DAY 10 UPDATE (Jan. 10th)

Ok so i've been taking Myorisan (generic accutane) for 10 days now & here is my update.

(I will try to post an update every 10 days)

• My lips are always super dry. They're not peeling & flaky but the best way to describe it is it feels like I have some type of film over my lips. I'm just constantly applying chap stick to avoid it from peeling.
• My skin (face, back, chest & scalp) is actually really oily right now & I don't understand why. I thought I was supposed to dry out like a raisin lol idk. The rest of my body seems to be dryer than usual (arms, legs, hands & feet).
• I have no cystic acne right now just little red pimples but its good to not have big ones that hurt everywhere. My boyfriend said my face is already looking better but idk if hes just keeping me positive.
• Noticed i've been itchy in random places.
• My eyes have been feeling a little tired lately & dry. I use contacts daily, so i may need to switch to glasses full time for a while.
• I've had a few headaches already, nothing crazy, just normal headaches that go away on their own.
• I've been feeling sore from my chest & back muscles even if I haven't done anything to cause it. Like if I hold my breath to long or get tense, all my ribs become sore & tender & same goes with my lower back. Like they need a moment to re-adjust.
• My mood has been great overall. I had a little relapse but I feel like it may have been hormones (it isn't out of the ordinary for me to be a little crazy haha)

P.S. I've noticed the later I take the pill, the less side effects I feel. Since i'm currently on a single dose of 40 mg/day. I try to take it around 6-7pm.

DAY 14 UPDATE

From what i've been reading I guess i'm having very little side effects.

• Woke up with a bloody nose ): haven't had one in years hopefully this wont happen too often.
• Felt a little dizzy & fatigued this morning when I got up, but I don't know if its related.
• I am already seeing an improvement on my face. I just have one big one on my forehead that's already going away. My face has a better overall texture to it right now. Hopefully it just keeps going this way!
• My scalp is starting to dry out & so is my face. Slowly but surely.
• This morning my eyes were super dry. I need to start drinking lots of water maybe this will help keep my body hydrated.
• Lips are still dry. I found that if I brush my lips softly, with a toothbrush in the shower, it smooths them out. But I wont do it too often, maybe every few days.
• I seem to be in a good mood lately maybe its cuz i'm excited about my treatment!

Here's to hoping things just get better!

Good luck!
I appreciate reading other folks logs to see differences and similarities

Im 130 and on 60mg currently (2 mnths out)

Started at 20mg, moved to 40mg than 60mg

Side effects have been minimal

My only suggestion is if your hands/arms gte really dry use vaseline and lots of it especially before bedtime

GL

Kim

DAY 20 UPDATE

So I've been feeling pretty good I haven't had any serious side affects.

• The only ones I really notice are my dry lips, my face is dry as well but nothing too serious.
• My eyes are really dry & so is my scalp but its amazing I have awesome hair days! I used to have oily hair & I hated it.
• Umm I still feel like my muscles get sore really easily.
• I haven't had another nose bleed, just that one time.
• Haven't had any headaches really if anything its super tiny & not worth noting.
• I do have small random stomach pains but they go away quickly.
• My skin looks clearer. The random pimples that I do get go away pretty quick. I feel like its pushing out the little blackheads on my nose too.
• Haven't really seen a change on my back tho.

I've never been so good at drinking lots of water so I have to remind myself to keep drinking water. Must make myself drink more waterrr! Drinking lots of water keeps most of the side effects at bay.

Sike, I actually had a huge headache right after I posted this. The kind where you can't function so you just lay in bed hating life. It was bad It didn't go away until I woke up the next morning.

DAY 30 UPDATE

Doctor raised my dosage to 2 x 40mg pills a day. Lets see how it goes!

