My Accutane Journal

Five months after Accutane

2004-07-22T08:34:23Z

It seems like it has been a LOT longer since I stopped taking Accutane. That whole ordeal is like a distant memory!

The condition of my skin continues to kick ass. I sometimes get blemishes, but it's just like my Dermatologist told me it'd be. Blemishes show up much less frequently, they're much smaller, and they go away much more quickly. I'd estimate that I get perhaps two small blemishes per month. All of them have disappeared within a day or two. This is such a far cry from where I was before Accutane, when I got new zits every week, they were huge, and they took days upon days to go away.

I've started to experiment with makeup. Prior to Accutane, wearing any kind of foundation or powder was guaranteed to make me break out hardcore the next day. I've found a mineral makeup line called Bare Escentuals. The foundation, which is a powder, provides just a light coverage to even out my skin tone. I never could have gotten away with such light coverage before; all my acne scars would have shown right through!

My Dermo prescribed me some Tazorac cream to start using a month after I was done with Accutane. I was bad, and only started using it about a week ago, though. A few blemishes are cropping up on my forehead along my hairline. I imagine this might be from sweating in the summer heat, but I'm going to see if the Tazorac will help with that.

Other than that, everything's been smooth sailing. I am so happy.

As a side note, the people who do the Accutane survey for women have sent me their follow-up survey THREE TIMES. I most recently received it this week. I got the first survey twice, as well. I don't know why they're not registering my responses, but this time I included a letter with the survey asking them to please either let me know what I'm doing wrong, or please count my answers this time and stop sending me repeat surveys. How strange and annoying.

Early March (pardon the sleepy look; it was about 7 a.m. when this photo was taken!)

Middle of May

Early June

Middle of June

MORE BEFORE PICS

2004-03-16T09:46:36Z

For your viewing pleasure, I dug up a few more pics of what my skin looked like before Accutane.

Here is me for my Senior Prom. And this is me with heavy makeup on trying to cover my acne! A few days before the Prom, nekhochan helped me pick out all new concealer, foundation, and powder to try to hide all the scars and pimples. She did a great job, but you can still see so much yuck!

Here's my drivers license picture, which was taken in June of 2001. Even in the crappy tiny photo, you can see the acne scars on my chin.

Here's me on Halloween of 2002. I had been at my new job for about three months. I remember how awful it was going to all those job interviews with my acne; I really felt self-conscious about it.

27 DAYS AFTER ACCUTANE

2004-03-16T09:40:54Z

ZIT STATUS
I've gotten three or four little pimples in the past month. Strangely, none of them showed up in the places where I got pimples before I went on Accutane. Before, they were always on my chin, along my lips, or by my nostrils. The ones I've gotten recently have been on my forehead and cheeks. They were all small, red blemishes that went away within two days. They weren't painful or filled with pus or anything.

SKIN STATUS
My skin is still kind of dry, but I think that's more because it's still cold and dry outside. My skin is probably about as dry as it was this time last year.

SIDE EFFECTS
Finally, I am no longer dependent on Aquaphor! Within the past week, I've really noticed a change in my lips. Now I can go twelve hours without applying Aquaphor. However, I do still need to apply it every day. This past week, I was able to wear lip gloss for the first time since I started Accutane!

I'm only putting Cetaphil moisturizer on my skin twice a day--right after I wake up, and right before I go to bed. No flakes!

Unfortunately, my hair has gone back to its original oily self. That happened about a week and a half ago. While on Accutane I could go three days without shampooing; now I have to shampoo every day to avoid the greasies. *sigh*

March 3, 2004
You can see one of the little blemishes I have. It's at the top of the picture, by my nose, a little above and to the right of my freckle.

WEEK 32 - FREE AT LAST!!

2004-02-17T20:07:28Z

Here is a picture of me with my last Accutane pill, which I will take TONIGHT!

After eight months, I will finally be done.

Nothing new to report, except I had a two blackheads and one whitehead on my forehead since I last posted. I have been otherwise clear. No cystic acne!!

I am so happy.

