Hello everybody, my name is Georgie and I'm looking for some help!
First of all a bit of information about me. I have struggled with acne from when I was about 12, I've never had soft skin like all the other girls, I have freckles and I had never really liked my skin. I can remember my sister having bad spots and me always boasting about how I never got any, how wrong I was. Around year 10/11 at school (age 15/16 ish) things started to get bad, I had hundred of pimples under the skin and never had a single day without a spot, and still haven't had one since. I started a new school for sixth form (boarding school) and ever since being there things got from bad to worse. It covered my entire face, spots on every pore, I felt awful. I'm not aloud to wear make-up at my school so I could do nothing to hide it! It got to the stage after being teased about my skin and being the only girl with awful skin like this, that I had had enough. I had tried everything prescribed by the GP, 3 types of antibiotic, duac, epiduo, contraceptive pills, everything! I went to the doctor and he referred me to the dermatologist.

The first trip she decided I should be put on Accutane, my back was particularly bad at this stage! I went for my blood tests and came back a month later, and I was given 20mg a day. I was a little surprised as I had been reading posts on here about people on dosages like 60mg twice a day! However I gave it a go. The first month saw my skin worsen to the worst it has ever been, huge cysts around my mouth which turned into awful scabs which lasted weeks. I hated it. My lips looked awful and my skin was horribly dry. The initial breakout died down within a few weeks and I went back a month later for my review. I had also developed angular cheilitis around my mouth by the dry chapped lips which looked awful. I did ask for the dosage to be increase as I saw no difference in my skin at all and was so unbelievably desperate for it to improve I was willing to face the side effects, if they were going to do something, which I felt at 20mg a day, was going to do nothing! She told me people could be on it for years, how that boosted my confidence... However, she gave me an emollient and said to use it on my lips, and told me to use Cetaphil.

I came home last Friday (it is now Sunday) and bought the Cetaphil Cleanser and Moisturising Lotion. The first few days using this my skin felt incredible, it was finally working! However this week it seems to be declining gain and I'm loosing hope! I feel like I am facing the side effects of depression a little and it's putting a strain on my relationship, however he is extremely caring and knows that I need to clear my skin before I have any confidence in myself! I don't have any photographs of my skin when it was bad but I will have a look.

Has anyone been on 20mg a day and their skin cleared up? I was quite a lot at around 70kg. Any advice?

The photographs attached show, my skin after my initial breakout (the best it's been) and my back before starting Accutane.