I started my second course of accutane 3 days ago (1/12/15). I'll be taking 40mg my first month. Thankfully my insurance is covering the accutane (zenatane) this course so I only had to pay $10 this month. During my last course the medication cost over $200 and I also had to pay for the blood work and derm appointments.
My last course was 7-8 months I think, and my dose was adequate for my weight. It completely cleared me, but after about two years, the acne started coming back. Lately my acne has become quite bad and has started to scar. I've tried everything to clear my skin including retinoids, antibiotics, benzoyl peroxide, aczone, birth control pills, and spiro. Nothing has cleared me so I feel like accutane is my only option right now. I'd really prefer not to take accutane because I worry about hair loss, slow skin healing, and nasal cartilage changes. I had nose surgery 4 years ago, and I have read about some having issues with accutane and past nasal surgeries and that really worries me.
Today is day 3, but I don't notice any side effects yet. My lips haven't even begun to get dry yet.
all the best with it! i have been off mine 8 months and just started getting some spots im hoping something topical might keep it at bay though as id prefer not going on accutane again but hey ho, we shall see
Sorry to hear about the return of some spots! I can't remember exactly when I started breaking out again after my first course, but I do know that after about 2 years my acne was like it was before accutane.
Today is day 7 and I'm having a few more side effects. My lips are dry, but I haven't been wearing anything on them yet because all the heavy duty lip stuff makes me feel claustrophobic lol. My face is also red and dry and my oil production has been reduced. Also, the blackheads on my face seem to be getting darker and coming to the surface.
Today is day 11. I've been using the Dr. Dan's cortibalm and I've actually gotten used to it and it's really helping. I still have quite a few clogs and some minor oilyness, but my skin is still looking a lot better. I need to try to stop picking. I told myself I'd stop when I started accutane, but so far that hasn't happened.
Today is day 26. My skin was getting super clogged and I discovered it was because I switched from my diy oil cleanser to a neutrogena cleanser. I thought maybe because I was starting accutane I could use a normal person cleanser, but that was not a good idea. So I'm back to using my oil cleanser and the clogs are going down. My skin is hardly getting oily at all anymore. I still have the rash on the back of my hand, but it is getting better with the use of Cerave.
Today is day 33. My skin is looking so much better. The oil has basically disappeared so I'm just using plain watermelon seed oil to cleanse now without an emulsifier. Leaving a small amount of the oil residue on my skin has been keeping it from becoming too dry. Even though the oil is gone I still have some clogs left. They are so stubborn! My side effects still aren't too bad. My lips aren't too dry and the skin on my hands has cleared up with the help of cerave. I think I am noticing that my joints are slightly more achey, but I also workout a lot so it might be from that.
Forgot to mention: My dose was increased this month. Now every Monday, Wednesday and Friday I will be taking two 40mg pills.
Today is day 36. My skin is looking great. The few marks I do have are healing really quickly. No slow accutane healing here 
My joints are still a little sore and my eyes are feeling a little dry. Interestingly my lips are still not very dry. If I wanted to I could go the whole day without applying and lip balm and I'd be fine. I normally suffer from anxiety, but my mood has been really good lately. I actually feel the best I have felt in a long time. My libiodo also higher than usual. Sorry if that's tmi, but I want to be honest about my experience and I know lowered libido is usually a reported side effect.
Today's day 38. My joint pain is a lot worse today. The pain is mostly in my knees and ankles. For my job I have to stand on my feet, and after work today I was so uncomfortable I had to take an Aleve. I picked up a joint supplement on the way home today and I took it with dinner tonight. I hope it helps otherwise I might have to ask my derm to reduce my dose 
Today's day 44. This past week I tried taking a supplement called Move Free for my joints. It seemed to help my joints, but for some reason my skin became oily again. I'm not sure if the return of the oil is from the Move Free or not, but I stopped it just in case. I decided to move my dose back down to 40mg a day because my joints were hurting so bad. My joints are still feeling achey, but it's not so bad right now. My skin is still a little more oily than it was a few weeks ago, but it also seems to be clearer.
I haven't updated in a while because there was really nothing new to report.
I just started month 3 (lost track of the days), and I'm now taking Amnesteem instead of Zenatane.I asked my derm to switch generics because this course has been so different than my last course. On the zenatane my lips have not been dry, but my joints have been very achey and my skin is soo dry. My skin also did not seem to be improving very quickly on the zenatane. Since starting the Amnesteem my skin seems to be less dry and making more improvements. The blackheads on my nose and chin are finally looking less prominent.
My skin seems to be worse these past few days. I'm getting these weird itchy red fluid filled bumps on my face. They're not pimples, but they look just as bad.
I'm so confused why my lips haven't gotten dry at all at this point. It makes me feel like the accutane isn't working.
Hey Paige
Just saw my derm today
I have horrible persistant red bumps..not breakouts but slightly raised/red odd shaped things
My derm thinks irritation due to dryness
Im down to 40mg tane and she rec cerave cleanser and an rx lotion that is a moisturizer but has sulfur as well
im going to give it a try
but im pretty discouraged
kim
Hey Paige
Just saw my derm today
I have horrible persistant red bumps..not breakouts but slightly raised/red odd shaped things
My derm thinks irritation due to dryness
Im down to 40mg tane and she rec cerave cleanser and an rx lotion that is a moisturizer but has sulfur as well
im going to give it a try
but im pretty discouraged
kim
Sorry about the red bumps. I've gotten some of them too and they are definitely due to dryness for me. Thankfully for me they go away when I lay off exfoliating and over cleansing.
Be careful with the cerave cleanser! It breaks me out badly.
Ugh
I know
I dont know what to use!!!
Tried rx lotion she gave me last night as a moisturizer and it was burning a little
DEF not hydrating!!!
I need a simple routine and give my skin a few days to heal
she also gave me cetaphil spf oil control lotion..told me to use am/pm
emailed GOW about getting watermelon seed oil but she said based on my skin and tane not the best options and started rec other oils so I just got freaked out since oils never have worked for me
im so tired and confused
kim
It's now the middle of my third month. I tolerate the Amnesteem much better than the Zenatane, and I am able to take the 60 mg without getting severe joint pain. My lips are still not dry which is weird to me, and my nose is still getting slightly oily. My nose and chin are my trouble areas and are really the only places that continue breaking out. Honestly, it feels like I'm in my first month and not my third. I don't think I'd recommend zenatane to anyone.