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Accutane update- weird side effects?

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(@olive16)

Posted : 03/13/2016 5:24 pm

Hey everyone.
So I've been on Accutane now since January 21st, 60mg/day. Up until pretty recently I've had the usual side effects, which started only days into treatment. I had dry lips and a dry face with minor muscle and bone pain (on and off). It was manageable. Now, the dry lips are extremely bad, which I know is also expected but oh man does it hurt. It feels like my lips are burning off my face. They're peeling and cracking and bleeding like crazy and are so swollen. This BAD dryness started about 1.5-2 weeks ago and is getting worse by the day. One corner of my lips is just a painful and ugly scab that extends pretty far onto my face. 
In addition to this, and this is where the strange possible side effects come in, I have broken out in what looks to be a rash all over my arms and the back of my neck. I thought it was heat rash since i went on vacation, but I've been back for 4 days and it's gotten worse. When I scratch it, my scratch marks are bright red and don't fade. It looks terrible.
Finally, I am developing a stye in my eye which I've never had before. My lower right eyelid is swollen in the corner and hurts a lot to even blink. Has anyone else gotten styes from Accutane? How do I treat/prevent them?
I'm just nervous because all of these strange things popped up all at once and my lips got so much worse then too.
Please let me know what you all think and share any experiences/tips. Thanks :)

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89
(@wittysock)

Posted : 03/14/2016 4:33 pm

I think having an itchy rash is pretty common. If it doesn't go away then you could look for a cream or lotion designed for eczema sufferers which might help, or some people can get prescription creams from their doctor. Did you accidentally catch the sun while on vacation?
Don't know anything about getting a stye on accutane, sorry!
Several people have recommended Dr Dan's cortibalm as the only thing that has really helped their lips.
Good luck! Hope you're feeling less under attack soon :)

Jepb liked
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MemberMember
5
(@olive16)

Posted : 03/15/2016 7:26 pm

Thank you for the reply :) The rash is fading slightly and my lips are getting better too! Also my eye doesn't hurt anymore, though it is still a little swollen. I have a feeling this whole journey is just going to be full of ups and downs!

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(@skinnytoad)

Posted : 03/18/2016 6:08 am

Hey thank you!
This morning out of no where my right eye has swollen. I don't have a stye as far as I can see but as this isn't something I was previously warned about on side effects I'm a bit concerned. Grateful to you for posting about this as perhaps it's not a big deal. I'm going to see how I am in a few hours. Has your swelling eased?

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(@olive16)

Posted : 03/19/2016 7:57 pm

SkinnyToad, my swelling has completely gone away luckily! I noticed when i first started Accutane back at the end of January my eyelids were really swollen for a few days. That went away too! How are you doing now??

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(@fudgesicle87)

Posted : 03/20/2016 6:11 am

Sties are definitely a side effect of accutane! My doctor's advice: As soon as you start to feel one coming on, take a hot damp cloth and hold it on your eye. When it gets cool, heat it up again. Do that a few times a day for about five minutes and it will keep it away.

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MemberMember
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(@olive16)

Posted : 03/20/2016 3:56 pm

Fudgesicle87 thank you very much for the advice and reassurance that I'm not imagining things! And good timing because I think I'm in the early stages of getting ANOTHER stye. The other one did end up going away though so hopefully this one will too. Thanks again!

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