Ramona's Accutane Journal

Week Four Summary July 12-19

2009-07-19T21:44:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late with this post which is rather unfortunate for accurate documentation purposes. I had a couple painfully large cysts on my chin, scabs in each corner of my mouth and a spot just under my nose. Now everything is mostly cleared but never fear - new breakouts are forming on the right side of my face near my ear and I still have a bunch of tiny bumps on my neck. Oh what glorious fun!

So, apparently my dermatologist didn't understand my question regarding a dosage increase. Actually, what's truly frightening is that she didn't know what month of my treatment I was on when I was asking her the question. I have such faith in our healthcare system. When I picked up the new Rx the directions indicated 40mg 2x a day. So I called to be sure and long story short I no longer feel I'm in the most competent dermatological hands. There's no going back now so I'll have to rely on my own intelligence at this point.

So with the increase in dosage I am bracing myself for a miserable breakout. I had my first nosebleed the other night which was rather unnerving. I thought I was just blowing my nose when suddenly I realize my hands are covered in blood, my pants are covered in blood and my nose is gushing like a geyser. Luckily I new it was a possible side effect so I wasn't alarmed, just taken by surprise. The pants didn't make it. The first casualty of treatment.

I'm now moisturizing at least once a day because I started to get really bad dried skin - not only is it itchy but I have a tendency to itch until it becomes a rash and no one wants to see that. I don't have to wash my hair everyday - yay!! I'm keeping my lips lubed up with lip balm and Aquaphor coats the inside of the nostrils (I'm a supervisor and it would not be good to get a nosebleed in the middle of an important meeting or on the floor interacting with the peeps).

The aches and pains have started and I keep forgetting to take Aleve to work with me - that would help tremendously. I've only had one or two headaches. Mostly it's the low back that's killing me. Waking up in the morning is getting harder to do but then again that's always been a struggle. I'm failing miserably at drinking the H2O. Till next week........

Week Three Summary July 3 - 11

2009-07-11T22:58:00.000-07:00

I had my first monthly derm appt on Friday. All went well....she said I'd probably stay on 40mg/day unless we stopped seeing results. Had the blood work done and will wait for the results and the second Rx.

I continue to itch everywhere all the time. I seriously hope no one notices because I'm sure I look like a crackhead. First I'll scratch my wrist, then my eyebrow, then my chin, perhaps my scalp and then my ears.....

The third eye from last week is now just a scab. That's the weird part of this Accutane acne - it takes a day or two to form, come to a head, explode and then stays a glaring scab for days. It is pure torture not to pick and I'm failing miserably. I have a lovely spot forming under my nose that I've been keeping Aquaphor on, a scab under my lip and a fantastic new cyst on my neck and another forming near the chin area. I'm getting more and more tiny bumps along my jawline and cheeks. Oh the joy. The first two months are the hardest - I just have to get through this and five months from now it will all be so worth it.

Week Two Summary June 25-July 2

2009-07-02T22:12:00.000-07:00

Noticing some definite changes now. My throat continues to be dry and I itch. Everywhere. All the time. My face has some mild flakiness. My lips aren't chapped but if I don't keep lip balm on them they feel like they're going to fall of my face. It's a strange feeling.

I'm still breaking out though the cysts seem to come to a head and heal much faster. The cyst on my forehead from last week is almost gone now. The pimples below my lip are taking longer to heal because I can't stop picking them. I have a third eye growing and 2-3 painful cysts in the final stages (hopefully) along my left jawline that I've managed not to pick. There are literally hundreds of tiny little bumps along my jawline. My back and shoulders continue to have painful cysts.

I have absolutely no will power and decided to test the "no drinking" rule last Saturday at a pool party. I will not be drinking again for 5- 6 months. I only had two drinks but that's all it took. I woke up the next day with the most excruciating pain - it felt like someone was stabbing me in the liver and then twisting the knife all around. Terrible pain. As usual, I struggled with whether or not I should go to Urgent Care and predictably decided it wasn't necessary. I tried to drink plenty of water but probably still fell way short on that. I'm not a doctor and can't say for sure if the drinking and the pain are without a doubt related but for me, it was enough. No drinking means NO DRINKING. It's going to be a very long summer.

Week One Summary June 18-25

2009-06-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

There are this week's photos. Sorry they're so crappy - cell phone photos aren't the best but they'll have to do for now.

