Notifications
Clear all

My Accutane Photo LOG-Road to clear skin.

MemberMember
13
(@naimur97)

Posted : 02/19/2016 8:22 am

Post as of 18/02/2016
Hello folks,

I am 18(5'8"and weigh 65 kg)and of Southeast Asian-American descent.After battling with acne for over five years,I finally got accutane!You can think that my acne isn't bad enough to start accutane,but the real reason for starting the drug is that I'm extremely prone to scarring(whether I pick or not),even from whiteheads!I have also got body acne-nothing bad but quite extensive.Another thing that bothers me is that the scars also have Post Inflammatory Erythema(PIE) which seems to stay forever.I do also happen to have PIH at patches.
 I've apparently exhausted all possible anti-acne antibiotics and topicals and after fighting with mild-moderate acne for five years I'm finally here able to take accutane.My daily dosage of accutane has been adjudged to 50 mg a day-30 mg in the morning and 20 mg at night.
BTW-I'll be taking ROACCUTANE since I'm outside the USA.
I'll be uploading pictures weekly and when I'll have a bad breakout or a noticeable improvement.I hope that I don't get the initial breakout.WISH ME LUCK!

Below are some before pictures.As you can see,my acne is mainly cystic and all of them cause scarring.56c713e345b87_frontwithflash.thumb.jpg.7front with flash56c713ef9273b_frontwithoutflash.thumb.jpfront without flash56c713fdc4ca5_leftwithflash.thumb.jpg.67left with flash56c7140916dc8_leftwithoutflash.thumb.jpgleft without flash56c7141788017_rightwithflash.thumb.jpg.bright with flash56c714233f8b9_rightwithoutflash.thumb.jp56c714233f8b9_rightwithoutflash.thumb.jpright without flash 

Quote
MemberMember
13
(@naimur97)

Posted : 02/22/2016 1:33 am

19/02/2016-Took my first pills in the morning.Had a minor headache in the evening(I get migraines every now and then).Would be foolish of me to expect anything so soon,even the side effects!
20/02/2016-Nothing special.Same oily skin and the same numbers of spots
21/02/2016-Woke up with 4 minor pimples-Just papules and pustules-but painful.Dabbed them with some 4% Benzoyl Peroxide.My doctor also suggested simultaneous use of Benzoyl Peroxide 2.5% wash,which caused some irritation today.

Quote
MemberMember
13
(@naimur97)

Posted : 03/17/2016 10:11 am

17/03/16
Day 28-Experiencing some bad skin peeling for the past two weeks.So I quit BP wash and have been using topical BP 4% for spot treatment only.+NO OILY SKIN.The skin flaking sort of ruined my texture as my face have got dark and white patches all over it.
A nodular pimple grew under my nose four days ago and it's hurting now.It's not big,just about the size of a pencil eraser(the one at the back of a pencil).It's very firm and swollen.As far as the initial breakout is concerned,there's nothing for meuntil now.Just some minor spots here and there.Just hoping I don't get any.
Thought of taking some pictures but didn't feel like it since I hate seeing myself in the mirror these days because of the peeling skin and the red tint my skin has got now.

Quote
MemberMember
13
(@naimur97)

Posted : 03/28/2016 11:11 am

28/03/16
Day 39-Still continuing with 50 mg on month two. Derm didn't up my dosage.Three new pimples grew on my left cheek yesterday,just above the jawline.These are those weird pimples that I get every now and then.They remain hard and painful for days before they come to a head and pops(but not like those very deep nodules).Can't really say if they are actual cysts or extreme form of pustular acne.I will not say this is an initial breakout because there aren't a lot of them.Maybe the frequency of getting spots have increased because I stopped antibiotics two months ago(Doxycycline made me clear for the first time in life).But still the number of pimples I get a month has greatly reduced.
Flaky skin has improved a lot but now I've got an orange peel texture.Chapped lips still there.No noticeable hair loss. No other side effects.
Praying that I don't have an IB and accutane clears me for life since for me pimple=scars no matter what!