I will continue to post my progress after I stop taking the drug. I'll have before and after pics, too.

HOORAY!!

WEEKS 25, 26, 27, and 28

2004-01-19T11:57:31Z

I'm gonna start off with the dermo visit this time, so the rest of the stuff makes sense. :)

DERMATOLOGIST VISIT
Just shy of two weeks ago, I had my last dermatologist visit. She asked me how many pills I had left, and I told her that I had twenty pills left. She told me to start taking one pill every other day. (I've been taking one 40 milligram pill every day since I started treatment.) So that kinda averages out to 20 milligrams a day. She said that if I "wean" myself off it like that, there'll be less chance of my acne coming back. I was disappointed to go in thinking that I had less than a month left, and then finding out that I had forty days left. She reminded me that since Accutane stays in your system for a month, I have to continue using two methods of birth control until a month after I have been off of the medication. She wrote me a prescription for Tazorac .05% cream, and told me that after two months of being off of Accutane, I should start applying the Tazorac to my face every night at bedtime. I asked her when I should schedule my next appointment, and she said that I wouldn't need to schedule any more appointments! I'm free!!

ZIT STATUS
I haven't had any kind of blemish in almost a month. I had a tiny blemish on my forehead a little bit before Christmas, and another tiny one on my cheek around Christmas, but that's been it. I've almost forgotten what it's like to have those big, evil zits that hurt days before they erupt, and linger for days and leave splotchy red marks when they finally do disappear.

SKIN STATUS
At the time I went in to see the dermatologist, we were in the middle of a particularly bad cold snap. The temperatures barely got above zero for about a week, and the skin on my face was coming off in chunks. I applied moisturizer probably five or six times a day, but my face was still really flaky. When I cut down my dose, the dry skin immediately eased up, and I was back to my twice-a-day moisturizer regimen.

I also had a strange bumpy rash on the back of my hands (not the palms) for about a month. It started on my right index finger, just below the knuckle. Then it spread to a little patch on the thumb of my left hand, and then all along the back of my left hand. It was bumpy, and a little red, and kind of irritated. When I asked my dermatologist what it was, she said it's just a product of my really dry skin and the really cold weather. She said it'd go away when the bitter cold went away, and if I applied more moisturizer to my hands. So I started applying Cetaphil to the backs of my hands, and the rash is all gone!

SIDE EFFECTS
I still don't experience any joint pain. My lips are very dry, but I can notice the difference since I've lowered my dose. I don't have to apply Aquaphor every hour like I used to; now I can go three or four hours without reapplying.

It was so awesome--when I went to see my esthetician to get my eyebrows tweezed last month, she told me my skin looked great. That means a lot coming from a skin specialist!! She used to be on Accutane herself, so she could totally sympathize. She told me that she loved how Accutane made her hair not so oily. But she told me that sadly, the hair oil comes back after about a month after being off of Accutane. Too bad!

January 4

January 19

WEEKS 21, 22, 23, AND 24

2003-12-15T08:50:32Z

ZIT STATUS
I had two or three teeny tiny little pimples this month, but they were only noticable to me because I could feel them. Other than that, I had two small blemishes by my mouth right before my period this month. Right before my period is when I've always gotten my worst breakouts, so that's not too surprising.

SKIN STATUS
Dry!! I've had a terrible cold for the past week, and because of all the nose-blowing, the skin around my nose was unbelievably raw. It stung just to touch it. The skin around my nostrils was peeling off in thick chunks. It was bad. The skin on my chin was flaking off like crazy, too. Thankfully, after a week of being sick, that's gone away. Now it's dry, but not peeling off like it was. So here's my tip: don't get a cold if you're taking Accutane during the winter! ^_^

SIDE EFFECTS
My lips are more dry and rough than they've been so far. I've really gotta stay on top of the Aquaphor routine, or I end up with a lot of discomfort. So far though, thankfully, my lips have never bled! The inside of my nose hasn't bled at all this past month, either. No dandruff this month. My achy joints have gone away, too.

