21 year old male
Moderate/severe acne for years
30 mg Absorica
Day 1:
Took the pill last night, woke up feeling great. Face was a little itchy throughout the day but nothing unbearable. Lips are fine, no other side effects
Days 2-4:
No changes
Day 5:
A few big pimples I had have dried up and shrunk dramatically. Still no side effects to report, face is feeling tighter but trying to stay away from moisturizer as much as I can, don't want to over saturate my face, as the whole point of the meds is to dry you out
Day 6:
Redness continues to go down, with a few pimples coming to a head. I've tried not popping them, instead I'll take a very hot bath in hopes that the steam with push them all out (and so far it's been working!!). Lips are much more chapped than yesterday, good thing I have some Chapstick!
Day 7:
Side effects have really started to kick in, skin feels itchy and dry all the time!! Need to reapply Chapstick every hour or so. 3-4 whiteheads have popped up since last night, so I feel the dreaded IB might be starting to show up
Week 1 summary: just general dryness. No joint or muscle aches, no headaches or nosebleeds, pimples would appear then be gone a day or two later
I was on 20mg Absorica my first month, 60mg the 2nd, and starting my 3rd month on 60. Still having a bad IB, but I blame my derm because she didn't tell me until last week that I had to take it with a high fat meal or it will just go right through me, so that sucks.... Are you taking yours morning or night? She told me to take both at night now with a big high fat meal and I am DEF noticing a huge difference now, skin is so much dryer... which is a good sign. Good luck
Nevermind it clearly says Day 1 and you took it at night. ha!
I was on 20mg Absorica my first month, 60mg the 2nd, and starting my 3rd month on 60. Still having a bad IB, but I blame my derm because she didn't tell me until last week that I had to take it with a high fat meal or it will just go right through me, so that sucks.... Are you taking yours morning or night? She told me to take both at night now with a big high fat meal and I am DEF noticing a huge difference now, skin is so much dryer... which is a good sign. Good luck
Nevermind it clearly says Day 1 and you took it at night. ha!
That's strange, Absorica is different from the other generics in that it DOESN'T require a fatty meal to be absorbed (hence the name). I'm still going to take mine with fatty foods like peanut butter, avocados or nuts, but that shouldn't be required on Absorica.
I was on 20mg Absorica my first month, 60mg the 2nd, and starting my 3rd month on 60. Still having a bad IB, but I blame my derm because she didn't tell me until last week that I had to take it with a high fat meal or it will just go right through me, so that sucks.... Are you taking yours morning or night? She told me to take both at night now with a big high fat meal and I am DEF noticing a huge difference now, skin is so much dryer... which is a good sign. Good luck
Nevermind it clearly says Day 1 and you took it at night. ha!
That's strange, Absorica is different from the other generics in that it DOESN'T require a fatty meal to be absorbed (hence the name). I'm still going to take mine with fatty foods like peanut butter, avocados or nuts, but that shouldn't be required on Absorica.
I know! That's what I thought, but I truly do see a difference and it's working a hell of a lot better and FASTER now.. I thought the IB would never end. Today when I woke up I definitely saw a difference.
Almost finished with week 2! Sorry I haven't posted all week, but here are my updates:
More dry skin, I can really feel my jaw flaking and getting drier
Drier lips, Chapstick is a need at this point, not a want
Very very mild headaches, not even worth taking Advil for
More whiteheads, I assume this is the initial breakout, and if it is, I am not worried. I was expecting monstrous cysts and boils everywhere but so far just a spot here and there, sometimes 2-3
Day 17: argh, this IB is in full effect. I wake up with 3-4 new whiteheads everyday but they seem to go away in about a day or two. I have been good and NOT popped any of them, but they are annoying and unsightly. A patch of redness that I've had long before Accutane is now gone, so at least a little bit of good news staying positive and hanging in there!
Day 23: I think the IB is over, thankfully. I haven't had a new pimple in about 3 days, and the ones I have are becoming less and less red and flattening out! My blackheads are still popping up to the surface and pushing themselves out. My skin is not as dry anymore but my lips are still extremely chapped.
Day 34:
its my 4th day on my increased dose (30 first month to 60 now), and my side effects are more obvious. Having to apply Chapstick 8-9 times a day, skin is very dry, more headaches than before, and I'm starting to break out again I know that when you increase doses, you break out again so I'm hoping this passes quick and I can start to clear up soon
Day 57:
My face has finally stopped purging itself. The left side seems to be flattening out very quickly and the right side is a little less red. Just got 2 new whiteheads though, so we're not there yet! My derm upped my dose to 70mg/day, which is my ideal dose (I weigh 68kg).
Day 69:
My IB is FINALLY over. It lasted about 6 weeks and I was almost ready to give up on Accutane, but I'm so happy I didn't!! I currently have no actives on my face, my skin is incredibly smooth and I'm just left with lots of red marks. If I get a pimple or two I won't be disappointed, given what I've just gone through (having 15+ at a time everyday), but I hope I've finally turned that corner and its on to clear skin! Side effects are still the same, extremely dry lips, rashes on my arms, aches in my knees and ankles, fatigue, flaky skin and the occasional headache. I know it sounds like a lot to go through, but to me it's entirely worth it!
Day 79:
90% clear!! I still have a cyst on my cheek and a spot on my forehead, but other than that, my face feels remarkably smooth to the touch and I can't keep my hands off it!! I still have lots of red marks (no scars, just PIH), but they're fading. I still have 3 months to go but I'm extremely happy with the results at this point side effects are still the same, and the dry skin has actually intensified.. Ive had to use a baby's hair brush to get the dead skin off my face at night (gross I know). Derm visit next Tuesday, I'll update with anything new!
Day 87:
More progress on my red marks, though they are still very noticeable and there's a lot of them. However, very few actives on my face (none on my body but that was never an issue). I had a huuuge whitehead and a few cysts in the past week, but compared to what I've been through over the last 3 months, I'm not worried about it. The right side of my face has improved GREATLY, and redness continues to go down. At this rate, my right cheek should be 100% clear of any redness in the next few months. My left cheek is a little behind my right in terms of healing, but it's progressing nicely. Side effects are still the same, dry lips dry skin blah blah blah.
Had my derm visit on Tuesday and she bumped me up to 80mg (was on 70). She says that I should be done by the end of January (5 months total), but we'll see. The side effects are definitely notgoing to make me quit this drug, not with how far I've come. Bring it on Accutane!!
Day 119:
All is great! Haven't had more than 1 or 2pimples on my entire facein about 2 weeks. Everything is clear right now, but I may still get a couple. My blackheads are STILL continuing to purge (how deep down are these things?!) but they'll be gone soon. Side effects still suck and the back pain has become more noticeable on 80mg/day.
My derm gave me another prescription for 80mg, which I'm fine with. She said at least one more month, then we'll see where we are after that! After my 5th month I'll be at 9600mg total, which is about 144mg/kg for me
Day 128:
Month 5 has been amazing so far. I've had one pimple, but my red marks have been disappearing like magic! I didn't think they'd go away until I was off Accutane, but no. My skin looks better and better by the day, so much so that I don't even think about it anymore will definitely finish the pills and possibly even a 6th month to make sure acne stays in the past!!