• I'm pretty underwhelmed with the symptoms. I was expecting to be miserable on this medication but so far its been very minimal & manageable. Like I hardly remember i'm on it until i have to take my next pill.
• Doctor said to avoid eating junk food & to eat healthy, because Accutane raises triglycerides (I don't know what that is but my doctor said it's kinda like cholesterol). I don't have cholesterol or trigly-whatever problems shes was just advising me.
• I haven't been drinking since I started taking Accutane. From my understanding it isn't the end of the world to drink some alcohol but i'm using it as an excuse to stop drinking for awhile, so we'll see.
• OH!! AQUAPHOR IS AMAZING its my best friend I have a little travel size tube I take with me everywhere I go! We are inseparable lol. My lips are hardly ever chapped & really smooth. I hope they stay this way!!
• Still forcing myself to drink lots of water. Some days i'm better at it than others, but staying hydrated is very helpful towards my symptoms.
• My mood's been pretty stable I haven't felt depressed or moody or been coo-coo .
• My hair is amazing & my skin has been doing great it's steadily improving more & more!
• Starting to see a change in my back. My active pimples are fading away & i'm not getting new ones!
• My eyes are super dry & I wear contacts so at the end of the day they get a little irritated so I have to use some eye drops.
• Am I supposed to be exfoliating my skin? Because I feel like it may be clogging up my pores.
• My body feels like it gets exhausted very quickly. A few days ago I rode my bike (seriously just around the block) & as I was coming back around to the house I was out of breath & my body was barely pushing through. I mean i'm a pretty athletic person for that to have winded me like that.

I'll post some progress pictures soon!

hi, im casey.

like your log so far...simple but descriptive and my side effects seem to match yours especially your day 20 update...i am on day 18. i am on absorica/40mg day

input - not much; we both have just begun the journey. stay hydrated, moisturized, and out of the sun, wind, pretty much all weather LOL...

i haven't exercised since i started treatment but i do plan to get back in the gym soon for light exercise and some stretching. hopefully that will help my energy level and soreness.

DAY 40 UPDATE

Still taking 2 x 40mg pills a day

• I've noticed my skin has gotten oily again. I thought my skin was suppose to dry out. :/
• My lips are still veryyy much chapped. That toothbrush thing (i have a separate toothbrush for this lol) works wonders tho!!
• I feel like my skin is soo much better!! Its very red tho it looks like my face is sun burnt. Which it might be, maybe i'm not applying enough sun block.. but very very minimal pimples a lot of my black heads are going away. Still have my scars which I feel are kinda more noticeable now that I don't have big red pimples to steal all the spotlight lol. But when i put on makeup my skin looks the best it has looked in sooo long!!! i cant wait to see how much better it will get!
• My back is indeed clearing up as well!
• I actually have started to get more moody... its kinda weird. I've noticed that when in other situations, where I would get really emotional, I am now indifferent. & I seem to get annoyed of things a lot quicker. The best way I can describe it is kinda like when you're hungry, the way you're more on edge.
• Still have dry eyes. Dry nose. Dry scalp.
• I have started to exfoliate my skin once or twice a week. I like it I think I was suppose to be doing this in the first place lol.

Am I going to have that crazy breakout 3 months in?? Does everyone go through that?? I'm pretty terrified of that happening because i've been seeing my face improve so much, I don't wanna lose my progress!!!

DAY 47 UPDATE

Soooooo I may be getting prettyyy emotional.
I've been crying a lot all weekend. I've also been emotionally withdrawn. It's like all my emotions are repressed & then something sets me off & I feel everything at once & just break down. I also snap at people pretty quickly. I'm not liking this... does anyone know anything that could help with this?

• My eyes are incredibly dry. I need to get glasses because my contacts really irritate my eyes.
• My muscles get sore from anything lol I feel like a baby. & I get tired easy from doing any physical activity.
• Lips are still really chapped.
• Skin has dried up all over I need to apply lots of lotion!!!

But good news is i'm seeing dramatically good results I get maybe a pimple or a cystic one randomly but overall my face looks better than it has in yearsssss!!

Please give your dermatologist a call. Mental health side effects are nothing to mess around with; keep in mind all of the questions your doc asks with each refill.

I had some minor mental disruptions during week 2, but turned out to be caused by stressors other than the 'taine.

Best wishes

Myriosan 2x40 just starting 4th month - going for 13,200 mg.

Ill talk to them about it. I don't think its that bad though i've always been a pretty emotional person but idk.

I feel just fine now... maybe it was just a stressful week for me.

Thanks! Best wishes to you as well!

Great to hear that your course is going well. I'm on 40mg/day, and things were pretty awesome until around day 40. Then I started to get a weird rash on my face, but I think it was a heat rash due to a vacation in Arizona. Not many zits or anything though. Best of luck on the rest of your journey!

