My Accutane Journal
Some Info And History About Myself
Hello my name is Jeff Blake, if your reading this it's most likely because your interested in getting some information on accutane. Well first let me tell you a little bit about myself, I'm a 22 year old College student who has had acne for about four or five years. When I first started getting acne it was very mild, maybe a pimple every 2 or 3 weeks. But just before my 20th birthday things started to change, I was getting acne in places I never had it before. So for the past three years it has been getting worse and worse, and I keep looking for answers. Though back then I didn't know better so I tried to deal with this myself, and had absolutely no luck. Actually I probably made it about ten times worse, but finally I smartened up and made an appointment with a dermatologist. She proceeded to put me on Minocycline for about 5 months and then finally decided that my only option was to go on Accutane. I was all for it cause acne has run my life for far to long and has already caused me to drop out of University and lead an unhealthy life confined to my basement:-) I will update this diary every week or so. You might want to bookmark this and come back to see how I am doing, whether Accutane is really helping and what, if any, side effects I suffer from. My goal here is to enlighten some people and answer any questions they have on the process of Accutane. Hope you enjoy.
DISCLAIMER
I am not a medical authority, nor do I claim to be one. Everything I write about here is merely my subjective experience and on these pages I�m telling you my personal opinions, not the ultimate truth. By the way, you should always double-check everything you read on the net, as every one is not as scrupulous as I am. Please seek medical advice re: anything I say or claim here, especially if you need medication for your acne. And, people have different kind of acne and reacttions to different mediacations differ, too.
Well if you have any questions you'd like to ask me just click here to e-mail me!
Week by week basis
Great Acne Links
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5 & 6
Week 7 & 8
Week 9 & 10
Week 11 to 19
Week 20
Week 21
Week 22
Week 23 & 24
Four Month Update
Five Month Update
Week One: November 1 - 7
Well I just got back from the doctors and things went pretty well...besides the fact that I look like crap, but aanyways. So I got my prescription which is 80mg a day, 40 mg twice daily. I am just about to go get my prescrition filled and I start my treatement tonight. Yeh Me.Well two days have past since my first pill and my lips have already started to dry out, oh the joy. My derm gave me Blistex lip conditioner for it and it seems to do the trick. My skin has also become very oily, I thought this medication was supposed to get rid of the oil. Oh well hopefully it still with because I'd love to have oil free skin :-) Also I am experiencing dry skin all over.
Week one is over and I do beleive that I got my initial break out because I have acne all over my face and it kills. This zits are big and painful, this had better be the initial break out cause I don't think I could handle getting something worse than this. My lips continue to dry out but I think I have that under control....oh and my skin as started to get less oily..cool. Also I'm using Cetaphil moisturizer on my face to try and battle the dryness.
Week Two: November 8 - 15
Well I think the worste of the initial breakout is over, now I'm just letting my skin heal as I still have a far number up bumps left from were the acne was. I'm not saying new pimples aren't forming but they're just not as bad as the ones from last week. My face is still a mess and it is really tight so I find it very hard to laugh or even smile with out felling as though my face is going to fall apart. Other than that though I have no new symptoms, no upset stomach, headaches or sore joints of any kind.Well the second week is finally over and things seem to be getting a bit better, atleast from how they were last week. I still have not been able to get a set regimine for cleaning my face but am working on it. I started using Cetaphil face wash, but when my face started getting really oily I got off it and went on a 5% Benzyol peroxide face wash. But I determined that this would be to harsh on my face and quickly switched to MD Forte I with 15% Glycolic Acid. But my face has really been dry these past few days so I think I will go back to the Cetaphil, though I do find it hard to wash with because no matter how much I put on my face it doesn't seem to be spreading over my entire face. But since so many people are using I feel it is worth another shot.
Week Three: November 16 - 22
Week three is finally over and things are starting to look better. After a horrible first two weeks it seems as though my initial break out in most areas has finished. The only place I'm still getting alot of acne is right beside my nose which is kind of pain full but I can tell that this will end in about a week so I'm still happy. Though to begin with I was very worried because my brother came down this week and I knew he would want to go out every night to the clubs and at that point I wasn't quit up to going out as I was still in the middle of getting over my initial break out. But lucky me it really got alot better before he came down so I managed to make myself go out, and to be honest I really needed it.Back to my progress though, my face has little to no oil on it at any point in the day which makes me so happy. I hated how oily my skin was, it always made me feel so dirty all the time. I think that has probably been the hardest thing for me since my acne want all screwy. Also my forehead has cleared up nicely, all I have left is the marks from the acne I have. I'm still wearing a hate ever where I go but I'm almost at the point were I could go to school with out it on:-)
As far as side effects go I haven't had many, the big ones are a dry scalp and dry lips. But neither have been to bad and I've been putting alot of lip balm on, right now I'm using Blistex lip conditioner but have heard great things about Aquaphor so I might give it a shot if I can find it. I haven't done anything for my scalp but think I'll give a conditioner a try, but I haven't done anything about it yet. Other than that things have been going well and I hope they continue to, I haven't had any of the major side effects like nose bleeds, up set stomach and headaches.