Quote
MemberMember
13
(@naimur97)

Posted : 03/31/2016 10:27 am

31/03/2016
DAY 42- Cysts still there.I thought this wasn't a IB but I might be wrong.As people say,Initial breakout is no worse than my worst ever breakout.And I can say that my worst ever breakout was when I got 4 cysts in a matter of week on last June followed by 6 more cysts in the next two months.And this month I already got 3 cysts and two pustules in a matter of 14 days.My forehead's breaking out a little.Just whiteheads and papules. No new spots on the right side,just old indented erythematous scars and residual acne marks.

Since my log doesn't get a lot of attention,I'm sure no one's gonna answer but if you see this can you please answer how long does cysts take to heal while on accutane? I found that they heal a little quicker if they burst open by themselves,although it's quite bad.My nodular pimple underneath my nose has decreased loads in size.No pain or swelling.But a little bump is still there and it's been 16 days(it did pop on it's own while I was asleep but most of the gunk stayed in).
ONE other thing I noticed this month is that I have hypertrophic scars.I had these bumps for a long time and suspected they were raised scars.But now I'm positive they are actually hypertrophic scars.You can see them on my left cheek,the raised white colored ones with a little shade of red. 
Gathered some courage to take some photos and decided to post a couple of them.
Cheers!

56fd3eea7bc35_leftday41.thumb.jpg.ab50a7LEFT20160330_185011.thumb.jpg.4f988d6d4daf69left56fd3f1ca762d_rightday41.thumb.jpg.5b949RIGHT

Quote
MemberMember
23
(@tranceaddict)

Posted : 03/31/2016 11:16 am

Hey man, I'm on day 35 and I am still breaking out in cysts which I normally do not get. My worst ever breakout was about 2 weeks ago and It was worse than anything I had before. I'm finding that it takes about a week for the cyst to heal if I don't pop it or touch it. Maybe even a bit longer. Try not to pop any of them as it will just lead to more down the road. I know it's hard, but leave them be! 

Good luck with your course :) 

Naimur97 liked
Quote
MemberMember
13
(@naimur97)

Posted : 04/07/2016 7:20 am

On 3/31/2016 at 10:16 PM, tranceaddict said:

Hey man, I'm on day 35 and I am still breaking out in cysts which I normally do not get. My worst ever breakout was about 2 weeks ago and It was worse than anything I had before. I'm finding that it takes about a week for the cyst to heal if I don't pop it or touch it. Maybe even a bit longer. Try not to pop any of them as it will just lead to more down the road. I know it's hard, but leave them be! 

Good luck with your course :) 

Thanks for the good wishes and advice.
Hope that accutane cures us for life.Good luck on your course too and let us try to keep each other updated.

Quote
MemberMember
13
(@naimur97)

Posted : 04/07/2016 10:52 am

07/04/2016
DAY 42-Cysts on the left cheek have dried up quite nicely though with little scars.One more cyst appeared on my right cheek 4 days ago and I can feel a little on forming under my nose.
One weird thing i noticed is some my indented scars became red and turned hard,like those hypertrophic scars.
REDNESS and red marks still there along with some discolorations.

Quote
MemberMember
13
(@naimur97)

Posted : 04/28/2016 1:35 pm

AS OF
25/04/16-
DAY 67

PICTURES BELOW
AREAS OF INDENTED SCARRING ARE CIRCLED.THE RED SPOTS ARE POST INFLAMMATORY ERYTHEMA AND THE RAISED ONES ARE HYPERTROPHIC SCARS(though not quite apparent
)

left.jpg

right.jpg

Quote
MemberMember
13
(@naimur97)

Posted : 05/08/2016 10:20 am

08/05/2016
DAY 80
- I was away from the site for sometime due to my SAT. It really sucks for not being in America,travelling from one country to another,and not being able to take the SAT when I was supposed to.
Still going on 50 mg day.Maybe I'll be bumped to 60 mg on my next visit.The nodule under my nose which appeared on early April is shrinking slowly.Among new spots,another nodule grew beside my left ear.Actually,it is a not a new spot.I had this lump like zit for a long time( probably it first appeared at early 2015.Though it became smaller and painless but never went away) and last week I kinda messed with with(prodded and scratched).It then took the shape of a nodule in the following days.However,it seems like it has started to die down.
Getting some randomwhiteheadsand pustules too.Back has improved a lot(almost 75%-80%).
One weird thing which I had noticed is,my face has started to get a little oily these days,unlike the first two and a half months.Had some issues with my pharmacy.They were out of 10 mg Roaccutane pills and when they got them for me it turned out that the new pills are manufactured in a different country(Turkey) and are cheaper than the old ones(German made).So it got me thinking if these new pills are somewhat less effective or FAKE! If that's the case,it's gonna be real bummer.I might be short of my recommend course and might have to take it again(even worse)!

