hey there anyone who is interested, PS IF YOURE ONLY HERE TO READ ABOUT SECOND COURSE AND NOT MY STORY WITH ACCUTANE SKIP A FEW PARAGRAPHS
this is basically my story with accutane (or roaccutane... the isotretinoid oral pill, it's got different names in other countries but y'all will know what I'm talking about). I may also add, I'm a 17 year old male who is 60-ish kg and 6 ft 1 (i know, i know).

To begin with, i never had REALLY bad cystic acne, but i sure as hell had a heck of a lot of pimples. I started when I was 15, and i don't really remember how long it took to see results. but that's not why i'm writing this.right now I'm about a week into my second course of accutane. My first course ran for 8 months, for which my highest dose was either 40 mg or 60 mg (i don't weigh much) and it got me totally clear for a couple of months before i could stop taking the drug. after accutane, i was prescribed a topical isotreninoid (0.05%) and that worked pretty well for about 4 months, and then I started breaking out again, for no real reason. That totally sucked, but i persevered for about 3 months and then I went back to my derm. Now, the acne wasn't nearly as bad as it was before my first course, but I decided I'd knock it on the head while I could and hopefully kill acne. I'd say there were about 10 pimples and a few pustules on my face at one time during this era (in which i had cut out all unhealthy foods and shit and like i drink heaps of water too... basically I'm healthy, so it was probably genetic and hormonal), and the pimples were usually pretty big and only on my face.

i decided to write this (i haven't actually got to what i want to write about yet... I'm babbling i know) because i couldn't find a whole heap of information on the second course of accutane and how quickly it works and what not, all that kind of reassuring stuff.

So here we go: THIS IS WHERE SECOND COURSE STARTS 20mg

I'm about a week in and i can definitely tell I'm back on it. pimples heal so much faster, it's insane. dry lips are there but you need to be proactive on this drug and start putting lip balm on the day you start to avoid getting cracked lips. also, moisturise your hands, my knuckles i noticed got super dry, and if you wash your hands frequently (which you should, because you can't always avoid not touching your face), the soap dries them out. I was more afraid of the initial breakout though. And let me tell you, look, it depends hugely on so many other variables but if you eat well, stay hydrated, ACTUALLY CLEANSE DAMNIT, sleep moderately well (even though accutane messes with my sleep) and generally be healthy it won't be that bad. I had what i would call a moderate break out, but you really need to approach it with a positive attitude, like every pimple you get is one pimple closer to clear skin. But honestly, chances are there will be a few pimples because thats the nature of the drug and don't expect it to work immediately, i'm not quite sure why mine has started to work within a week. and boy i can nearly guarantee I've totally jinxed myself and i'll have a proper breakout soon.

anyhow, thanks for reading my novel and i'll get back to anyone that is still curious about this.