You'll pleased to now that I used cetaphil all this week and I am much happier with it now than the first time I gave it a shot, and I was right on the fact that it was just the beginning of my treatement that caused so much oil in the beginning and not Cetaphil. Plus it's not making my skin as dry as the other products I've used which has made a big difference in the way I've felt. Before I could barely even smile with out feeling as though my face was going to split in a million spots. Now it almost feels normal, with the exception of my nose. It seems as though all the black heads on my nose have decided to leave and it is making my nose quit dry and peeling constantly.
But all in all it has been a good week and I hope to see the progress continue. I have my first check up next week so I should have that in my update. I just hope that my blood test turns out fine and that I get cleared with a good bill of health. So don't forget to come back next week to see how I'm making out:o)
Week Four: November 23 - 29
The first month is over and I'm feeling better, that initial break out was alot to handle and at times I thought it was never going to end. But it did and now I can begin to move on with my life as accutane begins to do its magic. More good news is that I had my derm appointment the other day and I'm having no problems. That's a big weight of my shoulders as I really didn't want them to say that I had to be taken off. So I'm still on it and going about my daily routine the same as last week(wash with water in the morning and wash with cetaphil at night).Oh, before I forget I got a little treat before I left from my doctors. Since I had these two really big pimples by my nose she suggested I get a cortisone shot to bring the swelling down and make the pain go away. So I agreed to the shot and the 30 dollar fee that came with it since it wasn't covered by OHIP anymore. But the cost wasn't that big a deal cause these two pimples were actually getting me really down. So she fills my pimple with cortisone and man did it hurt, oh my god let me tell you that was a little painfull. Then after the pain it started to bleed and puss came out, which wouldn't have been a problem but this female nurse had to come in after to take my blood. This is usually bad enough with me sitting there with acne all over my face but now I had two that were bleeding pretty bad and I'm holding a tissue up to my face. So needless to say it wasn't a pleasant experience but it was worth it cause my pimples went down in size and didn't hurt anymore later that night.
As for side effects it seems as though my lips aren't as dry as they were during the first two weeks. Though I don't go any where with out my lip balm it's good to see that things are getting better. As for the rest of my face, it feels good as long as I use moisturizer after I fash. Though I'm still afraid to shave my mustash and goaty area as they get really dry and tender after shaving, and since starting accutane it has been worse, so I think I'll hold of on that for a little while longer. But other than that nothing else seems to have changed.
On a personnal note on the 23rd I made contact with a woman for the first time in almost six months. This is a big thing for me cause I've finally felt over the past week that I might actual be able to see a woman for more than one night. I'm hoping that I can finally have a serious relationship now, cause it has been a long time and I've really needed one. Now all I need do is to find someone:o)
Week Five & Six: November 30 - December 13
Well I'd just like to start this entry of my journal by saying that I'm sorry for not updating the site last week but I will get to the reason for that in a minute. Last time I wrote I had just had my one month meeting with my derm and had thought things went well. If you remeber I got that sweet cortisone injection that hurt so much and thought things were going well. My acne was looking alot better and the shot I got for those two big pimples really helped them go away quickly. But things took a turn for the worste a couple days later as I recieved a call two days after my appointment from the nurse at my derm's office telling me that my blood work came back showing a fluctuation in my liver so I was told to stop taking my pills for two weeks and to come in again to get my blood work done when those two weeks were up. Well I couldn't beleive what I was hearing, things were just beginning to turn around for me. I mean my face hasn't felt this good since the beginning of first year at university and my acne was alot better. So I agreed to what on filling out my perscription till I got my blood work done again and that pretty much brings us up to date.As for my next appointment that will be on December 15th, which is in a couple of days which I'm looking forward to. As for the reason my liver was fluctuating I beleive it to be because I drank alot more than I should have the week before my derm appointment. Which probably wasn't a very good idea on my part but hey we all make mistakes. I guess I've learned from it cause I haven't had a drop of alcohol since that phone call from the nurse. So if I'm right my blood work should come back positive on Friday and I'll be back on accutane. I don't know what I'll do if I'm not allowed to go back on it, but I try not to think about it cause it has been driving me crazy these past two weeks and I have more important things to concetrate on like exams:o)
Now you might be wondering what I've been doing with myself since stopping accutane, well I'll tell you. Shortly after stopping accutane I went onto my favorite health board and asked abunch of questions about B5. The reason I was asking was because I had recently heard alot about it fighting acne. And I really didn't want to have mine come back while being off for two weeks or having the chance of going through another initial break out if I get put back on. So I've been taking 3 grams a day of B5 since coming off accutane and I beleive things have went well this past two weeks. Nothing major errupted on my face so I'm a very happy guy, that was also a major plus cause my face was the last thing I need to be thinking about right in the middle of exam week.
