Hey guys!
Im Trevor, I'm 20, and this is my first day on accutane.
I've been struggling with acne for the past three years. Both Doxy and Mino cleared up my skin for a couple of months, but my acne slowly came back after growing intolerant to the antibiotics. I went into the dermatology office today and was actually a little surprised when she offered a course of accutane. My acne is moderate. It affects every aspect of my life--from the minute I wake up to the minute I put my head down on my pillow at night. I consider myself to be a fairly attractive guy, (that's pretty much all I have going for me).. so when I break out as badly as I have been it's truly devastating. I spend 15-30 minutes every morning covering my acne up with foundation, all while trying to make it look like I don't wear makeup. I touch it up 4-5 times a day. I don't leave the house without cover up, I don't let my partner see me with out it (I try to hide the fact that I wear it), and I don't do any sort of physical activity in front of other people that might bring attention to my face. I don't go into bright rooms, I don't go swimming, and I canceled a vacation I had planned in Dember to Cancun because of how awful I felt about my appearance. I'm ready to take this step!
--
I'll attach photos of what my face looks like as of right now, and what it looked like the last time it was clear. (I model, so it has made that aspect of my life especially hard to deal with.)
Night of Day 2
My doctor advised me to start of taking one 40 mg pill a day for a week, and then transition to two pills a day to help ease the transition into the side effects. As usual, I'm a little impatient... so tomorrow morning I'm going to start taking both pills -- one in the morning, one in the evening.
Ive experienced 4-5 new zits just in the past day; however I'm unsure if that's the result of the two pills I've taken or if it's just my shitty skin doing what it does best. I'm definitely nervous about the IB, and I'm worried about the impact it will have on my self esteem and my relationship. My partner has crystal clear skin (wouldn't you know ), so naturally I've felt extremely self conscious around him as of late. It's a new relationship (4 months), so I'm not quite comfortable with the way I look or with how things might be when the side effects and the initial breakout kick in. I guess time will tell!
I do have a few questions, for anyone reading this who might have answers.
1. How hard is it to wear makeup whilst experiencing the dryness that comes with? Am I going to have to go bareface?
2. What products are you using on your face in the evening after you wash your face?
3. The wait for clear skin already feels agonizingly long and painful, and it's only been two days. What do you do to motivate yourself? How do you keep your head up and your self esteem from plummeting? I'm honestly terrified.
1. You definitely don't have to go bareface, but it can be tricky sometimes. You have to moisturize really well in order for your foundation to look good. I sometimes get dry patches after a couple of hours of wearing foundation. Just make sure your skin is always hydrated.
2. I wash my face only with water and after that put an Uriage cream. Uriage products are meant for people with sensitive and dry skin. You're not supposed to use any acne products
3. My biggest concern was the initial breakout, I was so scared of it that I was even having second thoughts about taking Accutane, but I kept telling myself that I'd rather suffer 3 weeks of initial breakout than the next couple of years of acne. I just keep telling myself everyday exactly after I take Accutane pills that it'll get better every day 
and in a couple of weeks you'll realise that time really flies 
Day 4
I just took my morning pill about 2 hours ago. The condition of my acne hasn't worsened or gotten any better; however I think I might be noticing some side effects? The skin on my arms and torso seems to be unusually dry, and I've been feeling some back pain in the last day or so. I'm unsure if this is realated to the Accutane or if it's because I worked out a little harder than usual at the gym the other day. I guess time will tell. I will keep this updated with any new developments.
Day 5
My lips are dryer than the Sahara Dessert.
My whole body is just really... dry. Dryer than dry. I don't know if I'm just experiencing the side effects earlier than most do, but most of the forums I've read haven't mentioned being as dry as I am this early on. Yikes. My existing zits have scabbed over (let me tell you how beautiful that looks).. which is something they never do. I noticed a few new breakouts when I washed my face tonight, but not many.