DERMATOLOGIST VISIT
I was really excited to go this month, because last month my dermatologist told me that my next visit would be my last. She shattered my dreams this Thursday when she told me she wanted to keep me on Accutane for another month. I was so disappointed! She was concerned because of the little breakout I had right before my period. I expressed a concern that perhaps I was building up a tolerance, because my nose doesn't bleed anymore and my joints don't ache anymore, but she kept me on 40 milligrams per day for this last month. (Yes, she promised me that this would be my last month!) She did ask me how much I weigh before she wrote the prescription, though (I'm at 112 lbs now...my roommate stopped cooking for me, so I've lost a litte weight, lol!).

WEEKS 19 AND 20

2003-11-17T09:44:00Z

ZIT STATUS
On Thursday morning, I had a small reddish spot up by my right cheekbone. It wasn't raised or painful, but it was definitely a blemish of some type.

On Friday, I developed the biggest, meanest zit I've had in months. It was incredibly painful, deep, and filled with pus. I suffered through it at work, and when I got home I drained it and it felt much better. It came back overnight, so on Saturday I drained it again. Today I woke up and it was still large and red and raised, but it didn't have a yellow center anymore, and it didn't hurt anymore. I think this zit showed up to remind me why I'm on Accutane. :) It's strange to think I used to deal with pimples like that almost every week!! It definitely seems a thing of the past.

This evening i noticed I have a smaller little blemish right next to where the big zit cropped up. You can see it (along with the remnants of the once-great blemish) in today's pictures.

SKIN STATUS
Up until now, I've only had really bad dryness on my chin, around my nose, and a little bit on my cheeks. This week, the skin under and above my eyebrows has started flaking a lot. So I've been applying Cetaphil moisturizer there a little more liberally. That seems to be helping.

SIDE EFFECTS
As always, chapped lips and flaky skin on my face. My hands are really dry, too. Caught a few flakes of dandruff. The joint pain hasn't been bad lately at all. Maybe once or twice a week, only for an hour or two.

DERMATOLOGIST VISIT
On Thursday, my dermo recommended that I continue treatment for another month. When I told her about my joint pain, she asked if I thought I would be OK with it for another month. I would have liked to be done by now, but I understand that that extra month at the end will really increase your chances that your acne won't come back. I'd rather be on it that extra month than have to repeat another course later on. Seeing that big nasty zit on my face the day after the dermo visit helped reaffirm my decision to stick it out another month. :)

Another benefit I've gained from being on Accutane is that I've learned how to pee in a cup without getting any on my hands. I've had a lot of practice. :P

Here are pictures from today, of the scar from Thursday's pimple, and the smaller one that appeared today.

And up closer... The bigger, lower red mark is the one from Thursday.

WEEK 18

2003-11-04T09:48:31Z

ZIT STATUS
On Thursday, I noticed at 2:30 p.m. that I had a very small pimple with a yellow (pus) middle, right below the corner of my mouth. By 4:30 p.m., the yellow part was gone, and it was just a small red bump. By 6:30 p.m., it was no longer a bump; there was just a little redness where the pimple had been. That was quick!

Today is technically part of week 19, but I wanted to document that today I also got a pimple of the same size and type. I noticed it sometime this evening; I can't quite remember when. But right now, the bump is gone, and again all that remains is a little redness where the pimple was. You can see it in today's photo--it's right underneath my lower lip.

SKIN STATUS
Same as last week.

SIDE EFFECTS
The joint pain is still fairly mild; I only experience it every other night or so now.

After I spotted the dandruff last week, I did some mega-moisturizing (I love Bumble and Bumble's "deeep treatment"--my stylist actually turned me on to it about a year ago when I had some dandruff then. If you have normal hair, you're supposed to use it once a week, but if you have dandruff, using it more frequently will help). It's all good now. :)

The inside of my right nostril is raw. I've been putting Aquaphor inside my nostrils every night, but for some reason this one remains irritated.

