Source
r/acne•
fhs

Accutane help

I've been on accutane for about 20 days, and stopped because my lips were constantly chapped, ears slightly hurting and my hands were super dry ( I had red, dry bumps all over my hands). I was putting lotion daily and tried many brands of lip balm, constantly, yet my lips remained dry, they would crack and bleed on occasions.

I've stopped taking the medication, but I'm wondering if my symptoms were unusual for the treatment? What bothered me the most was the cracked lips, is there a lip moisturizer that could work? (I'm done with balms, they just seal in the moisture, and since there's none, they don't help much).

Posted Apr 12, 2014, 7:38 PM UTC

317
reduser80•

Huh? Did you even read the literature or talk to your doctor? Chapped lips and dry skin are very very typical. I actually have some mild irritation on the top of my hands where the skin is very thin.

Here are the symptoms I have, all seem to be pretty typical:

  • really dry lips and eyes (vision a bit worse too, but I assume because my eyes are dry and I use contacts)
  • sore/tight muscles, especially achilles tendon
  • inflamed/bleeding gums
  • IBS seems worse

The ears hurting sounds weird though - what's wrong with them?

I'd talk to your doctor and figure out a good plan of attack.

3
fhsOP•

Yes, I know about the side effects, though I've never considered bleeding lips to be an acceptable side effect. As for the hands, was that normal ? Having reddish spots seems weird to me.

I had some back-pressure on my ears when taking the meds, but I stopped and it went away.

I've discussed this with the doctor and he basically told me to get off the med, and take some antibiotics and topical creams, an option I dislike since I've already went that route and it never worked for me (Accutane is a last resort drug!)

1
AEberhard•

Seriously, these are all common side effects. I used to get red bumps on the back of my hands and underneath my arms all the way up to my elbows. Just bring moisturizer with you everywhere you go and put that stuff on every 2 hours and it will go away. That's what I did to make it stop. Lips being cracked and dry 24/7 is completely normal. I used to pick all the dry skin off and would make them bleed and scab over. Same with the soreness and tightness of muscles and joints completely normal. Did you even read the side effects? The pharmacist would have gone over them too. Honestly if you want your acne completely gone and it really bothers you then suck it up and push through, these months will feel like hell and go by so slow, but if you really want that end result you do it.

1
reduser80•

Did you consider a low dose instead? (.3 - .5 mg/kg instead of the full 1mg/kg?) The pressure on the ears scares me a bit, though.

1
fhsOP•

I'm on 50 mg :( Also, the pressure subsided after stopping the med, but it is indeed scary.

1
lordlaser9Currently on Accutane•

Why has no one mentioned Aquaphor yet? That stuff is amazing, and Accutane users the world over have been using it since the drug went on the market.

Get Aquaphor. Three months in, it's my boyfriend.

2
fhsOP•

I've tried this one, Is it the one you're referring to? (even though it says for skin, the instructions mention that it's safe for lips)

Btw, I've tried Nivea water stuff, Dr. Dan's lip balm, blistex lip ointment. The best one was Blistex, but it left me dry very fast.

1
lordlaser9Currently on Accutane•

Yeah, I use what you have in the photo. Look, nothing is going to keep you in good shape for hours and hours. Your lips are producing 0 of the oils that they need to remain moist, and typical human habits (eating/lick the lips/kissing) are going to wear off the moisturizers really quickly. The solution is to have them handy at all times, not to expect that you'll find one that keeps your lips aOK all day long.

1
vivifyallthethings•

How much water are you drinking? I drink way more water than I used to. I'm up to drinking 100 ounces a day. Vaseline for the chapped lips (even for your hands).

It took me six weeks to get over some of the side effects. If I had heartburn, I would skip that night's dose per doctor's orders.

1
fhsOP•

Around 60-70 ounces of water a day.

1
vivifyallthethings•

Try the Vaseline for your lips and hands. Take it easy on purell/soaps. And while a humidifier won't help with chapped lips, I have had significantly less nosebleeds since I started turning one on at night.

1
ruckfules99•

If you have terrible acne you need to suck it up and continue with accutane. Vaseline is your best friend while your taking this medication. All of your symptoms are just the start, you'll get used to it. I wanted my acne gone so badly that I did not even tell my doctor that the meds were making me go crazy (like crazy emotional crazy lol). Unless that issue with your ear is very bad I would continue with the medication. Trust me, you'll be so happy with all your acne finally being gone.

1
twinnedcalcite•

Vaseline is about the best thing I found for my lips and use limp balm with SPF in it. It's good for moisturizing extremely dry skin as well.

There's also lip scrubs that work really good at removing the dead skin off your lips (I had to do it once per day when I was on accutane). They will bleed and it is normal.

1
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1
maidivine•

Bleeding and cracking lips are part of the deal. I second the use of aquaphor. You can also talk to your doctor about lowering the dose to 20mg a day instead of 40mg. I had to do this because of headaches. But the doctor warned me it could take longer to get clearance. Hope this helps

1
throwawayoverandover•

Carmex is the answer for your lips! I tried everything, dermeze, balm and Vaseline. Nothing worked well long term except carmex.

1
fhsOP•

I'll try that. Which format though? Ointment, stick or tube?

1
throwawayoverandover•

I found tube to be best. Try one of each if you can, because you'll be using it for a while. Dermeze worked for a while, but then skin started to peel off in strips.. so I'd avoid it if I was you.

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