Hi, I started at exactly the same time as you (three days ago) and I'm on 20mg too!! I've also experienced joint pain. As for your eyes - honestly, I wouldn't take a break from accutane. It's extremely unlikely that you're doing real damage to your eyes - a bit of soreness can be cured with eye drops. All it is is dryness - you're eyes aren't changing shape or anything like that. AND you're on a low dose. Don't read too much about side effects because it's terrible swallowing the pill every day if you're convinced you're majorly damaging your body. At the end of the day, there are side effects but we're extremely lucky to be on the drug, because it really is the solution. I know how hard it is, I'm the same way and am already convinced I'm gonna lose all my hair, even though that's bullshit because few people experience hair loss. I've just got myself all paranoid + spend way too much time researching it all!

I'm gonna update my log with pics for other people here/myself, but apart from that, I'm gonna try and disconnect from acne. No more browsing online for solutions etc., - accutane is the ultimate solution and we're on it, so let's just go with the flow + not freak out about side effects (because they are scary ughh).Good luck! xx

Hey chicanery!

Thanks for the support  I know I'm probably making a fuss out of it all haha.. But I've been through the whole dry eyes phase for over a year and it was fucking horrible.. eyes truly are the windows of the soul, and when they are bloodshot and dry all the time people just look at you funny.
 

But still we are on quite a low dose so I can't imagine what it would feel like on 60 mg for that matter! 
It's cool we started at the same time, I'll be reading your log too  I'll try to post pictures as well, I've already recorded some videos but just too scared still to put em online, haha.. I shouldn't really have to as we're all in this together of course!
 

By the way, I haven't really noticed any hair loss (well, more than the usual), although if that would happen it'd be pretty scary as well. But it is as you say, we drive ourselves crazy reading about all those side effects. Though I do feel we should still be careful, but I don't have to tell you about that

Anyway, good luck, I'll comment on your blog as well!
xx

Day 4

I just took the fourth pill.
I woke up and my eyes felt quite dry, but not too bad. At least they didn't look bloodshot or anything.

Woke up with a very dry mouth as well, the lips are fine, but I'm just super thirsty! I usually don't drink too much, so I need to get myself into the rhythm of drinking +8 glasses a day.

Skin-wise, it's looking good! My forehead was never a big problem area but it seems to have cleared completely now, still a little oily though. I didn't get any new pimples on my cheeks and jawline, at least not any big ones. Everything is just drying up. I had a couple of big ones that I popped a few days ago, and while normally it takes weeks for these to heal, they have already turned into scabs and some even fell off already (sorry that sounds real gross haha). This must be a sign of the accelerated skin renewal process.

The acne on my chest has reduced quite quickly, Still a lot of clogged pores but almost no whiteheads to be found. My back is just the usual, a few lingering whiteheads here and there.
 

What I struggle most with is the hyperpigmentation. I just don't know what to do about that. Everytime I get a whitehead and it dies, it leaves a big ole red mark that just stays there for months, if not years. Anyway, I can't do nothing about it while on this treatment, so I'll keep on moisturizing and just cover it up.

I will let you know what products I'll use in the next update!

XX

Day 6

My skin, like everything, feels a bit dry. Been moisturizing a lot.

I havent had any new pimples, apart from two very tiny whiteheads that were there because I've been picking the surrounding skin a few days earlier. 

My chest is looking good according to me, the redness has diminished and no new lesions have formed! Same goes for my back, I just have the occasional lingering whitehead here and there. 

My hair feels extremely dry though. Usually the roots become greasy after one day. Right now I haven't washed it in two days and the roots are just as dry as they would be right after washing. The ends feel even more dead and brittle, which concerns me, as I've scheduled an appointment with the hairdresser next week, to dye and cut my hair. Now Im thinking I shouldnt dye it as that will damage my hair even more. Ill just see what the hairdresser has to say about this. I had my last dye done three months ago with the olaplex treatment, and I must say that it really helped battle the dryness that usually comes with dyeing. I'll be washing my hair with conditioner only today to see if that changes anything. 

Anyway, I promised to tell a little bit about the products I use, so here goes. 

I use a few Dutch products as that is where I am from, but I'll include the ingredients of everything so you know exactly what they are and what they do. You might note I use many products for cleansing, but I don't use them all together.

