Hey man I'm in a similar situation with you. 22 similar weight (slightly less) and on 30mg daily. Coming up to week 2 now and my skin has got a lot worse but knowing its at least is having some effect allows me too look past it. Good luck with your treatment anyway bro

Hey man I'm in a similar situation with you. 22 similar weight (slightly less) and on 30mg daily. Coming up to week 2 now and my skin has got a lot worse but knowing its at least is having some effect allows me too look past it. Good luck with your treatment anyway bro

Thanks for the support. Glad to know someone is reading about my troubles.

Day 27

I don't know if I'll log this everyday but I saw my dermatologist today so I thought that would warrant another post. I talked to him about my concerns and I said I would start alternating between 20mg and 40mg a day. I want to easy myself into the dosage to avoid some of the nasty side effects. My brother developed ingrown toenails which I definitely don't want because my job involves me walking around constantly. I'll take 40mg tomorrow because I have the whole day off so I can stay inside if I react badly.

These days I don't want to go outside or show my face to anyone because of how disgusting my skin is. I went out for trivia last night and felt self conscious the entire time. I hate my reflection.

Acne

My acne is getting worse. More inflamed and red. The right side of my face is swollen and tight because of the amount of cysts underneath the skin. I hate how asymmetrical my face is now because of it.

Some the acne is stinging and scabbing. I have to work on Friday so I hope at least the scabs heal by then.

I'm sure it's going to be at least another month of it getting worse before it gets better though. I just hope it isn't painful.

Side effects

• stiffness in neck
• lower back pain
• pain in left side of jaw
• chapped lips
• random aches

Day 28

I'm blogging again today because I have a new routine to report. I was staying at home today so, like my dermatologist recommended, I took 40mg of accutane to see how I would react. I made sure to drink a lot of water today and I felt no more worse side effects than on 20mg. I think this will be my plan:

Next week I'll have 5 days of 20mg and 2 days of 40mg

Then, the week after until I finish I'll have 4 days of 20mg and 3 days of 40mg.

I'm still concerned about side effects, especially hair loss and ingrown toenails. I just can't lose my hair at 22.

I've also decided to take erythromycin for 2 weeks to combat the initial breakout. My brother did a course of erythromycin and prednisone when he first started the accutane so I assume I'll be safe.

I'll take some photos next week sometime to show my progress.

Acne

No worse than yesterday. Some small pimples are appearing on both sides of my face. A regular acne spot under my right eye is starting to swell so I'm afraid another pimple might appear there. My big pimples are starting to harden, peel and flake. Shaving today was a bitch.

Side effects

• stiffness in neck
• extra stiffness and lower back pain
• chapped lips

Day 32

So I've made it through the first month while on accutane. I am slowly increasing my dose until I am alternating daily between 20mg and 40mg. I've heard both positive and negative testimonials about low dose accutane treatment. If anyone has been successful on 20mg and wants to let me know then would be very helpful. My brother went completely clear after just one month of accutane at 40mg so if I will up my dosage to 40mg daily if my breakout last a few more weeks.

I'm worried all the time about my skin. I can't look people directly in the face or feel comfortable around anyone. It's hurting my relationship with my boyfriend and my friends. I know it takes time but is still an awful situation.

Acne

My acne is at the worst it's ever been. I have a few big white heads on my cheeks and jawline. My skin is flushed and itchy. If there's one good thing going for my skin right now is that my white heads are dry, flaky and not very inflamed. Hopefully they dry out entirely..

Side Effects

• stiffness in neck
• dry skin

I am experiencing less side effects lately so I feel a bit safe upping my dose slightly. Like I said though, I'd prefer to stay on a low dose entirely but if my acne remains this bad I will raise my dose and stay there until my acne is gone.

Day 35

So the last few days I've been taking 20mg a day because I don't feel comfortable raising my dose, even though I said in the last post that I was. I've changed my mind and decided to stick to 20mg a day for at least another month to see if my acne lets up. Here's some studies that I've checked out on the matter.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4037971/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16546586

It works both in the men and women around my age according to the studies. It just takes a few months.

Acne

It's pretty bad still. My acne hasn't gotten any worse but it hasn't gotten any better. I've got several active cysts on my face. What is bad though is that the old lumps and marks aren't disappearing at all. My skin is pink and red in places that haven't had an active pimple for a while.

So overall my face has got a few new pimples and a dead skin left over from the old ones.

I'm hoping the flaking is a sign that my skin is shedding and clear skin is around the corner.

Side effects

• Chapped lips

Day 40

I haven't been blogging that much lately because there is nothing that new to report. I am taking 20mg a day still and I am not going to raise the dose any time soon.

Acne

It's slowly getting better. I haven't had a large cyst since my last post. I still am getting pimples but they are smaller and less painful than before. I don't know if this is the accutane or erythromycin. At this rate I should have no acne in a few weeks but I am sure I will get another outbreak soon. My cheeks are still littered with scars and red marks.

Side effects

• slightly chapped lips
• slight stiffness in neck

Day 48

Hopefully after the two month mark I'll see a major improvement because right now I'm having a few good days at a time and then a bad flare up. I'm having doubts about staying on 20mg but I'm going to give it at least three months to see if it's right for me. A few days between this post and this last I only had one active pimple and the rest were healing.

Acne

I have a few new pimples today on both my cheeks. I count two single and a small cluster. They're a little inflamed. Luckily they're not painful but I'm sure they look like it. Old acne is slowly, and I mean slowly, fading.

Side Effects

• chapped lips
• dry mouth
• thirsty

is it worse than before you started?

your pics looks quite good

Day 77

is it worse than before you started?
your pics looks quite good

It's about the same. Not much improvement.

According to studies, my acne should clear up in a few weeks. Right now I'm only taking 0.28mg/kg so it's quite low compared to other treatment. I'm going to give it thirty more days before I up the dose.

Acne

I'm not getting hormonal acne any more along my jaw, it's only cysts that are flat and red on my cheeks, nose and lips. I had a flare up on my temples a few weeks ago.

Side Effects

• chapped lips
• upper back pain
• stiff neck

Day 77 Photos

Here are the photos. I've got some scars and large red marks on my face that I have no idea how to fade.

your face looks good to me. And you know it'll be flawless really soon x

your face looks good to me. And you know it'll be flawless really soon x

Thank you, it's just a bit bruised and beaten since the acne leaves these red marks on my skin for ages. I wish I was as optimistic as you.