Other than that I really haven't changed anything else about my daily routine. The only other thing was that I started washing again in the morning every other day instead of just at nights. So basically I hope by friday to be back on the band wagon and drying out like a prune. Oh ya that was the other thing I wanted to mention my lips aren't as dry right now as tehy were when I was on the drug. I thought that was pretty quick for the moisture to come back, but I also found that during the last week I was on accutane overall I wasn't feeling as dry so maybe that was the reason for them feeling better. But anyways that's all I have for now, wish me luck on my appointment friday and I hope you guys haven't given up on because I was a way for so long.
Week Seven & Eight: December 14 - December 27
Well where did I leave off last time, oh ya I was going in for my derm appointment the next day. Well it went great, she took a crap load of blood and I found out two days later that I was back to normal and ready to start back on Accutane. I felt so good when I heard that cause I really want to finish my course off accutane. I want my acne to be gone and the only way I can see that happening is with accutane.But anyways I'm back on though I don't plan to take my full dose at first. I plan to take only half till after New Years, this is cause I don't want to have to much of a problem with having a few drinks over the next week while being on 80g which is my usual dose. So I plan to take half and add 5g of B-5 while I'm on that. I figure that should be alright, and I shouldn't have to many new pimples pop up in that week or so.
So how have things been during these two weeks, actually they have been really good. Though I was a little skeptical about the B-5 but it worked well from what I could tell. While I wasn't on accutane I was taking 5g of B-5 plus washing with water in the morning and with Cetaphil at night. Though I did stop using moisturizer in the morning which I think was a bad move so I started up again a couple days ago. For some odd reason I have a feeling that my acne is do to the fact that my skin is really dry but I'm just taking a guess. So know I moisturize pretty much every time I take a shower or wash my face, that way I know it isn't because I'm dry.
Well that's week Seven and Eight sorry if it was very short but I had alot of problems with this site and lost alot of info that wasn't backed up so I had to rewrite this from memory, so I'd just like to say sorry.
Week Nine & Ten: December 28 - January 10
Well another two weeks over, how time flies by when your skin is feeling decent. The reason I say decent instead of really good is the fact that my forehead had a little explosion of acne that I wasn't overly thrilled about, but I managed to get over it and now I'm looking 100% better. I'm also back on my full dose which is 80g, I think that might be the reason for my break out but I'm not to sure. But I feel good now and that's what counts, I'm still wondering though how long I will be on accutane. My derm never actually said and since I was off it for almost three weeks I'm not sure if that would mean that I would have to add anytime on to the end of my session. Oh well maybe I'll ask next time I'm in for an appointment.Well nothing has changed as far as my daily routine but I have noticed that since going back to my usual 80g dose my scalp has gotten alot drier and I have been feeling alot more tired when trying to play sports. My last soccer game(indoor soccer) I think I only lasted for not even 2 minute shifts. It was pretty bad and my teammates were bugging me about it after the game, but of course it's not like I'm going to wip out excuses like "well it's the medication I'm on" cause then they'd probably start asking questions about what I'm taking and I'd rather not discuss that with them. That kind of info is just for you guys:o)
Here is something I thought I'd throw out, I've heard alot of people mention that they're hair falls out during accutane. And it seems that alot of girls are really turned off by this, I can see why but I just thought that I'd say that I haven't had any hair problems. I also haven't had any up set stomach problems or major headaches or sore bones and joints. I know I haven't talked much about the other symptoms that are out there in a while so I just thought I'd add alittle blurp about it today.