Lastly, I have no idea if this is related to Accutane or not, but I figure I'd put it in since it is listed as a possible side effect of Accutane. I recently noticed that my gums are a little receded--just on the bottom, around my front teeth. They look redder, too. They say that Accutane can possibly dry out your mouth and cause periodontis. While I haven't noticed any unusual dryness in my mouth, it is possible. It just seems strange that I have this sudden change in my gums, when I brush my teeth three times a day and have no other problems. It's got me freaked out, so I plan on making a visit to my dentist soon.

November 3, 2003

WEEK 17

2003-10-29T08:52:01Z

ZIT STATUS
Not a single pimple since my last post. Totally clear skin!

SKIN STATUS
Dry chin, dryness around the nose. Same as before.

SIDE EFFECTS
The joint pain I described last week has eased up a little. Now the only time I notice it is at the end of the day, and only a little bit. My wrists and ankle joints still pop pretty frequently, though.

Tonight I discovered DANDRUFF! Big chunky flakes of it. I don't know if it's because of the Accutane, but I haven't had dandruff in forever, and I've never seen chunks of it this big!

WEEKS 13, 14, 15, AND 16

2003-10-21T08:21:55Z

ZIT STATUS
I can't remember getting a single zit since I last updated. If I did, it was really tiny. This rocks.

SKIN STATUS
The skin on my chin is flaking like crazy. Cetaphil calms it down, but it seems to be getting chronic. Otherwise, everything's A-OK.

SIDE EFFECTS
JOINT PAIN! Eeeeek! I started noticing it a few weeks ago--frequently I feel achy in my wrists, ankles, and hip joints. I noticed my joints pop more than they used to. My arms get really achy at work after sitting at the computer all day. At first I didn't think anything of it, but then I put two and two together; "joint or muscle pain" is right there on the list of Accutane side effects that my dermo gave me. Hot damn. The only advice the info sheet offers is this: "You may need to minimize strenuous activity. If severe joint pain develops, Aleve or Advil may be helpful." I have found that Aleve does help.

Chapped lips! Aquaphor every hour.

Inside of nose is dry! Still got a little cracking/bleeding going on there. Aquaphor helps there, too.

DERMATOLOGIST VISIT
I went and saw my dermo on Thursday. She said my skin looked great, and gave me a prescription for another month's worth of 40 milligrams a day. She said that next month she'll take a look and decide if I need another month or not. So this could be the last Accutane prescription I have to fill! I asked her why she didn't increase my dosage (as I have seen on other peoples' Accutane journals, often their dermos pump up the dosage for their last month or two). She said that I've responded so well to the dosage she's given me, she sees no need to increase my dosage.

October 12

Lookin' good! I took this pic after I tried on the bright red lipstick I bought for Halloween. ^_^

Sorry there aren't as many pics these days...they're just not as interesting without the pimples!

WEEKS 10, 11, AND 12

2003-09-22T07:52:10Z

I am now past the halfway point!!! It depends on how long I'm on Accutane...if my dermo decides to keep me on for 5 months, I'll be done toward the end of November. If it's gonna be six months, I'll be done just in time for Christmas!

ZIT STATUS
Weeks 10 and 11 kind of sucked. I started getting a few big zits here and there on my chin. I'd say perhaps three new ones each week. This past week, however, my skin has been perfectly clear!

SKIN STATUS
Last week, I bought a bottle of Cetaphil just to keep at work. Applying it just when I'm at home is no longer enough; the skin on my chin is starting to peel and flake more. So now, in addition to my home applications, I also put Cetaphil on once or twice while I'm at work. My dermo says I really have to stay on top of that, now that the weather is starting to cool down and the air is getting drier. In preparation for the autumn and winter months, I just bought a humidifier for my room. I have yet to see if it makes any difference, because I've only used it two nights, and the air isn't too bad quite yet.

The skin just to the sides of my fingernails is still really dry and prone to hangnails.

SIDE EFFECTS
My lips are starting to get a little more chapped. I'll blame that also on the onset of autumn. I have to apply Aquaphor at least every two hours; every hour is better. If I stay on top of it, I have no problems with chapping or cracking or pain.

