2nd Month Update

Hey everyone,

I’ve been missing in action lately and I apologize to all of you for not keeping you updated.  These last twenty days since the end of the first month have been by far the worst so far in my treatment.  My cysts are terribly inflamed along my jawline and they are very painful.  For the last few days the swelling has gone done slightly, but not enough for comfort.  Other than this though I have had no side effects.  No more nosebleeds or hair falling out–just the chapped lips still.  The blackheads in my nose have almost completely disappeared which shows some promise.

2009
12/05
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End of 1st month

Well I’ve made it through the first month succesfully.  I took my blood test about a week or so ago and had my 1 month checkup at the dermatologist.  I am very healthy and my blood tests showed all safe results.  As a result my dermatologist wrote me my next months prescription.  This month will be different though.  I now am taking 60mg a day as opposed to the 40mg a day last month.  My acne has gone downhill since the last pictures I uploaded.  It is definitely the worst it has been yet.  I have trouble sleeping at night because the cysts on my jawline are too sensitive to have any pressure applied on them.  Other than that I have had no new side effects.  Here are some pictures of my current status.

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2009
11/23
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Day Nineteen

I guess I couldn’t be happier with my treatment so far.  I have only had a moderate breakout so far which is completely manageable.  My face has looked worse than it does now without being on Accutane.  I have had no mental side effects and feel happy as ever.  Nosebleeds have occurred the past few days which is annoying but just a common side effect.  There is one important thing I wanted to share with all of you however.  I have chosen to abstain from alcohol for the length of my treatment.  It is debateable whether or not drinking alcohol while on Accutane is bad or not but common sense would tell us it can’t be a good idea.  So to play it safe I will not be drinking.  However, the other night I cracked at my roommates birthday party and had one beer.  Within minutes of drinking this beer my face began to seriously itch worse than ever, and I could feel a pulsing sensation under each of my cysts.  My face began to swell up very quickly.  I drank a water bottle and in an hour or so my face went back to normal.  So just to let you know I would recommend staying away from the booze. My acne seems to be improving a bit. Here are some more pics!

-Brian

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2009
11/09
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Day Fourteen

Hello,

So it’s day fourteen of my Accutane journey.  Sorry I haven’t been able to update for a little over a week.  I’ve been swamped with exams and was out vacationing over halloween weekend.  My acne has progressively become worse–not too extreme however.  The MOST annoying side effect I have experienced is the itchy skin.  My facial skin will itch terribly for the majority of the day.  I’ve started to use the Cetaphil Moisturing Cream more often and this seems to slightly help.  Over this past weekend I was out in the sun all day everyday.  I constantly applied sunscreen and it worked–I came out with a nice tan–no burn.  For the last few days my back has been aching.  I am not sure if this is due to the Accutane or that I have a bad back. In addition to the bad back part my vacation was to a music festival where we camped out causing me to sleep uncomfortably for three days.   My lips are terribly chapped as you can see in the pictures below.  Please ask me any of the questions you may have!

-Brian

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2009
11/04
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Day Five

Hey everyone, my treatment seems to be taking an interesting turn today.  This is quite bizarre but it almost appears my face is clearing up a bit??  This is very uncommon as one of the most common side effects of an Accutane treatment is that the acne actually becomes WORSE before it gets better.  Now, I am only five days in so in no way am I excited that my face appears to be clearing up.  I have read many other peoples’ experiences and some of them said that their faces didn’t seem to get that ‘initial breakout’ we all fear until two weeks into treatment. I will upload pics either tomorrow or the next day.

-Brian

2009
10/26
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Day Four

My face is continuing to become dryer and dryer.  My lips aren’t becoming too dry because I’ve constantly used Aquafor on them.  Aquafor is KEY to have at all times while on Accutane.  The lips will dry up very fast if this ointment is not applied consistently throughout the day.  I am going to pick up Cetaphil Moisturizing CREAM(not lotion) from Walgreens.  My face is starting to become dry enough to the point where this is necessary.  The dermatologist instructed me not to use the lotion on my face, only the cream.  Why?  I have no idea–she did not explain.

2009
10/25
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Day Three

Today was somewhat of a turning point for me with Accutane.  I can see the skin on my face is starting to peel a little bit.  The skin itself is getting very dry and it feels like it’s stretching if i open my mouth wide.  I went hiking today and it was very sunny out.  I could feel my skin starting to burn very quickly, however I used a 5o spf sunscreen/moisturizer on my face made by Cetaphil.  It worked perfectly and my face did not get burned at all.  I also used a 55 spf sunscreen on sensitive skin areas such as my ears and nose.  This worked fine and a 15 spf worked fine on the rest of my body.  Usually I would only need to apply a 15 spf anywhere to avoid a sunburn but with the Accutane in my system my skin is definitely much more sensitive to the sun.  Other than the sun sensitivity and my facial skin slightly peeling I am not experiencing any other side effects.  My lips have been getting slightly dry but I carry Aquafor healing ointment on me and this takes care of the problem immediately.  From my personal research the mass majority of people said Aquafor worked better than any other chapstick on their lips.

2009
10/24
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Day Two

Hey everyone, took my second pill today….No changes at all.  There are no signs I am on the medication yet.  I feel completely normal.

2009
10/23
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Day One

Well today’s day one…In order to get my prescription filled I first had to take a blood test–the test was very prompt.  Once my dermatologist received my results she called me to tell me she registered me in the iPLEDGE program and I could go to my local drug store and pick up my prescription.  She is starting me on 40mg a day;  The dosage size is based on your body weight.  So today I took my first isotretinoin pill.  So far I have not felt any side effects at all(I am only a few hours in haha).  Here are a few pictures of my face to document what my face looked like before Accutane.

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2009
10/22
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The Beginning

Hello people, let me start by informing you about my acne situation.  I am now 19 years old and have suffered from  acne since the age of 16.  I have tried a variety of products to get rid of this nasty stuff and all of them have failed.  My acne started off moderate and progressively became worse.  I started by using Proactiv, then moved on to use the prescription antibiotic Doryx, and my most recent failed attempt included a cycle of Adoxa.  Throughout the past few years my Dermatologist brought up the Accutane conversation a few times here and there.  I never could work up the courage to take Accutane due to the side effects associated with this drug.  I kept telling myself the other products out there would work for me and I would not need Accutane.

About a month ago before I left home  for college my dermatologist told me it was time for Accutane.  The Adoxa I was taking was ineffective and if I did not do something quickly to fix my acne it would result in permanant scarring on my face.  I was somewhat nervous and did what most of us do these days when we need information–surf the internet.  There were so many people saying so many different things about Accutane.  I couldn’t quite find the information I was looking for.   This led me to decide to write a personal blog which I will be updating every day to inform all of you out there asking themselves the same question I asked myself several times a day–Should I take Accutane?  In this blog I will include pictures of my progress and a daily entry talking about every side effect I am feeling.  I encourage you to comment on my posts with any questions you may have for me.  I would love to answer all of your questions you may have about this drug.  I hope this blog will help all of you make the decision if Accutane is right for you!

-Brian

2009
10/22
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