Week 1: My first week on 60mg of Accutane is over and everything is going well. What I mean going well is that I have not experienced any uncomfortable side effects. By the middle of the week my lips started to become slightly dry and my face began to peel. This peeling of my face was probably from all of the dead skins cells that were on my face. I had a lot of dead skin from the extensive use of facial creams (which failed to help anyway). So this first week I stopped the usage of ALL my creams and just moisturized. This helped the peeling as my face really has begun to exfoliate itself due to Accutane's drying effects. So in sum, the good news is the side effects are no problem yet but the bad is that my face looks about as bad as it ever has. I realize, that this being the start of June, any results from Accutane will take another month and a half to show and that good results will not be seen until summers end. I can see that there are still many lesions under the skin that still have to come through the skin. It appears that Accutane has lessened the amount of sebum under my skin though and this will allow for less acne for me to face when the drug's results finally show.
Week 2: I became very ill at the start of the second week. I experienced bad flu like symptoms, such as throbbing headache, sore throat, sore skin and bones, and fever. These symptoms lasted about 3 days and have since disappeared. My guess is that it was one of 2 things:1) side effects from Accutane, which if this is the case I will feel ill again soon (Accutane may weaken your bodies immune system in while you adjust to the medicine). Or 2) I just got the a summer bug, which I think is the case (many people were ill on my college campus this summer and begging on antibiotics for so long previous to me taking Accutane might have left me vulnerable after I stopped their usage). Anyway, the GOOD news is I feel great, just dry lips, facial peeling and dry hair. The summer humidity counters these side effects well as I pile on aloe, vitamin E moisturizer and conditioner. As for my face, it looker really bad up until a day ago (had a cyst), looks a little better now but I know I'm due for a couple of more breakouts before the treatment finally shows long-lasting results.
Week 3: Good week. My face improved this week, though I am suspicious that I will experience a few more major breakouts until the results of the medication are really seen. Suprisingly my side effects are not as bad, my lips are less dry and my hair is not as dry as it was last week. I'm still on 60mg a day and haven't decreased my dosage so reason for the lessening of side effects is unknown (could be the summer heat and humidity). Feel great, looking better, I hope this positive trend continues, though it is still early in my treatment.
Week 4: Another good week with my face showing improvement. My lips have become very dry though and my hair is dry too, but those are the only side effects I've been feeling, that is a good sign (week 2 sickness had to be summer flu). The legions that were under my skin have shrunk considerably and my face is healing quickly. Any new breakouts are much smaller than when I started the medication. I go to the doctor at the end of the week and my dosage will most likely be increased.
Week 5: Went to the doctor this week and my dosage was uped to 80mg. No improvement this week, had a few breakouts in the usual places. Side effects are not bad at all, I attribute this to a good facial routine of moisturizing, Aloe, vitamen E, and alpha hydroxies. I also have been eating well and not drinking. Hope to see some better results by the end of this next month, I go back to school in 2 months and it would be nice to have a better complexion.
Week 6: My face has shown unbelievable improvement this week. The medication is sarting to build in my system and take effect earlier than I anticipated. My complexion looks better than I can remember and it is such a liberating feeling. I realize that I am still due for a couple more breakouts but I'm very happy since the worst days are behind me. At this rate another 2 weeks to a month of improvement will leave my skin in its best condition since my last year of Jr. High. Only side effects are extremely dry lips and my face is tight (a humid summer heat wave helped ease the lips).
Week 7: Had a breakout on one side of my face this week, the good news is that it was not as bad as my usual breakouts that I tend to get every other week. I noticed that accutane over this first month and a half has eased the severity of my breakouts, as each one I get becomes less and less unsightly. My skin peels and heels very rapidly too, so those red spots do not hang around too long. I feel that I have a very good skin care routine that works well along witht the accutane, it counters the dryness and speeds the healing. Overall I'm very happy because I am very active, since I'm working outside for the summer and I excercise alot, so I place a lot of demands on my body but I have felt no bothersome side effects. Nothing except for the usual dry lips and skin. With my skin looking better and better on good days and it not looking as bad as it used to on bad days I see a steady pattern headed in the right direction toward completely clear skin.
