Finally starting accutane! After becoming immune to minocycline after 7 months and trying the strongest creams my deem decided it was time for accutane. My acne is mild/moderate right now but gets a lot worse without the cream. I am 16 years old 140 pounds and starting on 30mg once a day for the first month. Ive been on erythromycin for 3 the last three weeks and have definitely seen improvement on my forehead but lots of stuff is piping up on my cheeks under my eyes on both sides of my nose and I want to just go on accutane now apposed to 7 months from now when I build up immunity again. Hopefully those 3 weeks of erythromycin will help prevent/reduce any initial outbreak. A little nervous about going on Zenatane as it seems pretty new and seems like not many people have used it but I guess its all the same except for maybe absorica.
Day 2: probably gonna update weekly for the most part but kinda had two things I wanted to say. Felt a little nauseous this morning, not sure if it was accutane related or not but it was not very bad and not a problem. Also noticed two new white heads on my left temple and one on my right. 
Also not sure if that was accutane related but I think it was probably just because I've stopped using the creams, my temples have been unusually oily and have been really bad the last few weeks. O ya on a side note i did feel a little extra oily today too. I looked in the mirror at school and it looked like i was sweating with some of my hair sticking to the very top of my forehead (I know very disgusting). It probably looked pretty strange too considering it was 24 degrees here in new england this morning. Seems like I picked the perfect time to start accutane with all this cold dry weather coming in but it seems like my face always gets more oily in the winter to combat the dryness, therefore resulting in much more acne. Ive already been putting on Chapstick constantly for the last week just because of the weather. So I guess there was a lot more to write about than I originally intended lol. Just hope a possible IB can wait until after friday.
Hey man! Good luck with your journey! just power through the first month, it'll probably be the worst part, at least it was for me but you're taking an antibiotic too so it might not be so bad. Just a tip, try to not count the days that you're on accutane, try to ignore that you're even on it or the day's will seem to take FOREVER to pass lol
Week 1:Gonna start updating weekly from now on. My oiliness was extremely bad first 5 days but recently its been more under control, probably about 10% better than when I started. As for acne little to report. Ive gotten 3 cysts on my forehead since I started but they only really last about 3 days until they are completely gone. I think my forehead is seeing slight improvement with the oil decrease these last two days but my right cheek is breaking out a tiny bit and causing some stingy red marks. As for side effects I am starting to feel the dryness in my lips and nose a little but my lips barely feel dry as I've been very good about using chapstick so far. I also usually get a lot more nosebleeds than the average person when the cold weather comes around and friday I got 3 which is a new daily record for me. Overall I think I've been responding well so far and hope the trend continues.
week 2: Haven't taken my 14th pill yet today but wanted to type this up now while I have the time. Overall not much of an initial breakout but not much of an improvement either. I hope that if I haven't gotten an IB two weeks in that I won't get one at all. My chest and back started breaking out a little around day 10 but it was not too bad. Hopefully that won't spread to my face. My face is about 75% less oily than when I started but not yet completely "dry". Have a lot of really stingy closed comedones on my forehead, which have gotten worse if anything. Cheeks broke out a little first few days but I can tell they feel smoother than when I started and acne is starting to flatten out. It seems as tho any new bumps or pimples I get are gone within 3 or 4 days but everything I had before starting is still sticking around. Overall, I think I see a slight reduction in inflammation but other than that not too much improvement,t but I can tell it is starting to work. As for side effects Ive only gotten 2 more nosebleeds this week and my lips are really drying out now. My face isn't dry and flakey but my forehead skin does feels tighter and my scalp is getting itchy. Really hoping for some good improvements soon but hey its only been two weeks, gotta be patient.
week 3: Wow! My skin improved so much this week it was incredible. I could see noticeable improvements everyday. If my skin keeps improving at this rate then aside from a lot of red marks it will only be a few more weeks until I have no active acne. As for side effects its mostly just been dry lips and some minor back aches my skin sometimes feels dry after showers but I've barely used moisturizer so far as I am fine if I use it every few days. Ive been focusing so much of my life on my acne for so long and I think I really need to work on just being myself again and accutane is definitely helping me get there. Im not really sure if anyone is following this log but I will try to make an effort to keep checking back in. Even though my struggle for acne isn't over yet, I think this is the start of the end (knock on wood).
