Day 21 on Accutane

Hi everyone!  Still not many changes to report.  I did unfortunately get a sunburn this last weekend!  I had sunscreen on but it was too sunny to matter.  Luckily it wasn't a bad sunburn.  I do continue to have the same symptoms as always.  Dry lips, headaches, dry scalp, dry eyes etc.  I have not had any more body aches but my nose is becoming increasingly more dry.  I am almost to my next monthly doctor's visit and I will be having my blood drawn this week in prep for that.  Hopefully my labs all still look good!  This month I won't have a bunch of trouble with my insurance company so it'll be so much easier. 

Until the next update!

Day 14 on Accutane

Hi everyone!  Same old symptoms today.  Although I have noticed that my nose is quite a bit drier today.  Also, my face was peeling again today....and I got a huge cystic zit on my left cheek. It hurts and it is ugly.  And of course, because my face is peeling I can't wear a lot of makeup.  The last couple of days I have been adding a pump of my foundation to a large pump of my face lotion.  This makes it more like tinted moisturizer rather than cakey foundation.  It's a nice tip for girls/women on this medicaiton. 

Bought more Aquaphor for my lips.  I have used up almost an entire small tube of it.  I bought two more travel sized tubes and the big tub of it as well.  I almost bought the Walgreens brand but at the last minute (after looking at all of the ingredients) decided that I would splurge and buy the real deal.  I am not going to scrimp on products that will help. 

This morning my face was peeling around my mouth.  Weird.  And it continues to peel around my nose and at my temples. 

So just a quick update today folks.  Talk to you soon!

Day 13 of Accutane

Hi everyone!  Still no major changes in my symptoms.  My nose is a little more dry on the inside than it has been lately.  No bloody nose though.  My family went and had portraits taken yesterday so I had to put on a full face of makeup.  It was a little painful to put it on, my face was burning.  But I got it on!  Up close it didn't look that great....but in the pictures it looked decent so that's what matters.

Same dry facial skin, dry scalp, etc.  So, short update again today.  I may not be blogging every day since my symptoms aren't really changing.  As always, please leave any questions/comments and I'll get back to you.

Talk soon!

Day 11 of Accutane

Hi everyone!  Sorry I didn't post yesterday, I was super busy and my symptoms haven't changed.  They still haven't really but I wanted to check in briefly.  Still the same old, same old.  Dry scalp, dry lips, dry hands etc.  Nothing major today.  I continue to be very sleepy while taking medicine and I have been sleeping like a rock, which is FANTASTIC!  I love it.

Talk to you all soon!

Day 9 of Accutane

Hi everyone!  Nothing major to report today.  I have a few small pimples today and my face wasn't peeling as much today!  So that is great.  I continued to have a few headaches today but no back ache.  Lips were a little more sore/dry today.  I continue to use the Aquaphor though. 

So today is a short update.  Hopefully I'll have something more soon!

Day 8 of Accutane- Minor Side effects

Hi everyone!  So today I had a couple more side effects and one of them I was happy about!  My usual continued happening....dry eyes, peeling face, red face, chapped lips but I also developed a slight back ache today.  It wasn't bad until the end of my work day.  My eyes were burning today and the previous eye drops I had bought burned more than my eyes themselves so I bought some artificial tears this time.  I noticed today that I have a few new pimples, so that sucks but it was expected.  The one side effect that I was actually happy about was I woke up with second day hair that didn't look like an oil spill!!!  The down side of that of course is dry scalp.  Yes, major dandruff but I will continue using my Head & Shoulders to help with that. 

So that's about it for today.  I bought some more body lotion, I'm trying several different kinds until I find the one that really works.  I am still using Aquaphor for my lips and it has kept my lips from peeling and cracking. 

Until next time!

Day 7 of Accutane

Hi everyone!  Nothing new to post today.  My face has continued to peel on my forehead, around my nose but has also started on my chin, cheeks and my ears!  I have noticed that I am in a bit of a foul mood today.  Easily irritated by little things.  Thank goodness my family recognizes that it is because of the iso.  My face still feels sun burnt and it looked like it all day too because I wasn't able to put makeup on the spots that were peeling.  It would just draw more attention to it! 

No other side effects to speak of today.  Eyes were fine, no joint ache, no major headache.  I'll report again tomorrow.

Day 6 of Accutane- Quick update

Hi everyone!  Sorry I missed yesterday's post, I was busy.  Symptoms over the last two days have become worse.  Yesterday I was working outside in the yard and got incredibly dry, burning eyes.  It was so bad at one point that I wanted to pull my eye balls out!  I have also developed dandruff and an itchy scalp which sucks.  I also had the sunburned feeling again all day.

Today I woke up to drier skin.  It has started peeling around my nose, on my forehead and near my temples.  Ugh!  It looks terrible even with tinted moisturizer.  Oh well.  It will be worth it in the end.  My lips are drier than normal but not peeling yet.  I have switched from Carmex (it made my lips feel waxy) to Aquaphor. I learned that the camphor and menthol in medicated lip balm make you lips feel good for a short while but actually dry your lips out more in the long run. 

Today at the drug store I bought some dandruff shampoo (Head and Shoulders Itchy Scalp Relief), eye drops, waterproof mascara (because I'll be putting eye drops in so much), and the Aquaphor. 

I've been applying sunscreen on my face daily so that I don't burn.  It's been overcast but it can still burn you. 

I have been getting mild headaches every day but I forgot to buy Advil or Tylenol today.  I will suffer through for now.  I also was extremely tired again last night and had vivid dreams again.  Not sure if this is from the Isotretinoin or not.

I'll update again soon!

