Accutane -- Worse before Better

[sonya]

Some people said that drinking milk and accutane at the same time is bad because it is vit a, but the box says that it is good to drink it with milk since it needs fatty stuff to be absorbed well??
what is the deal here?

[Danielle]

Pillow wrote:

Hey guys. I've been on Accutane for around 8+ weeks but i see no improvements!:( really sad about it. In fact, i think it got redder and more scarring? HELP

You need to cut down your doseage - start by skipping a week or 2.... your skin can't possibly heal the old breakouts when there is no moisture to allow the cells to rebuild themselves... the only scarring i ever got was when i was on accutane because the irritated pimples were so dry that they never healed properly - do yourself a favor and SKIP a few weeks - then resume but at a lower doseage - possibly taking a pill every other day or every two days.... otherwise you will be in hell the entire time and risk possible permanent scarring. Good luck.

[Diana]

I was on accutane for 6 months--my acne got worse for the first 4 months. I stopped 8 weeks ago, and even though I still had 1-2 pimples--right now my face is clear. I haven't worn makeup in a week--and that is amazing!
The red blotches are gone, and I had really red areas while on the drug.
My joint pains are gone too--
Now using proactive, I don't want to wait until my acne comes back--Im just going to keep up with the skin care.
Hope you all hang in there--I truly thought I was going to die.

[Steve Paradise]

Although after reading these posts I realize I have nothing extraordinary to share or ask, yet I somehow felt an urge to speak. I am finishing my 2nd month of accutane (40 mg)- and the general acne control I've established over the last 6 or 7 years, via vigilant daily supervision of potential breakouts- years of antibiotics, peroxide, salycic acid, benzaclin, tazorac, gels etc- has wholly and completely fallen away since June.. The nuissance of that twice daily routine made life about a notch less comfortable, and my distaste for it, as well as my fear of the curiously intense shattering social catastrophe of breakouts (occasional weeks or months-long battles with persistant strains of acne)- led me to seek the only medication which promised a permanent redemption.
At the current moment, I have severe acne. I don't believe its ever been quite like this- my face is a mess. And as for my lips- they are existing in a constant state of trauma, worse I believe then when I busted them up hideously in a biking accident last year. I feel that they're being permanently deranged- they are a bloody, misshapen tangle of skin.
And that disabling sentiment of social disaster is more real then ever. I truly don't want to see anyone. I can't expect anyone to see me without resorting to fear or pity, in all circumstances I am immediately unequal to the people in the world around me. Its quite possible for me to stick to myself and my work whilst the summer is underway, so I have declined a family vacation and friends' parties, but even alone I scoff at myself for my disgusting ailment. In truth I'm usually not very concerned with appearences, yet this sort of intense breakout is impossible for me to hide, even from just myself; its as if a voice has invaded my formerly secluded artistic/ academic mind-space screaming constantly; " how un-beautiful you've become! how impure! how vile, how gross! all and everything of you is but a loose corpuscular probability, flaking and pealing and popping; you have no body no center, you are a a skummish freak!"
Anyway, I'm 20 years old and I feel like a pathetic kid. 2 months and counting; a very, very low time for me..

[Danielle]

Steve Paradise wrote:

Although after reading these posts I realize I have nothing extraordinary to share or ask, yet I somehow felt an urge to speak. I am finishing my 2nd month of accutane (40 mg)- and the general acne control I've established over the last 6 or 7 years, via vigilant daily supervision of potential breakouts- years of antibiotics, peroxide, salycic acid, benzaclin, tazorac, gels etc- has wholly and completely fallen away since June.. The nuissance of that twice daily routine made life about a notch less comfortable, and my distaste for it, as well as my fear of the curiously intense shattering social catastrophe of breakouts (occasional weeks or months-long battles with persistant strains of acne)- led me to seek the only medication which promised a permanent redemption.
At the current moment, I have severe acne. I don't believe its ever been quite like this- my face is a mess. And as for my lips- they are existing in a constant state of trauma, worse I believe then when I busted them up hideously in a biking accident last year. I feel that they're being permanently deranged- they are a bloody, misshapen tangle of skin.
And that disabling sentiment of social disaster is more real then ever. I truly don't want to see anyone. I can't expect anyone to see me without resorting to fear or pity, in all circumstances I am immediately unequal to the people in the world around me. Its quite possible for me to stick to myself and my work whilst the summer is underway, so I have declined a family vacation and friends' parties, but even alone I scoff at myself for my disgusting ailment. In truth I'm usually not very concerned with appearences, yet this sort of intense breakout is impossible for me to hide, even from just myself; its as if a voice has invaded my formerly secluded artistic/ academic mind-space screaming constantly; " how un-beautiful you've become! how impure! how vile, how gross! all and everything of you is but a loose corpuscular probability, flaking and pealing and popping; you have no body no center, you are a a skummish freak!"
Anyway, I'm 20 years old and I feel like a pathetic kid. 2 months and counting; a very, very low time for me..

Your dose is def too high.... that's why you're getting the "worse before better stage" with a vengence.... do yourself a favor.... i've been there 3 times before and this is the absolute BEST thing you can do so that you can salvage at least a little of your summer. Stop the accutane today, wait 2 days, start taking anti-biotics (tetracycline) or something similar until the acne begins healing.... your face needs some sort of moisture to heal the acne and judging by the condition of your lips, nothing is in heal mode. Needless to say moisturize like crazy (use murad acne) and drink a ton of water. Wait about a week or 2 and your face will begin to feel normal again. Then take ONLY 20 mg of the tane every OTHER day.... you need to start this stuff slowly if you don't want the hellish "worse before better" which can cause severe scarring. Then everytime you feel the need, alternate with the antibiotics.... Then, work your dose back up - even if you have to stay on longer than 4 months it's better this way so that you can still remain a part of the world and not have to seclude yourself from other people and life in general. But remember, don't take the tane and antibiotics together... you must wait at least a day in between otherwise you might get hypertension (brain swelling). Good luck and hang in there!!

[John]

My purge/IB lasted about 1.5 months. When I limited my dairy/sugar intake... I started to clear up. Not sure if it's a coincidence or not, but limiting these two things in the past never seemed to help.

[Chris]

Been on accutane now for 3 months and my face is zoo much better...the scars that everyone worries about really do go away...this may seem happy and amazing but I will confess the first month I wanted to hide little kids would ask me what happened to my face spring break was simply sad and it ruined my senior pics but now my friends run up to me and rub my face compliment and then say how amazed they are at how it looks bc trust me it was a disaster...strips of dead skin, glowing red almost purple complexion, swolen, and worst of all people would treat me different my friends felt sorry for me and strangers stared in disgust and were rude.....it's just skin but that was close to the worst month of my entire life

[Chris]

And a tip for everyone especially the ones that are in the "construction phase" of accutane...mix just a dab of aquaphor in with your lotion I used cetaphil bc aveeno felt like someone was holding a torch to my raw skin but watev works for you...your skin will feel/look a little slimey but it's better than havings strips of skin flake off and bleed. And when your in the "recovery stage" when your skin is healed enough to handle aveeno you can use this aveeno lotion called aveeno positively radiant that has a tinted moisturizer in it...it looks kinda like makeup when it comes out of the bottle but guys I promise as long as you get the tone that fits your skin color you will never know you have it on...and when that glowing redness sets in you will not care what you have to use to cover it up

[Elm]

Hey guys, come on.... this is the best ever treatment. I mean, antibiotics are very strong too and can cause a lot of other things on your body, and is not as effective as this is. I'm on accutane for about 4 months now, I still have lots of red scars, but I'm very positive it will solve my problem, and clean up my face. Although I also have melasma (the brown spots on my face which I'll have to treat after my treatment with accutane)
Now those there are afraid of taking it, I'll encourage you to think positively, the side effects aren't as bad as everybody else sad to me when I was about to start. I actually felt so good after few weeks on it I could see some progress, although not close to what I expect, but I'm still positive after the treatment it'll be worth.(I was very worried before start with that too)

[Elm]

One very important think also to prevent IB is to start with a low dosage on the 1st month, you can ask your Dr. for that. After that you can start with the correct dosage accordingly to your weight.
Please don't take accutane without the supervision of a Dr, and do the blood test every month.... PLeeeeeease... that is very important and could be very dangerous for your health.