so far accutane has greatly changed my life for the better and I am very thankful. My first dermatology checkup since starting accutane will be on thursday.
week 4: This post is a day late but skin improved not as drastically as last week but I guess theres less that needs improving right now than before. Skin is mostly flat probably 80%. Temples still have some small bumps and a tiny bit of closed comedones in center of forehead that come and go. my cheeks have some red marks so nothing I can do about those for now but overall they are a lot flatter. Skin starting to become flakey, especially on cheeks, moisturizer is a must before bed. I am experiencing pretty much no oiliness at all during the day which feels soooooo nice. I will be Bumping up to 60mg tmwr assuming bloodwork is ok.
Week 5:little to report. Cheeks still the same plus a few new friends kinda frustrating as they aren't really improving at all temples have not really improved either. Forehead has improved, there is little there now besides a slightly red blotch in the center of my forehead from all the acne I've had there over the years, however it is not that bad you can't even see it in most lighting and prob wouldnt notice unless you looked for it. chest and back have both started improving significantly this week too.
Ive been taking picture to keep personal progress some days i look and the mirror and just wanna punch the walls and feel so hopeless and then other days I feel like my face looks great and I get really happy but then on say a "bad day" I look back at pictures that were taken just a few days before on a "good day" and it looks exactly the same lol. Feel like I'm slowly losing my mind.
Week 6: Have been breaking out lately with 4 new spots on my forehead and 3 on my cheeks Not too bad but still discouraging. Cheeks are a little better mostly flat buti can tell they scarred up now. Temples also improving they seemed to be awfully red with clusters of pimples before I started but they seem to be disappearing with minimal scarring. I think the breakout is caused by upping my dosage. Hopefully they will stop soon because I only really broke out for the second week after starting and this is the end of my second week of upping my dosage. Side effects are just dry lips, sometimes flakey dry cheeks, and achey back.
Overall a little frustrated last two weeks but still looking better than before I started so can't complain.
Edit: So its one day into week 6 and woke up with 4 pretty nasty pimples on my left cheek.ugh fml.
if my skin is not too dry can I use tazorac (A retina-a) while on 60mg of accutane? My cheeks are just getting so many god damn red marks and tazorac has worked wonders for me in the past. This breakout sucks¦ my skin was 95% flat but now I can feel bumps that went down a lot slowly rising back up. UGH 
Week 8.5: Sorry haven't posted in a while. Tazorac was a bad idea lol only used it for one day and it dryed my skin way too much. Out of pills at the moment and my appointment is in two days so hopefully this little break doesn't affect anything. Overall skin is almost completely flat with usually about 2new actives every week that only stay for 3 or 4 days each so not bad at all. still have lots of red marks and flat acne on cheeks and temples but can't complain for these results after only 2 months. Also my forehead is now completely clear of all closed comedones and stuff so even tho I'm more concerned about my cheeks its still a nice little victory for me.
about week 11 (day 80maybe?):Not much change overall since last update. Body acne is almost 100% clear but i never really had much to begin with. Cheeks are really sticking strong but now that I've cleared up on forehead and body it must only be a matter of time. still would consider my overall facial acne moderate, but not its more on the moderate/mild side of things rather than the moderate severe side. no symptoms other than dry lips and skin but its not bad at all. My next derm appointment is in 9 days. Very excited as that is my halfway point. junior prom is also in about 3 months so I'm very excited to have clear skin for that (fingers crossed). Before accutane I felt like i was doomed to have acne forever. Still not happy with my current skin condition but so far accutane has been a huge Lifechanger!
week 12.5: Just had my deem appointment. Have not broken out at all for 2 weeks now. NOT A SINGLE SPOT. Pretty exciting. Skin still looks like crap from so much redness and scarring everywhere but I guess it won't really get any worse than it is which is nice. Just need to finish up these next 3 months so i can start working on those red marks.