Day 4 of Accutane- The beginning of symptoms

Hi everyone!  So today is Day 4 of my isotretinoin treatment and the symptoms are slowly beginning to show.  My face and lips felt like I had a mild sun burn or like I was wind chapped but it was tolerable.  I also noticed my emotions seemed to be heightened, not necessarily in a bad way.  I found myself brought to tears if there was something sad on tv.  That is not abnormal for me but it did seem to be more intense that usual. 

The skin on my body hasn't begun to dry out but my forehead and the skin around my nose is getting slightly flaky and my cheeks were a little red.  Also, my scalp is beginning to get itchy!  That sucks but all-in-all it has been tolerable so far, though I am expecting things to get worse soon.  No new breakouts to speak of but I do have quite a few small black heads on my nose.  Those may have been there before and I just didn't notice.....

No body aches to speak of but I've been working out harder than normal so my muscles already hurt

Day 3 and a little pre-iso background

Hi everyone!  Today is Day 3 of my Amnesteem (isotretinoin) treatment.  So far no major symptoms....I did experience some weird "stuff" while I was sleeping last night.  At one point in the night I was unsure if I was sleeping and dreaming that I was awake, or if I was really awake.  I don't know if that has anything to do with the medication but it was strange.  The dry lips, dry skin etc symptoms have not set in yet. 

Since I don't have a symptom list to give I thought I would discuss everything I had to do leading up to obtaining my prescription from the pharmacy.  At my first visit with the Derm I took a urine pregnancy test.  It is EXTREMELY important not to get pregnant while taking isotretinoin!!!!  It causes major birth defects.  During this visit I had to go over the mandated questions for the iPledge program, including discussing my birth control options.  While on isotretinoin you must use TWO forms of birth control.  We discussed my mental health past, isotretinoin has been known to cause mild to severe depression, suicidal thoughts, acting on irrational or dangerous behavior, hallucinations and such.  By the end of the visit my doctor had explained all of the possible side effects and the nurse gave me a rather large packet from the iPledge program.  I was registered in to the iPledge database and given my number. 

The iPledge program requires that you log in monthly before obtaining your medication from the pharmacy to answer questions about sex, birth control and such.  These questions are mostly common sense based and I'm not sure what happens if you don't answer properly. 

After my appointment was over, I was given a lab order to have my blood drawn.  They do blood tests monthly as well to test your liver function and lipid levels.  Isotretinoin is processed through your liver so it's important to monitor the effects of it.  I was also instructed to make a follow up appointment in 30 days, no sooner.  The iPledge program requires two negative blood tests 30 days apart before a prescription can be written. 

I had my blood work done prior to my second visit, all was good.  The doctor said that I am very healthy!  I had my second urine pregnancy test (negative again!  woohoo).  The Derm went over all the possible side effects again and then wrote my prescription.  I was instructed to make follow up appointments for the next 6 months. 

When I went to pick up my prescription from the pharmacy I ran in to a major hitch!  My dumb prescription company doesn't cover isotretinoin for "people of my age"!!  Excuse me????   My age?  First of all, I'm 31 not 60!  I understand that the typical user is in their teens or early twenties but geez!  I am less likely to get married than a teenager, and I can afford to pay for it myself.  So my only option was to have the insurance carrier send an "Age Restriction Prior Authorization" form to my doctor's office for completion.  LOOOONG story (almost a week later) short, I was able to pick my prescription up on the 6th day.  The iPledge program also requires users to pick up the prescription within 7 days of it being written.  This is because you could become pregnant during this time and not know it.  If you miss the 7 day window, you have to go back to the doc, have another pregnancy test run and receive a new prescription.  HASSLE!  I was glad that it all worked out in the end.  Of course, I had scheduled all of my follow up appointments and had to push them all out a week.  You can only get your prescription once a month, 24 days apart being the absolute earliest. 

Even after all of that I am glad that I can finally begin my regiment.  I am not looking forward to the horrible side effects I am expecting to experience but I think it'll be worth a life without painful, ugly cystic acne. 

As always please feel free to contact me with any questions!

The Beginning (Day 2)

Hi everyone!  As stated at the top of my blog, I am a 31 year old mom to a wonderful daughter.  I love her very much but having a child definitely changed a lot of things in my body, one of them being my skin.  I suffer from cystic acne, which is defined as severe acne in which the predominant lesions are follicular cysts that rupture and scar.  Simply put, it is acne that is deep in the skin that causes fluid filled cysts.  These cysts are often painful and result in scars. 

I sought treatment from my dermatologist recently because I just couldn't stand it anymore.  It was lowering my self esteem, I found it very difficult to look people in the eye during a big breakout.  I was certain that I did not want to be on antibiotics for the rest of my days (it stains teeth, you can build an intolerance to the drug, etc) and topical medicines have never worked in the past.  I was left with only one option....isotretinoin.  In the past people have referred to this as Accutane.  That was a brand name of isotretinoin that was taken off the market in 2009 after several large lawsuits.  I have been put on Amnesteem 40 mg once by mouth daily. 

My first dose was taken yesterday and no real symptoms have emerged yet.  This afternoon my lips felt more dry than usual but I slathered them down with Lime Twist flavored Carmex.  My second dose was taken this evening directly after dinner.  I have read several Accutane (isotretinoin) diaries as well as watched several YouTube videos posted by users on the drug so I feel confident in what to expect, dry skin/eyes/nose/mouth/lips, achy back/joints, possible depression or blue mood and the dreaded "INITIAL BREAKOUT"!!!  I am not looking forward to that!!!  I am hoping that it won't happen to me, it doesn't seem to happen to all who take it but a very good percentage of them.  Follow me along the way!  I will try and post a few times a week and at the minimum once per week. 

Feel free to leave comments, questions or concerns for me!