During week 11, I decided to try a little experiment. I have some Blistex Complete Moisture chapstick, and I was curious to see how that would work. So for a whole day at work, I just used that. I put it on every hour, and it felt pretty good. I was very impressed; my lips felt smooth and just fine. I paid for it the next day, though. My lips got really dry and cracked and I had to put on more Aquaphor than normal to fix them. The verdict? My little tube of Blistex Complete Moisture will definitely be in my pocket if I go out for a few hours and don't have a purse to keep my Aquaphor in, but it's definitely not a substitute for the good stuff.

DERMATOLOGIST VISIT
On Thursday of week 11, I had another visit with my dermo. She gave me the test results from the blood test I had last month, and she said everything looked great. My cholesterol and white blood counts and all that were normal. Hooray! I told her about my breakouts during weeks 10 and 11 (I even had a nice big zit on my chin to show her). She told me not to be discouraged; she said in the weeks ahead is when I'll start to notice the real improvement. She wrote me another preseciption, and kept me at 40 milligrams a day (that's four months in a row! I wonder when she's going to up the dose).

September 12

September 14

WEEK 9

2003-08-29T09:19:57Z

Well, I jinxed myself with last week's optimistic entry. This week was pretty bad for zits. The first one emerged on Tuesday night. Of course, it's Murphy's Law that I had to do an on-camera interview on Wednesday morning. Grrrrr. The first pimple was gone after maybe 36 hours; the big one I got after that was gone after a day. Yesterday I had three little ones on my chin. Now they're pretty much gone. I'll let the pics speak for themselves.

August 27, morning
My first big zit in a really long time!

August 27, morning
I popped it, and it left a big crater. -_-
Also note the dry white flakes in this close-up view.

August 27, night
Another big nasty zit cropped up that day, too! (sorry for the poor color on that pic...bad lighting)

August 29
My first forehead acne since being on accutane. You can see the big one pretty clearly, but there's also a smaller one a little further down and to the left on this picture.

WEEK 8

2003-08-26T07:44:46Z

This entry will be a short one, because I only have one new thing to report.

Early this week, the inside of my nose got really irritated. The skin felt really tight in there. Once or twice the skin inside my nose started bleeding a little bit. It was not a nosebleed as in blood gushing out my nose, it would just leave a tiny bit of blood on a kleenex when I blew my nose.

This is not much fun, but I started putting a little Aquaphor along the inside of my nose every night, and the problem has gone away.

Other than that, I am happy to report that since my last post, I have not had one single zit! Clear skin for an entire week! It is so wonderful to not have to worry about whether I'll have a face full of zits for an important event/party/date/interview/whatever.

No face pics this week, since I'm lazy and my skin pretty much looks the same as last week. But here's a pic of me (on the left) and nekhochan, my sexy esthetician friend, at AnimeIowa this past weekend. ^_^

WEEKS 5, 6 AND 7

2003-08-18T07:36:37Z

I'm sorry I've been such a loser about posting! It just seems like there's so much other stuff going on. It's not terribly important, though, because since my last post, things have pretty much been the same. I'll go into detail.

ZIT STATUS
In the past three weeks, I've pretty much gotten two zits per week. Always on my chin. They're definitely not as big as the ones I'd get before I started treatment, and they don't last as long, either. They're gone in a day or two. I have no scabs or scars on my face. It is unbelievable.

SKIN STATUS
Everything's keeping pretty constant. Cetaphil on my face 3-4 times a day, and I'm good to go. I've noticed that the skin around my fingernails is kind of dry--I get a lot of hangnails.

Spent varying amounts of time in the sun, and I haven't burned yet. But I do get more color in my face than normal. I was at work one day, and my manager commented that I must have gotten some sun the previous day. I hadn't been outside in a few days. I noticed that my cheeks were more rosy than normal.

SIDE EFFECTS
CHAPPED LIPS. It's becoming old hat by now, just keep the constant stream of Aquaphor going. :)

I'm not going to drink any alcohol at all until I'm done with treatment. That sucks. But I think I've tried on three different occasions to have just one drink, and each time I had the one drink, I got really really queasy right afterward. I was never like this before Accutane, so I'm guessing it's probably causing it.

