greenbanana 5 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Hi! So i started Accutane 4 weeks ago. I was started on 20mg for the first 3.5 weeks alongside 1600mg of E-Mycin (antibiotic). I had the WORST initial breakout just after week 1 and it's still there. Lucky me. I am now on 40mg. I haven't really experienced many side effects other than dry lips and a little back pain. My face is now starting to dry out a little and scab. I'll keep this updated as much as i can. Would really love to hear from anyone, it's been really hard! Especially with this initial breakout. Below are week by week pictures. Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 WEEK 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbanana 5 Author Share Posted January 1, 2016 Week 5 lips feel more dry, got a bit of dermatitis on one of my arms, small bit of flaking on my chin and forehead, cheeks look flushed. Still feel like I'm not seeing any improvement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkonmoveforward 2 Share Posted January 1, 2016 I'm going through the IB now also. My Derm told she expects it to start getting better when she ups my dosage from 40mg to 60mg. We shall see....I wish you the best with your treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbanana 5 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 Week 6 Really not much change at all. Still barely any dryness other than lips. Every time I thought it was getting a little better, a few more actives came up. I really thought there would be at least a little improvement by now. But it still looks worse than before accutane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbanana 5 Author Share Posted January 15, 2016 Week 7 Really no change at all. Lips are the only things that is dry. No other dryness. Going to see derm today and really hoping he will up my dosage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbanana 5 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 Week 8 last Friday he increased my dosage to 50mg which is the maximum for my body weight. He also decreased my Antibiotics from 4 to 2 a day. My body seems a lot dryer, not so much my face. Lips still very dry. Only one active right now. Really hoping these fade soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbanana 5 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 Cheeks seem pretty flat at the moment, no cystic acne. The red marks are just still so visible it makes it look awful. Anyone know is there a way to fade these? I'm only 2 months into my course, will accutane help fade them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jones4545 38 Share Posted January 28, 2016 I think time is the only thing that helps, my red marks have been more visible while on accutane. I think it is just part of how the drug works, it irritates the skin. It will go away in time, trust me. COngratz on being clear!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbanana 5 Author Share Posted January 29, 2016 Week 9 Really no change at all. No extra dryness. No cystic acne at the moment, all pretty flat but still so red which makes it look worse Haven't moisturised face at all since I've been on Accutane- haven't needed to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbanana 5 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 Week 10 Not feeling anything different than week 9. No cystic acne at the moment, all pretty flat. Just those red marks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jones4545 38 Share Posted February 12, 2016 you look great! why the frown face??!!?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbanana 5 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 Week 11 Finally think I'm starting to see some change. Have been applying calamine religiously to the red marks and it seems to be helping the fade a little. Anyone have any other suggestions? Also keeping very hydrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColorCereal 1 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Wow your face is looking great!! Which brand of accutane are you on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadylee 93 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Your skin looks amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbanana 5 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 On 12 February 2016 at 2:47 PM, ColorCereal said: Wow your face is looking great!! Which brand of accutane are you on? the brand i'm on is Isotretinoin i think :) Will post all the weeks photos that i've missed on friday which will be week 16. Unfortunately lately i've been having really bad side effects and everything looks so much worse. Still no actives, but the red marks have quadrupled in size at the moment and i've had incredibly bad flushing, burning, itching, etc. So last week dropped from 50mg to 40mg for a week. And saw my dermatologist this morning and i've now dropped down to 10mg per day which should keep everything in check and also help with the red marks hopefully I still have a box of 20mg left- do you guys think that taking 20 mg every second day is the same as taking 10mg every day?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbanana 5 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 Also discovered yesterday that i was taking a multi-vitamin the whole time i've been on Accutane that has Vitamin A in it. My derm says that could be a contributing factor to everything that's been going on All of my side effects have been a shock to him really haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamond98 53 Share Posted March 15, 2016 21 hours ago, greenbanana said: the brand i'm on is Isotretinoin i think Will post all the weeks photos that i've missed on friday which will be week 16. Unfortunately lately i've been having really bad side effects and everything looks so much worse. Still no actives, but the red marks have quadrupled in size at the moment and i've had incredibly bad flushing, burning, itching, etc. So last week dropped from 50mg to 40mg for a week. And saw my dermatologist this morning and i've now dropped down to 10mg per day which should keep everything in check and also help with the red marks hopefully I still have a box of 20mg left- do you guys think that taking 20 mg every second day is the same as taking 10mg every day?? My dermo prescribed 20mg daily for my first month, but my insurance wouldn't allow the purchase of 20mg tablets. Instead, my derm told me to take one 40mg tablet every other day and it should be the same as taking 20mg daily. Couldn't find anything online about it, but I'll take his word for it on that one. By the way your face looks great, you have definitely made some serious progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbanana 5 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 17 minutes ago, Diamond98 said: 21 hours ago, greenbanana said: the brand i'm on is Isotretinoin i think Will post all the weeks photos that i've missed on friday which will be week 16. Unfortunately lately i've been having really bad side effects and everything looks so much worse. Still no actives, but the red marks have quadrupled in size at the moment and i've had incredibly bad flushing, burning, itching, etc. So last week dropped from 50mg to 40mg for a week. And saw my dermatologist this morning and i've now dropped down to 10mg per day which should keep everything in check and also help with the red marks hopefully I still have a box of 20mg left- do you guys think that taking 20 mg every second day is the same as taking 10mg every day?? My dermo prescribed 20mg daily for my first month, but my insurance wouldn't allow the purchase of 20mg tablets. Instead, my derm told me to take one 40mg tablet every other day and it should be the same as taking 20mg daily. Couldn't find anything online about it, but I'll take his word for it on that one. By the way your face looks great, you have definitely made some serious progress! Thank you! Unfortunately it's not looking like that anymore- had a really severe episode of flushing etc last week and now everything is really inflamed all the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamond98 53 Share Posted March 15, 2016 7 minutes ago, greenbanana said: Thank you! Unfortunately it's not looking like that anymore- had a really severe episode of flushing etc last week and now everything is really inflamed all the time I'm sure you look fantastic, you have very pretty eyes! I too feel flushed now, especially when I go from one temperature controlled room to another room with a different temperature. Makes school pretty harsh, as each of my classrooms have different temperatures and switching rooms suddenly makes my face trip over itself and get all red. Stay positive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leicagirl 1 Share Posted March 16, 2016 It looks like you'll heal beautifully. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbanana 5 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 Week 12 Week 13 Week 14 Week 15 AND THEN this episode happened.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen23 19 Share Posted March 17, 2016 hey the red marks are definitely red, but it's awesome that you don't seem to have had any actives for a few weeks now. at least your skin can start to heal now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbanana 5 Author Share Posted March 17, 2016 Week 16 Still no actives. Reduced from 50mg to 10mg for a few days. Hopefully that'll make a difference to the red marks too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamond98 53 Share Posted March 18, 2016 (edited) Wow! Your face really looks so much better from the last picture! I'm having some issues with redness too, what did you do/use to calm it? Edited March 18, 2016 by Diamond98 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbanana 5 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 22 minutes ago, Diamond98 said: Wow! Your face really looks so much better from the last picture! I'm having some issues with redness too, what did you do/use to calm it? Thank you! was really freaking out after that last picture. Came out of nowhere The only thing i did differently was stop taking my multi-vitamin and reduce the dosage of accutane from 50mg to 10mg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