On January 22, 2016 at 10:08 PM, ColorCereal said:What are you planning to do for your red marks?
idrk know yet, probably just let them heal on their own. They are more pink than dark red/purple so I'm hoping that means they aren't too bad. I might go on tazorac cuz i have a tube left over and it worked great for me before. I have had only 1 new active in 3 weeks so I think the live acne is pretty much over. I also can't stress moisturizing enough, I was letting my face dry out a lot to dry out acne but since i haven't had any actives I've been moisturizing a lot and my skin redness and irritation has definitely gone down. Plus, your skin needs moisture to heal, if its dry its just gonna take forever to heal, sorta like how a scab takes forever to heal, whereas the tongue has a lot of moisture and cuts heal up in no time.
On February 2, 2016 at 10:04 PM, ColorCereal said:I am about to complete my 3 months on Zenatane and i have not seen any improvements at all, in fact i see more pimples! i feel so hopeless now
Ive probably read hundreds of posts on here and trust me everyone reacts to it different. Im starting month four and have no actives, although my skin really doesn't look all too good cuz of these red marks all over anyways. However it seems as my reaction speed has been relatively fast compared to other logs, my deem seems a little surprised too. What dose are you on anyways? I'm going on 80mg rn for my fourth month and I'm not that big for a guy 150 pounds 5 feet 8 inches.But anyways trust me just stick with it and it will be worth it in the end. Good Luck!!!
I'm actually on 80 mg right now -_____- I will ask her to increase my dose, although I don't know if that's safe but I'm so desperate. It has been improving but ITS TAKING FOREVER. I've read that some people didn't start to show improvement till the very last month. Crazy stuff
On 2/12/2016 at 8:55 PM, ColorCereal said:I'm actually on 80 mg right now -_____- I will ask her to increase my dose, although I don't know if that's safe but I'm so desperate. It has been improving but ITS TAKING FOREVER. I've read that some people didn't start to show improvement till the very last month. Crazy stuff
Patience is key just gotta stick with it. havnt had any new actives in 3 weels but Im moving up to 80mg this month just to make sure ive really killed my acne.
On February 21, 2016 at 1:59 AM, ColorCereal said:I am on 100 now but the breakouts have definitely decreased, not gonna lie. It's just the marks that are really bad for me. Maybe I'll try tretinoin after the accutane I heard that's good for marks
tretinoin worked wonders for my marks when antibiotics were still keeping me clear. Sorry for late responses I've noticed as my acne gets better and better i come here less and less. Its been about a full month with not a single new active and trust me accutane is a miracle drug. My confidence and overall happiness have skyrocketed compared to what they were 4 months ago and my skin still isn't 100% clear. Cant wait for life with no acne or marks at all. People with naturally clear skin don't know just how lucky they are! Keep pushing through and good luck on your journey!
By the way,completely forgot but i have now been 17 for over a month Cant change the title but its whatever. Justthought I should just throw it out there for anyone who reads this that I am no longer 16.
On February 28, 2016 at 6:23 PM, gman2 said:tretinoin worked wonders for my marks when antibiotics were still keeping me clear. Sorry for late responses I've noticed as my acne gets better and better i come here less and less. Its been about a full month with not a single new active and trust me accutane is a miracle drug. My confidence and overall happiness have skyrocketed compared to what they were 4 months ago and my skin still isn't 100% clear. Cant wait for life with no acne or marks at all. People with naturally clear skin don't know just how lucky they are! Keep pushing through and good luck on your journey!By the way,completely forgot but i have now been 17 for over a month Cant change the title but its whatever. Justthought I should just throw it out there for anyone who reads this that I am no longer 16.
hahahha, i come here less often due to clearer skin as well! i have not had an active pimple in maybe a month but the marks are very problematic.
So it's been about 3.5 months post accutane and just wanted to do a little update. Definitely much more confident and especially more outgoing with girls which is nice haha. All side effects disappeared within a month of finishing. I decided to post today because, after 3.5 months, I got my first inflamed pimple today. Kinda makes me nervous of a relapse but I guess I'll see what happens it's just one pimple. Anyone know of any post accutane treatments they use to keep acne away? My skin isn't oily like it used to be but it isn't dry anymore either so I think it's about time I start using topicals again. I have some prescription benzoyl peroxide and tretinoin but they are both expired. Does proactive work at all? I feel like it's just one of those tv products that never works but a few of my friends use it but only for really mild acne.