Hi all,
Erin here. Currently on day 3 -- two 40mg pills, once in the morning and once in the evening (with food).
So I went through the ipledge process about 6 years ago, and then freaked out when i actually filled the first prescription and never took more than a handful of pills. I was 22 then... At 28, I'm finally got sick of having acne so I went back to the derm. My acne started when I was 12 or so on my face, then around 20 it also started on my chest, then back. 16 years later -- it's still here. I'd classify it as moderate on my face, and mild on my chest & back, some of it cystic.
After speaking with my long-time dermatologist back in CA, she recommended I find a dermatologist out in NY (recently relocated) that I liked that would put me on accutane and monitor my progress. So I went hunting for a good derm -- and let me tell you, having someone who actually listens, and can calm your nerves and tell you when you're being stupid, helps a lot.
He did the math or whatever and I'm on 80mg (seems high to me -- but whatever, I'll trust him). He said if the side effects are harsh (especially since it's winter here in NY), he'd lower the dosage.
One funky thing about accutane is that you're not supposed to drink on it. I had to call the doc and ask him if it was a "suggestion" or if I should really avoid alcohol. He laughed -- I was serious. He said not to have more than 1 drink a day or else i'd feel like crap the next day since accutane already puts a load on the liver. We'll see how this goes!
Fingers crossed people!
Hey Erin, im 27 M on 80 mg as well,,,,im on zenatane, but I was on absorica. Not drinking on it is serious....I actually started the Accutane treatment like 10 years ago but I was a full blown alcoholic partying all the time and I couldn't make it pass the first month. Now I don't drink at all and Ive been blessed to have my insurance cover this whole treatment or I wouldn't have had the second chance to take it. Im on day 45 right now. Hope all goes well for you and yes avoid alcohol to the best of your ability while on tane.
Hey Erin, im 27 M on 80 mg as well,,,,im on zenatane, but I was on absorica. Not drinking on it is serious....I actually started the Accutane treatment like 10 years ago but I was a full blown alcoholic partying all the time and I couldn't make it pass the first month. Now I don't drink at all and Ive been blessed to have my insurance cover this whole treatment or I wouldn't have had the second chance to take it. Im on day 45 right now. Hope all goes well for you and yes avoid alcohol to the best of your ability while on tane.
Hey Casey,
Day 4, and alcohol avoided. I'll let you know how this first weekend goes -- I do enjoy my cocktails! Best of luck in your course as well!
Day....4.5?
So far so good -- I try not to think about all the side effects I've read about when I pop my pills daily. Had a massive headache yesterday (which I get occassionally w/o accutane), and felt it was easy to start thinking the 'tane was the cause. defiitely not.
Lips & hands are definitely drier than normal, so been piling on the aquaphor and the vanicream. I haven't had any new acne pop up in the last two days, and anything that was already incoming or there has healed quicker than usual.
Day 11 -- definitely going through an initial breakout on my face. it's probably on-par with the worst it's been in the last 10 years -- had 6 painful breakouts + cysts, and a whole bunch of little breakouts on the surface. yuck. on the +, they seem to be healing faster? it's so hard not to pick at them. my body acne is the same as normal -- haven't noticed any change yet. side effects -- nothing besides dry lips & hands, and I think my scalp is getting dry/itchy too. + my hair isn't as oily on day 2+.
Day 13 -- two potential side effects: blood when i blow my nose, and an insanely itchy scalp today! wow... dead skin flaking off for sure. anyone have suggestions of what to use? it looks like t-gel is recommended?
Tea tree oil + Jojoba oil. Put it in like 5 minutes then wash with shampoo.
Just wanted to stop and say Good Luck 
I'm currently on day 115, and so far so good. The first 60-70 days or so were HORRIBLE. I had so many pimples on my face, I couldn't even count them anymore !! Right now, I'm nearly completely clear on my face, I currently have just one small whitehead right under my lips. I do have, however, so many red marks from all the insane breakouts I had in the first 2 months. I broke out initially in the first 2 weeks, which I thought was my IB, little did I know it would get 20 times worse in the second month. Anyways, moral is to don't get down if you breakout, even if it's bad. It sucks, ya, believe me, I had to perform my drama class final during that time of my worse breakout. Still cringe to think how I did that, haha! Stay positive or you will go crazy!! Wish you the best! Feel free to check out my log to see how it went for me. 