I found that drinking water is super hard, but helps so much! I find the day after I drink a lot of water (usually about 6-8L a day), my side effects (dry skin, lips, eyes) are way less than the days that I only drink 2L.

My derm suggested that my pee always be a very very faint yellow with no odor. I know thats a bit of a TMI. But I found this is always a good indicator if I should be drinking more or not. You'll find that you will be frequenting the bathroom...a lot!

I have a nalgene bottle (1L) and I carry that thing around with me everywhere. I find always having water nearby helps remind me that I should be drinking it!

Good luck on your journey!

Buddyboy: Thank you! Best of luck to you as well! Stay out of the heat & sun! lol

Aidadia: Yes i have a hard time drinking alot of water but it is true is help very much! I need to force myself to drink more! Good luck to you as well!!

DAY 50 UPDATE

I've had a bad fever the last 2 days... I got it from my little 6 year old brother. I guess my immune system isn't what it used to be ): I've always been very healthy & rarely got sick & my body would fight off sickness pretty fast so i would never get that bad. (the good ol' days lol) But seriously this is a bad fever last night i was burning up i didn't have a thermometer but my skin was turning red from how hot i was, i was hot to the touch & had the chills. I probably should have gone to the doctors but instead i took some Advil liquid gels & decided to skip my 2nd Myorisan (Accutane) pill for yesterday & tried to sleep it off. I woke up feeling a little better this morning thank goodness!!! but still feeling kinda sick but not like last night. I have my appointment on Monday so i'm gonna talk to my doctor then.

Also, I've had some new symptoms i'm not sure how serious they are but i'm gonna list them. These are all things i'm gonna talk to my doctor about BTW.

• That fever i just mentioned. Weaker immunity.
• I've had a lot of muscle pain but i think its because i went hard at the gym the other day. I'm gonna be taking it easy from this day forward tho. But still have to check if it's from the Accutane.
• Some of my joints hurt & I feel like my body is very weak at the moment. Like I get really tired really fast. I feel like an old lady.
• I have those nasty cuts/splits/cracks on the sides of my mouth (for almost a week) & it doesn't want to heal )): I've been putting Aquaphor & chapstick when I didn't have my Aquaphor. I want it to go away! It hurts & I cant eat in peace!!
• I noticed i'm getting tiny bumps on my arms & the back of my hands, just a few, some go away fast so I just try to moisturize!

Anyone had these side effects as well? Please share your experiences & if you spoke with your doctor, what they told you.

Fingers crossed u feel better and things continue to go smoothly

can I ask what facial skincare products u are using?thanks

kim

I have the same bumps you're talking about. They're on my hands, biceps and forearms. Theyre little clustered bumps of dry skin basically, so moisturizing gets rid of them. I know this from my first course on accutane. Be sure to moisturize sooner rather than later though, because if left alone, they can become drier and red!

Kimber: I'm just using my normal facial cleanser very minimally (I should probably get something more gentle but so far I haven't had a problem with it), moisturize afterwards & sunblock only when I go out because I don't like how shiny it is lol.

Buddyboy: Yikes thanks for the advise! I guess I have to pile on the cream!

DAY 55 UPDATE

So I saw my doctor with my long list of side effects to talk to her about yesterday.....&&&&&&& she just sat there & said drink more water. So its one of two things: 1. These symptoms are not serious & are easily fixed/prevented by simply drinking a lot of water. 2. She just wanted to get me out of her office & move on with her day & just blew me off. I'm hoping its the first.

She also said that Accutane doesn't effect the immunity... which is weird because I know my body & its usually pretty badass at fighting things off, not like it has been recently, but whatever maybe it was all in my head.

Almost done with 2 months!!!! 3 more to go & i'm done!!!

That reminds me. I really need to post progress pics...

what moisturizer?

crazy u mentioned that because i had a bad cold 2 weeks ago and i am sick again

Granted it is snowy and freezing in the NE but unusual

would love to see pics

GL

Kim

DAY 60 UPDATE (2 full months on Accutane)

I hate the whole ipledge thing btw. It's so complicated! It makes everything so hard!! I missed my 7 day window & have to start the process over again!! & last time I got my blood drawn the guy messed up my arm!! I'm still bruised & it hurts to the touch & this was 10 days ago!! I hope I don't have to get blood drawn again & I hope I don't end up having to miss days of Accutane... Does that effect the treatment if I were to have to skip days?

