Starting Roaccutane at 30mg a day. I've had moderate acne for some years now, although at times it has become cystic. I've started to get scars, which is a bit of a shame. After lurking these forums for a while, I found out about Roaccutane and managed to get some from my dermatologist. I had been on the antibiotics for three years previously to this, so my consultation was pretty easy. I had my blood tests then and there and had the stuff by the next day.
Day 1 is as in the thumbnail, it looks pretty bad, but I'm hoping that it'll clear up in the next few weeks. Here we go!
EDIT: Attached a second picture to show my progress at 42 days.
16/f - looks like we started our treatments relatively close to each other. I'm on day 9 of my Accutane treatment, taking 30mgs at night. Not quite sure if I'm actually supposed to be taking them at night seeing as my dermatologist didn't specify /when/ I should take them...here's to blindly guessing and hoping for the best.
Everything came to a whitehead rather quickly for me as well. I empathize with you about the dry lips - mine started bleeding yesterday. I've found that Burt's Bee's nourishing lip balm works well to soothe them but doesn't do much for flakiness. Skin is pretty dry and yesterday my nose bled for about an hour, turning my bathroom into what looked like a murder scene and ruining my dance tights. (On the bright side, wearing them would turn me into an extremely badass looking ballerina).
Cheers and best of luck with your treatment - hope you keep updating here!
Hi DamagedQuill! I think that I read somewhere that Accutane is best absorbed after a meal, so after teatime maybe? Really sucks about your nose, I haven't had any bleeds yet luckily. Thanks for the advice though, I got myself some of that lip balm (even if I do feel a little girly wearing it).
Days 8-11: My spots aren't really painful anymore, they're just there. They're quite red, but my acne definitely looks less angry. A lot of blackheads are pushing to the surface, especially around the base of my nose. They either form another spot, or just fall out- which is rather disgusting. My lips are practically breaking at the sides. Will update with a picture when I have daylight.
Hey all. I'm new to this site. Just started Roaccutane so wanted to join and share things with everyone as I can't really talk to anyone who doesn't understand the medicine or what we're all going through.
Rassendyll, you're face was similar to mine, although mine weren't as bad now I'm a little older, but they were much worse when I was younger! I'm a fellow Briton. I had acne (hate that word) since I was 12 years old. Had it quite bad on my face but extremely bad on my chest & back. My back & chest is ruined with scars now so going swimming, taking my shirt off in public is completely out of the question as it really is that bad. My Dr. put me on Minocycline & topical Isotretinion when I was 17 and finished it last year (when I was 27! He kept me on it for 10 years which I wasn't happy about!). Work for a few years then my body built up a resistance to it. Switched me onto Lymecycline last August which didn't work one bit. So, I took the plunge (after much research and thought) to go onto Roaccutane. I had to pay to see one of the leading UK specialists due to the HNS waiting list taking over 4 months for me to get seen. I started my course on the 9th Feb 2014 so a couple of us here have started our treatment around the same time - so it'll be good to share our progress!
I weigh 75kg and the specialist wanted to put me on 1mg/per day (around 80mg) immediately, to which I refused as I wanted to gradually work my way up due to the side effects. So I've started on 40mg per day.
First few days were hard. I got bad headaches and found it difficult to comprehend things that were going on around me as I felt quite disorientated. This wore off after a few days and now I feel fine! Did anyone else get headaches?
I take mine in the morning with food. Before I take them, I have a cap of olive oil, around 15ml, with my morning porridge as the fats break the medication down better and it's also a healthy fat too which helps cholesterol levels - something you have to watch while taking this med. I take the tablets half way through my breakfast then carry on eating.
A bit of advice - drink lots of water. This stuff dries your body out quite badly. I've been drinking 2.5L of water per day and my visual side effects have been minimal. Not much dry skin at all. some dryness but not like the horror stories you hear of peoples faces cracking. No crusty nose either. I've been blathering lip balm on during the day and my lips are not cracked. I started the lip balm on the first day I started the meds as I didn't want to wait until they got chapped - I wanted to get them supple before it started. Now, they're a little dry but not chapped, yet. From what I've read, most side effects happen within the first 6 to 15 days but I've been drinking lots of water, using lots of lip balm and I have to be honest, the side effects so far aren't too bad. No mood swings either! I had a very small initial breakout around day 4 but that's gone down now.
So, today is my 7th day of taking the meds and I feel fine. Acne seems to be reducing slightly after my few little spots that came up earlier this week. Headaches have gone too. Skins a little dry on my face & neck but nothing I can't cope with. Lips aren't too bad but I use lots of lip balm which is definitely helping.
Hope you're all well 
)
Hi Smallguy86! Sorry you had such a bad time with the NHS, I managed to get a referral and the drug in a couple of days. Good call on opting for a lesser dose, I reckon. I'm only on 30mg and I'm definitely feeling it! (I have a slender build though, around 60kg). I'm doing a similar thing to you, only I'm downing a couple of pints of milk.
Day 12: I'm looking a lot dryer today. My lips look really raw at the side, so I keep speaking to a minimum. The acne by the side of my mouth has yet to go, but the rest is disappearing nicely.
Hey man,
Yeah I asked for a referral to see a specialist over 2 months ago and I've still not received my letter. I knew there was going to be some sort of problem so after a week of waiting I just decided to self fund.