Week Eleven to Ninteen: January 11 - March 19
Oh my god I can't beleive it has taken me this long to finally get this thing back up and running. But it's probably a good thing because nothing new has really happened since I last wrote, but I'll give a low down of the last almost two months (god I'm sorry).Alright where to begin, lets start with my daily routine. I still only wash once every two days with cetaphil and with just water during the morning and just before bed. After washing I use cetaphils moisturizer and that's it, that's my entire routine. It's really simple and it seems to work. Next your probably wondering if I'm still on accutane and the answer is yes I am. Though at the end of february I had to reduce my dose from 80 mg to 40 because of my still above average count in liver enzymes. So I've been on just 40 mg for just over two weeks and things are still going great so I'm happy.
Other news to report is the fact that I've probably had maybe 5 new pimples since I last wrote which for me is so excellent I jump for joy some times:o). The other great thing is that my scares are beginning to heal and I've actually been able to go out side with my hair done and with out wearing a hat. I can actually look in the mirror and see the guy I used to be. Nothing makes me happier when no matter what kind of light is on me I still can barely see any visible scaring. I mean of course there is still plenty of mental scaring and a few small barely noticable pited scares. It's been a long time since I've been able to go outside with out hanging my head low hoping people won't look at me. But this is my update for the last couple of weeks and I will be posting another after my derm appointment which is on the 28th since I doubt I will have much to write before then.
Week Twenty: March 20 - March 26
Well another week has passed. Great news, this week I had not even one zit the entire seven days. I love it when I can say that, it makes me feel so good. Other great news it was my birthday in the 22nd another year older. My god I'm already 23 I can't beleive how time flies by:o) Anyways back to acne :-( nothing has changed in my daily routen and I doubt it will change until I'm done my course of accutane. The side effects I'm currently experiencing are dry lips( well actually dry everything) and the fact that I get really tired very easily when playing sports, and last of all I think it's messing up metabolism cause I have gained about 20 pounds since christmas so I'm not to sure what's up wiht that. But anyways that's my story for the week, I get to go to the derms this week for an appointment so I'll keep you posted as to how that goes.
Week Twenty One: March 27 - April 2
Hey everyone I'm back after another week of being on Accutane. Well I've officially entired my final month of Accutane and things are looking good. Though I did have my first pimple in about three or four weeks which kind of sucked but it was a small one and was gone the next day. I also had my appointment with my derm last wednesday and I think it went really well. I say this because I haven't had a call from them saying anything was wrong with my bloood test which is always a good thing.As for my routine, nothing has changed though it's been a little harder to wash my face due to a huge blood blister on my finger which really hurts when I wash so it's been tough. But other than that things are good, I will be continueing to take 40 grams of accutane one day and 80 the next for the remaining four weeks. So I'm crossing my fingers that this will be the only course of accutane I need as I really don't want to due this again, and plus my medical coverage ends this year:o(
Week Twenty Two: April 3 - April 9
Here goes another installment of my journal :o) The best thing that happened this week was nothing hehehehe. I didn't have one pimple all week long and on top of that my doctor never phoned to tell me that my blood work came back with problems. So all in all it was a great week, still using the same routine and it seems as though the pitted scars on my forehead have almost disapeared which is a magor releaf cause I hated those marks. Even though they were pretty small I always seemed to notice them. I don't no what else I really have to say, I've really been wondering what kind of routine I'll be using in couple weeks when I'm of this stuff and I think that scares me the most. Because I can't stand to think that my acne will come back so if anyone has any ideas as to a routine that might work don't hesitate to email me :o) Well that' all I got for this week.Week Twenty Three & Twenty Four: April 10 - April 23
Well two weeks have passed and not much news to report except for the fact that I have not had a pimple in over three weeks. This is great and I tell you I'm feeling so good. I'd almost forgot what it was like to go out in public and wonder if some one was looking at me because I have acne or not. I used to wear a hat whenever people were around to try and hide my acne, I even hated taking it off when I went to the dinner table to eat with my family. Know I feel good to be able to not wear that hat, it's like not having that hat on has lifted a great weight of my shoulders and reminds me of how lucky I am for the time being to not have acne. I just hope that this is a long term thing as I don't know if I could take it coming back. My final doctors appointment is on April 27th and then I guess I'm on my own, I think. I never thought I'd be so worried or so said to see the end of my course, this is mostly because as long as I'm taking it I'm pretty much guaranteed I won't get a pimple but I have no idea as to what will happen when I'm off accutane.Well I guess that's what I'll be talking about when I next tune in so remember me and check this page out in a week or two. Till then take care.