[fmyface]

heather wrote:

i'm starting today! my appt. is at 4, i'm ECSTATIC, can't wait to have clear skin!! i will endure WHATEVER i have to to get these cysts off my face!!!!!

well, expect a long, bumpy (literally) road...

[Jimmy]

I am starting my Accutane treatment 2morrow. I get a huge new cystic acne every week and I am sick and tired of it. This is my 5th year of having non-stop acne. I hope this really works out for me. Wish me luck guys. =]

[James]

I've finally started a course of Accutane after months of waiting! This is my 6th day on the course, starting at 40mg for the first two weeks. I'm then going up to 60mg and 70mg two weeks later.

No change so far really - perhaps I'm breaking out a little more at the moment but I can't really tell. My lips are a little dry but not too bad. How long should it take before I see the first signs of improvement? My derm. quoted 3-4 weeks - can it be sooner or later?

[james C]

i have now been on roaccutane for 3 months and to be honest i wish i never started it. i still have big lumps on my cheeks and recently had some come up on my forehead, its so annoying that it hasnt cleared as i was told it would but around my nose it is clear. the worse part of this is waking up and looking in the mirror in the mornings to see my face swollen, it gets me really down as i would be really happy with my self and my body if it wasn't for this acne

[Jimmy]

james C wrote:

i have now been on roaccutane for 3 months and to be honest i wish i never started it. i still have big lumps on my cheeks and recently had some come up on my forehead, its so annoying that it hasnt cleared as i was told it would but around my nose it is clear. the worse part of this is waking up and looking in the mirror in the mornings to see my face swollen, it gets me really down as i would be really happy with my self and my body if it wasn't for this acne

Hey James,
I been having those swollen bumps for years now. I know how you feel. My friend who was previously on the treatment had the same problem as you. He suggest to me that I put Emu Oil on my face every night while I sleep. Emu Oil acts as a anti-inflammatory while moisturizing your face. My buddy's face is amazing now. So you should give it a try.

Goodluck. Stay Strong!!!=]

[SonsMom]

My 17 yo son is slated to start accutane in a week. Got the bloodwork done two days ago. Concerned about the lips main thing. His lips are always dry now. Got a good lip balm from derm tho ($9.50!).

His acne is severe and painful on his back. He has it on his chest and it has started to go on his shoulders. His face isn't too bad, but just recently he got a swollen upper lip from acne.

Of course, the initial breakout is also a concern. But, I've seen before and after pics and it is amazing. I've also heard that people have waited years to go on it because they were afraid and now they wonder how different their life would have been if they had taken it earlier.

So much stuff you have to sign and the monitoring is hefty too. I'll keep you posted on his progress. Thanks for all your stories!
Mom

[SonsMom]

I just wanted to add that he has been on several different antibiotics over the course of four years and nothing has touched his back. He doesn't like to go swimming because of how bad it is.

[Nick]

I've only just started taking accutane im on about 1 and a half weeks so far and probably have the worst skin of my life right now, I've got a big breakout oddly on just the one cheek and the all around my chin and mouth, I have always had a few spots but never as bad as this!!!I've got all the usual side effects of dry skin and lips etc burts bees wax is good for the lips!!!But to guys I have a suggestion and it's something im going to do,grow a beard to cover it up in the first few weeks, it might make it a bit more bearable!!!

[James]

@Sonsmom - I'm 17 too and just starting Accutane - I've been on it for 9 days now. No side effects other than dry lips as yet, and there hasn't been much change in my acne so far.
Like your son I won't go swimming at the moment either - let's hope the Accutane works for both of us. Good luck.

[Chris]

It's really frustrating when friends want you to go swimming and all you can do is make up excuses because you don't want them to know the actual reason