I am starting to really dry out on my chin & around my nose, super dry eyes, chapped lips/they feel like rubber, B L O A T E D, so itchy...everywhere, CANNOT drink enough water, pretty huge white heads & cysts, lethargic, mild aches
It took me 3 years to decide to go on accutane & I am so happy with my decision. I know it’s doing to be a rough journey but I am so ready.
Posted Sep 28, 2018, 4:33 AM UTC · edited
Well you’ll be fine with that optimism! It’s good you are very aware and okay with the side effects. I personally developed back pain around that time on 30mg so I’m nervous for my next dose but I feel I have no other option!
I feel like the scariest thing about this is not knowing what symptom is to come with each dose or even day by day. But I feel like the outcome is so worth it & it’s just a short amount of time in the grand scheme of things. We have dealt with painful acne long enough, & as long as the symptoms aren’t excruciating- we can push through it for the light at the end of the acne tunnel.
Exactly! Unfortunately for me it's hard to have the same level of optimistic perspective with time. I got acne in March, got worse immediately within a month, took Tretinoin which increased acne 10x and gave me scars and tons of PIE, then I started accutane, so for me it was 0 to 100 very fast and i'm quite upset about the swift demolition to my face it caused.
6 months of accutane is as long as i've even had it so it's hard for me to have a good perspective but what other option do I have.
Day 7 (30mg) here & so far all is good, no dryness, no pain. Believe it or not, I still use my old skin products (salicylic acid soup day&night and the lush's grease lightning before sleep). The only strange thing that I noticed is waking up every morning with new whiteheads. Is this what the kids call it the infamous IB? I’m sure it’s the med, I rarely had whiteheads before.
Btw, it’s super interesting to me how we all have different experiences with the same drug. It became my favorite pastime to read you guys and just compare changes etc.
Oh yah I bet those whiteheads are from the meds! Everything is starting to come up on my face, like my blackheads are pushing themselves halfway out then just hanging there. It’s SO HARD not to pick them. Or any of the whiteheads. Are yours super dry too?
I still do my skin care routine as well- hada labo gentle skin cleanser, hyaluronic lotion, thayers witch hazel/rose water, biossance probiotic moisturizer (which is starting to burn a little so I think I’m going to start using a new one), Sunday Riley Good Genes (which is a lactic acid complex but I am also second guessing using that, doesn’t tingle or anything though), emu oil, & then Korres yoghurt fluid veil face sunscreen.
It is super interesting how differently it effects everybody. I’m not one to post about my experiences but this is something a lot of people are going through & I think it helps to have support & know you’re not alone. Also to kind of prepare yourself for what might come with the medicine
I had a lot of these at first. My knees and joints hurt so bad! Now things are okay. I drink lots of water and moisturize my body, and lip chap is always on. I usually put a layer of aquaphor on at night. Bloating went away after a while. Only other issue I’ve had is dermatitis, which has come up a few times badly. Only other experience with dermatitis previously was occasional small patches in my eyebrows when I was younger and contact derm when I had a bad allergic reaction.
If you are really itchy, pick up Vaseline body lotion, and or nature republic aloe Vera. Take a cold wet face cloth and scrub your skin (not hard) and then apply. Helps a ton!
For chapped lips I use different things - the best treatments being at night. Vitamin E oil, first aid beauty ultra repair lip balm, lanolin, blistex (I think?) overnight lip repair, and always put aquaphor on top in a thick layer. During the day I prefer using tinted products like Vaseline rosy lips and Burt’s bees, sometimes benetint balm by benefit. I’m considering getting lanolips.
I also use vitamin E on the driest areas of my skin at night after skincare and before aquaphor. I really enjoy the first aid beauty ultra repair line for skincare, and the cerave eye cream.
Thank you so much for all the tips! I have been using emu oil in combination with aquaphor on my lips & just the oil on my face for dryness (I dread the day I have put aquaphor on my face, it just goes against everything we have ever done) Is your scalp like SUPER itchy too?!
I forgot to add that I have been using sunscreen almost compulsively but I am terrified of getting burnt. I can just feel the sun tingling my skin!
Yesterday I put two of those NUUN electrolyte tablets in my 40oz water bottle & I actually didn’t feel dehydrated when I woke up this morning so I am thinking the electrolytes helped?!
Emu oil is good! Aquaphor feels gross, but if you put it on before bed it’s not as bad. You wake up with your skin feeling like a baby’s lol.
My scalp was itchy at first but I just do protein hair masks now and that helps. My hair also tangles more easily.
I am super pale, so pale I have to seek out cosmetic companies that carry a shade pale enough. I used sunscreen most of the summer but not all the time. The only burn I got was on my nose at the start of August, which is almost done healing. Healing time is definitely a lot longer for things on accutane.
Electrolytes are always helpful! I don’t use them often but they do help. I drink a lot of water and juice but if I don’t drink enough I feel like absolute shit from being dehydrated.
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