Happy Friday!
Starting Accutane in a couple of weeks. I am 25, female, 130lbs.I thought I would outline my struggle with acne so far(seriously, I am OUTLINING it, I could write pages about this) ...so let me backtrack....
I had your typical teenager acne, with plenty of tiny inflamed whiteheads mainly on my forehead. A trip to the derm and some low dose Retin-A and problem solved! From about 14-19 my face was mostly clear, with very few spots around that time of the month and a few blackheads, mostly on my T-zone. I felt the need to cover them up, so I bit the bullet and decided I should invest in some high quality foundation. Bad BAD choice. I bought the BareMinerals original makeup ("makeup so pure, you can sleep in it") and well, here we are.
I don't know why I never noticed this, but before I knew it, every single pore on my face was clogged. I had blackheads, zits, and milia all over my face. Another trip to the derm later got me set up on a combo treatment of oral antibiotics and Adapalene. I was about 22 then. I used this for about a year and didn't notice a difference with the clogged pores, but the zits that I sporadically got went away. My derm and I decided to have me wean off of the oral antibiotic as it was really upsetting my stomach. Worst mistake ever. The hormonal acne came back, this time in cysts on my chin and cheeks. The derm told me this wasn't a permanent fix anyway, just masks the problem while you're on it.
About a year ago, as I was preparing myself to be married, I went to the derm again and he recommended Accutane. I was scared of taking it at the time so I went through a course of Adapalene, followed by Retin-A, followed by Tazorac. Nothing, NOTHING worked. In April of last year I had laser resurfacing, hoping to shrink the pores a bit. No changes. Basically threw my money away. I was so stressed and depressed over my acne as my wedding approached that the acne got worse. My face had never looked worse on the day of my wedding. Thank God for professional makeup, but I felt so self-conscious the entire day. I made it a point to seek professional help again as soon as I returned to the States (I got married outside the country and spent a couple months away planning my wedding). In early September I went to see a dermatologist in LA who told me the most effective option for me was Accutane. A couple of weeks later I went in for my first set of blood tests and everything was fine. I will be posting pics and updates of my Accutane course as I derived much info and reassurance from all of the posts on this site. I hope my story does the same for all the folks out there struggling with stubborn adult comedonal acne. I will be starting on 10/23 and will post soon after!
Quick update...had my blood work done on Tuesday morning and will begin treatment this Friday, I have a derm appt tomorrow!
I am extremely embarrassed to put these up but I have honestly never seen a case like mine and I hope it benefits anyone who is struggling with aggressive comedonal acne. Here are my before pictures, with no makeup...mostly blackheads with a few whiteheads and cysts...
Thank you Shadylee!
leelowe1, I am a compulsive picker lol, but as of today, my first day on Accutane, I have made the difficult decision to stop. I have read Accutane makes your skin suuuper sensitive so I don't want to cause any more damage!
Quick update:
I went to see my derm yesterday afternoon. Long commute as I live in Bakersfield and he is in LA. Anyway, He put me on 40MG per day of Absorica, which I read is one of the most effective forms of Accutane as it doesn't require a fatty meal to go along with the pill. Blood tests came back great! I went on iPledge right after my appointment, filled out their questionnaire, and picked up my one month supply right away. Super easy. Today is my first dose! Day 1, no issues so far. I have a follow up appointment scheduled on 11/20 to get my next 30 day supply. Stay posted! I will be traveling next week so I will have another update when I return 
Quick update...Day 4
I am noticing some of my blackheads are turning really black, last night I was washing my face and one huge blackhead just fell out. It was actually kind of exciting. So far only one headache (I don't think it was related to the medication) and no dryness whatsoever.
Hoping to see progress soon!
Hello there!! Quick update, I had my blood work done yesterday morning for my one month appointment Friday afternoon. no major side effects other than getting a cold, which I'm not sure is related. And the dry lips. Sucks. Anyway, I took a few pics this morning. Over the last month I broke out, a LOT. A couple cysts that went away in a couple of days and a huge amount of pimples, mostly in my cheeks and jawline area. Patches of my skin feel really rough and blackheads are slowly coming to the surface, dried up. Skin is not oily at all anymore! Not as much progress as I would have liked to see but it is the first month so things should get better!! I am starting to see tiny patches of clear skin which is great, keeping me hopeful.
Update:
had my 1 month derm appt two weeks ago on Friday, derm bumped me up to 60mg. No changes in facial skin dryness, but now my hands are drying out big time. 
no major side effects. Blood test results were perfect! I have had a couple of infections and a bit of joint soreness (not pain) but that might have been attributed to my stressful thanksgiving weekend. Anyway, so far so good. My skin is definitely looking smoother. Still very red and bumpy around my chin area but my cheeks feel so much smoother. However, I haven't noticed much change since the doc bumped me up to 60mg. I'm assuming it might take a bit to kick in.
Quick update! Sorry it's been so long.
I I had my two month check in appointment a couple weeks back. Still on 60mg for this month with the option of bumping me up to 80mg. Progress is slllooooowwwww. Only side effect is the dry lips. They are starting to bleed from how dry they are. Nothing, I mean NOTHING keeps them moist. Anyway, here are some pics!
Good morning!! Quick update...had my derm appointment this past Tuesday. 3 more months! Doc days everything is great with my blood work, only side effects are those dry lips!!! Switched my lip balm and it seems to have helped. Still on 60mg for the time being. Here are my progress pics!
Hy there.. It's my 5 th day of accutane .40 mg per day. I have mild acne but lots of clogged pores and recently I have been noticing tiny little bumps like sand on my cheek. It's more like white heads. Anyone suffering from such problem.am so frustrated with this acne .cant even go to work (
3 hours ago, kngonzalez411 said:Yes! I have my 4th month appointment on Friday
I'll update progress pics then!! Definitely happy with the results so far
Hey there! You seem to be reacting to accutane crazy well. I honestly wish I had results that fast. I'm currently on my fourth month and I still have a lot of blackheads and hyperpigmentation. I'm actually quite curious as to what you use for a moisturizer/cleanser, what's your daily regimen? If you could share that would be extremely helpful! Thank you!! And good luck!