1. Nivea sensitive cleansing wipes.
I use these at night to remove my make up, or in the morning to cleanse my eyes.
Ingredients: 
Aqua, Isopropyl Stearate, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Glycerin, VP/Hexadecene Copolymer, Sodium Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Methylisothiazolinone

2. Garnier micellar cleansing water for sensitive skin. 
This is what I use when I don't have access to cleansers or make up wipes.
Ingredients: 
AQUA/WATER, HEXYLENE GLYCOL, GLYCERIN, DISODIUM COCOAMPHODIACETATE, DISODIUM EDTA, POLOXAMER 184, POLYAMINOPROPYL BIGUANIDE

3. Dr. Van der Hoog clearskin facewash.
This facewash contains salicylic acid and is quite thick and drying (also contains alcohol, quite bad for my rosacea as well). I will continue to use this until the lingering whiteheads and blackheads are gone. 

4. Uncover skincare cleanser (normal/oily skin).
This cleanser is quite gentle and I like it much better than the other one, but it doesnt always remove all the dirt or make up, which is why I always use different cleansing methods.
Ingredients: 
Aqua, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Sodium Lauryl Glucose Carboxylate, Lauryl Glucoside, Sodium Laureth-11 Carboxylate, PEG-150 Distearate, Laureth-7 Citrate, Sodium Chloride, Laureth-10, Methyl Gluceth-20, PEG-4 Rapeseedamide, PEG-200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate, Ethylhexylglycerin, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Caprylyl Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Tetrasodium EDTA.

5. Biodermal mattifying gelcream (oily/combination skin).
This is my only moisturiser now, which I think I need to replace in the future. It does a good job mattifying, but does not keep my skin moist all day. 

6. Lioele cool girl summer cream.
My spf50 sunscreen which I use on top of my moisturiser. It's a good product which doesnt clog my pores. Unfortunately I cant find the ingredients anywhere, but I do still recommend it. 

7. Dr. Van der Hoog covercream.
A covercream which is actually too dark for my skin, but it contains some ingredients which I cant find in any other concealers.

8. Missha M signature real complete bb cream. 
I use this sparingly to cover up my red hyperpigmentation and scars. It contains spf which is great and is not overly drying. I do believe it clogges my pores which is why I only use it on the parts of my face that really need it. The ingredi«nt list is a bit of a shocker, but when you get into the whole asian skincare it Eventually doesnt surprise you anymore. 
Ingredients: 
Water, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Cyclopentasiloxane, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Butylene Glycol, Propanediol, Phenyl Trimethicone, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Arbutin, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Hydrogenated C6-14 Olefin Polymers, Cyclohexasiloxane, Sodium Chloride, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Sorbitan Isostearate, Caprylyl Methicone, Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Sodium Hyaluronate, Mica, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Ozokerite, Sorbitan Olivate, Alumina, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Hexyl Laurate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Aluminum Hydroxide, Stearic Acid, Dimethicone/Methicone Copolymer, Tocopheryl Acetate, Propylene Carbonate, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Lysine, Histidine, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, Threonine, Serine, Glutamic Acid, Proline, Glycine, Alanine, Valine, Methionine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Tyrosine, Phenylalanine, Cysteine, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Squalane, Glycerin, Ceramide 3, Cholesterol, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Stearic Acid, Oleic Acid, Brassica Campestris (Rapeseed) Sterols, Beta-Glucan, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Vigna Radiata Seed Extract, Coix Lacryma-Jobi Ma-yuen Seed Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Punica Granatum Extract, Scrophularia Buergeriana Root Extract, Ganoderma Lucidum (Mushroom) Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Rhus Semialata Gall Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Artemisia Vulgaris Extract, Fragaria Vesca (Strawberry) Fruit Extract, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Extract, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Fruit Extract, Camellia Japonica Flower Extract, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Extract, Linaria Japonica Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Root Extract, Oldenlandia Diffusa Extract, Bambusa Textilis Stem Extract, Iris Ensata Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Water, Prunus Avium (Sweet Cherry) Fruit Extract, Morus Alba Root Extract, Coptis Japonica Root Extract, Acorus Calamus Root Extract, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Fruit Extract, Asarum Sieboldi Root Extract, Angelica Keiskei Leaf/Stem Extract, Psidium Guajava Fruit Extract, Juglans Regia (Walnut) Seed Extract, Prunus Persica (Peach) Fruit Extract, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, Cornus Officinalis Fruit Extract, Luffa Cylindrica Fruit Extract, Bletilla Striata Root Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Lycium Chinense Fruit Extract, Citrus Unshiu Peel Extract, Taraxacum Officinale (Dandelion) Rhizome/Root Extract, Cucurbita Pepo (Pumpkin) Fruit Extract, Salicornia Herbacea Extract, Litchi Chinensis Fruit Extract, Cnidium Officinale Root Extract, Oenanthe Javanica Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Extract, Hordeum Vulgare Leaf Extract, Lecithin, Polysorbate 20, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Copper Tripeptide-1, Echinacea Purpurea Extract, Bacillus/Soybean Ferment Extract, Perilla Ocymoides Leaf Extract, Talc, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Xanthan Gum, Dimethicone, Adenosine, Methicone, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tropolone, 1, 2-Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance

Alright, that's it! Have a great day xx

day 7

fml. Everything was going real great until I had to ruin it all again as always. I had two whiteheads on my left cheek this morning, and one bump on my chin, they weren't even that big... But still, I had to lay my hands on my face and destroy what was there. Of course I never know when to stop, so now Im walking around with a painful red cheek and chin.. I put some cream on top of it all which claims to support the healing function of the skin, but it don't matter, this whole squeezing spree will probably Lead to even more red marks and hyperpigmentation 

Fucking pissed at myself right now. If anyone is reading this.. Do you have any tips to stop picking and popping? Cause it has literally ruined my face. and I can take all the accutane in the world but it's not gonna do jack shit if i cant stop getting myself so worked up about every minor impurity I come across.. 

Edit: Ive included a picture of the cheek I "destroyed" xD. Hopefully I can show you something better in a few days... 

X

day 8

woke up and my eyes, hair and scalpare sooo dry.. I'm gonna skip a few days and see if that has a positive effect on it all.

13 hours ago, DarkenedCloud said:

day 8

woke up and my eyes, hair and scalpare sooo dry.. I'm gonna skip a few days and see if that has a positive effect on it all.

You know you can't just skip Accutane whenever you want, right?

1 hour ago, Andrei11 said:

 

You know you can't just skip Accutane whenever you want, right?

Why not? I mean obviously it's better to be consistent in dose and time. But my derm said that if the side effects were becoming an issue I could take it every other day, instead of every day. 

day 9

my eyes feel alright today, but the hair struggle is real. It's becoming pretty damn dry. So today I just used conditioner only, no shampoo, hope that helps.

Skinwise it seems to be heading towards the right direction. After the picking disaster my cheeks are still red and weird looking, but the rest of my face seems to be doing alright. Did get one big whitehead on the middle of my back, which is pretty weird cause I never really have blemishes there.

The one thing I don't have is chapped lips. Crossing my fingers it stays that way! 

Well ive got to go slather my legs with oil and shea butter  

X

that's odd, never heard of that. good luck with the treatment ;D

thanks Andrei! Yea I don't know if thats really how it's supposed to go down either  but if she says it's ok..

day 10

sadly enough I had a few new bumps on my face. Keep thinking it's the crazy bbcream.

Further nothing new, my eyes are still glued Together when I wake up. 

I dont know much about accutane, but i dont see how skipping a dose WOULDNT make the cycle worse. Thats like any other medication unless its an as needed, right? I would ask maybe some other drs

Hi Exning! I'll go ahead and ask my family dr about it, she might be better educated on the subject, who knows. Anyway my derm said that if I take a pill every other day instead of every day, it would be like taking 10 mg everyday. It's just a way of lowering the daily dose according to her (except you have to take it for a longer period of time that is) which would have less side effects. I'm no expert either, that being said...
 

All in all I'm just not sure accutane is it you know... Obviously it's way too soon to tell! But the dry eye problem is just bothering me, it's something I have been through before and I feel it is either as bad or even worse than having acne. 

I wore my contacts this morning and it was a pain, had to take em out after three hours. And I wear - when I wear them - day contacts, the ones you throw away after one-time use that are made for sensitive eyes. Right now my eyes feel tolerable, but only after putting some optimoist spray on my eyelids and using some lubricating vidisic eyegel. 
My skin is still looking pretty red and some new whiteheads had formed. Obviously I had to pop them  I can be such an idiot at times...
Still, I definitely see improvement on my chest, the pores seem smaller and all the whiteheads are gone. Just some clogged pores now.
 

Something else.. I went to the hairdresser this morning!  What an experience LOL. I had baby highlights set and they used an overall toner to get the yellow out of my hair, after that I had the olaplex treatment which really did save my hair!  It suddenly feels alive and kickin again haha. I also bought the Garnier loving blends hair mask today, which I plan to use two-three times a week.