The inside of my nose is getting really dry. I get lots of (icky) dry boogers clinging to the inside of my nose...the kind that just stay put when you blow your nose. The skin inside my nose feels really dry and tight. I bought some saline nasal spray, but I'm still to afraid to use it. :-P And the inside of my nose almost stings when I use my Flonase nasal spray for my allergies. Flonase never caused me any discomfort before.

I am loving this not greasy hair thing. Now I still shower every day, but every other day I put on a shower cap to keep my hair dry. My hair doesn't get oily like it used to when I'd go a day without washing it. Using the shower cap saves me 10 minutes in the shower, and 20 minutes of blowdrying (my hair goes to about halfway down my back). That rules.

DERMATOLOGIST VISIT
I went in for my checkup with the dermo on the 7th. I took the pregnancy test (man, I am really good at peeing on my hands -_-), and they took my blood. I hate that part. I never have any problems giving blood when I need labwork done at my general practicioner's office, but for some reason, both times I've had blood drawn at the dermatologist's, I get really queasy afterwards.

The dermo said my skin looks great, and I really agree. She told me that I should expect that I'll still get pimples throughout the course of treatment, but they'll become less frequent, they'll be smaller, and they'll go away more quickly. That is awesome. She wrote me another prescription, and she kept my dosage at 40 milligrams a day, since she said I'm responding so well to that dosage. I was really happy to hear that; I'm hoping that means my side effects will not get any worse. Oh yeah, I think I forgot to mention thus far that I weigh 116 pounds. That's important 'cuz your weight is a factor in determining your initial dosage, I think.

All from August 10

Beautiful!!

WEEKS 3 AND 4

2003-07-21T06:33:14Z

Sorry, I got lazy and didn't get around to posting last week! So I'll just combine the two weeks in this entry.

ZIT STATUS
On Thursday of week 3, I had absolutely no zits. It was the strangest thing ever. My skin still looked bad from all the scarring I've got going on, but I had nothing to pick at. That lasted until Sunday, when a big one started erupting on the side of my nose. I got two more right next to that one during week 4. They were all the kind that start waaaaay under the skin, and are a big red bump. One of them surfaced and I was able to drain it, but the other two haven't surfaced yet.

Other than that, this week I got a few tiny ones on my chin, but it was hardly anything at all. It seems like I've gone to a state that is just a little worse than where I was when I started. Hooray that things are looking up!

SKIN STATUS
At the beginning of week 3, I started applying Cetaphil facial moisturizer two times a day--once in the morning after my shower, and once before bed. That worked really well at keeping the flakes away until about Wednesday of this week. All of the sudden, the skin on my chin and around my nose just started flaking like crazy. I think I'm gonna have to get a little thing of Cetaphil to keep at work, so I can apply it there.

I continue to use hand lotion before I go to bed and every time after I wash my hands. They're still kinda annoyingly dry, but I've been too lazy to go out and find a lotion that I really really like to use.

I continue to be pissed that I can't have any waxing done. My eyebrows still look clean from when I got them waxed the week before I went on Accutane, but I have had to tweeze a few strays. My bikini line, however, is irritated all to hell from shaving, and it sucks. I WANNA WAX! :(

SIDE EFFECTS
My chapped lips continue to be the most dominant (and most annoying) side effect. I've been putting Aquaphor on them every 1.5 to 2 hours; that keeps them happy. However, two nights ago I crashed at a friend's place after a party, and I didn't have my Aquaphor on me. I went 12 hours without it, and it was just awful. It's amazing how they got sooooo dry and cracked in just that short time. I felt like if I smiled, it was going to hurt like hell. My friend let me use some hemp chapstick of his, which worked to take away the imminent "my lips are going to break into pieces" sensation, but the skin on my lips was still really dry and coarse until I was able to go home and put some more Aquaphor on them.