Today will be my 8th dosage. Dry skin isn't too bad. Lips are fine but I've been really hammering the lip balm. Keep getting the occasional spot on my chin but nothing under my chin & neck and nothing on my cheeks yet. Got one spot on the back of my neck and one at the crease of my nose and that's about it. So far so good. I expected a massive breakout within the first week so I'm pleased up till now. I'm going on 60mg a day next month so I think that's when I'll start to feel it more.
Did you get headaches when you first started?
Hey Rassendyll & Smallguy86! I'm getting the black heads and headaches, as well. Did either of you get a wicked cold after about week of treatment? I doubt it's possible to be more congested, thank goodness for tea!
It's interesting what you said about the dosage and weight. I'm definitely feeling the symptoms though I've only been taking 30mg (I'm about 50kg). My dermatologist plans to bump me up to 60mg after a month.
Dry skin is the worst. I'd recommend some moisturizers, but I don't suppose either of you want to walk around smelling like lavender.
Woke up this morning with another bloody nose...I fear if I get more I may bleed out! I'd been drinking gatorade in lieu of water because of dehydration, but I've since stopped, it was making me feel rather ill.
I don't suppose either of you are singers, but on the off chance that you are, has your singing voice changed at all? I'm a bit paranoid.
Hoping for an update soon, cheers!
Day 16 + 17: I am very dry. My lips are all red and raw and it sucks to speak or eat. I think that I look a bit paler where my skin is getting thin.
@Smallguy: Unlucky! I've not gotten any headaches. Just wait, though, I reckon your lips will start to dry out.
@DamagedQull: You're just as unlucky as him! Have you tried Vaseline-ing your nostrils? It sounds disgusting, but it might work. Also, I'm not much of a musician, but my shower singing definitely hasn't changed at all. Maybe you should talk to your dermatologist?
Edit: woke up covered in blood. Lips bleeding. Fml.
Hey guys,
@Rassendyll - yeah I'm sure it'll happen. It's a waiting game. I know something is about to happen now.
Day 10 - feel ok but have got 5 spots on my left cheek, one on my right, 3 on my forehead and 2 on my chin. They're the really red, inflamed sore types too. I'm hoping that this is my initial breakout and it will subside after a week or so. I don't have acne that bad on my face anymore so again, I'm hoping that my IB won't be too bad. Strangely the dryness has gone? I've been using E45 Cream in the bath at night and the dryness has subsided a little bit, although I'm sure that it'll come back in a day or so. Dry lips still minimal but have been applying lots of lip balm every hour. Mood is fine, as are muscles etc. I'm also still producing quite a lot of oil during the day yet not much when I wake up on a morning - yet I'm definitely still oily.
@DamagedQuill - yes! I got cold like symptoms. Cough, runny nose, headaches, feeling a bit sluggish. It's only just gone to be honest. Yesterday, I was really tired, which is not good for me as I'm up at 6am for work (12 hour shifts too). Luckily I work on my own all day in my own office so I don't have to speak much, which I think is the reason why my lips aren't as bad. Plus I'm drinking like 2 litres of water per day as well as maybe 2 coffee's so I'm well hydrated. I'm also not much of a singer although I do work in the music industry full time. My voice is a little croakier if I'm honest at lower octaves and when speaking softly. I noticed this a few days ago.
Update to follow, I'm really hoping for this IB to go down a little bit...
@Rassendyll - how you getting on buddy?
@Smallguy: Pretty badly! It's all a part of the process. But I don't look particularly attractive right now!
Days 18, 19, 20: Redness continues to fade, but my skin is kind of rejecting all my my blackheads. The pores on my nose are huge. I also appear to be shedding my skin like a snake or something. Lips still bleed.
Not tried that yet but to be honest I'm blathering my lips in Vaseline Aloe Vera and they're not too bad. Will see what that's like if they get worse though...
How's the weather in the UK? More dryness will occur if the humidity is really low.
It's pretty cold & dry at the moment, or at least it is in the North of the UK where I am. I had some extreme dryness in the first 7 to 9 days but I've been moisturising a lot, drinking lots of water and using lots of balm (I mean lots of lip balm) and it's working really well for me. I'm on day 12 now. I will say that my lips in the corners have cracked occasionally but I rubbed lots of vaseline into them and it's really helped it. I'm also lucky enough to work in doors all day so the weather isn't really an issue for me - maybe that's helping?
My dryness seems to come & go, but honestly, I was using topical Isotretinoin for 10 years and the dryness & redness which that gave me was REALLY bad, like literally just scales under my neck and around my mouth, under my chin and jaw/around my neck, so the dryness that the Roaccutane is giving me is far more tolerable that the dryness that the topical version gave me.
Also, my initial breakout was pretty bad. It's calming down now (fingers crossed). It's made a mess of my chin, though. There's around a 1.5 inch in diameter patch on my chin that looks completely red, dry and sore from where I had around 6-7 very sore & very red spots come up within the space of a week. Also had some really bad muscle aches when I'm sleeping, like I've pulled a muscle through exercise - yet I haven't. It's work me up two nights in a row but I don't feel it during the day? Got another 2 weeks then I go on 60mg which is when I suspect things might get a little worse.
@Smallguy: Pretty badly! It's all a part of the process. But I don't look particularly attractive right now!
Days 18, 19, 20: Redness continues to fade, but my skin is kind of rejecting all my my blackheads. The pores on my nose are huge. I also appear to be shedding my skin like a snake or something. Lips still bleed.
im having the same issue with pores and blackheads around my t-zone. it makes my skin SO rough! its horrible ...