Four Month Update
Hello everyone who visits my site, yes it has been a while since I have updated it and I am very sorry for that. My summer has been really busy and I have not had much time to do anything on the side like this. But here I am and here is how I have been doing. Things have been awesome, I am so glad that I went on accutane even though it was a total pain in the ass. All that dry skin and watching how much alcohol I drank was a drag but it was totally worth it. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I don't still get acne cause I do. But it is a totally different acne from what I used to get. For the past two years I would get these huge horrible pimples that were the size of grapes that would stay around for weeks and it was killing me. But now all I get is the odd one maybe every week I get one. And let me tell you they are gone the next day, these pimples are so small half the time I don't even pop them or touch them cause they don't hurt and I can't even tell they're there unless I look really close in the mirror. So that is the first awesome part from Accutane, secondly the oily face which also sucked in a big way. After talking to so many people who had been on accutane and said that the oil came back almost right a way I was so nervous that this was the case. Cause the oil really was a downer for me as well case my face never used to be oily, I mean it would be a bit on my nose but that was it. But yet again it has not came buck which rocks the world. Now you might be asking yourself Jeff what are you doing right now for a washing regimen? Well it is very simple and not much different from what I was doing while on accutane. In the mornings after I was done accutane I would wash with cetiphil and then put some face lotion on, know just recently I only wash in the morning with water but I put lotion on 6 minutes before washing with water cause I have really dry skin and don't want to peel or have the oil come back. As for the nights I was with Cetiphil and put face lotion on and that is it. Nice and simple and I'm not putting 18 million differnt things on my face which is the worse thing you can do to your self. Now I also thought I would give a little bit of advice to you people and here it is. When finishing your treatement on accutane don't stray from your regimin you used while on accutane. I say this cause if you go back to using benzyol peroxide all you will end up doing is drying your face out again and damaging your skin putting you right back were you started. I find this true atleast for people who normally have a dry skin condition like myself. Over drying of the face will cause acne cause of the damage you are cause to the skin. But that is all I have to say for now and hope you all take care. I will update this site for know on at the end of every month.Five Month Update
Hello all, I'm back once again. I know it has been awhile and I wasn't planning on updating this site again but after a request for an update I decided that it was a good time to put one in. So how have been over the past 5 months, well things have been great. Not much has changed since the last update, I mean I am still acne free meaning I get the odd pimple which is very small and goes away after a day. As for my daily regimen I am now using a facial cleanser called Spectra Gel which is really amazing stuff and leaves my skin feeling very soft. I use this cleanser in the morning and at night, and after washing i use a moisturizer called Dermal Therapy which I also find to work really well. Other than that I don't use anything else. And the best part is that the oil never cam back, it's been 9 months and I don't have to worry about having a bucket load of oil on my face an hour after washing. Now have there been any bad things since my last update, well I'm afraid to say yes. Unfortunately since I had dry skin to begin with accutane really did a number on my skin. And I still am having dry skin problems all over my body, especially my back and legs. I am still trying to find a solution to this and will keep you updated on that. What I am just starting and hope this will help is since winter has come full force upon us here in the north I am going to put a humidifier in my bedroom for when I'm asleep and try and force that moisture back into my skin. Other than that I don't know what to do, I went to the doctors last week and they couldn't do anything for me so if anyone out there has any idea's please email. And I don't know if I say this enough but thank you to all you readers out there I've gotten alot of emails from people thinking about going on accutane and from people jsut starting out and I have tried to reply to them all. It's wonderful to hear from you guys and I hope more people will continue to drop me a line. Thanks Jeff.
Great Fun Links
FREE 40 GB IPOD MP3 PLAYER - This site shows you how to get a free 40gb Ipod or a 20gb Iriver,Archos or Creative labs mp3 player/video player(3.8 inch lcd on it, very cool)!
Great Quiz Page - Do you get bored like I do when downloading, well if you do try this site out. It's a site with alot of quizzes for everyone. And they pay you for every quizz you do! I think it's a great thing :) Try it out the next time you are bored. .
Roche US Pharmaceuticals - Accutane - this is the official site for Accutane, created by Roche Laboratories, which manufactures Accutane.
Great Acne Related Links
Acne Regimen - This site seems to be very good I haven't looked at the whole thing but was impressed with what I saw.
Celeste's journey through Accutane - This site is done by Celeste there is lots of good links and info here so check it out.
Acne Message Boards
Healthboards.com's Acne Message Board - This was the first acne board I ever wwent to, it gave me alot of hope and helpful tips. But recently after a new moderator came it has really gone down hill. But you can make your own judgement about it.
Absolute Acne Info - I haven't posted here yet but heard that it is a great board.
Written By: Jeff Blake
Started November 1 2000