My Acne Diary - Isotretinoin, Roaccutane, Accutane

Firstly, I apologise for not posting for so long…I could give excuses but I won’t bore you. Instead I will just get on with it.

Well, to catch up since my last post way back in April. I am still on 40mg daily, my dermatologist has not wanted to increase the dose as my eyes and lips are still very dry. I have had every drop on the market and from the GP and they still bother me, I just try to ignore it! As for my lips I am still using Carmex, I find this works best for me.

So, over the last six weeks I haven’t been feeling too great. I have had an awful ear infection and needed to take antibiotics for a week, I found it hard to take the Isotreinoin every day while I felt so ill so I cut back to 40mg every other day. I have woken up every day with a headache, I take a painkiller every morning! In general I have been feeling very tired.

I am trying to take my 40mg dose every day, though I am not always managing it. Sometimes just the thought of taking them is enough to make me feel sick, so I make sure I take it at least every other day.

So now for the interesting bit…My skin.

Well (I think) it looks amazing! And I don’t think that is over the top! It is worth feeling so crap. I have had no new spots since the last time I posted, all the blackheads on my nose have gone, completely. The flakiness has improved, I am using Simple Rich Moisturiser which is great, I am also using a gentle exfoliator once a week (Simple gentle scrub) which I know is not advised but I find it gets rid of all the build up of skin cells, creams, sun creams ect.

I do not get any shine on my face at all now,  I use a tinted moisturiser or very light foundation (Estee Lauder Double Wear Light is great). My face is not like an oil slick anymore so I can put on make up in the morning and I don’t even have to touch up or powder all day! I don’t need to use any concealer and I only need just a light dust of powder.

My skin is very smooth and the bumpy texture on my chin is noticeably reducing. I think it looks like I have had a few skin peels as the skin is quite fresh looking. My scars are fading nicely too.

One other thing to note. I used to have to wash my hair every day as it was so greasy, the longest I have left it without washing is 5 days! And it still looks good. I haven’t tried any longer.

So, as far as I am concerned the benefits outweigh the negatives. I feel much better within myself, I have more confidence and am doing things that I would not have done when my skin was so bad and unpredictable. I suppose the one big worry I have is that it will all come crashing back when I stop the course…I am trying not to think about it too much as I would be devastated.

I will post pictures tonight.

It has been a while, it is hard to write daily when there is not much happening. I will write once a week from now, unless anything major happens.

Well my face is still very dry despite the constant moisturising and my lips are the same too, if the balm wears off I can only last a minute without re applying.

My eyes have been so dry too. By the end of the day it is hard to even keep them open, even using the eye drops and ointment. While we are on the subject of dryness, my ears, arms, legs just about every where are dry even with moisturising.

My skin is looking pretty clear, still very pink and quite sensitive. Now the weather is getting warmer I am making sure I apply a high factor suncream every day as I don’t want to risk burning.

One other thing to note, I have noticed my chin has become a bit lumpy and it feels quite numb too so I will keep an eye on it.

I had an appointment with my dermatologist on Friday. I had to take along a urine sample to make sure I was not pregnant…I wasn’t. I was expecting him to up my dose but he thought it best to continue on 40mg for the next month, which is fine.
I felt awful all day (Friday) my joints and muscles were aching and my eyes were very dry and sore, despite the drops and ointment. I had done quite a hard exercise class the night before but as I do them most nights I don’t usually suffer, I think maybe the tablets had something to do with it? By the evening I was really struggling with the soreness in my eyes, I couldn’t read or watch the telly, all I wanted to do was keep them shut. Luckily when I woke up Saturday I was feeling allot better, though I had a bit of a breakout around my chin and above my lip. I was very naughty and popped one on the side of my chin, it was really throbbing and itchy, it had to go. Thank goodness there is not much damage and it has nearly gone.
Today my face is sore and itchy on my lower (my) left cheek, I am expecting to have a spot come up overnight. I have a few yellow heads on my chin as well as a couple coming up. There is also a yellow head under my nose which is quite sore. It is annoying to have spots again after my little reprieve, but I suppose this is what will happen. As the dermatologist said ‘It is very early days’.

Thanks again for the comments, it really helps!

There is not much to report today, my skin is much the same as yesterday. So I thought I would post some pictures to give an idea of what my skin has been like over the last few years.

The first ones show my skin the clearest it has ever been, these were taken in 2006 when I had been using Isotrexin gel for about 6 months. I had some very similar effects when using the gel as I am now with the tablets. When I first started with the gel my face became really sensitive to the sun, temperature change everything really. I had allot of peeling and my face was sore and stinging all the time, like the Isotretinoin tablets I had an initial breakout which was messy. After about 6 months my skin had adjusted and was as you can see in the photos, lovely and clear. The other benefits of the gel was the fact that any small blemishes I did get came and went really quickly due to the turnover of cells. I think my lovely skin lasted for all of 5 or 6 months.

Then it was back to my usual horrible skin, as you can see here. I was still using the Isotrexin Gel and taking Dianette (Contraceptive pill) throughout.

The first picture was taken when my skin started breaking out after the clear spell on the Isotrexin gel, this was a particularly sore cyst that was under my skin for weeks before it came to the surface. The whole side of my face was swollen.

The next picture was taken in January of this year. My skin was in a right mess here. There isn’t really much too say about it as the photo shows it all. I went out one night when it was like this and it just kept popping, I had to keep a tissue on it most of the time and I had horrible shooting pains through it. These are the times when you just want to hide under your duvet. I dread ever having to go through it again.

I have been away for a few day’s so I will update on what has been happening with my skin. I also want to say thanks for taking the time to leave comments, it is good to know that there are people reading and maybe getting some hints or tips to help them along their way.