Last weekend I had my 23rd birthday party. I asked my dermo in advance how much alcohol I was allowed to drink. She said I could have two drinks, and that's it. It was tough, but I limited myself to just two drinks. I made sure to space them out a bit, too. That went just fine, until the next morning I woke up horribly nauseous and ended up driving the porcelain bus. I've had much more than two drinks before and been just fine, so this was kind of strange. I don't know if the Accutane had anything to do with the puking, but as a precaution, for the rest of my treatment I'm only going to have one drink at a time, with a meal or something. I just don't want to risk repeating that again! :P

I didn't shower on Thursday or Friday (gross, I know, but the fatigue side effect makes it hard to get up in the mornings!), and on Saturday afternoon before I showered, my hair was not greasy at all. Normally I can get away with one day not showering, but usually by the end a day without a shower, my hair is kinda greasy around my forehead. Not so anymore! I'm not sure if I'm ready to try shampooing every other day, though. Maybe next weekend I'll give it a try.

I forgot to mention last time but when my dermo wrote me the prescription for next month, she kept me at 40 milligrams. That's the dose I'm at now. She said she was concerned about my fatigue, so she wanted to give my body another month to adjust to the drug before she ups the dose.

07/13/03 You can see the deep zit on the side of my nose here.

07/19/03 In the pics it's kinda hard to see, but most of the zits I've got going around are big ones by my nose

Lastly, a pic of my lips after going 8 hours without Aquaphor. Unfortunately, the lens couldn't really focus well enough that close to see the peeling white skin, but you can kind of see. And you can see a little bit of the flaking I've got going on...just tiny little flakes. Warning, this picture is REALLY close up. That said, click here to see it.

WEEK 2

2003-07-10T08:14:42Z

I should have posted this on Sunday, but I got lazy. ^_^

ZIT STATUS
I got a few new zits every day this past week. The worst were the zits on top of the zits right under my nose. Those hurt like a bitch, and now that they are gone I have nasty red splotches where they were. Consult pictures below. The zit right along my lipline continued to hurt like a biatch, even though it was very small, and it didn't go away for several days. At the end of this week things calmed down a little bit, but my skin still hates me.

SKIN STATUS
The skin on my chin and cheeks is pretty flaky. Not big flakes, but little flakes. I'm applying Cetaphil moisturizer 2-3 times a day to try to keep the face dandruff at bay. ^_^ So far it's working all right. I've noticed that my hands are noticably drier now. I have to put lotion on after every time I wash my hands, and right before bed, otherwise I go crazy. The skin on the tops of my arms and legs is a little drier, too, but I only put lotion on there every other day or so.

SIDE EFFECTS
HOLY CRAP, on Monday my lips went totally chapped. I'm talking white and cracked and everything. It came just out of nowhere. I skipped the Vitamin E stick and went straight for the Aquaphor. Aquaphor is my new best friend. I am not kidding. I swear, if people knew about this stuff, nobody would ever buy chapstick again because Aquaphor is the best. I put it on my lips 5-7 times a day. Once when I get up, once before I go to work, several times at work, when I get home from work, and before I go to bed. I haven't had any problems with cracking or peeling now. And an added bonus is that it is shiny, like lip gloss!

I went and laid out by the pool on Friday for about a half an hour, and on Saturday I was out in the afternoon sun for just under 2 hours, and I didn't burn.

I still have to wash my hair every day. I'm anxiously waiting for the "only have to wash hair every other day" side effect to kick in. ^_^

The worst side effect so far is that I'm TIIIIIIRED. I didn't even put two and two together to associate my fatigue with the accutane until I went in for my checkup on Thursday. And that segues nicely to...

DERMATOLOGIST VISIT
I had an appointment with my dermo on Thursday. This was supposed to be my one-month checkup, but since I ordered my first month's course through mail-order, and it took them a whole two weeks to get it to me, this was a "two-week checkup." She opted not to do the blood tests this time, since I've only been on it for 2 weeks. So we'll do that next time. I did have to take the pregnancy test, though.

She assured me that it's normal for my acne to be really bad for the first month. She said that next month it'll probably go back to where it was when I started, and at the third month things will start to improve.

