, as it was SUPER bad that day. But it has kind of stuck around more than I expected since then. I notice it most when I'm going to sleep and laying face up or when I get out of my car after driving an extended time. Face is breaking out around my mouth a lot which is really embarrassing. My mom keeps taking pictures this time of year (family in town, Christmas pictures, etc.) and I look terrible. My friends have been snapchatting me and I'm afraid to send anything of myself back because my red pimples look especially bad in those kind of pictures. Anyway, I know it'll be worth it in the end. Can't wait to see what my face will be looking like at this time next year!
Oh, also, happy holidays everyone! Cheers to clearer skin in the new year! I'd better get to sleep, got presents to open up in the morning haha.
Day 16
The breakout I had under my lips and on my chin has completely healed. Nice. Also, the couple large pimples on my cheeks are gone/subsiding. Face is creating little to no oil whatsoever. My lips are dry but no chapped since I'm very diligent with the Carmex. Whenever I wake up while I'm sleeping, I'll put some on so my lips don't dry out over night (yay for insomnia, I guess? 
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Ok, so onto dry skin - my skin is dry. By the end of the day, I can see flakes around my mouth especially. Also in the morning when I wake up my skin is pretty flakey. But, it's not your typical "dry skin". It's not the hard crusty flakes I'm getting and my skin doesn't feel all tight when I smile. No, it's more like my skin is peeling....which is weird.
Also, my back is still hurting quite a bit. Ugh. Especially when I lay down at night to go to bed, it's really bad. Hopefully it doesn't get much worse.
Day 19[\b]
Day 19! Yay, time flies. My face is surprisingly looking quite clear. All of the pimples I received from the "initial breakout" (still not sure if that was the REAL initial breakout or not...crossing my fingers that it was because it wasn't bad at all) have completely healed, just leaving some red marks. I have maybe 1 or 2 pimples on my cheeks and forehead, and a couple on my temples. I still have some cysts on my jawline that I've had prior to Accutane however, hopefully they go away. The dry skin and lips are under control thankfully.
One thing I have noticed is the abundance of blackheads on and around my nose!!! It looks terrible! They aren't new I'm sure, they've been buried in my pores for years probably, but the accutane is making them protrude and stand out way more. My nose actually looks bumpy from all the blackheads and it looks gross. It's been like this for about 5 days (I kept forgetting to mention it). I try squeezing them out but they won't budge. Anyone have any suggestions on what I should do? Or will they just go away on their own? I was thinking of getting some nose strips and using those but I know Accutane makes your skin sensitive, and so far my skin has been fine, I don't want to end up irritating it terribly....
Also, another thing. Most of my cysts like to show up on my jawline. Right now I have about 3-4 cysts still there (they are somewhat "dormant" as they aren't all swollen and red, but they are there nevertheless). But in addition to the cysts, I have these wierd flesh-colored bumps on my jawline. I also have a couple of these on my chest and shoulders. I'm not sure what they are. They aren't pimples. They don't hurt and they are hard, not squishy. They are about the size of the top of a Q-tip. Not sure if these are scars or what...but they are annoying and I have no idea how to get rid of them. Not sure if the accutane will take care of them or not. Does anyone know what these are? Thanks in advance.