Finally going on Accutane (Myorisan) after years of hoping my acne would get better on its own!
I am 36 years old female who seriously thought my acne would just get better as time went on, boy was I wrong! I had acne in junior high/high school but nothing severe, i would get a pimple here or there and it was usually my fault; not washing my face, touching my face with dirty hands, etc. etc.
But when I got put on birth control shot Depo when i was in my late teens/early 20's that's when the cystic acne happened. It was awful. I got those big, ugly, painful ones that would practically ooze if I yawned. I'm embarrassed & ashamed just thinking about it...
Queue the doctor (regular doctor), got antibiotics, changed soap and any OTC "remedy" i could get my hands on. It took awhile but the acne settled down & I didn't have that deformed face (couldn't see my jaw line or cheekbones) anymore but I had cystic acne that just lingered. I have a few along my jaw line that NEVER went away, they are just there. I held it at bay but there were times it came back with a vengeance. Whiteheads, more cystic acne that would take weeks to go down or flatten. Just awful.... This went on for years. Quite literally tried everything from ProActive to the most potent OTC topicals i could find. Tried different birth control to no birth control. Nothing worked. Even tried Tretinoin & was told if this doesn't cure your acne, nothing would.... didn't work after 5 months.
My skin is super, super, super, super oily. To the point after applying my foundation, it would literally slide off my face within a couple of hours. Constantly blotting & redoing my makeup. No way in heck could i wear liquid foundation, had to use power foundation. To get the coverage i needed...even with BareMinerals...i was so shiny by 8am, 2 hours after i put it on. I like to do makeup, i enjoy experimenting but nothing would stop the shine. Primers didn't work. Tried mineral eye shadow by noon it was creased & looked horrid. SIGH.
Finally got tired of spending money & wasting time trying to do tackle my acne on my own, it was time to go to the dermatologist, a real dermatologist. Queue the dermatologist.
Wonderful doctor with the most amazing skin I've ever seen on someone 40+! She asked questions on my history with acne, blahblahblah. I wasn't expecting her to recommend Accutane but i really wasn't sure what she would recommend. Totally reassured me, they (doctors) know so much more about side effects, the mood swings, so i felt at ease about it. She told me the dosage would be low & slow which studies have found to have a more lasting effect and the side effects aren't BAM! AWFUL! So I had to take the pregnancy test that day and given slip to go get blood drawn, they don't go it there and was told to do the whole 30 day wait. She did give me some antibiotics to help clear up the acne i had, she said to help with purging...i had no idea what she was talking about hahaaa. Started the paperwork of the ipledge program.. wowza! Intense!
Also she wanted me to come back & do a mircodermabrasion treatment & extract the acne i had. OMG! the extracting was awful & wonderful. They "popped" all my acne, those big ones i had forever, hurt! The astethician said she popped over 40, i about cried. I didn't realize how bad my acne was. So of course my face looked HORRID afterwards. But i trusted the doctor and within a week or 2 my face really cleared up...then BAM! cystic acne came back. By this time i was chomping at the bit to start Accutane. Longest 30 days of my life!
Finally the day of my appointment! Go in, do pregnancy test (negative). Do more of the ipledge stuff. Get my prescription for Accutane called into pharmacy. Told not to use anything for acne treatment just Cetaphil & a moisturizer. Had to go online fill out more iplege stuff - pharmacy needed my ipledge card before they could fill prescription. Sheesh!
I will say i watched about every YouTube video out there, the good, the bad, the horrific & terrifying just to get an idea of what was in store for me. There weren't many that were for someone over 30, hence i decided to document my journey. Also what products worked for me & what didn't and hopefully some tips.
Day 1 - Day 26
Started 03/02/16 - 40mg - Once a day
Did not see any side effects till day 6 - lips felt dry/burning & i got super thirsty. not sure if its the start of my inital breakout but i got 5 or 6 white heads & some cystic acne on my neck and they hurt.~joy~
Day7 - woke up lips were fine but did cake on the Carmex at bedtime. about 10 am lips felt a little dry / little burning. back hurts a little bit. took some ibp. still thristy. still have breakouts.
Day8 - Noticeable more dryness (yay!) not as many whiteheads but still have some. the cystic acne on my lower jaw/neck area doesn't seem to hurt as bad today. hope this is the first & only wave of initial breakout but i fear it isn't. lips felt a little tingly this morning. got some aquafor (sp?) will probably use it at night. makeup lasted almost all day - 1-2pm! I've never had that happen. Nose is super dry - got Vaseline & nasal spray at work. still thirsty!
DAY9 - FELT SOME DRYNESS WHEN I FIRST WOKE UP~ LIPS WERE OK FROM ALL THE AQUA-FOR I PUT ON THEM WHEN I WENT TO BED. AROUND 8AM MY FACE STARTED TO FEEL TIGHT, DRY TIGHT. my eyes are super dry. chugged 34 oz of water before i even left for work. going to have to moisturize tonight. did start using the cetaphil for face wash this morning! so glad i did! went to Ulta after work (forgot how wonderful that store is) got some rosebud salve lip balm - absolutley love it! & more moisturizing shampoo. $9! is all i spent! Did order some first aid beauty online..next day shipping. dry! but so much better than oil. a sacrifice i will endure to get rid of this acne.