My skin has been pretty good, the rough grainy texture has definitely smoothed out and I had no active spots until today. I have just one fairly big one on my chin that has been itching and throbbing all day, it is just coming to a head now. My lips are still super dry, nothing to do there but keep putting the lip balm on, though I do panic if there is not one in my pocket or in sight. My eyes are very dry and gritty feeling, they get so sore. I love reading but in the evening it can be hard.

I went away for a weekend that involved lots of swimming and also being outside. I love going on holidays but it also can be really hard when you face is a mess, I love to swim but have always had a feeling of dread especially when I have had really large cysts, so it was such a relief to not have to worry at all. Usually I would be paranoid about how my skin was looking, needing to go and check in the toilet mirrors. A weight was lifted!

As for my skin in the pool, on the first day I went in without putting anything on my face (except what was already there from the morning, moisturiser and light make up) I had to take my lip balm, I put it down the side of my costume and luckily it didn’t fall out!
My face felt a little bit dry in the pool, but it wasn’t till I got out and started to dry myself properly that it became really dry, I had to get cream on it quickly as it was so uncomfortable.

So the next day I made sure I put plenty of moisturiser, I used the Eucerin, before I went in the pool and it definitely helped. I also put lots more on when I got out too.

Something I have noticed since my skin has become clearer is my dependence on my mirror, powder, concealer and make up in general has really eased. I am not a vain person, but I have always had to constantly check my face, whether I am at home, in the car, on the street. I am making sure my spots are covered up as best they can be or my face isn’t super shiny ect. It is so nice to not have to get worked up that I have got to go somewhere or meet someone and I have a cyst the size of a small house on my face, that you could not cover if you tried.

I have swapped from a foundation to a tinted moisturiser, and only have to use a dusting of powder as my face is not the oil slick it was a few weeks ago. Yes It is only the 19th day but if things carry on like this even if I do get any set backs the results will be great.

Finally, someone said to me yesterday they could not believe I had three children as I was so young. I told her I was 33 and she said it is because I have such beautiful skin I look so young. Enough said!

Since starting this course, I have not stopped slathering my lips with whatever I have to hand, usually Blistex or Carmex, or Vaseline if nothing else is around. Even so, I woke this morning and when I opened my mouth my lips split…Ouch! They were so dry, even with the lipbalm on. Anyway, over the course of the day the whole top layer of skin has come of, they feel allot better now! I think it will happen again as I can feel another little split on the top lip.

Well apart from that, I have been waking up with a splitting headache. I think it is due to the fact that I am not drinking water through the night, I usually wake up a few times in the night so I am going to try to drink when I do. My eyes are still super dry which is probably a bit too blame too.

I must say my skin is looking pretty good! I have no active spots at the moment, only the last remains of a couple from last week. My skin does seem to have a grainy texture, all over, I am not sure what that is and I hope it goes. Though I would rather have that anyday than a face full of painful cysts. I look like I have had a face peel, my skin is red, but my husband said it looks really healthy.

My face isn’t reacting so badly to temperature changes in my body, when I did my exercise class tonight it didn’t become red so quickly and was not sore at all after, so that’s good news.

I haven’t had too much trouble with flakiness the last couple of days either. I have found that if I cover my face with a thin layer of Vaseline (I can’t believe I’m smothering my face with that stuff, I would not of put it near my skin before I started this!) before I go to bed and also in the morning (If I’m not leaving the house) and it seems to be keeping it under control.

Despite all the little problems, I am so glad I decided to do this and I am, at this point, feeling really positive. I think 6 months of discomfort for the chance to have good skin is, for me, well worth it. It is hard to grow up with acne as it affects so much of your life, I wish I could have done this years ago. That said I don’t know If I would have managed so well back then.

The main thing to report today is how dry my eyes are. They feel fine when they are closed…But I can’t get through the day with my eyes shut! My husband made yet another trip to Boots to get me some ointment, as this will stay in my eyes for a longer period. It is thick like Vaseline and when you put it in your eyes you can’t see properly for about 30 secs, it does seem to be helping. I have also posted a photo of the products I am using on my face now and why I like them.

My face is still a lovely shade of red and I have a few more active spots on my chin. I have also had a few little yellow heads come up around my eyebrows and nose but the seemed to have gone after my bath. I have started to flake/peel allot more today, my hairline and eyebrows in particular. I also noticed more flakiness when I put my make up on, I know that as the peeling gets worse my make up is going to look awful but I will deal with that when it happens.

Also my cheeks feel bruised, like they have been pinched hard all over. They look very red and I think that I may have something coming up there too.

The other thing I have noticed is my pores are really noticeable all over my face especially on my forehead, which is about the only place I don’t get spots! Again I think the redness and heat on my face doesn’t help and also when you scrutinise your face as many times as I do a day you are bound to pick up on every little change. 
 

So, I really look like I have been skiing. I have the red wind/sun burn face and white marks around my eyes like I’ve been wearing goggles!

Apart from that my chin has broken out, but I was expecting that. It is sore and itchy and I have a couple of big yellow headed ones that look awful, but I am keeping my hands off as this drug can make your skin more susceptible to scarring. I have allot more peeling today, around my nose and my chin. My scalp must be drying too as I have noticed quite a few flakes in my hair.

I got my Dermalogica today, as soon as I used the calming cleanser I knew it would be perfect. After I washed it off and patted my skin dry there was absolutely no tightness, in fact I didn’t need to instantly moisturise either, though I did pretty quick as I wanted to try the Dermalogica barrier repair, which again was great. The two products did cost £50…But it is most definitely worth it.