#accutane tips

[milkofthewildpoppy]

thanks Accutane (also fuck you, Accutane)

Imma just rant for a second / ignore this Accutane is amazing and I’m on my last month of it but goddamn the cons so heavily outweigh the pros and this last month is gonna be hard. So, real talk, here’s a warning for anyone thinking about it. Mostly just a rant tho.

Pros:

clear skin! success! 

you barely even have to use dry shampoo. my hair will refuse to get oily for DAYS so that’s cool

Cons:

you become a lizard person. I have never been so dry

dehydrated as hell even if you drink over 2L of water/day like I do

wake up with heavy nosebleeds at least 3 nights/week

yes even if I put vaseline up my nostrils. I was told by my Derm to do that. my pillow is still a crime scene when I wake up. soooo.

purchase stock in Aquaphor because you’re gonna be using a lot of it on your dry-ass lips

and if you don’t use Aquaphor you’re gonna be licking your lips every 2 seconds like a fucking creep

your scalp flakes so don’t wear dark shirts

tired all the time

expect your exercise routine to go to shit because if you lift/run your joints will scream at you the next day

the depression. holy shit the depression. it hits like a wave and you can be fine for the first few months of your Accutane treatment and then just??? it HITS. for the last six weeks all I’ve wanted to do is sleep. just sleep and sleep and sleep and there’s little flitting moments of joy but it’s so rare. 

people will try to say there isn’t a definitive link between Accutane and depression--that is because there hasn’t been a study just to demonstrate a causal relationship between the two because controlled trials of such would be problematic and unethical (under the Discussion section). I have a BS in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. You can try to fight me on this pedantic “buh buh buh there’s no actual proof it causes depression” bull, I’ll beat you over the head with the correct interpretation of scientific articles about it.

There is a reason your doc will/should ask you, “Have you experienced any depression or thoughts of suicide on it?” 

so all in all, thanks accutane but also hey accutane, you can eat my entire ass.

[myaccutaneupdates]

this post is horribly organized, so sorry for that. i’m finally done with my accutane journey!! honestly looking back on this is so bittersweet, i never thought that my skin would look the way it does today. i’ve gained so much confidence and i feel like i can be myself. thank you all so so much for your endless support and kind messages. it really means a lot and is what kept me going these past several months. i know i’ve been VERY inactive, and i apologize for that. let me know if you have any suggestions for future posts, or if i should make a video about my journey? i’ll always be here if you need help, tips, or have any questions about accutane. is it too soon to say i love you? haha but really i love you all so much :-) you really make my days better. also happy valentine’s day! <3 that’s all for now, goodbye!!

TLDR: i’m done with accutane! after 9 long months i have the skin of my dreams! thank you all for your support! :-)

1.9.18-2.14.19

[the-nerdler]

Accutane tips

So I've got 3.5 more days on accutane (isotretinoin as it's actually called). I did 6 months on it and I just wanted to give some tips based on what I experienced.

You must have a high fat diet. When I was taking 80mg a day (two 40mg) the dermatologist told me that I needed to be consuming the same amount of fat as is in 4 Big Macs. That's 120g of fat which is nearly impossible to get unless you are actually eating 4 Big Macs. I ended up going into a fat deficit of sorts bc I wasnt having enough fat in my diet. I got severe stomach pains and a fever that lasted a week and a half.

You dont need a fancy 5 step skincare regimen while on accutane. You shouldn't use any sort of acne treatment like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide no matter how much you want that pimple to go away. For me I used cetaphil face wash, a physical exfoliator every other day, and eucerin advanced therapy lotion.

By the 4th month when my skin really started to change it was just shedding of layers like crazy it was so gross so I reccomend getting a mild physical exfoliator to help clear away the dead gunk.

Your lips will become so incredibly dry. My fave chapstick while I've been on accutane is the chapstick brand coconut oil one (it's in a silver tube with a brown banner around it).

