Wow. Today is officially the first day that my skin has been clear enough for me to go without makeup.
I spent a good 5 minutes this morning debating whether I should put a little makeup on or not. It was a bit of a surreal experience.
I’ve written before on how my skin has been persistently bad since I hit puberty. My derm recently put me on Accutane as a last resort. Thank the Gods, it’s actually working!
After one month on it the clarity of my skin really improved. I still had the occasional spot or two, but they were showing up less and were decidedly smaller than before. After the second month my derm bumped me up to a slightly higher dose, which I am on right now, and my face is finally clear!
I can’t say I enjoy the chapped lips, dry eyes, monthly blood & urine tests or the stress this is putting on my liver, but I am definitely loving my baby-soft face that doesn’t have a single spot on it! It’s just…incredible!
Anyway, I don’t want to sound like an ad for Accutane, but I am SO glad that it’s working. If this didn’t work, then nothing would and I’d be stuck with terrible skin for the rest of my life. I still need to deal with some of the redness from rosacea but overall I’ve had a huge improvement.
Next up (and the final task!) on my list of physical self-improvements: lose some weight!
6 responses to “Adventures with Accutane: A Follow-Up”
i'm SO with you – almost 30, and finally tried accutane. it only took about 2 weeks before i was ready to start going without makeup – and i hadn't done that in, literally, 15 years. i even put on coverup after washing my face most nights, not wanting to have anyone, even my husband, see me without. i feel like a new person (albeit a new person with very chapped lips!).
I've thought about accutane but always decided against it because I am little scared of the side effects.
I've finally managed to find a routine that controls my acne but I have lots of acne scarring from the past that I am dealing with now.
Do you still have acne scars from past or has accutane helped with scarring as well? I assumed it just prevented new acne.
To be honest I never really had any scars, or at least ones that were easily visible. I guess I got lucky!
I haven't heard any kind of scientific data stating that Accutane helps with the scars, but it definitely helps with the source.
If you get rid of the cause of the scars then it gives your skin a chance to actually heal, and slowly your scars will fade.
Some treatments that I have heard are successful for reducing the appearance of scars have been Bio Oil (or vitamin E oil) applied directly, and also microdermabrasion.
If you're really concerned about the scars I would try the Bio oil first, then look into Microdermabrasion ($$$)
The idea with Accutane is that it dries up and shrinks your oil glands so that you don't produce as much sebum. It is supposed to be a treatment that will stop acne forever, after a few courses of it.
The side effects suck, but if it means my skin will be clear for the rest of my life, I'm down with it!
I'm really curious to see your long-term results. I don't want to rain on your parade, but I took Accutane about 5 years ago and my skin was PERFECT for the first time ever while I was on it. The second I went OFF it, though, my skin went totally haywire and was probably the worst it had ever been. It finally went back to 'normal' but I have not had the 'perfect skin' that I had while I was on it since then. Perhaps my doctor should have been me on a second course but she was freaking out because I am, of course, child-bearing age (despite the fact that she made me get on the pill, even though I was not dating anyone at the time and was definitely not having sex) and because it raised my cholesterol to dangerous levels (happens in 25 percent of Accutane users and goes away after discontinuing the drug; while I was on it she put me on a cholesterol-lowering medication). Anyway, I wish you the best of luck and hope that your skin continues to be perfect.
PS I'm sure your doc told you this, but DO NOT get your eyebrows waxed while you are on Accutane or for at least a few months after. Also, even all this time later I am still more susceptible to bad sunburn than I once was, and wounds still seem to take longer to heal…not sure if that's due to the Accutane or just getting older (I was in my 20s when I took Accutane and now am in my early 30s.) I never did experience any depression. If anything, I was much happier because of how awesome my skin looked!
I'd love to follow your progress with the Accutane as well! I've never been on it myself but have heard it can have an effect on your liver so try to do some liver support while you take it (lots of raw veggie juices, lemon water first thing in the a.m., eating the right kinds of fats etc). I think acne is mostly caused by the liver anyway. I've had minor skin issues since going off the pill and the only thing that really helped me was doing a liver cleanse and also cutting out gluten.
Anyway – would love to hear how it goes for you!