Accutane Week One (Isotretinoin)
January 17th, 2008
WARNING: Accutane is a serious drug that can have long term effects on your liver, skin, joints and more. Try the Acne Products out there first. We recommend Murad Acne Complex.
Well…
Week One on Accutane treatment is over. Oddly enough, I didn’t start feeling the effects of the treatment until the afternoon of my fifth day. Maybe I will break things up to make it easier to understand my pain…lol… Here is a list of Accutane side effects :
Dry Skin: My face was fine for a while and I even was able to go tanning without a problem. I was using my regular treatment from before until I woke up on the 6th day with what looked like a wicked burn. People were asking me if I went tanning, it wasn’t a good sight. I guess the topical stuff my dermatologist had given me before was way too strong for how dry my face is now so I have stopped using it and just stuck to moisturizer. My face is pretty dry. You know when you smile but you feel like you can’t cuz your mouth is too dry to open? Yeahhh, that’s pretty much my situation. I was eating a sandwich that requires opening the mouth repeatedly and it ended with dry skin all around my mouth that I had to re-moisturize. It sucks but I don’t think it’s terrrrrible. I just haveta put on moisturizer a couple times a day in the problem areas around my mouth and nose (the rest of my face is a little dry but nothing too bothersome).
Breakouts: My dermatologist told me that 10% of people who start Accutane flare up. I am super thrilled that I seem to be in that tiny little percentage! Kidding, but I seriously think I have been breaking out. The only thing is that it could be related to something else. I said earlier that I need to wash my face religiously in order for it to stay good however for 2 nights this week, I’m not gonna lie, I got a little drunk and the second I hit the pillow-I was out like a light. So, unfortunately, those nights I did not wash my face at night which could contribute to the fact that I am breaking out. Also, I stopped tanning which could also be a reason why my face is going back to break out central. Hopefully it will start clearing up soon.
Lips: Alright, my lips are wierd to describe. They aren’t chapped on the outside, they are just a little dry so far. The inner part of your lip (you know, what you see when you pout) is very very dry on the top and bottom. Also, my tongue feels like I burned it on something really hot and it is just dead skin that is left over (gross, I know). I am a smoker so this could aggravate the dryness but I deffinetly noticed how dry and parched my mouth was starting to get, like I said, around the 5th day. How am I gonna make out with people?! Not only will my mouth and lips be super dry but then I’ll be opening it and when they look at me I’ll have dry skin all around my mouth and probably on their face too! hahahaha, how tragic…
Body: I haven’t really noticed that much change in my body except that I am noticeably more thirsty than I was before. I think my body may be a little dehydrated and it deffinetly didn’t help that I was hungover on the 5th day (your body gets really dehydrated when you are hungover). I didn’t feel shitty until the effects of accutane started to kick in and then I got joint and muscle pains in like my neck and back (that I probably wouldn’t have gotten if I didn’t drink heavily the night before). The only other thing would be that I have difficulty getting up in the morning cuz im so tired recently. But then again, who doesn’t?
Welp, that’s all that’s new here on the Accutane front…
-I would be happy to hear other people’s experiences on what I should be looking forward to in the future!
January 18th, 2008 at 1:49 am
Great post, very honest and I think this will help a lot of people make up their mind on whether this is for them or not.
March 19th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Thanks Susie!!!!!! = )
April 24th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
i just started accutane almost 2 weeks ago and i love reading your blogs. i graduated college about a year ago and have battled acne for almost 12 yrs. mi’ve tried EVERYTHING and i seem to be immune/resistant to other treatments-even holistic ones- hence the reason for accutane. so mine isn’t as bad as others, which is what seems to be in your case too, but its “persistant” as the derm said and my only other option medically is accutane. so as i try to catch up to your present day blogs thanks! really, thank you!
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:58 am
This is to all the young people thinking about Accutane; do it!
If you are “thinking” about going on it; you need to go on it. Let me tell you why…
They did not have Accutane when I was a young woman. I had acne, but not too terribly bad; not cystic. My skin was at it’s best in my 20’s, but I still stayed on anti-biotics for many months of the year; winter was always bad, no sun and bulky sweaters.
When they invented Accutane, I was married, had one child, and intended on having more; I did. However, I had my last child at 31, and my skin was downhill from there; not only did it get much worse with time, but it began to leave scars. I also noticed, as my skin began to lose elasticity, scars from my teens, that I never realized I had, began to appear, along with my pores getting even larger and deeper. I made excuses, worried about side effects, etc. The 40’s rolled around, and found me with deep, hormonal induced acne; acne that scarred me. I used to have a fantasy that when I hit my thities, I would have dry skin, no zits, and be worried about wrinkles, not zits and boils; it was a fantasy, alright; and had I known then what I knew now, i would have been on this at least 15 years ago.
I began to explore options several years ago. I found my insurance did not even want to pay for topical retin A; they said they did not pay for cosmetic treatments. I was told, repeatedly, that insurance would not pay for this type of medication for someone over 25; some as young as 21. They are finally paying for it. I look forward to peeling skin and even dry lips; I have never experienced such in my life; I am so greazy and oily, it is disgusting. Since I waited so long to go through the Accutane treatment, I will have to pay out of pocket for lazer treatment to deal with holes and scars. The back of my neck is a mass of white, shiny, raised scars, my chest, the same, but not quite as severe. I can not wear my hair short, or up; I have not worn a backless dress or top since 1988; I could deal with the scars showing, but not the black heads and flaming red zits.
Allowing acne to go unchecked will age you also. The skin around your eyes suffers from the medication you have to use topically when suffering from acne, and the inability to use moisturizers without your face nearly rotting off, keeps you from even using eye cream.
My sister’s college age son is on a maitenance dose of 2 pills a week; he had to go through two rounds of accutane; one his Jr. year of High school, and again his freshmen year of college. What he knows I have gone through was instrumental in him making the decision to not allow his inherited “bad skin” to go untreated.
I can not imagine a day when my face will not be “shiny” before I can even make it to work; I can not wait.
Please tell any young person you know to not make the mistake of waiting; it will be a decision they will regret.
June 28th, 2008 at 4:08 am
exposed pimple kit…
– Acne and Oily skin– Fighting a natural tendency with proper skin care……