She asked me about my symptoms. Later she said something about fatigue, and I was like, "Hey! I am practically falling asleep at work!" I haven't changed my sleeping patterns any, so I'm guessing the accutane has something to do with it. She said that in most cases, the fatigue goes away after a month when your body gets used to the drug. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

06/30/03 The first monster nose zit

07/02/03 The second monster nose zit, with the scarring from the first one

07/06/03

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention at the start of this that my pictures are from the nose down because 95% of my acne is from the nose down. Very rarely, I get a zit along my hairline or browline. Even with the extreme breakouts so far, my forehead remains zit free.

WEEK 1

2003-06-30T08:30:30Z

ZIT STATUS
After my inital huge breakout my first day, things calmed down a little bit. I probably only got one or two new zits per day, but they were the kind that also went away in a day or two. I've noticed a strange shift, though. Before Accutane, most of my zits were on my chin. Now, most of my zits are around my nose--like in the creases around and below my nostrils. This sucks, because zits around my nose are a lot more painful than zits on my chin. These ones itch like crazy. Yesterday I had a really huge one--probably 3-4 millimeters in diameter--right under my nose. I had to pop and drain that one. Now there is a little scab there, and another zit has formed right underneath it. Today I have another zit right below that one, too, and I think I can feel one coming on right along my top lip line, on my left side. I hope that one goes away soon, becuase already it's kind of painful. I have a few little blemishes on my chin. Nothing on my forehead.

I'm a little discouraged because my acne has gotten so much worse, and it's only the first week! I completely understand that Accutane will make your acne worse for a while. I think my dermo said the worst comes around the 3rd month, and then it starts to get better. It's just no fun that I have three months of this painful, more active acne to look forward to.

SKIN STATUS
My skin is still as oily as when I started out. Actually, when I think about, it almost seems as if it's more oily. Just look at the pictures for this week--you can totally see the shine. I've got a little bit of flaking going on on my chin, but that's normal for me, and a little Cetaphil moisturizer after getting out of the shower takes care of it.

SIDE EFFECTS
So far, so good. My lips haven't started to chap at all. No nausea from taking the pills just with water. The only think I think is starting to change is that I get a lot of crusty little boogers in my nose. The kind that don't come out when you blow your nose...man this is gross to talk about...but they're the kind you have to put the kleenex on your finger and get them out. That is really annoying. But if that's the worst of my problems, I'm going to be very happy.

Today I spent the afternoon in the sun (almost no clouds), from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. I was curious to see if Accutane made me more susceptible to sunburn, especially during the most intense sunlight of the day. I know I should wear sunscreen blah blahblah, but I never do anyway. I very rarely burn; I tan very easily. A few weeks before I started Accutane, one day I spent 6 hours out on a dock in the sun, and I only burned on my face and the tops of my feet. My face has always been a little more susceptible to burning. Today, though, the only effect the sun had on me was to brown my arms and put a little pink in my cheeks. No burning.

Here's a picture from my first day on Accutane, when I had the huge breakout.

Here are pictures from yesterday, the end of the week. Notice the monster zit on the right side of my nose.
And the shine, oooh the shine!

DAY 1

2003-06-23T10:38:13Z

I took my first pill at around 6 p.m. today. Actually getting at the thing proved to be quite a challenge; my boyfriend and I spent a good three or four minutes trying to figure out how to get the pill out of the box. ^_^

At the beginning of the day, the only acne I had was a medium-sized pimple on my chin. By 9 p.m., it had shrank to half its size on its own. Usually I have to open them up with a warm washcloth to drain them in order to get them to shrink down.

However, now it is 5:30 a.m., and I have seven new zits. Three small and one medium one on my chin, and three small ones to the right of my nose. They are all the yellow, pus-filled kind. This is more zits in one day than I've had in the past two weeks!

My lips aren't chapped yet. I'm braced for impact, though; tonight I applied my Vitamin E stick (recommended by my esthetician, nekhochan) to my lips as a preventative measure.