Week 8: The other side of my face broke out earlier this week, but my face is healing quickly. If only I could go three weeks without a breakout, then my face would be able to completely heal and my skin would not look as bad when I experience new breakouts. I noticed a cycle, for two weeks I breakout and then for one week I don't and before my face can become clear I'm smacked with another breakout. The usual Good news is my acne is not nearly as bad as what I used to have and my side effects are no problem (actually the only thing bothering me is dry hair). I will be going to the doctor in a week (I'm still on 80mg) and I hope my face will show even better improvement over the next month. There are six weeks to school and I hope my complexion can improve even more by that time. I know the medication will work given time but to be honest the worst part of being on Accutane (for me) is waiting for it to work.
Week 9: I haven't had a major breakout in 2 weeks, which is great because it has allowed my face to somewhat heal. I believe that red spots and scars from past acne can make your face look just as bad as current breakouts. So without having a major breakout some of my red spots and scars have healed and my face overall has improved this week. I have gotten some pimples but nothing near as severe as I was getting. Again, I'm also not feeling any side effects except for dry lips & hair, I'm very pleased about this. Hopefully the days of major breakouts are over and all I will experience over the next 10 weeks or so are isolated zits. I'm pretty much halfway through the treatment, and I hope really great results will be seen over the next 5 weeks before school begins.
Week 10: Evan's Experience on Accutane (Week 10): My complexion is still gradually showing improvement, I had a few pimples pop up at the start of the week but they vanished fairly quickly. As of right now I have no new acne spots on my face (I cannot remember the last time this happened) and I'm very enthusiastic about my situation. I've noticed that most people in the second half of their treatment complain of "red face" but my face has not gotten a cherry blush to it at all. Believe it or not my mother said I looked pale the other day after I worked out. So I'm am also happy that I do not look like someone who is taking Accutane. Everything is going well and in the right direction and I am beginning to see glimpses of what a life free of acne will be like, as it looks like a great way to be.
Week 11: No improvement this week. My face is still getting hit with new zits here and there. The only good news is that all I'm experiencing are isolated pimples that are close to the surface of the skin which dry up quickly. Since large breakouts over the sides of my face have seemed to stop my skin has been able to heal alot from all the past breakouts I had over the weeks before I was on Accutane. The summer humidity in my area ceased (we had a record heat wave this year) and I felt my face really begin to tighten up and become dry. Hopefully the drop in humidity might help my skin more, I just have to moisturize my skin regularly because now w/o the humid air I finally am feeling the drying effects of Accutane all over my face. Only 3 more weeks to school, I know my skin will not be clear by then but I hope it improves. Time seems to move quickly while taking Accutane, as it feels like yesterday that I just started this medication, but waiting for Accutane to work feels like an eternity.
Week 12: Pow! Bam! Boom! It felt like the Accutane was like Batman and Robin in the old TV show knocking out the 'bad guys' as my face this week, for the first time I can remember, became totally clear of any zits. The Accutane was throwing some seriously heay Tyson type punches at my acne, as this week showed fantastic improvement in my skin. I was so shocked that I didn't know how to react, it felt like the first time you get your license and drive a car alone without your mother yelling at you from the passenger side, a very liberating feeling. So what did I do? I got the hell out of my house and enjoyed the late summer. As of right now, I only have a tiny zit on my left cheek and an acne spot near the side of my mouth that sneeked-up on me the last two nights. At leats now I've gotten a glimpse of life w/ 'normal' skin, what a great feeling it will be in a couple of weeks. If the next 2 weeks are as good as this I will have the best complexion of my college life when I go back to school.
Week 13: I apologize for rambling last week, as you can see I'm very enthusiastic about the good results from the Accutane. My complexion has never looked better, all I had this week was one medium sized pimple on the side of my face (which has now gone away) and I have another forming on my chin and that is it! My old scars have faded considerbly too. Again, this is a very liberating feeling. My lips were more dry than usual this week and my nose is dry but I don't mind at all because it just means the pills are working.
