40 mg. of Accutane

This post is kind of late.  My pictures were taken at the month marker it was just hard for me to find a time to sit down and blog about my 40 mg. experience of Accutane. 

40 mg kicked my butt!  That is the nicest thing I can say about this increase of the medicine.  I suffered from fatigue, skin rashes, my skin also burns if certain perfumed items touch it, also cleaning products I now need to wear rubber gloves (I've never had sensitive skin before so it annoys me quite a bit), and joint/neck and back pain.  I am slowly seeing progress.  I am still struggling with my chest, back and the area on my neck right below my chin.  I also get cut really easily. 

I am trying not to get discouraged and my hope is to be able to wear a tube top this summer I know it may seem shallow but that is my goal. (I couldn't wear any of my cute ones last summer because my back was too badly broken out and I was embarassed).  I haven't seen huge progress but I have seen steady progress.  I just have to get it in my head that this is not an over night fix this is something that needs a little more time.  My Dr. says I should see major progress at 80 mg.  and I hope he is correct.  I am currently starting my 60 and my appointment to see if I move up to 80 is April 5th.  I'm more than ready for it.  I'm ready to see some major progress. 

Rash(all over arms):

Progress:

Hopefully every month continues to get better!



Accutane Month 2

I have been on Accutane for 2 months now.  My latest dose was bumped to 20 mg.  Overall physically I felt no change.  I am not depressed, or suicidal.  At the beginning/middle stages of this dose I became very disappointed.  I felt like I was showing no progress I had several pimples come up it was like my face was giving accutane and me the middle finger and saying "You'll never win."  This last week of the dose though I can see big changes and I am liking what I see.

This month was kind of messed up due to the lab goofing up and not doing the correct pregnancy test so it took nearly a week to get my results back so I had my medication later.  With this dose I have noticed more dryness and I have been getting dry skin "rashes" on my arms.  I am also loving the fact that I normally have really oily hair that has to be washed nearly everyday and I don't seem to have to wash it as often as I used to.  This saves me tons of time!

I received this month at 20 mg. blood work yesterday and my triglycerides were bumped up so I am taking 2 2000 mg. of fish oil now.  I think this elevation could even be due to the fact I had Golden Chick for lunch...probably not my smartest move. 

I am using Cerave hydrating wash 2 times a day
I am taking 200 mg of B6
1200 I.U. of Vitamin E  which will probably increase pretty quickly
1000 mg of fish oil soon to switch to 2000
For body wash I am using Cetaphil Antibacterial Bar (which I am not that thrilled about I love my BBW)

My doctor also told me that Dove is the worst body wash you can use because it is made with Lye.  He says that it is bad for non-accutane users but horrible for accutatne users. 

Here are my pictures from a month at 20 mg.  I can tell a big difference can you?

Accutane Month 1

I thought I would blog about my experience on Accutane.  I have taken this medication before but I don't really remember how it effected me.  I was in the 8th grade at the time and it messed with my triglyceride levels and put them through the roof so I was never on it for a long period. 

I started Accutane 1 month ago.  I have cystic acne I have tried every over the counter acne treatment you can think of and it still would not work (yes my face just laughed when I tried ProActiv although ProActiv made it less red!) 

My dermatologist before putting me on Accutane put me on a round of antibiotics to say that he had treated me with something else before resorting to Accutane and my face just laughed at that one too.  I have never been treated by this dermatologist so he has no prior experience with my reactions to other antibiotics.  All he knows is my long laundry list of antibiotic trials.  Every dermatologist I have been to has run out of options and has wanted to put me on Accutane I just haven't had the time for the monthly testing until now. 

My dermatologist has me taking Vitamin E for dryness up to 1200 I.U. per day, Fish Oil to hopefully keep my triglyceride levels down if necessary I am currently taking 1000 mg of that, and Vitamin B6 to help with my chin flares.  I am not allowed to use any acne washes, toners, creams etc.  I am to use a gentle face washing soap (cetaphil, cerave etc.)  I also need mosturizers (they weren't joking about this one) and sunscreen they suggest bull frog sunscreen.  I haven't really had much use for the sunscreen yet being as it is January.  They also suggest Vaseline or Eucerin Aquaphor Lip Treatments for the dryness. 

 You are not allowed to drink while taking this medication due to Accutane messing with liver function and your body already having a hard enough time metabolizing alcohol.  You also have to choose 2 forms of birth control due to Accutane causing miscarriage and head deformities in babies.  For me personally I chose abstinence that was the only way to ensure that I would not get pregnant.  I could not handle having a miscarriage so this was the option for me!

My pre-lim blood work came back perfect (my triglycerides were below normal) so I was cleared to begin my treatment.  I was started on 10 mg. of Accutane to be on such a low dosage I am very dried out.  I constantly have to keep something on my lips and by the end of the day my face is peeling off!  To me my face is already showing improvement people have even been asking me what I have been using.  I just keep reminding myself that all of this is worth it. 


Before:

1 month on 10 mg.:

My scars have been filling in and most of everything on my face is flat.  Hopefully the increase next month will take care of that!

Today I have bloodwork as well if all my numbers are where they need to be I will be increased to 20 mg.  Prayers for great numbers would be appreciated!