Getting the damn prescription every month was absolutely tedious. The ipledge program is a pain but totally necessary. When you have your appointment make sure to watch and double check that your dermatologist confirms you with ipledge every month.

You wont see improvements immediately. I still had pimples up until I was starting my 6th month.

If you are prone to eczema or psoriasis or any other autoimmune disease you might have a relapse of it. I had eczema as a kid and my arms and legs became covered in eczema spots. Check out the ketogenic diet and the AIP diet they are good for autoimmune diseases as well as the high fat diet needed for accutane.

Accutane is super rough on your liver so limit your alcohol consumption.

DRINK THAT WATER

Seriously drink lots of water.

There is no actual scientific evidence to link depression and anxiety to accutane. I myself suffered from severe anxiety and depression but I did not get worse while on accutane.

So my tips are just based on what I've experienced. Medications react completely differently for different people. Somethings that happened to me might or might not happen to you. If you are considering taking accutane it should be your last resort. If you have tried absolutely everything with little to no results then try accutane bc its a heavy duty drug. And make sure to do your research beforehand.

[myaccutaneupdates]

7.17.18

day: ???

i thought i’d post a skin update since i haven’t in a little while. i’ve only had one zit above my lip (which was annoying but oh well) but my skin has been clear otherwise. the only things i’m really dealing with are redness and minimal hyperpigmentation. also i cut my hair the other day because i wanted a change haha. so yeah, that’s what’s been going on in my life. i hope you’re all doing well!! :-)

[myaccutaneupdates]

8.16.18

day idk: i know my skin looks really blotchy and idk why it is but i haven’t had any new breakouts since that last picture update. also my lips look dry because they are haha

[myaccutaneupdates]

an open letter to the boy who made fun of my acne today

02.09.18

disclaimer: i wrote this back in February but never posted it.

Hi, I don't know you or your name, but you apparently know me enough to make fun of me. We've never spoken, the only similarity we have is the school we go to and the class we're in. I probably shouldn't be second guessing what you did, but I am. You're a freshman in high school, but that's no excuse to treat others like crap. You've probably never had a zit in your life, lucky you. You have no consideration for the feelings of others and don't think before you speak.

Over the past four years of having acne, i've recieved several comments. They've ranged from "wow you should really buy some concealer to cover that up" to "you need to see a doctor to fix your skin." All of them have effected me in different ways, but the message is always the same. Acne is gross. I can't help the fact that my skin is bad. I've tried dozens of scrubs, cleansers, topical ointments, etc. in an effort to clear my skin. None of them have worked for a sustainable period of time. My acne eventually got to the point where I cried about it almost every night praying that it would go away. It never has.

But today, you hurt me. So much, that I cried in my next class at school. I don't even know you, all I know is that you're a naive freshman boy. I also know that you're homophobic and racist from the many comments you've made. I would just like you to know that what you said really affected me. It affected how I viewed myself and made me hate my skin even more. I chose to let it go and not “tell on you” because that’s the mature thing to do. Honestly I’d never wish acne on anyone, but I kind of hope you get it and struggle like I did. Maybe then you’ll see how wrong it is to judge others for the things they can’t change. But hey, what do I know?

I hope nobody else has to go through what I did that day, but i’m sure a lot of people have. Just know, if you’re struggling with acne it’s okay. Clear skin does not equal beauty or perfection. Having acne does not make you ugly. It does not make you worth any less than the people without it.

[myaccutaneupdates]

6.3.18

day 129: i have a whitehead on my lower lip which sucks but otherwise everything’s going alright

also!! i forgot to tell you all that my dosage was upped to 80mg this month

[myaccutaneupdates]

day 109: some natural lighting pictures! the dot between my eyebrows isn’t a zit, it’s just from my skin peeling i think lol? also my eyebrows are a MESS. sorry for the lack of posts, i’ve meant to but just haven’t.

one last thing: i’m thinking about making an imovie/slideshow of my accutane journey once i’m done and uploading it to youtube.. idk if i should haha let me know what you all think of you want to!