I really look forward to Christmas and New Year's Eve these days. January 1 is my birthday too, so triple partay yay xD
Only I can't drink with accutane, so that'll be a pretty weird and mindboggling experience. New Year's eve/my birthday is the one day I get waaaay too drunk normally. I better buy myself some fireworks so I can still "have a blast"  
Sorry about that peeps :') 
 

xx

Have you noticed a difference in oil production, or was your skin not that oily to begin with? I feel like once the oil is reduced, I'll stop breaking out, though that probably isn't true! As for drinking, I drank heaviiiiily three days ago + I still plan on drinking on NYE - couldn't do it sober ahaha. The risk is overhyped - it isn't good for your liver but a couple of nights won't really make a difference. Still, it's good that you're disciplined unlike me!  

Hi DarkenedCloud,

Just wanted to say I know EXACTLY how you feel about the dry eyes...I was on Accutane 3 years ago and a month in I experienced extreme dry eyes. Not only did I have red, icky eyes, my eyelid margins swelled..so horrible. I looked like a total freak. I ran to eye drs (went to 3 of them till I finally found one that had experience with Accutane)..He told me it was my decision if I wanted to stay on Accutane or not. He said most of the time a person's eyes will go back to normal after Accutane. What I had against me was my age. I was 45 and he said as you get older your eyes get dryer and dryer. He said unfortunately Accutane doesn't discriminate against what oil glands it destroys, it also dries up the glands in your eyes.

I was only a month in so I decided to stop Accutane..if I was further into the treatment I wld've kept taking. I just couldn't imagine going another 4 months. Just like you I thought I would do anything for clear skin, but when your eyes start getting all wacky its a different story...not sure if anyone can truly understand unless they went through it.

It took me a few months to get my eyes back to where they were comfy..Warm eye soaks, restasis eye drops, and hardly ever wearing makeup got me back . With that said I often wonder what would've happened if I just stuck it through. I only gave it a few days of trying drops, etc while on Accutane. I've read soooo many threads here where a person is suffering bad dry eye and pushed through it with drops and taking care of their eyes. and were absolutely fine. I don't want to scare you off Accutane bc I truly believe it is a miracle drug. I always double guessed my decision.

I'm on spironolactone now for 1 year and 3 months. I'm very happy with the results. Ironically my dry eye has returned and have a feeling its due to the spiro. It has been manageable but I truly hope it doesn't get worse.

Hopefully we will get through our dry eye problems bc it really sucks!!

This must be day 14...

I can't check for you guys right now cause I don't have the pack near me. In case it wasnt clear, I count only the days on which I take accutane. 

I have been taking accutane with sometimes one or two days between each pill. I've found that the side effects have become pretty minor this way, theyre not as bothersome as in the beginning! 

I feel my skin is doing great. Sure, it's still red and frigging dry, but the amount of active acne has reduced so rapidly, it's unbelievable.. I just find it really hard not to pick, which is why I have a lot of redness that otherwise wouldnt have been there. But it is getting better, sometimes there are days on which I don't have to pick cause there literally is nothing there (whiteheads I mean)! 

About the sideeffects:

My hair is still dry, but I think the answer to this is to invest in regular hairdresser visits. I am someone who normally gets her hair done every four months or so, so I need to do this much more often. Also, I don't wash it every other day now, but like two times a week. And I just use shampoo very briefly, for like 10 seconds max. I use a conditioner or hair mask which I leave in for 5 minutes. This for now has minimized the damage. 

My eyes feel dry on waking , but nothing too extreme. This is everyday, the eyelids are stuck together then. I just rub them a bit and clean them with make up wipes. The rest of the day they tend to feel fine, although I havent had my contacts in for a few days so I Can't really comment on how that goes. I havent used eyedrops in a few days as well cause I didn't have to. 

Lips started to become quite dry too. 

I included two pictures so you can see the progress. 

chicanery:

my pre-accutane skin was kind of dry and oily at the same time mostly dry though, especially compared to what ive seen with most people with acne.

My forehead was definitely oily, because it would start to shine two hours after washing. Only I hardly ever broke out on my forehead, even though my hand would be greasy if I touched it. 

My cheeks and jawline, my problem areas so to say, always had combination skin. Sometimes dry and sometimes "normal" (never so oily that it would shine abnormally).

I think the biggest problem is that the skin in this area is just too thick or whatever, and my skin has trouble regulating the sebum in a normal way. I ended up having a lot of clogged pores that I just couldn't leave be, causing everything to become inflamed. Ive picked and popped since the day I got acne, 10 years ago. Everyone with acne knows you can get trapped easily in a routine of picking and popping, and then covering it up with makeup, while it is just getting worse and worse and worse everyday. This is the circle ive been in for years and which Im now slowly trying to break. 

Now everything is becoming increasingly dry, and also just less inflamed. So I do think that having less oil / sebum leads to having less chances for your skin to develop acne, as the bacteria have nothing to live on then. 