Only minor side effects so far such as dry eyes and throat - especially with ceiling fans + air conditioning. It doesn't take much for me to want to take a nap either! I went swimming Sunday (wearing plenty of sunscreen, of course) for only about an hour and was wiped out the rest of the day. I was moisturizing every morning but took a hiatus today since I was turning into a sticky mess by the end of the day due to sweating in this horrendous heat wave. I haven't had any flakiness, rashes, nosebleeds, body aches or chapped lips (yet).

The two pimples on my forehead healed quickly and the cluster of cysts on my chin and the one behind my left ear have died down significantly. I have only started noticing a change in my skin the last day or so. I have a new cyst forming on my forehead and two new pimples just below my lip. I also have what feels like millions of tiny blackheads on my upper arms, nose, neck and jawline. My shoulders and back are starting to break out as well. I'm not sure if this is the "initial breakout" or not but it's pretty mild compared to what I was expecting.

I continue to wash my face every morning with Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Anti-Blemish Cleanser followed by Neutrogena Alcohol-Free Toner. It hasn't been necessary for me to moisturize yet although I did put sunscreen on a few days this week since I was out in the sun. I was also able to wear my usual makeup the couple of times I went out in public (and wanted to look decent). At night I wash my face with Neutrogena Deep Clean Relaxing Nightly Scrub. I was also treating problem areas with Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Anti-Blemish cream however decided to take a few days off from that as well.

Day Two

2009-06-19T20:55:00.001-07:00

So I've taken two doses so far. No side effects to report yet. No change whatsoever, really. The large painful cyst behind my left ear is starting to die down, but that's more the natural progression and not due to the medication. I have a a cluster of cysts on my chin that hurt like a bitch, but again, those were in the beginning stages prior to the first dose. I forgot to moisturize this morning - that will be the hardest habit to get into since I usually hit the snooze button one (or a few) too many times and have to really scramble to make it to work on time. Sorry, no other news to report yet. Stay tuned for the weekly update on Thursday.

Day Before Accutane

2009-06-17T22:43:00.000-07:00

So there are the totally unflattering before pictures. Tomorrow is the big day - I'll be taking my first dose. The tattoo is mostly healed and I can't wait anymore! The dermatologist prescribed Claravis 40mg once a day. Wish me luck ;)

Introduction

2009-06-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

Hello,

I'm Ramona. I'm 33 yrs old and I picked up my first Accutane prescription six days ago. I haven't taken the first dose yet because I went out and got my first tattoo ten days ago and I'm waiting for it to heal. I wasn't expecting to get the prescription so quickly due to my insurance initially denying it because they decided the cut off age was 27 yrs old. My doctor's Letter of Medical Necessity apparently convinced them I am in desperate need of this miracle drug.

I've decided to keep an online journal of my experience because I found others' journals to be immensely helpful in not only deciding on this course of treatment but also in helping me to prepare and to know what to expect throughout the next few months.

I have always had acne. The severity of the acne is what has changed over the years. I don't remember it being that severe in high school. I had the hormonal pimples once a month and a constant covering of tiny bumps (either whiteheads or blackheads) but I also went through clear phases as well. Sometime in my mid-twenties it started to get bad. I had spots all over my cheeks that would stay for months at a time. My mom bought me Proactiv about five years ago and that seemed to work great for a few years. An unfortunate side effect of the Proactiv was that it exacerbated the patches of dark pigmentation (Melasma) on my forehead and cheeks. This past holiday season the Proactiv stopped working and my face exploded with breakouts. Someone suggested I try Dr. Murad's Acne Complex. Although this product lightened the Melasma it did nothing but make my acne worse. I would wake up every day with 2-3 new spots that wouldn't heal or fade away. I dreaded having to leave the house to go to work and rarely went out with my friends on the weekend. All I wanted to do was crawl into a hole and hide. So, I finally went to see a dermatologist two months ago and was diagnosed with severe cystic acne with a five month course of Accutane highly recommended.

I passed my first pregnancy test, dutifully read my obnoxiously intimidating I-Pledge workbook, began taking birth control pills (again) and had my initial blood work drawn. The acne has improved somewhat with the birth control however I still have a very large and painful cyst right behind my left ear, one on my back and my chin still has several clusters of cysts. My cheeks have sort of cleared up and all the old spots are trying to fade. I'm anxious to actually start the medication and hoping the initial breakout coincides with my vacation so I can hide from the world and let whatever will be . . . . . . . be.