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Accutane: Round 2 - 35yr old male (Starting @ 20mg)

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(@tomh82)

Posted : 07/21/2018 5:57 pm

Hi all,

Long time reader, first time poster on this brilliant and useful site. Ive struggled with acne for approx 20 years - tried every treatment/diet/lifestyle change under the sun, and even had a course of roaccutane aged 17 which helped for a while. But the spots persisted, and so here I am, having just started my second course of roaccutane today, aged 35.

I have moderate persistence acne, red bumps that just appear randomly all over my face, no area of my face is safe from this but forehead and cheeks seem to be the most common areas for breakouts.

I wanted to post my experience of this journey. Will keep you up to date with my progress including side effects etc.

Day 1:
I took my first 20mg tablet about 12 hours ago. Not sure whether Im over analysing this but I feel quite thirsty already. Not sure if this is a coinscidence or not but I dont think the effects are meant to kick in so quickly.

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(@tomh82)

Posted : 07/23/2018 8:41 am

Day 3:
Some mild redness on my face, and feel the need drink more water than usual - think the drug is starting to have an effect. A few new spots on forehead but if this is the dreaded IB I'll be happy with that.

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(@tomh82)

Posted : 07/24/2018 9:32 am

Day 4:
A bit more redness on my face, face feels warm and my mouth feels dry so am drinking lots of water.

The new spots that appeared on my forehead have faded already. Overall I can see that my condition has improved even just 4 days into treatment, but I know it's very early days.

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(@tomh82)

Posted : 07/25/2018 9:16 am

Day 5:
Face feeling pretty dry now so I've lumped on the moisturiser. Looking quite red too but hoping this will settle soon.

Forgot to mention yesterday that I took my accutane tablet approx 30 mins after food, instead of straight away with my meal as advised. Had a bit of a headache before I went to sleep, and woke up in the middle of the night with a headache too, could this have been as a direct result of not taking the tablet with food? I dunno. I've never ever woken up in the middle of the night with a headache before.

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(@tomh82)

Posted : 07/26/2018 4:14 pm

Day 6:
Face is very red today - I was out in the sun very very briefly earlier so its probably the increased sun sensitivity thats caused the further redness. Layering the moisturiser on thick tonight and hoping things settle down asap. No extra spots today though!

No further headaches today either, I took my roaccutane with a big meal so not had any issues. Im almost 100% sure my headache from the previous day was caused by not taking R at the same time as my meal.

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(@tomh82)

Posted : 07/27/2018 11:21 am

Day 7:
Face is still red - moisturizing heavily in a morning and at night to try to combat dryness / keep face as calm looking as possible.

Got a few new spots pop up today too - I guess I'm still within the IB phase so not hugely surprised.

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(@ludadubz)

Posted : 07/27/2018 6:36 pm

Hi Tomh,

I am also a male in his 30s dealing with this damn disease known as acne. I am 4 1/2 months into treatment and unfortunately still no results and still breaking out, which is a horrible feeling. I wish you much more success than what I am currently experiencing and thanks for posting your experience on your treatment. Its reassuring to know that Im not the onlg 30+ year old male still dealing with acne, but i hope we both clear up quick!

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(@tretinoin)

Posted : 07/28/2018 12:03 am

In on this. You'll be clear soon enough.

Took accutane at the same dose roughly 2 years ago, best decision I've ever made for my skin.

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(@tomh82)

Posted : 07/28/2018 9:10 am

Day 8:
First of all, thanks for your commentsguys. Ive been doing some serious thinking over the last few days, and along with the fact that I had yet another really bad headache last night, I have decided to stop treatment, 1 week in.

I wasnt expecting instant results, far from it. But the headaches and increased redness arent worth it for me. Im going to step back and look at other aspects of my lifestyle again - for example, my breakouts have got much much worse since Ive started going to the gym and swimming, so that could be a factor, particularly the swimming.

Im simply not ready to commit to 6+ months of this. Im going to call my derm on Monday and tell him of my decision. Obviously if my acne continues then I will certainly consider revisiting my derm in the future, and wouldnt rule out going back on roaccutane again, but this isnt for me right now.

I wish you all the best of luck with your treatments!

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