My Acne

I have just finished a course of accutane. I am here to answer any questions and provide support! Ask away!

[acnezone]

My skin after 6 months of accutane (me on the right). Not a spot in sight. Worth every minute of it. Look at my previous posts to see my skin before the treatment.

[acnezone]

Hi guys, its zak here from UK. I've been a long acne sufferer since a young age although had good periods in college with Duac gel (my first prescription) before i became immune to it. im 23 now, Skin has been OK, much more controlled although have very bad months every year, which really annoys the hell out of me :( Currently having painful cystic spots especially around the lips and nose and prescribed Differin. not sure if hormonal or stress related this time.. any success stories?

Hi thanks for your message! Differin didnt work too well for me. I am on accutane now and it seems to be working so far. Got one month left!

[acnezone]

Skin

Hi all. I have been on roaccutane for almost 4 months now. My skin is so good it's unreal. I am so happy. But in the back of my mind, I am worried that it will come back when I finish my course. With regard to the side effects; of course I have dry skin, but I underestimated the extent of it. Some places I didn't even consider are very dry! But I don't have any other major problems. In the first month when I was on the highest dosage, I was very tired and just generally not myself. But as the dosage has been reduced, my body seems to have gotten used to it. I am not very good at drinking lots of water, so this has been a challenge for me. I have been trying hard to make sure I have at least 3 glasses a day (I know I should have more). The weather has started to get sunnier of late, so it is very important for me to wear makeup/tinted moisturiser with SPF 50 in. Unfortunately, that level of SPF is expensive. But it's worth it if it reduces pigmentation. To help with dryness I have stocked up on Vaseline, Eucerin Lotion, Savlon, Sudocrem and Aloe Vera based moisturiser. I also have a tonne of different body butters. I hope this post helps anyone else going through the accutane treatment. Please get in touch if you have any questions.

[acnezone]

Happy Saturday everyone! Just thought I'd drop by to give you a mini skin update :). It is certainly get drier by the day which is a good sign that the accutane pills are working.

I went to the pharmacy and purchased some Eucerin nourishing cream...or something similar, but it's only to use overnight. But I shall report back on its effects over the next few days. I have read that a lot of those who have taken the drug have used aquaphor which I have ordered. But the lady I spoke to today warned my that this is very likely to block the pores and is supposed to be used for eczema and psoriasis. But I will keep it in case my skin becomes awful. Anyway. I hope you all have a great weekend and I will be back soon!

[acnezone]

Week one of roaccutane. Skin is starting to get dry. Those spots were already there before starting so it isn't my initial breakout...

[acnezone]

Hi! If you type in my URL and the type /tagged and then /roaccutane you can see a pic of my skin during initial breakout vs 2 weeks later. Such a difference already. Be reassured that even though you do breakout it does start to work so quickly! X

Aww thank you. Very kind of you to get in touch and be so reassuring!

[acnezone]

It's been my first day on the pill so obv nothing is going on. Got two new cysts on my chin and a couple of smaller spots :/ sad times! But hopefully roaccutane can come to my rescue. How big were the initial breakouts for anyone who is or has been on it?

[acnezone]

I've never used Aquaphor as a lotion for my face but I use it on my lips bc they're crazy dry from the medicine but it works sooooo well! 10/10 would use again lol

Oh hello! Thanks for getting in touch. Really appreciate it :) are you on roacc?

[acnezone]

I have ordered some auquaphor for my face and lips. Let me know your experiences with this!

[acnezone]

Guys I'm starting roaccutane today. Excited and nervous at the same time!!

[acnezone]

I was on Tetralysal for about 3 months. Unfortunately, it only seems to work while you are on the treatment. Almost immediately after finishing the treatment, my acne can back.

I had the same thing! My skin is a bit more manageable these days but I am going to the hospital in January because I have had enough and wish to try roaccutane

[acnezone]

Moan

Hello followers!!

My skin isn't awful but it isn't good. I think it's the odd sugary things I have eaten. The lymecycline does seem to help but not completely. Sigh. I've got a doctors appt next week so I will give you all an update on how that goes.

Anybody got any tips and experiences to share? Might cheer me up!

[acnezone]

I think I may have pcos :(

Apparently this can cause acne and insulin resistance which could explain all my problems. Ahhhhh.

[acnezone]

Grrrr!! Skin needs to get better. Sick sick sick of being spotty. It's so hard to stay positive sometimes. I'm hoping the gym will take my mind off it.

[acnezone]

Hi! It's so hard waiting for the Lymecycline to work, isn't it!! My derm said that it needs 3 months (2 months for the active acne and a month to make sure it's actually gone); if at the month 12 stage the improvement is substantial, it's probably not going to work. The only thing that I've really noticed as a side effect is that I get nauseous at about 2pm every day... something to do with how the Lymecycline gets digested. How are you feeling on it? Are you still using topicals too? :-)

Oh right. I just want some improvement so I can feel a little better.

I have felt a bit nauseous from time to time now you mention it. But that’s it really.

I do have the topicals but I don’t use them because they dry my skin out so much. Do you use them?? They also make it really red and raw looking.

Have you ever tried accutane?? Also, have you ever tried any herbal remedies?

They sound interesting. I take milk thistle and vitamin a tablets. They seem to help with the oiliness of my skin. But that's it. I use a really mild face wash called cetaphil which is good! But not so good for getting rid of make up.

[acnezone]

Hi! So sorry to see your post about the Lymecycline. I started it the same day you did (I think!). My face was an absolute WRECK before I started and now it's definitely much, much flatter. But, that said, I still have a LONG way to go as the infection was so bad before and my face is now heavily scarred (with some new cysts). My Lymecycline was prescribed by a dermatologist: it's supposed to work within 3 months. Did your doctor give you any time limit before referring you (back?) to a derm?

Hello!! He said 6-8 weeks so maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. I think maybe my skin is a little better but I'm so sick of my spots that I get really impatient. Have you had any other side effects? I don't think I have. Thanks for chatting with me!

[acnezone]

Hey! I'm also on Lymecycline and thought it was going really well, too, but now I'm having a bit of a wobble. I've been reading on the net that it's great for pimple-type acne but I can't see much about deeper acne. Do you have a plan b? Not sure how often you get to see a doctor - perhaps they'll be able to reassure you? Chin up - it's going to get better! :)

Hello lovely! Thank you for your kind message. The doctor said to go back in 6-8 weeks so I will wait until then. He wants to put me on roaccutane I think. That's my plan b. I have to go to a dermatologist though. I have more cystic acne so that might be why it isn't working? How long have you been on the lym for? ;)