I think a lot of the symptoms I was feeling were because I was sick & sore from working out. I feel good right now

I've been getting some cystic pimples around my jaw area (like the edges of my jaw & up close to my ears) & on my back ): but not many...

Yay 2 months down! 4 to go!

As promised here are some progress pics.. i'm extremely embarrassed to post these as i'm sure some of you can relate. I only walk out of the house with makeup on...

Day 1 Right before starting Accutane

Day 60 After 2 months on Accutane

I feel a huge differnce on my face!! About 99% of the red spots are scars most of my pimples are gone! now i just need to get rid of my scars!!

So do you have to wait until you get your period again to get your blood drawn...and then wait another month to get drawn again before you start back up?

I'm worried my busy schedule will mess me up too...

Sherri: No it doesn't have anything to do with your period. You just have to go back to get your blood drawn again, then go back to your doctor so they can give you the OK, then you have to go back to the pharmacy & pick up your prescription. All within 7 days of your blood test. Its pretty tedious. I got lucky though, I went straight to my doctor & asked them to do a quick pregnancy test (urine sample) & they OK'd it that day. Best of luck to you!

DAY 70 UPDATE

OK so here's the breakdown! I feel like my face is making an enormous improvement! I only get some pimples around my jaw line & my back.

• I'm getting extremely dry all over my upper arms like eczema or something. Random spots of dry patches all over my body like a small patch on my back & one on my chest. The best thing I've found is to put a bunch of Hydrocortisone Cream on it. My whole body is really dry I need to moisturize more grr!! I use Ponds Dry Skin Cream on my face I like it so far.
• I have rash-like bumps on the top of both my hands. Been putting Hydrocortisone on those as well.
• I have those nasty cracks on the sides of my mouth that I ABSOLUTELY DREAD ): they make it so hard to eat & when I think they're finally healing it starts all over. I put Aquaphor on my lips & sides of my mouth to try to keep them moisturized.
• Had another nose bleed I think I've only had 2 since I've been on Accutane.
• Haven't really had headaches. I drank Vitamin Water & had a headache right after so i'm gonna stay away from that now lol.
• Moods been good (:

LOVING THE PROGRESS. Can't wait to see how much better my skin gets!

DAY 80 UPDATE

So I started taking BC pills because I didn't wanna worry about that for a year so this makes it easier.

My dermatologist no longer takes my insurance so I have to get referred to a new office. Hopefully it's a smooth transition & not all hectic & chaotic. I don't wanna miss doses or anything.. My doc appt is this Monday then I see the new doc Wednesday. All these doctors visits are really getting in the middle of my job... My boss understands that they're doc visits but he's a little irritated that they're so often.

• Ok so i'm still getting pimples ): not a lot but a few... make it stopppp!! lol I'm about to finish my first pack of BC pills so I think that might be the culprit. ):
• My skin is really dry so it looks bad with makeup on. & it looks bad with makeup off. I just look bad. ):
• My lips are a lot more manageable. They're still dry but i'm more used to it. I just keep putting on the chapstick.
• My nose is a permanent scab. The only time it feels ok is when i'm in the shower or if I put some Vasaline/Aquaphor in it.
• My joints & bones & stuff feel fine. I'm only sore after a workout. Trying to get fit for summer!! Hopefully ill have beautiful skin too!!
• My back though. It has its days where it just needs time to catch up to me... & at the end of the day when I finally lay down it hurts for a few minutes but then goes away as I try to relax it.
• I haven't really been paying attention to how my skin on my back looks but it feels dry so i put lotion on it. Need to start paying attention to that too.
• I started wearing glasses because I think its the smart thing to do for my dry eyes, & i'm getting headaches because i'm not used to it. I hate glasses...
• So far I haven't been drinking. I've been good, I haven't had a single drink & uuughh!!! I wanna drink so badddd!!!!!

Idk if people still look at this log, but input is always welcome!!

Almost Done With My 3rd Month!!!