Quote
MemberMember
13
(@naimur97)

Posted : 05/11/2016 10:13 am

DAY 83-NO noticeable breakout or any major zit.Still on 50 mg.Weird thing is my skin started to get oily,especially the T zone,unlike the first two months.
CAN ACCUTANE CAUSE SCARRING?
The answer,in my opinion is it may or may not!
I know may people say picking and popping during accutane leads to severe scarring.But leaving them alone might not.But In my case,I got scar from excessive skin peeling during the end of 1st month and early 2nd month.Maybe it was my fault since I wasn't moisturizing properly.The skin peeled in large chunks and the peeled areas are now sunken.The redness(supposedly from healing) is making it look even worse.Do note that I was using BPO as advised by my derm untill I noticed the excessive peeling.
Below are some recent pics under overhead lighting(not harsh).Though the angles are a little revealing but these photos perfectly demonstrates my current condition.Though breakout frequencies has reduced quite a bit but to be honest overall skin texture looks a lot worse than what I started with(post inflammatory erythema-PIE,hyperpigmentation-PIH,orange peel texture and a lot of scars).
Right cheek's the worst with countless depressed scars and one hypertrophic scar on top of a indented scar(weird).Left cheek has got some little indents but one large and one small hypertrophic scar.Whenever I see my scars in harsh lightings,I feel like cutting my head off.I'm Hoping that accutane cures my acne forever.Or else it's gonna be more scars for me.HOPING MY RIGHT CHEEKS LOOKS BETTER ONCE THE REDNESS IS GONE.
Pictures Below.Readers can comapre the photos with the one's I posted in this thread before I started accutane.1.jpgRight-Tonnes of residual red marks,erythema,depressed scarring and one hypertrophic scar.
left.jpgleft-considerably less depressed scars and marks but two hypertrophic scars.
forehead.jpgForehead-The clearest(in terms of  scars and marks) with two zits

Quote
MemberMember
13
(@naimur97)

Posted : 05/19/2016 4:22 am

Shit! I guess i am experiencing a very rare side affect of accutane-Bronchospasm.Had some pain first at the center of my chest and now having difficulty breathing.
P.S-I used to have asthma.

Quote
MemberMember
13
(@naimur97)

Posted : 05/22/2016 5:22 am

False red alert! I was in the E.R friday night since I thought I was having an heart attack.But it turns out that I was just having a bad gastric related pain in my chest and my back.E.C.G was fine.I just need a couple of injections to reduce my pain.
Boy,I was so frightened.

Quote
MemberMember
13
(@naimur97)

Posted : 06/12/2016 10:19 am

DAY 115-BEEN ON 60 MG a day since 25/05/16
The last 20 days or so have been quite depressing for me.It's not because of my acne but other stuffs. have been stressing about my red hypertrophic scars too much,especially because my skin is finally clearing and I'm still stuck with around 5 spots that resemble mainlined cysts.

That's not the end.The accutane stories in this website is so depressing(at least the vast majority of it).ALMOST EVERYONE who went through an accutane course reported that their acne returned(some stated their acne returned shortly after to the similar severity while others went on to say that though their acne returned after about a year or so,it was moderate,i.e-manageable through topical and antibiotics.)
If acne returns after accutane I really don;t know what I'll do.I am already at my wit's end with tonnes of scarring.I won't mind if the acne is mild( I swear)but I doubt I'll be sane if acne returns to the same severity.
ACNE PROGRESS-NO new inflamed lesions(though I get whiteheads every now and then).Last cyst I had was on 11th may( a month ago).
BODY ACNE cleared up nice-about 80%.I'll be hoping to convince my derm to allow me to stay on accutane till i reach over 160mg/kg of body weight since some doctors at realself.com claims that the higher the cumulative dosage the greater the chance of long term-remission.
I'm feeling really down.

Quote
MemberMember
5
(@arandomdude)

Posted : 06/13/2016 1:24 pm

i'm in the same boat as you, just started mostly because of scarring issues. Hang in there bud.

Naimur97 liked
Quote