Day10-19- No real change. Same ol same ol. I am starting to notice a gradual dryness coming on. But still oily - just not as oily. Still got the shine! Still purging (ugh!) but it is mostly focused on my neck, jaw line; basically from upper lip down. I've had 2 pimples break that barrier, one on my NOSE, like for the whole world to see, whitehead to boot! & one almost between my eyebrows! Seriously!! lol. The one thing I'm starting to notice is they come & go way way quicker than before. The one by my eyebrow was big ugly cystic acne; popped up Friday 3/18 by Monday 3/21 its already going away! My jaw line tho is another story...thats where its the worst & its the cystic acne. Big, ugly, painful. Those seem to be hanging around, haven't really gone down or flattened out. I do have a cluster right side, chin area. Several whiteheads that are drying out, getting flaky. Have to put some mositurizer on it & then it looks better. But definitely not putting moisturizer on my whole face...i just cant... still oily...goes against everything I've ever done for 20+ years.. Been watching YouTube videos, some people had acne way worse than me & it just breaks my heart!
Day20 - Can it be??! I'm not oily and i'm not super dry.... is this what "normal skin" is like? If it is, its heaven!!!!!!!!!! I've been wondering when this day would come! No new acne so thats pretty awesome. Still got the big ones on my jawline and the one by my eyebrows is just fading away. Starting to see some flakiness around the muzzle (heard some one reference that on a Youtube video & loved it) area, not bad, probably not real noticeable to anyone but me. Back of my hands feel a little sand papery, a few flaky spots. Also my hair isn't as oily, its....fluffy. Hard to describe, products i have been using seem to work better, Probably cause the oil isn't there to weigh it all down. Have started using a leave in conditioner...so foreign to me! lol
So today i didn't use as much hair product (shocking for anyone who knows me!) to see what it looks like tomorrow. I did put on some mineral eye shadow to see how long it will take before it creases from my oily skin....
But so far its been 4+ hours since i did my makeup & i see a smidgen of shine, nothing really bad. I'm super excited but i know i will cross over to the desert land soon enough. Getting ready for that, been moisturizing at night before bed, got a humidifier going in the bedroom. Keep applying lip stuff. Lips are definitely leaning towards the drier side, still got that wind burnt/burning feel to them. Hard not to be excited for the less oily side, keep thinking BAM! I'm going back to super super oily.... To me, maintaining dry skin would be easier than oily. When you can wipe the back of your hand across your forehead and it comes away glistening....ugh. I will definitely update tomorrow the makeup status!
DAY 21- Drier & drier i become! Noticed the first signs of flakiness on my nose last night after washing my face. My makeup lasted all day - a little oily at the end of the day but nothing a little blot would have gotten rid of. This morning, my hair was slightly oily not real bad but bad enough to need to wash my hair. I noticed some little bumps on the back of hands and on my lower legs, not itchy just bumpy.... My eyes are still dry - no way can i wear my contacts. which is ok will save $$$ in the long run. i do so much computer work, its better to wear my glasses. MY LIPS AREN'T CHAPPED OR PEELING - THEY ARE DRY, VERY DRY, UNCOMFORTABLE WITHOUT SOMETHING ON THEM.
DAY22 - I GOT FLAKINESS! Mostly chin area but its there! Doing my best not to pick off the flakes...kinda hard. The unicorn pimple i had, it got to the point of being all scabby & the scab just fell off while washing my face. Even tho i was super gentle it just fell off. it looks a lot better, definitely faster healing time. I do have a couple more cystic ones on my jaw line - little guys. still got the 2 big guys on my jaw line and the big guy on my neck...
Switched to a creamer foundation & it looks a lot better. may have to shelf the mineral powder. Lips more dry today & my hands but the cold/snow may be to blame.
DAY23 - Skin about the same from yesterday, if not a little better & a little worse. Better cause i went & bought the First Aid Beauty Face Wash & its AMAZING!!!!!! Perfect amount of moisturizing & effectiveness of getting the makeup off. I did wash with Cetaphil first to get most of the makeup off just cause i have it & i'm leery about using face wipes..maybe once my skin clears up more. Also bought the Bite Agave Lip Mask i heard so much about on YouTube, $26 but totally worth it. Put it on before bed & this morning, lips felt amazing!!!!!! Brought it to work to see how it will do during the day, i put some of the Rosebud Salve on top...we'll see. On both products, a little goes a long way so to me very much worth the $50! Skin worse cause i have a few breakouts but i think its from the creamy foundation i used, so i did the BareMinerals today, i do use a lot less makeup 
Still putting lotion at bedtime, so i'm doing pretty good... cant wait for dr appt & they up my dosage... maybe lol
DAY24: Pretty much the same, nothing new EXCEPT the unicorn is gone. Still have a scab & its all dry around it but the cyst is gone. Took a week. The big guys on my jaw line seem smaller but it could just be wishful thinking. The big one on my neck is still there, big as ever! I must say the Aguava Lip Mask & FAB Face Wash are making my life easier! Glad i found them now instead of being miserable.
My face is so soft now especially my forehead - no pimples there! very little oil accumulates during the day or night. I had a few small pimples/blackheads show up on right cheek, face seems kinda bumpy there. With all of this being said, its not horrible, i'm not embarrassed about going out in public. It was obvious pre-accutane i had acne, i'm not fooling anyone, i know my acne would be so much worse if i didn't go on accutane. Whats coming thru is what would have happened sooner or later. The concoction of the Bite Agave Lip Mask and Rosebud Salve lasted almost all day - i even brushed my teeth in that time-frame!
Day25&26: I am just loving the dryness!! I ventured to not wash my hair Sunday morning & it looked just fine all day, even into the evening! I did get new shampoo - just the Suave brand with Moroccan oil & its wonderful! I may totally embrace this new dry hair & cut my hair. So much more bounce & life! Doesn't get oily to weigh it down.
Also got Aveeno body wash - fragrance free. I think i'm going to go that route, so hopefully i wont get the burn others have mentioned on YouTube. I started noticing i was getting itchy...