I really do hope that this works the same way for you as well!

As for the drinking, I don't have that much discipline haha.. I just don't handle it very well in general, get drunk easily, forget about my limits and always ending up barfing and feeling like crap the next day xD so I figure it can only get worse if I do it with the accutane. Thats my motivation not to do it haha  

shadylee:

Thanks for dropping by! 

It really breaks my heart to hear what youve been through but at the same time it also feels good to know im not alone..

I have only used the stuff for two weeks and I just hope it won't progress to anything worse than what it is now. As I said in my earlier post, it does give me some relief to take the pills a couple of times per week instead of every day. So maybe it's just a problem based on the dosage? 

Im glad to hear that spironolactone is working for your acne! But at the same time it might be affecting your eyes, that just sucks. It's so awful that we cant seem to find something that works for acne and does not harm the eyes. When your eyes look red and bloodshot and they feel like hell all the time, that I feel is actually worse than having acne. Because people see it and unlike acne, they ALWAYS comment on it.. "oh you probably had a long night!" "you should go to the doctor, your eyes look infected" "were you crying" ARRGH!!! No this is just how they look damn it

Yes it's very frustrating.. Anyway, I hope things will get better for you and that the spiro isn't affecting your eyes!i will keep track of everything Accutane/eye related, and keep you informed about the progress 🙂

so I counted the pills I've taken so far and it is day 12now xD

I guess I got a little mixed up about it a few days ago. It does show how powerful this drug is, it hasnt even been two weeks.

Everything is dry. My skin on my face is shedding constantly, pretty gross. My eyes were horribly red today, but I think this was due to getting very little sleep last night. The skin on my chest hasnt been this clear in at least a year..

I hope my face will soon get as clear as my chest is right now. I used a bit of argan oil to combat the dryness, hope I won't have to regret that decision tomorrow.

Day 14

skin is starting to look better. Everyday, I can use less and less make up to cover up the redness because there arent as many active zits and clogged pores. I hope the red marks and scars fade just as quickly. 

Still very dry though, everything is actually. Continuously thirsty and I wake up with a stuffed nose and eyes that seem glued Together. I can't really wear my contacts for longer than a few hours. 

I did drink alcohol about 3 days in a row. First night I had 4 drinks, second just 2 and the third night I think I had 2 again. We're talking beers only. 

I did not have a hangover nor did I experience anything I would say was unusual. I must say, I tried not to take the accutane pills on the day I drank. I took one on december 30 and the other one january 2 (I didn't think I was going to drink that day, but had a surprise party). So theres that. Im not a heavy drinker, but it's good to know I won't die from one beer. 

Here are some pics of my progress :

Xxx 

Skin is looking really good, so happy for you!!

Thanks! 😀

update May 13th 

Hi everyone! I havent posted anything for quite a while, so I wanted to give you an update on how my skin is doing! 

First of all, I take an extremely low dose. Sometimes I only take accutane once or twice a week (20 mgs). This is because the side effects became unbearable to me when I took them every day. I was really tired and sad all the time and my eyes became so dry I couldn't even open them in the morning.

The side effects im having now are very chapped lips, some dry patches on my face, tiredness, dry legs, dry eyes and really dry hair. I would say that the hair and the lips are most annoying. My hair looks like an exploded poodle if I don't put cream, mousse or oil in it, and my lips hurt all the time.

BUT my skin is CLEAR , I have no more acne!!! I do suffer from redness, which I Already did before starting Accutane. I was diagnosed with rosacea before I started the medication. Actually, Accutane helped my rosacea! I have only had one hot flash during the months I was taking tane. Which is so much better than having them every single week. The only thing that has become clear to me now is that the redness which I always thought were previous acne scars, are actually broken capillaries. Probably from all the tanning without sun screen. I am to get them laser treated once im done with Accutane and have the money for it. 

I also have added a few "lovely" pictures for you guys of my skin

Take care!!  
 

update 10/1/16

After an entire summer of not taking accutane, this is how my skin looks. 
I quit because I felt my skin  looked good enough, and my hair became too dry. 
Nothing much changed after I stopped taking the accutane, except for my forehead becoming a little oilier again and my eyes also regained their moisture back a little. 
However, I did notice a few blackheads coming up again so I started taking the leftover pills from before the summer, see where that takes me. 
Accutane has helped my skin tremendously and has also given me my self condidence back. I wouldnt recommend it to just anyone because of the side effects, but I feel that taking the extreme low dose that I did the side effects were manageable. 

Looking good!!!