Week Two

Still on 20mg Dose

Well... there have certainly been some signs that this thing is starting to work! This week the acne on the sides of my face have started to flatten down and have almost started to clear slightly. Overall my skin feels less oily and is actually starting to look healthy, smoother and less red. Several people have commented on the improvement, despite me wearing makeup (which I always have anyway in public).

My scalp however has irritated me a lot this week! I nearly went out and bought T-Gel (which I read was recommended for the itching) but I am for now perservering with my usual shampoo and conditioner.

My stomach problems have also been much better this week, although I have slight reservations about doubling my dose to 40mg next week, I'm worried it will kickstart those problems all over again.

My eyes have been getting very sore - I've had 2 days at work this week where I've had trouble looking at the monitor and then my lids have become very red and puffy in the evening and last night my eyes were stinging. Still resorting to using the drops.

Overall though not such a bad week, skin still flaking away, spots are healing faster but still using the Blistex on my lips (like every 15 mins) to keep them soft which seems to be helping. Going to get some Carmex tomorrow as that has been recommended and will hopefully last a lot longer than the Blistex which is expensive for such a small tube and keeps leaking everywhere everytime I use it!

So tonight I start the 40mg dose, lets see how we go from there...

Week One

Photos of my acne before starting treatment


Well I have been on Accutane a week now. The dermatologist has started me off at 20mg a day for the first 2 weeks. After 2 weeks I have to increase the dose to 40mg a day.

The side effects I have suffered so far (in chronological order) are:

Stomach Problems
The first few days of Accutane saw some terrible effects on my stomach take hold. I mean abdominal pains and having to rush to the toilet. The worst of this peaked at day 5 and by day 7 had improved slightly.

Dry/Cracked Lips
This was one of the first signs of my skin drying up. Even before I noticed the skin on my face begin to peel my lips felt sore and dry. I used Vaseline every 30 mins to try and combat this at first but by day 6/7 it was really starting to get me down. The vaseline wasnt sinking into my lips enough and they just peeled and cracked. I invested in some Blistex Cream (about £2.50 for a teeny tiny tube which will probably last me about a week the rate I am getting through it!). But I have seen much improvement in my lips now and they are more moisturised and smoother.

Dry Skin and Spots
This started around day 4/5 for my face and around day 6 for my scalp. Slowly skin is starting to peel around my chin and upper lip - the spots on the sides of my face look slightly less raised which is good. I have had some unusual spots come up around my ear. The itching on my scalp has become a nightmare as of today and is reaaaaaally itchy - I have been told T-Gel is good for this so I might invest in some of that. I have also been using E45 on some dry patches on my hands.

Eyes
From day 4 my eyes started to itch and become very irritated. I went to the pharmacy for some drops to combat this - I really wanted the Optrex spray that you spray on your eyelids and it sinks through, but the pharmacist said I couldnt have this as it has Vitamin A in it and you're not allowed extra Vitamin A!


SUMMARY
Not a massive improvement in my acne (wasnt to be expected after only a week!) and side effects quite annoying. But overall not as bad as expected.

my battle with hormonal acne

Well after 15 years of suffering with hormonal acne and god knows how much time, effort and money spent on treatments (creams, gels, topics, tablets, laser treatments and glycolic peels) I finally made the decision to go onto Roaccutane (UK)/ Accutane (US).

I am so sick of my horrible horrible skin and depite knowing that it is hormone related, at 26 it is really not fun still having teenage-looking spots :(

I went to see the dermatologist at the hospital who advised me that I MUST NOT get pregnant while taking it - I had to sign a consent form. I also had to have a liver function test and cholesterol test to check my levels and these will be checked every 4 weeks alongside a pregnancy test which proves I am definitely not pregnant! Very strict.

Finally I was given the go ahead...